Chapter 17 #2
Owen laughed and shook his head at her. “You’re full of it.”
“I’m full of what?” Ava challenged. She wasn’t even trying not to flirt with him.
She resisted fidgeting as his gaze trailed over her, taking in her still-flushed cheeks, relaxed posture, and half-empty glass.
Her oversized Columbia University sweatshirt and leggings suddenly felt drab compared to Owen dressed like her wet dream tonight.
Before she could overthink it too much, Owen caught her eye and stepped closer.
His thigh pressed against the arm of her chair, so close she smelled the perpetual scent of coffee grounds that clung to him.
He reached out to tuck a strand of blonde hair that escaped her bun behind her ear, his fingers ghosting the side of her throat before pulling away.
“You look relaxed tonight. Like old times,” he said.
She was saved from answering by the cabin door opening, announcing the return of their siblings. Owen stepped away and stuffed his hands into his pockets. The picture of casual while she struggled to comprehend how the slightest touch from Owen lit her up inside.
Summer grabbed the chair closest to Ava and pulled it even closer before plopping down with her own drink in hand. She tipped her glass in Ava’s direction. Ava clinked her glass with Summer’s.
“Cheers,” Summer said before taking a big gulp. Ava followed suit, swallowing more than she normally would.
She was hyper-aware of Owen’s closeness.
He stayed near her chair, placing one hand on the back of it while the other nursed the drink Lucas handed him.
There was nothing intimate about how he stood, or even how close he remained, but Ava swore she could feel electricity in the air between them. Maybe she should switch to water.
“I'll be right back, going to grab some water,” she muttered to no one in particular.
“Mind if I join you and check out the stair? Want to make sure it's holding up well,” Owen asked. The question seemed innocent, but Ava was concerned about being alone with him. Not because of him, but because of her sudden dirty thoughts she couldn't seem to turn off.
Instead, she managed a grunt of some sort, and they fell into step, walking toward the cabin.
She tried not to notice how their fingers brushed as they walked in sync.
The loon alarm yodeled above them as they crossed the threshold, making Owen laugh.
His laughter pulled her from focusing on the slight graze of their hands.
“Have you heard from Avery much since you dropped him off at camp?”
“I'm lucky if I get the kid on the phone for a few minutes in the evenings. He called on the drive here. That's who I was talking to when we arrived.”
“Still feeling lonely at the house without him?”
Owen followed her into the kitchen and leaned on the counter next to the refrigerator, where she busied herself getting water. So what if she lingered a few extra moments to let the air cool her heated skin?
“A bit. Having a break sounds good in theory, but when he's gone, I miss him like crazy. The house is too quiet.”
She held a bottle up to him, but he declined with a shake of his head.
“The quiet is nice during the day around here. Peaceful even. But at night, sometimes it can be isolating,” she confessed. “It was so nice having Morgan here for a few days. Felt less alone.”
She shut the refrigerator door and leaned against it. “Thanks again for your help with the stairs. And for sending Summer to check on me. I needed help with both. I just didn’t seem to know it.” She shrugged, going for nonchalance despite feeling the opposite.
Owen's lips turned up into a smile, a softness touched his brown eyes.
The warmth of his eyes reminded her of the coffee that seemed to cling to him.
The way he looked at her lit an inferno inside her in response.
She twisted the lid on the water bottle, desperate to cool down her libido.
Her hands unsteady, she struggled to twist the cap.
“Here, let me.” Owen placed his drink on the counter behind him and stepped closer, pulling the bottle from her grasp.
He twisted the cap off with ease, the veins on his arms flexing with the movement.
He loosely tightened the cap back on and handed it to her, their fingers brushing once more.
A flush crept up Ava's chest, imagining his hands elsewhere on her.
“You're still looking flushed. Are you sure you're feeling OK?” Owen asked her.
Ava was not feeling okay. She was feeling turned on.
A foreign feeling she hadn't experienced in months, not even with Alec, before she broke up with him.
Her most recent ex could never arouse her by the simple act of rolling up his sleeves.
Which made her think it had more to do with the man in front of her and not something another guy could replicate.
She took a drink of cold water to delay answering.
Owen didn't move back to the counter. Ava lowered the bottle and rolled it against her neck to cool the warmed skin and beat back the flush.
She cleared her throat. “I'm–” her voice came out a strangled whisper. She cleared her throat again and spoke with more confidence than she felt. “I’m fine.”
“Too much to drink?” Owen asked, skepticism in his voice. His gaze dipped to the flush still clinging to her neck and part way up her face. “Or are you turned on?”
Ava's mouth dried and her mind went blank.
Owen continued, “Have you been turned on since you saw me without a shirt earlier? Has it been playing through your mind the way the sight of your ass in those tight yoga pants you wear around town has plagued my mind for weeks? Driving me to take my cock in my hand when I'm alone in the shower.”
Ava's heart quickened, sure she’d misheard what he said. Before she could stop herself, she nodded, unable to break eye contact with Owen's intense stare.
He smirked and moved closer, caging her in by placing his hands on either side of her head against the refrigerator door. Her lips parted as he neared. His breath ghosted her lips, and she closed her eyes in anticipation.
The yodel of the loon alarm had them breaking apart. Owen cursed under his breath and uncaged her, taking several steps back. Ava slumped against the refrigerator.
Noah stepped through the door, oblivious to the tension in the room and the moment he intruded on. “We need another chair. Matt's here.” Noah smiled at them and walked through the kitchen to the hall closet under the stairs where the folding chairs were kept.
Ava bit her lip, unsure what to say.
Owen scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck and caught her eye. “Can’t seem to catch a break, can we?”
Ava’s heart stalled. Was he referring to their almost kiss? This was the first either of them had acknowledged the unspoken moments they’d shared. The brewing something that grew every time they were in each other’s presence.
Ava couldn't move or respond or do anything other than stare at him. She was too scared to ruin something before it could start.
“I should look at those stairs,” he said, taking pity on her frozen state.
Ava could only nod, the water bottle clutched in her hand like a lifeline.
Owen grabbed his drink from the counter and left the kitchen. Ava hurried out the door and back to the fire, taking her seat next to Summer instead of following Owen to demand they finish what they started. She tried to tune into the conversation happening around her.
“Hey, Ava. Hope you don't mind, I dropped by.
I could smell the fire from my parent's lot next door and couldn't resist,” Matt greeted her.
Ava had seen Matt in passing a few times around town, but he was no stranger to the cabin.
As Owen's best friend, he spent a lot of time with the rest of them during the summers.
“Of course, it's like old times,” she said.
“This is way better than going out to the Mucky Duck,” Summer announced. “Free booze and the old crew back together again.”
Noah reappeared with the extra chair for Matt and set it up next to Lucas. Matt and Lucas fell into conversation about work, only stopping when Owen came back to the fire with a drink for Matt. Owen sat on the other side of Matt, putting Noah on the other side of Ava.
Taking in the scene around the fire, relief trickled through Ava, loosening the tension she’d held since coming to town on her own. She wasn’t alone anymore, and she could admit pangs of loneliness had rattled in her chest far longer than anyone knew. Long before her dad died.
And despite the confusing mess of feelings inside about almost kissing Owen again, her heart swelled with contentment, being surrounded by the family and friends that shaped her childhood at the cabin. For tonight, Ava felt she was right where she needed to be.