Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Owen
The hint of campfire smoke lingers in Daisy’s hair after our evening reminiscing around the firepit in the backyard. The taste of the marshmallow I licked from her lips after her s’more exploded all over her face is sweet on my lips.
I’m still shocked she didn’t chew my ass after I confessed to my covert meeting with her brothers. Instead, she thanked me.
She fucking thanked me.
But she didn’t kiss me again. Well, not until hours later. Apparently, roasting marshmallows and taking a trip down memory lane was all it took to ignite the flame between us.
We laughed until we cried, remembering how the Powell’s German Shepherd busted us when it opened the door of the room we had snuck into at their annual 4th of July party.
When Mr. Powell showed us the dog’s trick of opening doors earlier in the day, it was cool.
That night, naked and interrupted when both of us were only moments away from orgasm.
.. not so cool. We freaked the fuck out, and I went home with blue balls.
Looking back on it now, it’s funny as hell.
One minute we were laughing and the next she was climbing onto my lap. Her lips caressed my neck, the tip of her tongue teasing my earlobe while her low, seductive voice begged me to finish what we started that 4th of July years ago.
Her lips felt so good that for several minutes, I lost my head. We kissed, and we kissed, and when her hand wandered beneath my waistband, I nearly give her what she wanted. Then I ventured under her shirt, and she winced. Playtime was over.
She pouted while I put the fire out, and then I carried her upstairs to bed. She’s made it perfectly clear I won’t be sleeping anywhere else but next to her. So, we climbed into bed, with Maui between us.
And it feels good to play house. To sleep next to her every night. Having her here feels more than right, yet I’m unable to enjoy it because once we leave the privacy of the house, I’ll go back to being her big brother's annoying friend to the rest of the world. And that doesn’t sit right with me.
As we lie here in the dark, I can practically hear both our brains working overtime.
I can only imagine all the different things racing through her mind.
I’m sure we’re thinking many of the same things, and maybe her not wanting anyone to know where she is shouldn’t be at the top of my list, but all this one-on-one time is taking its toll on me.
“Why don’t you want anyone to know you’re here?”
“I told Charlotte.”
“And made her promise not to tell Cal or anyone else.”
“Is it too much to ask for a little privacy?”
“Sorry, sweetheart. I call bullshit.” Keeping my voice quiet, I take her hand resting on the dog between us, in mine.
I’m not looking for conflict, but I need to understand.
“You’re hurt. Someone tried to kill you.
Your family and friends want to see you.
This is more than avoiding the girls’ I told you so’s.
Talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours? ”
“None of your business,” she whispers.
“Oh, I think it is. You’re in my house, in my bed, with my dog next to you.”
“Our dog, remember? We’re co-parenting.”
Thank God for Maui.
“And you’re deflecting.”
“And you’re annoying.”
“Clover, talk to me.”
She maneuvers herself until she’s on her side facing me. “I like being here with you. Just you and me. We don’t need reality to come along and ruin things.”
I adjust to mirror her. “Daisy, I’ve been stealing moments with you for over a decade. I’ve been waiting for you to see me. The real me.” I reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear, a habit I don’t ever want to stop. “I’ve been waiting for you to be ready for me.”
She rubs her forehead. “It must be the concussion, because I don’t understand.”
“Nice try. You heard me loud and clear in New York. I also made my feelings known at Oktoberfest and several times before.”
Finally, dropping the oblivious act, she sighs. “We hooked up at my grad party, and you and Janelle started dating a week later. You were with her for years.”
“True, we started dating shortly after. It’s also true we were off more than we were on. I’ve been stealing moments since your graduation party, but since Hawaii, there’s been nothing real. Only you.”
She runs her hand over the sleeping pup. “I still can’t believe you named her Maui.”
“That trip changed everything for me.”
“Make it make sense, Owen. You might as well have had sex on the dance floor at Cal and Charlie’s wedding. You’re with a different woman every weekend.”
“You’re exaggerating a wee bit, don’t you think?”
“Uh. No. I don’t.”
“Good to know I had your attention at the wedding. That was the point.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
She attempts to roll away, but I’m not letting her hide from me tonight. Scooting the dog out of the way, I move close enough to throw my leg over her hip so she can’t escape.
“You date as many men as I do women. All I’m doing is keeping myself busy until you figure it out.”
“Figure what out?” she asks, still playing the fool.
“That for me, it could only be you. The rest are just filler. I haven’t been with anyone but you for over a year.”
She gasps, her eyes as round as saucers. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“Owen...”
“Daisy...”
Her lips brush mine, and reluctantly, I kiss her back. I know she’s distracting me from the seriousness of the conversation. She’s impossible to resist, but I only allow myself a moment to luxuriate in her.
Forcing my lips from hers, I gently cup her face, avoiding the scrapes on her cheeks, and rest my forehead against hers, not giving her the opportunity to pull away. “Why won’t you admit you feel the same?”
She doesn’t speak, and I don’t rush her. Maybe here in the dark she’ll finally be brave enough to tell me what her holdup is. Placing a kiss on her forehead, I pull back so I can look in her eyes, but she closes them, shutting me out.
I open my mouth to tell her we can talk about it another time, when she finally speaks.
“You mean too much to me.”
Oh, thank Christ.
“Then why do you push me away?”
“Because it’ll hurt too much to lose you.”
“Baby, I’m not going anywhere.” My nervous system jumps into overdrive to hear she cares. I hope she doesn’t feel the shake of my hand against her skin or hear the chaotic drumbeat pounding against my chest.
“I can’t take the chance. I’d rather have pieces of you than nothing at all.”
“Daisy, that doesn’t work for me.”
“It’s worked for us all these years.”
“Baby, I want all of your pieces.”
The first tear splashes on my hand holding her face, and my heart hurts for her. This is clearly about more than her brothers’ opinion about the two of us together.
“You say that now, but in the end, you’ll get bored and leave.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you are anything but boring.”
She tries to pull away, but I stop her. “Talk to me.”
“What’s there to say?” She shrugs, trying to sound tough through her tears. “I’m not the kind of woman men want to settle down with. I’m here for a good time, not a long time. I’ve been through that with men who didn’t matter. But, Owen, you matter.”
“And you are all that matters to me.”
“Only me?”
“Only you. Everybody else is a waste of time.”
“You’re my brother's best friend.”
“That’s a chickenshit excuse, and you know it.”
“You’re the biggest flirt I know.”
“Right back at cha.”
“But you love the ladies, and the ladies love you,” she says, poking me in the chest.
“The ladies love me, and they always will. There’s nothing I can do about that. Unfortunately for them, my love lies elsewhere.”
She leans forward to kiss me, but I pull away.
“That’s not gonna work, Clover.”
“What do you need from me?”
“To be more than your dirty little secret.”
“So, you want me to tell everyone we’ve been hooking up for the past eleven years?”
“No, I want you to tell them you’re mine.”
“Does telling the girls count?”
“It’s a start.”
“If I tell them about us, what will I get?”
She’s playing. Trying to lighten the mood.
“Tell them and find out.”