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He pushes himself away from the door and watches as I fold myself into the driver’s seat. “I’m not going anywhere, Say. I’m going to earn your trust again.”
“Bye, Owen.”
“See you tomorrow, Say.”
The door closes with a reverberating thud that shakes my bones. Praying he can’t see the way my hands are trembling, I slide the key into the ignition, then turn it until the engine rumbles to life. I can feel him watching me through the window, but I refuse to meet his gaze as I pull away.
If I do, I’ll crumble. I’ll give in. I’ll beg him to take me to dinner. To take me back. To make me feel better. To call me his own. He’s broken me enough times without sticking around to put me back together again.
Who’s to say this time would be any different?
11
Owen
“You failed. You know that, right?” Skye informs me the next morning with crossed arms and a disappointed glare that could make even the most stubborn teenager cower with regret.
“I didn’t fail––”
“She came home alone, which means you failed.”
“This isn’t about sex for me––”
“You weren’t called The Big O for nothing, Owen.”
With a dry laugh, I rub my hand over my face before practically collapsing my weight against the same cabinet Skye’s leaning against in the break room.
“Not sure if sex could fix this.”
“You won’t know until you give it a try.” She winks.
“I’ll keep that in mind. What did she say when she came home last night?”
“That it was just you and her. And she’d forgotten how well you two work together. How easy it feels whenever you’re around.”
“Anything else?”
“That you apologized and asked her out.”
“And?”
“And she turned you down because she’s terrified of getting hurt again.” She pushes herself away from the cabinet but manages to maintain the same badass, don’t mess with me finesse with her head cocked to one side. “Here’s the deal. I think you were smart to apologize and to kind of lay it all out there. But she didn’t fall in love with serious, no-holds-barred Owen. She fell in love with cocky, carefree Owen. The one who doesn’t live with regret. The one who’s charismatic and makes a girl feel special but not overwhelmed. Does that make sense?”
“So, you’re saying that since I’ve made my intentions clear and have already apologized, now, I just need to be patient and bring on the charm?”
“Charm, orgasms, and yummy food. It’s what makes the world go ‘round, my friend.”
“That, and anything nerdy for our girl,” I clarify.
Her smile widens. “Exactly. Wake her back up, Owen. Make her feel something, even if it takes years to do it.”
A wave of determination spreads through me before I give her a nod. “I can do that.”
“I sure as hell hope so, or that means I’ve placed my money on the wrong horse, and I’ve already done that once before. Don’t prove me wrong, Owen.”
“I won’t.”
“Good man.” Her hand slaps against my shoulder as if she’s one of the boys before she grabs a powdered donut from a white cardboard box that someone had brought in this morning. After a quick bite, her powdered sugar covered lips pull into another smirk. “I gotta get back to work. And so do you, might I add. See ya around.”
