Finding Me Page 4

  “Bella, you are a beautiful girl. Maybe I’m a bit biased, but you always sold yourself short. Maybe he wanted you to give him a chance to get to know him. If he didn’t ask you for help, you would have written him off as a cocky jock if he tried to talk to you. I heard it in your voice when you first brought him up. I like him already. So, my darling daughter, what is the problem? Do you not like him that way? Please tell me what happened with Christian isn’t making you hesitate.”

  I did like him that way—a lot. That was the problem.

  “Owen is … pretty great. He’s not cocky at all. He’s sweet, funny, smart. I’m scared I’m always going to be looking over my shoulder after … what happened. And that would be with anyone. He just seems so … out of my league, Mom. You know what I mean?”

  “More than you know. I was in love with Lucas for years, but never thought I could compete with the harem of women following him around. I don’t regret anything, even Marc, believe it or not, but I always wondered what would have happened if I put myself out there and told him how I felt. Go, have a good time, and let whatever happens happen.”

  “Okay, I will. It’s funny thinking about you and Dad in college. I can’t picture the two of you not attached at the hip.” I chuckled thinking of how in love they were; always kissing and holding hands. It was sweet, other than the nights I wished the walls were thicker. Some mornings it was hard to look them both in the eye.

  “Women followed him everywhere. Some still do. But I never doubt where his heart is. That’s what I wish for you, Bella—to be able to let someone love you, and not question it. Can you call me and tell me how it went? I’ll be cryptic if Lucas is around. I pity the poor boy you bring home next.”

  I laughed but cringed. That was no exaggeration. Dad would work overtime to make him as uncomfortable as possible. “Me too. I have fifteen minutes to get dressed. I’ll call you in the morning. Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

  “I love you too, baby. Have fun! Not too much, but—”

  “I know, I know.” We both laughed before we hung up.

  I forced myself to get ready for my sort-of date with the hot guy I didn’t want to admit I liked. There were worse things in life, and I hoped the flutters in my belly meant that whatever this was with Owen could be something great.

  Bella

  I SPRINTED DOWN THE STAIRS of my dorm building only a minute before Owen was due to pick me up. He hadn’t mentioned where we were going, which added to my outfit anxiety. I figured a sleeveless black jersey dress with my short denim jacket was a safe bet. It was late September, but balmy considering the horror stories I heard about going to college so far upstate. Buffalo wasn’t too far away, and they got snow in August. I paired the dress with my favorite black knee-high boots and left my long dark hair in waves down my back.

  Owen’s SUV pulled up just as I stepped outside. I waited for him to unlock the doors but was surprised when he shut the engine off and stepped out. He wore a black button down shirt that was fitted across his broad chest with charcoal dress pants. I never saw Owen out of jeans or sweats. Even the wild head of hair I was used to seeing was slicked back with a little product. I panicked that my denim jacket was too casual for what he had in mind.

  I grimaced at Owen as I clutched the material of the collar. “Should I go change? I think I have another jack—”

  “No,” Owen answered as he made his way toward me. His fiery gaze made my mouth go dry. “You look … perfect. Beautiful.”

  I allowed a smile to spread across my lips as my cheeks heated. “Thanks. You clean up pretty well too, OT.”

  Owen chuckled as he opened my door. “Ready?”

  Yes? No? I had no clue. Nervous, excited, scared? Sure. But ready? No clue.

  The little town near campus was small and quaint. There was one bar everyone went to if they wanted to change it up from the never ending frat parties, but I had never heard of any restaurants. I couldn’t remember my last sit down meal outside of the cafeteria.

  Owen took us to a hole in the wall Italian restaurant. It was as if I just walked into the Lady and the Tramp movie I loved as a kid, right down to the red checkerboard tablecloths and single half melted candles.

  The air got thin at the realization this was not just a thank you dinner. This was a bona fide date. Owen and I were ourselves on the car ride up here, teasing each other back and forth, but he seemed a little nervous as we sat down at a corner table and opened our menus.

  I took a deep breath and made an attempt at cracking the sudden heavy silence.

  “This was nice of you. You know, to buy me dinner as a thank you. It’s really not necessary, though. You’re a lot better at numbers than you may think.”

  Owen closed his menu and leaned forward on the table. “You really think we’re here just because I wanted to thank you for studying with me?”

  “No. I mean … I didn’t want to assume but,” I stammered and darted my eyes away from his. One question had rattled in my head for weeks. “Why?”

  Owen laughed and shook his head. “Why? Because I’m some ice-jock manwhore who dates thousands of girls at a time? Right?”

  “I never said that.” I leaned back as I folded my arms.

  “No.” Owen gave me a steady glance. “But that’s what you thought. Come on. You can say it.” Owen smirked at me. “But contrary to what you may think you know, I’m interested in only one girl.”

  My gaze dropped back down to my menu as Owen reached across the tiny table and put his hand over mine. My heart pounded and melted all at once from one simple, but intimate gesture. “So let’s clear this up right now. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be tonight than sitting here with you.” His thumb ran back and forth over the top of my hand. His touch combined with the heat in his eyes pinned me to my chair.

  “Did you ever really need my help?”

  “Would you have talked to me otherwise?” Owen raised his eyebrow, as though the answer was obvious. “It was the first time playing hockey put me at a disadvantage with a girl. And really, accounting usually isn’t my thing. You gave me an excuse to work harder. So I actually can thank you for acing the midterm. However you want to think of tonight, I’m glad you’re here with me. Can we leave it at that?”

  I nodded and grinned at Owen. “We can. How did you find this place? I went to Doyle’s a few times but never noticed a restaurant on the corner.”

  “A couple of the guys have been here before. They said the food was good and it had a little privacy. It would be easier to have a nice dinner without hearing people scream OT all over the place.” Owen rolled his eyes and I giggled.

  “I’m sorry if I made you think I looked down on you because you played hockey. I hear you’re really amazing.” I didn’t want to ruin our wonderful night by telling him about the ice jock from my past who made me so bitter toward men on skates.

  Owen gave me a warm smile. “I’m all right. You should come to one of the games. Next home game is Thursday night.”

  I gazed up at his adorably hopeful eyes. “Would you like me to go?”

  A slow smile spread on Owen’s lips as he nodded. “Would I like a beautiful girl in the stands only there to see me? Yeah. I’d like that a lot.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” I smiled and went back to perusing the menu.

  Owen laughed and shook his head.

  “What’s so funny?” I dropped my menu and scowled across the table.

  Owen leaned across the tiny table and whispered, “In the rare moment you let a compliment sink in, you blush.” Owen dragged his finger down my cheek. “It’s pretty sexy.”

  My skin tingled along the trail of Owen’s touch. Once I let my silly insecurities go, the bad memories started to fade, and the real Owen Thompson was pretty sexy himself.

  After dinner, Owen took me by the hand and led us outside where the night air had a little chill to it. We strode to the corner where his car was parked.

  “So tell me something about yourself that no on
e else knows.”

  My brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t we wait until the second date before we share our deep dark secrets?”

  Owen’s lips twitched. “Nice to know I have a second date already lined up. I must’ve made a good impression. Doesn’t have to be deep, we can talk about skeletons in the closets around the fourth date or so.”

  “Fourth? Someone’s ambitious, aren’t they?” I smirked at Owen.

  “Hopeful. Ambitious. Whatever you’d like to call it.” He shrugged as we strolled on the deserted street. Upstate New York at ten o’clock at night was a world of difference from New York City. The sleepy town went to bed much earlier than I was used to.

  “I keep journals,” I blurted. Owen’s brows drew together. He stopped walking and faced me.

  “Like a diary? That’s your secret?” He chuckled.

  “No, not a diary. I write in a journal when I get upset. It’s always been easier to write on paper what I can’t say out loud. I’ve done it since I was six years old and had to go back and forth between my mother’s house and my father’s on the weekends. My mother gave me my first journal and told me to write until I felt better, but no one knows I still do it. Happy?”

  “Very.” His smile grew wide as we made our way to the car.

  “Why do you have a car if you’re from Savannah? Did you buy it when you got here?” I rubbed at my arms to get warm.

  “It belongs to one of my roommates. We all share it.” Owen wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back. “Are you cold?”

  My heart thundered in my ears from being this close to him. Feeling a little bold, I slid my arms around his waist and nodded. “A little.” I gazed at his warm smile. And those lips. The ones I’d been dreaming about since the first day I laid eyes on him.

  “You are so beautiful,” Owen whispered as he took my face in his hands and rubbed his thumbs back and forth over my cheeks. “When you’re around, I don’t see anyone but you.”

  My eyes rolled as I fought the twitch of a smile. “Wow, you Southern boys sure know how to sweet talk a girl.”

  Owen chuckled. “I only speak the truth. You outshine everyone to me. You’re bright … like a sky full of stars.”

  I was teasing him for being a Coldplay fan when he brushed his lips against mine. I exhaled a whimper as his tongue trailed along my bottom lip. Losing myself in the wet warmth of his mouth, a groan escaped my throat as I pulled him closer. God, he tasted so damn good. Tingles exploded all over my body over just one kiss.

  “I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long.” I cringed as my confession slipped out. Owen nipped his way down my neck and I felt his smile against my shoulder.

  “I wouldn’t have stopped you.” He dragged his thumb across my bottom lip. “I would never say no to those lips. Every time you explained ledgers to me, my eyes were glued to your mouth. Do you know you nibble your bottom lip when you concentrate?” Owen tugged on my lip with his teeth. “I wanted to do that,” he whispered against my mouth.

  Good Lord, I was a puddle at his feet. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to climb him like a tree right there on the sidewalk.

  He gave me a soft peck and groaned. “I better get you back. If I keep kissing you, I’ll never want to stop.”

  “So,” I whispered as I threaded my fingers in his hair. My breaths were quick and shallow as I pulled him closer. “Don’t.”

  Owen backed me against the truck door and brought his lips back to mine. Between his very talented mouth and his rock hard body pressed so close, I would’ve happily spent the rest of my life pinned there.

  I fought a whimper as he pulled away. His eyes were still shut as he chuckled. “Don’t tempt me, City.”

  Owen laced our fingers together and brought my hand to his lips to kiss the inside of my wrist. “Still cold? I think you should be nice and warm by now.” His mouth twisted in a smirk, his eyes still dark. I was more than warm—I was boiling hot. No one had kissed me like that before. Sadly, the only one who had ever kissed me was Christian, and he didn’t have much more experience than I did. Not to say it was bad, I thought I loved him at the time and it was nice. But in all the time we were together, my body was never on fire the way it was now. After only one kiss, I ached for Owen. I wanted his lips and hands everywhere. I needed to take a step back before I lost all control and things went too fast.

  Owen opened my car door and I slid onto the passenger seat. After he closed the door, my cheeks started to hurt from the big smile plastered across my face. Owen started the engine and let out a chuckle before driving off.

  “If I knew I’d put that kind of a smile on your face, I would have kissed you when I first wanted to.”

  I crossed my arms as I gave him a playful glare. “And when was that?”

  “The first day I met you. The scowl on your gorgeous face, plus the bad attitude.” Owen let out an exaggerated sigh. “It all did things to me.” I laughed.

  He picked up my hand and laced our fingers together. “Still does,” Owen whispered as the same goofy grin spread across his face.

  We pulled up to the front of the dorms and Owen opened my door. The Southern gentleman thing was sweet—and seriously hot.

  “It’s sweet of you, but you don’t have to walk me.” I dug my keys out of my purse as we strolled to the door.

  “I know you can take care of yourself, but I wouldn’t feel right. Unless you don’t want me to kiss you again. Because if not, that’s—” I fisted the collar of Owen’s shirt with both hands and interrupted him with a heated kiss.

  I pulled back and he chuckled against my lips. “Point taken.” He gave me a soft kiss before backing away. “See you tomorrow?”

  “Yep.” I fumbled for the correct key and turned back to Owen. “And Thursday. I can’t wait to see the great OT in action.”

  “And I can’t wait to look in the stands and see your beautiful face.” Owen leaned against the car and beamed at me.

  “I’ll make sure to sit away from the rest of the fan club so I don’t get lost in the crowd.” I winked and his lips curved into a smile.

  “I could never lose you in a crowd. Good night, Bella.”

  “Good night, Owen.”

  I got inside and ran up the stairs. Laura still wasn’t home. I peeled off my jacket and flopped on my bed. I closed my eyes as I ran my fingers over my swollen lips.

  Three kisses. Four more dates. I had a brand new reason to love numbers now.

  Bella

  “THIS IS SO AWESOME!” LAURA whispered as she sat next to me. She shivered as she rubbed her arms to get warm. “And cold! Is it supposed to be freezing in here?”

  I shrugged, my eyes glued to the ice looking for my, my … Owen—whatever he was. He told me to make sure I sat behind the bench. “The rinks Christian played on always were. I guess to keep the ice cold, maybe?”

  Laura narrowed her eyes at me. “You went to every game?”

  Recalling my unwavering support for the boy who dropped me like a hot potato irritated the shit out of me. “When I could. My dad never let me go to the ones too far away.”

  Laura shook her head at me. “He didn’t deserve you, Bella. This déjà vu has to irk you a little.”

  I shut my eyes and nodded. “But looking back, at least toward the end, Christian didn’t care much if I went to his games or not. Owen’s been excited that I was coming today. At least he seemed to be.”

  “We agreed to not bring up the asshole who shall not be mentioned because it puts his bad energy out there. Owen is very much into you and makes no effort to hide it. Don’t make ‘you know who’ cast shadows of doubt on the new hotness in your life.” Laura patted my hand as her eyes darted around the rink.

  “True.” I turned to Laura and bumped her arm. “Thanks for coming with me. I didn’t want to sit in the stands alone, with … them.” I motioned to Christine, her friend Amber, and a couple of other nameless bimbos hanging on the railing hoping for the same glimpse I was. When they started pointing and gigglin
g, I knew the players were coming out.

  “Don’t mention it. Plus, OT isn’t the only thing nice to look at down there. I can ogle without seeming pathetic because I’m morally supporting Owen Thompson’s girlfriend.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.” I chuckled while Laura pursed her lips at me.

  “Oh please. I’ve seen you holding hands and making out enough times. What would you call you guys, then?”

  That was a damn good question. I put my face in my hands and pinched the bridge of my nose. Owen occupied my head for most of the day—and a good amount of the night—but it was hard to not keep pushing him away to arm’s length.

  “Hey, City! I need a kiss for luck!” Owen called from inside the tunnel between the benches, his mouth ticked up in a smirk. All eyes traveled to me, and I wanted to crawl into the nearest hole.

  Leaning forward in my seat, I shook my head. “Surely, the great OT doesn’t need any luck.” I crossed my arms and glared at him from my seat.

  He let out a deep sigh and shook his head. “Maybe I don’t need one but I really, really want one. Why don’t you stop with the sass and bring those gorgeous lips down here so I can start my game.” Owen’s heated gaze made me almost forget we were at a rink full of people.

  Laura gasped and kicked my ankle. “Get over there,” Laura growled at me. “This is like a scene from a John Hughes movie.” She pushed me out of my seat so hard I almost slipped onto the floor in front of me.

  I strode over to the tunnel, feeling a hundred pairs of eyes on my back. “I’m going to kill you,” I whispered in Owen’s ear and he chuckled. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in for a quick but passionate kiss. He nibbled on my bottom lip as he pulled away.

  My eyes were still closed when we broke apart. “Can I take my sass back to my seat now?” I gave him a quick peck as his emerald eyes twinkled.

  He put his helmet over his head and nodded. “You go ahead. Now that’s how I’d like to start every game.” Owen skated back to the bench with a self-satisfied grin. He was a cocky, but sexy, jerk on skates.

  It was a shame Owen had no NHL aspirations. From the little I knew about hockey, Owen was pretty amazing. I tracked the white twenty-three on the back of his maroon jersey all over the ice, and the passion he played with gave me chills. Laura headed back to the dorms as I waited for Owen outside after the game.