While I'm Alive (An Owen Grady Story)

Chapter Six

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Not gonna have time to post tomorrow so here it is! See you guys in a week! :D

-Nikki

CHAPTER SIX

"THEN I REALIZED I WAS AN IDIOT, SOMETHING THAT WAS HAPPENING A LOT LATELY AND I ATTRIBUTED SOLEY TO OWEN GRADY'S EXISTENCE"

SONG TO LISTEN TO: YOUNG AND UNAFRAID BY THE MOTH AND THE FLAME

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"There she is!" Denny grinned at me when I rushed in through the patio gate, shrugging off my jacket.

"Sorry! The monorail was running late today." I apologized, balling my jacket up and stuffing it into the cubby underneath the bar. I didn't bother to add that I'd also almost missed the train because I'd been too busy staring at myself in the mirror deciding if I should wear my hair down or not. Then I realized I was an idiot, something that was happening a lot lately and I attributed solely to Owen Grady's existence. I ended up throwing my hair into a bun before racing out the door and just barely making it to the platform in time.

Denny glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Five minutes late, not exactly a crime."

I gave him a smile. "Yeah, well I've had plenty of other bosses who thought otherwise."

"Lucky for you I'm not one of them. Anyways, I have about five pounds of paperwork that need done. I'll be in the office, just holler if you need anything." He squeezed my shoulder as he sidled past, heading through the swinging door that led through the kitchen to his office in the back.

I let out a soft sigh, putting my hands on my hips as I surveyed the bar and wrote up a list in my head of what needed to be done before the dinner rush hit. Like clockwork, the restaurant was packed every single night right around six. I'd never worked in a bar before where things were so consistent and steady. Violet hadn't been wrong when she told me I'd make out tip wise. Most nights I left with at least two hundred bucks in my pocket. I was developing quite a healthy savings, considering there wasn't much on the island to spend it on unless I wanted to pay for overpriced food and merchandise.

I disappeared back into the muggy kitchen, waving at the cooks on duty before grabbing some lemons and limes from the cooler to cut up for drinks. When I emerged back into the bar, Owen Grady was sitting comfortably at my bar like he'd been there for hours. He grinned when he saw me.

"What up, new girl!"

I playfully rolled my eyes. "When are gonna stop calling me that?" I set the container of fruits down on the bar, wiping my hands on the back of my jeans.

He shrugged. "When you stop being one."

"Okay, and how much longer will that be?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

He shrugged again, this time giving me one of his signature smirks. "Whenever I decide you aren't."

"Wow, so that could potentially be anywhere from tomorrow to five years from now?" I asked and was pleased when he let out a loud laugh. "You need something? Food? A drink?"

"Some food. They ran out of taco shells for Taco Tuesday in the cafeteria, so this is my second option." He grabbed one of the plastic toothpicks I used to spear olives from the cup in front of me and started bending it.

"Taco Tuesday, huh?" I asked, pulling out the cutting board and knife from behind the bar's doubled sided sink. "I didn't even know that existed here."