While I'm Alive (An Owen Grady Story)

Chapter Nine

A/N:

I seriously love this chapter....so much fluff, you guys! Hope you don't mind. Thank you all again for the amazingly kind reviews, they always make my day! Enjoy this one!

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CHAPTER NINE

"IT WOULD BE EASY TO LOSE MYSELF IN HIS EASYGOING PERSONALITY, IN THE WAY HIS ENTIRE BODY LIT UP WHEN HE LAUGHED"

SONG TO LISTEN TO: REFLECTIONS BY MISTERWIVES

It became a regular, normal occurrence to see Owen either at the end of a work shift or standing at my front door. A six-pack in hand only sometimes, but always that excited glow in his eyes and huge grin on his face. As much as I hated to admit, it always gave me a little bit of a thrill to see him there waiting for me, wondering what were going to get up to. So far he hadn't disappointed. Since the parasailing, things had only gotten more extraordinary.

There'd been a waterfall, and Owen convincing me I was brave enough to jump from the cliff and drop the good forty feet into the clear, pool of water below (he was convinced my fear of heights could be vanquished completely with enough practice). Owen showing me where they kept the baby dinosaurs when they weren't out at the petting zoo and letting me play with them. Owen taking one of the park's employee jeeps and speeding along side a pack of ornithomimosaurs. He even convinced me one day that I was confident enough to learn how to drive his motorcycle, which had been a miserable fail but fun while it lasted. He decided it was better for me to give that up, either tired of watching me fall worried about his poor motorcycle.

For the first time since I could remember, I woke up happy and excited every day. I was having the most fun I'd ever had since I was a kid. Even work was fun sometimes. It was more than that, though, and it didn't hit me what the feeling was until I was sitting on Owen's porch having a beer with him and Violet one day. That the island was finally my home. That had been the happiest thought of all.

I suppressed a yawn as I leaned on the bar, doodling on a white beverage napkin. For a weekday afternoon, it was slower than usual.

"This is boring." Emma groaned. She was sitting on one of the bar stools, her back to the bar as she faced the empty patio. The dining room adjacent to the bar was mostly empty as well, only five out of the dozens of tables filled. The other afternoon server, Abby, emerged from the kitchen with a plate of french fries in her hand. She slid the steaming plate onto the bar.

"Figure we could eat since there's nothing else to do." She shrugged. Her dark hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her head, a few escaped pieces framing her face.

"Good plan." I agreed, grabbing a fry and popping it into my mouth.

We'd only been digging into our afternoon snack for about a minute when loud, raucous laughter came from the patio. I glanced up and automatically let out a groan as a group of five guys, who couldn't have been much older than twenty-two, meandered into the restaurant.

Please sit at a table, please sit at a table.

Abby grabbed the plate and gave me an apologetic look before disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Good luck." Emma whispered as she too slid off her stool and abandoned me.

The entire group dropped down onto the recently vacated seats at the bar, still talking loudly and yelling even though they were all right next to one another in the same room. I forced a smile. I knew a group of bad tippers when I saw one.