Jurassic Love

Chapter 12

Owen disappeared for the rest of the day, and I wasn't entirely  sure where he went.

"Rosie? Have you seen Grady?" Barry asked me. I was observing Barry's interactions and making notes from above the catwalk. The raptors were bored as being an assistant, Barry could only do simple commands with them, and they missed Owen too.

"God knows. Anyway it's 6:30, I'm going to head to dinner. I'll see you tomorrow Barry." I called.

"Are you eating with Claire?" He shouted, causing me to laugh.

"No, I'm eating alone tonight." I laughed, "but try her place." I told him before beginning the walk back to my bungalow.

The sky was getting a little deeper, but the evening sun still shone low in the sky. My mind was wandering as I strolled, so much that I didn't even see that the path that led directly to my front door was littered with brightly coloured petals. Weird, considering that there were no flowers, only open greenland. I thought not a lot of it, but with heightened curiosity carried on the path, thinking of the microwave meal I was going to devour in front of Desperate Housewives Costa Rica. It wasn't until I got to Owen's bungalow that I realised the flowers were a trail, leading straight to the edge of the river where Owen was standing, looking nervous and staring right at me.

"What's going on?" I asked Owen, but he stayed silent and came towards me.

"Shush. I mean, no. I mean... Please just hear me out, okay? Take a seat." Owen gulped and led me over to the bench where he'd put small candles in beer bottles, making me smile at the effort he had put in.

"Listen, Rosie, I'm really not good with words, and... like... I'm really not good with the whole romance thing either..." He stammered, making me giggle at his cuteness.

"Owen, it's okay, I don't mind. Just carry on." I encouraged him, reaching out and taking his hand. He looked at me hopefully.

"Okay. I just... I'm really sorry. For everything. For being an asshole when you first got here, to getting you drunk and kissing you... Actually I'm not sorry for that." He said, making me laugh, "I'm sorry for being an overall dick, and confusing you and I realised today when that kid was flirting with you, is that..." He took a deep breath, "is that I.. I like you, Rosie, and when I saw that you and that kid were flirting I... I realised that I didn't have you, and I wasn't okay with that." My heart started hammering like a butterfly trapped in my ribcage.

"Owen..." I began, lost for words.

"Its fine if you don't feel the same, I just... I don't know, just thought I should tell you." He was so nervous it was adorable.

"Owen, of course I feel the same. I really like you too, and I was never interested in Zach, and I never will be. Not when there's you." Owen suddenly stood up, pulling me with him. By now, the evening was mellowing, and the sun was just sinking down into the ocean beyond us.

"Well I guess we better stick together." He said with a smirk, pulling us together. I placed my hands on his chest and smiled. His face came closer to mine, but I stopped, pulling away from him.

"Wait. Before anything happens, I need to know what we are. I can't keep-"

"Do you really think that after all that you're going to be anything less than my girlfriend?" He said as if it were obvious.

"Wow, okay." I said, not being able to hold back my grin. I moved my face closer to his so our noses were just touching. His hands were rubbing soft circles on my arm and I could hear the delicate sound of the water so close to us.

"How does it feel knowing you're the first girl to tame Owen Grady?"

"You have no idea." I said before kissing him passionately. It wasn't rushed or greedy, it was sweet and loving and it should have been our first kiss. Getting lost in the moment, I began fiddling with the buttons on his shirt but he stopped me.