Way Back into Love ↪ Owen Grady

twenty ↪ CEO of bullshit

    Owen's bungalow was finally on sight. Walking all the way from the park was probably not the best idea. Especially not with only two hours of sleep carrying me on. The lights of his caravan were off, a sign that he was still sleeping. I smiled to myself and placed the breakfast take-out on the outdoor picnic table. Unsure of how to wake him up, I grabbed my phone and decided to call him. He picked up after quite some time, his voice raspy and deep. — "Hello?"

    "Morning, sleepy" I shyly spoke.

    "Hey you" he mumbled under his breath, his tone softened when he realized it was me. "What time is it?"

    "It's, uh, six-thirty?"

    "Six-thirty?! Go to sleep, weirdo" he joked.

    I snorted. "Get up and come out here, breakfast is getting cold"

    "Out here?"

    It took him a few minutes to get up and open the caravan's door. He twisted his face when his eyes met the sunrays, his hair ruffled for having just woken up. When he saw me, he smiled a cute smile with his eyes still struggling to stay open. — "What are you doing here?"

    "I worked the night shift with Roger and he-"

    "You worked the night shift with Roger?" he let out a throaty laugh.

    I playfully shrugged with a smile. Owen closed the caravan's door behind him and jumped off the stairs. We didn't talk much during breakfast, being the both of us still sleepy. I waited for him to properly get dressed and hopped on his jeep, ready for the day. Kinda.

    "So, Roger, huh?" Owen turned the key and started the vehicle.

    "Right? But, hey, good news: Michael can't actually fire you!"

    "That's why you couldn't sleep?" he threw me a side glance, his lips curving up into a smug.

    "Who says I couldn't sleep?"

    "You spent the night doing security checks with Roger. How much did you sleep? Five hours? Six?"

    "Two actually" I nonchalantly answered.

    "What?! How are you even active right now?" Owen goofily quirked an eyebrow, a stifled laugh slipping out of his lips.

    "I'm not sure if I'm actually awake or just dreaming"

    Owen eyed me with a smirk I couldn't quite read. The radio started playing a catchy happy song, that soon blasted through the tiny speakers, as we made our way to the raptor's enclosure. I smiled like an idiot at how every song somehow made me think of him. Was it what falling for someone felt like? I gazed up at Owen, a cute look on his face as he was focused on driving.

    "What" he eyed me for a brief second, a faint smile lighting up his face. The thing about Owen is that he never only smiled with his lips, his eyes would light up and smile along most of the time.

    "Nothing" I shyly looked away, the features of his face printed in my memory as I looked over at the sunny sky.

   "Mh-mh" he hummed with an almost unnoticeable snort. "Blue can be a little cranky in the morning, she can be such a girl sometimes"

    "Should I take offense to that?" I laughed.

    "I love her anyway" he shrugged light-heartedly. "So, no, you shouldn't"

    The raptor's enclosure was surprisingly calm and empty. After we hopped off the jeep, I stopped in my tracks. All the memories of that night flowing back in. I had almost lost him. But then he kissed me though. Contrasting feelings made me feel heavy and odd. A warm pressure on my hand snapped me back to reality immediately. Owen intertwined his fingers and mine together, his gaze steady on me as he did so.

    He carried me to the enclosure and only let go of the grip when he had to slide his security ID card and unlock the gate.

.

    "Look at her" I poked Owen, he followed my sight and grinned.

    "She loves me, it's adorable" he mocked.

    "Excuse me? She loves me, you smell" I teased as I pushed him back a little and walked into the enclosure first.

    "Hello there, pretty" I greeted Blue and offered her my hand to sniffle so she would recognize me, which she did right after. "Told you, she loves me"

    Owen rolled his eyes and fed all four raptors in within a few minutes. At some point, a laugh slipped from his lips for some reason. "Echo has a thing for you"

    "I'm not really into dinosaurs, I mean, romantically speaking"

    "What are you into?" Owen slowly stepped dangerously closer, pinning my body against the bars with his own.

    "Human beings?" I joked. He snorted real loud, breaking the atmosphere completely.

    "Such a cute little scene" a familiar voice interrupted with a very annoying tone. Michael. Owen rolled his eyes, I just sighed.

    "What do you want" I deadpanned.

    "Just checking employees and how they do their job. Not quite the efficiency here." Michael looked at Owen dead in the eyes.

    "The raptors are fed, cleaned up, and the exhibit is in order. The only inefficient thing here is your face" I shot. Owen tried not to laugh but eventually pretended to correct me.

    "What she meant is-" he took the lead. "We did our job correctly and are now heading to other paddocks for a security check"

    "I didn't tell you, Grady? You're up for some T-Rex fun this morning" Mikey humorlessly laughed with a face I would've liked to slap. "Elle, you're dismissed. Go do something elsewhere."

    "I'm not going anywhere without Owen" I challenged boldly.

    "I'm convinced he doesn't want you around this time, am I right Grady?" Mikey continued with the same obnoxious tone, trying to hide how angry he actually was. What a turd.

    Owen reached out for my hand. "You heard her. She's coming with me."

    It caught me off guard how he agreed to me going in the T-Rex enclosure with him. The way he supported me and stood up for me. And all in front of Mikey, whose shocked face was no more than visible.

    "You're putting her in danger? Just like that?" the jerk laughed.

    I could sense Owen growing uneasy. He probably didn't think it through, but I didn't mind. I knew he would never put me in any danger. I tightened the grip on his hand and gazed up at him with a small smile. — "I guess I'm lucky to have his protection, what can I say"

    Owen's half-hearted smile after that spoke louder than words. The way he looked at me made me weak to my knees. How could someone say so much with just his eyes? He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulder instead, pulling me into a side hug.

    "Such a pity I decide what you do. Grady, T-Rex enclosure. Jones, breeding lab" Michael challenged before happily walking away.

    "He can do that?!"