Page 21 of Owen Gardner is Losing It

“Laugh it up, Brower,” I said with a playful grin. “Everyone else is tonight.”

Her giggling came to a gradual stop as she twirled her hair around her pointer finger. “So the girl Xander mentioned… it must be that older blonde girl, right?”

I nodded and folded my hands between my knees, circling one thumb around the other. “Yeah. But it’s good that it didn’t happen with her. The more I got to know her, the more I realized we’re not really that compatible, anyway. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I wasn’t thinking with my head earlier tonight.”

“At least not the one attached to your neck,” Lena blurted.

“Nope,” I said with a chuckle, studying her face. I could really see her freckles beneath the glow of the incandescent light hanging just above us. There was a slight pinkish tint on her cheekbones, likely there because she’d just subtly made a reference to my–well, myotherhead.

It was cute.

“Your first time should be with someone you care about, anyway,” she said. “Trust me. One of my biggest regrets is how awful my first time was.”

“What was so awful about it?”

“Wrong person. Wrong time. Wrong everything.” She laughed. “It was just completely and utterly… wrong.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It was six months ago, so I’m over it now. Just wish it had been better.”

I squinted, thinking back to the beginning of the school year. There was one guy in particular Lena used to talk to a lot. He was on one of the opposing schools’ academic teams, and he always used to walk over and tell her good luck, despite being our direct competition. I remembered thinking it was a little weird until I saw him kiss her before she got on the bus one time. “Was it that guy from Bedford?” I asked.

Lena covered her eyes with one hand. “Yes, unfortunately.” She removed her hand, looking back at me. “I didn’t know you knew about him.”

Oops. I might have revealed just how much I’d been paying attention to her.

But for some reason, I didn’t care. I couldn’t be sure if it was the way she kept smiling at me, or maybe some lingering drunkenness from before–but I had a sudden burst of courage.

“I notice things,” I said, casually letting my legs fall farther open so my knee touched hers. A deliberate move.

“You notice things?” Lena giggled, and her leg relaxed against mine. “What else have you noticed?”

I studied Lena’s eyes for some indication she was only making conversion–that she wasn’t flirting with me. But all I saw there was a hint of something that reflected my own feelings at that very moment. “You,” I answered.

She drew her eyebrows together in a doubtful stare. “Me? What have you been noticing about me?”

“Well, I… I’ve noticed the way you play with your hair when you talk, for one,” I said, grinning at the way there were a few strands wrapped around her fingers now. She lowered her hand to her lap, laughing at herself, and I continued. “I’ve noticed the way your eyes light up with this energetic fury when you talk about global warming. And I’ve noticed the way you always have your nose in a book when we have free time in Mr. Thomspon’s class. Doesn’t matter if people are throwing a hacky sack over your head. You just tune it out.”

“It’s a skill I’ve mastered over the years,” Lena said, letting out a breathy, nervous chuckle.

“Well, maybe you could teach me.” I held her gaze, focusing on one blue eye and then the other. And then her lips–those pillowy, orangey-pink lips that I imagined tasted as good as they looked.

“Owen,” she said, her voice so low it was almost a whisper. “I’ve wanted you since freshman year.”

My breath seemed to catch in my throat, and my heart nearly beat out of my chest. I focused on the few strands of hair that were yet again covering her left eye, and without hesitation, I reached up to tuck them behind her ear. It was something I’d always dreamt about doing when we studied for our science competitions. And there I was, doing it.

As I lowered my hand to her chin, I allowed myself a few seconds to relish in the way that gesture made her smile.Perfect.Finally, I leaned forward to close the gap between our mouths.

Yes, yes, yes.

Kissing Lena made every moment of this entire ridiculous night worth it. I loved the way she tasted, the way she smelled, and the way her body felt when I wrapped my arms around her waist. She kissed me back with a ferocity I always suspected she had in her, but now I knew for sure.

I gently tugged away just to breathlessly tell her, “I should’ve done that a long time ago.”

“Agreed,” she responded, pulling me back to her for another kiss.

Lips, tongues, teeth, hands–there was a flurry of motion between us, and even Lena’s leg was on top of my lap now. Feeling bold, I let my fingers drift up the bottom of her shirt, giving her ample time to protest if she didn’t like where this was going. A few moments ago, we were merely friends, and now my hand was grazing the bottom of her bra.

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