Page 26 of Overachiever
After the way the weekend started, I shouldn’t be surprised Owen’s plan for Sunday is to sleep in and lie around, but that’s not going to happen.
“Get up! We need to be early.”
“Early for what?” he groans, rolling over and pulling a pillow over his head.
“You’ll see. Get up right now and get your ass in the truck or I swear I’ll never blow you again.”
Now he’s up. And dressed. And headed out to the truck grumbling and calling me “Ms. Bossy Pants.”
“I’m driving,” I announce, snatching the keys.
“I kind of like when you order me around like that,” he teases, climbing into the passenger seat.
The parking lot of the bookstore is crowded and prevents him from seeing the poster on the door. “I know it’s a little early ,but I got you something for your birthday.” Reaching in my bag, I pull out a book and hand it to him.
A smile leaps to his face as he accepts it. “I forgot this released this weekend! Thank you!”
“I noticed it was written by that cosmologist you fanboy over in all those videos. I thought you’d like it.”
“Excuse me. Dr. Kendra Mire is the top theoretical cosmologist and one of the smartest people on the planet. I respect her and her work. I do not fanboy.”
I nod and tilt my head toward the bookstore. “So, you probably wouldn’t be interested in meeting her and getting your book signed then?”
It’s too bad I didn’t record this moment because the myriad of expressions that chase each other across his face are priceless. “She’s here? Like in there? Right now?” The volume and pitch of his voice has climbed into dog whistle territory. His excitement is so cute. “I can’t believe this! I have so many questions. Oh my god, what am I going to say to her?”
He babbles on as we walk through the glass doors and into the bookstore, but falls silent when he sees her sitting at a table. She looks like any nice older woman you’d meet on the street, but Owen is staring at her like she might not be real. There’s one woman in front of us as we approach the table, and I swear I hear Owen mumble “just be cool” under his breath.
I’m not sure exactly what Owen’s idea of cool is but I doubt it’s screaming “Hi!” in the poor woman’s face so loud she flinches. Her sudden forced smile melts into a real one as he talks a hundred miles per hour.
“It’s such an honor to meet you! I’ve read all your books and watched your lectures. Not in person, of course, on Youtube, though I’d love to hear you lecture in person. The way you explain entropy and the uniting of particle physics and cosmology, I mean, it literally lets us look back in time, before we existed as anything but matter itself, do you understand that? Oh shit, of course you understand that, you wrote about it. Sorry.” Owen pauses to take a breath when I catch his hand and squeeze it.
“Don’t be sorry,” she says with a chuckle, grinning at him. “It’s good to see someone so enthusiastic about the universe. I’ve always felt the same way. Are you a cosmology student?”
“Astronomy. I’m more interested in the universe as a whole rather than its origins and likely fate. I have no idea what career I’m going to make out of it yet, though.” A line is forming behind us, and I nudge his hand that’s gripping the book. “Oh, um, will you sign this, please?”
She takes it from his hand, smiling up at him. “I’d be happy to. What’s your name?”
“Owen.”
Her hand moves quickly to scribble inside the cover, and he seems at a loss of what to do or say next, which is a first for him.
“Do you think he could get a quick picture with you?” I ask.
“Of course!”
Owen’s face is pure joy when she stands beside him, and I take their picture. The line has grown long behind us, and we need to go. After he thanks her and says goodbye, she offers him some advice.
“I didn’t know what career I wanted at your age either. Let the stars guide you. You’ll find your way. Your enthusiasm will get you there. It was a joy meeting you.”
Owen’s lost in his head when we exit and doesn’t speak until we get near the truck. I’m grabbed around the waist and lifted off my feet. My legs and arms instinctively wrap around him, and he hugs me so tight I can’t breathe.
“That was amazing! I can’t believe you did this for me. Do you know how long I’ve wanted to meet her?” Before I can reply, he kisses the hell out of me. “Thank you, Remee.”
My chest swells with feeling that should alarm me, but I won’t let it. He’s happy and it makes me happy. “You’re welcome. Happy early birthday.”
Standing me on my feet, he slides his hands under either side of my jaw and looks into my eyes. For a few seconds, I think he’s going to say something I’m both terrified of and aching to hear. I’m not thinking clearly. I’m caught up in the emotions of the moment. We both are.Friends who have sex. A summer fling, Remee, that’s all. That’s all it can be.
“Rem?” His voice is low, and his thumb strokes across my cheek.
