Page 134 of Wish You Were Mine
Just…me. Lucy.
His eyes dropped to my lips, and I felt the tension rise between us, last night’s kiss hanging in the space between us like a secret we couldn’t stop replaying.
“So…” He cleared his throat. “You wanted to talk about what happened last night?”
I nodded. “I just wanted to check in…see how you were doing.” I looked down at my hands, my heartbeat pulsing in my temples. “I know yesterday was kind of unplanned, and I really don’t want to put you in a weird position or mess with your job or anything, but…” I took a breath, nerves bubbling up as I added, “In case it’s not obvious, I kind of have the teensiest bit of a crush on you.”
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot, too—” Owen let out a soft breath, his gaze holding mine. “My job, the rules, what could happen if we’re not careful.” He paused, his voice quieter as he added, “But the truth is…I’m not really sure I’m able to stay away from you at this point.”
“Really?” My chest tightened as I searched his face. “You mean that?”
“I do,” he said, his voice low, his eyes searching mine. “And in case it wasn’t obvious…I might have a little crush on you, too.”
“Just a little crush?” I tilted my head up at him, giving him a look.
His grin widened, making his eyes crinkle at the corners. “Maybe a little more than a little.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest, soft and bright, like sunlight breaking through a cloudy sky. “Me too.”
We were quiet for a bit, the moment filled with tenderness and something undefined. Something that made it hard to look away, but also hard to speak. Because what else could we really say? We were tiptoeing through uncharted waters—something we never should’ve started—but neither of us had the strength to stop.
Owen sighed and looked at me for a long moment, then gently pulled me closer. His hand slid along my back, grounding and warm, as he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.
“We’ll figure this out,” he murmured, his voice low and steady against my skin.
I exhaled, my eyes fluttering closed as I rested my head against his chest. His heartbeat thudded steadily beneath my cheek, the faint scent of his cologne lingering in the fabric of his shirt. And for that moment, I let myself just melt into him.
Enveloped.
Warmed.
Wanted.
Because no matter where we went from here, for tonight, just having him hold me like this was enough.
42
LUCY
Owenand I were both swamped over the next few weeks. He was buried in his lecture load, lab hours, and the mountain of grant paperwork he was tackling with Dean Harris. As for me, I was juggling midterms, a pile of marketing projects, and trying to add a higher-difficulty pass to my floor routine—something that could boost my score enough to (hopefully) qualify for Nationals on my own, in case our team didn’t make it.
Instead of traveling for meets those weekends, we lucked out with the last two of February being close to home—a tri-meet in New Haven and a home meet against George Washington. The break from travel gave me a little more breathing room…and a few more chances to see Owen on the weekends, even if we still had to keep things careful.
At school, we kept our distance. Not that it stopped my stomach from flipping every time our eyes met across the lecture hall or chemistry lab. But at night, after study sessions or late practices, he’d walk me home.
And even when the wind bit at my cheeks and mybackpack dug into my shoulders, those walks were my favorite part of the day.
Because even without holding hands or stealing kisses in public, I loved being with him. Talking. Laughing. Listening to him share his hopes for his research project with that quiet, focused kind of excitement that made me feel lucky just to witness it.
Did I understand all the chemistry jargon? Not even close. But I loved the way his face lit up when he talked about it. The way his voice took on this low, animated tone, almost giddy in a still-totally-masculine kind of way, like he couldn’t help but be swept up in what he loved.
On the first Wednesday in March, after another long day, we were walking side by side in the quiet chill, the sidewalk shimmering faintly from the earlier rain.
“Do you have more homework waiting for you tonight?” he asked, bumping his shoulder gently into mine like it was second nature.
“A little.” I yawned, tugging my sleeves over my fingers. “But I was thinking of taking a break. Give my brain a rest.”
“Want to come over?” He smiled. “Watch a show or a movie?”
