Page 46 of Sparrow

"They need me at the office. I would feel so bad… with the role I'm filling now… Addison's not coming back from maternity leave for another three weeks. She's talking about not coming back at all."

"Yeah, that's for my dad, but what do you want?"

"Oh, my gosh, Owen, I definitely want you, but—"

"Shh, don't say but. Just leave it at you want me, and we can talk about California later."

He licked his lips. He had to reign it in, use restraint. He leaned down to kiss Corey, and she needed no further encouragement. She stretched upward, throwing her arms around his neck, and drawing him close to her, not being shy at all.

"Are you kissing me finally?" she asked.

Owen felt like he might actually burst. He picked her up, off of her feet. He held her comfortably by the waist, leaning back and letting her weight rest on his chest while he walked them over to the couch in the upstairs living room. She laughed a little as she took the ride, and it sounded like music to his ears. Justthe sound of the happiness in that tone made his heart so full. He wanted to hear this giggle in his ear for the rest of his life.

He fell onto the corner of the couch, keeping her in his grasp. She turned in his lap and leaned up to kiss him. Their lips touched, and he felt like he could just melt into her. She opened her mouth to him, and ohh… Owen readjusted, holding her, kissing her, letting their mouths move in a gentle rhythm that had him on the brink of some high point. Her tongue. Her tongue slid against his, and the way she sucked on his lip made him…Where did she learn to kiss like this?

It was the perfect kiss. It felt just like a kiss should feel. There had never been such perfect passion exchanged, it was gentle and solid. There was the right amount of everything—movement, warmth, passion, and restraint. The feel of it was like nothing Owen had ever experienced.

The pace had just started to become more heart-pumping when Owen heard footsteps. He stopped the kiss abruptly, but then he pulled Corey toward himself when she started to scramble off of his lap.

"Don't. You don't have to move."

It was a huge couch and she was nestled there, sort of halfway on Owen's leg when Caroline came into the room with her friend from college.

"What are you guys doing up here with no TV on?" Caroline asked.

"Don't ask them what they're doing," her friend said.

"Thank you, Lila, my sister needs to learn manners."

"You're in my side of the house, I can comment."

"I'm staying here tonight."

"I know, but it's fair game for me to comment." She leaned over and retrieved the remote from the coffee table and tossed it onto the couch with them. "There's that, if you want to look like you're actually doing something if Mom comes up here."

"I'm a grown man, so Mom would probably be okay with me kissing my lady, but thank you."

"We're going out," she said, smiling and rolling her eyes at her brother.

"Have fun," Owen said.

"Yeah, have fun," Corey added.

The two of them kept walking, going downstairs, and Owen grabbed the remote, turning on the television. He took a minute to find a movie, and Corey crawled to the other end of the couch to retrieve a blanket and an extra pillow or two for them. She stood and carried it back in her arms, tossing the pillows to spots near Owen before climbing onto the couch to sit with him again.

Owen turned on one of Keanu's movies because he had some stories about it that he knew Corey would appreciate. They mostly watched the movie. They got distracted some of the time, but that was how it went when two people were so in love.

Chapter 18

Corey

Later that same night

We had watched an old Keanu Reeves movie earlier, and then we put on two other movies. All of them were action. That third movie was really just background noise, anyway, because we talked and kissed each other most of the way through it. Both of us dreaded him leaving in the morning, and we wanted to make the most of every moment. The third movie was nearly over when I rested my head on his chest and stared dazedly at the screen. I stayed that way for the last fifteen minutes of the movie, feeling so exhausted and in love.

Just like that, the credits started rolling, and I felt Owen's big hand rubbing my shoulder.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

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