He said those things without hesitation, blatant with his wants and feelings. But I was scared. Afraid he saw me as some type of saviour, that he had put me on a pedestal and associated me with the person I used to be. I told him as much.

“Yes and no,” he replied. “When you left, I wasn’t in a good place. I became really unwell, mentally. Eventually, I began therapy, and that helped a lot. It took me a long time, but I finally got to a place where I was an individual outside of loving you. It gave me a new sense of identity. I never stopped wanting you… But I can survive without you, if that makes sense.”

“It does. And I’m happy you found that.”

I spared him a shy smile, and then my eyes caught on his. I hadn’t realised how close we were, our meaningful conversation bringing us together like a pair of magnets. Our shoulders were aligned side by side, with his face so near I could feel his breath against my skin.

Heat raised from the close proximity, and as my gaze hooked on his mouth, I bit into my lip to prevent from biting into his.

Owen held no reservation, raising his thumb to free my lip. My short, shallow breaths puffed against his palm—which he didn’t miss.

He advanced in slow motion, giving me ample opportunity to pull away. I didn’t want to. As he angled his neck toward me, my lashes fluttered closed against my cheeks, waiting for that supple caress I hadn’t experienced in so long. That I hadn’t wanted in so long.

Yet, now I was desperate, as if a raging inferno had been ignited after years of lying dormant.

Then, his lips finally met mine, the pressure subtle and chaste. It was nice, but not what I wanted. Owen must have caught on from my frustrated huff as he cupped my jaw, leaned in closer and moulded his mouth to mine.

It was a strange sensation, the contact familiar and different at the same time, but pleasant. More than pleasant. I couldn’t help but return it in kind. There was no tongue, lip-biting or panting moans, but that didn’t stop another puzzle piece from clicking into place.

Owen had unlocked a hunger I was longing to explore… Only with him. After a few seconds of modest kissing, he sighed in complete contentment, then gave me his signature sideways smile.

I was melting, our eyes clashing together in a show of fresh passion.

That’s when two distinct voices cut in. “Ewwwwwww.”

Austin and Cooper’s interruption had me dropping to my back, giggling. Caught red-handed. Owen followed suit, holding his stomach as laughter took over.

The disruptive duo then ran off to conspire world domination, leaving us to think on our shared moment.