Once again, I wished that I could dig deeper into Owen’s backstory, but he kept his life zipped up. I guess I was used to having guys spew their autobiography at me without any prompting. Maybe I was enjoying the foreign feeling of being the center of attention during our sessions?
Then again, maybe I was as pathetic as a guy at a strip club, convinced the dancer was into him instead of realizing that he was paying for the pleasure of her company?
“Right, Brooke?”
I’d been so in my head about what I was to Owen that I didn’t hear what he’d said.
“Sorry, what was that?”
Meredith leaned closer to me, wearing the world’s biggest shit-eating grin. “He said you’re going to sign up for the New York Parks Pickleball Tournament!”
Chapter Twenty
“Oh, no way.”
I scooted my chair back from the table, like I needed to move away from the veryideaof competing in a tournament.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” Owen cajoled. “Plus you need a goal.” He paused. “I mean, you already have the Kai goal, but it helps to have something, uh, tangible that you’re working toward.”
“I love it,” Meredith said gleefully. “I’ll be in the front row, cheering you on.”
“As if I have thetimeto focus on something like a tournament,” I snipped back. “I have a pretty pressing deadline to worry about, you know.”
Owen stacked the dishes in front of him and put his elbows on the table like he was an attorney entering the negotiation phase. “That’s just it; you don’t have to worry about it—you just do it. It’s nothing more than a way to push yourself and achieve a goal. A deadline of sorts. Which you’re used to.”
Yeah, I was way too familiar with deadlines, particularly the missing them aspect.
Thankfully, before the argument could continue, our wan, disinterested waitress came back to see if we wanted dessert, which Meredith ordered for us without asking what we wanted like she was a douchey dude trying to impress a date. Shestarted gathering her things the moment the waitress turned to walk away.
“Fun night, guys. I need to head out.”
“Wha... why? You just ordered the entire dessert menu,” I sputtered at the thought of eating a chocolate bombe alone with Owen in a romantic restaurant.
“Colton got out of his dinner meeting early. I’m going to his place, so text me how much I owe and I’ll Venmo you, Brookie.”
It was then I realized that she’d planned to duck out before the end of the meal, to give me time alone with Owen.
“Don’t forget tosay yesto seconds. Byyeeeeee,” she sang as she stood up and tucked her Dog Eared bag under her arm.
I glowered at her as she flitted away.
“She’s a trip,” Owen said. “How long have you two been friends?”
“College. We hated each other at first. I thought she was a stuck-up Connecticut girl, and she thought I was a weird nerd. Turns out, we were both right, and opposites do attract.”
“So you’re claiming nerd status?”
I snorted. “You’ve spent the last few weeks with me—what doyouthink?”
He leaned back in his chair and looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. “I think you’re a puzzle,” he said softly.
On paper, it wasn’t necessarily a compliment, but the way he said it sure made it feel that way.
The waitress came back and dropped off two cut glass tumblers filled with amber liquid. “Your friend ordered these on the way out. Enjoy.”
We’d downed beer and sangria throughout the meal, and thelast thing we needed was more alcohol, but Meredith clearly wanted us in an altered state as we finished the night together.
“Bottoms up, I guess,” Owen said as he raised his tumbler and leaned closer to me.
