Clawen ♡ Second Time's the Charm

Chapter 18: About to Osculate

"What the hell are those?" Zach shouted, pointing madly at a rapidly approaching swarm of odd-looking birds as Claire yelled for Owen to step on the gas pedal hard.

"Dimorphodons! And pteranodons!" Gray yelled back before Claire could answer. He grabbed his seat and braced himself. His heart thumped painfully in his chest.

"Dimor-what?! How the hell am I supposed to know what that is?" Zach hollered. He was no dino expert like his younger brother, but even he should have been able to tell that these flying dinosaurs, with their sharp beaks and strong wings, posed serious threats.

"Drive! Drive! Go! Go!" Gray screamed hysterically at Owen. His extremely high pitched scream, which could be mistaken for a girl's, indicated that he had not reached puberty quite yet. But for once, Zach didn't sarcastically comment about it.

Owen steered the Jeep back into the forest where they could take shelter among the many trees. His hands were cold and clammy around the steering wheel, and his foot felt numb on the pedal.

Claire was holding onto his arm with all her might, as if she feared that she would lose him. She turned to face her panicking nephews.

"It'll be fine! Just hold on!" What am I even saying? How would I know if it's gonna be fine or not?

Gray and Zach nodded fearfully at her with wide eyes. Zach figured that in drastic situations like this, even the "coolest" teens would lose their composure. He didn't hesitate to grab onto Gray protectively.

This entire ordeal had taught him many things, but most importantly, it taught him the significance of their brotherhood. And now that he knew how much he loved Gray (despite his usual aloofness), he refused to leave this island without him.

The Jeep crashed into a deep thicket, unseating its four passengers. Zach and Gray held onto one another while Claire buried her face into Owen's shoulder. They held their breaths, waiting for one of the flying dinosaurs to swoop down onto the Jeep and find its victims. But to their ultimate shock and relief, the dinosaurs soared past them.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. That was close. Way too close," Zach gasped. Gray nodded breathlessly.

Just then, a sharp beak shattered the windshield. The two nephews started to shout again. Claire squealed and ducked away as she felt the small shards of glass pierce her skin.

Owen pulled her behind him and found himself face to face with a hungry Pteranodon. It lunged at him with its sharp beak, and seconds before that beak would've stabbed him, Owen managed to grab with firmly with both hands.

He struggled against it, screwing his eyes shut as its beak inched closer to his face. His brain was paralyzed in fear; he was frozen in his seat while the Pteranodon was gradually overpowering him. No, no, no. This is not happening.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The dinosaur let out a strangled yelp before falling limp in Owen's hands. Owen opened his eyes and spun around, panting, toward Zach and Gray. Their eyes were wide, and Zach's mouth hung open dumbly.

Owen stared at them questioningly, and Gray pointed past him with a trembling finger. He was pointing at his aunt, his badass aunt. Seriously, what happened to her while they were gone? Where did their germaphobe-prim-and-proper aunt go? And who was this I-don't-take-no-crap-from-you woman?

Owen turned and felt his heart skip a beat. She was clutching his rifle tightly in her shaking hands. Her skirt was torn, her blouse was smeared with mud, and her red hair was frizzy and knotted. Her chest heaved as she lowered the rifle and met his eyes with hers. Hers were full of relief, of fear, of fury, and of... could it be? Love? No, it couldn't. It couldn't be. Owen, stop imagining things, stop fantasizing.

"Owen," Claire whispered softly. She set his rifle onto the dashboard and brought her hand onto the side of his face, wiping away a few beads of sweat with her thumb. He snapped out of his trance and enveloped her slender hand with his calloused one.

For a moment, the two of them forgot about their surroundings. Zach and Gray disappeared from their view. The Jeep vanished along with the jungle. Both of them were transported temporarily into another world, one overflowing with love, where worries and stresses ceased to exist, where they were free to love each other openly without shame or embarrassment.

Owen leaned down, his eyes never leaving Claire's. She was flushed and trembling as his breath kissed her face. If only his lips would do the same... His touch lit a flame within her, and it warmed her soul, spreading the warmth to the tips of her toes.

She gazed into his beautiful green eyes; she could see the ocean through them. The waves lapped the shore in a tender embrace before pulling back with a teasing wink...

"Can you please save that for the bedroom?!"

The illusion disappeared, and Claire jumped away from Owen, hitting her elbow on the dashboard. Oh, my God. What did I just do? Her cheeks turned red at the sight of her horrified nephews.

Zach's face was screwed up and his jaw hung. Gray had plugged his ears and closed his eyes tightly. He opened them cautiously, saw his aunt blushing, and couldn't resist innocently asking something.

"Were you going to kiss?"

Claire and Owen shared a quick look. Neither of them spoke. Claire licked her lips and avoided her nephews' gazes.

"Of course they were, Gray," Zach said cheekily, now fully recovered from his initial shock. "Aunt Claire had that look in her eyes. Didn't you see?"

"I didn't because I shut my eyes! I didn't want to see anything too gross!" Gray replied. His answers were honest and were not meant to embarrass his aunt any further (even though they did). Zach, however, took every opportunity he received to mortify his aunt as payback for all those times that she forgot to call him or declined a visit.

"Maybe I'm wrong, though. Let's ask Aunt Claire." Zach turned to Claire again. "Were you about to kiss?"

"We..." Owen trailed off, causing Gray to raise his eyebrows.

"No, we weren't about to kiss," Claire blurted anxiously. She played with her muddy watch.

"Then what were you going to do?" Gray asked, again, innocently. Claire swallowed and glanced out the window.

"We were just about to osculate," she decided to say, assuming that most eleven and sixteen year olds had no clue that "osculate" was simply a fancy way of saying "kiss." Hopefully, her nephews would shrug their shoulders and drop the subject. She crossed her fingers.

"You were about to what? Did you just say ovulate?!" Zach cried, doing the exact opposite of what Claire had been hoping for, though he did it innocently this time. Owen burst into laughter and nudged Claire teasingly.

She covered her face and moaned. Great. That totally helped the situation. Now Zach is going to go home and tell Karen that I ovulated in the Jeep with Owen in front of two innocent kids. Could it get any worse for me?

Gray thought hard for a moment. He stared quizzically at Claire, who immediately said, "I didn't say ovulate! I said osculate!"

Gray nodded. "I know, Aunt Claire. I heard you say 'osculate.' But doesn't that mean 'kiss?'"

Claire sighed.
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