now or never - charlie gillespie

chapter twenty five

A piece of hair had fallen down from my ponytail and Owen reached his hand up to brush it away from my face.

Oh no, Owen. What are you doing?

We were so close. I was sitting on the counter and he was hovering over me. I felt my breath get caught in my throat as his hand lingered near my face. I saw  his eyes flicker to my lips and I gulped.

Shit. shit. Shit. Is this really happening? If it was... was I okay with it?

I watched as he licked his lips and began to move in closer. His face was less than a centimeter away. I could feel his breath on my face. I suddenly felt my body have a mind of its own and scoot off the counter a little, trying to get closer.

Did I want this? Did I want Owen?

My body seemed to think so. I felt myself growing impatient, the seconds felt like hours. It was agonizing knowing that if I just moved, I would be able to feel his lips on mine.

My mind teased me with the thought. Just as I was about to jerk forward I heard a voice yell over the music.  "Hey Baker, are you in here?" and the door swung open.

Oh shit.

I quickly shoved Owen's chest causing him to stumble back and I swung my legs, hoping we didn't look suspicious.

"You've got to see-" he said, stopping in his tracks. "Oh, hey guys," he looked in between Owen and I a couple of times. I could have sworn I saw him shake his head. "You've got to come see what Jeremy is doing."

I couldn't help but feel guilty. Like I'd just been caught. Without another word I nodded, hopped off the counter and ran out of the bathroom. I turned around for a second and saw Charlie grab Owen on his way out. They whispered to each other about something. Owen caught my eye, but he gave nothing away.

I tore my eyes away and went into the other room where everyone was dancing. "Hey you!" Carolynn said. She offered me a drink and I shook my head.

"Designated driver tonight," I said pointing at myself.

"What are we gossiping about?" Madison said as she approached us.

"I was just about to tell Lake that it was really sweet of Charlie for throwing this party," she said, winking at me. I just nodded my head, the feeling of guilt making me feel nauseous.

"I know! They're both so smitten with her," Madison said. I nodded my head and then did a double take.

Wait what? Smitten? Both? Were we on the same page?

"Right? It's so cute how Owen is so protective over you," Carolynn said, eyeing me. My eyes went wide.

Madison took a sip of her drink and nodded, agreeing with her. "Definitely smitten."

What did they mean? Were they talking about my Owen? The Owen who was in my hotel room the other night doing face masks with me? Could he really have feelings for me?

I thought it was normal for friends to be protective towards each other. I mean, I'd obviously get protective over Owen if a girl was trying to play him. But did that mean I had feelings for him?

I contemplated telling them about what just happened in the bathroom. I needed someone with a clear head to tell me what the hell was going on, because I sure as hell didn't have one clue.

Owen and I totally had a moment didn't we?

I opted to just keep that bit of information to myself.

And to make things worse, I was leaving tomorrow. Talk about complicated situations. My entire life was one big mess. One problem after the other.