Return To You - Leia Stone Page 0,58

once, slowly.

"Were you always such a gentleman?" I tease.

He was. Always. But I’d forgotten.

I let go of his hand, only to loop my arm through his, and we walk up the steps to his front door.

"I don't think so," he replies, pulling his keys from his pocket. "I was a horny teenager who only wanted one thing."

My shoulders shake with quiet laughter. "How is that different from right now?"

The lock slides out of its spot, and the sound is thunderous. Or is it my heart that I hear, beating away furiously in my chest?

Owen's eyes find mine, and they are so full. Of longing, concern, and a primal hunger. We are stuck here on the threshold, balancing on a precipice, dangerously close to falling over.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I don't have next steps. I've left behind my job and my life in NYC to come home and care for my mother, and instead I’ve found my old life waiting right where I left it.

But I do know what I want tonight.

Owen.

So I'm the one who turns the doorknob and the first to step into the dark house. And Owen follows behind me.

He understands what I've done, the statement I've made, and takes over. He steps around me in the entryway, flipping a switch. Light floods the living room. This place may have been built thirty-plus years ago, but the inside is recently remodeled. The floor is a ruddy reddish color, the tiles enormous. The walls are light, the furniture contemporary. The cathedral ceiling with exposed beams is the perfect complement to the style of the home.

"It's gorgeous," I tell him, impressed.

"Thanks. I can't take the credit though. Not really. I had help."

My stomach seizes. I nod, but don't ask. I don't want to know who has been beside him during the years I've been gone.

Owen leads me deeper into the house, and I follow. He steps into another room and turns on another light. The kitchen.

There is a large, butcher-block island, and the cabinets are navy blue with copper-colored handles. I hate how much I like what she picked out, whoever she was.

"Red or white?" Owen asks from where he stands beside the stainless-steel fridge.

"White," I answer. I'm feeling warm. I need something cool.

He opens the fridge, and I watch him reach in, all the way to the back. His shirt pulls up, revealing just a peek of skin, only a few inches, but what I see is tan and toned. My tongue sweeps through my mouth, moistening the sudden dryness.

He pulls away from the fridge, bottle in hand, and walks to a cabinet. After opening it, he selects two stemless white wine glasses and pours us each a drink.

Walking over to me slowly, he hands it to me. "I believe the stars were your next request?"

I swallow the lump in my throat and nod. I was the brave one, taking the first step, the biggest step, over the threshold and into his house. Now he's the one taking over. And I like it. I need it.

Nerves are creeping in, poking at me like little cactus needles. It's been a long time since we were together. What if it's a letdown? What if our memories have built up something that's impossible to reach?

"Come," Owen says, walking from the kitchen and motioning for me to follow. We walk through another room, but Owen doesn't turn on the light. In the soft glow cast by the kitchen I make out the shape of a pool table and I smile. Bachelor move.

Owen slides open a door and we step outside.

"Oh," I say without thinking, my voice a low, surprised moan. The sky is inky black, shot through with twinkling stars. Of course I knew it would be, but still, it's breathtaking.

"I know," Owen says, not needing an explanation. He settles into a seat on the outdoor couch, placing his drink on the table in front of him. I sit down beside him, close enough that we're separated by only a few inches, but I can feel the heat from his body. I lean back, and Owen tucks an arm over my shoulders.

I can’t believe I’m at Owen’s house, snuggling on his couch and watching the stars with a glass of wine. What that actual fuck is happening? I like it. I like grown-up Owen and I like grown-up us. His fingers graze my arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

His hand falls from my shoulder and touches my lower back, slowly