A Stellar Year

by Krystle Rose

  When Nomi arrived at the cafe, a little before noon, Owen was already there, waiting at a table in the corner. When he saw her walk in, his eyes lit up and he slowly rose from his chair to greet her.

  She never really noticed how tall he was until now, looking at him towering over everyone as he waited for Nomi to join him. She knew he was much taller than she was, but at only five feet, most everyone was. Owen had a foot plus on her and at least a couple inches over every other person in the cafe, making him more than noticeable. Not that anyone hadn’t noticed him anyway, because after all, he was very well-known in this town. And, if you didn’t know him, you couldn’t help but stare at him anyway, due to his good looks. It made Nomi feel far inferior compared to him, but Owen didn’t seem to pay much attention to all the looks he was getting.

  Perhaps he was just used to it or perhaps it was because he was doing his own looking -- at her. His eyes were practically glued to Nomi as she walked toward him, his grey irises swirling with intrigue and his crooked smile speaking volumes as to what he was imagining while staring at her. That alone made Nomi’s breath hitch.

  She sat down in the seat across from him and Owen lowered back into his chair. Shoving her purse into her lap, Nomi quickly glanced around and noted, “Everyone is staring.”

  “Let them,” he said shortly, still not taking his eyes off of her.

  “You’re staring,” she alerted him.

  “Let me,” Owen said in a deeper tone that had goosebumps appearing on her arms. In a voice only loud enough for her to hear, he added, “If I can’t touch you, at least let me look at you.”

  “It, uh…” she gulped, “feels like you’re touching me all over with that look.”

  “God, I wish.”

  She blushed.

  “How about we order some food before you try to devour me, instead,” she commented nervously.

  Owen chuckled and agreed, standing to help her out of her seat. Then the two of them went to the counter and took a gander at the menu. Nomi decided on a fruit cup and water. With her stomach in knots the way it was, she didn’t feel confident in adding a full meal to the mix. Owen duplicated her order, then they took their food and went to find some new seats since their table had since been taken.

  Nomi suggested they sit outside, under one of the umbrellas, and Owen put up no argument. That provided her some relief. At least, out there, they’d have a little more privacy and a lot less intrusive glares. Plus, it was a nice day out, so it would bode well to soak up some early July sunshine.

  The two of them sat and chatted for quite a long time, nibbling on their fruit and sipping from their bottled waters. It felt nice to find conversation so easy with him. Like the friends they, ultimately, were.

  Nomi forgot how much they had in common. Like that they both enjoyed summer and holidays and the same movies. They had similar tastes in music and TV shows, they like to do a lot of the same things like camping and swimming and other outdoorsy stuff.

  "I can't believe I never realized how many of the same things we enjoy."

  "We should do some of them together," Owen mentioned.

  That said a lot more than either of them meant to. But, before they let their imaginations run away from them, Nomi spoke again.

  "Yeah. Maybe."

  When they finished their meals, the two of them decided to go for a walk. Nomi was tempted to hold his hand, but thought better of it and shoved her fists into the pockets of her denim shorts just to be safe. Owen did the same.

  "I'm glad you let me take you out. I thought maybe I'd ruined all my chances."

  He was looking at the ground, watching the sidewalk instead of staring at her. Nomi was glad for it. She'd spent the last hour caving under the pressure of his sexy eyes. It was a relief to get a break from them. Yet, when he says things like that, she went tense all over again.

  "Not all of them," Nomi allowed.

  "Thank goodness," he said sauvely.

  "Careful not to screw up again."

  "I'm doing my best."

  They got about halfway down the block before realizing that the temperature had risen a few degrees since they’d first met up and it was much hotter now than they had anticipated before walking.

  Owen waved her into the cool shadows of a nearby building and leaned against the brick wall there. Nomi stood in front of him, between the two structures, and waited.

  “So, how am I doing?” Owen asked her.

  “With what?”

  “Dating,” he elaborated. “I haven’t done it since high school. I might be a little rusty.”

  “Oh, erm, yeah, you're doing fine."

  "I'm trying to be on my best behavior."

  "I appreciate that."

  "It's damned hard."

  Nomi fiddled with her purse and chewed the inside of her cheek. It was difficult for her, too. In the past, with any other man, there would never have even been a fight. She would have instantly forgiven him, they would have had crazy makeup sex, and moved on. However, that's how others had gotten away with mistreating her for so long. Nomi had sworn not to let that happen again and she was sticking to her guns.

  That didn't mean that she didn't want to forget the whole thing, kiss Owen with abandon, and pretend the rest of the world didn't exist.

  "I know," she breathed.

  "Do you?"

  Pushing away from the wall, he moved closer. Nomi's pulse quickened.

  "Yes," she enforced.

  "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

  "No."

  "Not even if I tell you that you look beautiful?"

  "No," she repeated weakly.

  "Or that I want to touch you?"

  Nomi didn't answer. Her skin went hot and red across her face and chest at the thought of it, but she couldn't put that into words.

  “How far does that go?”

  Confused, Nomi wrinkled her brow at him. Owen came closer and laid his knuckles against the collar of her shirt. The v-neck she wore gave a tantalizing glimpse of her cleavage -- which Owen was enjoying very much, at the moment. Her skin warmed under his touch and it brought a shuddering breath from Nomi.

  “That blush,” he clarified. “Does it stop here or does it trickle down to your belly?”

  She wasn’t sure how to answer. Probably because she wasn’t sure what the answer really was. It’s not as if she ever stood in front of a mirror and investigated just how widespread the red hue crept over her body. But, Lord, imagining Owen doing that work for her had Nomi’s skin going flush again.

  “Hmm,” he hummed as his hand then found the hem of her shirt and slightly lifted it. Glancing down at her bare tummy, Owen licked his lips in appreciation and mentioned, “Still rosy.”

  “Owen,” she cautioned him.

  “Don’t worry,” he promised, “I won’t test my limits this time.”

  “You’re testing mine,” she admitted.

  Her spine tingled when Owen leaned in and lowered his head, a single breath separating their mouths. Then she realized it wasn’t a tingling at all, but a vibration. From her cell phone in her back pocket.

  Nomi cursed under her breath and withdrew the device. Stepping back, she answered. It was Canaan, wondering where in the world she was. It was after two and she was supposed to be meeting her family to head to go out bowling, then to dinner. She had almost forgotten, thanks to her encounter with Owen

  As smoothly as she could possibly lie, she told her brother that she was on her way, then hung up and apologized profusely to her date as she hurried away.

  Like it or not, Canaan had probably saved Nomi from fully exploring those limits with Owen.

  ∞∞∞

  The next day, Jenna was in town and Nomi dedicated the entire day to just hanging out with her. They got coffee, then packed a picnic and spent all afternoon at the lake. After too much sun, plenty of swimming, and bellies full of cold fried chicken, they headed back to Nomi's for a nap.

  Canaan, the good big brother that he was, b
rought them home a six-pack of Newcastle. They all three drank and watched movies until they passed out again around midnight.

  It was nice to have a normal day of hanging out with her brother instead of bickering like they had been. At least for a day, things were back to normal between them, and having Jenna around made it feel like old times.

  Nomi hadn't bothered to look at her phone, since she had promised to give her BFF all of her attention, but the next morning, she noticed that she had a couple of missed calls from Owen. She had completely forgotten that he would call like he had done every night for the past few weeks. After all, she'd been drinking and was exhausted from her long day, so she'd simply passed out.

  Nomi reminded herself to call him as soon as Jenna headed home. She was going to spend the majority of the holiday with her family, but later on, would meet Nomi and Canaan for the fireworks show at the park. Nomi was thankful because she desperately needed a shower and rest before then.

  Shortly after Jenna awoke, she groaned her farewells and dragged herself out the door. Nomi laid there a little longer before heading up to her bedroom. She took a long, hot shower and dressed in some rolled sweat shorts and a spaghetti strap top, then was about to crawl under the covers of her parents' bed when Canaan burst in.

  He looked irate, practically fuming as he stomped over to where she was and tossed her cell phone onto the bed.

  "Why the hell is Owen calling you?"

  Nomi's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open, but she couldn't find her voice to speak.

  "I should have known! The way he was so downtrodden at the same time as you were, the way he treats you now as compared to before, this whole celibacy thing. God! I'm gonna kill him!"

  "Canaan, it's not what you think," Nomi desperately assured him.

  "You and Owen aren't gaga over each other?" He asked in disbelief.

  "Well…"

  "Fuck," he bit back. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

  Canaan began pacing and clawing at his scalp. Nomi came off the bed and tried to reason with him.

  "Nothing has happened yet!" Well, that wasn't true. She made another attempt, "We haven't even kissed!"

  At least that part was true. Not that it made her brother feel any better. He growled as if he was physically pained at the very thought of them locking lips. Nomi put herself in his path to stop him and Canaan halted with a huff.

  "How long has this been going on?"

  "Not long."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "Because I knew you'd react like this!" She shouted at him in reply.

  They stared at each other for a long moment, each daring the other to say something sideways. Inside, Nomi was terrified. She'd been dreading this moment and had not at all expected it to happen this soon. She certainly didn't know Canaan was going to find out like this. It wasn't ideal, by any standards, yet it was happening whether she liked it or not, so Nomi had to just roll with it now.

  "We don't keep secrets. You should have come to me."

  "Not about this," she argued, shaking her head. "I mean, Jesus, Canaan, he's your best friend."

  "So are you!"

  Nomi physically reacted to that statement, wincing and curling into herself. That hurt. She bit her lip and held back the tears that sprung into her eyes. Owen sighed and moved away.

  "Both of you hid this from me. Both of you are to blame. But he knows better. He should never have even thought about looking at you like that."

  Nomi spun on her heels to face him again. Balling her fists at her sides, she ground her feet into the carpet beneath her feet.

  "Is it so bad to think that someone might find me desirable?"

  There was that word again, reminding her that Owen truly did feel that way about Nomi, or else she wouldn't have said it.

  "Of course not. Just not him."

  "Because he's out of my league?"

  "Because he's supposed to look at you like I look at you, not… like that!"

  An uncomfortable quiver ran down his back, causing him to shake all over.

  "He's a player, Nomi. He just wants a piece of you and, once he gets it, he'll discard you like the others."

  "No. This is different."

  "As long as you've known him, has it ever been different?" He asked, knowing the answer.

  Nomi took a step toward her brother and lifted her chin defiantly.

  "Even you said he's been acting differently. This isn't like before. This is…"

  "What?"

  "Special."

  He scoffed and put his hands on his hips. Looking around the room, Canaan attempted to think through what he was about to say.

  "You were off-limits, Nomi. The only girl in town he had no right to think that way about. Off. Limits," he said, slicing his hands through the air.

  "He was off-limits to me, too, but I still wanted him. Since the first day you brought him home, I've had it bad for Owen," she confessed.

  Sitting down in the chair in the corner of the room, she positioned her elbows on her knees and looked at her brother. Canaan's jaw ground together and a vein in his neck pulsed with agitation.

  "We both resisted this from the beginning. But we're not kids anymore and we should have the freedom to explore whatever this is."

  "Knowing what you do about him, you're seriously willing to explore that?"

  "Yes," Nomi answered from the heart. "This is nothing like anything before. If either of us ignored that, we'd be stupid. What if we were missing out on the best thing for us?"

  "Just because of me," Canaan added to the end of her sentence. Groaning an expletive to himself, he plopped down onto their parents' mattress. "You really think it's worth it?"

  Nomi thought about that for a second, then answered, "I don't know yet, but I'm willing to find out."

  Looking across at her sibling, she rebuttal, "Are you willing to let us?"

  "You're both taking a lot of risks. If this doesn't work out, You might not just ruin whatever you guys had before, but it could also ruin what he and I have, as well."

  "Why do you think we lasted this long without trying? The last thing we want to do is screw things up."

  "I believe you have thought it through, but I'm not sure Owen's brain has gotten that far," Canaan teased.

  "He's taking this seriously, Canaan, and so am I."

  Her brother gave another heavy sigh and slapped his thighs. Standing again, he headed toward the door. Looking back at Nomi one last time, he warned her, "I want no part of it."

  Nomi watched him leave, then finally permitted the tears to fall. She sat there crying, for what felt like forever, then ran to shut the door. Snatching up her cell phone from the bed, she made a call.

  "Come get me. Right now."

  Fifteen minutes later, Owen's car pulled into the driveway and Nomi hustled down to meet him. She threw open the passenger door, climbed inside, and told him to start driving. He did so without question and didn't speak as he headed down the road.

  Fifteen minutes after that, she was in his basement apartment, standing in his living room, with her arms wrapped around her midsection and her eyes swollen from crying. Her head, stomach, muscles, and heart all hurt at the same time and Nomi hadn't a clue of how to get it to stop.

  Owen put his keys and wallet into his nightstand and cautiously approached her. Nomi stayed frozen in the middle of the floor. He reached out tentatively and brushed her cheek. She leaned into his touch.

  "What happened?"

  "Canaan knows," she blurted out.

  Owen quickly withdrew his hand, recoiling as if he'd touched a hot stove. His face contorted in terror, then he exhaled with a huff and said, "Okay."

  "Okay? That's all you have to say?" Nomi screeched.

  He reached up and cupped her jaw in his palm, inching forward. Tracing her chin with his thumb, Owen comforted Nomi.

  "I'll handle him later. Right now, I just want to make sure you're alright."

  She covered his fingers with her own and shook her
head, "I'm not."

  "I can see that. Why don't you sit down?" he suggested.

  "No."

  "No?"

  "No," she repeated. Coming toe to toe with him, Nomi told him, "I don't want to sit down. I want to stand right here. And I want you to kiss me."

  "Nomi," he shuddered, "I don't want to take advantage of you in your moment of weakness again."

  "I'm asking you to kiss me. I need you to kiss me," she begged.

  "What you want is a distraction. What you need is to settle down," he argued. Dropping his hand away, he joined it with hers and pulled Nomi toward the sofa.

  "Come on. Let's sit."

  Wordlessly, she followed him to the couch and sat down beside him. Owen settled his arm across her shoulders and hugged her close. Nomi laid her head on his chest and willed herself to relax.

  That was not at all what she had anticipated. She thought -- hoped -- that Owen would take her up on her offer and kiss her silly. Then, maybe, they'd just so happen to end up naked and tangled up in his bed. Instead, they were sitting side by side of his old leather sofa, silently, while he rubbed her arm.

  He may have been right, Nomi did want the distraction. She wanted to feel something other than the guilt that tore through her presently. But that wasn't all she wanted. She wanted him.

  Her conversation with Canaan had finally made Nomi realize how much she wanted something between herself and Owen. That she was ready for that. Ready to commit with words and bodies and yet, here she was cuddled up with him on a couch instead.

  That said a lot about Owen's ability to hold back. Heaven knows he wasn't the best at self-control. However, he was putting that to the test for her. Because he wanted to prove how serious he was. Well, so was she.

  Nomi turned into him and brought her lips to his.

  Instantly, the flame Nomi had been carrying for him for all those years ignited into a blaze. It licked at her insides and filled her with a warmth she had never felt before. Initially, the act caught Owen off guard, but then he relented and accepted her mouth and, when he slanted his over hers and kneaded her lips with his own, that fire spread throughout her entire body, burning down to her very soul.

  His lips were soft and sweet, giving and taking in a way that left Nomi reeling. Owen sipped on her as if she were some delicious fruity drink, then licked the seam of her mouth and withdrew.