Ember (Constant Flame Duet Book 1)

by Christi Whitson

  “Yes, but… I go by Lena.”

  “It suits you. Though I think I might prefer Eleanore,” he admitted. Before she could ask why, he held out a hand and continued, “I’m Owen.”

  No chance of forgetting that name, Lena thought as she reached forward to shake his hand. They held hands for just a fraction of a second too long before dropping them. Owen averted his gaze, eyeing his own fingertips with nervous curiosity, and Lena smiled at his unexpected awkwardness. It gave her the courage to press onward.

  “So… Are you enjoying the lecture so far?”

  “Hard to say after only two days, but if nothing else, the atmosphere has been… interesting.” Owen felt oddly satisfied as he watched her cheeks turn pink. “Are you a business major?”

  “Yes, and communications. You?”

  “Business and economics. I’m surprised I haven’t seen you on campus before now. We should have had a lot of the same classes.”

  “What makes you so sure you haven’t seen me?”

  “I’m absolutely certain I’d remember,” he grinned. Owen watched her open her bag of chips and take a sip from her bottled water. His eyebrows twitched a little as though in disapproval, but Lena was too busy blushing at his implied compliment to notice. “How old are you?”

  “Nineteen next month.”

  “So, you’re a sophomore then?”

  “Yes. How about you?”

  “I’m nineteen too, but I’m a senior.”

  “How’d you manage that?” she asked, laughing a little. Owen smiled appreciatively at the sound and gave a self-deprecating shrug.

  “I skipped a grade, took a shitload of AP classes in high school, and took every possible placement test. Graduated high school early and started here as a sophomore,” he explained.

  “Damn,” Lena chuckled. “And I thought I had no life in high school. Why the big rush?”

  “I had my reasons. For the most part, I guess I was just eager to get out on my own. I have big plans for the future, and I want to get on with it.”

  Lena tilted her head as she considered his answer. In all likelihood, she would’ve been able to fast-forward through a lot of her education the same way he had, but her situation was a little different. The ‘big plans’ for her future hadn’t been made by her, and she was in absolutely no hurry to speed the process along.

  “Where are you from?” she asked, curious about the situation he was so eager to leave in the past.

  “Kirkland mostly. I went to Eastside.” Her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

  “I went to Seattle Prep,” she revealed. “I’m surprised our paths haven’t crossed before now.” The two private schools were frequently in competition with one another, and it wasn’t uncommon for people to have friendships or even romantic relationships with students from the opposite school.

  “Well, I was never really involved in athletics or anything like that, and I didn’t make a habit of going to parties,” Owen admitted, hoping he didn’t sound like an antisocial loser.

  “Same here. Is your family still in Kirkland?”

  “Most of them,” he nodded, not wanting to go into detail about those he now considered family.

  “My dad lives on Mercer Island. We never went to Kirkland that often, but a few of his colleagues live there.”

  There was a lull in the conversation as they turned their attention to their food, but after a few moments, Owen could no longer resist asking the question that had been on the tip of his tongue since he’d sat down.

  “Is that all you’re eating?” He hadn’t meant for it to come out with such a tone of disapproval, but he couldn’t help it. Lena was momentarily surprised by the question, but she quickly shrugged it off.

  “I prefer to eat a light lunch if I eat one at all. Having a full stomach tends to make me drowsy during my afternoon classes, and I prefer to have better focus.”

  “It’s just as hard to pay attention if you’re hungry though,” Owen argued, now frowning openly at her solitary bag of chips and half-empty bottle of water.

  “I suppose so, but I’m not hungry. I’m just not stuffing myself.” What’s his problem? she wondered. “What does it matter to you? Not that I don’t appreciate your concern, I guess, but...”

  Owen pursed his lips and looked away in embarrassment, realizing he’d overstepped a little. It was their first real conversation, and here he was berating her for her eating habits. Back off, Langford, he chided himself.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just don’t like to think of people being hungry,” he explained. Lena softened a little but still felt confused by his unsolicited concern over whether or not a stranger ate lunch.

  “Well, I can assure you that I’m not going hungry. I try to eat a decent breakfast before class every day, and I don’t skip out on dinner.” That seemed to mollify him, and Lena realized with surprise that he was actually worried about her. He didn’t know her at all, but he’d been truly troubled at the idea of her sitting in class with an empty stomach.

  Wow.

  They stared at one another for several long moments, their gazes locked together as though by some spell. The noise of the other students bustling around them faded slightly, and Lena registered that her own heartbeat was suddenly very loud in her ears. All too quickly, the backpack of a passing undergrad knocked into her from behind, and the spell was broken. Lena glanced at the large digital clock on the wall nearby and gasped.

  “Shit! I’ve gotta go, or I’ll be late to my next class.” She hurriedly gathered the rest of her things and deposited her trash in the nearest bin. Owen followed suit and kept pace with her as she strolled out of the student union and into the August sunshine.

  “Hey, before you go,” he called to her, relieved when she turned back to him. “Maybe we should exchange numbers. You know, just in case something comes up with that class and we need to get ahold of each other…” Owen winced, realizing how lame he must have sounded. To his surprise, however, Lena took a pen from the side pocket of her backpack and reached for his hand. She wrote her number on his palm and smiled up at him.

  “Just in case,” she echoed, unable to resist teasing him a little. “See ya.”

  “See ya,” he replied, feeling a swell of elation rise up in his chest. He watched her until she was out of his sight, not caring that he risked being late for his own class as well. Owen gazed down at his palm, knowing that he’d probably sounded like an idiot. I couldn’t have been that bad though, he thought with a grin as he read her number for the third time, committing it to memory.

  Lena forced herself not to look back at him, in spite of the fact that she could feel his eyes on her until she rounded the corner of the business library building. What the hell was that, Gardner? she shook her head in dismay. What happened to pretending he didn’t exist? He’d blind-sided her; that’s what had happened. It had been a stealth attack of smoldering gazes and panty-dropping smiles. Now he had her number, which was a textbook step toward asking for a date.

  Fuck, she cursed inwardly as she took the last open seat in her finance class. Will I even have the willpower to turn him down? Lena had to admit that she was more attracted to him than she’d ever been to any guy. The mere idea of a good romp with Owen Langford made her panties uncomfortably damp.

  Would it be so bad to give in? It’s not like I’d be agreeing to anything serious, just a date… followed by hot, headboard-rattling sex… What girl in her right mind would turn down a night like that with a guy like him?

  Lena pondered the matter through the remainder of the day, but when thoughts of Owen distracted her from her homework that evening, she forced herself to make a decision.

  When he asks… if he asks… I’ll say yes, but only so long as he understands that I’m not looking for a boyfriend. It wouldn’t be fair to lead him on.

  If Lena was certain about anything, it was that she didn’t have the time or the energy for a relationship. She already had too many proverbial balls in
the air, and she couldn’t in good conscience attempt to add another. If Owen couldn’t accept that, then that would have to be the end of it.

  Sex, she could handle. Love and romance? Not so much.

  The Following Saturday

  Owen groaned in appreciation as the hot water of his shower pummeled his stiff muscles. He’d put in a full shift at the repair shop that day, and considering the fact that his evening would be devoted to schoolwork, the hot shower was easily the highlight of his day. He was expected in Kirkland for Sunday brunch, and he would most likely be spending the rest of the weekend bogged down in his research of business strategies and funding opportunities. His busy schedule did little to keep Lena off of his mind, however, and he’d been berating himself constantly since he’d watched her disappear after their lunch on Thursday.

  Owen couldn’t decide if asking for Lena's number had been brave or merely foolish. It had felt as though his mouth had been operating without prior clearance from his brain, but once the words had been spoken, there had been no taking them back. He was fully aware that she would now be expecting him to call her, and he wanted to kick himself, both for his audacity in approaching her as well as for his cowardice in hesitating to follow through.

  He told himself repeatedly that it didn’t really matter how beautiful Lena was or how much he might like her. The simple truth was that he didn’t have time to date. He was taking more than a full course load of classes that semester, and he still had to fit in at least fifteen or twenty hours at Troy’s each week. Owen devoted what little time he had left to preparations for starting his company and to helping Sean and Mary in whatever capacity he could manage. There just wasn’t room on his plate for a girlfriend.

  So, why did he suddenly want one so badly? Not just any girl, however. He wanted her, and he didn’t understand why. It wasn’t as though she was the first beautiful girl to make eyes at him in a darkened classroom, and it hadn’t been the first time he’d asked a girl for her phone number. There was something very different about her though, some quality that he couldn’t quite define. Owen had thought himself to be broken, that he was damaged and dark inside, but Eleanore Gardner had reignited a spark within him. It seemed to fill him with a glow that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. It didn’t make sense.

  Could he really bring himself to trust a woman again? True, he felt a strange connection to her, but that didn’t automatically translate to trust. Nearly all of the women in his life had let him down to some degree, with the exception of Mary and Julia. The one time he’d opened himself up enough to let a girl get physically close to him had turned out to be disastrous. He’d unintentionally frightened her, and she’d run away at the first opportunity. Would Lena run too?

  By Saturday evening, Owen had debated and second-guessed himself from every possible angle. He knew which path was the right one, the smart one, but he couldn’t bring himself to take it.

  I’ll text her. As soon as I think of something clever to say…

  Saturday

  “I’m not taking no for an answer, Gardner. We’re all going out to celebrate the first week of the new term, and we’re not leaving you behind. Now get your ass in the shower,” Tessa ordered her.

  “I have homework,” Lena argued. “Some of us have to be responsible now and then.”

  “That’s what Sunday’s for. Saturday night is for fun. Come on…” She whined a little and delivered a pout that had yet to fail her. Tessa’s brown eyes grew wider and seemed to shimmer a little with open longing.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Lena laughed, unable to resist Tessa’s skillful wheedling. “Fine, but I’m only having one drink and nothing else. I can’t be crashing or hungover tomorrow.” Her friend did a brief victory dance and began searching Lena's closet for clubwear.

  “Another dinner with Daddy Dearest?”

  “Yeah, but he’d never notice anything anyway. It’s mostly because of homework. I was at GC all day and haven’t been able to finish much of it.”

  “Here, wear this,” Tessa said, tossing a black dress onto the bed.

  The design was inspired by both Victorian and Asian styles, with a corseted bodice, small cap sleeves, a plunging sweetheart neckline, and a translucent collar. It was almost indecently short, and the four-inch heels that went with it made Lena's legs look a mile long. The dress was one of Lena's favorites, and it fit her like a second skin.

  They got ready in Tessa’s apartment since Emily was already there working on her makeup. Adam and Mateo were getting started early with a few bottles of beer while they waited. Lena waved to them as she passed, making her way toward Tessa’s bathroom. The long counter was practically covered in cosmetics and hair products, and she gave an inaudible sigh as she went to work on her hair, sweeping it up into a high, sleek ponytail that swung almost playfully over the back of her neck. The makeup took longer though, and it was another twenty minutes before Lena finally emerged, looking absolutely nothing like the woman she’d been when she’d entered.

  Between the dark and dramatic makeup, the barely-there dress, and the vamp rocker hairstyle, Lena looked like a completely different person. The stark contrast was intentional and necessary, especially since she behaved like a completely different person as well. This was her escape, her stress relief. It was at once both a cry for help and a middle finger in the face of everyone who had such high expectations for her, herself included.

  “Damn, ladies. You never fail to impress,” Adam said appreciatively as the three women came into the living room. Tessa and Lena gave him a smile of thanks, and Emily actually blushed. She looked even more pleased when Adam stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get this party started.”

  The evening passed much as it usually did when they were all together. They went to Nox, their favorite over-eighteen dance club, and once inside, their somewhat gothic attire no longer stood out. They’d flashed their fake IDs at the door and made their way to the bar first, ordering a round of shots and a few pitchers of beer. True to her word, Lena limited herself to one glass of beer, which she followed with a bottle of water. It was slightly more difficult to turn down Mateo’s offer to share a few tablets of the ecstasy he’d brought with him, but she declined nonetheless.

  Lena didn’t make a habit of experimenting with drugs, but there were times that she felt so completely overwhelmed with stress that she needed more of an escape than a simple hair and wardrobe change could provide. She tried to be as responsible as possible when she did partake. She never drove while under the influence, never bought from anyone she didn’t know, and always made sure there was someone sober and trustworthy along for the ride.

  For whatever reason, Lena found that she simply wasn’t in the mood for the noisy crowds and loud music that evening. She bid a quick farewell to her friends, making sure that Emily, who was their designated sober person that night, would be able to manage the other three on her own. While Lena stood on the sidewalk waiting for a cab, her phone chimed with an incoming text message.

  You’ll never guess what happened to me the other day.

  The number was unfamiliar to her, and she wondered if the message had been intended for her at all. She replied with a simple question mark and waited.

  This incredibly gorgeous girl gave me her number.

  Lena grinned like an idiot in spite of herself. Owen had been on her mind almost constantly since Thursday afternoon, and it had taken him longer to contact her than she’d expected. She’d begun to wonder if he was planning to make a move or not. She quickly saved his number to her list of contacts and typed out a reply.

  Nice. You should probably give her a call sometime. – L

  Most definitely. Think she’ll say yes if I ask her out for dinner? – O

  I highly doubt she’d say no. A girl’s gotta eat, even if you are way out of her league. – L

  Lena slid into the back seat of the taxi when it pulled up to the curb and gave the driver her address. A few seconds late
r, her phone rang, displaying Owen’s name and number. She answered with a smile and was rewarded with his familiar voice, mentally adding it to the list of sexy traits destined to be her undoing.

  “I think you must be confused,” he began, grinning just as foolishly. “It’s you who is out of my league, Ms. Gardner. But would you be willing to overlook that and have dinner with me sometime this week anyway?” Lena laughed, and the sound did funny things to Owen’s heart rate.

  “Immunity to flattery is not one of my superpowers, Mr. Langford.”

  “So, that’s a yes?” Anyone could hear the hope in his voice.

  “That’s a yes. I’m pretty busy most days, but maybe Friday evening?”

  “Friday sounds perfect.”

  On the other end of the line, Owen did a silent but very enthusiastic fist pump. His opinion on the wisdom of getting involved with someone hadn’t changed, but he pushed his better judgment aside. It’s not like we’re planning a wedding, he reminded himself. Just a date. Lena's voice was muffled for a moment, and he could tell that she wasn’t speaking to him. Fuck. I didn’t ask whether or not she had a boyfriend. Would she have said yes to dinner even if she weren’t single?

  “I’m sorry, did I interrupt anything?”

  “No, I was just paying the cab driver.”

  “You took a cab alone at night?” he asked, disapproval and concern lacing each word. Lena merely laughed.

  “Millions of people do it every day and manage just fine.”

  Owen bit back the argument on his tongue, unsure as to why he even cared how she got home. He was curious as to where she’d been that she couldn’t have simply driven herself home, but he kept that question to himself as well, telling himself that it was really none of his business.

  “Well, it’s… it’s getting late. I should probably let you go,” Owen said awkwardly. “See you in class on Tuesday?”

  “Of course,” Lena replied softly. “See you then.”