by Krystle Rose
"I knew you'd taste good," he commented. Resting his forehead to hers, Owen added, "I want so much more than just a sample, but now is not the time."
"If I said it was?"
"I'd still deny it," Owen answered, steadfast in his resolution. "You're too upset to make that kind of judgment call right now."
"I can't believe you're turning me down," Nomi replied in awe. "Twice."
"I'm trying my best to, anyway," he harrumphed. "But if you keep kissing me like that, I might forget my good intentions."
"I appreciate your chivalry."
It really was sweet and thoughtful of him. He truly had learned his lesson and was trying to do better. It only made her appreciate him more.
"Only for you, sweetheart."
"But I shouldn't have asked you to change."
"You didn't ask me to," he corrected. "I wanted to."
"I fell for you as you were," Nomi admitted kindly. "As you are."
"Is that right?" Owen asked, pushing back her hair. His palm cradled her skull as she looked up at him. Tentatively, he asked, "And when, exactly, did you fall for me?"
"In the eighth grade."
"Nomi…"
"I've been crazy about you since we were kids."
Owen shook his head and massaged her neck. Admittedly, he said, "I can't believe I didn't see you like that until recently."
"You weren't supposed to," she commented. "Canaan made sure you only ever looked at me like a little sister. But I want to know… how do you see me now?"
Owen raked his teeth over his lower lip and gave her a once-over with greedy eyes. Then he laid his hand at the base of her neck and answered, "Like a beautiful, intelligent, woman. An amazing, sexy woman that I'm dying to kiss again."
He dipped his head, but Nomi staved him off. She needed to know something else, first.
"Are you crazy about me, too, Owen?"
"Certifiably."
He pulled her in and fused their mouths together once more. This time, Nomi allowed it. She clutched at his shoulder and whimpered as he crushed her against him and slid his other arm around her waist.
It seemed naughty and exciting to be kissing Owen Blankfield -- especially like this -- but, more than that, it felt right. Their lips savoring one another felt like they were made to fit in that way. It was as if everything was right in the world, even if just for that moment.
Then Owen's tongue tickled the seam of her mouth and Nomi subconsciously opened for him. As soon as his tongue met hers, tiny explosions went off behind Nomi's eyes. Apparently, tonight's show wouldn't be the only fireworks she'd be seeing.
Month 11
Despite all that went down with Canaan that morning, the rest of her day was amazing. Nomi and Owen lounged around watching TV for a few hours, then he coerced her into eating a sandwich. Afterward, they went to the park to meet with Jenna and she was happy as a kid in a candy store watching the two of them canoodling together. She wasn't at all opposed to being the third wheel that night.
Nomi was supposed to have gone with her brother, but she was much more content with Owen by her side. They held hands and flirted the night away, then he hugged her back to his front while the three of them watched the Independence Day extravaganza unfold.
Canaan never did show up. It was probably for the best.
Owen drove her home and kissed her goodnight and Nomi headed back to Chico early the following morning. It felt good to be in her apartment again, but she had deeply enjoyed her time with Owen. She almost wished she could bring him back to the city with her, but that was way out of line. They had only just started whatever this was and Nomi had promised herself to take things as they came. Her year was almost over and she'd made it this far. Waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt her and she would be proud that she was able to accomplish what she had set it to do. Owen would probably have giant blue balls by then, but if he was serious about being with her, then he would suck it up and do without a little longer.
Nomi still couldn't believe he had gone this long, already. Owen was used to having what he wanted when he wanted it, and now that had changed. Anyone who knew him would have expected him to give up on this silly game long ago, but he was staying strong. It appeared that he was as dedicated as he had suggested and Nomi respected him for that.
It also made her think about how their first time would go either one of two ways: crazy, hot, passionate sex from waiting too damn long or greedy, messy, awkward sex from having waited so damn long. Either way, Nomi couldn't stop herself from thinking about what it would be like. She knew one thing for sure: it would be amazing.
Until then, she would be busy with work and had finally found a replacement for helping Margo, so she wouldn't be going back to town for a long time. Which meant Nomi wouldn't see Owen for a while, either. However, as much as she missed him, she felt the time apart was good, too. It gave the two of them time to talk and get to know each other on a more intimate level -- and getting to know him like that only made her want him more.
In the passing weeks, he had sent Nomi flowers, had Postmates deliver her all her favorite snacks, and sent her sweet and flirty texts now and then -- some of which included pictures of him half-naked at the gym and made Nomi’s toes curl. Yes, things between them were escalating in more than one way, at a rapid pace, which was why it was better that there was space between them in order for her to keep her head on straight.
That didn’t mean that Nomi didn’t enjoy what they had going on. She very much did. That’s why, when her phone rang as she came through the door with groceries, Nomi nearly dropped all of her bags to answer it, expecting the call to be Owen. She didn't even bother to read the screen before sliding the answer key and bringing it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"I'm getting married."
It was a good thing she had just put the groceries down on the table because she would have definitely lost all of them at that announcement.
"Say what now?"
"I'm getting married!" Tess squealed again into the receiver.
"Ohmigod," Nomi gasped. "Lim proposed?"
"Yes! I did like you said and gave him space to think and breathe and come to terms with things. I told him I loved him and we would figure it out together. He came back and put a ring on my finger!"
"No way!"
"He said nothing and no one could stop our love. Oh, Nomi, I couldn't possibly be happier," she cooed.
"And I'm so happy for you," Nomi agreed, sitting down in a chair at the dining table. "I can't believe my best friend is engaged."
"I know. That's why I called. I mean, I had to tell you right away, of course," Tess rambled on, "but I honestly just couldn’t wait to ask you to be my maid of honor."
Her voice sounded hopeful as if Nomi would say 'no', but they both knew that wasn't going to happen. Nomi covered her chest with her hand in emotion and answered, "Of course, Tess."
"Yay! Gosh, being in love is so awesome. I wish you could find a good guy. I really want you to know what this feels like. It's the best feeling in the whole world."
Nomi was silent for a moment. I think I do know, she thought to herself. Did she? Was she in love with Owen? No, it was too early to tell. Or was it? They'd known each other forever and she'd been infatuated with him since day one. But love?
"Nomi?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"I asked how your 'year of Nomi' is going."
That's what Tess called it. Jenna referred to it as 'the year without', meanwhile Nomi couldn't decide quite what to call it. The year of discovery? The year of learning? Simply, a year of celibacy? Was it a crappy year, a good year, a mixed bag? Had she even accomplished what she had set out to do? So many questions Nomi still needed to figure out.
"Good. Almost over."
"I know," Tess said anxiously. "Are you excited? Do you have someone in mind to break your streak with?"
"Well…"
"You do! Oh my gosh, spill! Who is it?"
Nomi had t
old her little bits and pieces of her interactions with Owen, but her friend was still mostly out of the loop about their fling. Chewing her cheek nervously, Nomi explained the whole situation from start to finish, including the bad stuff like the day he had followed her home from the park and… yeah.
By the time she was finished, Tess sounded shocked.
"Whoa. That's some heavy stuff."
"Yeah."
"So this is happening. Like this is the real deal. You two are dating now?"
"I guess. It's nothing official yet."
"But it sounds pretty serious."
"I'd like to think so," Nomi sighed.
Tess gasped and Nomi froze.
"What?"
"You're totally in love with him, aren't you?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to," her friend replied pointedly. Giggling in disbelief, she said, "So, then you do know what it's like."
"Tess--"
"Complicated, but wonderful."
That was pretty smack on if Nomi had to admit it. It was surely complicated, but when it wasn't, man it was pretty wonderful. Maybe she was in love, after all.
Before she could formulate a response, Tess squealed again and told her friend, "He's calling. I've got to go."
"Okay, congratulations, I'm so excited and honored to be your moh."
"Aw. Thanks, moh. Love you "
"'kay, love you, too, bye."
Nomi placed the phone on the table and started unpacking the grocery bags. She had gotten the essentials; some eggs, milk, butter, things like that. Plus some instant meals because after a long day of work, the last thing she wanted to do was slave over an oven making dinner. It wasn’t the healthiest option, but she mostly ate on the job, anyway. Once things settled down a little and Nomi got into a routine, she’d start buying healthier foods and get on track to taking better care of herself.
Since moving, she had already started attending a yoga class and was feeling pretty good. It’s not as if she were trying to lose weight, but Nomi wanted to live a healthier lifestyle from now on. If she carried a few extra pounds around her middle, so be it. She was finally comfortable with the way she looked, even if others weren’t. But she wanted to feel good inside, too.
After unloading all the bags, Nomi folded up the paper sacks and placed them into the recycling bin. Then she changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a racerback top for tonight’s session. It was important to dress comfortably because one needed to move freely in asana, but also in tight-fitting clothing because the last thing one wanted was for clothes to get in the way when trying to get into a pose. Things Nomi had learned the hard way. After all, she’d never done this before and it was much more of a workout than she had anticipated!
After pulling her hair into a high ponytail, she slid on her flip flops and grabbed her mat. Then she looped the strap of her purse over her shoulder and headed back out the door.
Nomi was feeling more motivated than ever to get in shape, now that she knew she’d have to squeeze into a dress for Tess’s wedding. Oh, how she despised dresses. Still, it was a necessary sacrifice for her best friend. She only hoped Tess wouldn't make her wear something awful.
She made it to the studio right on time and went through a grueling Vinyasa flow with Marilee, but it hurt in the best way. Nomi was sweating as they finished in corpse pose and normalized their breathing again. The class ended with a short mediation, which was great for clearing Nomi’s mind of the week’s stresses, then they all rolled up their mats and shuffled out in different directions. Nomi was almost to her Jeep when her phone started vibrating from her back pocket. She smiled upon seeing Owen’s name on her screen.
“Hey. handsome. I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Nomi,” he said in a way that brought out goosebumps across her creamy skin. Something was wrong. Her hand gripped the door handle as she waited for him to continue. “It’s Canaan.”
“What about him?”
“He’s in the hospital.”
“What? No. My parents would have called me,” she argued, looking down at her phone again to make sure she hadn’t missed any calls while she was in class. There was nothing there. Bringing the device to her ear again, she begged, “What are you talking about?”
“They don’t know yet. I need to call them next.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because I was with him when it happened.”
That revelation sent chills down her spine. Her stomach twisted and her heart pounded rapidly in her chest. A million things raced through her mind and all that relaxing energy she’d gotten from her Yoga went right out the window.
“What did you do?” Nomi asked in a tone full of dread.
“Nothing. Just -- you need to be here. We’re at Mercy.”
“I’m on my way,” was all she said before ending the call and jumping into her car.
She tore out of there like a bat out of Hell and sped down the highway toward the facility. The landmarks passed by her like mirages and Nomi didn’t even recall how fast or how long she had been driving until she saw the hospital come into view. Her brain was too consumed with terror and anxiety over what had happened to her brother and what the extent of the damage truly was.
It wasn’t until she parked that she noticed she’d missed some calls from her parents since leaving Chico. Hissing in irritation at herself, Nomi returned the call and updated her folks that she’d just arrived at the Emergency Room. Of course, they were already there. Her mother told her where to find them inside and she hurried in to meet them.
“What happened?” she questioned as soon as she saw them.
“It was an accident,” her father answered.
Nomi bounced a look between each of her parents, waiting for a clearer answer.
“He’s okay,” her mother assured her next.
“What happened?” she repeated more forcefully.
“It was my fault,” Owen said from behind her.
Both parents cringed and looked at the floor. Nomi slowly turned to face him, face contorted in disbelief and anger. She brought her eyes to his and searched them frantically. In the gray irises, she found self-loathing, hurt, sadness, and yet Nomi couldn’t help herself when so many feelings were running through her and she shoved him. Tears instantly springing into her eyelids, she fisted her hands and pounded them against his chest. Owen didn’t try to stop her. He just stood there and took it, his lip trembling with emotion.
“I knew it!” She sobbed. “How dare you! How dare you!”
“Honey,” her father comforted, with his hand gripping her shoulder lightly. “It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not!” Nomi quarreled, shrugging off his hand. Piercing Owen with her glare again, she demanded, “Did you two fight? Tell me what you did to him.”
“Nothing, Nomi,” her mother said sternly. Coming to stand right beside her daughter, she lifted her chin in defiance and explained, “Owen isn’t responsible for this. He only feels that he is.”
“What?”
“Stop hitting him and sit down,” she directed her.
Wordlessly, Nomi collapsed into the chair to her left and kneaded her scalp with worried fingers.
“Will somebody please explain to me what’s going on?”
Her mother sat down beside her and grasped her forearm with cold hands. Swallowing down a lump in her throat, she filled her daughter in.
“Canaan and Owen went for a hike. They got into an argument and, in the process, Canaan slipped on a rock and fell down the embankment. We’re waiting for imaging to find out the extent of the damage.”
“Your brother knew the risks of taking that climb, but he did it anyway. A few broken bones will be a hard way to learn a lesson, but it could have been worse,” her father added.
Nomi glanced up at Owen, blinking at him expectantly. He sailed his thick, calloused fingers through his unruly blond hair and rolled his lips together anxiously. Then he finally brought his
eyes to hers and nodded curtly.
“I want to talk with Owen alone,” she told her parents without looking at them.
“Sure. Just no more hitting,” her mother mentioned. Squeezing her daughter’s arm again, she told Nomi, “We’ll be right over here.”
The two of them strode to some empty seats on the other side of the room and sat down with their backs to Nomi and Owen. Nomi sat back in her seat and rubbed her face with her shaking hands as Owen slowly lowered into the chair next to her.
“You two haven’t hung out in months and then, suddenly, you’re hiking together?”
“He wanted to talk. To set things straight. I wanted to make it right with him, so of course, I accepted. Even knowing the chances were slim of it going well.”
“How right you were,” she scoffed.
“It was okay at first, we were just making small talk, then the discussion escalated.”
“He f-fell,” Nomi asked in a feeble voice.
“Yes,” Owen said, swallowing hard. “He was pacing, you know, like he does, and he went too close to the edge. His foot lost grip on the rock and down he went. I dove to catch him, I tried to grab his hand as he went down, but…”
“How far did he fall?”
Sighing uncomfortably, he rubbed his chin and curtly answered, “Far.”
“Owen,” she demanded.
“About twelve feet, down a rocky hill,” he said painfully.
“Jesus.”
“His leg is broken for sure, but he was lucid and talking when I brought him in,” Owen told her in an effort to provide comfort.
“What were you arguing about?”
Owen went tense all over and stopped breathing. Nomi hugged herself and closed her eyes.
“Just… stuff.”
“I’m not a child. Stop trying to hide stuff from me,” she growled.
He thought about that for a long moment, then sat forward in his seat and laced his hands together under his forehead as he stared down at the floor. Nomi watched him, waiting, as her body threatened to explode at any given moment.