Broken Beautiful Hearts(89)

I finally get sick of waiting for him to knock, and I open the door. “Did you want to come in?”

“No, why?” He looks around like he thinks I’m talking to somebody else. “I’m just walking.”

“You’ve been walking out here for fifteen minutes. Are you sure you don’t need something?”

“I’m just worried.” Christian leans against the wall.

Christian, worried? About what?

Cam comes out of his room. “What’s going on?”

“I was just telling Peyton that I’m a little worried,” Christian says.

Cam nods as if he knows what we’re talking about. I’m glad someone does. “We’re both a little worried.”

“About?”

“This thing with Owen,” Cam says. “I know you said you two are just friends, but—”

“We don’t want to see you get hurt,” Christian says.

“Owen is…” Cam clears his throat and Christian jumps in. “Owen is a complicated guy. He has a lot of stuff going on.”

“Like what?” He goes to school and the gym, and competes. That’s it, as far as they know. But I’m not about to enlighten them.

“He’s not going to college,” Christian says. “Did he tell you that? He’s taking off right after graduation. He’s going backpacking around Europe or something.”

“And?”

“Do you really want to get involved with a guy who is just going to take off?” Cam asks.

“I’m only here until March,” I remind them. “If Owen and I decided to get involved, the fact that he’s going backpacking around Europe in the fall wouldn’t factor into the equation.”

“Wouldn’t you feel bad if he was gone and you’d never see him again?” Christian asks.

Cam glares at his brother.

This conversation is too weird for me. “I don’t know what you two are up to, but I’m getting dressed.”

“Where are you going?” Christian asks.

I give him a stern look. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Owen and I are going to the movies. Is that okay with you?”

“The movies sounds like a date.” Christian looks to Cam for confirmation. “Right? That sounds like a date.”

Cam nods. “Yeah, it does.”

“If you’re so interested in dating, maybe you should find a girlfriend, Christian,” I say.

He crosses his arms and frowns. “I don’t want a girlfriend. I had a girlfriend. She was a pain. Worse than a pain. Why do I have to get a girlfriend just because you’re going to the movies?”

“You don’t have to find a girlfriend because I’m going to the movies, just like I can go to the movies without having a boyfriend.”

“If you don’t want a girlfriend maybe you should stop leading Grace on,” Cam mumbles.

Christian looks at his brother like he’s crazy. “Where the hell did that come from? Me and Grace are friends. She knows that.”

“And you don’t like her more than a friend?” I shouldn’t get involved in this, but I’m happy the conversation has shifted away from me.

“I don’t know.” Christian rubs the back of his head. “Why are we talking about this?”

“I agree with Cam. You’re sending Grace mixed signals. You’re always flirting with her, but then you claim the two of you are just friends. It’s confusing.”

“Confusing for who?” Christian asks.

“For everyone,” I say.

“Maybe what you and Owen are doing is confusing,” Christian fires back.

Nice one.

“I need to finish getting dressed.” I wave my fingers at them and close the door.

I scroll through Owen’s texts from the past few days. Sweet, flirty, attentive—the kind of messages a boyfriend would send. And my responses have girlfriend written all over them.

It’s time to get real and tell him that I’m ready to take a chance and see where this goes.

Tonight.

I wear my hair down and decide on jeans and a soft gray sweater layered over a stretchy tank.

Owen texts when he’s on his way and I start getting nervous. How am I going to tell him that I changed my mind about our just-friends status?

I think we should give things a try? That sounds awful.

I really like you? A lot? More than a lot? That’s worse.

I’m still wrestling with my options when the doorbell rings. I rush downstairs and open it.

Owen smiles at me. He’s dressed in jeans and a flannel with the sleeves rolled up—the kind of shirt that’s super soft and perfect for cuddling.

“Hey. You look great,” he whispers.

“You look pretty good, too.”

“Did you pick a movie?” he asks as he comes inside.

“I was thinking we could skip the movie.”

He leans close to my ear. “Did you want to spend some time in the women’s locker room?”

I shove him and laugh. “I want to talk.”

“Hmm. Now I’m curious.” He hooks his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and looks down at me. “I want to talk to you about something, too. Then we can hit the women’s locker room.”