Free Unfinished by Shae Scott

Be nice to her.  She’s special,” he
warned.  But his eyes were playful as he glanced back down at me. 
    “Hey, Ally!!! 
Join us.  You can tell us all stories about this fucker.  I know you’ve got to
have dirt on him.”  I smiled at the sandy haired man, leaning back in his chair
and ruffling his hair in a carefree kind of way. 
    “I don’t think
so,” Owen laughed. “I’m not letting her anywhere near you Neanderthals.  We’re
gonna find our own table. I don’t trust any of you where she is concerned,” he
said taking my hand.  I’m pretty sure he was only half joking. He led us to a
table near one of the windows.  You could see the people passing on the street
outside and even in this loud club, it felt kind of private.
    A waitress
appeared almost instantly and took my order.  I ordered a beer and settled back
into my seat.  The booth seats had high backs and were covered in soft leather.
The lights were dim, but cast a soft glow all around us.  I shrugged off my
jacket and put it beside me.  I caught a glance at Owen who seemed to be
studying me.  I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, and I hoped he
couldn’t see through me.  His features were so familiar.  The line of his jaw,
the deep blue of his eyes, the way his lip lifted to the left side when he smiled
just a little.  I knew it all.  But, there was something new about him.  I
couldn’t put my finger on it.  I assumed it was just the fact that he was now a
man.  There weren’t many traces of the boy I knew. He had more of an edge to
him now.  It was there in the hard lines and the air of responsibility, or
maybe it was control.  I’m not sure, but the difference felt acute and it
warred with the feel of familiar that I had being near him.  It made for a very
odd sensation.
    “You’re
quiet,” he said.  I smiled.  He always did that.  He didn’t often give me much
of a break. He just put it out there. I both loved and hated that. 
    “I guess I’m a
little nervous.  It’s a bit surreal to be sitting here with you,” I admitted. 
I wouldn’t let my gaze drop, even though looking him in the eye made my heart
race.
    “I make you
nervous?  That’s new,” he said, taking a draw from his bottle of Sam Adams.  I
was rescued momentarily as the waitress set down my drink.
    “It’s just the
situation.  I mean, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other,” I
pointed out.  I felt my face flush as I thought about the last time we’d spent
time together.  I wondered if he was thinking about it too.  I thought I saw
something flash across his eyes, but it was gone before I could identify it. 
    “Well, I’m
glad fate brought you here tonight,” he said simply.  I felt a jolt as he
reached across the table and covered my hand with his. His smile was genuine
and it danced in his eyes.  I was pretty sure if he were a Disney character
that there would have been a full out twinkle star beside him.
    “I am too. 
It’s really good to see you,” I agreed. 
    “So tell me
about your meeting.  Did it go well?” he asked.  He leaned back into his seat
and I could think a little clearer now that he wasn’t touching me. 
    “It did.  I’ve
been working on this deal for awhile.  I’ve worked on other projects with them,
but now they are starting a new company and I really want to sign them on with
our agency.  It would be a really big get.  I feel like we are getting close,”
I said.
    “That’s great.
I hope you get it,” he said. And with that, we moved into easier conversation. 
The nervousness began to fade away and I found myself in comfortable territory.
    We talked
about random subjects, everything from where we’d traveled to arguing about
trivial things like the relevance of Airheads in the taffy family, a discussion
that had me full out laughing. It felt like before, the random turning into
full on deep conversation.  No matter the subject matter, with him, it was
always