My empty stomach heard the word “breakfast,” and rumbled its agreement. When was the last time I ate? I couldn’t remember. Driven by hunger, I quickly dressed in Owen’s clothes. The smell of bacon hurried the process. Mmmm, bacon.

I looked at myself in the mirror, swallowed in a sea of gray and giggled. I looked like a kid wearing their sibling’s clothes. Their much bigger and chromophobic sibling. Grey? Just grey? Not another color like blue? I mean, blue would look so good with your eyes, Owen. I mused over his color choice, cinched the drawstring, and tied it to keep the sweatpants from falling down. Not that I figured Owen would mind. But that’s weird, I didn’t think Owen was that much bigger than me. Oh, well. At least, I’ll be comfortable. I decided he probably liked baggy clothes, and followed my nose to the kitchen. Now, where is that bacon?

“Something smells good.” I exclaimed as I rounded the corner, entering the kitchen. I had followed my nose all the way down the stairs, and through the lower portion of the house. I didn’t remember seeing a kitchen last night, but I found it nonetheless.

Owen was leaning over the counter, staring intently at a tablet screen. He seemed oddly distracted. Intrigued, I walked up beside him to spy over his shoulder. He quickly swiped the screen closed, and smiled at me nervously. Hmmm. Fishy.

“We don’t have a frappuccino machine. So, I made you an iced coffee. It's in the fridge” he gestured to the fridge with one hand while the other one closed the tablet and pushed it away.

I eyed the tablet now several feet away and wondered what made him act so guilty. Did I walk in on him looking at porn? Hmmm, maybe he was excited to see me naked after all. Somehow, the thought of him being affected by my body made me giddy.

“Hey, man,” stifling a giggle, “I don’t care if you get your rocks off to porn. I’m not judging you.”

Owen just smiled his huge, dopey smile and walked over to the table. I went to the fridge and grabbed my coffee. Walking up to the table, I realized there were bowls of scrambled eggs, bacon, and French toast, but only two place settings. Why are there only two places? I wondered.

“Isn’t Tobin going to eat with us?” I asked, sitting down across from Owen.

He passed me a bowl. “No. He’s got something to take care of. He’ll be gone for a few days.”

A few days? Gone? What the fuck! He didn’t even say goodbye. I set the bowl down, shocked that he just left us. He just left me.

“What about my apartment? The bastards that did it?”

“Calm down,” Owen said, picking up the bowl and handing it back. “Here, eat something. We have a plan. Everything will work out.”

I took the bowl reluctantly, and placed a couple strips of bacon on my plate. Owen handed me the bowl of scrambled eggs and looked at me expectantly. I placed a couple spoonfuls on my plate before pushing the bowl away, shaking my head when he tried to hand me the French toast.

“Forcing me to eat isn’t going to change anything, Owen.”

“Yeah, it will. Watch.”

He leaned over the table, resting on his elbows. For a second, I forgot how to breathe, staring into his deep, blue eyes. Just when I thought he was going to kiss me, I closed my eyes, parted my lips, and... Owen shoved a piece of bacon in my mouth.

I tried to mumble around the strip of bacon to protest this terrible deception. But I couldn’t. Mmmm, it tastes sooo good. Chewing slowly to savor the taste, I walked my fingers across the table and stealthily stole a piece of French toast. Owen watched me try to sneak the toast back to my plate and laughed, handing me the syrup. Meekly, I smiled at him through lowered lashes. Ok. So, he wins this round. He can win me over with food. We ate in silence, relishing the rich flavors. After breakfast, Owen stood up from the table.

“Leave the dishes there, I have something to show you.”

He pushed his chair back from the table and reached for my hand. I grasped his hand and followed him into the living room. Owen stopped in front of a coffee table, cryptically looking down at a laptop and cellphone.

“Tobin left you these. He said you need to close down your website. Make an excuse, like you're going on an impromptu vacation or something.”

Picking up the cell phone, I realized, “I don’t know anyone’s phone numbers. They're all stored in my phone.”

“Jade, you can’t contact anyone directly, and you have to shut down your website. They can be watching, waiting for you to make contact, so they can trace it back to your location.”

They? They who? I turned the phone over in my hand, and let the gravity of what he said sink in. Until now, I didn’t realize I was in danger. I thought my apartment was just some random, first-floor apartment building target, not a premeditated and orchestrated hit. Slowly, I sank down into the couch, clutching the useless cellphone to my chest.

“Why don’t you close your website while I do the dishes? Then, we can watch a movie.” Owen handed me the laptop. I felt out of sorts, off kilter, out of whack, and I didn’t like it one bit. I simply nodded and mumbled, “okay.”

Only, I wasn’t okay. I didn’t want to abandon my website, even though I could see the wisdom of it. I didn’t want to sever my link to the world, the one thing that made me feel important. Sadly, I opened my website and prepared to close out my only source of income. I quickly typed a vague (Closed for Vacation) announcement, and closed the page. Sliding back on the couch, I shut my eyelids tight against the tears that threatened to escape.

Scriiiitch!

I opened my eyes to see Owen pushing the wooden coffee table back from the couch. The laptop had been moved over and Owen was kneeling on the floor in front of me. I watched confused when Owen pressed a key and the screen went blank. I only had a second to think about the awkwardness of his actions before he started to untie the drawstring. “Owen, I...” was all I could get out before his hand pushed me back against the couch.

“What the hell!” Sensing his intentions, I grabbed the waistband holding it in place.

Owen gripped my wrists. “Relax. I got you.”

Damn… I liked those words.

I stared into his blue eyes, hesitating as the words echoed in my head. Relax. I got you.

I stopped resisting, letting him gingerly lower the fabric down my legs. His mouth hovered over my mound as if asking for permission. Too overwhelmed to speak, I nodded. My breath hitched in my throat when his tongue slowly licked trails up and down my slit. Not gay. Definitely not gay.

His eyes were mesmerizing while he nibbled and sucked my wet, aching pussy. Ooooh, yes.

Silently, I arched my back, giving in to his magical ministrations. I forgot where we were, and tried to focus on the sensations moving between my legs. His hot breath on my swollen lips, his fingers moving alongside his talented tongue.

I fought to keep my eyes open to maintain eye contact as Owen moved faster, pushing me closer to the edge. Tensing, I pushed my hips up into him, grabbed his head and moaned. His tongue delved deeper inside me, fingers pumping in and out, rubbing against my clit.

I fractured, unabashedly spewing an ancient language of gibberish on a yell. My pussy throbbed and clenched around his stroking fingers. Owen slowly licked me through the orgasm. The flat of his tongue gently brushed my tender folds.

Slowly, so slowly, I floated back down from ethereal bliss to blue eyes staring up at me adoringly. Daaaammmnnn!

I shifted nervously on the couch, unsure what to say to him afterwards. Um... Good job? Thanks? What do you say in a moment like this? I mean it was kind of awkward at the beginning, but… it’s not like I’m complaining.

Owen pulled up my pants and stood, licking his lips. I was in shock, in space, still disoriented and meekly sat on the couch while he silently gathered a blanket and the TV remote. He spread the blanket over me, sat behind me on the couch, and pulled me into his chest. Completely satiated, I snuggled into him and watched him turn on the tv. I felt his heart pounding against my back, tapping out a message on my skin in morse code: L-O-V-E