I HAVE NOT STOPPED THINKING ABOUT WHAT I DID THIS AFTERNOON. I kissed Owen. I grabbed him by his shirt yanked him down and kissed him. It was fast and blurry, but I did it. And then the most unexpected and glorious thing happened... he kissed me back!

The manly smell of him was enough to glue me to him, with the hint of gas and sweat...

Oh Lord!

And I pretty much melted while simultaneously bursting into flames when his big strong hands where in my hair and on the small of my back. Then there was the kiss... how he tasted. He was the most potent and intoxicating man. All the dreams I used to have of moments just like that fizzled into nothingness... he was so much better than those lukewarm dreams.

I was and still am madly love with him, but now he's gotten me in a deep spell that I can't get out of. But, man, do I hope it happens again...

What have I done?

Am stands next to me texting as we wait for everyone at the bowling alley. It's busy tonight but I ordered some lanes for us and hope that people are here by the time they open up.

Doubt Owen will come now.

I was so frustrated with him not calling me a lady and putting me in headlocks. I just did it without even thinking. Shockingly enough he wanted more. I spazzed out and had awkwardly ran away freaking saluting him... again.

Note to self: Stop saluting people.

Am flicks my cheek and eyeballs me. "What's up with you? You've been weird ever since you got home."

I clear my throat, "It's nothing."

She doesn't buy it.

I sigh and glance around. "I kissed Owen."

Am drops her phone with a wide open mouth. Five eyelash bats, six, seven eight.... "Is he as delicious as he looks."

Usually I'd hit her arm but I'm not myself and instead sigh wistfully, "You have no idea."

Her brows furrow and she goes into her lawyer interrogator mode. "Who initiated?"

"I did it, kind of out of spite, but then he just, I don't know... attacked me."

"How so?"

"Um, by sticking his tongue down my throat and you know..." I pause and weirdly show her, with nothing but air and an imaginary human being, how he had grabbed me pulling me right into him."

"How long?"

"Dear Lord Am! I'm not being cross examined here."

"Yes you are."

I throw my hands up. "I have no clue my brain had farted alright."

Am's grin blows up on her face. "Good for you."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, good for me. He probably won't come now. I practically ran out and managed to smile at his shell-shocked face."

Am claps her hands in excitement. "Tonight is going to be so fun."

I sigh and perk up when I see two guys come in. They look around and one with really pretty blue eyes stops when he sees me. He hits his more ordinary friend and they both walk over to us. The guy with pretty eyes and dark blonde hair stops in front of me. "Harper?"

I'm speechless for a second. I wasn't expecting him to be so good-looking. "Uh, yeah, Daniel?"

He gives a charming smile. "Yeah, this is my buddy Craig. We have one more coming. She should be here soon."

"We have one more running late too."

My eyes drift to the Craig guy to see him practically drooling over Am, who's only concern is examining her nails. When I see her nails, I'm reminded of mine and I glance down, frowning at the dirt underneath them.

Ugh, I should've cleaned them.

Am flicks back her hair and I bite my lip wishing I had dressed up a little nicer like her. She's in a pretty casual dress while I'm in skinny jeans and a loose grey shirt.

At least I did my hair.

I pick at my fingernails and Daniel notices. "Did you do some work outside."

I flush a little. "Yeah, I helped out my friend's parents with their lawn. Pulled weeds mostly."

Among other things.

He smirks and cups his hand over his mouth trying not to laugh. I cock a brow and all attraction I felt for the guy vanishes in that instant. I put my hand on my hip. "Don't know why that's so funny. I reserved two lanes for tonight and once the last two get here we'll get our shoes."

My thumb points behind me to the desk where the shoes are at. He steps a little too close to me and picks up my hand kissing it. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. I just thought it was cute."

Charmer...

The guy makes me a little uncomfortable but I'm blushing despite that. The sound of someone clearing their throat gets our attention. I turn to see Owen standing there with his arms crossed looking very irritated. The kiss crosses through my mind again and my blush deepens as I take my hand immediately out of Daniels.

I thought Daniel was attractive, but Owen puts him to shame right now. His snug dark blue shirt shows off his chiseled perfection and my chest tightens as he eyes Daniel, who raises a brow. Owen holds out his hand and introduces himself before I can.

"Owen Samuels."

Daniel shakes his hand. "Daniel, nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Harper's?"

Owen grips Daniels hand a little harder before he let's go. "Good friend."

Daniel nods and his eyes shift behind Owen as a pretty tiny girl comes up to us. "And this is Jackie, my sister."

Jackie smiles and shakes my hand. "Well you're definitely Harper. It was easy to pick you out with that flaming red hair of yours."

Daniel points to the bar. "Anyone thirsty?"

Jackie nods as does Craig, while Am, Owen and I shake our heads no and wait while the others go to order. Owen steps close to me causing my body to heat up. "Should I get us some lanes?"

"I already did it." I say glancing at him then quickly look away.

"You paid for it?" His voice is unhappy, "How much do I owe you?"

I shake my head. "Nothing, I invited you and it wasn't much."

Act normal. Act normal.

"Isn't this supposed to be a date? Shouldn't he have paid for it?" His strong jaw juts toward Daniel as he laughs along with his friends.

"Like I said it's not serious. Give him a break." I poke his side and he gives a low hum.

Am bumps shoulders with him. "He's nice and not bad looking either. I think you may have found a prospect Harp."

Owen says nothing and I roll my eyes at Am's lame attempt to get him jealous. My name is called indicating our lanes are ready. The three come up and we're soon putting on our shoes and splitting into teams. I'm with Daniel and Craig, while Owen is with Am and Jackie, who won't stop flirting with him. Owen puts on his charm for her and I can't help but think the two of them together remind me of his mom and dad.

Owen's always liked the dainty fragile type.

Craig goes first and Daniel puts his arm around my shoulder. This guy gets comfortable real quick. "You're a guidance counselor. right?"

I bounce my leg up and down not looking forward to humiliating myself. "Yeah, I love it. What about you?"

He shifts a little closer to me. "I'm in marketing."

Boring.

For some girls its probably a turn on not for me. I nod and breathe when he leaves for his turn. I glance up and see Owen glowering. My cheeks heat up and my nose wrinkles as he gets up walking away toward the bar. I clear my throat as Daniel earns a strike making me scowl. I turn and see Am giving me thumbs up and clapping her hands.

She claps way too much when she's excited.

I chew on my cheek as Daniel sits back down and I get up for my turn...

and completely embarrass myself!

Two gutter balls, two. I plop down as Daniel laughs, "Mrs. Newhouse told me you were good at sports."

My mouth twitches at that. "I am, just not bowling." He chuckles a little, making me feel perturbed. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing," He comes closer whispering in my ear, "I had assumed you were trying to look bad on purpose so I could show you how?"

Why in the hell would I do that? Heat creeps up on my face, but not the good kind. Nope. The kind that shows off my flaring temper. His closeness makes me prickly and I fight the need to scoot away from him. I'm not quite angry enough to be rude... yet.

"What's your favorite thing to do around here?"

I give a deep breath storing my temper away for now. "I like rock climbing. There's a place downtown I go to every once in a while."

He nods, smirking, "Maybe we can go sometime?"

My eyes widen. Uh? What happened to not being serious? This is a very rare occurrence for me in this jungle called dating where a guy suggests a second date. I have no idea how to answer the guy. Before I can he asks another question.

"What's your favorite food?"

"Cheesy fries." Owen's deep voice interrupts as he places a huge order of said food right in front of me with a large orange soda. I beam at him as he flicks my forehead. "That's for paying."

I rub the spot on my forehead and he sits beside me eyeing Daniel. My heart races at it and I smile like crazy from the attention I'm getting from him.

This easily makes up for those years of never hearing from him... maybe... no.. Definitely! All because of the cheesy fries.

I stuff one in my mouth and Daniel laughs, "You're interesting."

I should probably compliment him, but I don't know if he's complimenting me or not so I nod. "Thanks?"

We bowl for a while and Owen's team is slaughtering us because I'm so horrible. Owen laughs every time I'm up earning a lot of punches from me. Am continues to ignore Craig's flirting and chats happily with Jackie, who seems to be enjoying her company.

As we begin starting the next game a conversation next to us makes us all stop and listen in. A guy, who looks like he stepped off a stage of a body builder contest, horrifyingly flirts with a poor girl in the worst possible way. Ever.

He's downright creepy and throwing inappropriate comments at her. By her body language we can all tell she's highly uncomfortable.

"You good with balls?" The guys arrogantly laughs at his own stupid joke.

It's my turn so I get up and grab my lime green ball all the while rolling my eyes.

"Um, that's really inappropriate." My eyes widen. I recognize that bell like voice. I sharply turn to Owen and he already knows it's Emily.

"Come on! It's funny and it's not like we aren't going to have some fun later." I watch in horror as Emily shoots up to leave but the guy grabs her arm really hard and rips her back down with way too much force. "Where're you going?"

Emily caves into herself. "Home. I'm not that kind of girl."

"You aren't going anywhere. I brought you here and that's the only way you're going back."

Oh hell no!

I slam my ball back onto the ball return and turn hotly on my heel, but Owen is already in front of me. "Let me handle this."

I shiver at the pure confidence in his rough voice.

So sexy.

He takes out his police ID and goes over to the two. Am mouths, "Get him, get him." I go to my seat propping myself on my knees with my belly against the seat for a full access view. Owen's back is to me and my eyes trace his broad shoulders and trail down to his... no, not his butt, his hands. They're relaxed and I realize he isn't going over there to fight.

Owen sits on the table and shows the guy his ID. The guy's face goes from cocky to a sheet of white. Owen looks at Emily and gives her a reassuring smile. "Hey Ems."

His stern eyes turn to the guy. "Not only did I hear you sexually threaten a woman, but you also did it to an old friend of mine." Owen's tone is strict and powerful, without any drama. "And unless she," Owen pauses pointing at Emily, "tells me otherwise, I'm going to have my buddy come down and take you in."

Say yes Emily!

She bites her lip and shakes her head no.

Gah! Too nice!

Owen stares at the man and I'm reminded once again that he's a cop. His stare is well controlled, calm and strict. "Well, it's your lucky day." Owen shifts from sexy cop to friend. "Em, why don't you join us? I'll take you home after."

The guy goes to get up, but Owen stops him. "Before you go I'll need to see your ID."

The guy flexes and his nostrils flare but he does as he's told. Owen looks over it and asks a random worker passing by for pen and paper. He hands him some and Owen begins writing down the guy's information. "Now, if you continue to bother Emily in anyway, I'll make sure to bring you in. I don't take kindly to men threatening women. Do you understand?"

A vein on the guy's neck bulges as he nods his head. Owen gives him his ID back and the body builder goes to walk away but not before turning his eyes to me and glancing down. I immediately know what he's looking at and I'm not the only one...

"Keep moving." Owen growls out menacingly and the guy retreats.

Emily comes over and her face is relieved when she sees me. "Harp, it's good to see you again. I'm really sorry if I'm intruding."

I shake my head. "No not at all. I'm so sorry that guy was awful. I never thought someone would have a worse date than me. I've been on a lot that have gone horribly but never like that."

Daniel shakes her hand introducing himself and she blushes. She turns to Owen smiling. "Thank you, you really saved me back there. I had no idea he was like that. He seemed so nice at the gym"

Owen sits next to me with her on the other side. "I'm glad to help Ems, and some guys tend to hide their true intentions."

I nod vigorously. "He's right. I once had one guy ask me what cup size I was."

Owen stills and Emily widens her eyes. "Really?"

Yep." I wave my hand in the air. "Walked right out."

Daniel pats my shoulder. "Good for you."

Am scoffs, "This is why I never date."

I glance at my stunning best friend. It's true, she never dates. I've always wondered why but she always says it because she has no time. I push the thought back as Daniel slings his arm around me and smiles at Emily. "Which team would you like to join?"

"I'll be on whoever's." She says sweetly.

Why didn't Owen continue dating her?

I jump up and begin walking away. "While you guys decide I'm going to go get more cheesy fries."

The group chats away as I rush to the bar. "Can I have an order of cheesy fries?"

A waitress writes it down asking, "Anything else?"

I shake my head no and wait, strumming my fingers on the counter. I start whistling to the music but stop when I feel a very large arm brush against mine. I glance up thinking it's Owen but am so... very... wrong.

The body builder from earlier rolls his eyes over me but I hold my ground.

"Can I help you?" I seethe out.

He flashes me a sloppy smile and points to Owen, who's joking around with Emily and Am. "You were with that group, right? The red head with the nice..."

He doesn't finish the sentence when he sees my expression. I have perfected the look of "You better not say another word d-bag." Men usually leave me alone when I bring it out.

He takes a swig from his beer and then traces a finger over my shoulder flicking a piece of my hair back. "You are really gorgeous much better than that little plain girl. You've got this sexy curvy thing going on?"

I glare at him and push his hand away. "Don't touch me."

His mouth twitches. "I was giving you a compliment. What are you that prissy cop's woman?"

"No," I state firmly, "But we're very good friends and he won't like you getting all chummy with me."

The guy snorts and takes a big gulp from his beer. "How about we get out of here and I show you a good time." He tries touching my hair again but I jerk back. "I'd like to see if the..."

"You better not finish that sentence." I sneer out slapping his hand away.

"Like em feisty." He says then belches.

I bust out laughing, "Yeah, listen, Emily is too sweet and polite, but I'm not. Get lost."

The lady comes back with my cheesy fries and my eyes light up. I thank her and turn to leave but the guy quickly clutches my arm and yanks me right into him. My fries splatter all over the floor and my face twists in rage.

"Hey!" I snap my eyes to his and we glare at each other.

No one ruins a good order of cheesy fries.

I can see that bulging vein again as he inches closer to me. "I wasn't done with you."

He grips my arm tightly and my eyes widen.

Did he grab Emily like this? I can handle it, but that girl...

I clench my teeth and yell very loudly, gaining everyone's attention around the bar. "You better let go."

He bends down until his lips are right over mine and his nasty beer breath hits my face. "Or what?"

My eyes become steel. "I warned you."

A/N: Hi everyone!!! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. What do you all think Harper's going to do to him? Please don't forget to vote and comment!

~ Living Red