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The music in the club was almost unbearably loud as Owen used it to push all his thoughts down. He had only come to the outskirts of the city to see Sassy Silver play their first set for the west coast. But the later it got, the worse he felt sitting all alone. He didn’t want to think about the date, or the time, or the fact that he was by himself just after midnight on a Wednesday.
“You look like you need something stronger.”
He looked up from his water bottle and let his eyes fall on the young woman before him. Blonde hair braided back over one shoulder, as the loose strands fell in waves over her face. She placed a glass down next to his water, as she slid into the empty chair. A challenge in her hazel eyes.
“Thanks,” he said but pushed the bottom of the glass back a bit. “But I’m not drinking tonight.”
“You came to a bar to drink water?”
“I came to a club,” he countered with a grin. “To listen to a band. The water is all they’ll sell me, I’m afraid.”
“Ah, an under 21,” she said as she took the drink and downed it. “But that doesn’t explain the face.”
“What face?”
“The one you that says even the band is barely keeping your here,” she replied. “What’s your story?”
He choked out a laugh as he rolled his eyes. “Trust me it’s kind of pathetic.”
“Oh I have doubt. That’s why I’m interested.”
Usually Owen found himself reserved, never opening up to anyone save for Miram and Emily, and Theo on occasion. But something in the air of the club, in the way she looked at him, had the words tumbling out.
“Today’s my birthday,” he admitted as he ran a hand through his hair. He needed to get it cut soon, but he’d been avoiding it for reasons that seemed to only want to invade his head while he tried to not make direct eye contact with her. But he saw her brow raise so he added. “Nineteen.”
“I’d say congrats, but it doesn’t seem like you want to celebrate.”
He sighed as he rolled the lid of his bottle in his hand. “Usually I do. Birthdays in my family are kind of a big deal. And my twin and I always want to go all out. But… she’s out of town this year.”
“So you can’t celebrate on your own?”
“I could,” he said, but the words felt hollow as he said them. Their birthday never felt real when they were separated. He remembered the year Miriam got stuck at their grandparents. He had stayed holed up in their room during the whole party his parents had thrown, not even coming out for cake. Not until Aunt Sara finally took the jump ship and went to pick her up. “It’s a twin thing.”
“Ah,” she flagged someone down and a waiter came by their table. The stereo had finally evened out to a dull hum, thank the gods, as the crowd grew restless for the band.
The waiter have her a nod of appraisal as he leaned a little too close to her. “What can I get you?”
“Gin and tonic, light on the gin,” she replied, and Owen saw how she barely contained the urge to back away from the guy. “And a beer for my friend here.”
He looked Owen over and scoffed. “I’ll need some ID.”
“He’s with me, Tony,” she said grabbing the waiter’s arm. “Just bring the drinks.”
Tony huffed and walked off. And Owen watched as she readjusted in her seat. “You didn’t have to buy me a drink.”
“Consider it a non-celebratory drink,” she smiled at him. “Besides I have this rule about sad people in my bar.”
“Your bar?”
“Might as well be,” she shrugged. “I’m here enough.”
He didn’t know what to make of her. But the thought of her backing off and leaving him alone again, didn’t sit well. “So what’s this rule?”
She shook her head, as the drinks were dropped off. “You’re not ready to hear it yet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” but she paused as the band began setting up on the stage. “That the night is still young, water boy.”
“It’s Owen,” he supplied taking a drink from the beer. He wasn’t a fan of the taste, but at least it wasn’t his first. That could have been embarrassing.
“Lorena,” she replied as she lifted her own glass. “Shall we toast?”
“To what? I’m not celebrating my birthday.”
“Birthdays are overrated. I meant we toast the band.”
He clinked his bottle to her glass. And something about the way her smile formed, made Owen happy for the first time that night.
---
Several songs, and a couple drinks later, Owen was starting to feel a blissful warmth coursing through him. He didn’t know if it was the beer, or Lorena’s sardonic smile every time the lead singer made a particularly terrible pun. But his earlier angst had definitely worn off. Maybe he didn’t get to celebrate the way he wanted to, but maybe this was better.
“You really like them?” she gave him a look as the band took a break. “I mean don’t you find their lyrics a little…”
“Transcendent?”
“Pretentious,” she countered as she rolled her eyes.
“That’s their whole spin,” he explained as he leaned closer speak over the noise of the club. At some point they had moved their chairs next to each other. And Owen was highly aware of the fact that her hand kept brushing along his. “They’re playing into the pretentiousness to sell the transcendence.”
“That’s a load of crap.”
“Maybe.”
She laughed, and god did he love the sound of that. So much so he found himself laughing too.
“How come no one else in your family wanted to celebrate with you?” she swirled the drink in her glass, her eyes crawling across his skin. He wasn’t sure what was more intoxicating, their drinks or the look she was giving him.
“Busy I guess,” he shrugged downing the rest of his beer. “Older sisters have their own lives. Older brothers have work. My little sister is sick so my parents are taking care of her. And it’s just not the same as it used to be. It’s dumb.”
“Doesn’t sound dumb,” she said as she leaned on the table. She was close enough that he thought she might lean in and kiss him. But instead she placed her hand over his, as if to urge him to continue. So he did.
“When we were growing up it was almost like we were the same person,” he sighed. “I mean I never went anywhere without Miri. We were in the same classes, we shared the same room. You know if I took piano she took it too. And when she wanted to learn guitar I tagged along. I guess she’s the only person in my family who understands me without me having to explain anything. And it’s great.”
He turned to face, Lorena her eyes fixed on him like he was the only one in the whole room. “But the older we got, the more I realized we weren’t the same. She’s outgoing and expressive, and… fearless. And I started to see that the reason we never really parted was because without her, I wouldn’t ever do anything.”
“Is that why you came out tonight?”
“Maybe a little,” he admitted, then focused on the neck of his bottle. “Maybe I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Take a chance.”
He didn’t have time to think about it. One second her hand was on his, and the next it wrapped around his neck, and drew him in for a kiss.
He found himself falling into it, his hands pulling at her waist and bringing their bodies closer. He wanted nothing more than to feel her lips against his for as long as she would let him.
When they finally broke apart, Owen couldn’t bring himself to speak first. All he could do was stare at Lorena as she slid out of her chair, her hand outstretched for him.
“Wanna get out of here?”
He did. He couldn’t believe how much he wanted to follow her. But his senses weren’t that far gone. “We’ve been drinking.”
She laughed, like his goodness wasn’t something she had ever encountered before. She took his hand in hers and pulled him out of his seat and to her. Then she whispered against the shell of his ear. “I know, which is why it’s good I live upstairs.”
He just nodded, letting her take them from the club floor, and out the back exit. Up the steel stairs, and into the loft above. Owen turned off the small part of him that told him to slow down. He knew it well, it’s the same fear that kept him from following Miriam and the others on tour. It’s the voice that kept him from doing anything ever. And for once he didn’t want to listen to it. Just this once he wanted to stay out of his own way.
---
The morning light was almost too much against the pounding pain behind his eyes. But the bed next to him dipped, and Owen found he didn’t mind the light so much when he could focus on her.
“Hey,” she said, biting her lip as she held her hand out. “Brought you something for the pain.”
“So sure I’ll need it?” he smirked as he sat up, taking the aspirin and then the water bottle she offered. “Thanks.”
He didn’t know what to do next. He wasn’t in familiar territory. Hooking up, it was more of something one of his siblings might do. Hell the only person he had ever been with before this was his high school girlfriend. He couldn’t exactly slide that into the conversation.
“I had fun,” she said her face turned towards the window and he couldn’t decipher exactly what she meant by it. But she wasn’t kicking him out yet, so maybe it was a good thing?
“Mind if I use your shower before I…”
She turned to him with a look before leaning in to kiss him again. Electricity charged each second their lips touched, and he felt lost when they parted. He barely heard the knocking against the metal of the door.
“Bathroom’s through there,” she said as she pointed to the left of her bed.
He nodded as he grabbed his shirt and jeans. The area was open, the bed only around four or five feet from the living room and kitchen. The only other door in the whole apartment was the one that separated the bathroom from the rest of space. And he was quick to close himself in there while Lorena went to answer her door.
He didn’t want her to have to explain him to whomever had come calling so early in the day. And he didn’t want to have to stumble around his own words either. Then again what if this person was still there when he got out of the shower? He couldn’t exactly spend the whole day in her bathroom.
He could hear Lorena greeting the newcomer, as he went to turn on the shower. But the other voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
“Where were you last night?” he heard the other girl say. He knew that voice. He had grown up listening to that voice. And then his brain flooded with thoughts.
“I told you I was laying low for the night, Mia,” she replied. Because that’s what Owen needed. Confirmation that his big sister was currently standing in the room he had just vacated.
“Yeah lying low over your cousin’s crappy club? I don’t buy it,” Mia retorted.
Cousin? Owen only picked the club last night because Sassy Silver was playing at the one club in Star City his family wouldn’t look for him at. Because the club was owned by a Rico Bertinelli . Which made Lorena, Lorena Bertinelli. Shit.
“Look we’ll hang later,” Lorena said, and Owen had to lean closer to the door to hear the rest. “I kinda still have company over.”
“Is it that Tony guy your cousin is friends with?”
Owen had to keep himself from scoffing.
“No, and gross,” Lorena retorted. “You don’t know him. But I’d like to at least get his number after he gets out of the shower. So maybe we can do this later?”
“I can’t believe you’re picking a random guy over one of your best friends?”
“Something tells me you’ll get over it.”
He heard them laugh and then a few seconds later the door to the apartment closed again. And Owen found himself opening the bathroom door, to Lorena tidying up her bed.
“I thought you were taking a shower?” she asked, but moved towards him. “Not that I’m complaining.”
He found the words stuck in his throat, as he tried to swallow it down. But he had to say something. “I heard your company.”
“Oh, yeah Mia,” she rolled her eyes. “She’s a bit dramatic. Comes with the last name.”
“Queen,” he supplied, as he leaned against the door frame.
“How did you know that?”
He felt like his face was on fire. “Because she’s my older sister.”
Lorena stood there for a second, like she didn’t quite believe the words he said, like maybe he was joking. But then they settled and she sat down against the bed.
“Owen Queen ?” she looked at him with the question, and all he could do was nod. “Hell.”
“Yeah.”
It was complicated and messy. And he had heard a million stories from his mother about how much she hated Helena Bertinelli. He wondered if Lorena had heard an equal amount of stories about his own parents from her mom.
But it had been a one night thing. It’s not like they owed it to anyone to explain what had happened between them. It’s not like when he looked at her he could feel himself falling already… Except he did. And he didn’t know what to do about it, what he could do about it.
“Well,” she said standing again and coming to stand in front of him. “Kinda wish I had asked that last night.”
“Would it have changed anything?” he asked, not having a clue where the boldness of the words came from.
She stared at him, her gaze focusing on every part of him before she settled on his eyes. Then she kissed him, soft and calm. He would have thought it would have been a goodbye, but every bit of it felt more like a beginning than an ending.
“No,” she finally said as she settled her feet back to the floor. “I don’t think it would have.”