The Hidden Luna

Chapter Eight

Ally POV

It didn’t take long for Owen to come back with his car. I’m not sure why I was surprised but his car was really nice. It was some kind of Mercedes and looked pretty new. When he pulled up in front of the diner, he hopped out and opened the back door for us. We both climbed into the back seat. I had a feeling that he would have preferred if I sat up front with him but I didn’t want Syd to feel alone. We all buckled in and Owen and I made eye contact through the rear view mirror. He winked at me and of course I blushed and looked away. However, I looked right at Syd who had a knowing smirk on her face. I lightly elbowed her and we both started cracking up.

“Where to ladies?” he asked with a terrible English accent.

“Lets start with Knights Landing. There are about five other complexes within walking distance of that one.” I suggested.

“Sounds good. It is a beautiful day and we can work off that huge breakfast we all had.” He laughed.

We made small talk as Owen drove us to the apartment complex. I couldn’t believe how comfortable I was with him. When he suggested apartment hunting, I didn’t hesitate to agree and also had no qualms about getting into a car with someone I had just met. The more cautious part of my mind was weirdly silent. Maybe it was because Syd was there that there were no alarms going off.

“Or maybe it is because you know he would never hurt us” a voice said in my head.

I stiffened when I heard the voice. Owen and Syd were in the middle of a conversation so I know it didn’t come from either of them. Maybe I’m going crazy. That would just be perfect. I met the hottest guy I’ve ever seen who seems to be interested in me and I’m going crazy. Knowing my luck, this is all a dream and I haven’t even woken up yet this morning.

“Try pinching yourself princess.” The voice laughed in my mind.

I discreetly pinched myself and since I didn’t wake up in my bed, I let out a relieved sigh. I sighed and started paying attention to the conversation that Owen and Syd were having. I couldn’t believe that I thought they were a thing a couple of hours ago. They acted almost like brother and sister. I spent the next 15 minutes cracking up at them making fun of each other. I’m so glad he has a good sense of humor. There is nothing worse than a hot guy with a terrible personality.

We finally arrived at our first stop and headed to the leasing office. Owen ran around and opened both our doors for us and then held the door open when we entered the leasing office. I smiled at him and Syd mouthed “Perfect gentleman” while pretending to fan herself. I giggled but a part of me felt a sense of pride in the small gesture. We were surprised to find out that the leasing office belonged to three different properties. They had one building which catered to students, one to familes and the other catered to single working adults. The receptionist introduced herself as Andrea and brought us bottles of water while we waited for the leasing agent. I couldn’t help but notice the way she was looking at Owen. I couldn’t really blame her, he was definitely the hottest guy in the office at the moment. I just smiled when he paid her absolutely no attention. We only waited a few minutes before a pleasant voice sounded through the quiet office.

“Mr. Lupei?” she asked.

“That would be me.” He said as he stood and shook her hand.

“And who are these lovely ladies?” she asked while smiling at both myself and Syd.

“These are my friends Ally and Syd.” He said.

“Well ladies, My name is Alice and it is a pleasure to meet you all. I have plenty to show you all so I’m glad to see we all have comfortable shoes on. “ she laughed.

She seemed very nice and made our tour very comfortable. We toured each building and saw the different layouts they provided. I wasn’t too thrilled with any of them. None of them seemed right. Although I’m currently living in a small apartment/dorm with Syd, I felt claustrophobic in all of them. As we exited the last apartment, Alice could tell that we were not impressed with anything we had seen. We made our way back to the leasing office. I was a bit tired. None of these apartments had elevators and we spent the last two hours going up and down stairs. It’s a good thing we all were in good shape.

“So Mr. Lupei did anything catch your eye?” she asked with a smile.

Owen sighed and looked at me. I wasn’t thrilled with anything and slightly shook my head. Owen looked disappointed and turned to Alice.

“I’m so sorry Alice. The units you showed us were all very nice but I think I’m looking for something larger. Maybe a house would better suit my needs” He said. I was a little shocked as it was like he was reading my mind.

“I completely understand. Some people don’t like apartment living. Give me just one minute. “ She said as she excused herself.

“I hope she isn’t going to try to convince you to get one of those apartments. I don’t think that anything she could show me would make me want to live in these buildings. They just aren’t for me.” Owen said to us. We could see Alice standing in her office talking on her cell phone. She is smiling and nodding her head. She hung up the phone and came back towards us.

“Andrea I’m going to be taking lunch now. I will be back in an hour.” She told the receptionist.

“I’m sorry that we were not able to fit your needs at the moment. Let me walk you out to your car. Hopefully in the future we can take another look.” She said to Owen.

We were all a bit confused but wanted to leave anyways so we followed her out. Once we were near Owen’s car she turned to us with a smile.

“Sorry, I couldn’t say this in the office as it would be unprofessional but I have a rental property that just came available last week. It hasn’t been professionally cleaned yet but my father said it was practically spotless when he did the walk through. It is a four bedroom three and a half bath with a large yard that backs up to the forest. The houses in the area are all spread apart so there is plenty of Privacy. We had plans not to rent it out and install a pool but I have a good feeling about you and a pool can wait. Would you like to see it?” She asked excitedly.

“Yes, please. That sounds awesome. Did you want us to follow or did you want to ride with us?” he asked.

“You can follow me. I don’t want you to have to drive all the way back here for no reason.” She replied.

We got into Owen’s car and this time Syd nudged me towards the front seat. She climbed into the back seat and put her feet up across the backseat.

“Well I know where I’m not wanted.” I joked. Owen just smiled and while we waited he showed me all the controls for the heated and cooled seats and massager. I was all buckled in when Alice pulled in front of us. Owen made small talk with me as we followed behind Alice’s huge Expedition. Within minutes, we could hear Syd’s light snoring from the back seat.

“Someone’s exhausted.” Owen said.

“She didn’t get enough sleep last night and I woke her up super early. She deserves a nap.” I explained.

“Well if this place works out, maybe I can take you ladies to a nice lunch and then she can nap the afternoon away.” He said.

“He wants to spend more time with us!” The voice in my head screamed.

The voice still confused me but I couldn’t help but share her excitement. Before I could even respond to the voice in my head, we pulled into a long driveway. I leaned over and shook Syd so she could see. We were less than a couple of miles from our dorm but it was well secluded. We pulled up in front of the cutest house. It was a white cabin style home but still looked luxurious It was complete with a bench swing and two rocking chairs. It was everything I would want for my house on the outside so I was excited to see the inside.

I jumped out of the car before Owen could open my door which made him chuckle. I grabbed his hand and practically ran up the front steps. Alice unlocked the door and I gasped at the inside. The house had everything you could possibly need. The master was huge and had a huge Jacuzzi bath. One of the bedrooms had built in shelves and the most adorable window seat. The kitchen had all the newest appliances and there was a huge screen tv that came with the house.

“This is a smart home. The lights, alarm, AC and even the Jacuzzi can be controlled with an app. There is gasoline powered emergency power in the basement in case the electricity goes out that can last up to one week. Let me show you the backyard.” She said.

I hadn’t realized that I was still holding Owen’s hand until he had to let go of it to open the backdoor. I felt a bit of loss when he let go but as soon as he was out the door he slid his hand back into mine and gave it a squeeze. The backyard was enormous and gorgeous. The yard, just like the house was well cared for.

“So what do you guys think? The home is $3,000 a month and that includes all utilities, alarm and yard service.” Alice said.

Syd was sitting on the tire swing hanging from the huge tree in the yard. “I love it” she yelled over. Owen squeezed my hand again. “What do you think?” he asked.

“Owen it is your house but I absolutely love it. It is spacious, has a beautiful yard and a comfortable feel to it. It is quite a bit more than the apartments we were looking at. I don’t know your finances but if it is affordable for you then I say take it.” I answered honestly.

Owen pulled me into a side hug and said to Alice “We will take it!” My heart skipped a beat when he said We. Alice clapped her hands together and started talking lease and deposit info. I walked over to the now abandoned swing and sat down. Syd came up behind me and started to push.

“I really think Owen is into you.” She whispered.

“I think so too. I hope that he asks me out. If not, I might ask him.” I said and we both giggled. We took turns pushing each other on the swing while Owen signed the lease and paid his deposit. He asked if he could move in immediately but her father insisted that the place be professionally cleaned and would be available in two days. He was practically giddy when we loaded back into his car.

“So are you two ladies up for lunch? Or is it nap time?” he asked us.

“I honestly could use a nap. Do you want to come to our place and we can all nap? Our couch is a pullout but very cozy.” I said.

“Sure.” He said.

Our drive back t the dorm was quiet. But it was a comfortable silence. I wondered what Owen was thinking about. He was driving with a slight smile on his face. He must be really excited about his new place.The next thing I knew, Owen reached over and squeezed my hand. I looked down at our intertwined fingers and smiled.

“Is that ok?” he asked nervously.

“Yes.” I replied breathlessly. It was such a simple gesture but so intimate. But it felt so natural.

”Because he belongs to us” the voice said.

We pulled up to our dorm and Syd was dragging her feet. Thankfully our building did have an elevator. When we got to our floor I barely noticed the huge man standing outside our room. It was Owen making a growling sound that snapped me out of my haze. He moved both Syd and I behind him as he prepared for a confrontation with Mike. Just then we heard a squeal and one of the girls from our floor, Amber, jumped onto Mike and stuck her tongue down his throat. I could see the relief in Owen’s eyes and posture. He relaxed as we entered the apartment. When I turned to lock the door I cringed as I made eye contact with Mike while he was making out with Amber. I rolled my eyes and locked the door. When I turned back around, Syd was passed out snoring on the couch and Owen was standing awkwardly staring at her.

“Don’t worry about it. You can take my bed and I will take hers. She will be out for hours and if we wake her now, she will be grumpy as hell.” I laughed as I grabbed her favorite blanket from her bed and then tucked her in. I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and Owen followed me to the bedroom.

“Where’s your bathroom?” he asked. I pointed to the door and then quickly made my way to my closet. I changed into some shorts and a tank top and crawled into Syd’s bed. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. Owen came out of the bathroom in running shorts and no shirt. I giggled and as I was falling asleep, I could have sworn I heard him call me princess.

Last edited in 1/31/22