Title: Paradoxical Paradise
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Sawyer/Ana-Lucia
Genre: Romance? Drama?
Beta: leiaamos
Summary: This will take place off the island, when Ana Lucia and Sawyer have never met.

Chapter 1

She was beautiful. She was tall, slender and fair skinned. Her wavy honey brown hair flowed over her shoulders, but curled around her face. Her hazel eyes were shaped like almonds, and glistening. Her blouse was black with a low cut v-neck, showing off a teasing amount of cleavage. In the dim lighting of the bar, she looked exceedingly sexy.

Her voice was sweet as she laughed at his jokes. They'd been sitting on the stools for over an hour, talking, laughing, and flirting. She kept leaning toward him giggling, her hand sliding up his arm. He ordered another drink for her, and she didn't object. He knew she'd be an easy one. He'd gotten her away from her friends in an instant, and all was going according to plan.

She was cute, he had to admit. And she was bound to have money. Of course, it helped that he'd been tipped off about it beforehand. It was a shame, really. She was one of the most gorgeous job's he'd ever had. At least he'd get to take her home. And at least he'd be making a good amount of money from this one, unlike the last two that got him less than twenty grand. He took a swig, reminiscing as the woman beside him babbled on.

He felt a presence behind them suddenly. As he expected, there was a dark haired woman headed their way. She grabbed the girl's arm and turned her around. His girl looked at her friend, curiously, and laughed. He turned his attention on her friend, eyeing her from head to toe. She had long, black hair, and beautiful light brown eyes that looked almost gold in the bar's lighting. Her skin had a darker tan than her friend, and she had a more exotic appearance. But there was something about her that was a bit off, to him. He couldn't quite place it.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she said in a low voice.

"What's up Ana?"

Ana, he thought. The name fit, but almost too simply.

"Look. We're about to leave. Maybe you should come with us."

Ah, he thought to himself with a grin. She's caught on to the act.

"Oh. Well…" she looked over at him regretfully. "I guess so. I just need to run to the bathroom real quick. Be right back," she smiled at him.

He watched her run off, disappearing in the darkness, then spun back around to the bar and took another swig.

"You're not gonna fool her," Ana said to him, sitting down in her friend's seat.

"'Scuse me?" he asked in his southern drawl.

"I know what you are," she grinned.

"Oh really? And what's that?"

"You're a con. And a bad one, at that."

"What're you goin' on about, now?"

"I'm a cop. I'm pretty damn sure I know how to spot a con when I see one."

And that was it. That was the part of her that seemed a bit off to him. She had the air of a cop. Great, he thought.

"And just how do you know I don't just like your little friend?"

"What's her name?" she asked, knowingly.

He stared at her, his eyes narrowing. He didn't have an answer for that.

"What? Can't remember?"

"Never bothered to ask," he said, honestly.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Hey Simon!" he called to the bartender. "Lemme get two more."

She laughed. "You think you're gonna win me over with a drink?"

He shook his head. "Naw. I just think you oughta loosen up a little bit."

He watched her tense, grinning. She was real sexy when she was angry. This night might not end so badly after all.

"Did you not hear me before? I said I'm a cop. I'm not gonna fall for your stupid conning tricks."

"Who says it's a trick? Maybe I just wanna buy you a drink," he dimpled.

Two bottles slid their way, courtesy of Simon. Ana took her bottle and swiveled her stool around to face him, and took a long drink. He watched her lick the alcohol from her lips. She put her bottle down, but remained facing him.

"So what's a guy like you doin' conning pretty women?"

"You bein' a cop, I'd expect you'd know."

She grinned. "Okay. Then why don't you tell me why I shouldn't arrest you right now?"

"Is that a threat?" he teased.

"Maybe."

"Well what about you? What's a cop doin' in a bar instead of out killin' all the bad guys in the world?"

"I got the night off."

"Ain't you lucky."

She took another drink. "You still didn't answer my question."

"You ain't gonna arrest me."

"Oh no? I've got a pair of handcuffs in my bag, if you need to see them."

"Really, now?" he smirked.

"You gonna answer me, or are you going to keep avoiding it by flirting with me?"

He looked at her with a small grin. "I'm gonna keep avoiding it by flirting with you."

She stared at him, feeling the corners of her mouth turning upward. Her friend returned from the bathroom, interrupting them.

"Okay. Good to go."

"Guess you'd better get goin'," he said to Ana.

"You almost sound disappointed," she grinned.

He took a swig from his bottle in response. The girl looked at him, wishing she didn't have to leave.

"See you around, I hope," she batted her eyelashes.

"You just might," he winked.

"Or not," Ana said, hopping off the barstool, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Why not?" her friend asked, obviously drunk.

They joined their group of friends, and headed for the door. Ana was at the back of the group, and stopped before following them. She looked over at him, and his eyes met hers. After a moment, she looked away, disappeared through the doors, and was gone. He turned back to Simon, raising his eyebrows. In a few minutes, the door opened again, and he glanced over to see who was coming in. To his surprise, Ana stood there, caught in his gaze yet again. She slowly walked over to the bar, and sat next to him. They were silent for a minute.

"I told them to go on without me," she finally said, staring up at him.