Chapter 1 – Meet the Redneck

Kate jumped into the cold water of the pool. It was freezing and she wouldn't have wanted to go in for the world but she desperately needed to cool down. She swam the short distance to the waterfall and climbed out to stand under the cool flashes that came down and into the pool. She stood there for several minutes when the cold finally made her shiver too much and she decided she had to get back out.

As she put her clothes back on her wet body she took a deep breath. All sorts of thoughts were racing through her mind but only one thought kept coming back constantly, like a boomerang. Sawyer. She hated him for being on her mind. He did strange things to her. Most of the time he pissed her off and she wanted to hit him hard in the chest or any other part of his body for that matter. But when she got around to thinking about his body her breath quickened and she got these tingly feelings between her legs. And even now that her whole body was still freezing she felt her pulse quicken only at the thought of him. His tanned skin, the rakish way his blond hair fell into his face, his dimples that only emerged when he grinned, his annoying yet somewhat sexy Southern accent. God, she really hated him. And damn it, yes, she wanted him.

She decided that it was getting too late and that she best got back to camp. The others might be worrying where she was. So she took her stuff and started to march back to the beach. When she arrived only few of the other survivors were still awake. Most of them had already gone to sleep. Only Charlie was still sitting at a fire playing soft tunes on his guitar. Hurley was sitting a few steps away from him nearly dozing off. She had to smile at the picture. It was this easiness that surrounded them that made her somehow happy. It didn't look as if they ever had any problems in their lives, even though she knew better. When Charlie saw her he waved at her and she smiled back mouthing a soft Goodnight.

Finally Kate reached her tent and went inside. She let her backpack fall on the soft sand and laid herself down on her makeshift bed. Again she took a deep breath. She had loads to think about but sleep was so intriguing and soon she dozed off.

"This seat taken?" she said with a soft sigh. "Last time I checked this was a free country, sweetheart" said the blond man with a heavy southern accent. Kate rolled her eyes at him since he didn't even bother looking at her. She sat down and ordered a Gin and Tonic. When the bartender brought her the drink she took a big gulp and sighed again. The liquid left a hot trace on her lips which she licked off with her tongue. All she wanted was to get wasted like never before and forget everything but she couldn't. Her flight would leave in 4 hours and she couldn't possibly board it drunk. But she needed some sort of relief. Some sort of oblivion. In the past only sex or a strong drink had provided these two and since too much alcohol was off the table she only had sex left. But being single at L.A. airport didn't necessarily provide the best options. She heard the Redneck next to her order another Whiskey. Man, that guy really seemed to have a bad night coming. She dared a glimpse over to him and saw his face a little better than earlier. He wasn't exactly handsome but something about him made her bite her lower lip. Maybe it was his rudeness, or the way his blond hair hung into his face. Maybe the stubble on his chin. She didn't know. "Hey there, Cupcake, I ain't a window so stop window shopping!" he hissed at her. Gosh, his voice was really sexy when he was angry. She sipped the remains of her drink and said casually: "What if I wanted to go real shopping, Cowboy?"

Kate woke up. It was already morning and the sun was shining. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in her tent on "Craphole Island" as Sawyer liked to call it. "Why am I even surprised?" she thought to herself. Sometimes when she was dreaming she hoped the island was the dream and her dreams reality. Strictly spoken they were reality. Or rather had been. She didn't really know when she started having those dreams. It was a few weeks back but she failed to pinpoint a certain day or moment. Suddenly they just appeared. Every night the same series of events. Her meeting Sawyer. Everybody else believed they first met on the island but he and herself knew better. They weren't strangers but they weren't anything else really, either. But still, those dreams were unnerving and she found herself out of answers how to solve this problem.

"Hey, Freckles, mornin'. Hope you had a good night's sleep?" Sawyer said with his way too sexy accent. She shot him a look. She really needed to get another tarp for her tent to cover the entry. "Oh c'mon, Sweetcheeks, sun's shinin', we got enough fish to eat, why y'all so depressed today?" His voice was uncommonly happy. Normally he was the one trying to avoid everyone and far from socializing at all. But not today. He smiled one of his pearly smiles at her and grinned revealing his dimples. How she loved those dimples. He barely showed them due to his general bad-ass-don't-need-savin' attitude but when he did he sent tickles down her spine. But she needed to forget these thoughts, needed to concentrate and function.

"What do you want, James?" she asked flatly. He looked at her disappointedly. "What now, Freckles? Back to formalities, are we?" he said with a hint of irony in his voice. He came a few steps closer into her tent and licked his lips. "Ya know, Freckles, could help ya with the formalities, if ya like." She honestly couldn't believe what he had just said. After everything that had happened he was trying to seduce her? She got up and tried to stare him down but didn't succeed like she never had before. He came a few more steps closer until her face was mere inches away from his. "Come on, Freckles, I know you want it. Don't deny Hot River flowing down there." He looked down between her legs and licked his lips again. Kate couldn't really decide whether she was turned on by that or disgusted. Turned on. Definitely. But she wasn't ready to give in so easily.

"You know Sawyer, I was just desperate back then. I would have fucked with a fifty year old bald guy." Her voice was flat and decisive and she shoved him aside and strode off to the kitchen to get something to eat. Sawyer was dumbfounded but smiled to himself nonetheless. "One day you'll see, Freckles, one day…"