Thank you for the kind words everybody...You have know idea how much it means to me! I've always wanted to be a writer, but I've always been too afraid to write ANYTHING. This is only my fourth fanfic - I wrote the first one a month ago, so the fact that people like it makes me so glad I finally risked it.

southern cross: A haircut, huh? Have you been peeking at my notes? ;)

Jenny7: Wow, really? If I converted someone to the Skater cause, then all the hours writing are well-worth it. Lol.

Just a note - this chapter is a little shorter...it was going to be the first half of Chapter 8, but I forgot I had plans, so I'll turn the second half into Chapter 9 tomorrow. ;)


Chapter Eight

"Feels nice and cool down here," Kate remarked as she came back down to the kitchen in the early evening.

"For two hundred seventy-five bucks, it sure as hell better," he said, trying to sound annoyed but not succeeding very well. The truth was, it felt a thousand times better, and he realized it'd been a little ridiculous not to get the thing fixed years ago. But then again, he didn't usually stay here for very long at a time. The house was really too big for just one person.

"What are you doing?" she asked incredulously, looking more closely at him.

"It's just spaghetti," he said, a little embarrassed.

She continued to stare at him.

"What?" he asked defensively. "Every idiot knows how to make spaghetti. Bachelor's got to have some tricks up his sleeve," he went on, winking at her.

"I guess so," she said, still a little surprised. "Can I help?"

He tossed her a tomato, and as she started to chop it, she noticed he kept glancing at her. She looked at him questioningly.

"You got pillow creases all over your face," he said with the trace of a smile.

"I fell asleep," she explained.

"Sure hope so...otherwise you might have a hard time explainin' 'em."

She closed her eyes for a second and smiled. "Have you ever timed yourself to see how long you can go without making a sexual innuendo?"

"What can I say, Freckles...I guess you just bring out the best in me."

"Yeah? I'd hate to see what your worst is like, then."

They smiled at each other playfully until it started to become uncomfortable, then went back to preparing dinner.


After they'd eaten Sawyer's (surprisingly good) spaghetti, they ended up back in the living room, bored and restless and on the verge of going stir-crazy. It was against both of their natures to be contained within the four walls of a house for this long, and the stress was beginning to make itself felt.

Normally, Kate would have taken her chances on the road in spite of the danger, but this time, she had to be more cautious. She'd been caught twice in less than two months, and the thought of it happening again filled her with a dread that made her almost sick. Being stuck in a house for a few weeks was better than being stuck in a prison cell for the rest of her life. At least that was what she kept telling herself.

Pulling aside the drapes, she peeked longingly out the window. It wasn't completely dark yet, so going back down to the lake was out.

"Got big plans for this evening, Puddin'?" Sawyer asked, watching her.

"Yeah. I'm just waiting for my date to show up," she said dryly, closing the drapes again.

"If you want, I can try to get the air conditioner guy back here. I'm willin' to bet he's available," he said in a mocking tone.

Laughing, she said, "I'll pass on that."

She sighed. Sawyer pretended to watch a baseball game that he had no interest in at all. After a few minutes, Kate seemed to have an idea. Her face took on an almost cunning look.

"You'll never guess what I found in that little closet under the stairs yesterday while I was cleaning."

He looked over at her, a little disturbed. "Look, some buddy gave me that thing... as a joke. Ain't even really mine. Been meanin' to get rid of it..." He trailed off, defensive and uncomfortable.

Kate was confused but also trying not to laugh. "What?"

"What are you talkin' about," he asked, carefully.

Still looking at him like he was insane, she went out to the hall and then returned a few seconds later, holding a Monopoly game.

"Oh..." He breathed out in relief. "What the hell you want to do with that?"

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"You gotta be kiddin' me," he said, turning his attention back to the ballgame. "Don't you think we're a little old for that?"

"Come on, Sawyer," she pleaded. "How long has it been since you've played this?"

"Not long enough."

"I'll let you go first," she said enticingly.

He ignored her. She came and stood in front of him, blocking his view.

"Do you mind? I'm tryin' to watch this!"

"If you can tell me which two teams are playing, then I'll move," she said slyly.

He looked up at her with scorn, but she had him. He had no idea who was playing. He sighed, annoyed. Then, seeming to relent slighly as a thought occurred to him, he asked playfully, "All right...what's the winner get?"

"What?"

"I'm not gonna play no board game unless there's somethin' worth playin' for."

"What do you want?" she asked in a weary tone, expecting to hear one of his standard inappropriate requests.

He seemed to be preparing for this too, but at the last second his face changed, becoming a little more serious. He looked at her directly. "I'll tell ya what I want. If I win, I want you to promise me that you won't run out of here until we know it's really safe."

She was confused. "Are you serious?"

He laughed a little bitterly. "Yeah, I'm serious. I can tell you're gettin' antsy, and I don't want to wake up one mornin' to find out you split in the middle of the night and stole my car."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "I wouldn't do that."

But still, she was touched. She'd been assuming that he wanted her gone at the first opportunity, but was it possible he was actually concerned for her welfare instead of just his own? She hadn't really considered it before. But it also worried her. It wouldn't be a good idea for him to start caring about her. It had never worked out well for anybody who'd attempted it before.

"Take it or leave it," he said.

Smiling slightly, she nodded. "All right. What about if I win?"

"Name it."

"Okay...how about you stop leaving the toilet seat up?"

"Well, I guess I better play my best then," he said with a grin. She laughed.

They spread the game out on the floor and chose their tokens.

"The shoe?" Kate asked dubiously.

"What? I like the shoe."

"I would've thought you were more of a horse-and-rider or battleship kind of guy."

"I've always been the shoe...You gotta problem with that?"

"Nope," she said, lifting her hands up in mock surrender. "You're the shoe."

Kate chose the car.

"What a surprise," Sawyer muttered. She pretended not to hear him.

Since she rolled the highest number, Kate went first. Upon landing on the Community Chest square, she drew a card. As she lifted it from the deck, Sawyer saw the expression on her face cloud over for just the merest fraction of a second, but then she covered it with an ironic smile.

Flipping the card over, she showed him. It read, "Go directly to jail."

Picking up her token, she said, "What are the chances, huh?"

She placed the car delicately onto the jail square, feeling her hand shake a tiny bit and hoping Sawyer wouldn't notice. It was just a stupid game...it didn't mean anything at all. She didn't believe in signs like that - she never had. She couldn't explain why it bothered her.

He watched her closely for a second. She tried to smile. "Your turn."

He landed on the same spot she had and drew a card. He shook his head slowly. "You ain't gonna believe this, Freckles." He held it up. The Get Out of Jail Free card.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, both somewhat regretting that they'd decided to play.

"Sell it to ya," Sawyer offered in an attempt at playfulness.

"Yeah?" Kate looked down. "For how much?"

"Wellll..." he considered in a slow drawl. "Since the game just started, I reckon it's not worth very much yet. Say...ten bucks?"

She looked at him, oddly grateful, even though she knew none of this meant anything at all.

Handing him a twenty, she smiled. "Keep the change." He grabbed more of her hand than necessary while taking the bill, but she acted like she didn't notice.

After an hour of playing, Kate's mood had improved greatly, while Sawyer's most certainly had not. He was in debt up to his eyeballs, and nearly all his properties were mortgaged. Conversely, by Monopoly standards, Kate was a wealthy tycoon.

She couldn't help taunting him. "Can I help it if you're a terrible investor?"

"Yeah? Well maybe if someone didn't steal all the good properties just to be greedy, I woulda had a chance!"

"It's Monopoly, Sawyer! Being greedy is the whole point."

He glared at her, causing her to laugh.

"You're such a sore loser."

The more money he forked over, the more he lost interest in the game. He started to spend most of his time watching her. Despite being pissed at losing, it was nice to see her happy for a change. At least it had taken her mind off of everything else.

In an over-exuberant roll of the dice, she sent one flying off the edge of the board over in his direction. Acting sullen, he refused to retrieve it for her, so, balancing on her knees and placing her hands on the opposite side of the board, she reached over to grab it. From Sawyer's position leaning on his side, this brought her face within just inches of his. Her hair brushed against his arm.

As she closed her hand around the dice, her eyes met his and she stopped for a second. Without thinking or reasoning through the move at all, he leaned up a little, and placing one hand on the side of her face gently, brushed his lips lightly against hers. She relaxed for an instant, closing her eyes, but as he pressed more firmly, kissing her bottom lip, she suddenly jerked back as if an alarm system had been triggered. Standing up in the same motion, her foot kicked the game and the houses and hotels went skittering in every direction.

Staring at each other in shock for a few seconds, Sawyer finally looked away and leaned all the way back onto the floor, putting his hands behind his head in a gesture of barely contained rage. He breathed out slowly in an attempt to control his frustration.

She was shaking all over, trying to keep from crying. She turned away, knowing that tears would probably make him more angry. "Sawyer..." she began, haltingly. "I... You know...I won't be here much longer." She stopped, not knowing what to say. "It just...it would be so complicated..."

"You know what?" he said savagely, sitting up with a jerk. "Don't even bother, sweetheart. I get the point, okay? Loud and clear. Why don't you just save yourself the trouble."

Standing up, he looked at her for a few seconds, contempt mixed with regret. In a tone more bitter than any she'd ever heard him use, he went on. "I won't make the same mistake again, don't you worry. Guess sometimes it just takes awhile for things to sink in with me."

She remained facing away from him, knowing that if she tried to turn around she would break down.

"I'm goin' out. Don't wait up."

A few seconds later, she heard the door slam.

Collapsing onto the couch, she put her head in her hands and tried to control her breathing. It was no use, and she finally gave in to the tears.

It wasn't just that she was upset because of the fact that she'd hurt him. It was that when he kissed her, every single molecule in her body reacted immediately, and she wanted nothing more in the world than to give in to it.

But the dangerous fact was that a kiss between them could never be just a kiss. The electricity generated was much too strong for that - once the fuse was lit, it would continue until it burned itself out. They had barely been able to stop the first time it happened, and that was when he'd been tied to a tree with blood coursing down his face and she'd been bribed into it. What was there to stop them now?

It couldn't happen. She was determined that she couldn't form any attachments like that. It was too dangerous for him, and it was certainly too dangerous for her. Her life was so screwed up that no one else should have to deal with it, even someone who could partially relate. She didn't want a sexual fling, and despite his macho insinuations, she didn't think he really wanted that either. The connection that took place when they looked at each other was something more than that, and she'd known that from the beginning, but had tried not to think about it.

She'd been drawn to him because they had a mutual understanding, and that was what had brought her here for shelter when she was out of options. But that link was threatening to turn into something else - it was on the cusp of transition, and she blamed herself for refusing to acknowledge it until now.

Forcing herself to stop crying, she made an attempt to re-erect her emotional barriers. As she sadly gathered up the scattered pieces of the game and replaced them in the box, she came to a decision.

She would leave tomorrow.