Summary Kate starts to realize that her feelings are growing for Sawyer as he persuades her to go on a date.

Chapter 3-The Date

Kate awoke with a start that morning. Reliving in her mind the events of the last few days and the gruesome and shocking things she had witnessed. Relieved to find that she was in the safety of her tent Kate was glad to at least have her clarity of mind back. Everything lately had hit her like a ton of bricks and she wasn't sure how much more she could withstand.

The silver lining, she thought to herself was Sawyer though. Smiling to herself as she got up and got dressed, she was still tingling from yesterday, but it was a different kind of tingle. More like the kind you got when you felt like you had butterflies in your stomach. Who would have guessed Sawyer could have that effect on her? Kate still had a smirk on her face when she came out of her tent, eyes scanning down the beach for him in anticipation, her heart beating a little faster, but she didn't see him.

Before Kate could properly display her disappointment though, Sun approached quietly...

"Hello Kate!" She called to her.

Kate turned around and smiled back at her friend, replying...

"Hi Sun (Sun came closer and Kate turned to her asking...) How are things? How's baby?"

Sun smiled back knowing that Kate wasn't just making small talk...

"Things are good... (Sun put her hand over her navel and smiled looking downwards at it) The baby is not even visible, but my stomach definitely notices...Much has happened since you've been away..."

Kate replied…

"I'm glad to hear there haven't been any complications."

She walked over to the water basin to splash her face clean and looked over at Sun a little concerned....

"Is everything okay here? There weren't any more attacks were there?"

Sun shook her head...

"Oh no...nothing like that (explaining) Hurley found an old van out in the jungle and got it running...And the other day, we found some sea birds with homing tags and sent a message back with one..."

Kate raised her eyebrows...

"Really?" (Now that she thought about it, she did remember seeing a flock of seagulls hovering over the island a few days back.)

"Yes, hopefully someone will find the letter"

Kate nodded her mind in a kind of haze. Thinking about how something so small, like a seagull could get them all rescued. How much hope could you really have in one tiny bird? And then she thought of what the bird symbolized. Freedom.

Sun could see that her mind was elsewhere and she suspected where that might be, deciding to test the waters, she exclaimed...

"Of course Sawyer thought it was a silly idea..."

Hearing his name caught Kate's attention. She would have asked Sun why Sawyer said that, but she already knew, he was most likely giving them a hard time for his own entertainment. Her mouth turning upwards, Sun continued...

"I think he was worried about you...We all were..."

Kate forced a smile, she had a feeling Sawyer was worried, and it made her feel happy inside that he missed her. She tried to hide this however, and she still was not ready to talk about what happened out there yet. She had a feeling Sun was trying to get her to open up. Kate was regretful that she left the beach the way she did, especially with Sawyer, but she wanted to keep the subject of Jacks betrayal and her new feelings for Sawyer at arms length till she had fully absorbed it all.

Sun could sense Kate's closed offed-ness and decided to conclude with...

"But we are glad you are safe Kate!"

Kate met the woman's eyes thankful for her sensitivity and she wrapped her arms around Suns tiny form....

"Thank you Sun...I'm glad everyone here is safe too..."

Especially one in particular, she thought quietly.

Sun met her gaze, a brief pause and the unspoken words were communicated between them. Sun had recognized Kate's new sensitivity on the subject of Sawyer and that did not go unnoticed.

Kate left her friend with thanks in her eyes for her discretion and she headed towards Sawyers tent. He was neither outside on his chair or inside sleeping, and her curiosity got the better of her. Kate walked the beach, stopping and speaking with a few people on her way to the pantry shelf. She had taken note of how many things people possessed lately. Wondering when or how Hurley and Charlie got a pile of playboy magazines, or when Claire finally found a brush for her hair, or where the croquet set came from, that Rose and Bernard were playing with down the beach. It couldn't have all been from the hatch, she thought puzzled. Going back to the playboys, she finally got that thunderbolt answer she was looking for. It was from Sawyers stash! Had to be. Kate was very curious to find him now and find out what had really gone on here since she was gone.

She finished her banana, grabbing a bottle of juice and headed to the one place, she hadn't yet looked--The woodpile.

Kate smiled to herself when she approached and could hear the chopping noise. Approaching him from behind, he didn't see her or hear her and she smirked creeping up quietly behind him. Staying just out of his line of vision, she leaned forward as he was about to take another swing and whispered in his ear...

"Looks like someone misses the chain gang..."

Sawyer jutted out a little and dropped his axe, turning around on guard, and then he saw who it was...

"Jesus Kate...Didn't your daddy ever tell you not to creep up on a man when he's cutting wood?"

Kate smiled brightly at him and extended her arm to him as she held out the bottle of juice in a peace offering...

"Here, thought you could use a break..."

Sawyer trying to hide how she miffed him just now, unscrewed the cap and took a swig...

"Thanks" he replied dryly...

Kate continued to smile at him and to fill the awkward silence; he met her gaze and asked...

"So you decided to go all Rip Van Winkle on us then huh Sassafras?"

She looked downwards trying to hide a smirk and then looked up at him with heavy lids giving him her best seductive look...

"A girls gotta get her sleep..."

Sawyer took a long swig and she watched as the moisture around the bottles rim touched his lips, in awe, all the sudden wanting to be that bottle.

Sawyer smiled at her reply...

"Yeah, right...sleep....That little thing that's keeping you away from my tent..." He smirked looking mischievously over at her, and Kate couldn't help but smile back. The air was heavy between them and neither knew exactly how to take the next step. Kate had a feeling if they kept this up, they would both be naked in mere moments rolling around on the jungle floor, probably not far from this location and she wasn't sure she wanted to have sex in public with Sawyer. Anyone could be likely to show up or interrupt them. She cleared her throat changing the subject...

"So I saw Hurley and Charlie with a stack of your playboys...Did you make a trade with them or were you just feeling generous?"

Sawyer narrowed his eyes reminiscing in ill memory the events that cost him his stash, pulling his shirt back on over his head, he replied...

"They took it from my tent..."

Kate chuckled at this...

"And what? You didn't take it back?"

Sawyer looked away and met her gaze playfully, trying to cover up his embarrassment...

"C'mon Sawyer, I can think of at least 10 other people that will tell me what really happened..."

Sawyer rolled his eyes finally giving in to her request...

"I lost it in a ping pong game..."

Kate had to look down and cover her mouth, but the giggling was threatening to take over as she hiccupped one out, and Kate finally gave in to the laughter, in-between choked outbursts she asked...

"Ping pong?"

She could see that Sawyer was not amused turning his attention back to packing up his things. Her laughter stifled and Kate came to a realization, finally asking him...

"So what were the additional terms if you lost?"

Sawyers eyes darted back to her as if to say, Leave it alone. But it only intrigued Kate more. His back was turned to her but she went up behind him and whispered in his ear...

"Come on Tex, tell me and Ill make it worth your while..."

The sound of her voice intoxicated him and he was paralyzed against doing anything else. She put her hands on his waist and turned herself around to face him, looking up into his gaze expectantly...

Sawyer paused for a moment still hesitant, but he figured what was one more embarrassment. Looking into her eyes dazedly he replied with a smirk...

"No nicknames, (enunciating her name) Freckles! No nicknames for a whole week..."

Kate lips curved up into a smile as she met his mischievous gaze, realizing he obviously didn't keep his part of the bargain. And she wasn't going to reinforce it. Powerless to stop the magnetic pull that was igniting between them she leaned up to kiss him and their lips locked and tongues tangoed. She broke the kiss briefly to exclaim...

"I won't tell..." Going back hungrily for more, she kissed him again. Pressing herself up against him, she had totally forgotten about the whole sex in public thing, not caring if he ravished her here and now, secretly wanting to she started to tug at the hem of his shirt, but Sawyer backed away unexpectedly.

Kate looked at him puzzled, and Sawyer reasoned...

"Hold it there Sassafras, We aint been on our date yet, and I don't want to ruin the moment for ya..."

Kate had forgotten about the date. She wasn't exactly a date kind of girl, at least not the conventional kind, and right now, she sure didn't care about some stupid flirt fest. She knew what she wanted and he was standing right in front of her. She ran her hand up under his shirt...

"I don't care about the date...Let's just take a rain check on that"

She leaned in to kiss his neck, but Sawyer just backed away holding her off...

"No way Freckles! You aint gettin out of this one..."

The truth was, he had gone through quite some thought on the perfect location, setting, props etc for their date, and he was looking forward to this, almost as much as he was looking forward to making Kate beg.

"You said you wanted a date and dammit, your gonna get one!"

Despite her best attempts at seducing him, Kate knew she was going to lose on this one. Her stubborn cowboy obviously wasn't going to cave in that easy. And she threw up her hand in forfeit, watching him begrudgingly...

"Fine Sawyer! So what did you have in mind?"
She watched him awaiting a reply expectantly.

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A half hour later Kate was waiting in the spot Sawyer had told her to meet him at wondering where on earth he could be, or what they were going to do here when he suddenly showed up out of nowhere with a blanket over his hand, a wood box in the other hand. He laid the blanket out and gestured for her to take a seat. Pulling a bag of corn chips out of the box, he handed them to her. Kate just looked up at him astonished and Sawyer just smirked...

"Don't worry Freckles, they aint gonna bite cha...Infact it works the other way around..."

Kate had a strange puzzled expression on her face as she watched him take out a couple of mangos and 2 bottles of water.

"What else do you have in there Sawyer...A rabbit or something?"

Sawyer just smirked at her and pulled the last item out setting it behind him as he flipped the box upside down in front of them. Finally taking what looked like a board game from behind him; he flipped the lid and took out the board, setting it down on top the box in-between them. When Kate saw what game it was she was simply stunned into silence...

"Are you serious?"

Sawyer tested the wheel to see if it could still spin and smiled back at her, his eyes glittering as he answered her...

"Serious as a heart attack baby...And I'm going to rob you blind..."

Kate could see the spark in his eyes now and the game started to peak her interest a little more, taking his verbal challenge as foreplay, she wasn't planning on letting him live those words down anytime soon. Her mouth curving into that Mona Lisa smile of hers...

"Okay Tex, you're on..."

Sawyer smirked and held out a car for her, it was pink, and Kate's least favorite color...

"You didn't want the blue one right?" He asked coyly.

But Kate just smiled taking the pink car from him. And one pink peg. Revenge would be sweeter when she kicked his butt in a pink car, Kate thought smirking, finally answering...

"No pink is just fine"

The game started out well enough. Kate got a lawyer for her profession and Sawyer got professor. Lawyer made more she thought smiling as she greedily spun the wheel and collected her salary. Then they both approached the marriage marker. Kate wondered if she could get by it faster, but landed on the same spot as Sawyer did.

"Guess we gotta get married" Sawyer retorted, thinking how cliché this game really was, but then he was curious, asking Kate...

"Who's your guy?"

Kate looked back at him confused...

"Excuse me?"

"Who's the man you're going to marry, (Kate still looked baffled and he continued explaining...) Who's Mr. Right?"

Kate could see that Sawyer wasn't joking and genuinely interested in her response, deciding to entertain him, she answered...

"I don't know...I guess ever since I was a little girl I thought he would be the knight and shining armor type, you know...dark, handsome, my best friend...the man who would rescue me from my terrible life..."

She met Sawyers gaze, her childish smile fading, serious for a moment, looking into his eyes as if they were the windows to his soul, she could see beyond his undivided attention, that he was trying to hide doubt there and something else, she couldn't quite put her finger on. Kate continued looking down sadly...

"That was a little girl's fantasy though... (She blinked slowly looking up at him, struggling with her words) One that I tried to live, but…didn't work out...Couldn't work out... (her brow creased) cause it was based on a lie..."

Sawyer was about to let her off the hook. He saw how tormented this was making her. Although he was dying to know more, especially about this alleged marriage that 'didn't last very long.' He opened his mouth to speak, but Kate cut him off...

"I know now that there is no knight in shining armor...We walk alone (Sawyer met her gaze sadly and knowingly, and her voice softened, breaking up a little with emotion) But if I had someone to walk with me...Someone to hold my hand from time to time...someone to laugh with...that would be..."

Her words drifted off as her gaze locked with his and Sawyer wondered when did this conversation take such a serious turn? He blinked once, trying to get his concentration back. Back to the game, that they were doing a very good job at not playing, but he couldn't help but feel the new awareness, as if she stirred in some new ingredient to their relationship that he wasn't familiar with.

Breaking the heavy air Sawyer finally smirked and spun the wheel, trying to lighten the mood...

"Too bad...woulda figured you for a preacher's wife myself Freckles...Or maybe a cop's old lady (his smile widened) thinking about how ironic that would be, but strangely justified..."

Kate took a swig of her bottle, not letting him see how close to home he actually hit. But strangely enough, she wasn't hurt by his words, or bothered.

"Your turn Sawyer..."

Kate wanted to ask him the same question but she could see that it would most likely be a waste of her time. After all, she was sitting across from Casanova himself...

Sawyer spun the wheel and his face fell as he landed on the house burns down space, lose $100,000.

"Shoulda bought the insurance.." He replied bitterly.

Kate studied his face smiling faintly. She actually felt bad for him, knowing that small things like winning a board game didn't mean anything to someone who had a normal life, but to someone like Sawyer, she knew it meant something more...

"Listen, you don't have to pay it Sawyer...I don't care...It's just a stupid game..."

But Sawyer just shook his head, putting his $100,000 back into the bank stubbornly..

"Nope...My house burnt down and I gotta pay..."

Kate looked over at him feeling a wave of familiarity. Maybe this game wasn't so far fetched after all. It was her turn to spin, and Sawyer smirked when he saw the space she landed on, he couldn't resist...

"Twins huh?"

Kate smiled her dark thoughts fading as her cheeks blushed and she looked back up at him. She didn't know why she was blushing, it just happened. Realizing that she was losing control over these little things, she used to have control over before, when she was with Sawyer.

Unfortunately for Kate, Sawyer recognized his power over her and decided to rub it in even further...

"Guess when Mr. Right does his business; he really gets it done..."

She couldn't help but smile wider, her face turning a lovely crimson hue...

"Stop it Sawyer!"

He smiled wickedly, continuing...

"Wonder if Mr. Right knows what Mrs. Freckles likes best? (His voice dropped getting softer and sexier...)Like behind or in front. Or about that mole just above her right nipple, or where she wants his fingers to press when she climaxes...."

Kate bit her lip; her breathing was getting heavier as she watched him send those smoldering gazes in her direction. And she was reminded of earlier today, by the wood pile, and how much she wanted him right now. Sawyer was already getting hard watching her lustfully gaze over to him, like a predator would his prey, and he added...

"I can just see the car shakin now..."

Kate smiled heatedly and in one swoop she lost it, her control that is, switching roles, she pushed the board and all the game pieces into the sand as she tackled him to the ground.

Like a wildcat she jumped him devouring his lips with hers, tearing his shirt off, and then hers. Sawyer could barely catch his breath before she was tugging her top off over her head. She was struggling with the head though and he helped her tug off the last shards of fabric. This was so hot and he was so aroused right now.

Kate's legs were straddled over his lap and she reached down to unzip his pants. Not surprised when she saw his arousal rise to full attention between them. Sawyer tried to unbutton her denims but he wasn't moving fast enough as she brushed his hands aside and unzipped them herself.

Both of them rolling over so they could shed the rest of their clothing and then Sawyer found himself on top. He looked down at her thinking he should do something to entice her, women loved foreplay. But he was dangerously approaching his point of no return. Kate gave him his answer when she looked into his eyes...

"Please Sawyer...Do it now...Make love to me now!"

Sawyer blinked once, and then he felt her legs clench around his hips. She opened herself up to him and he sunk in slowly, inch by inch. Kate gasped as she adjusted to his size, the wetness around her core seeping out and allowing him to sink in further.

His body moved rhythmically with hers as she sunk into the sand, but Kate craved him, she craved his release to feel it warm and wet inside her and to feel her own release as they cemented together.

"Faster Sawyer"

She moved under him frantically trying to push up. She clung to him and clenched tight as he moved over her. Sawyer was starting to lose himself as his thrusts went deeper and he pushed in harder....

"God...Kate!"

Kate could feel her orgasm coming, trying to hang on as long as she could, but finally, surrendering to the pure cosmic bliss, she let the waves of heat come over her. Moaning out his name as her nails dug into his back...

Feeling her clench below him, sent Sawyer off into his own heavenly oasis as he tried to maintain, thrusting her back, once, twice, a third time and then he finally lost his battle.

She could feel the thick seminal fluid cool off her heated walls as his long hard length lay buried inside her.

They were both in the zone.

Collapsing down over her, Sawyer wanted so badly to say those 3 little words right now. They were on the tip of his tongue. He had never felt more connected to Kate then he had any other woman and it seemed right to say, but he held back. Afraid that she wouldn't feel the same way.

Instead he rolled over onto his back so Kate could rest on top of him. She lay there for a moment in silence and then she sat up straddling him. Bending down once to kiss him, she came back up, pulling his hands to her breasts as she felt him harden again between her thighs, as her nipples hardened in his tanned hands. Taking it as a sign that he was ready, she moved up and sank back down over him, impaling herself onto his hard cock.

What they knew was sex. Feeling comfort in each other. They moved together. The contact was electric and familiar, and something else they couldn't quite put their fingers on. Something more that neither one was willing to address. So they continued in their sacred act as the hypnotic, primal movement consumed their bodies, minds, and souls.