xox-emily-xox - Oh you sly devil you:) Yes, you're right. I've kind of crossed the two over for that point, so you may see some of what's in that one here. Except in the Skate POV of course.
Still wondering where some of the other readers from Second Chance went.
(And bonboni the rating's T now so it should be easy to find again.)
Nevertheless...enjoy!
Chapter 6
After about thirty minutes, the pizza arrived, and Sawyer and Kate sat together on the couch to indulge. Mackenzie hopped up on the arm of the couch, and Kate stroked him, giving him tiny pieces of cheese occasionally. She glanced over at Sawyer as he started on his second slice, and decided to go in for the kill.
"So I called Claire to tell her we were coming," she started, looking down at Mackenzie as she pet him.
He glanced at her, warily. "Okay…"
"She brought up an idea that I think we should really consider," she finally glanced his way.
He nodded, and sat up straighter, his focus now stuck on the television and the baseball game it was showing. She looked at the TV and back at him, knowing this was a vulnerable moment.
"She said we should go up to LA a week early. Just in case."
"Uh-huh."
"I told her I would talk to you about it. See if it was okay with you. She has an extra room for us to stay in. So we wouldn't have to worry about hotels or anything."
"Sure. Fine, Freckles."
She watched him for a minute, wearing a tiny grin. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's fine," he said, leaning more intently toward the television.
"Okay," she folded her arms. "Then I'll go call Claire and tell her you said it's fine."
He only nodded in response. She got up and went into the kitchen to make the call. Mackenzie now resided next to Sawyer, who glared down at him. A few minutes later, a commercial interrupted the game, giving Sawyer time to refill his glass. He muted the TV, threw the crust he was picking at on his plate and joined Kate in the kitchen. Mackenzie followed. Kate was already on the phone.
"Okay, we'll see you then. Bye," Kate finished, turning the phone off.
"What's goin' on?" he asked, opening the fridge.
"I just called Claire and made the arrangements," she said, simply.
He looked at her, slowly filling with dread. "What arrangements?"
She folded her arms. "You didn't hear a word I said to you before, did you?"
"Yes, I did," he lied, closing the fridge again.
"Then what did I say?"
He looked at her, his face blank.
She set the phone down and folded her arms. "I knew you weren't listening."
"I was watchin' the game!" he reasoned, gesturing to the TV.
"Yeah. Really shows where I stand, huh?"
He sighed, exasperatedly. "What did you want to tell me, Freckles?"
"Claire invited us to stay with her and Charlie for a week before the wedding. And – "
"And you said, no, right?"
She peered at him. "I didn't say no. I told her I would talk to you first, and then - "
"Well now you talked to me and I say no," he cut in, turning to leave the kitchen.
"Why not?" she stopped him.
"Because I ain't spendin' a week with Tiny Tim and his fiancé," he said, drawing out each syllable of the word. "I'd rather be back on the island being tortured by Mohammad."
"Well, what if I said you had to go?"
"I'd say you're out of luck, sweetheart," he went back into the living room.
She followed him in. "Come on, Sawyer. What's wrong with going to LA for a week?"
"I'm not goin'."
"If it's a matter of money, they have an extra room, and – "
"Money ain't an issue. The fact of the matter is that I don't want to spend more time with those people than I have to."
"Oh that's real nice, Sawyer. You're only going to their wedding, of all things."
"Yeah. Do I look happy about that?"
"Is it really going to kill you to act like a civilized person for once in your life? These 'people' are your friends."
He sighed, growing increasingly frustrated. He shoved Mackenzie off the couch and sat down again. Mackenzie ran and hid behind Kate.
"Look, I already told her we were coming. And please stop being mean to Mackenzie."
"He's a cat. And why in the hell would you do that without – " he started, then stopped himself. She tricked him. He looked at her, and she smirked. "Now that just ain't fair."
"Maybe if you were listening instead of watching that game…And just because he's a cat doesn't mean you can treat him badly."
"Yeah, whatever. You can call back Missy Claire and tell her that you'll see her without me," he said, turning the volume on the TV back up.
Kate exhaled sharply. She went to the TV set and turned it off, standing in front of it.
"Hey! It's 'bout to be over! Bottom of the 9th!"
"I don't care."
"You really know how to push my buttons, don't ya, Freckles?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Would you please just stop being stubborn and come?"
He tossed his hands up and sighed. "Fine."
She didn't say anything, but turned the TV back on and went back into the kitchen. Mackenzie looked up at him from the floor, and let out a tiny meow.
"What?"
He heard Kate pick up the phone again and turn it on. He got up immediately and quietly walked into the kitchen again.
"Hi Claire," Kate said. Then after a pause, she said, "Yeah, I did talk to him. And I wanted to let you know that we'll be coming down that week early."
"You didn't call her!" Sawyer interrupted, stunned.
She turned around, startled. She spoke into the phone, "No, I uh – "
He walked over to her and took the phone from her hands.
"Hey! Sawyer!" she said, trying to reach for the phone again.
"Claire, Kate'll have to call you back," he said, and hung it up. He looked at her again. "I gotta hand it to ya, Freckles. That was some good actin'."
"I live with a con, remember?" she grinned.
"Oh now you're gonna blame me?"
She started to walk out of the kitchen to escape, but he grabbed her arm and turned her back around, pulling her up against him. His eyes narrowed as he smiled and shook his head.
"You ain't gettin' away with it that easy…"