Chapter 7
Time passed almost as quickly as the speed of light. Or…so it seemed to, because before either of them knew it, it was the morning of their flight to LA. Sawyer was in his room doing some last minute packing, while Kate was showering. Out of nowhere, Sawyer burst into the bathroom, startling Kate.
"I can't get a minute of privacy with you, can I?" she called from the shower.
He turned and eyed her through the blurry doors. "You say that as if you mind, Freckles."
He heard her laugh, and smirked. After a few minutes, she listened to him rummaging through the bathroom, wondering what all the noise was.
"You lose something?"
"Can't find my dang toothbrush."
"So just buy a new one at the airport. I'm sure they sell them."
It quieted as he continued looking, and Kate continued showering.
"Hey listen. I was thinking about Mackenzie…" she shouted over the water.
"Yeah. What about him?"
"Well, I mean, we can't just leave him for the week by himself."
"Why not?" he asked, annoyed. "He'll be fine."
She opened the shower door, slightly, peeking only her head out. "He can't feed himself and clean his own litter box, you know."
"So, what then? You wanna take him with us?"
"Of course not. But, don't you know anyone who could watch over him?"
"Baby, no one I know is gonna wanna watch a CAT."
Kate paused. "What about Cassie?"
"Are you serious?"
"I just don't want to leave him here alone."
He sighed. "Fine, I'll call her. Once I find my toothbrush," he muttered.
She smiled, shaking her head, then closed the door again.
"I'm telling you. Just buy a new one."
"Like it's that easy…"
She laughed. "Actually, it is."
"You sure it ain't in there?" he asked, swiftly opening the door.
"Sawyer!" she shouted, closing the door again, feeling exposed.
"Oh who're you kidding, sweet cheeks?" he said, opening the door again.
He glanced around the shower then fixated his gaze on her body, slowly working his way up to her eyes.
"Unbelievable," she laughed.
He took hold of her wrist and pulled her toward him, then kissed her wet lips lovingly. She tried to pull away but he leaned into the shower, not wanting to let her go. The water was beginning to soak his hair and shoulders. She finally pulled away.
"All right, that's enough," she laughed, starting to slide the door closed.
"Ain't no such thing," he grinned.
"Go on, get out," she said, still laughing, sliding the door all the way closed.
"We gotta leave in an hour, Freckles," he reminded her.
"I know."
He left the bathroom to return to packing. As he entered his room, he noticed Kate's jeans lying on the floor. He sighed and picked them up, but something fell out from them. He picked up a red hair tie from the floor, wondering why she'd had it in her jeans. There were a few black hairs tangled around it. Kate didn't have black…he stopped in mid-thought. Where did she find Ana's hair tie? And why did she have it? He heard the water in the bathroom turn off and looked around quickly for somewhere to tuck away the hair tie. Short of time, he quickly hid it in his own jeans. She came into the room with only a towel covering her body.
"You might wanna change your shirt," she told him.
"Yeah? You wanna help me get it off?" he grinned slyly.
She stared at him with a wry smile. "You're a big boy, Sawyer," she said, brushing past him to get to the closet. "I think you can handle it."
He grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "I don't think I can."
"Let go," she laughed.
"I don't think so," he said, lifting her into his arms.
"Hey!" she protested, laughing as he started to carry her to the bed. "Sawyer, no! We don't have time for this!"
"We got plenty of time," he said, setting her down so he could kiss her.
Almost two hours later Sawyer and Kate were rushing into the airport, after leaving his truck in the parking garage.
"I told you we didn't have time," she told him over her shoulder.
"Well pardon me, sassafras," he said. "Personally, I thought it was worth it."
She shook her head smiling.
"Guess you ain't gonna deny that, then?" he grinned.
She laughed. "Shut up."
"That ain't a denial," he pointed out.
She ignored him and checked her watch. "We have five minutes to get through the security line and to our gate."
"I heard you the first ten times," he replied.
"Sorry, I just don't want to miss the flight," she said.
"'Scuse me," Sawyer said, trying to get through the massive crowds of people.
He almost bumped into Kate as she stopped short. He saw the distressed look on her face, then looked ahead to see why. The security line was going to take forever with the amount of people lined up.
"We're going to have to wait for the next flight."
They both looked up at the board next to them. The next flight was in two hours. Sawyer shook his head.
"Like hell we're waitin' for the next one." He grabbed her hand. "Come on."
"What? Where are we – "
"Hey buddy!" Sawyer called to one of the security guards.
"Sir, you're going to have to wait at the end of the line like everyone else."
"See, that ain't exactly gonna work, boss. Me and my girl here gotta be on our plane in three minutes."
"Two," Kate said, from behind him.
"Two," he corrected himself.
"I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to wait for the next one. If you had gotten here early enough - "
"No. We're not gonna wait. 'Cause you're gonna let us through the security line so we can make our flight."
"I can't let you through unless there's an emergency. Back of the line."
Sawyer turned around and Kate looked at him disheartened. He shook his head, not accepting that answer, and turned around again, facing the security guard. He tapped him on the shoulder, and once the man turned around, Sawyer sent his fist forcefully into the man's face. The other one came at him but Sawyer was quicker and punched him too.
"Sawyer!" she cried in disbelief. "Are you crazy!?"
He grabbed her hand. "Come on!" he said, starting to run.
They ran through the security and down towards their gate.
"You could've gotten yourself arrested!" she shouted as they ran.
"Why do you think we're runnin'?"
She glanced at the clock as they passed it, forgetting their current situation.
"We have a minute to get to the gate!"
"We'll get there!"
They slowed as they made it to the gate just as the door was about to shut.
"Wait!" they both called in unison.
"Can I help you?" a woman behind the desk asked.
"We're on the flight to Los Angeles," Kate told her, breathlessly.
"All right. Let me scan the tickets and you can go right in. They're already boarding."
Kate and Sawyer both sighed in relief, and stood catching their breath. Kate watched warily to see if anyone was coming after them. Just as the woman started to scan Sawyer's ticket, she saw the two guards running their way. Her heart pounded and eyes widened. She patted Sawyer's arm.
"We gotta go," she said, breathlessly.
Sawyer tapped the counter impatiently. "Almost done?"
"One more second…" the woman told him. "And there. Enjoy your - "
He tore the ticket from her hands and they ran into the hallway. The door closed behind them and locked. Kate finally slowed down, and started laughing.
"What'd I tell ya?" Sawyer grinned, catching up to her.
She laughed, and pulled him to her in a long, forceful kiss. When she finally pulled away, he looked at her, bemused.
"What was that for?"
She smiled. "You are amazing."
He laughed, and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. "Think they'll remember us when we get back?"
"Come on," she laughed. "We're going to miss our flight."