SassyLostie/bonboni/Mathildou/xox-emily-xox - Thank you for reassuring me. I wasn't sure if she was written well or not, but I felt like it was suitable for the situation. I was just worried because she's Kate, and wasn't sure it was something she'd do. But thank you for letting me know if was okay. That makes me feel a lot better. :)
So...I'm review hungry. Feed me!! (Ew and it's a horrible chapter to be putting up for no reason. Ugh. Sorry guys.)
Chapter 21
Kate woke up the next morning, her head aching. She opened her eyes and saw a glass of water and two small white pills on the nightstand beside her. Confused, she sat up. The covers dropped and she noticed her shirt was missing. Shivering from the central air conditioning, she pulled the covers around her again. She realized quickly that her headache – and most likely the loss of her shirt - was the result of a hangover. She wondered where Sawyer had gone and what had happened last night. She remembered walking into the bar and seeing him playing pool but everything after that was a blur.
Why had she let herself drink? She remembered she'd told herself, It's only one glass, as she poured the wine. And…then she downed the whole thing in a matter of five minutes. She'd done the same with the second glass, but by the third, she'd forgotten her guilt. That was most likely why she was feeling the guilt pounding in her head right now. She shouldn't have been drinking. She knew she shouldn't have and she did anyway. What if it hurt - or worse, killed her child?
A faint knock interrupted her thoughts. The door opened and Sawyer walked in, looking tired and a mess. He looked at her for a moment, and then glanced away. Something about this troubled Kate.
"Hey," she said, softly.
"Hey yourself," he said.
He moaned and sat at the foot of the bed, his head hanging low. She cocked her head to the side, watching him hesitantly.
"You okay?"
"Hangover," he explained. "It'll wear off."
She nodded. He turned halfway around to face her. She knew just by his eyes something wasn't right.
"What about you? How you holdin' up?"
She shrugged. "It'll wear off," she smiled.
He didn't smile back. He nodded and proceeded to look away from her again. After taking the two pills, she wrapped the covers around her tighter and maneuvered herself next to him at the base of the bed. He stared at her.
"What happened last night, Sawyer?"
"You don't remember?" Before she could answer, he added, "Of course you don't remember."
Her eyebrows lowered in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You drank a little. That's all."
"A little?" she laughed. "I don't think a little gives you a hangover."
"So you drank a lot."
"Sawyer," she put her hand on his arm. "Why are you mad at me?"
"I'm not – "
"Disappointed?"
He sighed. "It doesn't matter. You didn't know what you were doin'."
"What was I doing?"
He grinned, suddenly. "Dancin'."
She raised an eyebrow. "Dancing?" she repeated.
"On top of the bar."
She turned her head and thought. The bar…Oh! She'd gone to the bar to find Sawyer. At the bachelor's party. Wait. She was dancing on the bar?! She looked at him uncertainly.
"Not only that," he went on. "You were givin' the whole party a striptease."
Her eyes widened and she blinked furiously. Sawyer grinned, satisfactorily. She could tell it gave him real pleasure to inform her of how she embarrassed herself. She raised a hand to her forehead, grinning.
"You're kidding, right?"
He smirked. "You're lucky I stopped you before your shirt came off."
She lowered her hand and looked at him, eyebrows raised. She groaned and let her head fall onto his shoulder.
"I can't believe I did that," she laughed.
"Yeah, well…you were drunk."
Her grin faded. "I shouldn't have been."
"No," he agreed, the playfulness in his voice now gone.
She looked up at him, sincerely. "I'm sorry."
Sawyer turned his head, gazing at her. He put his arm around her, pulling her close.
"It's all right."
She lifted her head and leaned closer to kiss him, slowly and passionately. He slid the covers down her shoulders and turned her around, lowering her into the bed. As he slid his hands teasingly up the sides of her body, she pressed her hands against his chest, forcing him to stop. She smiled.
"We have a wedding to get to," she reminded him.
He sighed and rolled off her and onto his back. "We gotta go?"
She rolled her eyes, then sat up and looked at the clock on the nightstand. They had only hours until the wedding. She realized she shouldn't have been at the apartment, and immediately got up to put her shirt back on.
"Where you runnin' to?" Sawyer asked, watching her.
"I'm supposed to be with Claire at the church, getting ready," she told him. "And I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be here either."
He folded his hands behind his head. "Who says I gotta go get ready with Charlie-Brown and the gang? I got all my stuff here."
She sat on the bed again, tying her shoes. "It's the principle of the thing, Sawyer."
"Whatever."
"Just like the suit," she muttered, standing up.
"What's that s'posed to mean?"
She turned facing Sawyer and they stared at each other challengingly. She finally broke her gaze and walked to the door. He followed her with his eyes. As she grabbed the knob and pulled the door open, she stopped for a moment.
"Do what you want, Sawyer," she said without looking at him. "You'll do it anyway…"
The door closed and he was left alone in the room. He listened until she was gone, then got up to go find something to drink in the kitchen. All the while, he pondered her last words. He didn't have to go with all the men to get ready if he didn't want to. This was one fight he wouldn't let her win. He had to save some of his dignity. Besides, he could get ready by himself. What was the point of going somewhere else to get dressed, anyway? To have a big party and fuss over each other? Let the girls do that, he thought to himself.