© Copyright 2012
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.
He couldn't find Alexa anywhere until lunch, when he finally spotted her, she was headed outside with a brown paper bag and a can of Sprite.
She wore make up and had done her hair so it fell into loose waves. Jeans hugged her hips and revealed the figure he knew was there. A scarf was draped around her shoulders. She looked hot. Happy Birthday Sawyer.
He appreciated the sweatpant clad, ratty hair Alexa just the same. Girls like her, the kind who didn't have a clue they were beautiful, were the best kind. Pulling his smokes from his pocket and bringing one to his mouth, he whistled. He was striking his match as she turned.
“Oh, hi Sawyer.” Her cheeks were red. She held up her brown paper bag to show a coating of grease oozing out of the bottom. “I was just going to have lunch.”
He stepped forward, took her free hand with his and held it out, skimming his eyes across her body before he winked. “You're blushin' again, sugar and lookin' all pretty for me.”
The crimson spread across her face fiercely and she became flustered. “Um, I-I didn't, I don't. No.”
“No? As in you don't look pretty or no as in it isn't for me?” Push it to the limit. All the time.
Rather than answer him and feed his desire to persist with making her uneasy, Alexa ignored his comment. “Want to have lunch with me?”
Sawyer eyed her paper bag. It was covered in spots that were near translucent as the grease ate away at the bag. Weird. He'd pegged her as a veggie chick. Like Lane. “What is it?”
“I don't know,” Alexa said. “Aunt Gabby had Liam run to the dinner down the road and pick it up. I think its a Dagwood sandwich or a philly cheesesteak.”
Sawyer took the bag from her hands and peeked inside. He rolled the top closed and handed it back to her. “I think it's a ploy. They're trying to poison you.”
Alexa giggled. “Why would they do that?”
Sawyer looked up at the sky. “Oh, I don't know. Maybe they're trying to eliminate the gorgeous people. We should run.”
She laughed harder. God, he liked that sound. The same feeling he had when he made Devin laugh wrapped itself around him.
“C'mon sugar,” he said. “You eat and I'll observe.” He reached out for her hand and led her to one of the hundreds of trees on the property. The place was empty except for them. It was strange. The sun was shining and Sawyer wondered why the grounds weren't crawling with patients.
Alexa sat, removing her sandwich from the bag. Its foil packaging was not surprisingly, dripping with grease. She scrunched up her nose. “Maybe I should have one of your nasty cigarettes for lunch.”
Sawyer stretched out on the grass, crooking his elbow and resting his head. He nodded. “Might be better for you than whatever that is.”
“What did you do this morning?” she asked as she took a bite.
“Helped Babs. Hung a pot rack, fixed a burnt out element on her stove, graced her with my presence.”
Alexa rolled her eyes. “Do you just like wake up every morning and tell yourself how great you are?”
“Someone's gotta do it,” Sawyer said. “Besides, you woke up this morning and told yourself how great I am. Otherwise you wouldn't be lookin' so ...” he narrowed his eyes. “Hot.”
