Safe Haven

That Ain't Gonna Work

"You are such a charmer," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She finished folding clothes and packing them as he continued sorting through her undergarents. She knew that should've bothered her, but he'd been her best friend for so long that old habits such as those died hard.

"Hey there's a picture in here!" Bo called, holding up a square sheet of paper. "I remember this! It was right after you'd had your appendix removed!"

"Oh yeah," Sage laughed, peeking over his shoulder at the picture. She was sitting up on the hospital bed and Bo was next to her with a giant stuffed teddy bear, holding a balloon that read "get well soon" in bold purple lettering, sitting in front of them. "I made you carry me to the bathroom. And remember when you even had to help me shower? That was a hoot-and-a-half."

"To this day, I don't understand why you couldn't wait for Shawna or Kate to get back," Bo admitted, putting the picture back and closing the drawer. "I'm still convinced you wanted me to see you naked."

She snorted, zipping up her suitcase and hurling it at him to carry. "I wouldn't call that seeing me naked. I had a towel covering the necessities. I just needed help getting in, scrubbing my back, and getting out."

The two of them inched out the door, still bickering about whether or not she wanted him to see her in such a predicament. Unfortunately, since the lights were still out, their bickering caused them to ignore what was around them, and they lost count of how many times they stubbed their toes trying to get out the door. Bo, remembering what Sage had said about someone walking around the length of her house, dashed outside to toss her suitcase in the back before going back to run Sage to the car. The figure in black might have been long gone, but Bo wasn't about to take any chances. He even did the gentlemanly thing of holding the door open for her before climbing behind the wheel.

"Nice car," Sage commented, toying with the heater. Shortly, she gave up on trying to work the thing, demanding that Bo turn it on before she threw a fit. After he got the car heated up and running, he watched as she opened the glove compartment, digging through the many things he'd had shoved up in there. When he questioned her, the only explanation she offered was "You dig through my underwear, then expect me to dig through your stuff."

"So...what made you decide to grow your hair out?" Bo asked after an awkward silence stretched over them. It was all he could think of since she was currently twirling a strand of her long, silky brown hair around her finger.

"Religion," she stated. Turning to him, she grinned and said, "I found Jesus."

"I thought you were either athiest or agnostic," Bo commented.

She shrugged. "Changed my mind."

"Why?"

She looked as though she were considering that. Again, Sage shrugged. "None of your business."

"Is that why you're wearing a skirt as well?" he pushed on.

"Yeah, and no jewlry--save for my class ring, and if I ever get married an engagement and wedding ring--no makeup, et cetera, et cetera..." Her voice trailed off as she started twirling her hair around her finger again. "I'd rather live my life believing in God and find out there's no Heaven than living my life the way I want and then finding out there is."

"That's deep. And I'm pretty sure I heard that somewhere before," he replied, glancing at her. He had to admit that her hair only made her more attractive. It had grown down to her hips, slightly curling at the ends. He could just imagine what it would feel like to have his hand in that hair.

"Do you like the way it looks?" she whispered, staring at him through her long, dark lashes. He caught a whiff of her perfume, something like a honeysuckle. He'd always loved that smell. Probably because you could never smell real honeysuckles in New York.