After the introductions, we were subjected to an hour of choosing club positions. The speeches for the potential President went on for fifteen minutes. By the actual vote, I was ready to make for the hills, but I stuck it out and enjoyed Sawyer's presence on the desk beside me as we whispered more interesting speeches for the candidates in the back of the room during the entire meeting. Sawyer brought me to near laughing out loud several times with her dry sense of humor. In some ways she really reminded me of Darren, and I had the sudden feeling that he really would have liked her.
Luckily, neither Sawyer nor I were nominated for any positions, and eventually the elections ended with Sally Hoffen winning the coveted Presidential position. I picked up my stuff to get out of there and just when I was going to ask Sawyer if she still wanted to come over, Ms. Reynolds walked up to our side.
"Lucas...could I speak to you for a moment?" Her young face looked greatly concerned and I cringed at whatever she wanted. I didn't have it in me to deny a direct request made by a teacher though.
"Um...sure," I said slowly.
Sawyer beside me slung her bag over her shoulder and gave me a sympathetic look. "Sorry, Luc, I can't hang around. My parents are expecting me home right after the meeting." My face fell as I looked over hers. Damn, I'd so been hoping that we could hang out longer, but she had to go. Damn, I was going to have to walk home now too. She put a hand on my arm and muttered, "Have a good night. See ya tomorrow."
I nodded and watched her comforting presence leave the room. With a soft sigh, I turned to face Ms. Reynolds, who was watching her leave as well. Finally, she turned to face me and her lips compressed to a thin line. "You didn't take that very seriously." I scrunched my brows as I tried to absorb what she meant. Seeing my confusion, she filled in the blanks. "The meeting, the entire time you were either spacing out or talking to Sawyer." She lowered her voice and leaned into me, bringing her hand back up to my arm. "You, of all people, Lucas, should take this seriously. We're here to help you." Her voice conveyed her true concern for what she clearly saw as a severely troubled teen and I immediately bristled at the implication.
I jerked away from her. "I came here for Sawyer." I shook my head, suddenly feeling very angry. "I'm not interested in your little club." The sneer in my voice was unmistakable and Ms. Reynolds straightened and backed up a step.
She set her jaw at my tone and her eyes flashed with something that almost looked like anger too. "Well, for your future...I hope you reconsider." Her face softened as her sudden anger left her. "We're always here for you, Lucas."
Shaking my head, I turned away from her and left the room. Her implication was all too clear - you have a problem and you need to join our little group so we can get you sober. God, since when did being drunk once in my life constitute a drinking problem. Just goes to show you how easy it can be for people to believe the lie...and how resistant people can be to believe the truth.
In a huff, I made my way to the parking lot which let out to the street that took me home. I didn't like being angry at Ms. Reynolds. I did like her and she was only concerned over my well being, one of the few individuals in this town that did actually care about me. I was just tired of being looked at like some after school special.
Halfway through the parking lot, a horn beeping snapped me out of my reverie. In a daze, I looked over at what car was making the noise. I stopped walking and cocked my head when I noticed Sawyer's Camaro driving towards me. My lips automatically curled into a smile as she pulled up alongside me. I bent down as she rolled down her window.
"What are you still doing here?" I asked her.
She smiled and shrugged, her hand resting over the steering wheel. "I just remembered that you probably needed a ride." She shook her dark head. "My parents can wait a few minutes."
I smiled and walked around the front of her car to get in the passenger's side. Settling into the, getting familiar, bucket seat, I inhaled the clean scent of lemons and sighed at not having to walk home after all. Laying my head back on the seat, I rolled it to the side to look at her while she pulled the car forward. "You don't have to do this. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."
She laughed and looked over at me. "I'm already in a constant state of trouble. Really, this is nothing." Her smile turned into a concerned look as she turned back to face the road. "What did Ms. Reynolds want?"
I sighed and ran a hand though my hair. "Oh, just your basic, you've got a problem, let us help you speech." I exhaled roughly and stared out the window at the small town streaking by. "You'd think I was Lindsey Lohan for how they all look at me."
She snorted and I looked back at her. "I don't think they're looking at you like you're a wacked out, washed up starlet." She looked over at me and grinned and I couldn't help but grin back.
"You know what I mean," I muttered.
She laughed again and turned back to the road. Then her look got more serious. "Did you...did you drink a lot, Lucas?" She looked over at me as I tried to keep a scowl from my face. Apparently I hadn't done a very good job, because she quickly added, "I just...I don't know, Lucas. I've only just met you. I don't know what you were like before...." She shrugged. "I do still believe that you weren't that night, but I was just wondering why they are all so quick to believe the stories."
I relaxed and looked back to the sidewalk blurring by. I shouldn't get snippy at her, it was a fair question. She really didn't know me, and I'm sure she'd been getting an earful of unpleasant information on me. She must wonder if my being sober that night was the rarity. Softly, I sighed into the window.
"No...I've never been a really big drinker. I just didn't care for it, for being out of control like that." I sighed and looked back at her. "I've been drunk exactly once in my life...and it was sort of a disaster." I shook my head and looked back out the front window. "They all know that about me too. My...resistance was sort of an inside joke with my friends. 'Oh, let's get Lucas drunk - cue the Mission Impossible theme'." I sighed again and felt her hand snake over to clench mine. I laced our fingers together and relaxed even further into her touch.
"Why do they all believe it then?"
I exhaled softly and looked over as her eyes intently studied the road. "I don't know."
She squeezed my hand and we let the conversation fade. A warm silence fell upon the car and I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling of her tiny hand in mine. It was nice to hold someone's hand again. I stroked my thumb along the side of hers and felt her hand stiffen slightly before relaxing. Her skin was soft and silky and I smiled at the feeling of it sliding under my skin. I was sure my hand felt rough in comparison, but Sawyer never complained or pulled her hand away, just continued to let me hold hers and stroke it with mine.
I pushed back the memories of doing this with Lil as Sawyer's car sped to my house. Lil and I had held hands a lot, but usually only walking between classes in the more traditional 'cup' hold. If we were alone in a quiet car...well, we were generally doing more than holding hands. I pushed those memories back as well. Trying to distract my mind from wandering down an alley I wasn't ready for yet, I focused on the dips and curves of Sawyer's hand as my thumb stretched out to feel more of it. I swept my thumb over the back of her hand, sliding over the long, elegant bones and the smooth knuckles. I adjusted my hand so I could sweep my thumb up to her palm, feeling the hill-like edges that led down to the valley in the exact center. Then my thumb traveled straight down that valley, heading towards her petite wrist.
She abruptly jerked her hand away from mine and startled, I opened my eyes. I blushed a bit, thinking I'd gone beyond the terms of our friendship with my little "body exploration" and was about to sputter an apology, when I noticed she was turning the steering wheel to pull into the drive of my home. I studied her face as she did that, but I didn't see any irritation or embarrassment, actually, she looked kind of blank as she straightened the wheel and put the car in park.
She looked over at me and that apology was still on the tip of my tongue, but she beat me to it. "We're here..." She looked at me a little sheepishly and ran the hand I'd darn near been caressing, back through her hair, tucking some dark strands behind her ear.
I glanced at my house and then back to her. "Oh...thanks for the ride." She nodded and smiled slightly at me. I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd messed up, so that apology finally did seep out of me. "I'm sorry about..." I pointed to her hand that was picking at her jacket sleeve. "I just...I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable."
She looked down and I thought I saw a light coloring flush her cheeks, but her hair had fallen down around her face and I couldn't be sure. I resisted the urge to sweep that hair back so I could see her better. "It's fine, Lucas. I liked it..." I felt a lingering "but" in the air, but she didn't say anything else. That non-explanation filled the car with a strange tension and I opened my door to break it. She finally looked back up at me when I did.
I put one foot out the door and paused, looking back at her. "I know you have to go, but...do you want to come in?" I grinned crookedly at her. "After all, you're already in trouble."
She smiled a little and then looked down at her hand...the hand. "No, I better not push it." She looked back up at me. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lucas."
I had the sudden feeling that she would have said yes if that awkward moment in the car hadn't happened and a strange guilt washed through me. I looked down at my foot on the pavement before swinging my head back around to her waiting gray eyes. "Okay. See you, Sawyer." I started to stand and then stopped, settling my weight back down to the car seat. Meeting her eye again, I told her, "Thank you...for today. I don't think I'd of made it without you." I smiled warmly on the end and she returned it, her eyes searching my face.
I wondered what she was looking for, when she finally replied. "You're welcome, Luc...any time." She sighed softly and then her eyes settled back to mine. I smiled, nodded and started to exit the car. I was halfway standing when she spoke. "Luc?" I turned in the door to look back at her. "Do you want me to pick you up in the morning? So you don't have to walk," she quickly added.
I grinned widely at the thought of both spending more time with her, and not having to walk all the way to school again tomorrow. Plus the added bonus of avoiding hopping on another bus, should the weather take a turn for the worse. "I'd love that...thank you."
Her wide grin matched my own and I jauntily exited the car and shut it. I was grinning and waving goodbye like an idiot when she pulled out of the drive and sped away, back towards town. I wondered where she lived for a moment and then, shoving my hands in my pockets, turned and made my way inside my small house for an exciting night of doing homework, watching bland television shows and maybe for dinner, just for something different...ham and cheese Hot Pockets.
Chapter 5
And Things Had Started Out So Well...