Community Service

by Dakota Madison

  “I heard you were having a bit of a hard time.”

  “And who told you that?”

  “Does it matter?”

  He grinned. “I guess not.”

  As we stared at each other, the air between us seemed to become charged. “I don’t want to be with Jude,” I said.

  Sawyer frowned. “Every girl wants to be with Jude.”

  “Haven’t you figured out by now that I’m not like other girls?”

  He laughed. “Oh, I figured that out when we were in high school, Freaky Four Eyes.”

  I cringed. “Those glasses really were hideous.”

  “Those glasses turned me on.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?”

  “Okay, it was the girl behind that glasses that turned me on.” Sawyer grabbed my hand. “She still does.”

  Electricity moved up my arm and I shuddered. Sawyer definitely wasn’t the only one who was turned on. All I could think about was climbing on his lap and kissing him.

  Sawyer caressed my knuckles and every one of my nerve endings stood at attention. “Was there anything else you wanted to say?”

  There was a lot I wanted to say but I wasn’t sure what needed to be said. “I want to be with you, Sawyer. You. Not Jude. Not any other guy. You.”

  He swallowed hard. “You could have anyone, Maggs. You’re beautiful and smart. You’re every guy’s dream girl. Why would you want to be with a guy in a chair?”

  I looked into Sawyer’s eyes and I could see he was blinking back tears.

  “Because you’re you,” I said. “I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”

  I stood up and moved closer to Sawyer. Just as I was hoping, he pulled me into his lap. Stubble tickled my palm as I ran my hand down his cheek. He sucked in a breath.

  “Will your mom get mad if she sees us?” I asked.

  Sawyer laughed. “Are you kidding? I think she’d be thrilled.” He paused for a moment and his face grew more serious. “I haven’t brought any girls home since the accident. My mom asked a lot if I was seeing anyone and I always told her no. She knows I’ve dated but nothing ever came out of it. But then you walked back into my life.”

  He bit his bottom lip as if to stifle a grin. It made me want to kiss him even more. “It’s possible I may have talked about you a little bit.”

  Now I was the one grinning. “Just a little bit?”

  “Okay, a lot. Are you happy?”

  I shook my head.

  “Okay, then. What would make you happy?”

  I leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his lips. It certainly wasn’t my first kiss. But it was my first kiss with Sawyer. And it was the most extraordinary of kisses. As Sawyer took control and deepened the kiss, I swear I felt the earth quake around us. Once the spark between us ignited, within seconds we were a raging mass of lips and tongues and hands over as much of each other as we could reach being fully clothed and in Sawyer’s wheelchair.

  “Please tell me you have a ground floor apartment,” Sawyer whispered. “And that it’s wheelchair accessible.”

  I hadn’t given it that much thought. “It is on the ground floor,” I said.

  Luckily, we had stopped making out when Sawyer’s mom entered the living room. She froze when she saw me sitting on her son’s lap. I made a move to rise but Sawyer held me in place, his strong arm around my waist.

  “I guess I’ll set another place for dinner,” Mrs. Reed muttered as her eyes darted between me and Sawyer.

  I thought Sawyer’s mom might leave but she just kept staring at us. Then she started crying.

  “Mom, what’s wrong?” Sawyer asked.

  “I’m just so happy that you have Maggie,” she managed to get out between sobs.

  When I glanced at Sawyer, he shrugged.

  “I’m making pasta with broccoli and mushrooms,” she said before she abruptly turned and headed back into the kitchen.

  “I hope you plan on staying for dinner,” Sawyer said. “I don’t think my mom could handle it emotionally if you didn’t stay.”

  “I guess I don’t have a choice.”

  Sawyer placed a soft kiss on my cheek. “What are you doing Friday night?”

  I grinned. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  He frowned. “I told you I don’t date. I want to spend the evening with you.”

  “How about I make dinner and maybe if you’re lucky, you can stay at my place? You don’t have a curfew, do you?”

  “I haven’t had a curfew since I was sixteen. And even if I did, I think my mother could be thrilled to know I was spending the night at your place.”

  “Then it’s a date,” I said without thinking.

  “Not a date,” Sawyer corrected. “More like the first day of the rest of our lives together.”

  I didn’t know how to respond. The rest of our lives together was serious. He did say that he wanted all of me. I guess I just wasn’t expecting it to be right now.

  “Does that scare you?” Sawyer asked as he looked into my eyes.

  I couldn’t get over how sexy he was. And I was here, on his lap, and he was talking about a future together. It was mind blowing. “It scares me a little bit,” I admitted.

  “Good,” he said. “It should scare you.” He ran his hand down the side of my cheek. “It should scare the hell out of you.”

  A shiver ran through me as Sawyer lightly brushed his thumb along my chin. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve dreamed about touching you?”

  I gulped. “No.”

  “I thought about it every day on the way to school. Sometimes, I’d just sit there and watch you and imagine what it would be like to take your face in my hands and kiss you.”

  Sawyer did what he imagined, cupping my face in his hands and then placing a soft kiss on my lips.

  “I just never imagined that your skin would be so soft or that you’d taste so sweet.”

  He kissed me again, this time with more force and more desire. He moaned as his tongue found its way into my mouth.

  I had never felt so needy and so hungry for anyone in my life. Every inch of my body longed to be in contact with his.

  “Do you have any idea how badly I want you naked?” he whispered then nipped at my ear lobe. Another wave of shivers went straight to my toes.

  We were so deep into each other, and our own little world, neither of us heard the front door open or noticed Sawyer’s dad walk in.

  “Sawyer?” he said loudly, starling both of us.

  I could feel my face getting hot and I was sure I was probably beet red.

  “What’s going on?” Mr. Reed asked. He wore of mask of complete surprise.

  “This is Maggie,” Sawyer said quickly.

  Mr. Reed set down the briefcase he’d been holding and crossed his large arms over an even larger chest. Sawyer’s father was a big man and his presence was intimidating. Mr. Reed gave me a slight nod and then turned his attention back to his son.

  I could see where Sawyer got his looks and size. Mr. Reed was probably in his early fifties but he was still a very attractive man. Sawyer was definitely just a younger version of his father.

  “Maybe you should take Maggie to your room. I wouldn’t want Summer to accidently see something she’s too young to see.”

  I didn’t think it would be possible to be more embarrassed until Summer rolled in from the other side of the house. “What don’t you want me to see?” Summer asked as she parked next to her brother.

  It didn’t seem to faze her a bit that I was sitting on her brother’s lap. “Hey, Maggie,” she said casually.

  “Hi, Summer.”

  “Hey, Maggie. Are you going to stay for dinner?”

  “That’s the rumor,” I replied and she smiled.

  Summer glanced over at her father and said, “I’m not a kid anymore, Dad. I’m in high school. I know about sex.”

  Mr. Reed coughed and then quickly grabbed his briefcase as if it was going to shield him from any conversation about sex. “I’
m going to get changed,” he mumbled then hurried away.

  “Mom’s making pasta. The one with the broccoli.” Summer looked over at me and said, “You can just pick out the broccoli if you don’t like it. That’s what I do.”

  Sawyer looked like a clone of his dad with a little bit of his mom sprinkled in especially around the eyes. When I looked closely at Summer, I didn’t see any family resemblance at all. Summer had dark hair and dark eyes and looked like she could be Latina.

  As if she was reading my mind, Summer said, “I’m adopted. In case you’re wondering.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. Was I that easy to read or did she have some kind of psychic powers I wasn’t aware of? Or maybe it was just something she told people as she got to know them better.

  “After my accident, my parents spent a small fortune to adapt their house for my wheelchair. They decided to look into the possibility of adopting kids with special needs. They always wanted more kids after me but it never happened. They went through the process to get approved and then their caseworker told them about Summer. She’s been with us for almost four years.”

  “One thousand four hundred and fifty days,” Summer added.

  I marveled at how close Summer and Sawyer were. They acted just like siblings who had been raised together. Not that I had firsthand experience in that department being an only child but they seemed to act like I imaged siblings would be.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Mrs. Reed called from the kitchen.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” Sawyer whispered to me. “She makes a lot of food.”

  I followed as Sawyer and Summer both maneuvered their wheelchairs into the dining room. They both rolled right up to the table and I took a seat next to Sawyer.

  A few seconds later, Mr. Reed joined us. He looked a lot more relaxed now that he was in jeans and a T-shirt.

  “So,” Mr. Reed looked at me. “Sawyer tells us you’re quite a scientist.”

  “I guess so. I’ve always loved science and getting the internship with the Paleolimnology department is a big step toward getting into a graduate program.”

  Mr. Reed nodded. “I believe that’s Sawyer’s plan as well.” Mr. Reed looked over at his son. Sawyer nodded.

  Mrs. Reed popped her head into the dining room and said, “I could use a hand bringing in the food.”

  I rose but I saw Mr. Reed shake his head slowly so I sat back down.

  “You’re a guest, Maggie. The kids can give their mother a hand.”

  I felt a twinge of embarrassment that I had jumped up thinking I should help because I wasn’t in a wheelchair. I was learning not to impose my own limited ideas on other people.

  Sawyer and Summer both rolled into the kitchen and came back with trays of food balancing on their laps. I noticed Mr. Reed grabbed the tray from Summer’s lap because her hands were unsteady. Then Sawyer placed his tray on the table. Mrs. Reed followed with bread, butter and salad dressing.

  After everyone was settled into their places at the table, Sawyer grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. The gesture did not go unnoticed by anyone else at the table and I saw Mrs. Reed glance at her husband and grin.

  The conversation was steady and jumped from the craziest topics (why are hamburgers called hamburgers when they’re not made of ham) to the most mundane (exactly how old do we think Larry from the theater actually is). There was plenty of laughter and the family members did not refrain from teasing each other. They even got a few jabs in at me when Summer brought up the fact that Sawyer used to call me Freaky Four Eyes.

  “I can’t believe you told your family that,” I said to Sawyer.

  “He tells us everything about you,” Summer remarked and Sawyer glared at her.

  “It’s the truth,” Summer added.

  “Well, I’m glad you could finally join us for dinner,” Mrs. Reed said.

  “Thanks for inviting me,” I replied. “Everything was delicious.”

  “I hope we’ll see you again soon.” Mrs. Reed glanced over at Sawyer and he glowered at her.

  Mrs. Reed rose and said, “Who is going to help with clean up?”

  Everyone around the table moaned but they started grabbing plates from the table and carrying them into the kitchen.

  I carried my plate about half way when Mr. Reed grabbed it from me. “Guests don’t need to clean up.”

  “I really don’t mind,” I said.

  “We’re glad you’re here,” he mumbled as if it was difficult for him to get the words out. He didn’t come across as a man of many words.

  “I’m glad to be here,” I replied.

  Mr. Reed gave me one of his quick nods then disappeared with my dish into the kitchen.

  Sawyer rolled over to me and pulled me into his lap. I was really starting to love when he did that. “Can you stay any longer? I’ll show you my bedroom.” The twinkle in his eye let me know that his room wasn’t the only thing he wanted to show me.

  I had to admit I felt weird about messing around in his parents’ house. “I think we’d better wait until you can come to my place,” I suggested.

  He heaved a sigh and I could tell he was disappointed but he nodded. “You’re all I’ll be thinking about until then.”

  I put my hand on his cheek and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “I’d better go,” I whispered.

  Sawyer kissed me again, this time with more passion and desire. It made me wonder how I was going to last until we could be together. My body was already longing to connect with Sawyer’s.

  I hopped off his lap and he headed to the front door with me.

  “See you soon, Maggs,” he said as I walked out the door.

  Eight

  I was late getting to the lab and I knew Reese was going to ride my ass about it. He was so particular about everything it nearly drove me crazy.

  “I hope you have an explanation for this,” he demanded before I barely had a chance to get my lab coat on.

  “For what,” I replied before I actually looked over at our lab table.

  Reed pointed at a large flask filled with daisies sitting right in the center on my side of the lab table.

  “They’re flowers,” I said because nothing else came to mind.

  Reed narrowed his eyes at me, clearly annoyed. “I know they’re flowers, Leucanthemum vulgare to be precise. But what are they doing here?

  I just blinked at him because I didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry if they’re bothering you.”

  He heaved an impatient sigh. “They’re not bothering me. They just don’t belong in the lab.”

  “I’ll take them home with me when I leave.”

  “Good,” he said. “Now let’s get to work.”

  ***

  When I noticed the daisies were wrapped in a ribbon, and the ribbon had some kind of writing on it. I couldn’t wait to get the ribbon off so I could read the message.

  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 1) I love that you have a special smile that you use just for me.

  Did I have a smile just for Sawyer? I didn’t even realize it. I made me wonder if he knew he had a smile just for me as well.

  I continued reading the ribbon: 2) You’re brilliant and beautiful. 3) You laugh at all my ridiculous jokes. 4) Whenever I have something I really want to say, you’re the first person I want to tell. 5) This ribbon is too small for all the other millions of reasons why I want you to be mine.

  I couldn’t hide the wide grin that was on my face. Could a guy be any more perfect for me?

  When I heard a knock on my front door, my stomach got a little knot in it as my mom-radar went off. I hadn’t spoken to my mom in a while and I was sure she was wondering why.

  “You look happy,” my mom said as soon as I opened the door. She barged inside before I even had a chance to invite her in. Not that I could stop here. She was still helping me pay the rent while I was in school.

  “Does this mean things are going well with Jude?” she asked. She was actually holding her breath w
aiting for me to respond. I didn’t want to disappoint her but I didn’t want to lie either.

  She immediately spotted the flowers on the counter. “Daisies?” Disappointment colored her tone.

  “What’s wrong with daisies?” I said a little too defensively.

  “He could have gotten you roses.”

  “I like daisies,” I said as I lovingly brushed one of the flowers with my finger tip.

  “Jude’s family is quite well off,” she said.

  I blew out air and then admitted, “The flowers aren’t from Jude.”

  My mom raised an eyebrow. I knew that was my cue to tell her who the flowers were from but I didn’t feel like getting into an argument about Sawyer again.

  She must have sensed my inner conflict and decided to push it out of me. “Who are they from?”

  My mom was now giving me her laser stare. If I didn’t answer soon her gaze could possibility set my house on fire.

  “They’re from Sawyer.”

  My mom’s eyebrows sailed so far up her forehead they almost disappeared into her hairline. “Not the boy in the wheelchair.”

  “He’s not a boy, he’s a senior in college, but yes, he uses a wheelchair.”

  My mom glared at my poor daisies as if she just found out they were carrying a disease. “I’d ask if you already slept with him but I don’t think that’s even possible.”

  My jaw nearly fell to the ground. My mom and I talked about a lot of things but my sex life wasn’t one of them. “It’s none of your business who I sleep with,” I snapped.

  My mom was now staring at me. “Have you thought about that, Maggie? Do you want to give up sex for the rest of your life?”

  Now I knew why Sawyer was so incessant about telling me he was able to have sex. Obviously a lot of people thought it couldn’t happen. Not that it was any of my mom’s concern anyway. “I don’t think that’s an issue, Mom.”

  “You’re not a virgin are you? I thought for sure you had sex with that boy Bobby Butler.”

  I could feel my entire body growing hot with anger. “I don’t really want to have this conversation with you, Mom.”

  “Sex is an important part of any relationship,” she said.

  “Thanks for the advice,” I snapped.