Chapter 34: Tough Decisions Can Always Be Settled With the Frickle Frackles

       Sawyer has been quiet. A bit too quiet. Sure, I have been a bit annoying while we were at the cabin, but normally Sawyer can handle my annoyingness.

       He was baking something in the kitchen right now and I was deciding what I could do to get his attention. I could always bug him but I've done that too much.

       Who was I kidding? I could never bug him too much.

       I walked over to the kitchen and sat down on one of the counters as Sawyer continued to bake what I was guessing was blueberry pie. "Wanna bang?" I asked.

       "I'm busy," Sawyer said, not even looking in my direction.

       I glared at him suspiciously. Of course, he never agreed to it when I asked in a joking way, but he also never just avoided my eye contact.

       "What's up with you?" I asked.

       "What?" Sawyer asked. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm just baking right now."

       "Something's clearly wrong, Sawyer," I said. "You're not even looking at me."

       Sawyer looked at me before going back to baking. "There, happy?"

       "That just made things worse," I said. "Did I do something wrong? Am I too annoying? Are you going to break up with me?"

       Sawyer stopped again and looked over at me. "Jamie, no. I wouldn't bring you here just to break up with you. That would be a very cruel thing to do."

       "Okay, so... Why do I feel like something's wrong?"

       "Nothing's wrong. I promise. I just..." Sawyer sighed. "I'll tell you later."

       "Tell me what?" I asked.

       "Something."

       "Well, that certainly narrows things down."

       Sawyer placed the pie into the oven and put the timer on. "I will tell you what's going on later. I promise. It just... want to hold it off for now."

       "Okay," I said, hopping off of the counter. I wasn't going to push Sawyer to tell me whatever was going on if he didn't want to write now.

       I was going to, however, still be a pest to him.

       "So want to bang while we're waiting for the pie to finish baking?" I asked.

       Sawyer, finally, let out a chuckle. "Not the best idea to be occupied when something is baking in the oven."

       I sighed. "But I am seriously sex deprived. And I'm a virgin. Do you know how hard it is to be a sex deprived virgin?"

       Sawyer furrowed his eyebrows. "You're... a virgin?"

       "Why do you sound surprised?" I asked.

       "Because you're always talking about sex and how you want us to bang? And let's not forgot you're endless amount of innuendos."

       "Yes, because I'm a horny teenager."

       "That, I already know."

       "So... bang time?"

       Sawyer sighed. "Jamie, I already told you that it's best not to when something is in the oven."

       "Ooh, here's a solution," I said. "Let's take the pie out of the oven, have sex, and then put the pie back in the oven."

       "No."

       "You're so mean to me."

       "You'll survive."

       "No, I don't think I will."

       I really wouldn't. Sawyer was just so mean to me and I had no idea why I was even dating him if he was being this mean to me.

       To pass time while we were waiting for the pie to finish in the oven, Sawyer and I watched a movie that he brought. I may have constantly said some innuendos during the movie, but I couldn't help it. Like I said, I was a very horny teenager.

       As soon as the timer on the oven went off, I asked, "Can we have sex now?"

       "You don't want to try some of my famous blueberry pie?" Sawyer asked.

       "Not really."

       "It's really good," Sawyer said. "Trust me. And... I want to tell you about the thing that's bothering me. Well, sort of bothering me."

       "So that's why you made a pie," I said.

       "Sort of..."

       "Is it a guilt pie? Sawyer, what did you do?' I gasped. "Did you bring me to a haunted place again? Is this cabin haunted?"

       "It's not haunted, Jamie," Sawyer said. "And I didn't do anything. Not really. I just... I'll explain it. Once we're eating pie."

       This really did feel like a guilt pie.

       Once Sawyer and I each had a plate with a slice of his blueberry pie, we sat down at the table in the kitchen. "So what's going on?" I asked.

       "A few days ago, I got a call," Sawyer said. "It was from the touring company with bronc riding and showjumping and cross-country. The one I was supposed to go on before my accident. They... want me to go on tour with them this summer."

       I didn't get it. Why was Sawyer so bother by this? That was a great thing. A really great thing.

       "Sawyer, that's amazing!" I said. "It's a second chance you truly deserve. Why is that bothering you so much?"

       "Because... it means I'll be gone all of summer, and some of the fall," Sawyer said. "Apart from you."

       "Hey, we've been apart for ten years before," I said.

       "When we were kids," Sawyer said. "Not when we're dating. It's going to be hard being apart for so long."

       "Yeah, it will," I said. "But there's texting and calling and video chatting. This is an amazing opportunity for you, Sawyer. Especially since you couldn't go last time because of your accident. You have to take it."

       "But I'm not even fully back into showjumping," Sawyer said. "I only did one competition. I don't know if I'm still good enough."

       "You came in second after the long break you took. I say that's good enough. And obviously the touring company thinks you're good enough if they asked you to come along."

       "You really think I should take it?"

       "Yes. Yes, of course I do. Don't get me wrong, I'll miss you like crazy but it's only for, like, two and a half months. We can handle it."

       Sawyer smiled at me. "Okay. I'll call them back when we get back home and tell them I'll go."

       "Yeah, you better tell them that," I said. "I'm really proud of you, Sawyer."

       "Thanks, Jamie. I honestly wouldn't have gotten back into showjumping so fast if it weren't for you. So thanks for helping me out the way you did."

       "Well, I'll do anything for you."

       "And I'll do anything for you."

       "Even have sex with me?"

       Sawyer rolled his eyes. "You're never going to stop with those innuendos, are you?"

       "Nope," I said proudly. "It's part of who I am."

       "Yes, I can see that."

       I finally took a bite out of the blueberry pie, and I could see why Sawyer made it for me. It was delicious. Probably the best tasting pie I'd ever have.

       It didn't even take me long to finish.

       "Please make that pie more often," I said. "That was so good."

       "Why, thank you," Sawyer said. "Want another piece?"

       "I do but I also want sex."

       Like always, I said that only as a joke. I didn't really mean it. Well, of course, part of me meant it but I mainly said it to bug Sawyer.

       Sawyer, however, took me seriously for once. He stood up from the table. "Alright, let's go."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "Go where?"

       "The bedroom," Sawyer said.

       "Wait, seriously?" I asked.

       "Why not? We're here alone."

       I smiled as I stood up from the table. "Alright, lead the way."

__________________

oof

we stan sawmie

also stan sarah jeffrey because i met her today (like i said on my profile) and i cried lol. well, i cried on the inside but still. she was so nice omg. my uncle was with me and talked to her for me because i was too anxious to and she asked if i wanted to take a picture so i'm very happy right now.

but also oof sawyer is going away for two months :( will someone try stealing him from jamie? will the long distance be too much? find out in their next book, *insert title here*

lol that made it seem like rural is ending BUT IT ISN'T YET. we've got a few more chapters.