Community Service Page 6

“Do you still just care about sex and sports?” I asked.

  “Things are a little different now, obviously. I care about having someone care about me and having someone I can care about. Sex is part of that but it’s not all of it anymore.”

  Sawyer was so much like the guy he was in high school, charming and confident with a hint of cockiness. He still had the same personality but the accident had changed him, too. He seemed more thoughtful and maybe more compassionate.

  “And what about sports?” I prompted. I wasn’t sure he could still play sports but it was pretty obvious he worked out.

  “Do you want you to see what I do when I leave here? I think you’ll be surprised.”

  “I have a lot of studying to do. And you know I’ve got my community service hours.”

  “I think you can take a few hours out of your busy nerd schedule, especially on a Saturday night. It’s not going to kill you. Besides, I know they’re not rehearsing on Saturday night.”

  When I looked back over at Sawyer, he was smirking. He rattled off an address and told me to be there Saturday at 7 p.m. Before I could protest, he turned his wheelchair and rolled away.

  ***

  The address Sawyer gave me was a recreation center off campus. I wondered what I was doing there and if I should just turn around and go home. I certainly didn’t spend time in gyms. I wasn’t athletic and I never knew anyone who was well enough to see them participate in a sport. Sawyer participated in a lot of sports in high school. He was a star football player and he also excelled in basketball, or so I heard. What sport could he play in a wheelchair? It didn’t seem feasible. I was about to find out.

  The bleachers were already getting packed and I thought I had gotten there early. I was glad I hadn’t decided to show up fashionably late. I took a seat next to a pretty blonde, who looked a few years older than me, maybe mid-twenties. She had a little girl with her, who was also blonde and cute as a button. She looked about three.

  The blonde glanced over at me and gave me a warm smile. “First time?” she asked.

  “Is it that obvious?” I replied.

  “You look a little nervous. Plus, I’ve never seen you here before.”

  I didn’t have the courage to tell her that I wasn’t sure what I was even here to see. It made me feel like a complete fool. “I guess I am a little nervous. I’m not really into sports.”

  Her grin widened. “You’re gonna love it. My husband’s been playing for years. He was injured in a motor bike accident when he was sixteen. I’m Mya, by the way, my husband is Andy Duncan, who you’ll see soon. This is our daughter, Gracie.”

  I was almost too stunned to talk. She was married to a guy in a wheelchair and they had a kid. It really surprised me. I wasn’t sure how to respond so I just said, “I’m Maggie.”

  “Did you come to watch any guy in particular?” She had a gleam in her eye that said she wasn’t above playing matchmaker.

  “Sawyer Reed. We work together in the Paleolimnology lab. We’re just friends.” I’m not sure why I felt the need to say we were just friends. It felt wrong that I was having trouble imagining dating a guy in a wheelchair when she was married to one.

  She just nodded but I could tell by looking into her eyes there was something else she wanted to say, maybe a lot she wanted to say.

  “I’ve known Sawyer for a few years, ever since he joined the team, and I don’t get the impression he’s the type of guy who has girls who are just friends.”

  Was she saying that she thought Sawyer was interested in me romantically? How would she know that? I knew Sawyer talked to his sister about me but had he talked to Mya as well? “I don’t think it’s what you think. We knew each other in high school, sort of, but we were definitely not in the same social circles. Now we’re working together in the lab.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

  I had to admit that where Sawyer was concerned, I wasn’t sure about anything. I knew he wanted more, he had made that clear, but exactly what more he wanted he wasn’t too clear on. And it wasn’t like he actually asked me out. He even said he wasn’t going to date me.

  I was relieved when guys in wheelchairs made their way out onto the floor and Mya turned her attention to the action below.

  It took me a minute to realize the guys were on a basketball court and that they were playing basketball in wheelchairs. I didn’t realize guys in wheelchairs could do that. They weren’t easy on each other, either. They were pretty tough.

  I didn’t know a lot about basketball but I knew enough to realize that Sawyer and Andy’s team was killing their competitors. The guys were really good. I guess Sawyer didn’t lie when he said they practiced a lot. They had to practice to be that good.

  In between halves, Mya asked me if I needed to use the ladies room.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  “Come on,” she said as she stood up with Gracie. “I’ll show you where it is.”

  As you’d expect at any type of public event, the ladies room was crowded. I don’t know why I was surprised there were so many spectators to watch the game. Even though I didn’t watch sports when I was young, I knew a lot of people did. Apparently disabled sports attracted a healthy crowd as well.

  I heard two girls in line in front of us talking about some of the guys. They were cute, looked like college students but maybe a few years young than me, freshman or sophomores. My ears perked up when I heard one of the girls say, “That guy Sawyer Reed is sure hot.”

  “I know, right,” the other girl agreed.

  I don’t know why it bothered me so much but I could feel myself getting angry at them. Was I jealous that other girls found him attractive? It wasn’t like he was my boyfriend or anything.

  “What’s wrong?” Mya whispered.

  “Nothing,” I snapped and immediately regretted my tone.

  Mya actually laughed. “If you think guys in wheelchairs don’t get girls that would be a complete misinterpretation. Especially hot guys like Sawyer. In some ways they’re better lovers than able-bodied guys. Andy definitely is.”

  I didn’t know how to respond. It had never occurred to me that there would be girls that interested in guys in wheelchairs. I guess that was a stupid thing to assume. Why wouldn’t there be? They’re still guys. And the girls were right, Sawyer is hot. But if they had limited function in their legs, did that mean everything down there was limited in its function? Sawyer said he could still get an erection. What was I thinking about, I scolded myself. Was I really thinking about Sawyer’s dick? I could feel my face heating up and I knew I was probably turning red with embarrassment.

  “It’s okay,” Mya whispered. “I had a lot of questions when I first started dating Andy. But believe me, they weren’t questions I had very long, if you know what I mean.”

  “Sawyer says he doesn’t want to date me,” I admitted. “So I think I’ll have some of my questions a lot longer than you did, apparently.”

  Mya looked at me with the kindest eyes. “You can’t let him know I said anything to you but Sawyer’s been burned a few times by girls he’s dated. I know he wants a relationship but there’s a big difference between dating a guy in a chair and getting involved with a guy in a chair. A lot of girls will mess around with guys in a chair but not want to actually be seen with them. It’s really shitty. A think a lot of girls have this image of the perfect guy they want to marry and I don’t think that image includes a wheelchair.”

  “Thanks for telling me. I guess it makes sense why he’s hesitant to date.”

  “He just doesn’t want to get hurt. Especially by someone he really likes.”

  Mya smiled. She was such a beautiful person. Obviously she was able to look beyond the wheelchair when she got involved with Andy. Would it be possible for me to do that with Sawyer? I knew I was starting to have some heavy feelings for him and the more I learned about the disability, the easier it was to accept that about him.

  After the game, Sawyer and Andy rolled
up to me, Mya and Gracie.

  “Great game, Honey,” Mya said as she bent down and gave Andy a kiss. He was also a good looking guy, with a muscular upper body, like Sawyer. He had thick blond hair and beautiful dark blue eyes. When he gave his wife a big grin, his eyes sparkled.

  “It was a great game,” Andy corrected. “We killed the Phoenix team.”

  Sawyer glanced up at me and smiled. “Thanks for coming.”

  “I’m glad I did. Thanks for making me.”

  Sawyer laughed. “I don’t think I could make Maggie Mitchell do anything she didn’t want to do.”

  “So you’re Maggie,” Andy said as he turned toward me. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Sawyer slapped his teammate’s arm in an obvious attempt to shut him up. When Andy looked at Sawyer, Sawyer was glaring at him.

  Andy shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about you. Sawyer never talks about you all the time. We never get so tired of hearing about you that we just want the guy to ask you out already. Nope, nothing like that ever happens.”

  “Thanks, a lot, Buddy.” Sarcasm was oozing from Sawyer’s voice.

  Andy smiled. “That’s what friends are for.” Andy put a hand out to me. “Nice finally meeting you, Maggie Mitchell, or should I call you Maggs?”

  Sawyer’s eyes narrowed and he punched Andy’s upper arm this time. “Ouch,” Andy exclaimed and returned Sawyer’s glare.

  I shook Andy’s hand. I noticed it was rough, and calloused, probably from the wheelchair. Andy turned his attention to me and said, “You are as cute as Sawyer never mentions. He doesn’t talk about you so much that I knew exactly what you looked like before I even saw you. Something like that would never happen.”

  I could feel my face getting hot. I couldn’t believe Sawyer talked about me that much. It was surreal. More often than not, I still felt like Freaky Four Eyes, and the fact that a guy as hot as Sawyer seemed to be into me was a little too much to process.

  “I think you’ve given Sawyer a hard enough time,” Mya said to her husband. “And I think we’d better get Gracie home to bed. It’s getting late.”

  Andy nodded. “The boss has spoken. Don’t stay out too late kids.” Andy winked at me then he patted Sawyer’s shoulder. “See you, Monday.”

  Sawyer nodded. “See you, Monday.” I could tell by the strain in his voice that Sawyer was upset. He just didn’t want to let on in front of his friend.

  Mya set Gracie down on Andy’s lap and he wheeled away with his daughter, while his wife walked next to him.

  That left me standing next to Sawyer. I felt awkward, like I wasn’t sure if he wanted to be with me or not. The way Andy made it sound, he talked about me all the time, yet I still felt there was kind of a wall between us. Maybe it was fear—on both of our parts.

  “Sorry about that.” Sawyer looked as embarrassed as I felt. “I had no idea Andy was going to say those things.”

  “It’s okay.” I really wanted to bring up some of the things Mya had told me but I promised her I wouldn’t. I didn’t think it was something Sawyer would readily volunteer though.

  “I know it’s late but do you want to get something to eat?” Sawyer asked. When he looked up at me, I could see there was hesitation in his eyes.

  “As long as it’s not a date. Because you don’t want to date me, remember?”

  Sawyer smiled. “Of course it’s not a date. Don’t be silly.”

  “All right, then. Where do you want to go?”

  ***

  I always thought it was strange to have a seafood place in the heart of our southern Arizona city but Sea Hounds was a popular place. It was nearly nine at night but the parking lot was still fairly packed. I attributed it to the reasonable prices and large portions they served.

  Sawyer pulled his pickup truck into one of the disabled spots right up front. I guess there was some advantages to being in a wheelchair. Prime parking spots.

  When Sawyer offered to drive, it surprised me when he led me toward a blue Toyota pick-up truck. I’m not sure why it surprised me so much. He just didn’t seem like the pick-up truck kind of guy. He seemed more like a sports car kind of guy. But he said his dad found one online that had already been adapted with hand controls and his parents talked him into it.

  That didn’t surprise me.

  I knew a lot about parents talking one into things. I was the queen of allowing my parents to talk me into all kinds of things, including staying in the city in which I grew up for college because, as my mom said, “It’s a world class university and it’s just a few miles from home.” The only comprise I wasn’t willing to make was that I was not going to live at home and commute to school. My generous scholarship, which I worked very hard to earn, included room and board in the student apartments. There was no way I wasn’t going to take advantage of that kind of freedom.

  I watched with amazement as Sawyer grabbed all of the parts of his wheelchair and expertly put them all back together again. I was equally amazed when he’d gotten into the truck and managed to dissemble the thing in a matter of seconds.

  I guessed that’s what happened with a lot of practice. As soon as the wheelchair was in place, he transferred himself from the truck onto his chair. I hopped out of the vehicle and waited while he wheeled over to me.

  “I would have gotten the door for you,” he said.

  I frowned. “Except that this isn’t a date, remember?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, I remember.”

  We made our way into the restaurant and waited at the hostess station to be seated. When the hostess spotted us, she looked like she was taken off guard by Sawyer. She actually looked kind of embarrassed and then wouldn’t look at him again. It made me wonder if I had ever acted that way when I saw someone in wheelchair.

  “Two,” the hostess asked me.

  I purposefully looked over at Sawyer for him to respond and so the hostess would have to look at him. She did—reluctantly.

  “Two,” Sawyer confirmed.

  The hostess turned on her heels and marched us toward several empty tables. She looked flustered as she looked back and forth between the table and Sawyer as if she couldn’t figure out what to do.

  Sawyer seemed to take it in stride. “Why don’t you move one of the chairs to another table and I’ll just wheel in its place,” he suggested a lot more nicely than I would have.

  She nodded and quickly moved the chair to one of the other empty tables. Sawyer rolled next to the table and I took the seat opposite him.

  She handed us each a menu and when Sawyer gave her one of his winning smiles, a smile that made my heart leap a little bit out of my chest, she just looked flustered again and hurried away.

  I didn’t realize how much Sawyer probably had to put up with on a daily basis because of other people’s ignorance until I saw it for myself first hand. I didn’t think most people were intentionally cruel, I just thought they didn’t know what to do and handled it badly.

  “What are you thinking?” Sawyer asked as he peered over his menu at me.

  “Just how people act so weird because you’re in a wheelchair.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it. At first, it hurt my feelings but then I realized a lot of people probably didn’t have any experience with wheelchairs and didn’t know what to say or do. I don’t take it personally.”

  “So, do you come here often?” I asked.

  “I take all my dates here,” he teased. “Oh, wait, this isn’t a date. Scratch that.”

  I smiled. I loved how easy it was for Sawyer to make me smile.

  “You know your smile was one of the first things I noticed about you.” He was still peering over his menu at me.

  “Oh, yeah. When was that?”

  “When you were a freshman. I remember seeing you on the bus. You were wearing a light blue sweater with these tiny pearl buttons.”

  I couldn’t believe he remember that sweater. It was my favorite sweater when I was in high school. I wore
it a lot my first two years of school.

  “I thought it was so weird that you were wearing a sweater and it was still like 80 degrees outside. You were looking for someplace to sit on the bus and kids kept moving toward the aisle so you couldn’t sit with them. After going past like eight rows, I could see you were getting frustrated because not one kid would budge. Finally, Max Doogan slid over and let you sit with him. You gave him this beautiful smile of appreciation. I wanted to be on the receiving end of that smile instead of Max. But I was in the next row back. You never made it to my seat.”

  “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

  “How could I forget? You sat with Max Doogan for the rest of your freshman year. I was completely shocked the kid never asked you out. He obviously liked you. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.”

  “I couldn’t imagine myself dating Max Doogan,” I said. “He probably weighed close to 280 pounds. He was a big guy. And I wasn’t even close to half his size.”

  “You were a skinny little thing. It probably would have taken three of you to make one Max Doogan. You know the only reason I teased you was because I didn’t know how else to get your attention.”

  “And all these years I just thought you considered me a complete dork.”

  He smiled. “You were kind of a dork. But a very cute one.”

  I rolled my eyes. “If you say so.”

  He glanced down at the menu. “So what looks good?”

  “I was thinking about the fried shrimp and French fries,” I said. “Does that make me sound like a little kid?”

  “That is one of the entrees on the children’s menu,” he teased. “If you get the kid’s portion, you’ll be a really cheap date.”

  “This isn’t a date,” I reminded him.

  He nodded but I could see a twinkle in his eyes that said otherwise. Even if he wasn’t calling it a date, he was definitely hitting on me.

  “I’m going with the baked salmon.”

  “So grown up of you,” I teased.

  I have to say I was relieved when the waitress took our orders and she actually acknowledged Sawyer. Maybe it was because we were both seated and it wasn’t as much of an oddity seeing him in his wheelchair. After the waitress took our menus and left, Sawyer looked at me and asked, “So what do you remember about me from high school?”