Hang Me Out to Dry

Dream Man

Sadie stood in the shower letting the hot water rinse off the stress from the day and the pain from her muscles. She closed her eyes letting her mind go blank, focusing on the sound of the water rushing down the drain. The first day had not gone as planned. Sadie, Fritz, and Halo had the longest run of any group but Sadie was still frustrated that she had been shot down. A bang on the door made her jump. Sticking her head out of the shower to see Fanboy standing in the door hand covering his eyes as he shouted in at her.

"Casper, we're going to the bar. Hurry your ass up."

"Are you buying?" she called back, flipping the water off and wrapping herself in a towel. 

"Yeah you wish. If anything you should be buying for me. You have basically moved into my room."

"Too much toxic masculinity at my place. Hangman and Rooster were going at it when I left." 

Fanboy stood in the hall leaning against his door, shouting in to Sadie as she got dressed.

"Are you telling me you can't put those two in their place?"

"I am not their mom. Not my job to keep them from fighting. Besides the more focused Hangman is on Rooster, the less time he's spending bugging me." 

"I'm expecting him to start pulling your pigtails next. Is this one of those situations where you guys will bicker and fight until you both finally admit you have the hots for each other?"

Sadie threw open the door to Fanboy's room causing him to fall backwards when the door was no longer supporting him. Reaching her arm out, she caught him before he could fall so she was now supporting his weight.

"Absolutely not. The guy is a self centred asshole who struts around the place like he's the greatest pilot to bless this earth."

"And what do you think you do?" Sadie narrowed her eyes and pulled her arm back, letting Fanboy fall back into his room.  "Just for that, you're driving."

Sadie sat next to Bob, chatting with him idly with him as Rooster destroyed Fanboy at a game of pool. Noticing that her bottle was empty she excused herself and headed to the bar. As she waited to be served, a beer appeared in front of her. Attached to it was Hangman smirking down at her.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Here, a peace offering," he said nudging it towards her hand. She pulled back, leaning away from him.

"I have a policy against accepting drinks from douchebags, so I'll pass."

He stepped closer, towering over her. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's bad manners to refuse a gift?"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's bad manners to invade people's personal space?" He considered this for a moment before leaning down and whispering into her ear.

"You're telling me that this is too close?"

Sadie could feel his breath warm on her cheek and did her best to lean out of the way but she was stuck between him and the bar so her movement was limited. 

"That is exactly what I'm saying. If I can smell the mint gum you're chewing on that's probably a good sign you should get out of my face." She reached her hand up, placing it on his chest, and pushing him backwards. He took a couple steps back, grabbing the bottle and holding it out to her again. 

"Come on, take the beer. After watching you fly today I'm celebrating the team lead position I'm sure to win. Not sure if you noticed but I happened to be the only one who didn't do pushups today."

"Yeah because you spent your runs high-tailing it out of the line of fire to save your own ass. No way Maverick was impressed." 

"I think you'll find that I'm very impressive, Princess." Sadie had been getting increasingly annoyed the entire time she had been talking to Hangman, but the stupid nickname was the last straw. She shouldered her way past Hangman, walking back to the team. "Give me a call when you can go toe to toe with the big boys," he called after her. Without looking back, she flipped him off over her shoulder.

Fanboy raised an eyebrow at her as she approached so she moved to join him by the pool table. Ducking under his arm she leaned up against him, the weight of his arm giving her something to focus on instead of the angry churning in her stomach. 

She woke up from dead asleep in a cold sweat. She had been having a dream. Not one of those dreams that were up to interpretation like her teeth falling out or being chased by a mysterious figure. No, this dream she immediately knew what was going on. 

In her dream she felt a warm, tingling sensation as a pair of calloused hands trailed up her body towards her face. Sweat dripped down her neck as the hands tangled themselves in her hair, pulling her up into a sitting position. In a haze she took in the sight of the tanned, muscled chest of the person she was with. She lost herself in the good feeling, pressing her face into his neck, feeling his heartbeat with her tongue. Her heart raced in sync with his as he pulled on her hair, gently tilting her head back. 

Opening her eyes, she slowly registered the face of the dream man. 

Fuck.

It was Hangman.