The Beautiful Truth

// 38

Tuesday came too quickly. It was very difficult not to cry, watching Barton walk away as I headed through security at OAK. But, I was pacified, knowing that I'd get to see him much sooner than expected, what with our impending trip to Park City after New Years. And, if I wasn't already looking forward to that enough, Micki was planning to come home with me and my dad after the Cotton Bowl so we could fly out to Sundance together. She had only been gone for a few days at this point, but I missed her terribly.

I was irrationally disappointed when I walked off my plane at DFW to find no one waiting on me in the terminal. Obviously Talyn had come home days earlier. His exams had ended last Friday, and he had only a few days off before having to return to campus for practice before his own bowl game.

My flight was a little early, so I wasn't surprised to find no one waiting on me in the baggage claim area, either. Resigned to waiting, I leaned against one of the concrete pillars around the turnstiles and pulled out my phone.

"Oh, you again," Barton teased when he answered on the second ring.

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Oh hi. I made it."

"Good. We're sitting here planning our cross-country sightseeing as I speak. The guys love your book, by the way."

I laughed again. "Nice. Well, I'll let you get back to it...I was early, so nobody's here to get me yet. Just waiting on my suitcase."

"I miss you, SF. I should have come with you."

I frowned. I'd never even thought to ask if he wanted to come home with me. "I didn't even think—"

"Well, I gotta meet Kerry Fitzgerald one of these days, right?"

I grinned, thinking about it. "I guess you do."

"Oh, hey Sawyer!" Alex chimed in from the background.

"Alex says hi," Barton repeated, audibly smiling.

"Hi Alex," I replied, my eyes intensely focused on my boots. Somewhere behind me I heard a familiar voice or two. I turned on my heels to see them approaching, looking more like movie stars than my friends.

"Oh, uh, hey, I think my ride's here," I stammered into the phone. "I'll talk to you later, I'm sure."

"OK, we'll be here. Later, babe!"

"Bye," I said, although I thought it sounded more like a question by the time I twisted it out of my mouth. I was too distracted by my approaching escorts. They could only be here for me.

"She looks confused," Jason commented, turning his head slightly toward Talyn, but keeping his eyes on me.

Talyn grinned his most recognizable sideways smile. "Of course she does. I told you she would be."

"What the—"

I started to ask him what the hell was going on, or where the hell my dad was, but my voice caught in my throat as soon as Talyn bolted forward to pick me up and toss me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Oh!" I complained.

"Got her, now where's the suitcase?" Talyn laughed.

I didn't know if he was asking me, or his accomplice. The lack of response from Jason told me they were probably waiting on me.

"Well," I began, "seeing that I'm upside down and faced away from the turnstile, I can't tell you if it's here or not."

Jason laughed. "She sounds calm for someone who just got ambushed."

Talyn shrugged, hitching me more surely onto his shoulder.

"Where's my dad?" I asked, not putting up a fight. I knew it would be worthless.

"Finishing up your Christmas decorations," Talyn explained. "He couldn't have you coming home to an undecorated house. So he sent us."

"I bet."

"There it is," Talyn nodded, presumably at my suitcase coming around on the conveyor belt.

"Ah." Jason went around to retrieve it. Hopefully.

I sighed, still hitched over Talyn's shoulder, wondering if people were beginning to stare or not. "I like your belt."

Talyn laughed. "Thanks."

"Any chance you could put me down?"

He ignored me, and Jason Mandrino was back at his side, rolling my suitcase behind him. "Talyn, you hungry?" he asked.

I shook my head and examined my cuticles while still upside down. This was more than obnoxious. Not so much as a 'Hi SF' and I was being toted around like farm feed.

"Guy, I'm starving. What do you feel like?"

"I feel like you should put me down!" I complained loudly, now that we were outside. The sudden cold was sharp. There was snow on the ground and more forecasted to fall tonight and tomorrow.

Jason laughed, I raised my torso up far enough to give him the finger as he was walking slightly behind Talyn. "There's our SF," he grinned. I hated him and his cowboy smile.

Talyn sighed heavily and abruptly lifted me off his shoulder and put me down on the sidewalk. The sudden change in orientation jarred me, and I just stood there, looking up at him like a dummy.

"Hi there, Sawyer," Talyn looked down at me with a completely innocent look on his face.

I punched him in the stomach. "Hi yourself."

While Talyn pretended to be recovering from my less than damning blow to his nonexistent gut, I continued walking toward the parking garage.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Jason asked, looking back over his shoulder to make sure Talyn was walking again.

"I'm sure I'm headed for one obnoxious redneck truck or the other," I grumbled.

"You're in Texas now, SF," Jason reminded me, having caught up to me and thus lowered his voice. "The parking garage is full of those."

I stopped in my tracks and looked around, then up at Jason. I couldn't help but smile. Obviously he was right. "Yeah, OK."

Talyn caught up to us and draped his arm over my shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Sawyer."

Reluctantly, I wrapped my arm around his back, and then opened my free arm to Jason. He fell in next to me and we continued toward the elevator. "Yeah, remind me to thank my dad for sending Bo and Luke Duke to retrieve me from the airport," I groaned, still not ready to let them know that I was pleasantly surprised, especially to see them together, not trying to kill each other.

"Does that make you Daisy?" Jason asked.

I grinned. "I guess it does. Where are my two favorite...cowboys takin' me to dinner?" I asked, squeezing Jason into my side when I called him by the OSU mascot's name. He groaned softly in protest. "I mean, since you're both so starved and all."

Talyn chuckled. "We're growing men, SF. How 'bout a welcome back to Texas steak."

"Sure," I shrugged.

"Wow, I thought for sure you'd be a vegan by now," Jason teased.

I rolled my eyes, but otherwise ignored him. "So, what'd you guys get me for Christmas?"

Jason laughed. "Dinner?"

"Damn it, Mandrino, you took my gift," Talyn countered.

"Gotta be fast, Parrish," he shrugged as we stepped onto the elevator and separated from each other. Jason leaned against the back of the car and winked at me.

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing I got her and her dad Sugar Bowl tickets just in case," Talyn answered coolly.

Jason sighed in defeat. "You win. You always do."