Adeline stared up, all she could see were grey skies and green leaves. The crashing sound of the ocean was soothing in a way that nothing else had ever been. Three months ago, Adeline s father had moved to Portland. She had known her parents were going to get a divorce for awhile now, but it had still been a shock. Her phone began to buzz in her pocket; she looked at the screen to see her mother's picture, "Hey Momma-sita!" She answered, "What's up?"

Her mom chuckled from the other end, "Do you think you could come back to the lodge soon? I need help getting dinner ready for the guests."

"Sure! No problem. I m at Second though, so I might take some time." With a quick sure sure, from her mother, she hung up and jumped down from the huge log and began her hike back to the road. That was Adeline s favorite part about Second and Third Beach, that you had to hike for a good twenty minutes through the mountainous forest to get to them. Hiking was one of her one big vice, in fact, no day felt complete until she had.

A quick glance at her watch told her that taking the trail would get her back to the lodge in just enough time to be late. Veering off of the trail, she began to make her way through the underbrush, tree trunks and fallen, overgrown trees. She absolutely loved it in the forest, away from the trails and occasional people, where she could be alone with her thoughts and where she could see all of the beauty that this place had to offer. It was almost no surprise that she would first see him there.

The steady stream of low curses broke her attention from her thoughts and brought it to a boy, tangled in branches and ivy. Adeline smiled as he fought the plants, admiring the cut to his cheek and, despite the foul words coming from it, the shape of his mouth before speaking up, Need some help?

The boy s head whirled around to look up at Adeline, startled, and she caught the full power of his large brown eyes before the russet color to his cheeks deepened and he muttered a quick, Please.

Adeline laughed as she carefully made her way down to him. As she began to untangle his clothes and shoulder length black hair from the branches she said, I m Adeline. and throwing in a husky southern accent asked, You come around here often? She looked up from her work and into those striking brown eyes, matching his gaze with her own dark green one.

He winced slightly as she tugged at a stubborn tuft of hair, Yes, well, not really in the forest so much. I live in La Push, figured I should explore what s basically my backyard. Teach me to wonder, I guess. He chuckled lightly as Adeline put her hand out to help him from the patch of vines he stood in.

Standing in front of her he looked down into her face for a long moment, she was pretty, not the kind of pretty made in magazines, or Hollywood, but a natural kind of unpolished beauty. Realizing what he was doing, he blushed slightly and quickly said, I m Luke. Thanks for helping me with the, uh, the plants.

Adeline felt her cheeks darken under his gaze, Yeah. Sure. No problem." after a short pause she smiled up at him again, "If you really wanna explore, you need a guide, and it just so happens that I am in the market as one, if you'd like me to take you back to the road? Oh!" Her grin grew, as the thought struck her, "Or you could come back to the lodge and have dinner. It's not that far from La Push, so it s not exactly like it would be a commute...?" Near the end of her little speech, Adeline's cheeks began to grow darker red as her voice began to waiver. She looked up at him from under her lashes, waiting for his answer.

Luke smiled widely. "I've seen that lodge. The one off of Rialto Beach, right? Well I won't be expected home until late and I'll defiantly need a guide if I don t want to get lost, so dinner sounds like an excellent idea...if you're sure about your invitation that is..." He dipped his head down to look in her eyes behind her lashes. "Is the invitation still open or did you look down because you changed your mind?" He grinned kindly.

No! Of course it s still open! Wouldn t have offered if I hadn t meant it. As she turned to resume her course back home, she reached back simultaneously and offered Luke her hand.

Luke took her outstretched hand and tried desperately not to trip over the fallen branches and rocks that Adeline moved over so easily, So is your mom the owner? he asked, only slightly distracted by his feet.

Adeline struggled to concentrate on her steps instead of his warm hand in hers, "Yeah. She and my dad. But he's giving it to us in the divorce. He never really liked it anyway." She sneered, "It was always more Mom's dream."

"Divorce? Really? Tourists always said your parents looked like a great couple. He paused, At least you'll get to keep the lodge. People really like it there." He unconsciously squeezed her hand as he tripped. "Do you hike like this every day?" he laughed, "I would be covered in bruises."

Adeline smiled back at him, helping to catch his weight as his foot slipped on a patch of moss, I either hike to Second, Third or Rialto every chance I get. With a sympathetic look she said, It gets easier the more you do it.

Luke laughed, a low rich sound, I'm sure if the forest didn't try to trip me up so much it would be easier. After a brief pause filled by the sound of not so distant laughter he asked, When s the next time you re going hiking? Maybe I could come along? Keep you company?

Adeline stopped and turned around, just as the lodge was coming into view and the air was begging to smell like smoked salmon, I d like that. She smiled brightly, How early do you wake up on Saturdays?