Short 2 chapter ditty about Jack and Kate.
Some harmless flirting spurs feelings new and frightening in Kate, and Jack must break down her walls to make her realize she is perfect for him.

The Lehua Blossom

Chapter 1 - To Be Hopeful

"Are you always a jackass to everyone?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"Only to those weaker than I." Sawyer claimed proudly, slipping his shades back on, and setting his head back onto his hands in the sand. I watched poor Joseph walk away dejectedly.

"You've already read that book, why didn't you just give it to him?" I asked in disgust.

"That would have been too easy." He drew out the 'too' just to show me he was having a good time with poor Joseph's troubles. I had nothing else to say to him. So I just shook my head and walked away. Sawyer had a way of making me doubt the good of humanity. Something that was shady in the first place, in my opinion. But I hated feeling so hopeless about people. I wanted to be reminded that people were generally good, and there were special cases of people that were the kind of selfless that you only found in fairy tales.

I sought out Jack.

In our short time together, that doctor had shown me more about the good of humanity, and the good in myself than I ever thought I could see. Just being in his presence made me want to go out and save a kitten or something. I wanted to be a better person for him. I wanted him to be proud of me…strange as that may sound.

My thoughts halted and I lingered on the thin path to the caves. In front of me, the camp opened up into a large space, with caves dotting the far side. A few people were milling about, but my eyes were concentrated on one figure, as he bent over the random camper who'd contracted a rash or some sort. His voice was muffled by the distance between us and I could not make out his words. But the steady sound of his strong voice made me smile. I quickly shook it off, wondering why it was so hard to keep that goofy smile away when Jack was near.

I was content in watching his movements, the way his muscles moved under the tight T shirt found in the wreckage, when his eyes turned to me. I looked down to my feet as I walked to him.

"Hey Kate, what's up?" He asked casually, but with a smirk that told me he knew I had been watching him a bit too closely. And that he didn't mind.

"Just thought I'd come and see what the cave dwellers were up to. The beach gets pretty lazy this time of day." I explained, hoping he wouldn't see through my sad little lie. If he believed me or not will remain a mystery, because he just nodded.

"Sunbathers." He concluded. "There's not much up here either." He almost apologized. "But if you want you can come with me to search for a wider variety of fruits."

"Sure." I answered, after a pause, as if I actually had to think about whether I wanted to go out into the jungle alone with Jack. He grabbed his backpack, and I hiked mine up further onto my shoulders, and followed him down a trail it seemed only he could see.

We walked for twenty minutes when I began to get suspicious.

"You're not taking me into the jungle to take advantage of me, are you?" I asked, eliciting a burst of laughter from him.

"Not unless you want me to." He replied with a grin, though he did not look back at me. I chose not to answer. "There's this bunch of trees with some strange fruit around a waterhole somewhere back here." The words had hardly left his mouth when he stopped short. I nearly ran into the back of him. I looked up to him in curious surprise, and he had looked back at me with the strangest expression. It was pride. So, I stepped next to him.

I felt my eyes widen involuntarily. Three waterfalls crashed down into a glittering turquoise pool surrounded by lush green vegetation. It looked like a painting from the Garden of Eden. Too beautiful to be real. I took a staggering step forward, not bothering to watch my footing, as my eyes were glued to the sight in front of me.

"Waterhole?" I exclaimed, turning to Jack again. His eyes still held that pride. Delight at having made me happy. I made sure to gaze straight into his eyes as I said, "It's beautiful."

He smiled sheepishly and looked to the ground. Casting me a glance as he walked by, he stood on a rock close to the edge of the pool. "I found this place a while ago. I don't think anyone else knows it's even here."

"And you're showing it to me?" I asked, almost suspiciously, hands on hips.

"Yeah." He said softly, taking a step toward me. "I've been waiting for the perfect moment to bring you here."

"Wow." I breathed, stepping in to him pretending to get a closer look at the falls, touching his arms as if for support on the slippery rocks, and I looked over his shoulder to the water. His hands went instinctively to my waist, touching gently there to balance me. A grin overtook my lips as all thoughts of the handsome man touching me were washed away by the prospect of a shower. I threw my pack to the ground and stripped myself of the T shirt and struggled with my shoes and jeans.

I was surprised to see Jack beside me, also feverishly tearing his clothing from his body. I paused a moment, one leg still in my pants, to let my eyes wander down his body. He took no notice, and grinned to me before diving into the water. He hollered joyfully as his head broke through the surface again. I dove in as well, laughing as I came to the surface.

I looked around, to find no sign of Jack. But the water was clear enough that I saw him below me only a half a second before he pulled my ankle, submerging me. I clawed my way to the surface again, coughing out water from my unexpected submergence. Jack's mischievous grin made my heart leap. I had never seen him smile like that before. So, naturally, I splashed him. He just laughed a warning laugh, like 'oh now you're going to get it.' And got it, I did, as he splashed me mercilessly back.

I finally begged him enough to stop, and we floated about lazily.

"Hey, Jack." I said, my voice sounding loud, since my ears were submerged. I lifted my head up to hear him mumble a response. His eyes were closed as he just floated there. I felt the grin creep across my lips. The question I intended to ask him was forgotten as I silently swam next to him. I jammed my hands down on his abdomen, pushing him under the water. He gasped in surprise, taking in a lungful of water. I laughed guiltily, helping him to the rocks as he fervently coughed the water from his lungs. But as soon as he had sound footing, he grabbed me around the waist and dove back into the water. What a faker, I thought.

I made to swim back up to the surface, but he held me down, under the water with him. Bubbles drifted from my mouth, and my lack of oxygen was forgotten for a single moment in time. That one moment, when I felt his arms circled around my waist, and saw his eyes, through the crystal water, gazing at me. He didn't let go of me as we floated back to the surface. I tried not to gasp for air too hard, fearing to ruin the silent moment as our eyes were locked.

"Were you going to ask me something?" He asked suddenly, and I blinked. He sounded so casual, as if our bodies weren't pressed together, and our proximity didn't affect him at all, as it did me.

"Yeah…but I can't remember right now." I responded honestly. He grinned, and released me to climb out of the pool and pull his clothes back on. I watched him in awe. How could he even use his legs right now? I certainly wouldn't have been able to. I cleared my throat as he looked to me expectantly and took care in climbing out of the pool.

Our walk back to the beach was practically silent. I tried thinking of something to say, but came up empty handed. The silence hung heavily between us. I couldn't see Jack's face, but I was pretty sure he felt it, too. I just smiled at him in farewell as he stopped at the caves and I kept going straight through.

I wasn't sure why I kept going over it in my head. Why I kept beating myself up for it. All I know is that I felt terrible. Either for letting us get that close, or not seizing the opportunity to get closer, I didn't even want to think about. The rational side of me was screaming that getting close to Jack was a mistake. Getting close to anyone was a mistake. I learned that lesson the hard way many times over. Shouldn't it apply twofold now, since if a relationship didn't work out, I'd have to face that person every day. But on an island, how can you not get close to people? The isolation made relationships even more necessary. The benefit seemed to outweigh the potential loss. Spending every day bonding with them, possibly for the rest of your lives. There's not much chance of anyone really abandoning anyone, so why was I still so scared?

My first Kate's POV story. Actually my first Any Character's POV. I usually do 3rd person omniscent. Anyway, look at me pumping out all these LOSt stories! I've got 3 going on now. LOL. I"m a machine.

R.I.P
Boone

Austin B.