This is a kinda, maybe sequel to Rain's Game, only in the sense that I mentioned some of the things I wrote about in that one shot. If I accidentally switched from third person to first anywhere throughout the story, please let me know. For some reason, I am notoriously terrible at writing third person and sticking with it. Other than that, enjoy!
Angela stared out the window and watched the trees dance in the light summer breeze. She smiled gently as her eyes traced over the vast expanse of her field brimming with crops and her animals she had come to adore grazing in the pasture. Her life was perfect, a picturesque lifestyle. She shook her head as she sauntered over to the bureau and pulled out a thin, pink shirt and traded it for her shirt she slept in. She pulled up her jean shorts and laced her work boots before head back downstairs and out the front door. An almost miserable wave of heat smacked her in the face, causing Angela to sigh with displeasure. It was much more enjoyable to stay in her air conditioned home.
Angela trudged over to the field where she filled her watering can with water and sprinkled the cool liquid over the leaves of her crops. She could almost hear them sighing in relief as they greedily drank up the much needed water. That's about how she felt if she were being honest. Angela swiped a dirty hand across her forehead to try and ebb the flow of sweat at her temple. It really was just too hot for this. She sighed before resuming her work on her crops when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a handful of the island's residents walk past the edge of her farm towards the falls. The first person who caught her attention was Luke who, of course, was leading the posse towards what would probably be a terrible idea if Angela was being honest. He shot a hand up in greeting when their eyes met and Angela shook her head, laughing at his antics.
"Yo! Want to come join us in a refreshing dip? If you remember, you did promise you would go swimming with me a while back!" Luke called, stalling the group for a moment as he stopped just shy of the mouth of Angela's farm.
Her face lit up bright with a flush as she remembered the night so long ago where Luke had stayed over in a storm after fixing her leaky roof. "Uh, I'm sorry, but I have work I need to finish. Besides, I don't even own a swimsuit." Angela explained, twisting her hands together anxiously.
Luke laughed and held up a skimpy, red bikini between his fingers. "I got you covered! C'mon, it's going to be EXTREME!"
"Like I said, Luke, I have work to do." Angela told the blue haired boy again, earning a frown.
His face was sad for only a moment though, before he lit up again. "Hey, that's okay! You can come down whenever you finish. We're going to be down there until probably early evening, so that would work just fine! Please, Angela. For me?" Luke pouted, sticking his lip out and contorting his face in his own version of a puppy dog look.
Angela sighed loudly, hopefully loud enough for him to hear. "Fine, I'll be there soon!"
Luke smiled hugely at her from the edge of her farm and threw her the bikini. She caught it effortlessly and watched the mob make its way down to the falls. She shook her head before finishing watering her crops. Her stomach clinched in anticipation as she neared her last chores, and a nervous snake clinched around her chest. She wanted so much to hang out with Luke, just not with all of the island's single people around to watch them, tease them. Angela sighed, shaking her head to get those thoughts to run away. She couldn't be scared of physical interaction where people's prying eyes could see. She sat her watering can down by the barn and looked down at the bathing suit in her hands. How was she going to do this without her face turning as red as the suit itself?
Angela stomped her way back to the farmhouse and shut the front door behind her small frame as she peered down at the swimsuit in hand again. "Don't even think about it. Just think about Luke and the fact that he's going to be shirtless more than likely and that should be enough to calm your mind." She spoke to herself in a surprisingly calm voice as she stripped out of her clothes. "Don't think of Luke without any clothes on. That's much too distracting. Oh, no clothes… Wait, Luke is going to see me with practically no clothes on. Oh, Goddess what am I going to do?"
Angela stood there, her face buried in her hands as she tried to breathe. She took a steadying breath before shaking her head roughly. "You're being silly, Angela. Don't overthink this. He's just a boy and those people are your friends."
Resigned, Angela pulled on the bikini and put her clothes back on over it. She emptied her rucksack and stuffed a towel, some herbal tea, and some sunblock in the satchel before heading out the door. By the door was a pair of sandals she kept for days when her work boots bit into her feet enough for it to be miserable, and the shoes were her only sense of relief. Angela slid them on her feet before making the short trek to the river area. She heard laughter and music before she even crested the corner. She looked around her in awe at the scene in front of her.
Chase was sitting on the edge of the river, toes dangling in the water, with his arm wrapped around Maya's shoulders. His mouth was close to her ear as they talked, and whatever he said to her made her flush and giggle. Owen was almost imposing as he stood with his shoulder against a tree, his chest bare as he had discarded his shirt long ago, as he spoke in a low voice to Kathy. Jin was making animated motions with his hands as he talked enthusiastically about something, with Anissa hanging on his every word. Calvin was trying to impress Phoebe by subtly flexing his impressive biceps, but she was too busy examining the gem stone she had in her hand. Candace sat wide eyed, watching as Julius was… well… Julius. Renee clapped as she watched Toby reel in yet another fish. That just left Luke… Angela searched the area for the blue haired man, but to no avail did she spot him. She was just beginning to get disappointed when a pair of hands clapped over her eyes, turning the world black.
Angela jumped a little, clutching her rucksack to her chest a little tighter. "This better be Luke."
She heard the deep rumble of laughter in the chest her attacker that was pressed against her shoulders before the hold on her eyes was released and she turned around and saw Luke. "Glad you showed up! Where's the suit?" Luke inquired, his eyes peering down at her fully clothed body.
A flush spread across her face and down her neck. "It's… uh… under my clothes. I felt awkward walking over here practically naked."
Luke nodded, understanding her embarrassment. "Hey, that's okay. C'mon, you can put your stuff over here with mine."
Angela followed Luke as he lead her to a large rock nestled in the cocoon of trees. She placed her bag on the rock and pulled her shirt over her head, trying not to think if someone was watching her, namely Luke. She pulled her shorts down and threw her clothes on top of her rucksack before kicking her sandals off and placing them with her things as well. Angela took a deep breath before looking up at Luke, at which time she stopped breathing all together. There was a fire in his eyes, a kind of fire that made her stomach swirl and her knees go weak. Luke looked at her like she was the only girl here, the only girl left on the planet as a matter of fact. Seeming to catch himself, he snapped out of his trance and pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him in a pair of white swim trunks with flames licking down the side, much like his bandana he always wore on his head. Now it was her turn to stare. He was beautifully sculpted, all muscles and hard places. He oozed masculinity, in a way that made Angela think things that would make anyone blush. Luke chuckled as the red smeared across her face.
He reached a hand up to smooth his thumb over her burning cheek. "I always knew red was a good color for you." He stated quietly, holding his hand to her face for a moment longer before clearing his throat and straightening.
"Anyway! What I want to know if how farming made you so ripped! That's almost a better six pack than mine!" Luke exclaimed, poking a finger at Angela's flat belly.
Angela covered her embarrassment with a small chuckle. "Farming is hard work. It's very physically exerting." She explained.
"Maybe you could show me sometime, though I don't think I need any help getting toned. I'm already pretty ripped." Luke joked, bringing his arm up to flex his impressive biceps.
Angela laughed at that, feeling her nervousness ebb just a little. Then she realized what he was doing. He was trying to make her feel comfortable, having picked up on the fact she was about to burst out of her skin from anxiety. Her heart sputtered in her chest at his selfless actions and her face blushed again, but not from embarrassment. Angela nudged Luke in the side with her elbow. "C'mon, where's the extreme? Let's go swim."
Luke grinned and led the way to the deepest part of the river and they swam around lazily. They raced to see who could get to the shore first, they splashed the winner when the other one lost. Everyone wanted to join in on the fun, and soon they too swam in the river. After a few hours of swimming around, Luke followed her as she exited and walked over to her rucksack to grab her towel.
"This day flew by." Luke observed, turning to gaze at the oranges and pinks that swirled in the evening sky.
"It's because time flies when you're having fun." Angela retorted, scrubbing her face with the towel for a moment before drying off her arms and legs.
Luke stood, motionless and mute for a moment before placing a hand on her upper arm. "I want to show you something. C'mon."
His hand slid down her arm to grasp her hand as he pulled her further down the river towards the falls. Angela threw her towel with her things and struggled not to trip over her feet in an attempt to keep up with him. Excitement shined on his face as he pulled her alongside her as they ascended the hill toward the waterfall. As they got closer to the waterfall, Angela grew nervous. Where was he taking her?
"Do you trust me?" Luke asked, stopping just shy to the left of the waterfall on the stone platform.
She nodded her head tersely. "Of course I do."
Luke nodded before pulling her quickly behind the water fall into a stone indent in the wall of the mountain. "I found this when I was a little kid. I wanted to keep it my secret until I found someone special enough to show. So, here we go."
He led the way carefully down the dark corridor, hand tightly grasping Angela's so she didn't fall of get lost trying to follow him. She didn't mind much, because she liked how her hand fit perfectly in his. After rounding a few turns and changing paths a few times, Luke pulled open a door he must have crafted to keep his find safe and Angela couldn't believe her eyes. The room was dimly lit by a few torches he must have lit earlier in the day, but it wasn't the fire that caught her eyes. It was the mass amount of gem stones that glittered because of the reflection of the fire. Diamonds, rubies, amethysts, anything gem stone imaginable was probably sheathed in these rocks.
"This is beautiful, Luke." Angela breathed, bringing her free hand up to her mouth in amazement.
Luke nodded his head. "I found it when I was about eight. I had ran away from the shop because Dad wanted to make me work, and I just wasn't having it. I decided to hid in the falls, for whatever reason. I just kinda stumbled on this place, and I'm glad I did. It's been my little secret since then, until now that is. I wanted to share it with someone special and, if you aren't special to me, then damn, I don't know what is." Luke breathed, staring deep into Angela's eyes.
She felt her chest tighten and her breath hitch. He was going to kiss her, that she knew for certain. Her mind raced as his eyes jumped from meeting her eyes to her lips, retracing the track over and over again, as if deciding if this was a good idea. Angela broke eye contact, but didn't look away from him, embarrassment winning against her better judgement. Luke took a deep breath before straightening, clearing his throat. "Uh, we should probably get back to others. They may wonder where we are."
Disappointment settled low in Angela's stomach as they made quick work of getting back to the mouth of the cave. Angela couldn't help but notice that he didn't hold her hand this time, something that made her incredibly sad. Before Luke could completely exit the cave, Angela shot her hand out to grab his upper arm to stop him. "I have a question."
Luke sighed and turned to her, his eyes not meeting hers. "What is it?"
"Why didn't you kiss me? You were going to, but you didn't. Why?" She asked bluntly, feeling her face heat up with yet another wave of embarrassment.
Luke's face actually matched hers in color at the moment. "I didn't think you wanted me to."
"I… I did. Very much so, actually." She admitted, causing Luke's entire demeanor to change.
He lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers with the same fire that was in his eyes earlier this afternoon. He reached up to cup her face, slowly walking forward so his body pushed against hers. She blushed as excitement ran through her at his touch, and she felt her back hit the wall as he backed them up. His golden pupils stared deep into her eyes for a moment before he leaned in and touched his lips to hers. Electricity shot down her core, making her clutch his upper arms tightly, as if he was the only thing that was keeping her earth bound. His kiss was soft, exciting. It made her head spin. Her lips as they moved with his felt as natural as breathing. Before she knew it, he was breaking away from her abruptly.
"What's wro-" She tried to ask, but he placed a finger against her lips, ears straining to listen.
"Someone's coming." He whispered, breaking away from Angela and exiting the cave, motioning for her to follow. "I told the others not to bother us, so that means it must be- Hamilton! So nice to see you." Luke called in faux happiness as Hamilton's little body rounded the corner.
"Oh, my. Why am I not surprised to find you here, Luke?" Hamilton questioned, earning a sheepish look from Luke.
"Keep in mind, Hamilton, that we weren't doing anything illegal this time." Luke reminded, referencing his little incident of being caught skinny dipping a few years back.
"That is not comforting, as the fact still stands that you didn't learn your lesson of swimming at the falls the first time around. I will bring this up with your father, and we shall arrange a punishment suitable enough to teach you."
Luke huffed out a sigh. "Man, I just can't win." He complained, but reached slightly behind him to grab my hand in his.
He had me, so maybe he didn't always have to lose.
I hope you liked it. I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for reading!