Chapter 8

Kate

I'd be a fool not to notice how much Luke is interested in me. It was something deeper than a crush, something that had to have years to developed, but sprang up incessantly in a moment.

We were sitting on the docks, our feet swirling in the water. I could feel his strange body heat radiating off him beside me.

And I would also be a fool not to notice how strange Luke seems altogether. The heat, the immense size and stature of his body, it all didn't seem right, and the fact that Peter, his friend back at La Push, looked much the same.

Peter introduced himself briefly, but I was astounded to realized they weren't related at all, and yet they shared the same traits. The only difference was that Peter didn't have the same look in his eyes as Luke, just a knowing look.

Luke's muscles were so strong. I couldn't explain it. I've never seen someone with so much strength. And the heat. He should be in the hospital! It's not right for a human to have such a high temperature and look all right like he does.

Somehow, it all seems magical. The feeling I get when I look at him is the same as when I look into the forests. There's something being withheld, something important.

I turned to him. "Luke, what's your story?" I asked, hoping he would say something that would make at least a few of the pieces fit.

He looked at me, surprised. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged, not hinting anything in case I was terribly off. "What's your story?"

He looked down into the water, his brows knitted closely together. He seemed conflicted, as if he didn't know what to say, what he could say.

I raised my eyebrows.

"Well. I've lived on the reservation my whole life. My mother left a while ago. I don't even remember it. It was nothing big, just what she wanted, so my father tells me. I have an awesome group of friends. You should meet them sometime," he said, keeping it brief.

"Nothing else?" I asked.

He shook his head slowly. Still conflicted.

"That's a pretty short story—oh!" I gasped.

The line I was holding on to jerked forward, almost lurching me off the dock. Luke's hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me firmly in place.

"What do I do?" I asked frantically.

"Reel it in!"

I started cranking on the reel, pulling it in. My muscles worked hard, but it was tough, the fish was fighting. Hard.

"He's too strong!" I shouted, handing him the pole.

He laughed and took it, reeling the fish in easily, almost too easily. As it came closer, the fish came into view, thrashing around, and huge.

"Holy crap! He's huge!" I pulled my feet from the water and knelt close to the surface to get a better look. The fish was about three feet long.

Luke got the fish reeled in tight and started to pull it from the water. The animal thrashed, making a big fuss, and a hell of a lot of noise. I was glad my dad was caught up in his own catch. I didn't want him to come over to see.

"Wow, Kate," Luke beamed. "You want to take the hook out?"

I pulled back. "No! No, release it back. I don't want to kill him!"

Luke looked at me. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Take the hook out and put him back!" I shouted.

Luke's tight grasp restrained the fish easily. The fish failed to squirm any good at all as Luke got a hold of the hook and pulled it out, then lowered the fish, squirming and flapping again, into the water. His tail splashed water at Luke and me on final time.

Soon the fish got all the way under and darted away. The water became too quiet, and the scene the fish left behind was motionless, and almost comical. Me, standing on my knees with my hands up, covered in water, staring at the glass surface of the water with a look of shock on my face; Luke, turned to me with his hands extended to me, the same expression on his face, wet just as much as I was.

"Are you okay?" he asked, leaning forward just a fraction.

I didn't move, not quite sure what he was asking, but then my lip twitched, and I broke out into laughter at the scene that had just passed.

At the sound of my laugh, Luke relaxed just a little, a smile breaking on his lips, too.

I sat back down on the deck, laughs bubbling out of my chest, making my abs ache.

"Am I okay?" I laughed. "Are you okay?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm okay."

I put the rod aside and slipped my feet back into the water. After that, the night seemed to go on faster than before. I put my suspicions aside and Luke and I enjoyed ourselves, talking about nothing, talking about everything. I found that Luke enjoyed being in the woods, and that he likes to run. Most of the time he wanted to talk about me. Anything I said he absorbed like a sponge, and then asked for more information.

A little too soon, night fell upon the lake. Luke and I were laughing hard when Dad came over.

"Hey guys. Time to pack up and go. It's getting late," he said.

"Really? How late is it?" I asked. Noticing for the first time how high the moon was in the sky.

He checked his watch. "Almost eleven." He headed for the trucks, carrying his fold out chair and his pole. The rest of the men walked past. Luke's father brought the boat in and they all started to load up.

Luke stood up and pulled me up from the ground. We started walking slowly to the trucks.

"I had a lot of fun," I said, smiling up at him, a little reluctant to call it a day.

"Me, too."

Luke rode in the back with me again, only we sat side by side like we did on the docks. Neither of us said anything, just regretting the day being over so soon after such a fun day.

We got back to his house and my dad stopped to let the La Push guys out before going back to Forks. My dad helped them get their equipment from the back of the truck, and Luke hoped out of the bed.

I leaned over the side as he turned to wish me good night.

"I'm glad you had fun," he said.

"I did have fun," I said. "When will I see you again?"

He smiled. "Tomorrow good enough?"

"I can't make it out here. I don't have a car," I said.

"I'll pick you up," he offered. "I really want you to meet the guys."

"Are you sure? That's an awfully long drive just to pick me up," I said.

"I'm perfectly sure."

He paused a moment to look into my eyes. They were burning, singing me to the core. I had to look away with my cheeks reddened, it was so intense.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight," I smiled.