Chapter 20

Kate

Luke was at my house everyday after that afternoon in the forest together. He didn't mind sitting around when we had nothing to do; he often stared affectionately at me while I did my homework when he was supposed to be doing his. Whenever I caught him, it made me blush, and that only made him grin and stare longer as he watched the red fade from my cheeks.

"You're incredibly beautiful," he said one day, making my cheeks turn red again.

"Thank you," I said, glancing up from my homework.

"I'm so glad I can tell you that."

"How long was it when you couldn't? Two weeks?" I asked.

"Two weeks too long," he said.

After homework, he usually took me around the forest, occasionally phasing and letting me walk beside him, my fingers entangled in his fur.

"Could you let me ride you?" I asked, glancing over at him, smiling.

His large wolf eyes looked questioningly at me, and then he grinned.

Ever since he had given me a full wolfy smile back in the small clearing, he had managed to keep his teeth hidden behind his lips in case he would scare me again. I was sure I could handle it the second time since I knew what to expect, but I wasn't going to push it, either.

Luke's wide shoulders lifted and dropped in a shrug, and he lowered himself to the ground. Surprised he would say yes so easily, I climbed up, grabbing his fur along the way.

He went slowly at first, barely at a stroll, making sure I had learned his movements and knew how to sit. Then he sped it up to a normal walking pace as I held a firm grip onto the fur on the back of his neck. The skin was tough and resilient, so I knew I wouldn't hurt him no matter how hard I gripped it.

After a while, the walk became relaxed. Luke wasn't worrying anymore that I would fall off, and I didn't fear it either. There was enough room on his wide shoulders so that I leaned forward and laid my head on the back of his neck, feeling his lulling regular movements. I almost fell asleep, but decided against it, in case I flopped off the side.

Luke

Gerard was laughing in my head.

Stop, I said, more playful than reprimanding.

She's riding your back? he asked.

Yes. She is.

You have to admit, Kate's kind of cute.

I knew he wasn't making the comment about her looks, but the way she acted. She was so young at heart it made him smile.

She is. You don't have to remind me of that.

Oh, we all know, Luke.

With Kate's head resting against my neck, she said in my ear, "Is there anyone in your head?"

I nodded, her head moving up with mine as she laid there.

"Tell whoever it is that I said 'hi,'" she said, her voice relaxed as she rode my back.

I grunted.

Got the message, Gerard said. But there's nothing here for me to do. I'm phasing back.

See you later, I said, and ambled on, with Kate pressed wonderfully against my back.

Kate

Luke was on my couch watching a movie with me. He had remembered Sound of Music was my favorite, so he found it in my cupboards and put it in while I was making sandwiches. My feet were resting on his lap as he rubbed them, and he didn't even seem to mind watching musicals.

Suddenly, he put my feet aside and sat up straighter. I gave him a questioning look and he glanced meaningfully at the door. I pulled my legs up and stared ahead. Sure enough, the door opened not a second later and in came my dad.

"Hey, Kate," he said.

I looked back at him, noticing he was staring at Luke. "Hey dad—" I sat up and turned around so that I was facing backwards at my dad "—you remember Luke, right? From the rez?"

He nodded. "Sure. Todd's boy. I've been meaning to go out to La Push to go fishing again," he said, absent-mindedly.

"Hello again, Mr. Harris," Luke said cordially, standing up.

My dad nodded. "Nice to see you again."

"It sure is. I was just keeping your daughter company," Luke said.

I glanced furtively at my father, waiting for his reaction.

"That's real nice of you," he responded, seeming mildly interested.

"He was just getting ready to leave anyway," I said, shutting off the movie.

"That's right, Mr. Harris," Luke said.

"Please, Luke, call me Jeffrey," my dad said, a little blunt.

"Sure. Goodbye, then."

I followed Luke to the front door as my dad put his things away in the hall closet. I followed him out and grabbed his arm before he left.

"Will you come back over?" I asked, holding tight onto his arms.

"When? Tonight?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

I looked sheepishly down at my hands. "Sure, why not? Could you jump through my window if I left it open?" I asked.

His lips broke into a smirk. "It's like you don't know me at all," he sighed, kissing me on the forehead. "See you tonight."

He turned and left down the walk way and straight into the forest. I smiled at his back until he was clearly out of view. Reluctantly, I turned to go back inside.

"What's for dinner?" Dad asked.

"Oh, I don't know. What did you think of Luke?" I asked.

He took a long gulp of his beer before answering. "He's alright."

I looked over at him. "Alright? Just alright?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't seem surprised to see that he was here," I noted.

He sighed. "The neighbors talk. They tell me everything they see."

I froze a little. Had we ever walked too close to any of the houses while in the forest? Had they seen something they shouldn't have?

"You don't seem to like it very much," I observed.

He sighed. "He's a little old for you," he said.

"By only a year."

"And he's going to graduate this week and he'll go off to school somewhere."

I had completely forgotten about graduation. I still didn't know whether he was staying or not.

"We'll figure something out," I said.

He nodded, dropping the subject.

That night I had showered, dressed for bed, and opened my window wide so Luke could come through. I lied there in bed, staring tirelessly at the ceiling, waiting for him to come. It was then that I realized that he still hadn't seen the inside of my bedroom, tonight would be his first time.

It was well into the night, long after, I'm sure, my father and brother had fallen asleep. My family weren't light sleepers, but I knew Luke would be certain the house was dead before he ever treaded into my bedroom at night.

As I laid there, I listened for his movements, hoping I would be able to catch them in the silent night. It was cloudy, but there were no storm clouds and there hadn't been all day. I was certain it would start soon. I propped myself on my elbow and looked towards the window, wondering if he was out there, waiting like I was.

Try as I might to hear him, he appeared soundlessly in my window, poking his head in and smiling.

"Hey, there," he said, stepping soundlessly in with all the gracefulness he had.

I smiled and got up from my bed and pulled him towards me, kissing him on the lips.

He gave a throaty sound in surprise, and then whispered when we broke apart, "Maybe I should come over more often at night."

I laughed and pulled him down to sit beside me on the bed. He had he shirt off, as usual. I stared at him as he looked around my room, discovering it for the first time.

"Like it?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

He nodded and looked back at me. "Very much so."

"I knew you would."

He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss me again. I smiled and pulled him down with me. He agilely rolled the both of us over until he was beneath me, so he didn't have to hold himself up to avoid crushing me.

The night wove on from there: We didn't do much more than talk, but since I had waited quite a while for him to appear through my window, it was very late and I fell asleep as soon as we stopped talking. He remained underneath me, holding my to his chest like a small child.