Cheer Up!

A week later, it was Luke's birthday. I knew because he had been crowing proudly about it for the last few days. So, I decided to surprise him by scraping all my money together and finally getting that mayonnaise maker. When he saw it, I thought he would burst into tears, he was so overcome with joy. He turned on me, hugging me suddenly. I was surprised, but I relaxed into the embrace.

He released me, turning back to the maker. "Angela...this is SO AWESOME."

I just laughed. "You like mayonnaise WAY too much." We tested it out by putting an egg in it, and sure enough, it made mayonnaise. We went into my house, and I cooked some grilled fish with onions, which I had just harvested this morning. Of course, Luke poured mayonnaise all over his food.

"Luke, are you sure it's okay for your health to eat that much mayonnaise?" I asked apprehensively.

He shrugged. "I dunno...well, I do so much work, so I probably won't get fat, right?" The image of his father Dale, who resembled him, only old and pudgy, popped up in my head, and I winced.

"Just in case, don't go too overboard even though you've got all you can eat mayonnaise, okay?" I said, and he just grinned.

"Yeah, I don't want to get all fat like Pops," he agreed, and I laughed, realizing we were thinking the exact same thing.

The days of summer passed like a warm breeze, and Luke and I became even closer friends. It seemed like we did everything together. We'd always meet for lunch, whether it was at the Sundae Inn, or at my house. It was a Saturday, his day off from work, and we relaxed in the shade of Ben's Tree by Maple Lake. He was chewing of a blade of grass, and he turned to me.

"Hey, the firefly festival is next week, on Tuesday. You wanna go?"

I turned my head away a little so that he couldn't see me blush. "With you?"

He snorted. "No, with the Mayor. Yeah, with me!" I nodded, then admitted I had no idea what the festival was about. "Oh, well, you see, everybody gathers together at Caramel Falls after sunset, and they watch all the fireflies come out. It's kinda cool...but I have a hard time being quiet like you're supposed to, and everyone usually gets mad at me."

This didn't surprise me. "Well, are you going to be quiet this time?"

Luke nodded. "Well, yeah." He straightened up. "I'm not a teenager any more. I have to start acting like an adult." He tried to look serious, and I couldn't help but burst out in laughter. "What? What's so funny? I can act like an adult." I just laughed harder, and he growled. "Oh, that's it, you're gonna get it!" he said as he lunged for me, pinning me underneath him as he tickled me mercilessly.

I gasped for air. "No! Eek! Luke...ha ha ha!" He found all my weak spots quickly, and I struggled to block his hands. We rolled around in the grass, our bodies pressing together, and I had to admit that I liked the feeling.

Suddenly, his hand clamped down on my breast. Startled, I squeaked loudly. He just reacted by freezing completely. He looked absolutely mortified, but his hand stayed stuck in place. I looked down at it, then up at him, back down at his hand, back up to him, trying to get him to notice. He finally let go as he stood up quickly. I sat up, and since my face was at waist level with him, I couldn't help but notice...that he was aroused.

His face was flushed with embarrassment, and he stuttered for something to say. "I, uh, I gotta get back to work!" He suddenly ran off, and I felt like yelling after him, "But it's Saturday!" My voice caught in my throat, and I just watched him go. What had just happened?

He avoided me for the rest of the day, not coming out of the carpenter's shop. I started to feel a little annoyed, like he was acting like I did something wrong. The next day, it was raining heavily. Since it didn't seem like he would hang out with me, I got out the hammer that Owen, the blacksmith's apprentice, had given me, threw a bag lunch in my rucksack, and headed out for the mine. I figured I could give mining a try.

I was quite successful inside, unearthing several promising chunks of ore as well as a few things that looked like uncut gems. Exhausted, but proud, I headed back to the entrance of the mines. The storm raged, and I instantly regretted coming out to the mine on such a day. I peered outside, only to be met with absolute blackness, which was only lit temporarily by flashes of lightning, which were none too encouraging.

I couldn’t stay here all night, nor could I bring myself to step out in the storm. I sank to my knees at the mine entrance, gazing out into the darkness. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling very small and frightened at that moment. I brought my hands up to my face and buried them there.

“Angela?” I heard someone call my name, and I looked up suddenly. There was Luke, dripping with water, standing in front of me.

“Oh…Luke…” I gasped, then I began bawling.

“Hey, hey now,” he said, smiling gently. “Don’t be scared. It’s all right. I’ll get you home.” He reached out a hand, and I took it. He pulled me up to my feet, and I smiled at him with gratefulness.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked, shivering a little.

"Well, I've been calling your house, but you didn't answer, and I was kinda surprised, since it was so nasty outside. Owen called me to tell me my axe upgrade was ready, and he mentioned that he saw you go into the mines, but you hadn't come out yet. I got worried."

"Oh," I said, and shivered again.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Luke urged, and he pulled me by the hand out into the storm. We ran down the path to his house, and then tumbled inside, dripping with rain.

Bo looked at us and started laughing. "You two look like a couple of wet cats! Har har!"

"Well, you smell like a wet dog," Luke retorted, taking off his bandanna and wringing it out. Bo opened and closed his mouth like a fish, and turned around to his room, slamming the door behind him. We took off our shoes and went into Luke's room. I shivered hard, and Luke started peeling off his wet shirt. I widened my eyes, stuttering to say something.

“We’d better get out of those wet clothes,” Luke explained, and I blushed deeply.

"Like, in front of each other?" I murmured, playing with the hem of my sopping wet shirt.

"Oh yeah...I guess not," Luke said, and he turned to his dresser, pulling out a clean T-shirt and boxers. He laid them on his bed. "Here, you can put these on. I'll go in the bathroom and change, okay?" I nodded, and he went in as promised.

I changed as quickly as I could, afraid that he or Bo would walk in while I was naked. I pulled on the T-shirt first, since it covered everything, then put the boxers on. They were too big for me, and they rested low on my hips. There was a soft knocking at the door, and I said "Come in," with my voice shaking.

Luke came in, wearing dry clothes. His hair was still dampened down, and he threw me a towel. "For your hair," he explained. I toweled my head off, and then finger combed it back the best I could. "Come on, dinner's ready."

I ate dinner with the whole carpenter crew, feeling deeply embarrassed that I was wearing Luke's clothes. Dale cleared his throat. "The weather forecast said the storm isn't going to let up until tomorrow morning."

Luke looked at me. "Then Angela can just stay here."

Dale frowned at him. "Of course we wouldn't ask her to walk home in this weather, but have you thought about where she's going to sleep?"

Luke shrugged. "With me, of course." Bo, Dale, and I all choked on our food at the same time. "What? Oh come on, she's just my friend. It's not a big deal."

Dale responded. "I don't really think that's...such a good idea, Luke."

Bo piped up, twirling his fork in his fingers. "She can sleep in my room," he said in a creepy voice. The kid was only 12 or 13, but the way he had been looking at me since I sat down was making me feel very uncomfortable.

Dale sighed. "No, she's not sleeping with either of you. You boys can sleep in Bo's room, and Angela can sleep in Luke's room."

Luke cried out in indignation. "I am NOT sleeping in Bo's room. It smells like dirty feet! Ugh! No way!"

Dale put down his fork. "It's no use arguing. That's the only sensible solution." Luke grumbled a bit more about it, but Dale was firm on his decision. Later that night, we said goodnight to each other.

I smiled apologetically. "Sorry I'm putting you out of your own room," I said.

"Naw, it's not your fault. I still don't see why we can't both sleep in here...my bed's big enough for both of us. It's not like I'm going to try to..." he broke off, his face getting red. My face got red too, and I suspected we were both thinking about what happened yesterday under Ben's Tree. "Well, goodnight," he said quickly, and slipped into Bo's room.

I went back in Luke's room, getting under the covers. So this was Luke's bed...I pressed my face into the pillow. It smelled just like him; like freshly chopped wood. I sighed, snuggling down under the blankets. I had kind of hoped that we would be able to sleep in the same bed...not that I was going to try anything weird...I just wanted to see what it felt like to have him next to me. I thought about it as I drifted off. I bet he felt warm...and strong...and nice...

Warm...and nice... were exactly what I was thinking when I woke up a little later. It was still pitch black outside, and I was groggy, but something was different. My hands moved tentatively in front of me. I realized someone was in bed with me, and I started to scream. A hand pressed down over my mouth. "Shhh, Angela! You'll wake up my dad!" Luke whispered at me. I nodded, and he removed his hand.

"What...what are you doing here?" I asked, my face burning.

"I CANNOT sleep in Bo's room. It's nasty in there. My dad will be pissed if he finds out, but oh well. I'm used to getting in trouble." I could just see him smiling in the dim light of the room, and I smiled back.

The bed was a double, so there was room for both of us, but I couldn't resist staying close to him. I still felt like I had a slight chill from being out in the rain, and his skin felt hot...and nice...and sexy. Oh boy, maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, I thought, as I felt my heart pounding.

"You look pretty good in my clothes," Luke chuckled. "Mmm...you're all soft and warm too." To my surprise, he pulled me in closer to him. "See? My dad was wrong. It's no big deal for us to be in a bed together. We're not doing anything wrong."

Not yet, my mind screamed. I could feel him pressed up against me, and my whole body flushed and tingled. I started to breathe heavily. Luke pulled away slightly, peering down at me in the darkness. "You okay, Angela? You're breathing all funny."

"N-no..." I tried to explain. "I'm fine...it's just..."

"Just what?" Luke asked innocently.

"Oh, Luke...I...I..." I couldn't think of what I wanted to say, so I just told him without words by quickly leaning in and pressing my lips to his. He made a small noise of surprise, but didn't pull away.

After a moment, I leaned back. He reached up and felt his lips, like he was unsure of what had just happened. "Whoa...Angela...what was that all about?"

I suddenly felt awkward and embarrassed. "I don't know...I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

Luke kept staring at me. "You wanna be friends like that? Friends that kiss and stuff?"

My face burned. I stammered for a little bit, then finally responded, "Yes," in a hushed tone. I was dying inside, wondering how he would react. I couldn't have ever expected what would come next.

"AWESOME!" he breathed out. I was absolutely stunned as he pressed his lips against mine once again. He kissed me again and again, almost urgently. "This is...so cool," he panted out between kisses. Our breathing became labored, and I sighed with pleasure as he parted his lips and thrust his tongue in my mouth. He twirled it around mine, and I felt like I would melt into the bed. The kisses became even more heated, and he broke away from my mouth to plant moist kisses up and down my neck.

His lips reached my ear, and he whispered there, making me tremble. "Angela...are we gonna be the kind of friends that touch each other, too?"

I thought I could scream, I was so elated. "Yes, oh yes," I murmured back.

"Sweet," he breathed, and then his hand moved from the outside of my arm inwards. He grazed his fingertips against one breast. The nipple there was already hardened, and he rubbed at it lightly through the shirt, making me moan softly. He then took his whole hand and covered my breast, kneading the flesh lightly. After a moment, he brought his hand lower, slipping it up underneath the shirt and touching my skin directly. "Oh damn, this is so awesome," he murmured, and I just gave a low moan of pleasure. His hand moved to my other breast, exploring it as well.

By this time, because of the fact that the front of our bodies were pressed quite closely together, I was very aware that he had become extremely aroused. His manhood was pressing into my thigh, hot and hard, and I could almost feel it throbbing against me. I couldn't resist reaching down and slipping my hand in between it and my thigh.

Once my hand made contact, Luke groaned. "Whoa...oh yeah..." he said breathlessly, as I began to explore him with my hand. It felt so nice and thick, I couldn't help but squeeze it a little bit. "Damn, Angela..." was all he could say as I began stroking him through the fabric. He brought his own hand swiftly between my legs, and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out in pleasure. He rubbed his fingers furiously at me through the fabric. I shuddered, pressing my face into his chest and moaning into it.

I managed to keep focused on stroking him, but I was perilously close to orgasm. I was so incredibly turned on that it was easy, and I held my breath as I built up to the peak. Once I felt myself go, I gripped him even more strongly, moaning his name over and over as I climaxed. I trembled, savoring every little second of the sensation. Making things even more wonderful was his own strangled cry as he released. We kept touching each other lightly, and I began to feel hot moisture seeping through the top of his boxers. He gave a little embarrassed laugh and got out of the bed momentarily to change them.

Luke slipped back into the bed moments later, and pulled me in close. "That was so freaking awesome," he breathed, and then fell immediately asleep. I just smiled, adjusting myself a little in his arms, and fell asleep as well.