Chapter 4 Butterflies

KAT

I don't know why, but a flurry of butterflies is raging in my stomach as I walk toward the barn. Luke's outline becomes more defined as I approach him. He is impossibly tall. A white t-shirt clings to his chest, drenched in sweat, defining every muscle on his chest. Worn loose-fitting jeans hang low on his hips, and I have to focus to keep my eyes off his body. As I approach him, his eyes are focused on the ground in front of him, and I cannot get a good view of his face. Hopefully, his looks aren't as god-like as his body.

Stopping with a little bounce several feet in front of him, I clear my throat awkwardly. "Uh, hi." My voice squeaks out awkwardly. "I'm Katherine, but everyone calls me Kat."

When he lifted his eyes from the ground, I was not prepared for his beauty. My eyes are met with bright hazel ones. His blond hair is short on the sides and messy on top. God-like doesn't begin to describe his sharp features and high cheekbones. I realize that I am standing with my mouth open like a fish and quickly snap it shut. Brushing one of my crazy red curls that has escaped my messy bun behind my ear, I can feel the blush heat my face.

"I'm Lucifer, but I'm not the Devil, so people call me Luke." His voice is low and dripping with sarcasm.

"Not the angel I was expecting," I mumble to myself. "But close to god-like."

A smirk pulls at the corner of his lips, giving him a crooked smile. "What was that?" He says as he takes a step in my direction, and I instinctively step back.

"Nothing," I shake my head quickly from side to side. "Dad said you might help me move some furniture into my room." I turn to point to the moving truck beside the house, and when I turn back to face him, Luke is uncomfortably close to me. "Uh… I'll order pizza," my words stutter as I try to place more space between us.

A confused look crosses his face, and I am unsure if he heard anything that I said. "I was hired for farm work," he nods to the barn behind him. "Not housework."

Wow, that was rude, and I cannot help but feel a little crestfallen at his rejection. "Right," I mumble, "Well… the offer for pizza still stands."

Tucking my hands deep in the pockets of my jeans, I rock from heel to toe, waiting for a response. Instead, he just lights another cigarette and blows the smoke in my direction. When I realize that is all of the response I am going to get, I pull my hand from my pocket and give him a little wave. "See you later, Luke."

"Bye, Katherine," his husky voice calls out from behind me.

I don't know why, but his refusal to use my nickname hurts and sends anger coursing through my body. This guy isn't even willing to give me a chance. He is no different from the jocks at my old school. I am glad my back is turned because I know my face is probably as red as a tomato.

I stomp across the yard and focus hard on not looking over my shoulder. As annoying as Luke was, there is something that calls for me to too back in his direction, but I refuse to give him that satisfaction.

I throw open the back of the moving van. "I don't need a man to do this," I say, clearly lying to myself as I look at the heavy pieces of solid wood furniture that my dad insisted on buying.

I place my hips and stare into the back of the truck. My dresser is closest to the door, so I decided to move that one first. Pulling on the side, I brace my foot on the edge of the truck, trying to gain some leverage. It doesn't move an inch. This time, I push against the side of the truck with one foot and the bottom edge with the other. Bending my knees, I pull against the dresser when my foot slips, causing me to lose my grip, and I fall backward on the ground. I lay on the ground and tried to catch my breath. I let my arms and legs flop to the ground and shield my eyes from the sun when a shadow casts itself over my form.

"They are easier to move if you take out the drawers first," Luke is smiling down at me with an amused look on his face.

"Don't you have barn work to do? Or whatever it is called," I grunt at him as I get to my feet and wipe the dirt off my bottom.

Climbing back into the moving van, I pull all of the drawers out of the dresser and place them on the ground beside the truck. Grabbing two of them, I glare back at Luke, who is leaning up against the moving van with a very pleased look on his face. Tucking one under each arm, I storm up the front steps and stare at the closed front door. I can feel Luke's eyes burning into my back as I contemplate how to open the door with my hands full. Shuffling one of the drawers to the other arm, it slips out of my grip and lands on top of my foot.

"Most people wear actual shoes when moving furniture," he calls out from behind me.

Hopping on one foot, I try to soothe the pain of my aching toe. "Thanks," I hiss through my teeth at him. "If I ever figure out which box they are in, I will put them on."

"Why are you wearing flip-flops in January anyway?" Luke asks me.

"Because I heard Texas was warm," I say through gritted teeth.

Turning the doorknob, I kick the door open with my foot and stomp up the stairs with the drawers under my arms. Setting the drawers down in the corner of my room, I stomp back to retrieve the rest.

"Stupid, boorish men," I grunt angrily as I leave my room, only to run into Luke in the hallway carrying my dresser up with the rest of the drawers tucked back inside.

Cocking his head to the side, he gives me a little grin, "boorish, huh."

"I don't need your help," I ball up my fists painfully at my side as he carefully sets the dresser down in the middle of the room.

"I'll just leave this here for you then," he says as he walks back out of my room.

"Fine!" I call after him. "I can move this myself."

Getting behind the dresser, I try to push it from behind and it still refuses to budge. My feet slip against the freshly cleaned hardwood floors and fall flat on my face. An arrogant chuckle fills my room, and I see Luke standing in the doorway. His hand is over his mouth as he tries to stifle the laughter rumbling in his chest.

Walking over to me, he squats down, "Where do you want it, feisty pants?"

"I can do it myself," I repeat through gritted teeth.

He rakes his hand through his beautiful blonde hair. "I'm sorry for earlier. I was rude."

Refusing to meet his gaze, I shove the arm that he is resting on my dresser and try to push it once again.

"Katherine," he grabs my wrist, causing a weird electrical shock to travel up my arm, and I jerk it away. He shakes his head at me, "Just let me help."

Placing both of my hands on my hips, I glare up into his beautiful hazel eyes, "And I told you, Lucifer, that I don't need your help. This is the house." I gesture to the walls around me. "And you…" I poke my finger into his chest, "Don't do housework."

"Look… I apologized," he says roughly. "Now, where do you want this?"

We stare at one another both of us not willing to budge. The longer we stare into each other's eyes, I can feel something building between us and I grow acutely aware that I am alone in the house with a boy. No, not a boy. I am alone in the house with a man. A weird sort of feeling begins to pool between my thighs, and I have to look away.

"In the closet," I spit at him angrily as I storm back down the stairs to the moving van.

After several hours of glaring at one another, we managed to move most of the furniture out of the van. The sun is setting, casting a reddish hue across the sky, and I sit quietly on the front porch, watching the sunset over the Texas horizon. The boards dip beside me, and I know that Luke is sitting beside me.

"The sky is so big here," I murmur mostly to myself as I watch the sky in awe.

Luke chuckles at my side. "Isn't the sky the same size everywhere?"

I shake my head and turn to look at him. His hazel eyes burn into mine. As hard as I try, I cannot break myself from our gaze. It is as if an invisible thread has connected us, even if it was out of anger in the beginning. "There are no mountains or buildings to block the view here," I sigh to myself once again. "Nothing but sky."

Luke breaks eye contact, and I see his Adam's apple bob as he swallows. Bracing my hand on the edge of the stairs, I lean back slightly to get a better view of the sky. Luke places his hand beside my own. His pinky brushes up against mine. Tiny zaps of electricity spread across the skin where we touched, and for some reason, I felt happy for the first time in a long time.