Right Where I Need to Be

"Oh, my God!" Brooke exclaimed, as she gripped at the front of Luke's shirt and pushed him with all her might. It was no use, though. He had quite the hold on her, and the fact that she was once again covered with mud did nothing to help in the matter. She wanted to scream and curse at him for doing this to her, but when her eyes met his and she saw the state he was in—totally filthy and dripping with mud—she couldn't help but smiled, and then laugh in spite of herself.

"Hey I think you've got a little mud right there..." he grinned, smearing more mud into her hair. He didn't release his hold on her, instead he tightened his grip, bringing her somewhat closer.

Brooke screamed playfully, and was going to return the favor again, but found herself frozen on the spot when Luke pulled them closer together. It was probably unintentional and didn't mean anything, but being so close to him had her feeling...odd. She couldn't explain it, nor could she explain why she suddenly laced the fingers of one hand through his muddy hair and pressed her lips against his.

Out of all the things he expected from Brooke, this was not one of them. He stood frozen for a minute, trying to decide if this was actually happening. Before he could talk himself out of it, Luke tightened his hold around her, crushing her petite frame against his as he kissed her back.

Brooke was terrified when Luke didn't respond at first, but when she felt him pull her closer and their bodies touched, it felt like her heart could burst out of her chest. She moved the other hand so both were now laced through his hair, and tilted her head a bit to deepen the kiss.

Luke groaned slightly, his other hand cupping the back of her neck as he slowly let his tongue trace her lower lip.

If anyone asked Luke this morning if he thought he'd be standing in the middle of Thomas's property, covered in mud, kissing an equally muddy Brooke, he would have laughed in their face. He wouldn't have dreamed this would happen, despite his occasional flirting. But he was, and he couldn't say that he wasn't enjoying himself.

Brooke pressed her tongue against his, and felt waves of heat pass through her. It was unlike anything else she'd ever felt or done before. It was intense and magical and she never wanted it to end. But then...it did. Blue Jean made some sort of snorting noise behind them, and everything suddenly became clear. She broke away from him and gasped.

"Wow," she breathed. "Uhm...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Luke coughed, and stepped back. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked back towards the fence. "I should uh, I should probably finish this.." he said stepping back towards the half repaired wire fence.

Brooke turned away from him and moved back toward where Blue Jean stood. "Thanks for that," she muttered, as she began to pet the horse. She couldn't believe what's she'd just done. This was Luke: the silly farm hand who wasn't her type whatsoever. Sure, he was nice to look at and maybe she'd gotten a little jealous thinking about him with another woman, but that was besides the point. She wasn't visiting West Virginia for the hell of it, nor was she going to be sticking around when summer was over. She'd be leaving in two months time, and there was just no point in starting something she couldn't finish.

Luke finished the fence as soon as he could. As soon as he was finished, he placed his tools and the broken fence back into his saddle bag. He then turned back to her, and offered her a small smile. "You ready to head back?"

Brooke nodded, not making eye contact with him as they began back for the house. It was beyond awkward, and she wasn't sure how they'd be able to even talk normally after this. She really just wanted to get back to the house, shower, and crawl in bed for at least a week. Maybe by then, everything will have blown over and Luke would forget about her stupidity.

Luke didn't say a word on their way back to the house, but he could feel the tension that surrounded them. And he honestly didn't know what to say to make it any better. As they walked into the barn, Luke spotted the water hose they used to water the horses lying just outside the door. He smirked as an idea popped into his head.

"You wanna hose off before going in the house? If we track mud in Kay might just murder us..." he said, nodding towards the hose.

Brooke said nothing and only nodded once again. She picked up the hose and turned it on, before beginning to rinse off the dirt and mud that clung to her. It was almost impossible, as her hair had become ridiculously tangled and knotted. She grunted as she wrestled with the hose and with her blonde locks.

Luke chuckled before stepping forward and gripping the hose. "Here, let me. I can probably get it better," he said taking the hose and starting to rinse the mud out of her hair. He run his fingers through most of it, watching as it became slightly cleaner. As he was moving to do the other side, Luke stepped on the part of the hose near his foot, causing it to jerk downward. He froze when he realized he'd just succeeded in spraying her straight in the face.

Brooke let out a choked screech as the water sprayed into her mouth and nose. She whipped her hair back and looked at Luke wide-eyed.

"You did that on purpose!" she said, before ripping the hose away and turning it on him. She sprayed it in his face, making sure to drench him the same as he'd just done to her.

"No stop, it was an accident." he said, holding his hand up to try to deflect some of the spray. He gripped her hand, turning it towards herself. Drenching her seemed like a good idea before he watched the way the water instantly made her white shirt nearly transparent. He swallowed, suddenly finding his mouth dry.

"What the hell!" Brooke screamed as the water hit her again. "I'm guessing that was an accident, too?!"

She pushed his hand off and threw the hose down, before grabbing at the bottom of her shirt and rolling it up half way to wring it out. It was almost pointless because she was soaked to the bone.

Luke inhaled sharply, seeing the strip of skin that she exposed. He felt his blood rush south as his eyes hungrily devoured the naked flesh. Before he could reason himself out of doing it, Luke stepped forward, his hands gripping her waist as he pushed her against the side of the barn. Before she could utter a word, he dropped his head, capturing her lips with his own as his hands tightened slightly on her waist.

Brooke gasped as her back hit the barn and she was suddenly being kissed. It was the absolute last thing she was expecting, but when his body pressed against hers again, it was like nothing else mattered. She momentarily forgot all reason and took a fistful of his hair once again, kissing him back hungrily.

Luke groaned, pressing his body closer to hers as used her gasp as an opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. He knew it was a risky move, but considering their kiss earlier he did it anyways. One of his hands slid around her back, moving downwards, resting just at the top of her shorts.