Freak of Nature

Chapter Fifteen

Kaitlyn sank to the ground, pulling Lucas with her, and rested against the tree. She felt better after their pinky promise. She had to admit she was a little relieved to know that the feelings for Lucas were real, and not a computing error. 

Lucas opened his arms and tugged her close. Resting her head against his chest, she listened to the steady rhythm of his heart. Even in the cool evening she could feel the warmth of his skin through his clothes. 

She should have been angry with Lucas, but being with him felt so right. She didn’t want to squander the short amount of time they had together by not getting along. The thought of never seeing him again sent a brief wave of panic through her that her systems quickly overrode. 

“What were you like when you were younger?” Kaitlyn asked, lifting her face to peer up at him.

“I can’t believe you still want to be with me,” Lucas said softly as he ran his thumb slowly across her lower lip. “I thought I’d lost you forever.” 

“That feels good.” Kaitlyn closed her eyes at the touch of his hand. 

“How about this?” Lucas’s warm breath on her neck caused her to gasp as he flipped her hair off her shoulder and lightly kissed from her collarbone to her temple. 

“That, too.” 

His lips moved across the sensitive skin at the base of her neck, his tongue darting out to touch her. She shuddered, one hand reaching up to cup his face and draw him closer.

His touch was intoxicating; it set her blood boiling, flushing her body with heat. Kaitlyn completely lost herself when he was so near. “Kiss me,” she whispered. 

His lips met hers, slowly exploring with an urgency that left her breathless. 

Eventually, she pulled away and met his gaze. “Are you distracting me with pleasure to avoid my question?”

Lucas laughed, long and hard, his body shaking beneath her touch. He leaned forward, kissing her again; this time, it was just a short, affectionate peck. “You’re too astute.” 

Kaitlyn straightened up, putting some breathing room between them, and cupped his face so he’d meet her eyes. “Tell me about your childhood. We don’t have much time together, and I want to know more about your past. I hardly know anything about you.” 

“Let’s just say I’m glad you didn’t know me when I was younger.” He tugged on a lock of her hair, but his eyes were dark and sad.

“Why?”

“Well, I was what one would call a ‘nerd.’ Tall, lanky, no social skills, and eye glasses as thick as a Coke bottle.” 

Kaitlyn tried to match the mental image with the man sitting beside her, but she couldn’t. 

“When you have an IQ as high as mine, it’s hard to fit in. I skipped ahead in school, so I was always around older kids, and they didn’t want anything to do with me. Plus, I would get lost in my own world and didn’t care about anything else.” 

“What changed?”

He was silent for a moment. “My father left when I was twelve. He always wanted an athletic son, someone he could be proud of. He wanted to go to football games, not science fairs. One day, he just walked out on me and my mom and never came back. I guess I thought if I could be the son he wanted, he would return.”

“Did he come back?”

“Nope.”

Kaitlyn didn’t know what to say. Finally, she said, “I don’t think he left because you weren’t athletic enough. That doesn’t seem to make sense.”