Free Strikers Instinct by A. D. Rogers

believe all this,” I replied. “but most of all I still can’t believe that you recognised me!”
    Luke smiled. “I never forget a face.”
    I sipped my tea and Luke continued. “Once again, I’m sorry that I haven’t been as friendly to a fellow Lancastrian as I should have been but perhaps we can make up for it?”
    â€œI think you have already helped me enough but what did you have in mind?” I asked.
    â€œWell,” Luke went on, “I belong to a martial arts club and it looks as if you may need to learn how to take care of yourself – maybe you could come down and take a look?”
    â€œI’d love to,” I replied, “but I don’t want to take part in anything that may damage my hands – I want to be a surgeon. I love sport but I have to be careful not to do anything too risky.”
    Luke seemed thoughtful, “That’s a fair point. I’m sure we could work something out that keeps your fitness levels up but won’t cause any problems for your hands.”
    â€œIn that case I would love to take a look at your club.” I replied.
    â€œAnd so began a lifelong friendship. I was introduced to Luke’s circle of friends and in turn he met my mates. I spent time training with him and although I never really got involved with the sparring side of the club I began to feel fitter than I had ever done in my life. Luke and I even met up occasionally for social events and it was on one of these occasions that I managed to pay him back for saving me from dog breath and his mates.
    The only other person in Oxford that I knew originated from Wishton was Sue and she was studying Business and Finance across town. Our paths didn’t cross much but occasionally we would meet to catch up and one day she rang to invite me to a party. I asked if I could bring Luke – she was intrigued that someone else from Wishton was studying in Oxford so urged me to bring him along.
    For once it was my turn to laugh at Luke. I introduced him to Sue and his normally confidant, relaxed attitude fell away and he turned to jelly. He stuttered and blushed and I nearly laughed out loud – it was obvious that it was love at first sight! It wasn’t quite the same for Sue though. She really liked Luke and thought it was very cute how Luke acted when he was with her but she thought she was far too young to tie herself down. However, Luke was determined to win Sue over. He devoted all his spare time to convincing Sue that he was the perfect man for her. A few months after the party I met Sue in the pub and she gave me a big hug.
    â€œThank you.” she said.
    I had no idea what she was talking about.
    â€œWhat for?” I asked.
    â€œYou introduced me to Luke.” she said simply.
    After that, they became inseparable. Luke graduated and all 3 of us returned to Wishton for the summer – and Luke needed to find a job.
    Luke’s degree had been in modern languages – quite early in life he had discovered that it was something he had a flair for. During his time at Oxford he also realised that he could apply the same principles to computer code and operating systems. He explained that most programming languages or computer operating systems were just extensions of the various languages he had been studying. During his last year he had spent a lot of time in the computer sciences labs and he had decided that instead of working as perhaps a teacher of languages he would look to a career in computing.
    He applied to a large software house in Manchester and managed to get a place on a graduate program. Luke moved back into his old room at home and scraped together the money to buy an old car to get him to work and back. He worked long hours each day trying to master various systems and languages and when he wasn’t working he would head back to Oxford to spend time with Sue.
    The following year Sue graduated and Luke was promoted. Sue also