Skin Deep Read Online Free Page A

for lunch, heading out to my car.
    I pulled up at Allie’s house in my cute,
little yellow VW Bug and she came running down her front steps
holding a paper towel up to her face. Now I was worried.
    She got in the car and told me, “Thathoo
thop, pweath. I wipp’th my thung.”
    I stared at her in shock until she grunted
and smacked at my thigh to get me going. Putting the car in drive,
I headed downtown to the tattoo shop. (I’m assuming that I heard
her correctly. Its kind of hard to understand someone when they’re
holding their tongue with a paper towel.)
    After about ten minutes, we pulled up at Skin
Deep, the tattoo shop that I didn’t think I would be frequenting
again any time soon after Friday night. Especially for the fact
that I embarrassed myself beyond belief in there.
    Allie and I got out of the car and walked
into the shop. I didn’t see anyone at the counter right away, but
after a minute, Brandon came around the corner looking even better
than before (Either that or my eyes were so starved for eye candy
they enhanced his deliciousness).
    His face broke into a grin as he shouted,
“Hey! It’s Crash and Allison! What’s up, ladies?”
    I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but return
his grin as I pointed at Allie and said, “Well, Allie has done
something to “wip” her “thung”, which I am assuming translates to
mean she ripped her tongue. How? Not sure. But I am dying to find
out!” I turned to grin at Allie, who looked so pathetic that I
busted out laughing.
    Allie shot me a dirty look and then turned to
Brandon with the most pathetic face (even more pathetic than she
looked ten seconds ago, which I didn’t think was possible) I’ve
ever seen on a person. Brandon came around the counter and gently
pulled Allie’s fingers and the paper towel away from her mouth.
    “Okay, you should be able to talk a little
bit better without your fingers and everything in your mouth. So
what did you do?,” Brandon asked Allie.
    “I was eating a fudge bar and when I licked
it, well, you know…when you eat a popsicle and you put it in your
mouth and then kinda suck and pull it back out? Know what I mean?”
Allie trailed off, waiting for someone to acknowledge that we knew
what she was talking about.
    I wasn’t going there. And if Brandon’s eyes
got any bigger, they were going to pop out of his head. I didn’t
think his lips could stretch any further either, judging by the
huge grin he had plastered on his face.
    Allie continued earnestly, “ Well, I was
eating the fudge bar and when I pulled it out, the ball to my
tongue ring kinda dug into it and I felt this excruciating sharp
pain in my tongue. Then I tasted the blood, which, hello, does not
go with chocolate. Guess I could never be a vampire, huh? Anyway, I
looked in the mirror and ‘lo and behold, I ripped my tongue!” The
last part ended on a wail.
    Brandon lost the battle and burst out
laughing. I was more polite and turned away before losing it. Which
earned me a quick smack to the back of my shoulder. What the hell,
man!
    We tried to control our laughter as Allie
stood there and glared at us before asking Brandon, “Well? Can you
fix it?” I swear she even stomped her foot.
    Brandon guffawed even louder before wiping
tears from his eyes and then taking a deep breath to get himself
under control. (I was still giggling)
    He put his hand out for Allie to take and
told her, “Come on, Allie, let’s check you out.”
    Brandon and Allie took off down the hall
ahead of me, turning into a different room than the one I was in
last time with Luke. I turned to follow them, letting out a muffled
“oomph” when I ran into a brick wall. Well, it was a soft brick
wall. A soft, solid, living, breathing brick wall. And boy
did it smell good, too.
    I felt hands grab my hips to steady me as a
deep, silken voice spoke in my ear, “Hey, careful there. Wouldn’t
want you to bust your lip again, sugar.”
    Oh. My. God. It was Luke. And he knew who
I was .