Skin Deep Read Online Free Page B

Eek!
    I pulled back and looked up into his gorgeous
eyes, giving him a sheepish grin. He was saying something, but the
intense smoky blue-grey of his eyes drew me in, mesmerizing me. I
don’t think I’ve ever seen that color before, but I think its my
new favorite.
    “I’m sorry, what?” I stammer.
    Luke grinned at me, shaking his head. “What
are you doing here? Something wrong with your tattoo?” As he said
this, he lightly grabbed my chin between his thumb and fingers and
turned my face to the side. I felt his other hand come up and
lightly trace the outside edge of my tattoo.
    “No,” I said. “We’re here because Allie,
believe it or not, ripped her tongue while eating a fudge bar.
Brandon has her in the back looking at it.”
    “Oh…okay…” Luke drew out the words in
confusion, as if he wasn’t sure I was being serious. Sadly, I
was.
    “Can I go on back with her?” I asked him.
    “Sure,” he replied, “I’ll come with you. I’ve
gotta see this; it‘s definitely not the usual story we hear!”
    We walked back to where Brandon had taken
Allie and as I went to enter the room, I felt Luke’s hand rest at
the small of my back. Whoa. Yup. There goes that electricity again,
sending shivers skittering up my spine.
    Allie was looking up at Brandon with a scowl
on her face while he stood doubled over from laughing so hard. He
had tears pouring from his eyes.
    Luke asked, “What the hell, girlie?” and
grinned at Allie.
    Brandon wiped his eyes and straightened up,
looking over at me and grinning widely.
    “I’ve seen people rip their tongues before.
But none by eating a fudge bar !” Brandon lost it again until
Allie reached out and smacked him on his shoulder. He tried to
reign in his mirth, but was failing miserably.
    I looked over at Luke who was trying his
damndest to keep from laughing and couldn’t help but smile at
him.
    “Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Brandon wheezed,
catching sight of the dismayed expression building on Allie’s face.
He stopped laughing and walked over to cup her cheek in the palm of
his hand. “Its just a little tear, didn’t do much damage, and as
long as you don’t go sucking on any more fudge bars for the next
week or two, it should heal fine. Might have a small scar, but the
tongue literally is the fastest healing muscle in the body.” He
stooped down to look into Allie’s eyes, watching her
expression.
    Allie replied quietly, “Okay. Thanks,
Brandon. I really appreciate it.”
    I could tell that she was affected by his
gentle touch, but hell, so was I. He was being so sweet…well, now he was, since he wasn’t laughing uproariously in her
face.
    And then it happened. I should have known it.
I mean, I was thinking it in the back of my mind, but Allie’s my
best friend and even I would never have said it out loud. Ever .
    Brandon pulled back, opened his mouth and
said, “Are you sure it was just a fudge bar you were sucking on?
I’m just sayin’…” he trailed off as he watched Allie’s eyes flash
fire and then took a step back.
    I gasped at the same time I heard Luke groan,
“Oh, Brandon, no…” and then the resounding smack of a palm meeting
cheek in what I’ll term, “The Slap Heard ‘Round the World.” It was loud !
    I opened my eyes, since I had squeezed them
tightly shut knowing what was coming, and watched as Brandon
reached up to grab his cheek, mumbling, “ FUCK ” under his
breath while Allie stood there shaking her hand. I looked over at
Luke and saw him standing with his head down, one hand covering his
eyes, the other rubbing the back of his neck.
    He dropped his hands suddenly and glanced my
way. Our eyes caught and held and I wondered if it was getting hot
in there, or if it was just me? Even more confusing was the fact
that my panties had started to dampen suspiciously, but my cha-chi
hadn’t seen any action in so long, I figured the damn thing would
have been dry as the desert by now.
    I started as Brandon cleared his throat