Knee Deep by Jolene Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

WISH I WS THER
    NO BIGGIE. I’LL PRTND
    SHAWN: HOW DOES THAT WRK?
    I’LL PRETEND U’R LYING ON ME AS I WTCH A MOV, OR THAT I’M LYING ON U. OR THAT U’R BEHIND ME. OR THAT I’M NXT TO U.
    SHAWN: YOU CAN’T TURN ME ON LIKE THAT. I’M IN CLASS. IT’S EMBARR.
    My cheeks heat up. How can he just talk about that?
    There’s a knock right before my front door flies open. “Ronnie? I’m here for movies!”
    Crap. It’s Luke, which shouldn’t be a big deal. But Shawn isn’t here, and tension creeps in as I figure out what to do. Or if something even needs to be done. I start to hit ‘end’ on my phone and then remember we’re not talking, we’re texting. Now I feel like an idiot.
    “Come on in, Luke!” I call from the living room. This shouldn’t be a big deal. Luke and I spent days together watching movies after his dad left…and a lot of days since then. It’s kind of what Luke and I do when we hang out.
    “I figured Shawn’d be here,” he says, as his lean frame fills the doorway.
    “You know how crazy and anal his dad is. He never lets him miss, and he’s watching for it cause he knows I’m suspended.” And his dad has turned into an angry, angry man that I wouldn’t want to cross. A shiver runs up my back as I think about sitting in Shawn’s room while his dad yelled.
    I start typing again.
    WILL STOP TRNG U ON. SEE U WHN U CN MAK IT. MY DAD GETS HOME LT TDY, SO I’D LIKE TO C U IF U HAVE TIME BFRE WRK.
    “Shawn?” Luke asks, pointing to my phone.
    “Yep.” I smile. But my heart beats a little harder at the fact that Luke and I are alone together. I guess it’s just been a while, ever since Shawn moved back months ago.
    SHAWN: U CAN’T HELP TURNING ME ON. WILL SEE U SCNDS AFTR SCHL GETS OUT. LOVE U.
    LUV U.
    I stand up off the couch, suddenly needing to move. Shawn talking about me turning him on, and Luke and I being in my house alone, makes me feel like I’m pinned down.
    Today Luke’s in a Scooby-Doo t-shirt and another pair of beat-up shorts. Right. This is my good friend and there‘s nothing wrong with him hanging with me today.
    “How old are you?” I poke Scooby’s head, which happens to be covering Luke’s chest. I suddenly jerk my hand away. But why would it matter if I touched Luke’s chest? And why did I even notice that I touched Luke’s chest?
    “Just old enough to make this look cool,” he teases.
    I give him a good eye roll, it seems like the best way to make sure that we’re still on comfortable ‘friend level’ here, even though I’m feeling all sorts of crazy with him here.
    “Mindy said you took the hit for her.” He sits down with his handful of movies.
    “Yeah. She’s a good friend. Now she’ll owe me one.” But my eyes wander around the room, at Dad’s new TV, the slider door into the backyard, everywhere but at him. Luke knows me too well, and this isn’t something I can talk about with him.
    “I think there’s more going on.” Why does he have to be so perceptive?
    I open my mouth to tell him everything about Shawn and the weekend and going further, but it’s Luke , he’s a guy. He won’t get it.
    “Okay, fine. Don’t tell me.” He smirks. “I brought every version of Romeo and Juliet I could find. Sound cool?”
    I let out the breath I didn’t know I held, totally thankful that Luke doesn’t see the need to push things. “Actually, yeah.” I nod. “I’ll make popcorn.” And get out of this room for a moment to get my head on straight.
    “Oh.” He knows what popcorn is at this house. My mom is a practical popcorn gourmet. “Can you do the chocolate stuff?” he asks.
    “Yes, I can.” I yell from the kitchen. “You’re in charge of setting up the TV. I don’t get my dad’s new system.”
    “I got it,” he calls.
    Really, Luke is like one step up from hanging with the ‘girls.’
    Right.
    I take a few more breaths, as I dump the kernels into Mom’s special popcorn pot. He watches girly movies. He’s pals with my