Free Knee Deep by Jolene Perry Page A

whatever after my dad. I know.” He shrugs. “But that involved more drugs than girls.”
    “Oh.” This is the part of Luke I don’t know well.
    “Aren’t you hot?” He grabs the bottom of my long-sleeve t-shirt.
    “Nope,” I lie as I jerk my hand back. My bruise isn’t gone yet, and I don’t need any questions.
    “Whatever.”
    It’s just a stupid shirt, why would he care? But I open my mouth and know I could say something. Of everyone I know, he’s the one who’s most likely to understand. The words start to come, but I can’t. Can’t do it.
    “Why does Shawn always have to be running late?” He checks his watch.
    I shrug. But Shawn is always running late. My mind starts working on that, it’s always been a part of Shawn, but he’s so meticulous about other things that it’s kind of odd that punctuality isn’t one of them.
    “Doesn’t it make you crazy?”
    “I’m used to it.” I cross my legs, pulling up my dress to cool myself off.
    “And you’re not hot?” He gives me this ‘lips-pressed together’ look of disbelief.
    I close my eyes to try and relax under the heat of the sun.
    He lies back on his lounge chair. The breeze ruffles the pool. “So, I think Aubrey and I might go out again.”
    “You should see how far you could get if you just took her to Taco Bell,” I tease. Anything to keep the topic off me.
    “Very funny.” He shakes his head.
    “Don’t you want more than that?” I ask. Luke is so nice, yet it’s like the nice girls are sort of afraid of him.
    “Actually, yeah. I do.” He sits up, leans forward, and looks at me. “Don’t you?” The tease is absent from his voice.
    “Don’t I what?” But my heart’s pounding, and I think he might know something, or guesses something about Shawn and I, and how moody he can be. But Shawn wouldn’t have told him about the other night, grabbing my wrist, would he?
    “Don’t you want something more?” Luke’s voice is quiet and hits my core in a way that vibrates my soul.
    There should be some sort of smart thing I could say back to him, but I have no idea what it would be. Our eyes meet again and my breath catches.
    “Your eyes are amazing,” he says. “The brown is so deep.” His face is unreadable, but his gaze sends a clear message.
    I like looking at you.
    It’s so simple. So Luke.
    There’s electricity between us that totally shouldn’t be here. Maybe I wasn’t imagining how he looked at me on stage. Maybe it was more than Shakespeare’s heart on the page. I slump and let the tension go, closing my eyes to his. Not me. Not with Luke.
    “Well don’t you two look cozy!” Shawn’s voice booms across the yard.
    “’Bout time you showed up, asshole.” Luke jumps off his chair without a glance back at me.
    He’s either saving my butt, or that moment was imagined. Either way it’s going to take my heart a moment to slow down.
    We spend the night listening to music in the backyard. We eat pizza. We laugh. We complain about our homework, and we’re all back to normal. Shawn smiles and touches me like everything’s still perfect. So I guess it must be.

~ 8 ~
     
    Dad and I sit in front of the TV for dinner, watching some special on China. With each word the narrator says and each horrific picture that appears, my problems are starting to feel small, that’s for sure.
    My phone beeps.
    SHAWN: WON’T MAKE IT TNGHT
    EVRYTHNG OK? I’m bummed, we were going to study together, which generally means we were going to make out by the pool for a while.
    SHAWN: FINE. JUST GOT BUSY AT WORK. DAD NEEDS STUFF DONE BFR WE GO HOME.
    MISS U. HOPE ALL OK.
    His dad needs stuff done? The sinking feeling in my gut makes my hope that Shawn’s dad exercises a little more self-control at work than he seems to at home, disappears. I wish I knew how to help.
    “Your mom will be late coming home from the library.” Dad’s voice brings me back into the room. Funny how he thinks he needs to explain her absence.
    “Oh.” I