Book of Luke (Book 2) (3 page)

Mom looked at the device and tapped my hand
for reassurance.

“You look nervous,” Dr. Miller noted.

I heaved a sigh. “I’m okay.”

“Well, I’ll tell you a secret,” he said. “If
you relax, this thing won’t hurt.”

“Oh, I can handle it!” I blurted. “My
boyfriend’s bigger than that!”

Then. Utter. Silence.

I‘d stopped breathing. Sweat rushed down my
back as my gaze met my mother’s.

Mom nudged her glasses down the bridge of
her nose. She looked at me over them—eyes wide and mouth hung.

“
Mom
,” I hissed when I found my
voice. “Stop. Looking.
Interested
.”

She looked away, speechless.

“This is eleven inches,” the doctor said
simply. “Your boyfriend’s over eleven inches?”

I bit my lip. “Yeah?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Okay then! Sounds
like he’s been blessed!”

“I call him a Greek god,” I said, hoping to
change the subject.

“I can see why!”

“Oh, not because of that,” I said. “I call
him that because he can be a male model.”

“Sounds like he can be a lot more than
that!” he said, astonished.

“He is,” I breathed. “He’s also my best
friend’s brother.”

Dr. Miller’s eyes narrowed. “That must be
very
awkward
.”

I shrugged. “She never asks for
details
…”

Mom stared at me, blankly.

“Well, Adonia!” the doctor said after an odd
moment. “Let’s get this over with!”

~ ~ ~

The ultrasound went as expected—I wasn’t pregnant,
and I wasn’t dying.

Thank
God—
Mom can shut up about it
now.

She peered over at me on the drive home. She
hadn’t said anything since I blurted out information about my
boyfriend’s
size
, and it was making me edgy.

“
Mom,”
I said at the next red light.
I shifted in the passenger seat. “Can you please say
something?”

Her head turned to me slowly, uncertainly. I
couldn’t see her eyes through her tan, light-adjusting lenses. She
was silent for a second, but she finally whispered, “Is he really
that big?”

“Mom!” I barked. “I meant say something
else!
”

She bit her lip and looked back at the
road.

I was kind of relieved when my cell phone
vibrated, so I can stop stressing about
her
. “Hello?”

“Hey, Beautiful!”

“Hi, Luke,” I said. “I’m glad you called!” I
took a deep, strained breath. “Listen, I want to apologize
again
for puking all over your lunch.”

Mom looked at me—baffled—then back at the
road.

“Hey, don’t even worry about it!” Luke said.
“If
I
were eating maggoty fish, I would’ve hurled too.”

My head hit my hands as I recalled standing
there, panicked, puking on both our plates; and the
disgusted
look on his father’s face as I tried to excuse
myself, vomit running down my chin, shirt, and arms.

The waitress was staring. The locals were
staring.
Luke
was staring.

The embarrassment was worse than the taste,
if you can imagine that!

“Are you still there, Beautiful?” was the
next thing I heard.

“Yeah,” I breathed, my face hot. “Where are
you?”

“I’m parked in your driveway,” he said. “No
one’s home.”

“You want to see me again?” I asked, all
giddy.

He chuckled. “Yeah. But don’t tell
anyone!”

I laughed. “We’re on our way home. Give us a
few minutes!”

Luke got out of his Jeep to greet us as soon
as we pulled into the driveway. He was all smiles, and drop-dead
gorgeous.

“Hey,” he said softly, nuzzling my cheek as
I embraced him. His hands settled in my back pockets. “I’ve missed
you.”

I wanted to kiss him
so
bad, but Mom
was watching, and my day had been weird enough. “I’m just glad
you’re still talking to me,” I admitted.

He laughed, kissed my forehead and waved at
my mother. “Hi, Mrs. Morrison!”

“Mary,” my mom insisted, walking by us.
“What a
big, BIG
surprise, Luke!”

“
Mom!”
I scorned. She’s always so
cool with everything, and I knew she was just teasing, but
still—what if he figured it out?

She unlocked our front door. “How’s your
mother, Luke?”

“She’s good,” Luke breathed. Then in my ear
he said, “Why’d she look at me weird?”

I groaned. “Because she
is
weird,
remember?”

I just couldn’t bring myself to say, “She
found out you’re bigger than the dildo in the doctor’s office.”

I followed my mother in, but Luke rushed to
his Jeep. When he returned, he handed me a bouquet of red roses.
“For you,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “Eleven.”

Eleven.
I giggled.

“Wow! For what?”
Surely they weren’t
for
vomiting
at lunch!

He looked at me eagerly. “It’s Valentine’s
Day.”

“Luke! You’re
such
a sweetheart!” Mom
looked at me and mouthed, “Wow.”

I couldn’t believe my boyfriend remembered
Valentine’s Day! It completely slipped my mind, even with Lilly
yapping about it for months!

“So what are you up to, Luke?” Mom hung her
coat in the foyer and took my roses from me.

“Actually, I came to steal your daughter!”
Luke grinned and winked at me.

“Oh!” Mom smiled. “Absolutely!” She looked
at me over her glasses. “Have fun, sweetheart.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, Mom.”

In an ideal world, that would have been the
end of it. But as soon as we stepped out the door, we bumped into
my father.

He looked from me to Luke. “Oh, hi, Luke,”
he said casually. “Going somewhere?”

“Hi, Mr. Morrison. We’re going skiing.”

“In ten below?” Dad crossed his arms.

“
Dad.”

Dad raised his eyebrows. “Yes, Adonia?”

“Dad, there’s no rule saying we can’t ski in
ten below.”

Dad smiled at Luke, and it wasn’t genuine.
“Have her back by eight.”

Luke nodded.

“
Paul.”
Mom widened her eyes and put
a hand on her hip. “She’s eighteen. She’s an
adult
.”

My father sighed. “On second thought, Luke,
make it eight-thirty.”

~ ~ ~

With the looks he’d given me, I didn’t think
skiing
was really on his mind. As it turns out, it was.

We took the lift to the top of the expert
ski trail on Grizzly Mountain. Interior Alaska has the biggest
temperature shifts in the occupied world—I’ve seen temperatures
rise or fall about ten degrees per hour. It makes planning tricky.
And, as expected, the slopes were nearly deserted.

At the top of the trail, he stood behind me,
cradling me. Surrounded by moon-lit mountains, we watched green
aurora dance just above their caps. The northern lights trailed
across the star-filled sky as he put his lips to my ear. “You like
this?”

“I love this,” I breathed, squeezing his
hands.

His grip on me tightened. “You’re going to
love the Alps, too.”

I turned to him, shocked. “What?”

He grinned. “Wanna go?”

“
What?!”
I repeated in disbelief.

He cupped his hands around my face and
kissed me. Our foreheads touched, and when he opened his sparkling
blues, they gazed into my eyes. “Burke’s giving a guest lecture at
an astronomy seminar in Zurich. We’re going to Switzerland for five
days.” He nudged my chin. “But I’m not quite complete without
you
, so I bought you a ticket.”

“Oh my God!” I squealed, jumping on him. I’m
sure my skis felt great, stabbing him in the back. “Oh my God,
you’re
amazing!
” I was in tears.

Frozen tears.

“So, you want to go?” he confirmed with a
grin.

I laughed. “Yeah I want to go!” I kissed him
vicariously.

Until I remembered
Dad
.

He’d bought me a ticket without asking my
dad; how would that work out?

His face dropped. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah,” I said, falling to my feet. “My
dad.”

Luke looked thoughtful. “Hmm, I didn’t have
enough notice to think about that. I literally got us the last two
tickets available. Burke will be there, so we’ll
technically
be supervised… and we
are
eighteen.” He moved some hair out
of my face. “Think he won’t let you go?”

I liked how he said
“technically”
—like he had no intention of leaving our room.
I pecked his cheek. “He’s going to have to! If he doesn’t, he’ll
regret it!” I said with a giggle.

To celebrate, we spent the next few minutes
making out. Somehow—despite the trip to the gynecologist and my
barfing on our lunch date—he’d managed to make this the
best
Valentine’s Day of my entire life!

Our lips parted. “What happened to your
dad?” I asked, afraid maybe his dad disowned him.

He smiled and shook his head. “My dad’s too
busy for me, remember? He’s out with that waitress.”

“Oh,” I said simply. “I feel really bad
about the vomiting episode, and I hope he doesn’t hate me.”

Luke laughed. “How can
anyone
hate
you? You’re amazing.”

Amazingly ordinary.

“Honestly, I’m lucky he took the time to
come up and meet you,” Luke breathed. “That alone should tell you
something. My dad has never made much time for me.” He looked down
for a moment. Then our eyes locked, and he shrugged a shoulder.

I felt bad for him. Not just because I threw
up at a much-anticipated lunch date, but because he really seemed
affected by his dad… or lack thereof. And I could relate, because
up until a few months ago, my mom was the same.

Ironically, now she gives me way more
attention than I even
want!

I pulled him into a tight embrace. His heart
beat eagerly. “I love you so much, Luke.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I love you
way more.” His grip on me tightened, and it felt
so
incredibly good. I’d never been this comfortable around anyone;
he’s my soulmate for sure.

After a few moments he pulled away, winked,
and hauled me toward the trail. “Let’s go, Beautiful! The quicker
we get to the bottom, the quicker I can thaw out my toes!”

~ ~ ~

We were in the backseat of his Jeep. He was on top,
his lips glued to mine, his hands all over me. Up my shirt. In my
hair. On my hips. We were steaming hot, despite the frigid gusts
that engulfed the car mere inches from our heads.

He smelled incredible. The scent fogs my
mind, and all self-control goes right out the window.

Even when it’s closed.

I pulled on his belt buckle. “Do you want
to?” I asked seductively.

After some hesitation, he whispered, “Not
really.”

I froze.

His breathing was strained. “I mean I
want
to, but it’s almost eight. There’s not enough
time.”

My heart started beating again. “I’m sorry
my dad’s ridiculous.”

He moved beneath me. I covered his body, my
hair snaking across his chest. “It’s okay,” he said. “I can’t
really blame him. I mean, you
were
a virgin till I came
along.” Our eyes met, and his mouth formed a crooked grin. “I like
that.”

I giggled and squeezed him tight. “I can’t
believe you’re taking me to the Alps!”

“You should’ve expected it. Eventually.”

After a few lazy moments, I looked at the
red digits on his stereo. “I don’t want to go home!” I whined.

He nudged my chin. “A few more months and
we’ll be living together. A few more
days
, and we’ll be
skiing in the Alps.” His eyes twinkled as he looked up. “Or
something like that.”

I laughed, just as my phone vibrated. I dug
it out of my pocket. “It’s your sister.”

“
Gross…”

I laughed and answered it.

She didn’t even say
hi
, she just
started ranting. “I am
so
mad! You would
not
believe
what he did! You would
not
believe what he said!” I could
not even catch it all because she was yelling to someone in the
background as well.

“Drama queen,” Luke breathed. “It’s like her
only skill.”

I shot him a look and slapped his
shoulder.

“Okay,
fine
,” he muttered. “She can
shop, too.”

I laughed. “Lilly, I can’t catch everything
you’re saying. I’m in the car with your brother.”

“Ew…” She sighed. “When can you talk? It’s
kind of important.”

“Call me at eight-thirty,” I said. “Don’t
worry, it’ll be okay.”

Luke rolled his eyes. He nudged me off and
climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Okay,” she mumbled, and hung up.

I climbed into the passenger seat. Luke
turned up the heat. “What does she want
now?
”

“I couldn’t make any of it out,” I
breathed.

He raised his eyebrows. “
Shocked.
Another non-issue, I’m sure.”

~ ~ ~

Sadly, Dad wasn’t awake to see me meet curfew. Mom
told me I’d love the Alps and not to worry—she’d talk him into it
after his date with the publisher on Monday. He was getting a book
deal—surely he’d be in a good enough mood.

In my bedroom, I changed by moonlight. Lilly
never called back. She didn’t even answer her phone. I wondered if
I’d pissed her off. I
did
kind of shove her aside for her
brother…

But her brother is
sooooo
HOT.

It’s understandable, right?

I crept into bed and looked out my window.
The moon was full and the aurora was bright. A shooting star ripped
through the sky, through dancing red and green lights. No matter
how many times I see them, I can’t quite get sick of them.

I couldn’t wait to see the Alps. I couldn’t
wait to spend five days with that heartthrob Luke. I couldn’t wait
to move in with the guy of my dreams.