Chapter 03: Handshake It is criminal to look the way Luke does. He's a safety hazard, I swear. How can you concentrate on anything else? Cearra and I stared at him as he crossed the street like something out of a fantasy. A hot, twisted, teenage fantasy. Her eyes stayed glued on Luke as she asked me, "Is it weird that you went on a date with him but in my mind we're already married with three kids and a dog named Claude?" My phone buzzed again. Must be another candy crush notification, but I was busy staring at my real-life candy crush. "Wow," Cearra breathed, "How do we watch this in slow mo?" Luke smirked at her reaction, and then his eyes landed on me. His smirk transformed into a smile. "Minnie." I could tell – I could seriously tell – from the way he said my name that his mother told him what just happened. How she overheard us talking about his hot, naked body. Sure enough, his mischievous look reappeared, "If you're going to talk about my body, you might as well say it to my face." Oh, brother. "Now that's a line," Cearra squealed. "I'm embarrassed for us." Please, it's nothing he hasn't heard before. Even though his deep voice carried appeal, I couldn't resist the urge to put him in his place, "Your mother tells you that often?" For some reason, when it comes to Luke, I don't lose my tongue. He smiled at my reaction and stepped closer towards me. Very close. Extremely close. Cearra's eyes popped out of her sockets as she stared at us. That's when I started to get nervous. My heart beat fast, remembering what happened last time we were this close. How softly he touched me. How he made me feel... Not to mention how he was doing this in front of my friend. What do I do? How do I even greet him in front of others? Oh no. I didn't know how to react, so I just went with my instinct... Which is never a good idea. My instincts are not normal. I'm sure I've mentioned that before. I gave him a handshake. Seriously. A hand shake. His blue eyes trailed from my eyes down to my hand and I was embarrassed for myself. Yup. I went for the shake. And he ignored it. He took my hand and pulled me in for a kiss. I fell towards him. My lips pressed against his and I melted against his soft lips and hard body. His black t-shirt was made of thin fabric and I could feel his rock-hard abs underneath them. His hands slowly trailed down my arms. "Firm handshake," he said without interrupting our kiss. I broke away, "Aren't you cold? you're only wearing a t-shirt." Why am I telling him to put on more clothes? What is wrong with me? "I feel warm." "OH MY GAAAAAAAD," Cearra gasped, interrupting us, "I can't believe it. OK I can believe it. No! I can't!" ** I went for the handshake and he went for the kiss. Classic. As Cearra freaked out over the unlikely pairing that is Luke Dawson and me, I excused us from the limelight and pulled him by his shirt over to the side. "Luke," I whispered to him, "You never called me." "What are you talking about?" "We went on a date yesterday and you haven't texted me since," I said. He unwrapped my fingers from around his shirt and intertwined his fingers with mine. "I did. You never texted back." What? How am I getting candy crush notifications but no text messages? I frowned and pulled my phone out of my pocket, staring at it like it was some alien gadget. "While you discover the cell phone, I'm going inside," he said, gently touching my arm, "A three second kiss can only keep me warm for so long." That little- "Wait for me!" Cearra exclaimed, running up my front lawn to catch up with him. The front door was unlocked, which happens every time my mother walks out the door. Luke walked in as if he owned the place. I usually stare at Luke's ass when he walks away, but this time I was focusing on his leg. He had a limp since last Friday's fight. He and Chad had gotten into a gang fight, which Austin and Chris joined, and I came later with some bikers. True story, I swear. My expression changed. I didn't like to see Luke in pain, no matter how well he hid it. He relaxed on the couch, stretching his upper body on the comfortable furniture. Cearra was gazing at him. At his gorgeously chiseled features. "How was basketball practice today, Luke?" she asked, before turning to me and mouthing, "Can't believe he's here." Luke picked up the remote, wanting to change subject as much as he wanted to change channel. I quickly removed the martini glasses from our coffee table before anyone noticed. My mother must've left it there this morning. "I didn't go," he responded. He gave no explanation. His injury prevented him from training this weekend and most likely next week. He was not happy about it. Cearra continued saying all the things she shouldn't, "Really? Because I thought players like you train every day to stay at the top." Luke changed the channel. I placed the martini glasses in the sink and looked more carefully at my phone. I shook it and knocked it against the kitchen counter, before turning it off. And then turning it on. That should fix it. I heard Cearra continue talking in the background. "Luke, this may seem a bit weird, but I've been waiting to hear about your date since before you went on it. Millie and I were about to have girl chat before you came. So if you don't mind, Millie, start from the beginning. How did it begin? Did he come to your door with flowers?" "No," Luke smirked at the memory, "but she did." "You're suddenly so talkative now," I muttered as my face went red. He rested the remote on the side of the couch. "What?!" Cearra exclaimed. I picked those flowers from Luke's own back garden. Good times. "They were nice flowers," Luke added, embarrassing me, "Freshly picked." What part of girl chat does he not understand? A confused Cearra asked me, "You gave him flowers?" "They were not for him!" I insisted, "They were for Austin Taylor who hurt his arm." Luke continued to smirk as he flipped channels. I wanted to flip him off. "And then what happened?" Cearra turned to Luke with renewed interest. "How long are you here for?" he asked, wondering why he had to share his time with her. I was about to scold him for that attitude when my phone rang. I stared at the alien gadget as texts rolled in. I guess it fixed itself? And I guess it wasn't a data problem? Luke leaned his head back against the couch as he looked up at me with his gorgeous blue eyes, "Who's calling?" I stared down at the caller ID. "Austin." ** I picked up. Obviously, I picked up. It's Austin. "Millie!" the familiar sound of Austin Taylor's energetic voice carried through the phone, "Luke is ignoring me again and I need you two. You're late!" "How can I be late if I don't know I'm invited?" "Late is late. No need to get technical." I lowered my phone from my ear and asked Luke, "Luke, why are you ignoring Austin?" He shifted in his seat. "Because I don't want to go out." I was not going to accept that. "This boy ran into a fight to save you and then he got his ass kicked-" "I kicked ass!" Austin's voice yelled out from my phone. "So we're going," I told Luke and then sheepishly raised the phone back to my ear, "Uh, Austin, where are we going?" "Surfside Shack. Last party of the year." "But it's November." "Exactly."