Skin Deep (36 page)

“Me, too. I think I was going crazy. Did you
know that Luke and Brandon have exactly 242 DVD’s? I didn’t either.
Until I alphabetized them.”

That made them look at me weird for a minute,
but it was quickly forgotten as we headed inside and lost ourselves
for a couple hours in the land of Nipple Dip, Slick Dick, Jack
Rabbits and Turtle Tools.

On Monday, since I wasn’t allowed to go back
to work until after my doctor’s appointment the next day, I headed
into Skin Deep with Luke and Brandon. The lobby started to fill up
with their clients and even a couple walk-ins, so I stationed
myself behind the counter and answered the phone, scheduled some
appointments, and generally got people where they needed to be,
when they needed to be there.

That night while we were lying in bed, Luke
turned to me with an earnest look in his eyes.

“Ummm…that look kinda scares me. What’s
wrong?”

“Nothing. I was just kinda thinking…it
actually helped having you there at the shop today. So, would you
maybe think about not going back to work for Floyd and just working
at the shop with me? I mean, I’ll pay you, but you really don’t
even have to work if you don’t want to…” He trailed off, looking
really uncertain.

It surprised me that he brought it up,
especially because I had been toying with the idea of asking him if
I could help out at the shop. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to work
for Floyd anymore; he was a great boss and I really would miss that
job. Honestly, it was more just the fact that I liked being there
with Luke and Brandon, helping out my boys. And I guess if I was
being completely honest, I just couldn’t bring myself to face the
parking lot where I was taken yet.

I made a noncommittal sound and turned over,
pretending to fall asleep. I had to hold my breath to keep from
laughing when Luke let out a loud sigh, muttering to himself about
ungrateful women. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, thinking
that I’d let him stew for a bit before I accepted his offer.

Chapter 26

“
NO
!” I screamed. “For the last
fucking time, I am NOT, I REPEAT-
NOT
going to get a tattoo
of Luke’s penis on my ass! So
QUIT
suggesting it,
Brandon!”

I glared at Brandon as he leaned against the
wall behind the counter, laughing so hard his face was turning red.
Luke had been coming up with ideas for my tattoo like I had asked
him to back around Christmas, and Brandon had decided to start
chiming in with ideas and, let me tell ya, none of them were
usable.

It’d been four months since I was attacked
outside Floyd’s office. I had never actually went back to work for
Floyd, though I did help him out from time to time when he called.
He was in the process of trying to find another secretary to take
my place, but for now was using the floater pool. I don’t think he
was very happy with it, but he couldn’t blame me for not returning
full time.

I’d taken Luke up on his offer and now
basically was the front woman for Skin Deep. I handled all the
scheduling, supply ordering, and even took over the books. The shop
was busier than ever and Luke had even hired a couple of the part
time guys on for full time. Needless to say, Jadalee wasn’t one of
them, even though she was back home again to help her mom. She
pretty much stayed away from the shop, although she had actually
come and apologized to me for the way she acted. Being the nice
person that I am, I graciously accepted it before extending an
invitation to my wedding. Where I’d be marrying Luke. (Hee hee
hee…)

Allie spent quite a bit of time at the shop
and at our house, which was almost a given because she was helping
me plan the wedding. We had finally set the date for next spring
and I’d even picked out my colors. I was going with hot pink and
black with silver accents, and that’s only because I found a pair
of stiletto heels that I HAD to have and wanted to wear them with
my wedding dress for the wedding (whenever I finally found one I
liked). They were hot pink with a black skull and crossbones design
on the back of the heel area. The skull had a little silver bow on
its head! I loved them so much that I was going to make that my
wedding theme but Jenna threatened to disown me if I did. I
conceded the theme but I’m still wearing the shoes.

Allie also spent quite a bit of time with
Brandon and Jackson, but swore that they were all just friends. I
wished she’d finally just come to terms with the fact that she was
in love with them both and do something about it. I think she just
couldn’t get her mind around the fact that you weren’t supposed to
be in love with more than one person. I wasn’t sure how she
couldn’t because her parents were major hippies and touted “Free
Love” all throughout our childhood…thank God they’d mellowed over
the years. I shuddered at the unbidden thought of them having an
orgy that flitted through my mind. Ugh.

I shook my head to clear it and grabbed the
stack of drawings Luke held out to me. He leaned in and kissed me
sweetly on my lips before smacking Brandon upside his head as he
walked past him, leading his next client into his studio. I
shuffled through them and my breath whooshed out on a sigh as I saw
it. It was perfect and I couldn’t wait for Luke to tattoo it!

He’d drawn a single feather with stunning and
intricate detail. The top of the feather looked like it was being
blown away, almost disintegrating, but instead of there being
nothing, a multitude of small birds flowed from it, interspersed
with stars of varying sizes. I decided then and there that I would
have it put on my shoulder blade, but I wanted the birds and stars
to go up over my shoulder.

I looked at the drawing again, and noted that
I had missed one small detail. Along the spine of the feather in
small script were the words ‘Always Ever’. I felt tears prick my
eyes as I realized that Luke hadn’t forgotten the story I’d told
him a long time ago about Jarrod when he was little. My mom had
told him one day that she loved him and would always and forever.
Since he was barely two at the time, he had responded with Always
Ever, not getting the for in forever. From that point on, that was
the little saying we had all used to say I love you.

I waited (impatiently, might I add) for Luke
to finish up with his client and as soon as he got near the
counter, I jumped into his arms, kissing him deeply. He kissed me
back for a minute before pulling back and looking at me in
surprise.

“What was that for?” he asked. “Not that I’m
complaining, but…” He grinned at me.

“Just because I love you and because you drew
me the perfect tattoo and because you listen when I talk.”

“Did you find one that you like?” He set me
on my feet and grabbed the stack, looking at the one I’d left on
top. He smiled down at me as I burrowed into his side. “I figured
this would be the one. Don’t know why I even drew any of the others
up afterwards.”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I still cant get
them, you know.” I grinned up at him mischievously as he laughed
and hugged me close.

“And to think you were yelling at Allie about
not getting one the first time you walked into my shop. Scared to
death…” he trailed off, chuckling.

“Yeah, I know. And look what it got me. I’m
stuck with you, Brandon, Jackson, and Doug for the rest of my life.
What’d I do to deserve that?” I asked teasingly.

“You complainin’, sugar?” he drawled.

“Nope.”

“Didn’t think so. Now lets go stick some
needles in you!” I laughed as he pulled me down the hall into his
studio.

It hurt way worse than my first one, but I
got my tattoo. I was in love with it almost as much as I was with
Luke.

And for the record…sex in the tattoo studio
is
HOT
. Just sayin’.

Dear Readers:

If you liked Skin Deep, then watch for the
next installment in the Skin Deep series, Under My Skin!

J.M. Stone

Acknowledgements:

First and foremost, my eternal thanks to my
other half and my daughter for their patience with me during this
process. Your support and encouragement means the world to me. I
love you, always ever!

Thank you to Jennifer Stone for being my #1
beta reader, idea bouncer-offer, horn-tooter, cheerleader, and all
around BFF/ESIL. I’m not quite sure this would have happened
without you. Muah!

Big hugs and much thanks to Ben Baine for
beta reading for me, and for becoming my Accidental Editor! I
appreciate it more than you know! (Forgive me for my apparent
aversion to apostrophes…I hope I fixed them all!)

To my other beta readers, especially Tony,
thank you from the bottom of my heart for being the first ones to
test out my writing, for the feedback you gave, good or bad, and
for your encouragement. You know who you are…and if you don’t, it’s
you, Tony (but I think you knew that), Susan, Denise, Kate,
Tiffany, Angela, and Brooke. I hope you stick around for the next
one!

To Josie Leigh, my new-found friend, because
you didn’t automatically hate me (you know what I‘m talking
about…;), and because you’ve been an immense help, whether it was
beta reading, advice, or calming me down when I wanted to flip out
with nerves. Thank you so much for everything!

Thanks also to Colleen Hoover and S.C.
Stephens for taking the time to try and answer my questions!

Last, but not least, thank you to all you
readers for taking a chance on me. I hope you enjoy Skin Deep, and
love the characters just as much as I do!

About the Author
:

J.M. Stone is a legal assistant by day, and a
writer by night. She started writing at a young age, mostly poetry
and song lyrics, some of which were published. She currently lives
in Ohio where she's lived for most of her life, and enjoys spending
time with her other-half, their mouthy daughter, two spoiled and
crazy dogs, and the rest of her abnormal family. (Don't worry,
abnormal is good!) In her spare time, she loves to read, write,
sing, and make people laugh, which usually happens at her own
expense! Skin Deep is her first novel, and is the first in the Skin
Deep series.

She loves to hear from her readers, so drop
her line at
[email protected]
, or
feel free to rate and review on Goodreads.com!

Happy Reading!