"I can handle that."
When I was done with the tomatoes and olives, I grabbed an onion. I wasn't expecting it to be so hard after dealing with softer foods and the knife slipped and I sliced into the side of my finger. It went in deep enough to expose the bone and being that my heart doesn't pump, the blood didn't gush out as he would have expected.
I dropped the knife and he looked over at me with wide eyes. By then some blood had trickled out and covered the bone. He dropped his spatula. "Are you okay?" he exclaimed.
Covering my wound, I said, "I just need to get a bandage. Do you have some in the bathroom?"
Eyes wide, he said, "I don't think that's going to be enough."
"It's not as bad as it looks. Don't worry about me." I ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I licked the blood and watched as my saliva worked to seal the wound faster, as it was already healing on its own. After the skin had returned to normal, I found a box of bandages and stuck one on, not wanting to explain how such a deep cut could heal in a matter of minutes.
I walked out, holding my finger high. "See? That was all it needed."
Tanner looked at my finger in disbelief. "I guess you were right."
"Of course I was. Let's get the rest of dinner ready."
As we were setting the table, the door opened and a kid that looked exactly like Tanner, only younger, walked in. He stared at me.
"Don't be rude, Charlie," Tanner said. "Remember I told you that Samantha was going to join us for dinner tonight?"
He looked at Tanner. "Yeah, but you didn't say that she…she, well, she's freaking hot!"
"Charlie!" Tanner exclaimed at the same moment I burst out laughing.
The poor kid's face flushed red. "Well she is."
"Excuse my brother, he's still growing into his hormones."
"No worries," I said. "I like him."
Charlie's face became a deeper shade of red and I winked at him. He ran from the room, down a hall.
"Sorry about him," Tanner said, shaking his head.
"It's fine. Dinner should be interesting."
"To say the least," he mumbled. "Let's sit and eat. Charlie can join us if he feels like it."
Shortly after we started eating, Charlie sat down reeking of cologne, wearing a black leather jacket, and had his hair slicked back.
Tanner shook his head again and I smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Charlie. Tanner's told me so much about you."