On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,25

and a diabolic smirk on his mouth.

“Really?” I squeak.

“Yup.”

“And you…” I swallow. “You’re going to model for that, too?”

He nods. “Thinking about it.”

“Great!” I give a thumbs up. “That’s just… great.”

“Unless you have a problem with it.”

“No!” I wave a hand before casually putting it on my hip. “There’s no problem. What’s a little below the waist skin between friends? I mean, you… you live in a frat. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

He squints, amused.

I shift awkwardly, trying to figure out the correct way to bow out of this gracefully as my face melts off. “Bye,” I say.

“Bye, Heidi!”

I hustle down the stairs as quickly as I can, but I feel his eyes on me the entire time.

Chapter 14

Drew

“Oh, baby…”

“Jenna.”

“No, I get it now. I see what you like about him.”

“Stop.”

It takes every ounce of concentration in my body to keep pretending like I can’t hear them across the classroom. Heidi does a decent job of staying whisper-quiet, but Jenna doesn’t seem to give a crap who hears what comes out of her mouth.

Especially not me. Resting Prick Face.

Yes, I figured it out.

I sit on a stool in the center of the classroom, comfortably leaning forward with one arm on my knee and the other touching my forehead.

“Come on, Heidi. He’s showing you his,” Jenna teases. “You should show him yours.”

“Shh!”

My curiosity gets the best of me and I let myself peek at her on my left.

We make eye contact. Heidi’s lips twitch into an awkward smile. She bobs her head hello. I sit still. Sure, I’d like to wave, but that’s not part of the gig. That itch on my nose? Ignored. That tickle in my throat? Nope. That rumble in my gut that makes me feel like an asshole for crushing whatever hope she might have had for us after that kiss?

That one’s a little harder to shake off.

Friends. It’s for the best.

I look away, quickly finding that spot on the wall I usually focus on.

“Okay, so tomorrow, I want to hit the mall bright and early,” Jenna begins. “We need to find the perfect suits for the beach party tomorrow night.”

And my curiosity piques again.

“I have a swimsuit,” Heidi says, concentrating on her drawing.

“Uh, no. You have that horrific all black one-piece monstrosity. You need a two-piece.”

Yes, please.

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No—”

“Heidi, can we please skip ahead to the bit where you realize I’m not letting you out of this and you just do what I tell you to do?”

Heidi sighs. “Fine. We’ll go shopping for suits tomorrow.”

“Two-piece?”

“Two-piece.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Are you just repeating what I’m saying now?”

“Pretty much.”

I bite my cheek until I taste blood.

Girls are hilarious.

Heidi makes eye contact with me and I realize that I’ve roamed away from my spot on the wall again. She slowly raises her charcoal pencil and points it at her ear, her way of silently asking me if I can hear every word they’re saying.

I look at my spot again.

Oh, yes.

I can.

Chapter 15

Heidi

I put my blue flannel shirt on over the white bikini top and instantly feel better. Sure, Jenna said I had to wear a two-piece, but she said nothing about me not being able to cover up. She said nothing about the bottom portion not being a pair of denim shorts, either.

Relationships are all about compromise and not accidentally flashing my big brother and all of his friends is a hill I’ll gladly die on.

And let’s not forget Drew. As if we ever could.

My bedroom door bursts open, and Jenna presents herself in her new swimwear.

“What do you think?” she asks, striking a pose.

I look down her body, nodding at the hot pink bikini that covers... just about all it legally has to.

“Nailed it,” I say.

“Oh, relax,” she says. “I’m bringing a cover-up. This is just for the possibility of taking a swim with one of your brother’s hot friends.”

“Hey, you do you.”

“And you...” She looks me up and down as she lounges on the edge of my bed. “You are definitely pulling it off.”

“Pulling what off?”

She snorts. “Oh, puh-leaze.”

I glance at my outfit. “What?”

“That oh-so-innocent, charmingly coy, girl-next-door thing radiating from your lady parts right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

She pouts her bottom lip and bats her thick eyelashes. “Oh, no, Drew,” she mocks. “We can’t! I’d never, ever, ever do anything to upset my big brother.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay.”

“I’m just a pretty, little virgin.” She sticks a finger in her mouth. “I don’t know nothing about men!”

“Jenna.”

She giggles. “You want to put it where?”

“Are you