On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,28

in my direction.

But can I blame her? Can I really be surprised that she’s giving me the cold shoulder after the other day?

I should fix this, but...

How?

How do I get close to the one girl I can never get close to?

I come out of the bathroom to find everyone lounging around the kitchen, pecking away at what’s left of the food we brought along. This is usually the time the late night munchies kick in, followed slowly by everyone slinking away to nap until morning.

I scan the faces. “Where are Seth and Heidi?”

“Seth and who?” Corey asks.

“Stampy,” I say.

Boy, she must love that.

“Oh!” He points through the open doors. “Out by the bonfire last I saw.”

“Thanks.”

I escape outside, and the bonfire catches my eye in the dark. As I step closer, I make out Heidi sitting on the log with her sketchbook open on her lap. Seth lies on his back in the sand, passed out. I grin. She must have stayed behind to make sure he didn’t roll into the fire in his sleep or something.

I stroll toward the fire, careful not to make much noise as I come up behind her and peek over her shoulder at the drawing. It’s a sketch of Seth with his mouth open wide and his eyes closed. I watch as she moves a delicate hand, filling in the lines of his thick eyebrows.

“Wow,” I say.

Heidi flinches and looks over her shoulder at me. “Hey,” she says.

“You just do that?”

She nods, looking embarrassed, though I’m not sure why. “Yeah...”

I sit down beside her on the log, my gaze still locked on that drawing. “Can I see?” I ask.

After a moment of hesitation, she hands me the sketchbook. I tilt it slightly, letting the firelight fill the page so I can see it better.

“That’s incredible,” I say.

“It’s nothing...”

“No, really. You definitely...” I glance at Seth. He’s out like a light and... drooling slightly. “Captured his essence.”

Heidi chuckles.

I turn a page back in the book without thinking.

Another portrait... of me?

“And what’s this?” I ask.

“Just... the pose you did in class,” she answers quickly.

I nod, recognizing it. Sitting down, leaning forward. One hand on the forehead.

I turn another page.

Heidi stiffens. “Uh...”

Another portrait. Also of me, but...

Lying down on my back. Arms resting behind my head. Eyes closed. Smirking lips.

“That’s not a pose I did in class,” I say.

She doesn’t speak.

I pinch the page and peek at her to see if she’ll stop me, but she doesn’t. I find another sketch of me with my arms above my head. A flexed torso. Alpha Delta Xi tattoo on my taut ribs.

I smile. “Homely guy.”

Heidi breathes a laugh. “Yeah.”

“They all stop at the wrists,” I say, taking notice.

“Yeah...” She shrugs. “I can’t draw hands.”

“No?”

She shakes her head. “They’re my nemesis, to be honest...”

“You just need practice. Here.” I give the sketchbook back to her and present my hand, holding it steady between us. “Go ahead.”

“You want me to draw your hand?” she asks.

“Yeah. Go for it. I can sit still for a long time. Seriously. Sometimes, I get paid for it.”

She chuckles as she picks up her pencil. “Okay...”

I watch as she turns a new page in her sketchbook and puts her pencil to paper. Her unblinking eyes hop between the page and my hand as she nervously begins sketching a rough outline. Five fingers. Knuckles. Little veins.

As the drawing takes shape, I see that she’s right.

She really can’t draw hands.

“What?” she asks, glaring at my expression.

I realize I’m smirking. “Nothing.”

“It sucks, I know.”

“No!” I say. “There’s potential to be found.”

“With practice?” she adds.

“Exactly.”

Heidi laughs it off as she sets the pencil down.

“Heidi!”

I shift away as Jenna drops to her knees between us, panicked and out of breath.

“What?” Heidi asks, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I just realized...” She hops on her knees, excited. “We can do my number two!”

I furrow my brow, amused. “Your what now?”

Jenna shakes Heidi’s arm. “My number two!”

“Number two?” Heidi repeats, then gasps in realization. “Jenna, no.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

I laugh. “Number two?”

“On my vision board!” Jenna says.

“Your vision board!” I grin at Heidi as she cringes some more. “You have a vision board?”

“Yup!”

“What’s number two on your vision board, Jenna?” I ask, purposefully teasing.

“Skinny dipping in Lake Michigan,” she answers, still tugging on Heidi’s arm.

I pique with great interest. “Really?”

Heidi keeps her eyes on Jenna, begging to be freed. “Jenna...”

But Jenna doesn’t give up. “Let’s go, Heidi!”

“No.”

“Oh, come on! This is the perfect place! It’s a private beach. There’s no one around. It’s nighttime. We have the owner’s