On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,29

permission to do whatever we want. Right, Drew?”

I nod. “I fully consent to this.”

Heidi glares at me. I smirk.

Jenna pouts with begging eyes. “Heidi, please. Live with me! What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Piranhas!”

“This far from South America?” Jenna blows a raspberry. “Doubtful.”

Heidi sighs. “I forgot how much you watch Animal Planet.”

Jenna holds her hands in prayer.

Heidi pauses, her resolve crumbling every second. She takes a breath, holds it for half a second, and then exhales hard.

“All right,” she says. “Let’s do it.”

Jenna claps excitedly and hops to her feet, pulling Heidi up with her. She takes off, yanking the strings on her bikini top as she flies down the sand and shouts for the other girls to come join them.

Just like that, Ellie and Wilder kick off their sandals and drop their shorts, prompting the guys to whistle like dogs from the porch.

I cover my mouth, obscuring my grin with a fist as I watch and see what Heidi will do.

Heidi hesitates, her gaze hovering on me and the unconscious Seth. She’s obviously nervous about stripping naked in front of people.

Or perhaps, just me.

She pulls off her flannel shirt and throws it at my head. I let it sit for a moment, giving her enough time to escape my view before dropping it onto my lap.

Heidi dives into the shallow water at the end of a trail of clothes. It’s too far and too dark to see the good details from here, but just knowing she’s there, naked and laughing, is enough to test me.

I lick my lips. I bite my cheek. I relive our first kiss with perfect clarity again, and I think...

What’s the worst that can happen?

Seth raises his head, drawn to the sounds of splashing down the beach. “Huh?” He squints around and focuses on the girls. “What’re they doing?” he asks.

“Skinny dipping in Lake Michigan,” I answer.

“Oh.” Seth’s head rests back onto the sand. After a second, he raises it again. “Wait, what?”

I chuckle and pat his shoulder. “It’s all right, buddy. Go back to sleep.”

He struggles, but his eyes lose the battle.

I struggle, too. I go back and forth between looking at the water and my own hands, hating a piece of myself no matter what I do. To look at her, to admire her, to covet her, is a betrayal to my friend, but to deny her is a betrayal to myself.

Heidi’s sketchbook rests on the ground next to my feet. I brush the sand off the cover. In silence, I open it and flip through page after page of her. Her talent. Her mind.

Portraits of me. My eyes. My nose and five o’clock shadow. The good details.

What’s the worst that can happen?

I don’t know.

I’m not sure I even care anymore.

Chapter 17

Heidi

The sun rises. Most of the city still sleeps, but not us. I’m still wide awake. I watch Chicago go by from the backseat of Seth’s truck. Jenna does the same, looking about as perky as she always does. Seth snoozes in the passenger’s seat, killing the mood now and then with a sharp snore.

We’ll chuckle for a second before embracing the silence again.

I glance at the rearview mirror ahead of us and Drew’s gaze catches mine. He smiles in acknowledgment before focusing on the road. I spot him looking at me three more times, each lock of eye contact a flutter of butterfly wings and a crushing weight at the same time.

Drew turns onto Shanty Row. I pick up my sketchbook as we roll into our driveway and Drew parks the truck.

Drew quietly opens his door and hops outside, giving Jenna and I a way to exit without waking Seth. I keep my hand on the truck, feeling sluggish after being out all night long, but I guess this new college girl should get used to that. Drew closes the door with a quick peek through the window at Seth.

Seth twitches, but doesn’t wake up. Dead to the world.

The three of us walk up the lawn to the porch.

Jenna widens her stride a little. “Well, I’m gonna go rinse the sand out of my cootch and pass out.” She opens the front door and abandons us on the porch. Probably on purpose given the quick wink she gives me. “Later, guys.”

Drew chuckles. “Later, Jenna.”

The screen door closes. And then there were two.

I pause on the stoop, politely nodding at Drew. “Thanks for the ride back,” I say.

“Don’t mention it,” he says. “You have fun?”

“Oh, yeah.” I smile. “I don’t remember the