On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,42

yet, so…”

I face my desk as the lie slowly curls around my stomach.

“Sounds about right.” Seth laughs, impressed. “Well, Tammy was looking for you.”

My brow piques. “Really?”

“I admire the hard to get game as much as the next guy, but someone else will scoop that hottie up if you don’t stop dicking around. Guaranteed.”

I laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You up for post-party pancakes? We’ll give a toast to our latest conquests.”

“Always.” I clear my throat. “Just going to freshen up a bit. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Excellent.” He steps out into the hallway and leans over the railing. “Delta Xi!”

The battle cry echoes from the depths of the house.

I lick my lips, Heidi’s sweet flavor turning bitter in my mouth. “Delta Xi,” I say to myself.

Chapter 23

Heidi

October

I march up the stairs of the Delta Xi house toward the third floor with a 9x11 frame pinched beneath my arm. As I reach the second landing, two guys suddenly rush out of the room in the corner and I hop to the side to avoid them.

“Sorry, Stampy!” one of them shouts as they pass me.

I chuckle. Honestly, I’m starting to like it.

“It’s okay,” I say as I continue up to the third floor.

Seth and Drew’s door is ajar, but I knock twice just to be sure.

“What?!” Seth shouts from inside.

I push it open the rest of the way. “What?” I mock with a raised brow.

He grins at me from his desk chair. “Oh, hey, little sister,” he says. “Thought you were someone else.”

I step inside, catching a full view of the empty room. No Drew.

“Who?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“Literally anyone,” he jokes. “Any of the assholes who live on this floor.”

I laugh. “Fair enough.”

I swallow the last of my nerves and present him with the picture frame face down.

“What’s this?” he asks.

“A gift.”

Seth takes it with curiosity. He flips it over and grins as he recognizes himself in the portrait. “It’s me!” he says.

“It’s you.”

He tilts his head. He tilts the portrait. He squints. “I’m passed out, aren’t I?” he asks.

“Yes, you are,” I say, smiling.

“What a beautiful memory.”

“I’ll certainly never forget it. And if I have to remember it forever, then you have to, too.”

He laughs. “You really drew this?”

“Yeah. I started it on the beach, brought it back, tweaked it a little...”

“Damn.” He nods. “I didn’t know you were this good.”

I blush as my pulse leaps at his approval. “It’s not that great…”

“No, really, you could, like… Etsy this shit or something.”

I chuckle. “Perhaps.”

“Thanks, little sister,” he says. “I love it.”

“You’re very welcome.”

As he sets it up by his computer monitor, he taps my initials on bottom left corner. “Cool sig,” he says.

“Thanks.”

“So, Dad called me last night.”

I pause, briefly taken back. “What did he want?” I ask.

“Just checking in as usual, but he asked about you.”

I pique a brow. “Really?”

“Unprompted, by the way.”

“Hmm...” I bite my cheek. “Not sure if I should applaud the state of progress or dread the incoming doom.”

He chuckles. “That’s Dad.”

“What did he say?”

“Not much. Just wanted to see how you were getting on as a new college student. Were you going to classes? Staying out of trouble? That bullshit.”

“You told him about the new drug habit, right?” I quip.

He nods. “Oh, of course.”

“Sounds like progress, then.”

“He mentioned the possibility of him flying out here for your birthday next month.”

“And there’s the incoming doom.” I sigh. “That’s Dad, all right.”

“I suggested inviting Mom to come along, too.”

I smirk. “You didn’t...”

“Yeah!” he says. “I told him we could make a big day of it. Go to the art museum. Have a nice dinner. Celebrate your special day as one big, happy family.”

“And?”

“And he suddenly had a very important meeting he had to get to and hung up on me.”

“Wow.” I nod with approval, chuckling at the image of Harold and Judy Newbury sitting there while Seth and I laugh it up as friends despite their best efforts to turn us against each other. “Well done, big brother. I’m impressed.”

He bows in his chair.

I lean against the edge of his desk. “You ready to go?” I ask.

“Almost,” he answers. “Just need to send this email to my econ professor…”

“Okay, I’ll wait.”

I scan the room, catching pieces of Drew’s world littered amongst pieces of Seth. The average person probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but after the last few weeks of getting to know them, I can.

A voice drifts in from the hallway and my ears perk. I turn to look as Drew enters the room