On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,61

this? Please?”

I stand up off the bed, my mind already made up. “Drew, I do trust you. This isn’t about you. I’m sure you have some wonderful ideas for that night that most girls would fawn over, but... I’m not that girl. I don’t want to go, so I’m not going. I’m sorry, but I can’t make it any clearer than that.”

“No, you really can’t.” Drew nods slowly. “I’m sorry. I won’t push it again.”

“Thank you.”

“But I have to go,” he adds. “If I don’t, Seth is going to know something is up.”

“That’s fine.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.” I stand a little taller. “I said I trusted you, didn’t I? You can go to your dance. I don’t care.”

He looks down for a moment. “Okay,” he says. “Then, I’ll go.”

I exhale hard, exhausted. From that awkward breakfast with Seth to getting inked to this conversation tonight, today feels twice as long as normal days.

“Anyway,” I clear my throat, “I have an early shift in the morning, so...”

Drew stands up. “Yeah, I should get back to the house. There’s a party tonight and I have to work the door.”

I nod, though my head feels heavy. My excuse was a total lie. Was his, too?

Drew looks at me, quickly shedding the wounded eyes in favor of his usual smile. He bends down to kiss me goodbye. My body responds the same way it always does, covering me in a thin layer of shivers and goosebumps, and I kiss him back.

“Good night,” he whispers.

“Good night.”

He holds out the bottle of moisturizer, and I take it. “Once an hour,” he reminds me.

“Once an hour,” I repeat with a smile.

He steps once toward the door, then turns back. “I’m really proud of you today,” he says, glancing at the vision board above my desk.

I blush. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“No, you could have,” he says. “You’re stronger than you think, Heidi.”

Drew smiles at me one more time before walking out of the room.

Dammit.

Those damn dimples never lie.

Chapter 33

Drew

Okay. That plan wasn’t well thought out, but at least I tried.

In hindsight, I’m not sure why I thought she’d say yes. I mean, Heidi promised Seth she wouldn’t go anywhere near the mask ball. I was literally in the room when that happened. And then there’s that story Jenna told me about their tenth grade spring fling which, by the way, I’m still not fully over yet. I might have Googled Charlie Nolan to see if I could track down that little piece of shit.

But then I have to consider that Charlie wasn’t the only person at fault.

I glance across the porch at Seth as I hand the ID back to the guy in line. “Welcome to Delta Xi,” I say, waving him forward.

Seth takes his time chatting up the girl in his line, playfully refusing to give the ID back until she agrees to a dance after his shift. Clever, I guess. She seems into it.

Would he really do something like that to Heidi?

“Hello! Earth to Drew!”

An ID flicks the tip of my nose. I flinch, hissing as I look at the girl in my line through blurred vision. Before I can get really pissed off, the image focuses on Jenna’s attitude-filled black-lined eyelids.

“Oh, hey, Jenna,” I say, wincing as I softly prod the bandage.

She points a stiff finger. “Don’t touch your nose!” she scolds.

“But you’re the one who just—”

She thrusts the ID into my open hand. “What’s wrong, baby?” she asks. “I thought you were expecting me tonight...”

She discreetly tilts her head and wags her eyebrows to the side, purposefully throwing attention toward Seth’s side of the porch.

Play it up, her eyes say. He thinks we’re fucking.

“Oh, I was,” I say, throwing on a warm smile I usually reserve for Heidi, but I think she’d forgive me given the circumstances. I glance over her shoulder, instinctively looking for my girlfriend, but she’s not attached to Jenna’s hip at the moment. “You alone tonight?”

“Yes,” Jenna answers as she slinks in closer. “And looking for you.” She walks two fingers up my body, starting at the navel and heading toward my Adam’s apple. “You should come hunt me down when you’re done here,” she says, loud enough for Seth to hear, if he’s even paying attention. “I’ll make it worth your while...”

She hovers her fingertip a centimeter away from my bandaged nose. I flex and prepare for pain, but she spares me and pulls back at the last second.

I bite my lip, selling it. “I’ll find you,” I