On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,64

ask.

He says nothing.

I sigh.

I walk down the hall toward Jenna’s room. The door sits ajar, waiting for me to come in and discover... whatever it is she left for me inside.

I push the door open. I take a few steps forward and turn to check behind it.

A dress hangs there for me, just like Jenna said it would be.

I gasp.

Chapter 35

Heidi

I’m not sure how long we’ve been driving. Fifteen minutes? Twenty? Long enough for my face to hurt from smiling too much, that’s for sure.

And definitely long enough for me to lose track of where we are.

I squint beneath my blindfold, but there’s nothing but darkness. “Can I take this thing off yet?” I ask.

Drew chuckles from the driver’s seat. “No,” he answers. “And, for the next time you ask, no.”

I blow a raspberry. “Fine, fine. I’ll wait patiently.”

“Because you’ve been doing such an outstanding job of that so far,” he teases.

I turn my head as if to glare at him, but my angry face isn’t nearly as effective when I’m smiling. He laughs at me again. I hear the turn signal clicking away again.

Where the heck are we?

I suppose it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter where I am or where we’re going. All that matters is that I’m here with him, laughing and smiling, and wearing this gorgeous dress.

I touch the long skirt of it again. It’s soft and comfortable, not at all as flashy as Jenna’s fire dress. Mine is made of grey tulle and lace. Sleeveless with loose straps and an exposed back.

And it has pockets!

In the darkness behind the blindfold, I close my eyes and I recall the moment I stepped out of Jenna’s bedroom all over again. Drew turned around and his mouth opened. He stood there for what felt like hours before he finally took a breath again.

“Fuck,” was all he said.

Good job, Jenna.

Finally, the car slows down until it comes to a stop. Drew instantly jumps out as I unhook my seatbelt. I don’t move, clearly meant to sit here patiently until he comes around to retrieve me.

Keyword: patiently.

I bounce my feet on the floor while I wait.

My door opens and Drew takes my hand.

“Okay. Watch your head,” he says as he guides me out.

I step out of the car onto concrete; a clue that narrows it down to... most of the city of Chicago, so I still have no idea where he’s taken me. The wind is cool, but not chilly... but also constant. Again, not strange for the Windy City, but it feels familiar…

Are we near the water?

Drew releases my hand for a moment to close the door and lock down the car. Then his arm wraps around mine. “Okay, step forward,” he tells me.

I nod, moving nervously in unfamiliar shoes. At least Jenna had the foresight to provide flats.

“Come on.” Drew chuckles as I lag. “I’ve got you.”

Seagulls. I hear seagulls.

Definitely near the water.

“We’ve got some stairs here, so step down,” he says.

I latch even tighten onto his arm as I slowly take the first step. After two steps, I get the hang of it. After the third, I narrow down that it’s made of wood.

“Oh,” I say, figuring it out. “I think I know where we are...”

“Yeah?” Drew leads me forward on the uneven planks. “Where?”

“The docks.”

“Good guess!”

“I hear birds. I smell water.” I tug on his arm. “You, sir, brought me back to the beach house, didn’t you?”

“No!” he says as he steps behind me and pinches the knot of the blindfold. “But you’re close!”

He lets the blindfold fall. I squint to adjust to the change in lighting, but what I see already brings a wide smile to my lips.

I was right. We are standing on a dock. Several boats float on the water, but only one of them is lit up with strings of white lights. It’s tall and white and about… thirty feet long by my estimation in the dark. Maybe forty.

I look over my shoulder at Drew. “Boat?” I say.

“Boat.”

“That’s not a boat. That’s a yacht!”

He laughs. “Only a little one.”

I look at it again, my mouth sagging on its own as I read the name along the side.

The Golden Rose.

“Is this your dad’s boat?” I ask.

Drew takes a step to stand beside me. “Yes,” he answers. “But tonight, it’s ours.”

“Ours?”

“Yup.”

“Seriously?”

He smiles, his happy eyes reflecting the hanging lights on the boat. “Surprise.”

“You really skipped your dance to bring me here instead?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says. “I did.”

I smile as heat rushes to my face.

Drew