On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,83
talk about this?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Go ahead. Talk.”
I look over my shoulder at the crowd, many of whom have gone silent since I showed up. I’d rather not air this dirty laundry in front of the entire Chicago North Greek system, but Seth seems determined to do exactly that.
“Okay, fine.” I step closer so I don’t have to shout. “Drew and I are together. We were going to tell you sooner, but we weren’t sure how you’d react.”
“I think you knew exactly how I’d react,” he says. “You just did it, anyway.”
“Because it wasn’t your decision.” I look at Drew. “It’s not like we planned this. When we first met, I didn’t know he was your roommate. He didn’t know who I was, either.”
“Yeah, yeah. He told me all about it. But it doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter?”
“When he found out, he should have ended it. That’s what a man does. You’re not a guy, Heidi. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh, cut the bro code crap,” I say. “We’re human beings. We have thoughts and feelings, and sometimes, they don’t include you, Seth. And don’t you dare try to take the moral high ground. You want me to consider your feelings? You first.”
He glares at me. “So, you’ve been revenge fucking my best friend for months because I was mean to you in high school? Real mature.”
“No, it’s not like that. We didn’t even...” I lower my voice “We didn’t even go all the way until the night of the dance.”
“Oh, good! He didn’t ditch me that night to fuck a girl I liked. He ditched me to fuck my little sister instead. That’s so much better, Heidi! Thank you.”
Jenna tugs on my arm. “You know, at this point I feel like I have the legal responsibility to tell you to stop talking,” she says.
“Jenna! So good to see you, too!” Seth says. “How does it feel to find out your roommate was fucking him, too? Or did you two take turns?”
Jenna snorts. “Oh, please. Drew and I weren’t doing it. We only pretended to because you almost caught them doing it.”
Seth tilts his head in surprise. “Oh, really?!”
I glare at her. “Stop talking, huh?”
She winces. “Oops.”
I look at Drew. I silently plead with him to do something. To stand up and speak for us.
He does nothing.
“This is ridiculous,” I say around the lump in my throat. “I kept this from you as much as he did. You want to be mad at somebody, be mad at me.”
“Oh, I am,” Seth says. “I’m just not in the position to rub your nose in it like this.” He gestures at Drew. “The fact is that he screwed up. He corrupted my little sister and now he has to pay the price.”
“He didn’t corrupt me!”
“Actions have consequences, Heidi. You’re an adult now, right?”
I glare at him, too disgusted to argue anymore.
“He made a pledge, and he broke it.” Seth looks at Drew. “What was that pledge again, Drew?”
“I pledged I wouldn’t touch her,” Drew answers.
“That’s right!”
“But I never pledged not to fall in love with her.”
My breath hitches. “You’re in love with me?” I ask.
Drew raises his head, the answer written on his face. “Yeah, I am,” he says. “I’m in love with you, Heidi Newbury. I have been since the first time I saw you.”
The crowd swoons.
I fall to my knees by the pool. “You love me?” I ask him again.
He nods. “Yeah.”
Seth groans behind us, annoyed.
I ignore him. I cup Drew’s painted face and lean over the pool. I kiss him on the lips, not caring how much paint or dirt gets on me.
The crowd shouts even louder.
Drew breaks our kiss with the turn of his head. “You should go,” he says.
“Come with me.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I have to finish this out.”
I sigh, disappointed. “Why?”
“Because I can take it,” he whispers, only for me. “They can humiliate me all he wants, but I won’t let them laugh at you.”
My heart swells. Drew Rose. My protector.
“I love you,” I say.
He smiles. “I’ll find you later,” he says. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
I caress his cheek with my thumb and give his handsome face one more quick kiss before climbing to my feet.
Seth glares at us, looking even more pissed off than before. I can sincerely say that I absolutely, positively, without a fucking doubt, don’t care.
“You’re being a real asshole about this, Seth,” I say.
He shrugs his wide shoulders. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong,” he says.
I walk away, quickly turning my back to him to hide