On His Face - Tabatha Kiss Page 0,87

his shoulder. Not long, I guess.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi.” I sit up, clinging to the bedsheet as I realize I’m naked. “Good morning.”

Drew grabs my tank top off the floor by his feet and tosses it to me.

“Thank you,” I say as I pull it on. He stands up, now dressed and... looking ready to leave. “You have somewhere you need to be?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Are you going to go talk to Brick about getting a new room?”

“Maybe.”

I hop out of bed to fetch my shorts. “Well, let’s get some breakfast.”

“Heidi.”

“She might not seem like the type, but Jenna is the crepe master. She probably won’t mind making some.” I chortle. “Not like she has a choice right now, you know what I mean?”

“We need to talk.”

My chest lurches, but then I breathe a laugh. “Is this another one of those times when you accidentally make that sound really scary?”

Drew doesn’t laugh. He shakes his head.

“Oh,” I say, holding still. “Okay...”

He shifts on his toes. “I can’t be here anymore,” he says.

I wait to see if he’ll say more, but he doesn’t. “All right,” I say slowly. “I mean, we knew this was a temporary situation. It’s not like I expected you to move in here or anything.”

“No, I can’t...” He stops, and the air grows even heavier around us. “I don’t know if I can... be here anymore.”

I don’t move. I barely think. I let the words repeat in my head, trying to understand them, but they dissipate just as quickly.

“Oh,” is all I can manage. “Why?”

“It’s complicated,” he says.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, I did,” he says. “I did something wrong and... I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

I’m almost too scared to ask. “What did you do?”

Drew looks at me, his eyes so dark and heavy. “This,” he answers, swallowing hard. “You and me.”

“You and me?” I repeat. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“I met you, and... I wanted you. I wanted all of you. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t care. I should have cared. I shouldn’t have been so selfish.”

I furrow my brow, barely following his words. He looks at the floor, looking just as confused as I feel.

“Is this because of that crap Seth said?” I ask. “About how you corrupted me? You know that’s bullshit, right?”

He hesitates. “Is it?”

“Drew, you didn’t corrupt me,” I say. “I slept with you because I wanted to. Because I loved you. You didn’t do anything to me. In fact, you gave me every opportunity to say no, and you accepted it when I did. You’re not the bad guy here.”

“I know.”

“Then...” I smile. “Come on, Drew. Why does this bother you so much?”

“I don’t know,” he says, defeated. “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“Un-complicate it for me,” I say. “Please.”

He inhales sharply with a pained expression. “Two months ago, I had the next ten years of my life all planned out. It was senior year and internships. It was graduation and going into business with Seth. It was shaking hands and kissing asses and doing everything it took to make it. I had a future. And then you walked in.”

“And that’s my fault?”

“No. It’s... it’s no one’s fault.” He looks at me, his eyes soft with love. “You walked in... and I had a second future. It was just as good as the other one. It was falling in love with you and traveling the world and giving you the life you deserve. And that would have been fine — it would have been amazing — if you weren’t my best friend’s little sister. I can’t be with you and stay friends with him, but I can’t be friends with him if it means I have to give you up. I can’t have both of you the way I want to, and it’s fucking me up right now.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat. “So, what do we do?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” he says. “That’s why I need to go.”

“Drew, are you...” I hold back tears. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“No.” He exhales hard. “I just need a break.”

“Otherwise known as a break-up?”

“No. Heidi—” He steps forward to take my hands. “I love you. You’re perfect, but I’m not.”

“I think you’re perfect.”

He smiles, but it doesn’t last. “I need to take a step back. Just for a little while. Okay? Until I figure this out.”

I pull my hands free. “Why can’t we figure this out together?” I ask. “Isn’t that what a relationship