by Tabatha Kiss
“Defense from what?”
“Inquisitive women.”
“Sorry,” she says, smiling. “It’s a defense mechanism.”
“Defense from what?” I ask, cocking my head.
“Everything. The more you know and all that.”
“You sure you’re not just stalling so you don’t have to answer the question?”
She opens her mouth, then promptly closes it again as she glances around the cafe. “I feel overwhelmed,” she answers.
I pause. Not the answer I expected. “How so?” I ask.
“A week ago, the most I had to worry about was making rent,” she says. “Getting my homework done. Making sure Jenna was fed and watered.”
I chuckle.
“But now… there’s an insanely hot guy sitting in front of me who wants to kiss me and all I can think is, why me?” She presses her lips together. “I don’t know about you, Drew, but this doesn’t happen to me very… ever. I’m not usually the girl people chase after, so… yeah. Overwhelmed is how I feel.”
I stare at her. I must stare for too long because she leans back slightly and shifts on her seat.
“What?” she asks.
“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m just surprised.”
“Surprised?”
“You know what I thought the first time I saw you?”
“What?” she groans, dreading the answer.
“Wow,” I say. “She’s really pretty.”
She scoffs. “You did not!”
I raise a Scout’s Honor. “It was about a week before we met. I was checking the bulletin board in Ramsey Hall for quick beer money when I saw you waiting outside of a classroom with Jenna. Your hair was up in a messy bun. You wore a pair of overalls and a striped t-shirt and your red sneakers.” I bend my left elbow and draw a line along the back of my forearm. “And you had this long, granite mark on your hand like you’d been working on something all day but you didn’t care to clean it off. Almost like you were proud of it. Jenna said something, and you started laughing so hard and I just remember thinking… wow…” I smile. “She’s really pretty.”
She sits stunned, barely blinking. “You remember what I was wearing?”
“I looked away for a second to answer a text and you were gone,” I say. “I wasn’t sure I’d find you again, but then I walked into Professor Wilson’s class a few nights later and there you were. I thought, excellent, I have something to look at for the next ninety minutes. I didn’t get bored once.”
“Is that true?” she asks, still doubtful.
“I couldn’t keep my eyes off you the whole night. And then you were in my car and my heart was pounding. And then I was in your house and my heart was still pounding. Everything about you was just… perfect.”
“Okay, but…”
“But what?”
She lowers her voice. “I sneezed on your face.”
I laugh. Honestly, I’d forgotten all about that. “Okay. Flawed. You were intensely flawed, and I had to fix you.”
“That’s more like it,” she says, amused.
I pause, admiring her golden eyes. “I like you, Heidi Newbury. I like you a lot… and I would really like it if you’d let me take you to dinner tonight.”
Heidi blushes. Her chest rises and falls with a heavy breath. Then another one. And another one.
“There you go again,” she finally says. “Saying cute things.”
I grin. “What do you say?”
She inhales. “I say… that I like you, too.”
It feels nice. Really nice.
“But,” she continues, “I think we should address the brother-shaped elephant in the room.”
I sit back and nod. “Seth.”
“To be honest, you know him better than I do right now.” She shrugs a shoulder. “How do you think he’ll react to this?”
“Not well,” I answer.
“At all?”
“He’s more or less already addressed the possibility with me… and the entire Delta Xi house.”
Heidi squints. “How so?”
“He made us all pledge that we’d never touch you.”
She sits back, offended. “He did?”
“You are strictly off-limits to everyone in the house, basically.”
Her face screws up as she looks into the opposite corner. “What a dick,” she mutters.
“It’s not that uncommon, to be fair,” I say, feeling the urge to defend my friend. “No girlfriends, no sisters, no mothers. It’s kind of a bro code thing.”
She studies me for a moment. “So, what are you doing here, then?” she asks.
Fair question.
“Breaking the rules,” I answer.
“Why?”
I smile. “Because I think it might be worth it.”
“But when we tell him—”
“We won’t.”
Heidi pauses, her brows rising. “We won’t?”
I take a deep breath, quietly realizing the full reality of what I’m suggesting.
I will date my best friend’s little sister behind his back.
“We won’t,” I say it again, letting it sink in. “We’ll go on a few dates first. If it doesn’t work out, then it’ll be like it never happened. He doesn’t have to know.”
Heidi nods slowly. “And if it works out?”
Then, I’ll be the happiest man alive.
“Then we’ll figure something out,” I say. “Either way, I don’t want to give up without knowing for sure. Do you?”
She hesitates, taking her time. My gut tightens as I wait, wondering if this really was over before it ever began.
“No,” she answers. “I want to know for sure, too.”
I exhale, relieved. “Good.”
We gaze at each other. The cafe buzzes around us, but it’s easy to ignore. It’s easy to get lost in those big, golden eyes of hers and forget about all the different ways this could come back and bite me in the ass.
“Hey, Drew…” she says.
“Yes?”
Heidi smirks, briefly chewing on the edge of her cheek. “Would you say that this is, like… a secret fling?”
“I think that’s exactly what you’d say this is, yes.”
She hums. “Interesting…”
“What is?”
“Nothing. Jenna wins again, that’s all.”
I tilt my head. She waves her hand.
“Forget about it,” she says as she takes a sip from her coffee. “It’s not important.”
I flash a devious smile. “Does seven tonight work for you?” I ask.
Heidi nods. “Yeah,” she answers. “Seven works fine.”
Chapter 19
Heidi
“This is not fine.”
I focus on Jenna’s reflection in the mirror in front of me. She sulks behind me on the edge of my bed with her arms tightly crossed as I button up my blouse.
“It’s not?” I ask, glancing at my reflection again. “You said the blue brought out my eyes…”
“No, not the shirt. The shirt is fine. You’re more than fine. You’re adorable.”
I smile. “Then, what’s not fine?”
“Nothing.” She exhales hard. “Only the fact that this is the first Saturday night ever where you have a date and I don’t.”
“Oh, I see.”
“And it’s a secret date. The whole bloody system is out of whack!”
“You’re jelly.”
Her jaw drops. “No, I’m not.”
“You’re jellier than a slice of toast.”
“Ugh, don’t mention carbs right now. I’m in a very weak state.”
I chuckle. “Okay.”
She lounges on her elbow. “But since we’re already there, where’s he taking you for dinner?” she asks.
“Well, we talked about that.” I forcefully pivot to the side to check the sway of my knee-length skirt. “We wanted somewhere nice, but casual, with a semi-romantic atmosphere, but not too quiet so we can com
fortably talk, and delicious food, but not too messy or filling.”
“And?” Jenna asks, already bored.
“Sushi.”
She perks up. “Ah!”
“Drew knows a place with one of those cute floating sushi bars. A real hole-in-the-wall hidden gem, he says.”
“With bonus points for being far from campus, I assume?”
“Completely out of range of Seth, who is confirmed going to be at the Beta Kappa party tonight, so we should be all clear.”
Jenna smirks. “Look at you. Look at you.”
I blush. “Stop it.”
“Getting a taste of that sweet, delicious karma.”
“This isn’t about that,” I say. “I really like Drew.”
“Who wouldn’t? He’s hot.”
“The last thing we want is for anyone to get hurt.”
“Noble.”
“That’s why we’re taking this slow,” I say. “A super casual first date where we can talk and see if there’s anything there. If there’s not, then no harm done. Easy exit routes for all.”
“But if there is something there?”
“Then…” I shrug. “I don’t know.”
“I do!”
“You do?”
“Then, it’s the good stuff.”
“The good stuff?” I repeat.
“It’s sneaking a kiss when you think no one’s looking,” she says. “It’s keeping the back door unlocked for easy access when he parks two blocks away and sneaks through backyards to get to you under cover of darkness.” She shudders. “I should call Embry.”
“Please don’t do that.”
“What are you doing after dinner?” she asks, living vicariously. “Is he coming back here?”
“Not sure. We didn’t really talk about that.”
Her eyes flash with sexy mischief. “But he’s coming back here, right?”
I pause. “I… don’t know. Why?”
“Heidi…” She frowns. “Please tell me you’re not going out on a secret date with a hot frat boy without plans to put out afterward.”
“We’re getting to know each other, Jenna,” I say. “Isn’t that what dating is?”
“No. Dating is the chip.”
“The what?”
“It’s the chip! Or the pretzel or the carrot stick. It’s just a tool used to transfer a sinful amount of hummus into your mouth.”
I wince. “Hummus is sex in this analogy, isn’t it?”
“Or salsa. Or creamy ranch.” She tilts her head and smirks. “That’s honestly a better example visually now that I think about it.”
“Jenna.” I stand my ground. “Drew and I don’t need or want… creamy ranch right now. We’re fine with chips.”
“You’re fine with chips,” she says. “Drew is not.”
I scoff. “Oh, come on. You don’t know that.”
“He’s Delta Xi, Heidi.”
“So?”
“So…” She sits up on the bed and puts on her serious face. “It’s Saturday night. If he doesn’t get it from you, then he will get it from one of the dozens of girls lined up on the Delta Xi front porch right now. Do you want that to happen?”
I shift on my toes. “No…”
There’s a knock at the back door. I flinch.
Jenna stands up. “Just think about it,” she says. “But don’t over-think about it. You’ll only drive yourself crazy.”
“Wouldn’t want that,” I squeak.
“I’ll get the door. Wait sixty seconds and then make your entrance. His reaction sets the tone for the entire night, so make it good.”
I exhale hard. “Okay.”
She gives me a quick once over and smiles. “So adorable!” she whispers before striding into the hallway.
I check my reflection one more time. I fiddle with my hair, quickly deciding to let it all hang over one shoulder. I slip on my shoes, a pair of black flats from Jenna’s closet that actually fit me.
Here we go.
I linger in the doorway and listen as Jenna answers the back door.
“Hey, Drew! Come on in.”
“How are you, Jenna?”
My pulse skips at the sound of his voice. Somehow, it wasn’t real until now. He’s here, now, in my house, making small talk with my roommate, while he waits for me — me! — because we’re going out on a date. An actual date.
I’m going out on a date with my brother’s best friend.
Don’t over-think about it, I repeat in my head. You’ll only drive yourself crazy.
I take a deep, calming breath as I step out into the hall. A few quick paces and I reach the kitchen where Jenna and Drew are still ankle-deep in small talk.
“Are you going to model next week, too?”
“Yeah,” he answers. “It’s an easy gig. I like it.”
“Well, you’re great at it, I must say.”
“Thank you.”
“Real shame about your face, though.”
“My face?”
Jenna looks at me standing in the doorway, signaling for Drew to turn around.
Our eyes meet. I breathe a silent sigh of relief that his outfit is the same level of effort as mine. Clean, black pants with a simple shirt and jacket. Elegantly casual, as Jenna would put it.
He smiles, the air instantly leaving his lungs as he checks me out from head-to-toe.
“Hi,” he says.
I fold my hands in front of me. “Hi.”
He doesn’t say another word.
Jenna winks at me over his shoulder, devious and wise.
It’s going to be a good night.
Chapter 20
Drew
“So, your dad is Glenn Rose?” Heidi asks. “The Glenn Rose? The real estate guy?”
I nod as I dunk my roll into a bit of soy sauce. “That’s my dad,” I say.
“And your sister is Melanie Rose. The romance author?”
I nod again. “That’s my sister.”
Heidi sits back in her chair at the sushi bar and gently taps the edge of her plate with her chopsticks. “Okay, so you’re not just from a rich family,” she says. “You’re from a filthy rich family.”
“Well, I don’t know if it’s fair to say— yes,” I say, cracking her up. “Yes. Filthy is generally the term used to describe the type of rich we are.”
She squints at me with those playful eyes. “But you seem so normal.”
“I am normal.”
“Are you?” she considers.
“Yeah, why not?”
“Is it normal for a filthy rich guy like you to spend their Thursday nights modeling in art classes for beer money?” she asks.
I pause, seeing her point. “I like to earn my own money. Is that wrong?”
“No. Of course not.”
“It’s also...” I stop myself before I say too much. “Never mind.”
Heidi arches a brow. “No, what?”
“Forget I said that.”
“What?”
I chuckle, biting my lip. Too late now. “Okay,” I say, setting my chopsticks down. “Modeling in art classes is also a fun way to... pick up girls.”
Thankfully, she laughs. “Is that right?”
“Art school girls, specifically.”
“You like the arty ones, huh?” she teases.
“Yeah,” I say. “They’re fun.”
Heidi looks down, her already pink cheeks darkening another perfect shade. “I think that’s the first time anyone’s ever implied I was fun,” she says.
“Well, they’ve clearly never seen you play beer pong,” I joke.
She chuckles. “It’s a rare sight.”
I find myself staring at her, yet again. Her adorable expressions. Her big, golden eyes; brighter than I’ve ever seen before in my life.
A rare sight indeed.
“You have the most beautiful eyes,” I say.
Heidi pauses. Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t look away. “Thank you,” she squeaks.
I keep staring.
I can’t help it. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen ones that golden before. They’re so shiny.”
She blushes a little more. “My mother always used to say they matched my birthstone. Topaz.”
“Topaz,” I repeat. “That’s...?”
“November.”
“That’s soon.”
“Two months away.”
“Better than nine like mine.”
“That’s... June?” she asks, quickly doing the math.
“Yup,” I say.
“What’s the stone for that?”
“I have no idea.”
She laughs, nodding. “I guess guys don’t really care about that, huh?”
“Not really, no. I might if I had gem-like eyes like yours, though.”
“It’s, uh...” She wets her lips, giving them the lightest sheen. “It’s apparently common on our mother’s side. It skipped Seth a little, though. His are more brownish. Still gold, but brownish.”
Seth. It was only a matter of time until he came up, I guess.
“Sorry,” she says, reacting to my pause. “I even told myself I would not mention him tonight.”
“No, it’s cool,” I say. “If you didn’t, I definitely would have at some point. He’s a huge part of my life.”
She smiles. “Sounds like me and Jenna.”
“How long have you guys been friends?” I ask, happy to shift the conversation away from Seth.
“Since always.” She chuckles. “One of my earliest memories is of us in kindergarten. I was coloring in this picture of a cow with a blue crayon and this boy sitting next to me teased me, telling me that cows weren’t blue and that I was stupid. I almost started bawling.”
“That little prick,” I say.
She snorts. “Then, all of a sudden, this girl slaps her coloring book on the table next to mine and told the kid to buzz off. She’d colored the cow blue, too.”
I smile. “That’s so adorable.”
“She’s been my guardian angel ever since.”
“All because of a blue cow.”
“And the little prick,” she jokes. “Let’s not forget about him.”
“Or do,” I suggest. “Forget he ever existed.”
She smiles at the advice. “Done,” she says.
We fall into a natural silence, but there’s nothing awkward about it. She looks at me with those damned golden eyes; a beautiful temptation. My eyes stray, drifting down to her thick, pink lips, and I remember how good it feels to kiss her. My tongue taps the roof of my mouth, eager to taste her again, but I stay in control.