by Tabatha Kiss
“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 tell her.
She winks and snatches her ID back before I even look at it. “Good boy,” she says as she strolls into the house.
I watch her go, giving her ass a long look (Sorry, Heidi!) before turning back and checking Seth’s reaction to see if he bought it.
He leers at me, eyes wide and brows pinched. I guess he’s buying it.
“So, Jenna?” he asks as he checks the ID in his hand.
I return to my post, waving the next girl forward. “Jenna,” I say.
“Is she really the reason you turned down Tammy?”
One lie. Two lies.
What’s one more?
“Crazy enough, yeah,” I answer. I nod at the girl and give her ID back. “Welcome to Delta Xi.”
Seth chortles. “I don’t get it, man. I really don’t, but... whatever makes you happy.” He stops the guy in line and stamps the back of his hand.
“I am happy,” I say.
That one wasn’t a lie.
I am amazingly, completely, overwhelming happy.
Just not with Jenna.
With his sister.
“Okay, well...” Seth’s face screws up as if the next words bring him physical pain. “I guess I can put up with her for a night.”
“Put up with her?” I ask.
“You’re bringing her to the mask ball instead, right?”
I start to shake my head, but quickly pause.
Hey, now.
That’s not a bad idea.
“I haven’t asked her yet, actually,” I say.
“Well, the dance is tomorrow. You should hurry and ask her. Or, just a friendly suggestion here, somebody else.” He grins. “Anybody else.”
I chuckle. “Will do.”
I check the next ID. She needs a stamp. I absently pick up the ink pad, the gears in my head moving at high speed as a new plan takes shape.
Seth bobs his head at me after I wave the girl in. “Hey, you okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “Why?”
“You seem a little off lately.”
“No, I’m good. Great, even. I just wasn’t sure how to tell you about Jenna, that’s all. I know you guys don’t exactly get along.”
“Hey.” Seth shrugs. “Dude, it’s me. You can tell me anything.”
I smile, wishing that were true.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell him about this. Not yet.
But soon, I say to myself.
Harvey taps me on the shoulder and hands me a red cup full of beer. “Shift change!” he shouts.
I raise the cup in gratitude and make my way inside.
I need to find Jenna.
Hopefully, she hasn’t chosen a mate yet for the night.
I scan the crowd as I make my way through the foyer, then the common room, then down the hall toward the kitchen, searching every head for that trademark strawberry blonde bob.
Found her.
She’s sitting on the kitchen counter with her legs crossed, her knee-high black boots dangling down as she chats up a few girls I know from Beta Kappa across the street. As I push through the crowd toward her, she spots me and curls her lips in that seductive way that makes most guys around here eat out of her palm.
I get in close enough for her to hear me over the music. “Would you like to go to the mask ball with me?” I ask.
Jenna’s brow arches. “You have my attention, Mr. Rose,” she says.
Chapter 34
Heidi
I shade the shadow beneath his eyes. My fingers are stained black with charcoal, but I hardly even notice it anymore.
My bedroom door flies open. Jenna steps inside with her make-up bag in one hand and a bottle of wine with two wineglasses in the other and glares at me on the floor with disapproval.
“All right!” she announces. “This ends now.”
I glance up at her, but I keep one eye on my drawing-in-progress. “What does?” I ask.
“This. This horrible, mopey thing you’ve got going on.”
“I’m not mopey. I’m just busy.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
She makes a wide gesture around the room, targeting the slew of drawings sprawled out on the floor. Drew’s face. His hands. His torso. A few other non-Drew portraits I’ve done this semester.
“I’m trying to figure out what to enter into the Art Fest,” I murmur. “Every time I start something, I toss it out. It’s never good enough.”
“Good art can’t be forced, honey,” she says. “You’ve done some great work this semester. Just pull out whatever you think is your best and submit it. Easy peasy.” Her head tilts as she focuses on one drawing next to my leg. “Is that his cock?” she asks in surprise.
I flip it over. “No.”
Jenna sighs as she lowers herself down to the floor. “So, di
d you guys have a fight?” she asks.
“No,” I answer. “Why?”
“Because I can’t help but notice that he’s not clinging to your body like a leech right now.”
I tap the sketchbook with my pencil. “We’re both just… busy today, that’s all.”
And waiting for this damn dance to be a thing of the past so I can get on with my life.
“Okay, well...” Jenna yanks the cork off the bottle. “It’s Saturday night. There are no good parties. All the Greek houses are empty thanks to the mask ball, so I figured you and I could hang out together and have a good, old-fashioned, girly night.” She pours the wine. “We’ll talk and give each other make-overs and chat about that Efron fellow.”
“I’m more of a Henry Cavill kind of girl nowadays,” I joke.
“I’m flexible.” She holds out my glass. “What do you say?”
I smile as I take the glass. “Sure,” I say. “That sounds great.”
Jenna balances on her other hand. “But seriously,” she says, raising her wicked brow. “Was that his cock?”
I chuckle as I take a sip.
“Wow...” I admire myself in the hand mirror. Big, smokey eyes. Pink painted lips. A stunning up-do that took literally no time for Jenna to pull off. “I look like a princess,” I say, tilting my head.
Jenna nods. Her make-up is similarly done, but with stark red and orange eyeshadow that lights her eyes aflame. “Yeah. That’s what I was going for.” She hands me a tissue. “Blot.”
I press it between my lips as the doorbell rings.
“Who’s that?” I ask from the floor.
Jenna hops to her feet and flashes that sinister smile I know all too well. “Your prince,” she says.
“My what?”
She spins on her bare toes and hustles into the hallway.
“Jenna!” I push off the floor. “Hold up.”
I follow her into the living room. She marches to the door, ignoring me as she swiftly moves to open it.
Drew stands on the porch in a black suit and tie. His nose bandage is gone, but there’s a noticeable bruise along the bridge of his nose. He holds a masquerade mask up to his handsome face, and my chest clenches.
“Good evening, ladies,” he greets.
Jenna curtsies. An actual fucking curtsy. “Good sir,” she hums.
“Is she ready?”
“Almost. Just has to put on her dress.”
I flinch. “My dress?”
Big, smokey eyes. Pink painted lips. The damned princess-like up-do.
I groan. “You tricked me?”
Jenna nods. “Yes, I did,” she says.
“Why?”
“Because I love you, but I also like to party.” She spins around. “I’m going to go get changed.”
I seethe as she passes around me toward her room. “I can’t believe this...”
Drew steps inside and closes the door behind him. “Heidi...”
“I told you I wasn’t going to that stupid dance, Drew!” I say, my anger rising.
“We’re not going to the dance!”
I pause. “We’re not?”
He smiles. “No.”
“I thought you had to go.”
“I did, for a while. Once Seth and Bethany started fondling each other, I snuck out the back. He won’t even notice I’m gone.” He reaches for my hands. “I’d much rather spend tonight with you. Dumb dance doesn’t matter to me.”
I squint. “Then, why do I need to put on a dress?” I ask.
He kisses the tip of my nose. “Now, that’s the surprise,” he whispers.
I’d ask more about it, but he’d never tell me, anyway.
Jenna’s door opens, and she returns to the living room. My jaw drops at her ridiculously over-the-top yet elegant fire-red ballroom gown.
“What?” she asks, looking herself up and down. “Too much or not enough?”
I snort. “It’s you,” I answer.
“I’ll take it.” She pauses beside us and holds her hand out to Drew. “Well, I did my part. My ticket, please.”
“Oh!” He reaches into his inner suit pocket and withdraws a small ticket printed on thick paper. “Here you are.”
Jenna snatches it. “Thank you! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m already late to my party.” She smiles at me. “Your dress is hanging on the back of my door.”
I glance down at hers again. “What kind of dress, exactly?” I ask nervously.
She flashes a wink. “Ta-ta!”
Drew blocks the door with his arm and clears his throat, extending his other hand toward Jenna.
“Oh!” She pops open her purse and withdraws a credit card. “Almost forgot. Silly me!”
She reluctantly sets it in his hand.
Drew steps back and opens the door for her. “Have a good night, Jenna,” he says.
“Oh, I will,” she says as she waltzes outside.
He closes the door and stuffs the credit card into his back pocket. “For the dresses,” he explains.
“Uh-huh…” I hum.
“Take all the time you need,” he says. “I’ll wait here.”
“You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?” I 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.