On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss

Chapter 1

Jenna

August

“Truth or dare, Jenna?”

I smile from my spot on the sand with the heat of the bonfire on my face and the cool breeze of Lake Michigan behind me.

Dare,I think to myself.

Always dare.

“Dare,” I say.

Wilder grins as she leans forward, her big cheeks as pink as the moscato in her wineglass. “I dare you... to give Ellie your phone and let her send one text to anybody in your contacts.”

I snort as I reach for my phone buried in my dress pocket. “Sure,” I say. “Why not?”

Ellie excitedly extends her hand, and I toss it to her. She swipes up and down, quickly scanning through the names as Wilder peeks over her shoulder. A few hums. A few arched brows. Eager smiles and bitten lips.

Fortunately, I don’t embarrass easily and I doubt there’s anything they could text that would ruin my already... interesting reputation.

I sip my wine as I wait.

“Embry,” Wilder reads aloud. I cringe deep inside. The good kind and the bad kind. “Sexy name. Who’s that?”

“Old flame,” I answer, keeping it vague.

“Should we text him?” she teases.

“Sure.” I say. “His wife might not like it, though.”

The girls chuckle with interest.

“Oh, well, we’ll come back to Embry, then...” Ellie keeps scrolling. “How about Bobby… parenthesis don’t answer end parenthesis?” she asks.

“Oh.” I roll my eyes. “Just a dud I had a fling with my freshman year. And a few times my sophomore year. And… once last year. I’m pretty sure he works at a bank now.” I shrug.

“Hey, baby...”she says as she types, “been thinking a lot about you tonight. Winky face. Kiss lips. Eggplant. Send.”

Wilder laughs. “Oh, boy...”

“Okay, first of all,” I say as Ellie tosses my phone back to me, “I’ve never in my life called anybody baby. Second...” I peek at my screen. “He probably blocked my ass after last time, anyway.”

They chuckle, still so proud of themselves.

Ellie piques with interest, her thin, blonde eyebrows getting lost in her bangs. “What happened last time?” she asks.

“Oh, no,” I say, shoving my phone away. “I did my dare. Now, it’s your turn. Truth or dare, Ellie?”

She bites her lip. After a few seconds of intense hesitation, she exhales hard and says, “Dare.”

I glance at the house down on the beach. The Rose family beach house. The site of some of my best and most tight-lipped college memories. We all know that what happens at the beach house stays at the beach house, and our particular friend group of Delta Xi Cuties and Beta Kappa Beauties has taken that to some... interesting extremes over the years.

I scan the guys lounging around the back porch; four charming and handsome boys from the Alpha Delta Xi fraternity. They’ve all graduated — or dropped out, in Harvey’s case — from Chicago North University, but once a Delta Xi man, always a Delta Xi man, as they say.

There’s Harvey Moon. Yes, that Harvey Moon. He was nobody when I met him three years ago, but now his name sells out venues in minutes, but he never misses the end of summer celebratory blow out at the Rose family beach house.

Next to him is Devin Boone, Ellie’s boyfriend and Chicago North Law School’s latest golden boy.

I skim right past Seth Newbury. My best friend’s brother. My lifelong nemesis. To be honest, I’m not sure what he does with himself nowadays, other than work on his graduate degree. Not that I even care to ask.

No sign of Heidi and Drew. They must be off banging somewhere.

And then... there’s Corey King, Wilder’s boyfriend and resident surfer dude with a year-long tan... who also used to date Ellie.

I smirk.

“I dare you... to go give Corey a lap dance for sixty seconds,” I say.

Ellie’s face turns pale white.

Wilder leans forward, stiff and territorial. “Excuse me, what?” she asks.

I laugh. “Go give Corey and the boys a little show.”

“She will not!” Wilder says, glaring at Ellie.

“Oh, it’s one lap dance,” I say. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Ellie slowly rises and brushes the sand off her legs. “Never turn down a dare,” she says to pump herself up. “Never turn down a dare.”

“Ellie!” Wilder says, her jaw open wide, but the edge of her lips twitch in amusement. “No!”

“Sorry, Wilder!” Ellie says before bolting down the beach, her bare feet kicking up sand as she flies toward the house.

Wilder pivots her playful ire in my direction. “You bitch,” she says, laughing hard.

I chuckle as I victoriously sip my wine.

Okay, sure. It’s admittedly rude, but come on.

This is far from the worst thing that’s ever happened here at the Rose family beach house.

Ellie comes to a stop in front of Corey. He shifts back a bit in confusion as she moves her hips... provocatively.

“Hey!” Devin says with a furrowed brow. “What the hell, El?”

“Sorry, honey!” Ellie shouts as she continues her dance. “I chose dare.”

He deflates as Harvey and Seth whoop and holler in approval.

“Ugh.” Wilder uses her black hair as a blindfold. “Tell me when it’s over.”

I laugh, happy to oblige.

Down the beach, movement catches the corner of my eye. I look away from the train wreck-in-progress on the porch to see Heidi and Drew walking slowly together. Hand-in-hand. Arm-in-arm. Lips tenderly grazing as they take slow steps in our direction.

“Hey, Heidi,” I shout over the waves.

She glances up, her little golden eyes shining even from a distance away.

“Truth or dare?” I say.

She cringes.

Truth, I think to myself.

Heidi always picks truth.

“Truth,” she says, still protected by Drew’s fierce embrace.

“You guys just boned behind that rock over there, didn’t ya?” I ask with a grin.

Her cheeks turn bright red as Drew laughs.

Without answering, he bobs his head at the spectacle on the porch. “So, what’s that all about?” he asks.

“She chose dare,” I answer.

“Ah.” He nods, understanding.

Wilder peeks at me between her locks. “Is it over yet?” she asks.

I check. “Almost,” I say.

The show continues. Corey sits back with a stiff, panicked expression and permanently raised hands. After a bit, Ellie quickly backs away from Corey and hops onto Devin’s lap instead. She gives him a hard kiss, prompting a few more cheers and applause from the group. Devin hugs her, tight and protective, with a playful smile and eyes full of love for her, and only her.

I take another long sip of wine, tipping the glass until it’s all gone.

Heidi de-couples from Drew and takes a seat next to me in the sand while he heads toward the house.

“So, what’s up?” she asks.

I reach for the wine bottle next to Ellie’s blanket. “Just getting tipsy. Want some?” I offer.

“Nope! I’m high on life already.”

“Suit yourself.”

I refill my glass.

Heidi shifts to face me. “Hey, are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“You seem off tonight.”

“No,” I say. “In fact, I’m just gonna say that you’re a little too on tonight.”

She chuckles. “I can’t help it. I’m too excited!”

Wilder smirks. “Excited about what?” she asks, but she already knows.

Everybodyalready knows.

Heidi takes a deep, enthusiastic breath.

“Here we go…”I mumble.

“I’m going to Europe!” she says, bouncing like crazy with each new word.

“Really?”I feign ignorance. “I hadn’t heard…”

Heidi playfully bops my arm. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I know I’ve been annoying about it.”

I nod. “Yes, you have.”

“But it’s my first time leaving the country and I literally can’t get over it. I mean, this time tomorrow, Drew and I’ll be on the other side of the world! It’s crazy!”

“Very crazy.”

“Drew’s parents have the whole thing all planned out. We’re staying in the best hotels, eating in the best restaurants. And the museums!” She laughs at her hands. “Look at me, I’m shaking!”

“Me, too,” I say, deadpan as I sip from my glass.

She deflates. “I’ll bring you back something pretty.”

I perk up. “And just like that, I love you again.”

I cross my left hand over my chest and tap my right shoulder twice. Heidi grins and does the same with her right hand and her left shoulder. It has been our little friendship ritual ever since we got matching monarch butterfly tattoos on our backs freshman year. Her left wing. My right wing. Together, we conquer the world.

And look fabulous, of course.

“I won’t forget about you!” Heidi says as she lowers her arm. “I’ll call and-or text every night so you don’t get too lonely.”

“I won’t get lonely. Jenna Abrams never gets lonely.” I pause. “But she gets a little… spooked.”

Heidi winces. “I know. I’m sorry.”

I wave a hand. “I’ll be all right,” I say. “I’ll just sleep with a baseball bat under my pillow like every other strong, independent woman.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Heidi hops with excitement again. “Then, it’s senior year!”

“Oh, that’s right,” Wilder says. “You two are still little undergraduate babies.”

“Two semesters left,” I say as I sniff my wine. “Then, it’s four years of medical school where I’ll learn how to pick apart the human body and stitch it back together!”

“That’s exciting!”

“You’re starting grad school, right?” Heidi asks her.

Wilder nods as she twiddles her devious fingers. “Two years of learning how to pick apart the human mind and bend it to my will.”

Heidi squints. “I’m not sure that’s how psychology is supposed to work...”

Wilder smirks. “That’s not how it doesn’t work, though.”

Ellie plops onto her knees next to Wilder, out of breath. “Okay. I’m pretty sure I gave Devin enough attention to smooth that over.” She turns to Wilder with her hands held in prayer. “We cool?” she asks.

“Oh, totally,” Wilder says with a casual shrug.

“Thank you.”Ellie looks around. “Wine? Where’s the wine?”

I hold the bottle out for her. She eagerly snatches it from me and takes several long, glorious chugs.

“Atta girl,” I say.

“Now.” Wilder glares playfully at me. “Truth or dare, Jenna? Truth or dare?”

Dare,I think to myself.

Always dare.

But then again, I really don’t feel like getting up right now and I’m sure to suffer a few consequences for that lap dance.

“Truth,” I say.

Wilder’s lips curl.

“Oh...” Ellie says. She props herself up on her arm to keep herself from falling over. “Wilder’s really good at truth. Knows just how to cut right to the bone.”

“And in a few short years, I’ll get to charge a few hundred bucks an hour for it,” Wilder says.

She bites her painted lip in thought as she stares at me. Her head tilts one way, then the other. Several long, studious moments pass while I wait for the emotional dig of a knife to my gut.

Then her brow rises.

“Do you remember your first crush?” she asks.

Okay.

Wow, um...

She actually cut surprisingly deep with that one.

I pause, an involuntary reflex that brings a bit more giddiness to Wilder’s smile.

“Yes,” I answer. “I do.”

“What was his name?” Ellie asks, happy for gossip no matter how ancient it is.

“Wasn’t it Christian Walsh?” Heidi asks. “Stella’s kid?”

“No,” I say. “While I was absolutely in love with him during my adolescent years, no. Christian wasn’t my first crush.”

“Who’s Stella?” Wilder asks.

“Old friend of my mom’s,” I answer. “They went to law school together.”

Heidi furrows her brow, bringing a little crease between her eyebrows as she thinks a little further back in time. “Okay, this is going to bug the hell out of me. Who was before Christian?”

Yes, Heidi.

Who indeed?

I glance around the bonfire into their wide, expectant eyes. I suppose I could lie, but that’s not the name of the game, is it? We’re all tipsy out of our minds anyway, so it’s possible they won’t even remember this in the morning. And what happens at the beach house, stays at the beach house, after all. Even if it didn’t, who cares? We’re both completely different people now. I’m not the least bit attracted to him anymore. There is zero chance of anything ever happening between us for the rest of our lives.

What’s the worst that could happen?

“Seth Newbury,” I answer.

Three little mouths drop at once.

Yeah.

I should have lied.