On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss

Chapter 16

Jenna

Wilder groans from the inside of my closet.

I look at her behind me through my vanity mirror. “What?” I ask as I roll my lip gloss along my bottom lip.

“I always forget how wonderful your closet is…” She releases a huff as she slides a palm through my dresses. “I want to live here.”

I chuckle. “Borrow whatever you want.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Even this one?”

I spot the sapphire blue cocktail dress in her hand, and hesitate. “Well…”

She cackles as she hangs it back in its place with care. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“I’ll rent it to you.”

“Hello, ladies!”

Seth knocks twice on the doorframe as he leans in from the hallway. “How are we doing?” he asks, so fucking jovial.

I glare at his feet on my carpet. “You’re on my side.”

“Oh, put the pitchfork away, Jenna,” he quips. “We’re all friends here tonight.”

“I don’t have to pretend for another hour, actually.”

“Then, in that case, I’ll just talk to my real friends, so Wilder…” He winks at her. “How are you?”

“I’m great, Mr. Newbury!” she replies. “How are you?”

“Excellent! Ellie’s on her way. I’ll send her back when she gets here.”

“Thank you!”

“You’re killing in that dress, by the way.”

I roll my eyes. But he’s right. Wilder slaughters in a little black dress.

Wilder feigns a blush as she discretely strikes a pose. “Oh, stop.”

“Corey’s a lucky man,” Seth adds.

“Remind him, please.”

“Oh, I will! Now, is there anything else I can…”

I say nothing. I just glare.

“Guess not.” He hops back to his side of the hall. “I’ll be at the keg.”

He leaves. Finally.

I focus on my reflection again.

Take a deep breath. In and out…

“So, about that duct tape…”

Wilder has abandoned my closet. She stands a few feet behind me now, with her hands inquisitively propped on her hips.

“You told me to set some boundaries.” I shrug. “I set some boundaries.”

“Right, right,” she muses. “I meant more emotional boundaries. Not literal physical barriers that keep you two apart.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Okay.” She smothers a smile. “The way you asked that makes me think you don’t actually know the difference, and that makes me very nervous for you.”

“Wilder…” I twist the cap closed on my gloss as I stand. “This is fine.”

She screws up her nose. “Is it, though?”

“Yes. It’s a good arrangement. It’s working. He stays out of my business, I stay out of his, and after tonight, this will all be over.”

“Tonight? What happens tonight?”

“He’s going home with you and Corey.”

She raises a brow. “Oh, he is, is he?”

“This is the first you’re hearing about this, isn’t it?”

“Yup.”

“So, me and Seth aren’t the only ones who need to work on their communication skills, then?”

“No, you are not.” She shrugs. “Whatever. It’s fine. I don’t mind letting Seth hang for a while. He’s a great cook.”

My mouth waters involuntarily as I picture that feast he left me earlier… which I shamelessly scarfed down at lunch.

“But,” she continues, “I think you’re missing a golden opportunity here to really—”

“Bury the hatchet?” I ask, having heard this before.

Wilder takes a deep breath. “I was going to say grow up.”

I pause, having heard that one, too.

“Look, I don’t mean to ride the bitchmobile here, but…”

“Grow up,” I repeat. “Get over it. No one cares. Put it all behind you for the greater good. Yeah, I know.”

“No, not for the greater good,” she says. “For you. You’re the only one who feels the weight on your shoulders, Jenna. You’re the only one who can put it down, too.”

Corey appears in the bedroom doorway. I take the chance to drop the subject.

“I’m sorry to bother you ladies,” he says, “but would one of you have a tampon I could borrow?”

Wilder and I share an amused glance.

Delta Xi.

“Bathroom cabinet,” I answer. “Top shelf.”

Corey points a pair of fingerguns at me. “Thank you for your hospitality,” he says before walking backwards into the hallway.

And just like that, the banger on Shanty has officially begun.

* * *

And just like that, I remember why I don’t like to throw parties.

Oh, I love a good party. I rarely miss a Beta Kappa shindig or a Delta Xi hootenanny, but the best part is the ability to get up and leave whenever I want to. I don’t like the thought of Seth wandering around my house unattended, and I sure as hell don’t like fifty people wandering around it, either.

At least Seth promised to clean up afterward.

Luckily, Ellie’s guest list featured more Beta Kappa Beauties than Delta Xi Cuties, so this party is far more subdued than your average Greek Row banger. Around the living room, I mean. The kitchen…

A quarter clatters into the bottom of an empty shot glass.

“Drink, motherfucker!”

The table erupts in shouts and laughter, briefly stalling the more intimate conversations on the couches. I look over my shoulder, praying they didn’t break something as Seth throws back a shot and slams it down on the table.

Ellie chuckles from her spot on the floor cushion. “Anyway, as I was saying…”

Her voice fades off between my ears, lost somewhere in the depths of music and other murmurs as I continue gazing across my crowded house.

There are two men sitting at the kitchen table, Seth Newbury and Corey King, with about a dozen more standing around watching them. All eyes are on Seth Newbury. He leans forward, his attention locked on the shot glass in front of him as he thumbs a quarter pinched between two fingers. His eyes still wear dark, tired circles, but they're also glazed and jovial now. He’s clearly already drunk, but is he too drunk to land this shot?

Let’s see.

The crowd gathered around the table goes quiet again as they wait. Seth blinks once, twice. He licks his lips and takes a breath, preparing himself as if his entire fucking career banks on this. His fingers twitch. He takes another breath…

He looks at me.

I flinch, taken by surprise.

“Oh, Jenna?”

I twist forward, yanked back by Ellie’s sing-song voice.

“Huh?” I ask.

“I said…” she grins, “how are your med school interviews going?”

“Oh, uh…” I narrow my focus on the girls littered around the couch. “Great, actually. I had one a week ago that went really well. Got my fingers crossed.”

“Which school?” Wilder asks.

“Chicago North,” I answer. “Where else?”

Ellie scoffs. “With your mother’s pull, I’d say anywhere you damn well please.”

“Sure, but… my life is here,” I say, thinking fast. “You know?”

“Totally. And you could do a lot worse than CNU Med. You can pretty much land at any hospital in the country after that.”

“That’s the plan!” I say as I raise my wineglass, hoping to inspire a toast that shifts the spotlight off me and my future.

The girls offer a few hoots before taking a sip from their own glasses. Mission accomplished.

“Jenna,”I hear next to my ear.

I turn my head and gasp. “Jesus!”

“Nope,” Seth jokes, his face an inch away from mine. “Just me.”

“Why are you doing that?” I ask, annoyed.

“I need you.”

“What?”

He grabs my arm. “Come.”

“What?”

“Come.”

He yanks me up off the couch. I reluctantly set my glass down and let him drag me through the opening in the group back to the kitchen table.

“Wait.” Corey laughs. “Jenna is your secret weapon?”

“What?” I sneer. “No,” I say as Seth says, “Yes.”

I slide my arm free. “No, I’m not.”

He grabs me again. “Yes, you are.”

“No—“

He sits in his chair, easily pulling me down with him. Before I can object further, Seth props me on his knee and scoops the quarter off the table in front of us.

“Kiss it,” he says.

“Excuse me?” I ask, frozen solid.

“Kiss the coin.”

I lean back. “Why?”

“Because in order for this to work, it must be blessed by the patron of this space. I would ask Heidi, but she’s not here. So, that leaves you. Now, kiss it.”

I say nothing. I just glare.

Seth sighs. “Look, I’m balls deep in a double or nothing situation here and if I lose, I owe Corey more money than I actually have, so I’d appreciate it if you’d please kiss the coin.”

“Seth, I’m not gonna kiss—“

“Just kiss the fucking coin, Jenna.”

I exhale hard, but whatever. Fine. I lean in to kiss his stupid coin. My bottom lip grazes the edge of his thumb as I purse, firing a silent jolt down my spine.

Seth doesn’t seem to notice or care. He merely smiles before flicking the coin forward.

It hops right into the shot glass and settles on the bottom.

Corey groans. “Dammit,” he says beneath the sudden roar of applause throughout the kitchen. He smiles as he leans back and grabs his beer. “Lucky shot.”

Seth plays it cool, but the constant, excited tap of his toe to the floor beneath me gives him away. “It’s all in the wrist, baby boy,” he says.

Corey eyes me with interest. “Maybe I need a Jenna.”

“Back off,” Seth says. “She’s mine.”

I recoil.

Gross.

“Yeah, yeah.”Corey stands. “I’m gonna go find Wilder.”

“On the couch,” I say, pointing behind us.

He leaves with a respectful nod at me and another pointed smirk at Seth.

With the excitement over and done with, the crowd in the kitchen disperses.

I shift to rise off Seth’s knee, but his hand snaps to my side.

“Wait, wait,”he says.

I grunt at the stench of fresh beer on his breath. “What now?” I ask.

“This occasion calls for a victory selfie.” He holds up his phone. “Smile for Heidi, Jenna.”

Oh, right. Heidi. Gotta sell this friendship.

I lean back, positioning my head a little closer to Seth’s. We both look into the lens of his phone’s camera and grin. He snaps a few shots, each one looking more convincing than the last. Just two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Happy smiles and pink cheeks.

“There,” he says, bouncing me off his thigh. “Hop up. That rump of yours is cutting off my circulation.”

I scoff. “Dick.”

Almost believed it for a second there myself.