On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss
Chapter 17
Seth
Itap send, firing two different but similar selfies across the pond to my little sister. It should be more than enough to keep her happy; to convince her that Jenna and I are the best of friends, even when we are anything but.
She doesn’t have to know it’s all a lie.
My phone rings in my hand. Heidi calling.
Or maybe she’s already figured it out and wants to yell at me for a while.
I answer it as I grab my drink and stand up from my chair at the kitchen table. “Hey, Heidi,” I say, casual and cool. “What’s up?”
“Okay, you two are—” Her voice dips beneath a wave of laughter behind me.
“Hold on a sec, Heidi,” I say as I brush past a few shoulders on my way to the front door.
I step out onto the quiet porch, kicking the door closed behind me to block out the noise. “Okay, what was that again?” I ask.
“You two are having way too much fun.”
“No, we’re not.” I scoff. “We’re having a very normal amount of fun.”
She chuckles. “Well, my phone just blew up with videos of Jenna sitting on your lap playing Quarters, so how about you tell me what’s really going on over there.”
I lean against the banister. “I had a bet to win, and she was kind enough to kiss my coin.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Heidi hums softly. “Okay, then…”
“How you doing, little sister?” I ask, happy to change the subject. “Isn’t it late over there? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
She laughs. “I couldn’t sleep tonight even if I wanted to!”
I nod, sensing the happiness in her voice. “Drew tell you the good news, then?”
“Yes!” she says. “I am so proud of him!”
“Yeah.” I settle on the edge of the porch. “Me, too.”
“Executive Assistant! Isn’t that amazing?”
“It’s amazing.”
“And Nora told him that if he nails this, then she’ll consider putting him in charge of their next app! It’s that awesome?”
My stomach tightens. That’s… new information.
“Oh, yeah?” I say.
“Yeah! I can’t believe it. It’s like…” Heidi takes a breath. “I don’t know. It’s like my entire life is finally falling into place. It’s my senior year. Drew’s career is exploding. Our future is wide-open and so full of possibility and everything right now is just… so damn good. You know?”
I bite my cheek. “Yeah, I know.”
“So, yeah…” She snorts. “Not sleeping tonight. I’m almost afraid I’ll wake up tomorrow and find out it’s all a dream.”
Glee drips from every word. I smile, happy that she’s happy despite… well, all the shit I’ve put her through.
“Well, it’s real,” I say. “Enjoy it.”
“I will. I am!” She laughs. “Just don’t want it to end.”
“I know the feeling,” I lie. I pretend.
“Oh, I gotta go,” she says. “Drew and I are going on a walk down the river. It’s so pretty tonight!”
“Take care, little sister.”
“You too, big brother.”
She hangs up. I sit still for a moment, shifting my phone to rest against my forehead as I slowly process what just happened.
Nora offered him another app?
Drew didn’t tell me that. Why didn’t he tell me that?
Shit, man.
I slip my phone into my back pocket as I lean my back against the house.
You know why.
Laughter echoes from inside the house, but I settle into place. Not really in the mood to fake a smile right now.
Drinking alone, though?
That’s more my style lately, anyway.