On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss
Chapter 41
Seth
ART 375, Advanced Figure Drawing, takes place in Ramsey Hall room 118 at 9 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday morning according to the Chicago North website. I arrive at 8:50 a.m. with two cups of coffee, my handsome face, and a will to succeed. I’ve picked up a lot in business school, but this tactic has gotten me further than anything else I’ve learned thus far.
The coffee gets me through the door.
My handsome face will keep me there.
My will to succeed will seal the deal with Jenna Abrams.
Or it should.
Perhaps I’d feel a touch more confident if I knew what the fuck I was even doing.
I’m standing in the hallway outside room 118 with two cups of coffee at 8:50 a.m. hoping to woo Jenna Abrams because...
?
I don’t even like her. I sure as shit don’t love her. And yet... I can’t fucking stop thinking about her. She’s like a poison coursing through my veins, and the only antidote I can think of is consuming as much of her as humanly possible until...
?
Maybe I’ll get sick of her. It’s happened before. It’s what happened with Bethany in the end. I wanted her so much, but once I finally had her, I got bored. Chances are, the same thing happens this time, and we’ll be back to rolling our eyes and sniping at each other from a distance in no time.
A head of reddish-blonde hair catches my peripheral vision. I look up as Jenna herself marches down the hall in my direction with her eyes locked on her phone. She holds a to-go cup of coffee in the other, but there’s no such thing as too much coffee for a college girl, right?
I throw on a smile. I stand up tall and wait for Jenna to look up.
She strolls right past me without breaking stride and enters room 118.
Well.
She’s focused today.
I follow her into the classroom. About a dozen easels surround a platform in the center of the room. Jenna beelines toward the windows on the far side and sits down at the empty easel there, her eyes still locked on that damn phone screen.
Well, if that’s how to get a girl’s attention.
I set the coffees down on a desk a few down from hers and slide my phone from my pocket.
Hey,I text her.
I discreetly watch for her reaction.
Jenna’s thumbs pause and her brow twitches. She read it. She definitely read it.
I glance at my phone. No response. Just read.
Hey,I send again.
Jenna rolls her eyes. My chest flutters, pleased with her negative reaction.
Hey.
I fire it off one more time and Jenna finally breaks.
What?she sends back immediately.
I send her an eggplant emoji.
She sighs.
What do you want?she asks.
I want you to look up.
Jenna pauses for a second before her eyes slowly turn up.
I smirk. “Hey.”
She startles in her seat. “How long have you been standing there?”
“You walked right past me in the hallway.”
“I did?”
“Yeah.” I grab the coffees and walk them over to the easel next to hers. “I brought you some coffee. Thought that maybe we could chat before your class.”
I set one down on the side table next to her.
She eyes it with suspicion. “How did you know I’d be here?” she asks.
“It was on your calendar,” I answer truthfully.
“My cal—” She frowns. “You went into my room?”
“You need to do laundry.”
“Seth—”
“Speaking of laundry,” I say with a wink. “And interesting things that happened on laundry machines...”
“Can we not do this here?”
“Can’t do it at all if you don’t answer my texts.” I raise a brow. “By the way, I owe you another apology for leaving you on read. That does not feel nice. I know that now. Have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
She blinks twice. “What?”
“It’s Friday night.”
“And?”
“And Drew always stays the night with Heidi on Fridays. It’ll be just me at our apartment.” I lean forward slightly. “Plenty of room for you, too.”
Jenna shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You’re right. It’s a great idea. Does seven sound good?”
“No.”
“I can do eight.”
“Seth.”
“Okay, fine. Nine.”
She takes a breath. “What are we doing?”
“That’s one conversation we can have tomorrow night,” I say. “Over... tacos?”
“Tacos?”
“Sandwiches?” I suggest. “Fuck it, let’s just get ice cream.”
She chuckles. I like it. “You won’t take no for an answer, will you?”
“Nope.”
“Well, it’s going to take a lot more than the promise of tacos and ice cream to get me alone again,” she says. “I can’t trust you.”
My gut clenches. “You can’t trust me.”
It’s not a question.
It’s a fact.
And I deserve it.
She shakes her head. “So, I think we should just... set some boundaries. Again. Move forward and forget this temporary insanity ever happened.”
“Temporary insanity?” I repeat.
“Yeah.”
“That’s what you think this is?”
“What else could it be?”
I scoff. “Well, if that’s how you feel, I’m taking my coffee back.”
I snatch it off her side table.
Her jaw drops. “Seriously?”
“Sorry.” I sneer. “Must have bought it in a rush of temporary insanity.”
“Are you really that immature?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if that’s how you’re going to be, then you should just go.”
“Yeah, I will.” I take a step, then stop. “But I’m leaving because I want to, not because you told me to.”
She groans. “Yeah, whatever.”
“Buh-bye.”
“Bye.”
I take another step and brush right up against a short woman in thick glasses.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” I say, politely bowing out of the way. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Oh, good!”she says. “You must be Cameron’s replacement!”
I furrow in confusion. “Cameron?”
“I thought for sure they wouldn’t find someone at such short notice, but I should know better than to doubt you theatre kids!” She slides the coffees out of my hands. “I’m Professor Wilson. Let me take those for you and you can hop on up.”
“Hop on up?”
Wilson gives me a little push, and I stumble onto the platform in the middle of the room.
“Okay, class!” she shouts with a flourish of her arms. “Let’s get started. Art will not create itself.” She spins back around toward me and sighs. “Well, we haven’t got all day, son. Strip down.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, my ears buzzing. “Strip down, you said?”
“It’s a figure drawing workshop, honey,” she says. “We need to see your figure.”
I look at Jenna. She peeks at me over the top of her easel with her hands over her mouth in amused shock.
“Oh, no, I think there’s been a misunderstanding here... I’m not—” I chuckle awkwardly. “I’m not a model.”
Wilson stands taller. “Well, you can model for us, or I can pay someone else to do it. You in or out?”
I pique with interest. “Pay?”
“Yes.”
“You’re gonna pay me to stand here naked for an hour?”
“Yes.”
I nod. Easy money. Also...
A look of horror crosses Jenna’s face.
Excellent.
“Okay,” I say. “I’m in.”
Professor Wilson walks off. I pinch my T-shirt and yank it off over my head.
“Seth,”Jenna scolds. “No.”
I stare at her, my smirk curling as I unzip my jeans and kick off my shoes.
She shakes her head.“Please don’t.”
“Oh, this is happening.” I stop with a quick glance around the classroom. “Wait, Heidi’s not in this class, is she?”
“No,” she answers. “She’s not, but—”
“Good.”
I push my pants down, leaving me in nothing but boxers.
“Seth, you don’t want to do this.”
“Why not, Jenna?” I tease. “You afraid you’ll see something you like?”
She leans back, obviously annoyed with me, but her expression takes a different turn... and she smiles.
“All right,” she says. “Strip down, Seth. Show me what you got.”
I drop my boxers, happily exposing the rest of me to a room full of strangers. But especially to her. Sure, we’ve fucked once or twice, but she’s never seen me fully naked like this. Well, except maybe a peek at Delta Xi’s Taint Night, but there’s paint involved then. And a lot of vodka.
Look down.
Look down...
She looks down. Her smile remains.
Atta girl.
Someone else stomps up onto the platform behind me. I turn around, my grin quickly slipping to my ankles as I spot the tall man in a black robe.
He tugs the belt around his waist. I cringe.
Don’t be naked. Don’t be naked. Don’t—
The robe drops to the platform.
Fuck.
I look at Jenna. She’s sitting forward now with her chin propped on her hand. She bats her long eyelashes and grins with devious delight.
Oh.
Oh, you bitch.
“Raul, you’re right on time!” Professor Wilson hops up onto the platform and gestures to the naked man beside me. “You stand right here and new guy—” She waves me closer. “You stand on his left. Face each other.”
When I don’t move fast enough, Wilson snatches my elbow and guides me forward, planting me right in front of Raul and his… very thick chest hair.
“Hey, how you doing?” I mutter.
He smiles silently.
Wilson nudges my shoulder. “You angle back like this. Stick your hand here.”
She slaps my palm onto his burly chest.
“Raul, you put your arms around him.”
Oh, god.
“On his back, yes!”
His thick arm curls around me, forcing us closer.
“Lower. Lower…”
I flinch as his hand goes... a bit too low, in my opinion.
“There! That’s good. Now, don’t move!” Wilson steps in front of us. “You are lovers in a lovers’ embrace. Stare at each other. Burn for each other. Imbue yourselves with fire so that we may catch it with our pencils!”
The fuck is this class?
I turn my head to look at Jenna’s beet-red face by the window.
“Don’t move!” Wilson snaps her fingers at me. “Gaze into your lover!”
One last fiery look at Jenna and I obey, turning back into Raul’s manly embrace.
“Class, you know what to do! Let us draw!”
As Wilson keeps her back to me, I rebelliously turn my head to catch Jenna’s eye again. She’s propped on her stool with her pencil in hand, her cheeks fueled with blood as she bites her lip to keep her laughter at bay.
Oh, she’s not getting away with this one.
No, she is not.