On His Knees by Tabatha Kiss
Chapter 69
Seth
The Golden Rose.
Drew’s father’s yacht. It’s a small one, but it’s still a freaking yacht. It’s also home to some of the best nights he and I have ever had outside of the walls of the Delta Xi house — thus why his father has severely restricted our use of it.
Drew said he could only use it once this year, and that he was saving it for a special occasion.
Truthfully, he made the right choice.
“So, why isn’t Drew doing this again?”
I look up from the console as Jenna climbs the guardrail on the boat. “Careful—” I lurch forward.
“I’ve got it.” She reaches higher to hook the string of lights on the top of the pole and shifts her balance onto one foot.
“Jenna.”
“Seth.”
“Careful...”
“I’ve got it.”
She hooks it on and hops down to the deck again. Safe and sound.
I exhale, relieved. “Drew was going to do this,” I say as I look down at the map he gave me, “but he got called into work at the last minute despite being told he’d have the entire day off, so I volunteered to help him set up for the proposal.”
It’s not like I had anything else to do this afternoon after... well…
But today’s not the day to bring that up.
“He’s not going to miss the party, is he?”
I chuckle at Jenna’s worried expression. “No, they promised him the night off, though I find your priorities for the night hilarious.”
“Hey, I worked my ass off planning that party. He can propose to her anywhere.”
“I didn’t know you were so sentimental,” I quip.
“Eh.” She approaches the helm. “Whole lot of fuss just to ask a silly question.”
I glance up from the map again. “You didn’t put that on the cake, did you?”
Jenna smiles at my joke. “No, I did not, but I am a product of divorce.”
“So am I. Are you implying that Drew and Heidi are going to get divorced?”
“No,but I find the build-up to it all a bit much. Spending a ton of money? Putting your partner on the spot? Or even worse, doing it publicly? No thanks. Someone wants to marry me? Just ask. We’ll have a conversation about it.”
Noted.
Her head tilts as she tries to read the map. “What’s next?” she asks.
“Rose petals on the deck.” I point to the cardboard box near the coolers. “In the box.”
She happily springs into action. I skim my checklist one more time to make sure that everything is all set for the night. Fuel at optimum levels. All the little knobs in good working condition.
And a medium-sized rectangular box wrapped in white paper and a golden ribbon hidden away beneath the console with a vision board inside.
“So, I got a weird call from my mother today.”
I don’t look up. “Oh, yeah?”
“Apparently, she’s in town on a work-related thing and asked if I wanted to have dinner with her tonight.”
I nod along as she spreads the rose petals on the deck. “And what did you say?”
“I told her I have a thing,” she answers. “Which I do. Heidi’s party is very important.”
“Very important.”
“She asked about lunch tomorrow, but I said that I didn’t think that was a good idea, for obvious reasons. Felt pretty suspicious. Didn’t say that part out loud, but it feels suspicious, right? Like, why now?”
“Yeah. Why now?”
“But then she said that she wanted to see me — in person — so that she could apologize.”
I raise my brows, attempting to act surprised as I abandon the helm and step toward her. “Oh?”
“Yeah, I guess she’s realized that she’s been punishing me for what my father did to her and that it wasn’t fair. At least, that’s what she said. Exact quote.”
Jenna’s head tilts slightly, an obvious indicator that her bullshit detector is lit and active.
I stop beside her by the railing. “That’s awfully introspective of her.”
“I thought so, too! She also said that new boyfriend of mine was quite...”
“Charming?” I suggest. “Ruggedly handsome?”
“Belligerent.”
“Oh. Yeah. That would have been my third guess.”
Jenna smiles silently.
Busted.
Just when I think she might start chewing me out, she shifts closer to me instead. Her hands come to my sides and I open my arms to her; sweet and cautious.
“So, totally unrelated happenstance,” I say, wading in. “I lost my job today.”
“Did you?” she asks, not at all shocked or surprised.
“I did, yes.”
“What ever did you do?”
“I mouthed off to a federal judge in front of my boss. He then asked me to leave and... not come back.”
“You probably shouldn’t have done that.”
“I did, though,” I say. “I’d do it again.”
Jenna admires me as her hands crawl up my back. We’re so close now, so together, but I’m not worried about anyone seeing us this far down the marina.
“You think you’ll take Jenna Senior up on lunch?”
Jenna wrinkles her nose. “Maybe. I told her I’d think about it. She’s in town until next week, so... I figure I’d let her hang there for a little while.”
“Such a close mother-daughter relationship you have,” I quip.
“Yeah, well... maybe we’ll get back there again someday. I don’t know. For now, I’m happy.”
“That’s what I told her.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “Whatever you decide, you have my support.”
Jenna tilts her head, inviting a kiss that I’d never turn down. I kiss her once, twice. A quick peck on the cheek. I take every opportunity to love her in the sunlight. After tonight, we won’t have to hide it anymore.
After tonight, everyone will know.
“Have you told Drew yet that you lost your job?” she asks.
“No.” I look down. “I don’t want to put a damper on his good night. I’ll tell him tomorrow.”
Jenna bites her lip. “Speaking of... putting a damper on their good night, I was thinking...”
“What?”
She starts, then stops. “I don’t think we should go to the party... together.”
I tilt back an inch. “Why not?”
“It’s not the right time, Seth.”
“We say that a lot.”
“I know, but it’s really true about tonight.”
“Why?” I ask. “Drew invited her. It’s fine.”
“Drew invited your mystery girl. A girl who supposedly no one knows. He doesn’t know that he invited you to drop a bombshell on Heidi’s very expensive birthday-slash-engagement party. It’d be like announcing a pregnancy at a wedding. It’s just tacky.”
My stomach tightens. “You’re not... are you?”
“No! I’m not pregnant. It’s just an example.”
“Just checking.”
She sighs. “I just think we should put it off for a few more days…”
“We put it off for a few more days every week, Jenna,” I say, sounding a little more annoyed than intended.
“I know. I know. But this is the last time, I swear.”
“I really don’t think it’ll be that big of a deal.”
She’s done asking. Now, her eyes are begging.
I exhale, disappointed. “All right. Fine. We won’t go together.”
“Thank you.”
She turns her head to catch the incoming breeze. Little strawberry blonde locks flap against her cheeks. The setting sunlight hits her just right, and she practically glows in my arms. It just shows how effortlessly beautiful she is and — by extension — how exceedingly lucky I am to have her.
I want to show the world.
I want everyone to see how happy we are together.
But she doesn’t.
Jenna smiles. Another happy butterfly settles in my stomach. “I can’t believe it,” she mutters.
“What?” I ask.
“It’s so strange, isn’t it?” She glances around the deck of the yacht. “Tonight, in just a few short hours, in this exact spot, our best friends’ lives will change forever.”
I let myself look away from her, but only for a moment. She is right. This place is home to dozens of memories over the years (Delta Xi!), but after tonight, it’ll always be the place where it happened. Where my best friend popped the question. Where my little sister said yes. Where Jenna and I were just hours before it all went down.
“You wanna have sex in the bathroom?” she asks.
“Yes, I do.”