Jennie

I left not long after our shower together to get ready for the party that evening. To my great relief, my parents were both out when I got home, so I didn't have to explain why I was sneaking in at that time of the morning. Last thing I needed was to have to put into words what had happened last night, when even I didn't have the language to explain it.

I had told Lisa when and where to meet me, and I was already looking forward to my entrance into the country club with the hottest girl in town on my arm. Sure, Jisoo was going to be a little pissed that I'd brought Lisa along, but at least I could call her out if she tried to pull that shit about Lisa coming on to her or Lisa's STDs again.

I giggled, as I got ready for the night, thinking about Jisoo turning up at Lisa's doorstep in her leopard print panties, hoping to seduce her. It was probably too much frippery for Lisa. From everything I'd learned about her the last few days, Lisa just wasn't the kind of girl who would be taken in by the wrapping if the gift beneath wasn't something that interested her.

As I applied my mascara, I frowned at myself in the mirror. But what did I actually know about Lisa? Now that I thought about it, nothing I'd learned about her had really come from her directly. I knew she'd slept around a lot in this town. She ran the garage she'd purchased from old Bob, and she'd moved here when she was sixteen. But that was it.

I didn't know where she'd come from back in high school, why she'd moved, why she'd stayed, who her parents were, what had happened to her brother. None of it. Maybe tonight would be a chance for me to get to know her a little better.

Then I caught myself in midstride. What the hell was I doing? This was just meant to be short fling. Nothing more than that. When I walked away from this place after Jisoo's wedding, I walked away from Lisa, as well.

This was a just a rebound affair to get Mark's betrayal out of my system. Lisa was a well-known womanizer. She wasn't the kind of girl you got involved with, or invested in. It was that simple. You kept her at arm's length and enjoyed your fun while it lasted.

My parents stopped by to pick me up and take me down to the party, and they didn't ask about what had happened the night before. I could see my mother was dying to say something, but either my dad must have told her not to bring it up or maybe she was smart enough to know that the last thing she wanted was the details of what had gone down last night with Lisa.

"Are you looking forward to this evening?" my father asked mildly as he drove.

I nodded and bit my lip. "Yeah, I am, actually. I have a date for the night."

"Oh, really?" My mother turned and looked at me. "And who's the lucky man?"

"Actually it's a woman. Lisa," I replied, hardly able to keep the grin off my face. "The woman who took me out last night. I invited her, since I have a spare plus-one spot now that Mark's gone."

"Lisa, Lisa…" my mother repeated the name, clearly trying to place her. "Lisa Kristensen?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Welland?" she asked hopefully.

"Nope," I answered cheerfully.

"Biskind?" She was really grasping at straws now. Lisa Biskind was our family friend who lived in New York.

"Hardly," I replied again, glancing out the window as we pulled to a halt. "Lisa Manoban? You must remember her, she came to my high school when I was a senior…"

She wrinkled her nose, clearly still trying to bring her to mind. At that precise moment, I laid eyes on her waiting outside the country club for me. She looked tall, broad and just amazing. I pointed to her. "Look, there…That's her."

"Lisa from the garage?" My mother gasped. "You have to be kidding."

"Nope," I shot back, prickling. "And if you'll excuse me I don't want to keep her—"

"No, wait." She caught my wrist. "Jennie, you can't go in there with that woman."

"Why not?" I demanded. "Is there a rule against it?"

"No," she conceded with a frown, where thanks to her Botox injections, only the sides of her forehead creased and the middle remained smooth and shiny like bone porcelain. "But you…she's not one of us, Jennie. She wouldn't feel comfortable in there. You don't want to give her a horrible night, do you?"

I could see Lisa looking over at the car, and I could see the look on her face as she registered the exchange going on between me and my mother. I shook my mother off. "I have to go, Mom," I said softly. "I don't want to keep her waiting any longer." And with that, I stepped out of the car and beamed as I made my way toward Lisa. She was in a blazer and tie, a little rumpled around the edges but she had made the effort, and boy she looked good enough to eat.

"What was that?" She nodded toward the car as she brushed a kiss on my cheek.

"It's just my parents freaking out over nothing."

She raised an eyebrow. "Do I need to be worried?"

"Nope," I replied firmly. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Fair enough." She looked me up and down, her eyes warm and admiring. "You look amazing, by the way."

"You're not so bad yourself," I shot back with a grin as I looped my arm through hers and we made our way into the party. My mom was just being a snob and this was nothing new. This wasn't nearly as big a deal, as they were making it out to be. I wouldn't let it get under my skin, or get in the way of another fun evening with Lisa.

I gave the guy at the door my name and tried not to notice the way that he looked Lisa up and down, his face showing subtle disapproval. I just hoped Lisa hadn't seen. Just like the Freemason's handshake, our clique had its own codes. Codes that would go over the heads of those who weren't in the know. We made our way into the party and the night began in earnest. To my disgust, what I had been so sure was a fluke with my parents happened over and over again.

Every time I introduced Lisa to someone, they would practically lift their noses in the air at her very presence. Some of the women outright avoided her, but I assumed those were old lovers. I tried not to let it bother me, but most of the people at the party treated her with outright disdain.

"And what do you do, young girl?" one of the old biddies asked as Lisa.

"I run the garage just outside of town," she replied, managing a polite smile.

The woman's face dropped as though she'd told her she punched puppies for a living. "Oh…" She frowned, as her eyes slid over to me. "And you're Sandra's daughter?"

"Yes." I nodded, offering her a wide smile in the hopes she would stop acting like such a heinous old bitch.

"She mentioned you had a fiancé, but this isn't…" She trailed off and stopped herself before she just straight-up announced that Lisa was about as far removed from someone Mom would have described to these fucking people as was imaginable.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured to Lisa as soon as she walked away. "They're not all like this, I promise." It was a lie, but what else could I do?

"Yeah, sure," Lisa replied grimly.

I could tell she was regretting coming.

I was starting to regret bringing her too. I didn't want her to have to spend the whole evening deflecting this bullshit from the people who were supposed to be my friends. These people were meant to be classy, and didn't classy mean having some fucking manners to speak? Even Jisoo had avoided me like I was toxic, but she'd been shooting me the foulest looks the whole night through. She was probably just pissed that I had ignored her advice and dated Lisa anyway.

After yet another encounter with a friend of my dad's who stalked off when Lisa said that she had never heard of the car dealer he had purchased his classic car from, Lisa unhooked herself from me and jerked her head outside. "I'm going out for a minute."

"You're coming back, right?" I asked nervously.

She paused for a moment before responding. "Sure, Princess."

I watched her slip out the back door and felt like the biggest asshole in the universe. Not because I felt embarrassed at having her here on my arm as my date for the evening, but because I couldn't believe that I'd dragged her here just to have her treated like shit by the people who were part of my world. I could feel my mom's eyes on me as Lisa walked out, could feel her smugness because she had been right that Lisa wouldn't feel at home here, and I ignored her. I decided to join Lisa outside, but before I could go after her, my Mom made her way over to me.

"How's your evening going, darling?" she asked sweetly.

I swear if she wasn't my mother, I would have slapped her. She knew damn well how it had been going, and yet she was still coming at me, acting like her, and her ilk weren't the reason my night was turning into total shit.

"Terribly," I replied at once. I glanced toward one of the empty function rooms. "Can I talk to you and Dad for a minute?"

"Sure," she replied, glancing at my father and indicating for him to follow.

I made my way into the room and closed the door behind us, then planted my hands on my hips and rounded on them. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

My mother's eyebrows practically vanished into her hairline. "Language," she scolded.

I closed my eyes to keep from yelling back at her. "Okay, so I can't curse but you and all your friends can treat my date like shit?" I gestured back toward where we had just been, raising my eyebrows expectantly.

"Honey, we just don't think she's a good fit for you," my father cut in as gently as he could.

I hated this even more. He kept pretending that this was for my own good, and not just to torment the woman I had chosen to bring with me this evening. "How would you know that?" I shot back. "You don't know anything about her."

"Neither do you," Mom countered.

I couldn't argue with that one. She was right. I really didn't know a lot about Lisa. But I knew I liked spending time with her, that she treated me well and that should have been enough. "That doesn't matter," I snapped. "I just want you to treat her with some respect, that's all. I'm not about to marry her, I just want her to be able to come to a place like this and not feel like everyone here wants her gone."

They exchanged a look.

I tossed my hands in the air and let out an irritated groan. I knew that look. There would be no point trying to debate this with them, they would never see my point of view. They wanted things one way, and that was the only way they saw the world working, even when it was obvious that their worldview was hurting other people. I turned around and walked out.

Neither of them tried to stop me. In this issue, they were united.

I went out the same door Lisa had gone out of, and glanced around, looking for her.

I spotted her sitting on the back step of the kitchen door with a cigarette in her hand. She was taking long drags and staring off into space. She hadn't noticed me yet and I stared at her in surprise. She looked so relaxed, so rugged and beautiful, so far removed from everyone back inside that room. From this distance, she was a complete stranger. A mysterious woman who had fucked me in every conceivable position, but had never let me close to her.

As I stood there watching her, a woman emerged from the kitchen back door, a waitress, by the looks of her.

Lisa smiled at her. The waitress must have asked if she could join her, because Lisa shrugged and she sat next to her. They exchanged a few words. The waitress laughed as Lisa reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette box. She pulled a cigarette from it and put it to her mouth. Lisa lit it for her.

The moment felt unbearably intimate. They did not talk, they just smoked in peace. I was the outsider looking into a kind of camaraderie she had never shown me. Always, even when we were in bed, she called me Princess. A term I found mocking, and designed to keep me at a distance.

I found my stomach twisting with jealousy.

A moment later, one of the bartenders came out to join them. Both Lisa and the woman stood. The three of them talked for a while, and Lisa actually looked as though she was enjoying their company, gesticulating with her cigarette while the other two looked on with amusement.

I really knew nothing about her.

Maybe she was just some stupid fantasy, my brain's way of filling in the blanks after what had happened with Mark. I hadn't known that man either, apparently. But what made it all the more ridiculous was when I felt that swell of need for Lisa. It was so close to love that it scared me. I'd never felt that for Mark…ever. Old feelings stirred up like sediment on the bed of a river as I watched her. She still hadn't seen me and part of me didn't want her to, because she actually looked like she was having a good time for the first time tonight.

Without me.

"She's not meant for someone like you."

I jumped at my mother's voice. Slowly, I turned to find her standing behind me and looking out at Lisa as she chatted with the rest of the group. I frowned at my mom. "What the fuck do you mean?"

She knew I was cursing to annoy her so she left that untouched. "Don't you see? She's with her people now." She nodded at Lisa. "You must be able to see that. Do you really think she wants to be around people like us? She'll always feel small and inadequate. Is that what you want for her?"

"I thought she wanted to be around me," I admitted, but as I watched her there, I couldn't help but wonder if my mom was actually right. I mean, it made sense. Lisa'd just been getting that notch on her bedpost with me. Getting the girl who had turned her down in high school.

Maybe she had let herself believe that there was something there between us, enough that she came out to this party tonight, but then she'd seen the way everybody treated her and it reminded her of the gap between us.

There had been a reason she hadn't pursued me aggressively when the two of us were back in high school. One rejection was all it took and she never even looked in my direction after that. Maybe, on some level, she'd known this was how it would end, with the people I thought had my best interests at heart driving her away from me. It wasn't fair—none of it was fair. Maybe it was all for the best, but it sure didn't feel like it. My chest felt tight with sorrow.

Strange—I didn't feel like this even when I found Mark inside another woman.

"Leave me alone," I told my mother. I was already exhausted at the thought of spending the rest of the evening with the people back in that room. They were so fake, so phony, so cheap. I felt nothing but disgust for them now. So mean. All this time, I had been so sure the people around me might have been a little idiosyncratic, but they were decent at heart. However, this night had proved once and for all that I was wrong.

Most of them were fucking assholes.

Not to mention the fact that if I tried to bring in anyone who wasn't a complete stuffed shirt with a big, fat bank account, they were going to treat her like crap until she couldn't stand to be around me any longer.

For one depressing moment, I thought back to walking out of that apartment, after seeing Mark balls-deep in another woman, and I wondered if it would have been easier if I'd just pretended it had never happened and gone on as normal, the attentive girlfriend. But no. I would have hated my life then. Maybe I couldn't have Lisa, but I wouldn't have to pretend to be Mark's loving wife.

"Come back inside," Mom urged. She tried to take me by the arm. "Come on. Spend the evening with us, you'll enjoy it. All your friends will be here soon."

I looked over at Lisa one more time, and felt a sudden swell of resolve. Okay, so I couldn't find a way to make her fit into my world, but the simple truth was—I didn't want to fit into my world anymore either. So maybe I should just jump ship and join her outside.

The soles of my feet prickled, my body silently urging me on.

How easy it would be to walk over there and be with her. Tell her that all those fuckers who had treated her like shit were behind me. I heard a flurry of laughter from the group. Then she stubbed out her cigarette, and I knew it wasn't going to be long before she tried to come back in and find me. I had to let her know that things had changed, that I was here for her now.

But as my body prepared to go to her, I heard my name called.

For a second, I thought it was just my father, somehow reading my mind and trying to intervene in what I was about to do, but then I realized that I recognized the voice.

"Jennie," he called again.

My stomach dropped, as both my mother and I turned at the same moment to see where it was coming from. The door opened and I laid my horrified eyes on my ex- fiancé. "What the hell?" I muttered, shooting a longing look at Lisa, before stepping back inside the room.

"Jennie," Mark hurried over to me.

The entire room had turned to watch us.

I felt myself flushing. No doubt, my face was a bright, unattractive red. I hated being the center of attention, especially when that attention was focused on both me and my cheating fuck of an ex. He looked like shit, his hair a mess and his shirt stained, as though he'd run all the way from the city to find me.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice low as I glanced around at all the people watching us from the open door. There was no way in hell that this wasn't going to be the talk of the town tomorrow, so I just had to play at damage control as best I could.

"You just left," he replied while looking desperate. "And you wouldn't answer your phone. I needed to see you, to talk to you in person—"

"There's nothing we need to talk about," I fired back, pissed as hell. "I walked in on the two of you together. Or do I need to tell everyone here what I saw you doing?"

Two dark spots of color stained Mark's cheeks as his eyes slid around the room. It seemed as if he had momentarily forgotten his audience, but I could tell it was just clicking that there were a lot of rich, important people around. People he would normally do his best to impress. But as it was, he was just standing there in the middle of the room looking like a grade-A idiot.

"Please, Jennie…" He made his way toward me, marching across the space and closing the distance between us.

I could feel everyone staring at us, including my parents. Had they set this up somehow? They'd been so convinced that Mark was the right choice for me so I wouldn't put it past them to drag him out to something like this in the hopes of getting us back together.

"Get away from me," I spat as I shifted backwards. I felt such a visceral hatred toward him, as though all the emotion that I had done such a good job ignoring when I had walked in on him before was suddenly roiling and growling inside of me, catching me off-guard. I wanted to punch him. I clenched my fists and forced myself to inhale long, deep breaths. I wasn't going to make any more of a scene here. I would get rid of him and that was going to be the end of us once and for all.

"I deserve an explanation," he continued, and his voice had taken on an edge. Anger replacing the apology.

I couldn't believe he was seriously pulling this shit on me. He had the nerve. What in the world gave him the right to come in here and treat me as though I was the one who'd done something wrong, when he'd been fucking one of our friends? "You deserve an explanation? You?" I asked. I felt so angry my voice was shaking.

He took a step back. I could see in his eyes that he hadn't expected to see me so angry. Jennie the doormat was over. "I didn't mean it like that," he said.

"You don't deserve anything," I stated quietly as I noticed he was moving toward me once more. I stood my ground. This was my hometown, and I wasn't about to let him push me around.

"I know what happened was hard for you, but you need to give me a chance," he wheedled hopefully.

I fought the urge to punch him on his weak, faithless jaw. "I don't need to give you anything."

"It wasn't what you think, Jennie. I swear it was an accident. It was just that one time. It meant nothing."

Even though I was angry and felt it like a ball of fire in my guts his statement made me laugh. "An accident? You must really think I'm a fool, right? Whatever. I don't love you, Mark. Now, will you please get out of here? Someone else is trying to have their wedding party, you know—"

"I know." He nodded and suddenly, he was right in front of me, staring into my eyes with this imploring expression that was enough to make me want to head butt him. "And I don't want to ruin their night, but I need you, Jennie. I need you back. The apartment has been so empty without you. Please come back. I swear, you won't regret it." And with that, he reached out and gripped my arms.

I froze on the spot. I wanted to shove him away from me, but I couldn't. He was so much bigger than me and his fingers were sinking into my flesh. I felt so useless, so weak, pathetic. "Mark, let go of me," I commanded coldly.

He didn't move a muscle. He was still looking at me with those big, hopeful eyes.

"Mark," I warned him one more time, and the bastard leaned in and actually tried to kiss me.

I twisted my head away from him desperately and looked around the room at everyone who was just standing there watching this unfold. Why wasn't anyone doing anything? Was this good enough gossip fodder that they were happy to just stand by and watch me get harassed by my asshole of an ex? My eyes met my parents.

They were frozen with shock. They stared at me in horror.

And then, out of nowhere, the back door banged open and footsteps barreled toward me. I was pretty sure I knew who they belonged to, before looking around.

Suddenly, Lisa was in front of us, yanking Mark away from me, shoving him hard. "What the fuck are you doing?" Lisa demanded. "She clearly doesn't want to be anywhere near you."

"Who the hell are you?" Mark snarled, gathering himself up and marching toward Lisa. In his mind, Lisa was a long-haired hick and he could instantly tell that he was dealing with an important outsider. He was so sure of his God given right to be the superior man that the fact he was a couple of inches shorter than Lisa didn't compute until a few second before he reached her. It made him suddenly shrink into himself in a panic.

"I'm the only person here willing to do anything," Lisa snapped back.

Like any bully, Mark looked around him for gang support. He seemed to find it in the faces of people there. Emboldened by the look of disgust and disapproval they had for the stranger, he shoved Lisa in the chest.

That seemed to be all Lisa needed to react. It fact, it was probably what she'd been waiting for. She pulled back her fist and launched it at Mark's jaw.

The punch sent Mark sprawling to the floor.

A gasp went up around the room, but I couldn't help but grin at the sight of my asshole of an ex crashing to the ground, clutching his face. A trickle of blood was running down the side of his mouth. Lisa did what I wanted to do.

"She hit me!" Mark pointed up at Lisa, like a sniveling child.

Ignoring the commotion that exploded around us as the crowd began to move once more, Lisa looked round at me. "Are you all right?" she asked, taking my face gently in her hands and looking anxiously into my eyes.

I could still feel the spots where Mark's fingers had dug into me when he was trying to let everyone in the damn room know that I was his, as though they'd been branded into my skin, but I nodded. "I am now," I said softly.

She smiled at me and I smiled back. For a moment, I was able to pretend the entire town hadn't just pretty much exploded into flames around me.

"You!" A man emerged from the crowd and yanked Lisa away from me. "You need to get out of here, right now!"

"Fine." Lisa held her hands up and started toward the door. "Not my scene, anyway."

"I'm coming with you." I chased after her.

"Jennie," my mother called.

I turned back to look at her. "See you later," I said and ran to Lisa. Without thinking, I slipped my hand into hers. She grinned at me, and I spotted Jisoo glaring at me from across the room, beyond a crowd of people who seemed to be helping Mark back to his feet. I didn't care about any of them. I was out of here, and nothing could hold me back. Lisa and I headed for the door.

I left the fancy party with my mechanic. And I wouldn't have had it any other way.

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