JENNIE

I've been thinking about something we should do,

We should fall in love around two.

And then when it becomes four,

I'll start loving on you even more.

~ Romeo's Quest


Our visits became more frequent. Our connection grew stronger, because growth was the only choice we gave it. After school each day, I would wait behind the library with a new book I found to share with her.

She would read to me while we made pots of macaroni. I would read to her while she hung up different paint cards around the house—trying to decide what colors to paint her parents' home. She would lie upside down on her living room chair and read to me while I completed homework. I would recite the novels while she graded papers.

The words sounded so much sweeter, had so much more depth when they traveled from her lips to my ears. Her voice heightened with the characters' anger, lowered with their deepest fears.

Today she sat with her back against the coffee table as she read to me and I stared at her for the longest time. I watched her eyes blink, and her lips move. I studied her fingers turning the pages as her feet tapped against the carpet. And I cried. It wasn't due to the words on the pages, but the tears stood for hope. For an actual chance at happiness.

"Lisa," I whispered, moving closer to her. I placed my hand against the book, bringing her reading to a halt. She looked up to me, a warm grin on her face. I took her hands in mine and moved them to rest over my heart. "You're doing it."

"Doing what?"

"Bringing me back to life."

There were times when we would visit and I wasn't as strong as I was the day prior. Sometimes memories tried their best to pull at my heart about Irene being gone, so Lisa would stop reading. She would put one of her 'hipster' upbeat CDs into the stereo and started blasting music.

"Dance break," she, instructed, pulling me up from my sadness.

"Lisa," I whined, but I never declined a dance break. It was a few weeks ago that I told her how much I love dancing.

"Come on. Move it," she said, shaking her hips and pushing out her lips. She looked like a freaking clown, and I fell for her that much more. I held my hands up in the air and slowly started moving back and forth. She reached for one of my arms and spun me around in a circle, pulling me closer to her. "Tell me her happiest fact."

I smiled as we danced across the living room together. "Suho Kim."

"Tell me her silliest fact," she said.

I bit my bottom lip in thought. "She loved to eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. When we were kids, she set up a business outside trying to sale lemonade and PBP sandwiches. Needless to say, she didn't become rich from that venture."

She scrunched up her nose. "Have you ever tried one?"

"Ew, no. Irene was the weird one, not me."

"I beg to differ. You eat cereal with marshmallows. You're a freak." Her finger brushed against my nose and she disappeared into the kitchen. When she came back, she had pickles, bread, and peanut butter.

"No," I sternly stated.

She arched an eyebrow. "Bucket list. Try something new."

I sighed, knowing that trying something new was on the list. But did it have to be so disgusting?

We each made a sandwich and took a bite. It was as disgusting as we both figured it would be, but at the same time it was the best sandwich of my life because it was a part of Irene that I was able to share with Lisa.

"I get what you were doing," I said, putting down my pickle sandwich. "Dancing with me."

She smiled and shrugged. "Sometimes when you miss a person, you can only focus on how sad you feel that they are gone. Other times, it's best to focus on the memories that bring you joy and laughter."

I grinned down to my sandwich and added more peanut butter. "You're a very great teacher."

"You're a very smart student." She wiped her finger in the peanut butter and spread it against my neck.

"Lisa," I whispered as her tongue danced across my skin, licking up the peanut butter. She breathed against me, sending chills throughout my entire being.

"Yes?"

"Teach me some more."

Her eyes met mine. I ran my fingers against her mouth. Her eyes smirked as she lifted me up into her arms and took me to her bedroom for our next lesson plan.

"Don't…stop…" I breathed heavily, begging as I lay in Lisa's bed, "…reading… Don't stop reading."

My eyes were closed and I'd taken off my oversized sweatshirt, leaving me only in my white tank top and tight jeans. She hovered over me, shirtless. My fingers ran up and down her toned chest, feeling her inhale and exhale each and every time.

Her left hand held up her body as her right held an open book. She smirked as she read me the next line from Much Ado About Nothing. "'She's but the sign and semblance of her honor.'" Her voice was rigid and rough with every word she spoke, sending me into a wave of desire. "'Behold how like a maid she blushes here.'" She gently pecked my ear. "'O, what authority and show of truth'"—she kissed my neck—"'can cunning sin…'" She placed the softest lips to the curves of my breasts. My hips voluntarily arched toward her, wanting nothing more than to feel her against me. She pulled down the straps of my tank top and outlined my bra with her tongue. "'…cover itself withal.'"

My hands moved to the belt loops of her slacks and I pulled her down lower to me, pressing my body against her. I felt her against my jeans, making me well aware that reading was her biggest turn-on, too.

"Lisa," I softly spoke.

"Yes?" She buried her face into my chest, into me.

My voice was shaky, unsteady from my apparent desires. "Close the book." It only took a moment for me to hear the book slam shut. When I opened my eyes, her stare was intense; her pupils were dilated and dreamy. I kissed her chin, feeling my heart rate increase. "I want you…" She sat up a bit and moved her hands to the hem of my shirt. Pulling it up slow, she glided her mouth to my belly button, kissing me all over as my thighs longed for more attention. "Please, Lisa…"

"You're perfect," she sighed against my skin. "We'll start slow." She slid my tank top over my head and tossed it to the side of the room. She placed her hand over my chest and felt my heart beating for her. Only for her.

I sat up a little on my elbows and wrapped my hand around her neck, pulling her down to my lips. She pressed her mouth against mine, and I moaned her name softly as she took my breath away. Then she filled me back up, giving me life, giving me meaning, giving me her. I was shocked by her ability to awaken my spirit each and every time we were near one another. She was discovering all of my weaknesses and making them strong.

I slid my hand toward her zipper and unbuttoned her jeans, and as my fingers swept across her, she rewarded me with a soft groan. She wrangled them off completely, and I traced the waist of her boxers. A deep-rooted growl left her throat and I loved the sound. I cherished that I'd done that to her. She unzipped my jeans and helped me wiggle out of them, which wasn't the easiest task. She laughed at the way they took a while to slide off me. I laughed because I'd never felt so comfortable unclothed in front of anyone.

"We're not going to have sex, Jennie," she warned.

I grimaced at the thought because she worked me up more than anyone ever had. I wanted to feel her against me. I wanted her inside me.

"I'm not scared, Lisa. I promise."

"I know. But I want to take my time with you, with us. Besides…" Her fingers glided against the cotton fabric of my panties. Ohmygosh! My mouth opened to catch the air she had driven out of my body. "There's so much more we can do besides sex." Her head lowered down between my thighs, and I closed my eyes as my stomach filled with nerves.

I'd never had anyone down there before. Billy had never pleasured me in any way whatsoever. It had always been about him, his wants, his needs. But Lisa was different in every way possible. She wanted me to feel good. She wanted me to be pleasured. She wanted me.

Feeling her hot breaths against my skin was sending me into a different world.

"I'm going to kiss you, Jennie," she whispered.

My fingers dug into the sheets surrounding me and her kisses stayed low. I felt her wet lips press against the edge of my panties before her fingers wrapped around them and started lowering them more and more.

"Lis…" I muttered in a low tone, unable to complete her full name. My hips arched in her direction, asking her for more, for so much more. The kisses didn't stop, and my moans didn't cease.

Each inch she lowered my panties, I received a warm kiss, followed by her tongue running up and down, then another kiss, and then a long, hungry lick once she reached my core.

"Lisa," I moaned, louder this time, knowing that everything I'd ever wanted was with me now. She licked me deeper, harder, with more love.

I was on the edge of heaven, about to give her all of me. My body was trembling, my hips rocking against her mouth more and more. She spread my legs wider.

"You're perfect," she whispered as I dug my fingers into the sheets. "So perfect."

I buried my head into a pillow, gasping as her fingers found their way to me, rubbing me, finding a perfect rhyme with her tongue. She inhaled when I did, and I exhaled with her.

As she picked up speed, my breaths became heavier, hungrier for all of her. I ran my fingers in her hair, tugging on it gently. One smaller kiss from Lisa was all it took to carry me over, making my body rocket into space, leaving me panting with her lying against me. I knew now that I'd never experienced pleasure in that form—or any form—before she'd come into my life. Lisa brought me another first. My first ever orgasm.

My panting was heavy, and she moved up to me, kissing my neck. "Thank you," she sighed against me, wrapping me in her hold. "Thank you for trusting me."

We lay there for what felt like eternity. I felt hot and tired, but not too tired.

"Lisa," I whispered, running my fingers up and down her spine.

She bit her mouth against my shoulder, making me sigh. "Hmm?

"Can you do that again?"