JENNIE
She didn't fix me with her body but with her words. We stayed up talking about anything and everything in our lives, which made it a bit easier for me to breathe. Knowing more facts about Lisa made life seem less lonesome.
"When did you know you wanted to work on cars?" I asked her.
She grimaced a bit and shrugged. "I didn't. I wanted to go to art school. I took more so after my mom than my dad, but after everything that happened, I figured I should help out at the shop."
"You never wanted to be a mechanic?"
"Never."
That made me sad for her. She couldn't even find the time to chase her dreams after spending most of her life caring for her father. "You can always go back to school," I told her.
She shrugged. "I'm fine here."
"But are you happy here?"
"Happiness never really seemed like an option for someone like me."
"You deserve it more than most."
"But less than you." She somewhat grinned. "You deserve it the most."
We lived in a strange world, she and I. A world where we weren't exactly free to express how we really felt for one another, but in my mind, I told her over and over again.
I adore you. I adore you. I adore you…
Her finger traced my wrist and then she pulled my arm closer to her and kissed it. "You're bruised from the last time I pinned you down."
"There are worse ways to get bruises." I smirked. She frowned a little, looking at my wrist. "It's okay, Lisa. I'm fine."
"I just don't want to hurt you."
"Lately, you're about the only thing not hurting me." I moved in and kissed her lips softly.
She closed her eyes for a second, and when she reopened them, her hazel stare sent chills down my spine. "When do you go back to Atlanta to teach?"
We hadn't really spoken about me leaving. Over the past few months, we'd simply fallen into one another's arms and hadn't exchanged many words outside of moans. When we did speak, it was always about our pasts, never about the future.
"In about three weeks," I told her.
She looked down, a hint of disappointment in her stare. "Oh, okay."
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's just…I'm going to miss you, that's all."
My heart skipped another beat.
"Lalisa Manoban misses people?" I joked, trying to control the feelings raging in my chest.
"No, not people…just you."
I adore you. I adore you. I adore you…
My fingers fell to the side of her neck, and I began to massage her skin as she wrapped her arms around me. My stare stayed on her lips. That same mouth had been all over my body, but what touched me the most were the words that fell from between those lips of her.
"I'm going to miss you, too," I said softly. "Without you, I would've drowned this summer."
She kissed me, and something shifted that night. Her kisses felt different, more real than the fictional story we'd been telling one another every single day for so many weeks. She hadn't said the words, and I hadn't either, but our kisses felt like we were begging for a little more time, a few more touches, a few more skipping heartbeats.
I stayed longer that night as our touches almost mimicked something that could've been confused with love. As the sun began to rise, I began to put on my clothes and started heading back to my place.
"I'll walk you home," she offered.
I smiled and yawned. "You know I'll decline."
"Text me when you make it back?"
"I can do that."
"Okay." She smiled, leaning against the doorframe.
"Okay," I replied.
"Jennie Ruby Jane?"
"Yes?"
She cleared her throat and placed her hands into her pockets. "Do you think I can take you out on a date sometime? Like a real date?"
Butterflies filled me up inside.
"I didn't know Lisa Manoban dated people."
"Not people…only you."
More butterflies.
"Actually, I was going to ask you if you'd do something with me."
"What's that?" she questioned.
"Each year, for as long as I can remember, my parents host a summer gala at the town hall ballroom to raise money for charities. It's a big deal, and everyone in town dresses up like it's the Oscars or something. There's a big dinner and dance and literally everyone in town will be there."
"The Kim Gala. Yeah, I've heard of it."
"Be my date?" I asked her. She grimaced for a moment, and I felt my heart crack. Embarrassment hit my cheeks. "If you don't want to, you don't have to. I swear, I just thought—"
"I want to come," she told me, giving me some reassurance. "I just worry people will give you a hard time if you show up with me. I don't want to stress you out and add more drama to your life. People will talk."
"Let them," I told her, placing my hands against her chest. "We just won't listen."
She smiled. The kind of smile that made my heart skip a few beats. She leaned into me, placing her forehead against mine.
Her lips grazed mine, and I knew I was ruined.
"So…" She whispered. "It's a date?"
"Yes." Chills raced throughout my body. "It's a date. Good night, Lalisa."
She kissed me gently on the lips, and I felt it in every fiber of my body as her hands fell behind my neck. She massaged my skin then softly spoke with her smoky voice. "Good morning, Jennie Ruby Jane."