Chapter Nineteen

I woke to the sounds of people talking. I sat up quickly and pulled the covers up around my bare breasts. Where is my shirt? I wondered as it started to click that I wasn't at home, but instead with Lisa. Wherever that was.

We talked about a lot of things last night, except for where she was currently living. I looked around the now cold room and Lisa wasn't anywhere. The room looked dramatically differently during the day than it did last night. What I had thought was the most romantic setting was instead a basic and almost empty looking space. There were only a few pieces of furniture: a bed, a dresser, and a chair. The strangest thing about the room was there was a sink and wash towels. I wasn't expecting to see that in the room, and I hoped there wasn't a toilet in here too.

I got out of the bed and put on my shirt and jeans—checking to make sure my ring was still secure in the pocket, and it was. I ran the water in the sink and washed my face quickly. There was no hope for my hair, so I ran my wet fingers through it to calm the crazy wild curls, thanks to bed-head. I checked myself over in the mirror and realized that there was no way I would ever fit in looking like that, so there was no use in fixing my hair at all. Nothing I did to my hair or clothes at this point would work; I wasn't from this time and that was that.

I looked out the window hoping for some sign of where Lisa was, but all I found was a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean, children playing, and women hanging clothes on a clothesline. I did a double take at the ocean and instantly opened the window to get a better look. As soon as I did, the smell of salty air hit me. We were in Maine. No doubt about it. I knew that salty sea air and that ocean.

"See anything you like out there?"

I turned fast to see Lisa balancing a tray full of food with one hand and closing the door with the other. I rushed to her aid just in time to save a dish of grapes. She thanked me and set the tray down on the bed.

"I thought I would run out and get us a proper breakfast. I imagine you're famished," she said.

Thinking about it, I was hungry. We stayed up pretty late, and I hadn't eaten before I came here.

I popped a grape into my mouth and nodded as the fruit burst in my mouth. I didn't realize how hungry I was until then.

"These grapes are so good," I said before I put more in. "You really need some."

I held one out to her, and she opened her mouth, letting me feed her. Her full lips took the grape and she sucked it in. The way she chewed it made me sigh. I had never known anyone who could make eating so damn sexy.

"Do you like what you saw?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Outside. Did you like the view?"

I laughed. Of course she didn't mean the view of her chewing.

"I always said I had an eye for beautiful things, and that view is more than beautiful. We're in Maine, aren't we?"

Her face grew into a huge grin as she tapped me on the nose with her finger tip.

"How are you so intelligent, Jennie Kim?"

I shrugged. "I've lived here, there, my whole life. The Maine coast is the most beautiful. I mean not even California can compare," I told her as I shoveled a piece of bread into my mouth.

"California? What is that?"

I laughed and a piece of bread came flying out of my mouth. Always the graceful lady.

"California," I restated, saying slowly this time. "I guess you wouldn't know about it yet. But you will the longer you're here in the United States. You'll hear all about the Gold Rush that occurred."

She nodded like it sounded familiar.

"Yes, now it's ringing a bell. Someone was saying that their cousin went west in search of gold," she said.

She took her napkin and plated it gracefully over her lap before buttering her bread. "And you've been there?"

I put my bread down and copied her manners, putting my napkin over my lap. "I lived there. It's where I went to college, before …"

"Ah, yes, before your grandmother passed away. Jennie, you mustn't feel like you have to do as I do."

I looked up from my bread and said, "Huh?"

She pointed at me. "You're mimicking me. You do not need to do as I do; be yourself. That's what I love so much about you, how you're nothing like me. I was raised in a home where we had servants who followed us 'round the clock. My valet dressed me and opened doors for me. We sit at a table and are served food." She paused and sighed heavily. "I cannot even sneak into a kitchen to steal a tray of food without someone doing it for me."

Suddenly I felt sad for her. I was raised with a freedom Lisa would never know. It was almost comparable to being a movie star. She lived a lush life that I looked at from afar and wished I had. But at the end of the day, I was happy in my little home because it was comfortable and it was mine.

"Where are we anyway? Is this your new home?"

She shook her head and waved her hand. "My father would keel over if he knew I was staying here. He thinks I'm on my way to his new estate in two days. I took advantage of the boat's early arrival and booked myself a small holiday here."

I nodded in understanding. She needed a breather before she was forced to be around her pushy father. I wished that I could bring her back through the book with me for those two days. Instead we had to make the best of the time we had together.

"I can stay with you if you want." I suddenly realized that taking off my ring might not have been a good idea. What if she wanted to be alone and not spend time dragging her futuristic girlfriend around?

"You can stay, here? How does that work exactly?"

I pulled the ring from my pocket and I placed it into her open palm.

"This ring tethers me to my time. Without it, I'm here and I cannot travel back until I place it back on my finger. Why don't you hold onto it for me?"

She looked at it and admired the gemstone.

"I may not ever give it back to you, Jennie, for fear of losing you again to the pages of a book." She put it on her pinkie and winked at me. "Will you be missed at home?"

I shook my head. "No."

Now that the ring left my hand, I was no longer there in body. My full self, spirit and physical, was here and all that would be left behind was the book. Hopefully Tarryn knew that I wasn't missing but instead with Lisa. I wished I could get a note to her not to worry about me. I wondered whether time moved the same there as it did here, and if I would be gone for the same amount of days.

"Maybe missing for two days is a bad idea."

"Is it?" Lisa asked looking up at me.

"Did I say that aloud?"

"You did, yes. If it's too long, you can go back tonight. I refuse to let you leave me now. I do have the ring, remember?" She held up her sparkly pinkie and wiggled it at me. "Let's make the best of the day. I would like to see the ocean today. Do you fancy a swim?"

I would fancy being with her again in this bed, but heck, I'd be down for getting into a bikini and going for a dip. Anything to get my body next to hers.

"I'll need to change first. I can't go swimming in this, unless we go naked," I said with a wink.

She swallowed hard and stood fast, causing her food to fall on the floor.

"I'll get you someone…someone to give you attire. Even though, being bare with you would be a jolly good time."

I loved her accent so much. I'd show her a jolly time indeed.

As I stood in the hideous apparel the women of nineteenth century called swimwear, I realized Lisa and I would not be seeing much of each other's bodies anytime soon. The swimsuit was a godawful piece of clothing that I compared to a tent. It didn't hug any of my curves or flatter any part of my body at all. It was navy blue and pinstriped. It wasn't even a pretty color. I wondered who designed this as I played with the bulky material.

"Ah, it fits you nicely, dearie," said the lady who put me into it.

I shook my head and replied, "I think it's too big."

She only cackled at me, like I told a hilarious joke.

"It's just your size, and if you ask me, I think it might show just a bit too much already. Anything smaller would be too risqué for a nice girl like you."

She continued to laugh at me as she left me alone in the room. I flipped her off, without her noticing, and turned to look at the rest of the clothes she left for me.

The dresses were gorgeous, but this thing, this was worthy of a match when I got back. For now I had no choice but to wear it.