Chapter 19

Jennie

"Stop stressing, we'll be fine." My mom smiled reassuringly as she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "Go. Have fun. Relax."

She knew me too well, sometimes better than I knew myself. My stomach was full of tiny, little knots, each one representing something different that could go wrong over the next thirty-six hours. "I know, Mom. Thanks … for everything."

Cupping my cheek lovingly with her hand, she said, "For you, anything. Now hurry, before traffic gets too bad." She grabbed the plastic dress bag from the front hall closet and handed it to me. "Don't forget this."

Due to my complete lack of fashion sense, Rosé had stopped by that morning with a dozen dresses for me to try on for the dinner with Lisa. She and my mom squealed and giggled louder with each dress I tried on, discussing how the ice blue one made my butt look perfect and the salmon colored one complimented my skin tone. I just stared at them like a deer in headlights and turned when they told me to.

Obviously, I picked the ice blue one.

I tossed my duffel bag in the back of my jeep and hung the dress on a hook. Butterflies slammed against my rib cage as I pulled out of the driveway, waving at the two little smiling faces on the porch. Not quite ready, I pulled back up the driveway, threw my jeep in park and dashed to the porch for one last kiss.

God, I'm going to miss them.

My phone beeped as I turned onto the main road. I looked down and saw it was a text from Lisa. Rather than text back, I dialed her number.

"Hey!" She enthusiastically answered the phone.

"Hey you."

"I was just checking to see where you are. Have you left yet?"

"Nope, bad news. I have the flu, I'm not gonna be able to make it."

A heavy silence hung on the other end of the line, followed by a sigh. "Really? That totally sucks." Her deflated tone filled me with guilt … almost.

"No, not really." I giggled. "I'm in my jeep, just left."

"Oh, you think you're funny, don't ya?" Her voice relaxed again. "You're gonna pay for that one … I promise."

Two hours later, I finally pulled into the underground parking lot at Lisa's building. I typed the code she gave me on the digital security screen and the metal gates swung open. I pulled my jeep in the open spot next to her truck where she'd instructed me to and went to the back to grab my bag.

"Nice back end."

Spinning around, my eyes rested on Lisa leaning up against a concrete pillar, her arms folded across her chest with a suggestive smirk on her face. I looked her up and down, head to toe, taking in every sexy inch. She had on a Wild t-shirt that hugged her arms tight and made her eyes look extra intense. Loose curls peeked out from under the baseball cap she was wearing backwards, as usual. I almost forgot how ridiculously hot she was, and she was smiling at me.

"Hey," I replied shyly, not quite used to her compliments yet.

Not wasting any time, she walked over and wrapped her arms around me tight, picking me up off the ground. My whole body tingled as I squeezed her back just as hard.

"I could get used to this," I said into her t-shirt, inhaling the scent of her cologne.

She put me down and hooked a finger under my chin, pulling it up to her as she put her lips on mine. It was a sweet, gentle kiss that melted my reserves away and instantly put me at ease.

"Good," she replied as she pulled back. "Let me get your stuff."

She snatched my duffel bag out of the backseat with her left hand and reached for mine with her right. She pulled it up to her lips and kissed my fingers.

"I'm glad you're here."

My heart swelled as I smiled up at her. "Me too."

As we got to her condo door, she stopped and turned to me. "I have to warn you … my friend Viper is here. He had a fight with his girlfriend yesterday so he crashed here last night, but he's leaving. He was supposed to be gone already, but he slept late."

"I can't wait to meet him," I said, ignoring the twists and turns happening in my stomach again.

She turned the knob and grimaced at me. "You might regret saying that."

All week long, I had been picturing Lisa's condo in my head. Lawn chairs in the living room, the garbage can overflowing with empty beer cans and take out containers covering every surface.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Not only was it spotless, it was warm and cozy. Decorated with leather furniture, funky artwork, and of course a TV bigger than I'd ever seen in my entire life.

Jumping up from the couch, Viper bounded over to us, throwing his arms around me. A little overwhelmed, I politely returned his hug. He pulled back and looked at me. "So, you're the girl that tamed the beast, huh?" He looked over at Lisa and nodded. "Nice choice, man. I approve."

Lisa narrowed her eyes at Viper, issuing a simple warning. "Easy."

"I'm just giving her a compliment. Here, I'll start over." He took my hand in his, kissing the top of it as he bowed in front of me. "I'm Viper, very nice to meet you."

"Hi Viper." I smiled warmly and shook his hand back. "Nice to meet you too."

Viper was intimidating. He was as tall as Lisa and muscular, but that's where the similarities ended. Tattoos of dragons and snakes and God knows what else covered his arms and crept all the way up his neck from under his t-shirt, stopping at his strong jaw line. His shoulder length blonde hair was pulled back in a messy, low ponytail and his lip was pierced in two different places. Scary biker look aside, something about him was comforting. I liked him, a lot.

Lisa smacked Viper hard on the back of the shoulders and put her arm around him. "He was just leaving."

Viper looked surprised. "I was?"

"Yes, you were." Lisa walked over to the coffee table and gathered his keys and phone and handed them to him.

Viper winked at Lisa. "Ooooh, I get it. You want to be alone with her. I feel ya, man."

I laughed as Lisa sighed, took her hat off and ran her hands through her hair.

Viper started past me toward the door, stopping to plant a kiss on my cheek.

Lisa pushed him from behind. "Keep walking, Casanova."

As they got to the door, Viper turned and looked over Lisa's shoulder, waving at me once more. "Dude, if it doesn't work out, will you give her my number?" he asked.

"Goodbye." Lisa closed the door as Viper continued from the other side.

"I was just asking. She smells really fucking good!"

Lisa clicked the deadbolt and turned back to me. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, really." I laughed, "I thought he was sweet."

"Sweet?" She scratched her head. "That's not usually a word I hear used to describe Viper, but okay."

She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me again. "He was right about one thing though. You do smell amazing."

"You smell pretty delicious yourself," I replied, feeling bolder now that we were alone. I wrapped my arms around her neck, planting my lips right on her. She responded eagerly, sucking my bottom lip into her mouth, running her tongue along it.

In that moment I wasn't thinking about being a mom or what the girls were doing back home, nor did I care that I hadn't studied at all since I started talking to Lisa. In her arms, I floated higher and higher into the clouds, swirling around in a dizzying, euphoric haze. All that mattered was that kiss and I threw myself into it wholeheartedly, holding nothing back. Her hands flowed smoothly down my back, her fingertips digging into my hips.

Our tongues continued their seductive dance as Lisa walked me backward toward the living room. Giggling as I fell back on her couch, I pulled her down on top of me where I was able to feel just how happy she was that I was here. Knowing that I could do that to her only made me want her more. Slipping my hands up the back of her shirt, I ran my hands over her back as they flexed under my hands with each slight movement she made. She reached up and fisted a handful of my hair, gently pulling it to expose my neck. I couldn't contain my moan any longer when her lips finally connected with my skin, kissing and sucking their way down to my collarbone.

"Can I show you the rest of my condo?" Chills blanketed my body as her lips grazed my ear. "My bedroom is just past that door."

All at once, my senses came flooding back to me. "Wait, no … slow. Remember?"

Her head dropped to my shoulder as she sighed. "I should've kept my mouth shut." She sat up and grinned at me, holding her hands out. "Come on, I'll actually give you the grand tour, slowly."

I took her hands, stood up and adjusted my top. "You're not mad, are you?"

"At you? Never." She kissed my hand again and led me down the hall.

Lisa's bedroom was simple, sparse even. A king-sized bed, topped with chocolate brown and tan plaid bedding, was against the wall to the left, each side anchored with chunky black nightstands. A black leather chair sat in the far right corner next to a bookshelf that I was immediately drawn to. I walked over, eager to see what types of books would grab Lisa's attention.

"Don't waste your time, nothing but magazines." She sounded embarrassed. "Mostly Sports Illustrated."

I turned and smiled at her. "Nothing wrong with that." Half a dozen pictures hung on the wall on the other side of the chair. A middle-aged woman with Lisa's features was in most of them. "Is this your mom?"

She walked up behind me and curled her arms around my waist. "Yep, beautiful, isn't she?"

"Very." My fingers traced each frame as I looked at her closely. The resemblance was astonishing, from their same dark brown curls to their award-winning smiles. She was an older, softer version of her beautiful child. "You have her eyes—beautiful and sincere, very expressive. You have the ability to tell a whole story with just one look. You know that?"

She hugged me tighter, resting her head on my shoulder while I continued studying the woman responsible for her existence.

My heart sank when I came to a picture of her sitting in a big chair, curled up under a blanket. She had a pink bandanna wrapped around her head and was very thin, her face drained of all its color. Despite all that, her beautiful, contagious smile spread wide across her face as she gave the camera two thumbs up.

"What about this one?" I asked cautiously.

"I took that," she said proudly. "That was about three years ago, the morning of her last chemo treatment. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, but she beat it. I keep that picture up there to remind me how far she's come. I'm so proud of her."

"You guys are really close, huh?"

She sighed, her breath warming my neck. "What can I say? I'm a mama's girl."

"Hope she doesn't mind sharing." I turned to the right and kissed her cheek. The instant my lips left her face, she grabbed my hips and spun me around to face her.

"I'm about to throw you on the bed and have my way with you. Can we please stop talking about my mom?"