Jennie's POV
Her fingers grip the bottom of her shirt, pulling it over her head, and she reaches behind me to turn on the shower.
"We can't just take a shower together! We're at your father's house, and Jisoo and Yeri could be back anytime," I say. The idea of seeing Lisa completely naked under the shower makes me squirm but this is too much.
"Well, then I'm going to take a nice hot shower while you stand there and overanalyze." Her pants drop to the floor, along with her boxers, and she steps past me and into the water. The bare skin on her back is tight, pulled against the muscles there. She faces me, her eyes moving up and down my covered body, the way mine are on her naked one. The water covers her, making her tattooed skin glisten. I don't realize I'm staring until she closes the curtain abruptly, hiding her perfect figure.
"Don't you just love a hot shower after a long day?" Her voice is muffled somewhat by the sound of the water, but I can still catch its smugness.
"I wouldn't know; some rude naked girl stole my shower," I huff and hear her chuckle.
"A sexy rude naked girl?" she teases. "Just come in before the hot water goes away."
"I . . ." I want to, but taking a shower with someone is just so intimate, too intimate.
"Come on, live a little. It's just a shower," she says and opens the curtain. "Please." She reaches her hand out and my eyes scan her long, inked torso, gleaming from the water sliding down her skin.
"Okay," I whisper and undress while she watches every move I make. "Stop staring," I scold her and she pretends to be wounded, placing her hand over her heart.
"Are you questioning my nobility?" She laughs and I nod slowly, trying to fight my smile. "I am insulted."
She reaches her hand out to help, and I can't believe I'm actually doing this, showering with someone. I try my best to cover myself with my arms as I wait for her to move from under the water.
"Is it weird that I love how you're still shy around me?" she says, unfolding my arms, removing my shield. I stay quiet and she gently tugs my arms to bring me more under the water, which she's blocking with her body. Her head dips down, soaking my bare shoulder.
"I think it's so appealing to me because you are so shy and innocent, yet you let me do dirty things to you." Her breath feels hotter than the water against my ear. I blink as her hands travel down my arms slowly. "And I know for a fact that you like when I say dirty things to you."
I gulp and she smiles against my neck. "See how your pulse quickens . . . I can practically see it under your delicate skin." She taps her index finger over the pulse point in my neck. I have no idea how I am standing; my legs have turned to mush, along with my brain.
Her fingers running over my body make me stop worrying about the fact that we aren't alone in the house; they make me want to be reckless and let Lisa do whatever she wants to me. When her long fingers wrap around my hips, I involuntarily lean into her.
"I love you, Jennie. You believe me, don't you?" she asks.
I nod, wondering why she is asking me this right now, after we have said it so many times in the last twenty-four hours. "Yes, I believe you." My voice is hoarse and I clear my throat.
"Good. I have never loved anyone before." She goes from playful to seductive to serious so fast, I can barely keep up.
"Ever?" I think I already knew this, but it feels so different actually having her say the words, especially when we are like this. I thought she would have her head between my legs right now, not be expressing her feelings.
"No, never. Not even close," she admits.
I wonder if she has ever had a girlfriend before—no, I don't want to know if she has. She told me she doesn't date, so I'm going to stick with that.
"Oh," is all I can say.
"Do you love me the way you loved Kai?" she asks.
A sound between a cough and a gasp comes out of my mouth, and I look away from her. I grab the shampoo off the shelf. I haven't even washed anything yet and we have been in here several minutes already.
"Well?" she presses.
I don't know how to answer that. It's totally different with Lisa than it was with Kai. I loved Kai, I think. I know I loved him, just not like this. Loving Kai was comfortable and safe; it was always calm. Loving Lisa is raw and exciting; it sparks my every nerve and I can't get enough of her. I never want to be away from her. Even when she drove me crazy, I missed her and had to fight myself to stay away.
"I take that as a no," she says and turns away from me, letting me have full access to the water. I feel cramped in the tiny space and the air is too thin, too clouded with steam from the hot water.
"It's not the same." How do I explain this to her without sounding insane? Her shoulders slack. I know if she was to face me she would be frowning. My hands wrap around her waist and I press my lips against her back. "It's not the same, but not how you're thinking that means," I say. "I love you in a different way. Kai was so comfortable to me he was almost like family. I felt like I was supposed to love him but I really didn't, not in the way I love you at least. It wasn't until I realized I loved you that I saw how different love was from what I thought it was. I don't know if that even makes sense." A pang of guilt hits me for saying I didn't love Kai, but I think I knew that from the moment I kissed Lisa for the first time. "It does." When she turns back around, her eyes are much softer. The lust, then apprehension are gone, replaced by . . . love? Or relief . . . I can't tell but she leans down and kisses my forehead. "I just want to be the only person you ever love; that way you are mine."
How could she be such a jerk before and say these loving things to me now? Despite the hint of possessiveness in her tone, her words are sweet and surprisingly humble for her.
"In the ways that count, you are," I promise her. She seems pleased with my answer as her smile returns.
"Now, can you move so I can get this dirt off me before the water goes cold?" I say and gently push her out of my way.
"I'll do that for you." She grabs the cloth and pours soap on it. I hold my breath the entire time she gently scrubs the dirt off my body, and shiver as she passes over the sensitive spots, her touch lingering on them.
"I would have you wash me, but I won't be able to stop what would happen after." She winks at me and I blush. I want to find out what would happen after, and I would love to touch every inch of her body. But Karen has probably already finished cooking and might come looking for us soon.
I know the responsible thing to do would be to agree to leave the shower, but it's hard to concentrate on being responsible when she's naked in front of me. I reach for her, gripping her length in my palm, and she steps back against the shower wall. She stares at me as I pump her slowly in my hand.
"Jen," she groans, resting her head back against the tiled wall.
I keep my hand on her, willing her to groan again. I just love the noises she makes. I glance down, admiring the way the water is spraying us, helping my hand to glide easily over her.
"You make me feel so fucking good."
Her gaze on me makes me a little nervous, but the way her teeth are pressed together and the way her eyelids flutter, it's as if she's trying to keep them open to urge me to pleasure her further. My thumb rubs across the head of her penis and she curses under her breath.
"I'm going to come now, already. Fuck." Her eyes close and I feel the warmth of her release mix with the hot water, and I can't help but stare until only the water is left on my hand. Lisa leans over, out of breath, and presses a kiss to my mouth.
"Amazing," she whispers, kissing me again.
After I am dirt-free and feeling calm, yet wound up from Lisa's touch, I dry off quickly and put on my yoga pants and a T-shirt from my bag, then brush my hair and pull it into a bun. Lisa wraps a towel around her waist and stands behind me, watching me through the mirror. She looks so heavenly and godlike and perfect and mine.
"Those pants are going to be distracting," she says.
"Have you always been such a pervert?" I tease and she nods.
IT ISN'T UNTIL WE WALK into the kitchen that I realize how we look, both coming down with wet hair. It is obvious that we just showered together. Lisa doesn't seem to mind, but then, she has no manners.
"There are some sandwiches over on the counter," Karen proclaims cheerily, pointing near where Marco sits with a stack of folders in front of him. She doesn't seem to be surprised or mind our appearance; my mother would lose her mind if she knew what I just did. Especially with someone like Lisa.
"Thank you so much," I tell her.
"I had a nice time today, Jennie," Karen says, and we start discussing the greenhouse again while we each gather up a sandwich and sit down to eat.
Lisa eats in silence, glancing at me from time to time.
"Maybe we can do some more work next weekend," I suggest, then catch myself. "Never mind, the weekend after," I say, laughing.
"Yes, of course."
"Uh, is there a theme or something with the wedding?" Lisa interrupts.
Marco looks up from his work.
"Well, there isn't really a theme, but we have chosen white and black for the décor," Karen says nervously. I'm sure this is the only discussion they've had with Lisa about the wedding since she lost it when Marco told her about it.
"Oh. So what should I wear?" she asks casually. I want to reach over and kiss her after seeing her father's reaction.
"You're coming?" Marco asks, clearly surprised but very happy.
"Yeah . . . I guess." Lisa shrugs and takes another bite of her sandwich.
Karen and Marco smile at each other before Marco gets up and walks over to Lisa. "Thank you, daughter, this means a lot to me." She pats Lisa on the shoulder. Lisa stiffens but rewards her father with a small smile.
"This is great news!" Karen says and claps her hands.
"It's nothing," Lisa grumbles. I move to sit next to her and put my hand over her under the table. I never thought I could get her to agree to the wedding, let alone actually talk about it in front of Marco and Karen.
"I love you," I whisper in her ear when Karen and Marco aren't paying attention.
She smiles and squeezes my hand. "I love you," she whispers back. "So, Lisa, how are your classes going?" Marco asks.
"Good."
"I noticed you moved your classes around again." "Yeah, and?"
"You're still majoring in English, right?" Marco goes on, unwittingly pressing his luck; I can see that Lisa is getting annoyed.
"Yep."
"That's great! I remember when you were ten and you would recite passages from The Great Gatsby all day, every day. I knew you were a literature whiz then," her father says.
"Do you? Do you remember that?" Lisa's tone is harsh. I squeeze her hand, trying to signal her to calm down.
"Yeah, of course I do," Marco says calmly.
Lisa's nostrils flare and she rolls her eyes. "I find that hard to believe since you were constantly drunk, and, if I remember correctly, which I do, you tore that book to pieces because I bumped your scotch and spilled it. So don't try to take a stroll down memory lane with me unless you know what the fuck you're talking about." She stands up as Karen and I both gasp.
"Lisa!" Marco says as she leaves the room.
I scurry after her and hear Karen yelling at Marco. "You shouldn't have gone that far with her, Marco! She just agreed to come to our wedding. I thought we agreed on baby steps! Then you go and say something like that. You should have left it alone!"
Although she sounds mad, I can tell from the breaks in her voice that Karen is really already crying.