JENNIE
I lay in bed for over two hours, waiting patiently for Lisa to wake up, before I gave up. By the time I've showered and am fully dressed, the kitchen is cleaned, and I've taken two ibuprofen to get rid of my cramps and massive headache. I make my way back to the bedroom to wake her up myself.
I gently shake her arm and whisper her name. It doesn't work.
"Lisa, wake up." I roughly grip her shoulder and recoil when the vision of my mother ripping my father's slumbering body off of the couch flashes into my mind. All morning I've been avoiding thoughts of my mother and the heartbreaking history lesson I was given last night. My father is still asleep; I imagine that her short visit has worn him out as well.
"No," she grumbles sleepily.
"If you won't get up, then I'll be going to your father's house alone," I say, slipping my feet into my flat shoes. I have many pairs of Toms, but I always find myself wearing the tan crocheted ones the most. Lisa calls them "hideous moccasins," but I love the comfortable shoes.
She groans and rolls over onto her stomach, pushing herself up onto her elbows. Her eyes are still closed when she turns her head to me. "No, you won't."
I knew she wouldn't like that idea, which is precisely why I used it to get her behind out of the bed.
"Get up, then. I've already showered and everything," I whine. I'm anxious to get to Jisoo's house and see her, Marco, and Karen again. It feels like ages since I last saw that sweet woman in the strawberry-print apron that she hardly ever removes.
"Dammit." Lisa pouts, opening one eye. I stifle a giggle at the lazy expression covering her face. I'm tired, too, mentally and physically drained, but the idea of getting out of this apartment for the day has perked me up tremendously.
"Come here first." She opens the other eye and reaches out for me. The moment I'm beside her on the bed, she rolls her heavy body on top of mine, encasing me in her warmth. She purposely rubs her hardness against me, grinding her hips until she's perfectly nestled between my thighs, her morning erection pressing torturously into me.
"Morning." She's wide-awake now, and I can't help but laugh. She leisurely drags her hips in a circle again, and this time I try to wiggle free. She joins me in laughter but quickly silences me by covering my mouth with her. Her tongue laps mine, gently caressing, hinting at an intention completely opposed to the sharp movements her hips are making.
"Are you plugged?" she whispers, still kissing me. Her hands have moved to my chest, and my heart is thumping rapidly, making her sleepy voice barely audible.
"I am." I nod, only mildly cringing at the hideous term I have become used to. She pulls away, her eyes slowly raking over my face, and her tongue swiping along her bottom lip, wetting it.
The sound of kitchen cabinets opening and closing carries down the hallway, followed by a large belch, and then the crash of pans on the floor.
Lisa's eyes roll. "Fucking lovely." She stares down at me. "Well, I had planned on fucking you before we left, but now that Mr. Sunshine's awake . . ."
She climbs off of me and stands up, taking the blanket with her. "I'll be quick in the shower," she says with a scowl toward the door.
Lisa returns less than five minutes later just as I'm tucking in the corners of the bedsheet. I force my eyes away from her gorgeous inked body and up to her face while she walks over to the dresser and pulls out a signature black T-shirt. Pulling it down over her head, she steps into a pair of boxers.
"Last night was a fucking disaster." Her eyes are focused on her busted hand as she buttons her jeans.
"Yeah." I sigh, trying to avoid any further conversation that revolves around my parents.
"Let's go." She grabs her keys and phone from the dresser and shoves them into her pockets. She pushes her wet hair back off her forehead and opens the bedroom door. "Well . . . ?" she impatiently remarks when I don't jump up right away. What happened to the playful Lisa from only minutes ago? If her bad mood continues this way, then I suspect that today will be just as bad as yesterday.
Without a word, I follow her through the door and down the hallway. The bathroom door is closed, and the water is on. I don't want to wait for my father to get out of the shower, but I also don't want to leave without telling him where we're going and making sure he doesn't need anything. What does he do in this apartment while he's alone? Does he think about drugs all day? Does he have people over?
I shake the second thought from my head. Lisa would find out if he brought bad friends around, and my father sure as heck wouldn't still be here if that were the case.
LISA STAYS QUIET during the drive to Marco and Karen's place. The only assurance I have that today isn't going to be a total wash is her hand resting on my thigh while she focuses on the road.
When we arrive, Lisa, as always, doesn't knock before walking inside. The sweet smell of maple syrup fills the house, and we follow the scent to the kitchen. Karen is standing next to the oven, a spatula is one hand while she waves the other through the air in conversation. An unfamiliar young woman is seated at one of the island stools. Her long brown hair is the only thing I see until she turns the stool around when Karen's attention is directed toward us.
"Jennie, Lisa!" Karen nearly shrieks with joy as she carefully places the spatula onto the counter and rushes over to wrap her arms around me. "It's been so long!" she exclaims, holding me at arm's length and then crushing me back to her body. Her warm welcome is exactly what I needed after last night.
"It's only been three weeks, Karen," Lisa rudely remarks.
Her smile dims a fraction, and she tucks her hair behind her ear.
I peer around her to take in all the baked goods around the kitchen. "What are you making?" I ask to distract her from her stepdaughter's sour attitude.
"Maple cookies, maple cupcakes, maple squares, and maple muffins." Karen pulls me along gently while Lisa cowers in the corner, a deep frown set on her face.
Ignoring her, I look at the young woman again, unsure how to introduce myself.
"Oh!" Karen takes notice. "I'm sorry, I should have introduced you first thing." She gestures to the woman. "This is Sophia; her parents live just down the road."
Sophia smiles and reaches to shake my hand. "Nice to meet you," she says with a smile. She's beautiful, extremely beautiful. Her eyes are bright and her smile warm; she's older than me, but she can't be much more than twenty-five.
"I'm Jennie, Jisoo's friend," I say.
Lisa coughs behind me, obviously displeased at my choice of words. I assume Sophia knows Jisoo, and since Lisa and I are . . . well, this morning it just seems easier to introduce myself this way.
"I haven't gotten to meet Jisoo yet," Sophia says. Her voice is soft and sweet, and I immediately like her.
"Oh?" I assumed she knew her, since her family lives down the road.
"Sophia has just graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York," Karen brags for her, and Sophia smiles. I don't blame her; if I'd just graduated from the best culinary school in the country, I'd let people brag for me, too. I mean, if I wasn't already doing it myself.
"I'm visiting my family, and I ran into Karen down the road . . . buying some syrup." She grins, eyeing the massive amount of maple-flavored goodies on display.
"Oh, and this is Lisa," I say to include my brooding woman in the background.
She smiles at her. "Nice to meet you."
She doesn't even look at the poor woman and just says, "Yeah."
I in turn offer her a shrug and a sympathetic smile, then turn to Karen. "Where's Jisoo?"
Her eyes flicker to Lisa, then to me, before she answers, "She's upstairs . . . She hasn't been feeling well," she says. My stomach turns; there's something going on with my best friend, I know it.
"I'm going upstairs." Lisa turns to leave.
"Wait, I'll go," I offer. If something is going on with Jisoo, the last thing she needs is Lisa taunting her.
"No." Lisa shakes her head. "I'll go. Have some syrup cakes or whatever," she grumbles and takes two stairs at a time, giving me no chance to argue.
Karen and Sophia watch her go. "Lisa is Marco's daughter," Karen says. Despite her poor attitude today, she still smiles proudly at the mention of her name.
Sophia nods in understanding. "She's lovely," she lies, and the three of us burst into laughter.