JENNIE
Lisa's room was still dark when my eyes peeled open. Moonlight filtered in through her window, highlighting the objects that she'd collected over her life. There wasn't much—some paperbacks on her bookshelf, a few CDs scattered along the top of it, the Ramones poster I'd picked up for her last summer while out shopping with Somi. Besides some pocket change and a couple of well-used notebooks, the only thing on her dresser was a bottle of some sort of hair product. Lisa said that a woman from high school had turned her on to the stuff and she'd been using it ever since to "manage the mess." I was fairly certain from the slight smile on her face when she'd said it, that she literally meant the words "woman" and "turned on." her high school years scared me a little bit.
Other than our clothes strewn about the floor from last night, the only other things of note in her room were her guitars. her main guitar, the one still tucked away in its black carrying case, was leaning against the wall beside an older, clearly worn one. Since Lisa never used that one while playing, I figured she kept it for sentimental reasons. Plain and seemingly inexpensive, she'd told me it was the first guitar she'd ever had, and the only possession she'd taken to L.A. with her when she'd run away. It was quite possibly the only thing from Lisa's childhood that was a happy memory for her. And, since her parents had literally tossed everything of her when they'd moved to this house she'd inherited, it was also the only memento of her youth. Her childhood scared me a little bit too, just for a completely different reason.
As I fingered the smaller, silver guitar around my neck, the symbolic keepsake of her that She'd given to me when we'd been breaking off our affair, a keepsake that never left my body, I twisted my head to look at what had awoken me.
The sheets tangled and twisted around her body, her bare chest silver in the faded light pouring through her window, Lisa moved restlessly beside me. Her brow furrowed, her face distraught, she was shaking her head and murmuring something I couldn't make out. I twisted around to touch her cheek, but she flinched away from me like I'd hurt her.
"Lisa," I whispered, "you're dreaming…wake up."
Her hand fisted the sheets near her hip. Her breath picked up as she shook her head again and whimpered. Carefully adjusting my body to a comforting position beside her, I leaned over and soothingly hushed her. Draping my arm over her chest, I could feel how rapidly her heart was racing. Tears pricked my eyes as I wondered what she was dreaming about. With Lisa, it could be any number of horrible things.
Leaning my head against her, I kissed her shoulder. "Wake up, baby, it's just a dream."
She started saying, "No," then, "Please." Her face cringed away from me. her legs drew up to reflexively curl into a ball. Kissing her shoulder again, I lightly shook her. "Lisa, wake up."
Taking quick, shallow inhales, her body trembled under my fingers. Just as I considered turning on her lamp to wake her up, she gasped and her eyes flew open. Immediately propping herself up onto her elbows, she shied away from my embrace. Looking around with wide eyes, she seemed lost, like she didn't know where she was. With her breath still quick and her body still quivering, she swallowed over and over.
I reached out and cupped her cheek, forcing her gaze to mine. Her confused eyes narrowed. "Jennie?"
I nodded, scooting closer to her. "Yeah, it's me. You're okay. It was just a dream, Lisa."
Her rigid posture slumped back and she closed her eyes and hung her head. "Just a dream," she muttered. My heart cracked a little watching her face. Lisa's bad dreams weren't really just dreams. They were more like memories. I wasn't sure which bad memory Lisa had been reliving, but I knew it had terrified her.
Inhaling slowly, she took a couple of deep breaths. When she was calmer, she peeked back up at me. Running a trembling hand across her mouth, she shook her head. "I'm sorry if I woke you up."
Swallowing the emotion in my throat, I flung my arms around her and crushed my bare body to hers. Her arms loosely came around me and I could still feel her heart surging as adrenaline coursed through her. "It's okay." Kissing her cheek, I gave her a few moments to collect herself. When she settled back down to the pillows, her fingers rubbing the bridge of her nose like she had a headache, I propped myself up on her chest. "You want to talk about it?"
Bringing my hands up to her temples, I pressed my thumbs into the soft spots, taking over her headache reducing massage. She closed her eyes and relaxed into my touch. "I was back at home and my dad…" she stopped and swallowed, "it was nothing…just a dream."
I bit my lip to stop my sigh. Her past was just something she didn't like to talk about. In fact, I was pretty sure I was the only human on earth that she'd ever confessed her history to. While Evan was aware that she'd been beaten badly, since Lisa had drunkenly spilled the beans once, and Taehyung knew about the abuse, having witnessed it himself, Lisa had never told them that her father wasn't her father. No one else knew that her mother had had an affair on her husband and gotten pregnant by another man. Then that horrible woman had claimed that she'd been raped. Because of the lie, or maybe because of the truth, the man who'd raised Lisa had been brutal with her…and her mother had done nothing to stop it.
I hated them both.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" I whispered, kissing her jaw.
She stirred, inhaling deep. Opening her eyes, she gently pushed me off of her and rolled me to my side. Pressing her body into mine, her no longer shaking, she cupped my cheek and tilted my head up. Attaching her warm lips to my neck, she murmured, "Yes, I'm done with talking."
My heart picked up its pace as her hand left my cheek to run down my side. I knew she was diverting her mind with my body. I knew it, yet I couldn't seem to stop her from doing it. She pushed me to my back, leaning over me as her lips worked their way down my throat. My fingers automatically locked into that marvelous hair as every section of skin that she touched on me suddenly burned.
My breath was embarrassingly fast as her hand rubbed a circle into my hip. She was purposely avoiding every spot I most wanted her to touch and it was driving me crazy, shutting my mind off. I shoved her head down a smidge when she kissed along the top of my breast and she chuckled before conceding. All thought of her earlier grief was gone from both of us as her mouth closed around a nipple, her tongue drawing a circle around the peak. Aching, I cried out and rocked my hips towards her.
A deep sound of satisfaction rising up her throat, she seemed just as pleased being the one giving the pleasure as I was receiving it. As her teeth lightly dragged across my tender flesh, her finger, equally as light, ran right between my legs. I was already ready for her; I think I was in a constant state of semi-arousal just being near her. I arched my back and ran my hands over my face and through my hair.
"Oh God," I muttered as her finger down below matched the motion of her tongue up above. The two hot spots were making every coherent part of my body melt away. I probably couldn't have even come up with my own name if someone had been around to ask.
Chuckling again, she peeked up at me with a devilish smile. "No, just me," she whispered. The part of me that could still get embarrassed wanted to smack her, but then she switched to the other breast and my head dropped back, my eyes closing.
"Oh God…yes."
Groaning a bit herself, she left my breast and slid her tongue up my throat. Her finger also changed position, sliding inside where I wanted her to be. Working her way up to my ear, She sucked in a quick, erotic breath. "I love it when you say that," she whispered huskily.
I groaned and found her mouth, not even caring anymore that I hadn't brushed my teeth in a while. She didn't either, kissing me back just as fiercely as I kissed her. Her finger gently moving into me was joined by another; I moaned, clutching her hair. her thumb joined the action, swirling around the sensitive part on the outside; I cried out again, my hands switching to her shoulders, forcibly trying to move her on top of me.
She resisted, chuckling and groaning almost simultaneously. "I love how much you want me," she muttered, her mouth moving to my jaw.
My body moving in perfect rhythm with her hand, I squirmed and whimpered. I hated how easily she could reduce me to a begging, quivering mass of hormones…and I loved it too. "Yes, I want you…now…please."
I could feel her grinning as she placed kisses along my skin. She did love it when I asked for it. Pressing her body into mine, I could feel how much she wanted me, too. I whimpered as she pulled her hand away from me, but then she settled herself between my legs, the hard length of her resting tantalizingly close, and my complaint shifted to a moan. Then she did…nothing, nothing but continue to kiss me.
It was torture. Pure, blissful torture. Having her so close sent my body into overdrive. I was practically clawing at her back, squirming underneath her, doing anything I could to move her into position. I couldn't, though. She held herself against me, but perfectly out of reach. It drove me crazy.
And my reaction drove her crazy. Her breath was fast, her lips frantic. She groaned as her fingers explored my body. She moaned my name as she dropped her head to rest in the crook of my neck. Barely able to stand it another second, my hand trailed down her chest, her abdomen, the deep V that led straight to what I wanted, what I needed. My hand wrapped around her, hard, ready, pulsing under my fingers. A slight wetness coated my thumb as I swirled over the tip of her and she clutched the sheets again, but in a good way this time.
"God, I need you," she breathed in my ear. I started to feel like she meant more than just for a physical release, but she adjusted her hips and plunged right into me, and I wondered nothing more about it.
My hand fell away as she sunk in deep. We both made equally passionate groans of relief. Then we started moving together. In-between fast breaths and soft moans of pleasure, our lips searched the other's. She quickly brought me right to the brink, my cries more frantic with each thrust. Then, right as I was about to go over, she stilled her hips, not moving at all. It was an aching torture that made me dig into her backside, trying to get her to keep going.
With a strained voice she whispered, "Just wait, Jennie." I didn't think I could. I felt like I was going to explode. I wanted to whimper, I wanted to cry. Then she moved again.
Holy hell, the fire that surged through my body…I never knew anything could feel that good.
She did it two more times, stopping, then starting; I even begged her to do it on the last time. Then she didn't stop anymore. Then I didn't think she could, even if I asked her to. With her head buried in my shoulder again, she groaned so erotically, I instantly clenched around her, finally having the release that she'd kept from me for so long. It was…glorious.
She cried out as I squeezed around her and I felt her releasing into me. After a few final thrusts, she stopped moving, breathing heavily as she laid on my chest. I was a little surprised to feel that we were both slightly damp from the exertion. You wouldn't think sex could actually be a workout, but if done right…
Feeling lightheaded, I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around her head. When our breaths had stabilized and our bodies cooled to normal, I looked down at her still resting on top of me. She hadn't moved at all. She was still…a part of me.
Hoping she hadn't fallen back asleep like that, I poked her shoulder. "Are you going to…move?"
She grunted then stretched, still not pulling out. "No, I'm good."
I giggled as I threaded my fingers back through her hair. "You can't stay there, you know." I felt myself flushing horribly and was instantly glad the room was still dark.
She peeked up at me, the moonlight glinting off her mischievous eyes. "I'm just saving us time." She grinned crookedly as she moved her hips a little. She was still sort of semi-aroused and the movement sent a shiver though my body. My eyes fluttered before refocusing on her smugly attractive face. She raised an eyebrow. "You know, for when you're ready for round two."
Rolling my eyes, even though a part of me was considering it, I shoved her shoulders off me. She laughed genuinely, finally removing herself and slinking to my side. "I was just being practical," she murmured, nestling into my body and kissing my shoulder.
Her eyes closed as peace washed over her face. Sighing, I kissed her forehead, making her smile widen. Curling into her, I thought of her face before that little romp. What she'd done to block out the memory had been pretty spectacular, but now that it was over, I was thinking about it again. I hoped she wasn't thinking about it anymore. I didn't really want to bring it up, but I did want to make sure that she was okay.
"Are you alright?" I asked, running my hands up her chest.
She made a deep, satisfied noise in her throat. "Completely," she murmured, her smile a charmingly crooked one. I smacked her shoulder and she peeked an eye open. Seeing that my face was serious, her smile faded. Her finger came out to tuck a damp lock behind my ear. "I'm fine, Jennie," she said, her tone more subdued.
I nodded, burying my head into her shoulder as she put her arm around me.
I kept a close watch on her for the next few nights, but she slept soundly from what I could tell. Only the normal nighttime adjustments that we all made during sleep, not the restless thrashing that came from nightmares. I didn't stay with her every night, but more often than not I fell asleep by her side.
It was comforting for me, having her touching my body as I drifted into dreamland, but I think it was even more of a comfort for her. She would pop into my apartment on nights that she stayed out late, really late, playing other clubs and bars around the Seattle area. She said she didn't like slipping into a cold bed. Well, okay, the way she'd phrased it was, "If I'm going to slip into a bed in the early hours of the morning, I want it to be warmed up by your hot little naked body."
I didn't actually sleep naked. Not unless she was there to put me to bed that way. Wearing pajamas was a habit that she was constantly trying to get me to break, telling me, "Why do you need clothes if I'm just going to rip them off?" But the gist of her comment was that she wanted to be warm with me, not cold and alone by herself.
But after a few weeks of watching her closely as she cuddled next to me, I stopped worrying about the dreams that sometimes plagued her. Instead, I started worrying about my upcoming reentry into higher learning. My schedule this year was the toughest, and I knew I was going to be studying nearly every waking moment I had. While I was one of those weird people that thrived on the challenge of school, I wasn't looking forward to so much of my free time being absorbed with it. But Lisa was patient, and a pretty good study buddy—when she wasn't trying to distract me with sex—and free for the bulk of the day since she "worked" nights, so I knew I'd still get to spend a lot of time with her.
But I meant what I said when I'd told her that I felt more well-rounded living with my sister, and I tried to hang out with other people besides my girlfriend. In fact, Somi had decided that she wanted to try her hand at art, and had cajoled Kate and me into taking a class with her. We went every Monday and Wednesday morning, usually stopping for espressos afterwards.
The Monday before my school started up again was my last class. If I'd been getting graded on this course, well…I'd have received my first "F" ever.
"Well, Miss Kim, it's a very nice use of…color."
The kind, older woman who taught the course out of her home, used to teach art at one of the local high schools. She patted me on the back, her lips in a tight smile, as she complimented me on the only positive thing that she could say about my elementary level bowl of tropical fruit. While I'd been working on the thing for three weeks, it looked like something a six-year-old had drawn and colored in one afternoon. Artist, I was not.
As the teacher walked over to commend Kate on her perfectly proportioned apples, I wondered if the retired school teacher had been around when Lisa was in school. Then I wondered if she'd been at her school. Maybe she'd taken her class. Maybe she'd been her teacher, complimenting her on her study of the female form. Instantly I started to think that maybe she'd "taught" Lisa in more ways than one; a scowl formed on my lips.
A light laughter broke my train of thought and I looked over at Somi watching me. "It's not so bad, Jennie."
With the end of her pencil, she pointed to my pathetic attempt at realism. "It's sort of…Picasso-ish."
I frowned, but then laughed with her. Picasso wasn't really what I'd been going for, but then again, art was subjective. One man's garbage was another man's Monet. Maybe I had a future in it after all. Looking over at Somi's drawing, I reconsidered. No, out of all of us, Somi was the one with a future. She'd passed up fruit bowls ages ago, and was on to drawing people. What she'd created with just a pencil blew my mind.
She'd drawn the band…our band. It was a close-up of them on stage—Jackson and Lucas on their guitars, jamming away, Evan beaming with joy behind his drums, and Lisa, singing away on her microphone. She'd even managed to capture the devilish curl of a smile that Lisa got when she sang. It was breathtaking, and put my sad little bundle of grapes to shame.
Sighing, I pointed at her drawing. "That's amazing, Somi. Really, you've got a knack for this."
Her face blossoming into a wide smile, she looked back at her picture. "Thanks." Erasing a minute pencil line on Lucas's guitar, she looked back at me. "I was thinking of having Pete put it up at the bar when I was done with it." She shrugged. "You know, as an homage to the band."
She giggled and I nodded. "No, that's a good idea." Watching her perfect a shadow line across Lisa's jaw, making the masculine right angle stick out even more, I shook my head. "I think they'd really like that, Somi." She nodded as she went back to work on it, and thinking of the bassist she was working on, I snorted a little. "You should probably draw a flasher in there somewhere for Jackson."
She laughed. "Yeah, definitely." Scrunching her pale brows, she shook her head. "What is up with him and your sister anyway? Are they together or not?"
Sighing as I turned back to my misshapen fruit, I shrugged. "No idea. They don't act like they're together, and they certainly aren't exclusive if they are." Looking back at her, I shook my head. "But they, um, see each other at least a few times a month."
Somi nodded, her blonde locks dangling around her shoulders. "I know. He talks about it whenever they do." She shrugged one shoulder. "I asked him once what they were and he said…"
Biting her lip, she didn't finish that sentence. Not sure if I really wanted to hear anything Jackson said about my sister, I raised an eyebrow. "He said what?" I asked cautiously.
Avoiding looking at me directly, she sighed softly and looked around. I didn't take that as a good sign. While no one was close enough to hear her, she leaned towards me anyway. "He called her his…fuck buddy." Her lips twisted into a grimace and she rolled her eyes.
My cheeks flamed red hot and the only coherent sound I could make was one of disgust. Seeing my expression, Somi shook her head again and went back to her pencil drawing of the revolting man. "Yeah, I know," she flicked the image of him on her paper with her pencil, "He's a tool."
Adjusting the eraser of the pencil to her waistband she grinned at me mischievously. "Maybe I should just neuter him?"
I busted out laughing, the entire room of quietly working, artists-in-training twisting to look at me. My cheeks heating even more, I dropped my head into my hands and let the giggles take me over. If only taming Jackson could be that easy.
--
Lisa and I had the evening off together, so after art I headed over to her place. Driving over there, I considered how rare it was for us to get a matching night off, unless I asked for one on an evening she wasn't playing anywhere, it usually didn't happen. As school was starting tomorrow and I was a bundle of nerves about it, I began to wonder if Lisa had asked Lucas to keep this night open when she'd lined up the gigs for the month. It wouldn't surprise me if she had.
Somi dropped me off at her place and she and Kate waved goodbye. I had a car, Taehyung's beat-up little Honda, but Jisoo had pretty much taken it over. She always asked before she could use it, but I was actually a little relieved that she did take it so much. It seemed more like her now than my ex boyfriend. Besides, I was horrible with stick shifts.
Lisa was out when I got there, her front door firmly locked as I jiggled it. As her car was still parked in the driveway, I figured she'd taken advantage of the beautiful, sunny afternoon to go for a run. Pulling my keys out of my bag, I flicked through the ring until I found hers. We'd each exchanged keys not too long ago. "The next step," Lisa had called it. Stepping into her home, the coolness of her empty entryway hit me. I set my heavy bag to the floor with a rush of relief. Knowing I'd probably end up staying the night here, I'd packed everything I needed for tomorrow—clothes, books, paper, pens and pencils.
Examining the book bag with narrowed eyes, I took a mental inventory for the hundredth time. Just as I was wondering if I'd packed the Lit book that I needed, Lisa's front door opened again. I glanced over at her, looked back to my bag, then snapped my head back to her. She'd gotten hot while running and her shirt was draped over her shoulder. her lean, toned body was glistening as she stepped through the door, wiping her face off with the edge of her tee. Her breath was heavier from her exercise, and her abs clenched and relaxed in such an appealing way that I could not stop staring.
I finally did when she chuckled at me. "You're obsessed, you know?" she laughed out, scrubbing dry the edge of her hair with her shirt. I flushed instantly, thinking she meant me staring at her body all the time, but she raised an eyebrow and pointed to my bag. "You're going to be just fine."
I relaxed, feeling my embarrassment sliding away. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "I know. I honestly don't know why it twists my stomach so much."
Grinning, she turned and shut her front door. My eyes darted down her bare back to the loose track pants she had on, but I managed to snap them back up to her face when she turned around again. "I know just how to get your mind off of it."
Enjoying the playful look in her eye, I tilted my head as she came up to me, slinging her arms around my waist. "Oh?" I asked, lightly resting my fingers on her damp chest, her skin deliciously soft to the touch.
Grinning crookedly, she raised an eyebrow and looked down my body. "Yep." I bunched my brows at the amused look on her face. Laughing, she released my body and kissed my cheek. "Just let me clean up first."
Watching her move around me to go upstairs, I nodded, my lips still twisted as I wondered just what she'd come up with to occupy me. Still laughing at my expression, she smacked my bottom before hopping up the stairs two at a time.
Smiling at her, I shook my head and walked into the living room to distract myself from the thought of her in the shower. It got a little hard to do when I heard the water turn on. I had to turn the television up and force myself to be suddenly fascinated with marine plant life.
By the time I actually was interested in estuary ecosystems, even leaning over my knees as I focused on Lisa's big screen, she finally came back down. Twirling a lock of hair around my finger, I didn't hear her at first. Not used to being ignored, she grunted and leaned over to kiss my neck. I startled when her lips brushed my skin, then smiled and closed my eyes. I tilted my head to give her better access.
"Is this how you're going to distract me?" I asked lowly, starting to feel like she could distract me that way all afternoon long.
Chuckling deep in her chest, she grabbed my waist and pulled me from the couch in one swift, playful move. "Nope." Smiling, she flicked the end of my nose with her finger. "I have a better idea."
Taking in the sight of her dressed in my favorite shirt, a color that made her eyes seem impossibly beautiful, I pursed my lips. "You're not interested in…playing with me?" I'd really thought that would be her plan.
Her lips curved up into a smile that screamed sex, but she shook her head. "Oh, I intend to play with you." Laughing, she grabbed my hand and led me into the kitchen. Over her shoulder, she added, "Just not the way that you're thinking." Sitting me down at her table, she leaned over the back of me and kissed my cheek again. "At least, not yet anyway."
As I shook my head and bunched my brows, wondering what the heck we were doing, she started rummaging through her kitchen drawers. Humming to herself, a small smile permanently on her face, her hair wonderfully messy and slightly damp around the edges, she opened and shut every junk drawer she had.
When I was just about to ask her what the heck she was looking for, she finally made a happy noise and grabbed something shoved in the very back of a crammed drawer. A crooked smile on her face, she looked back at me at her table and lifted her hand to show me what she'd found.
"Playing cards?" Smiling, I shook my head. "Are we playing pinochle all afternoon?"
Frowning at me, she raised an eyebrow. "Pinochle? Are we sixty?" Her grin returning, she opened the pack of cards, tossing the jacket back to the counter. Shuffling the cards, she sat down opposite me at her table. "No, we're playing poker."
Shaking my head, I murmured, "I'm really not that good at poker."
Her smile brightened gorgeously. "Well, that is actually perfect, because we're playing strip poker."
Flushing all over, I immediately stood up. Laughing harder, she grabbed my hand. "Come on, it will be fun." She lifted her eyebrows suggestively. "I promise."
Knowing my face was bright red, I slowly sat back down. "Lisa…I don't know…"
Leaning back in her chair, she eyed my body across from her very slowly. When she reached my face, she asked, "Have you ever played?"
I sighed and shrugged. "No."
Grinning, she nodded, still shuffling the cards. "Good. Then it will be a new experience for you." She tilted her head, her lip curling perfectly. "And I like giving you new experiences."
The flush from my cheeks rushed down my body as she stared at me intently. I suddenly wanted to play more than I'd ever wanted anything. I couldn't even remember what she was distracting me from, and I supposed that was the point.
Tucking my hair behind my ears, I pointed my thumb at her wide-open kitchen windows. "What about…your neighbors?"
She shrugged. "What about them?"
Looking away from the heat in her eyes, I swallowed. "I don't want them looking…at me."
Laughing huskily, she stood and pulled down some blinds rolled up near the top of the windows. When they were closed, she sat back down and raised an eyebrow. "Better?"
I nodded, not believing that I was actually considering this. Smiling at me, she laughed again. "Would it make you feel any better if I told you that I'm not very good at this either?" Laughing more, she shook her head. "I'm generally the first one naked."
My eyes widened as I flashed down her body. "You've played?" I asked, quite stupidly. It was Lisa I was talking to after all, the person who used to have threesomes like they were everyday occurrences. Of course she'd played strip poker. She'd probably played much more intense games that I did not want to think about.
She only smiled and nodded to my question, her face amused. Then shw started dealing cards and explaining rules. I sighed listening to them, then mentally thanked myself for wearing a bunch of light layers today.
Over the course of the afternoon, I lost my shoes, socks, jeans and all but one of my short-sleeved t-shirts. Lisa was no better off, having lost her shirt on the very first hand and her jeans on a really bad bluff. More relaxed than when we'd started this little game, I laughed as I watched her reach down to take off her last remaining sock, setting down my pair of Queens in triumph.
Shaking her head, she muttered, "Trumped by the Queen….story of my life."
Giggling, I kissed the air then dealt us another hand. Scooping them off the table, she fanned the five slick cards in her hand as she studied them. Lisa had wanted to play traditional poker, not the style that's all the rage on TV now. Much like her car, Lisa liked the classics. Her face was expressionless as She leaned back in her chair. Not that I really noticed her face. Her chest was far too appealing. She looked very comfortable being nearly nude by the refrigerator.
I tried to match her casualness, since I was still far more dressed than she was, but it was odd to be sitting at the breakfast table in just my underwear. I played with the necklace at my throat while I studied the cards in my hand. Not bad, a low pair, but not great either; I'd have to take three on my turn and hope for the best. Glancing up, I found Lisa watching me with a small smile on her lips. She raised an eyebrow. "Nervous?"
Her eyes flashed to my necklace and I instantly stopped playing with it. So much for tells, although, the thought of taking off my last shirt was making me far more nervous than my lack of cards. Of course, if I won the hand, Lisa's next piece of clothing was those delightful black boxers she liked wearing. And I was pretty sure she wasn't wearing two pairs today.
Smiling effortlessly, I shook my head. "No?" I glanced down her body and raised my own eyebrow. "You?"
Biting her lip, she shook her head. "Nope. In fact, I don't even need any more cards. How about you?"
I contained the frown I felt coming. I really didn't have the best hand, just a pair of threes. Lisa would know that if I dealt myself more cards. I really didn't want to give her that satisfaction, especially when her lips started curving into a smug, seductive smile. Lifting my chin, I reminded myself that Lisa was awful at this game and she probably had nothing. Smiling softly, I shook my head. "Nope, I'm good."
She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, then drug her teeth over it. It was freaking hot and my mouth dropped open a little. "Yeah, I know," she whispered, laying her cards down. Blindly, I laid mine down, too.
Still staring at her mouth, I didn't notice what she had. When she chuckled, I finally blushed and looked down. "Crap." Shaking my head, I stared at her low pair…of fours. She had made me believe that she was bluffing, and unfortunately, I'd fallen for it.
Sighing, I gave her sad eyes. "Really?"
Laughing, she leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Deals a deal, Jennie." her smile not leaving her, she blatantly stared at my chest.
Sighing again, I plucked at the fabric near my waist. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen me before, it wasn't as if I didn't still have a bra on, but there was something nerve-wracking about causally taking off my clothes in broad daylight, with Lisa staring holes through me but not being anywhere near me. It quickened my breath.
"How did you ever talk me into this?" I muttered, lifting the fabric up and over me.
When my plain, white, practical cotton bra was exposed, Lisa's eyes started to smolder. Running my hands along my arms, I resisted the urge to hide myself. It helped that Lisa looked like I was wearing the sexiest lingerie on the planet, like my slight curves were the most voluptuous she'd ever seen. Finally peering up at my face, her grin turned devilish. "I love this game."
Laughing a little, I tossed my shirt at her. Just as she was inhaling it, a dopey grin on her face, the doorbell rang. I immediately tried to snatch it back, but she stood up with it and took a step away from me. her face lit up as she set it on the counter. "Oh good, food's here."
Crossing my arms over my chest and my legs over each other, I was instantly conscious of how little I was wearing. As Lisa stood tall and straight, hands on her hips, she seemed oblivious to the fact that only one piece of dark, loose fabric was hiding her away from the world.
"What food? What are you talking about?" I squeaked out, feeling my cheeks heat.
Grinning, she tilted her head at me. "I thought you might be getting hungry, so I ordered some pizza on your last bathroom break."
As I gaped at her, she turned to leave the kitchen. "Lisa!" She looked back at me and I flung a hand out at her glorious—but mostly bare—body.
Her hands patted her chest, then her hips. "Oh…right." Smiling, she walked over to her pile of clothes near the table. I expected her to step into her jeans and pull them up, but she only rifled through them to get to a pocket. Seconds later, she pulled out her wallet. "I should probably pay them, huh?"
I sputtered something unintelligible, and she leaned up and gave me a brief kiss. As my hand was still gesturing to the expanse of smooth, muscled skin she was showing, she finished standing and hurried out to grab our food…in just her boxers.
Shaking my head, I grabbed her shirt by my feet and held it up over my chest. It wasn't as if I could be seen from the entryway, but if they saw Lisa like that, well, then they would probably assume that she wasn't half-dressed alone. It made my cheeks heat and I sunk my head into my hands. Well, that's what I get for being with someone that had no idea what being self conscious felt like. She knew she looked good, and she didn't really care who else knew it too. Some days, I'd give anything for that sort of confidence. Yeah, that was also on my list of things to work on.
I heard her open the door and greet someone. Then I heard giggling…female giggling. Sighing, I shook my head. Of course the pizza person would be a girl tonight, on the night that Lisa decides to answer the door in her skivvies. I pictured her leaning against the doorframe, every wondrous muscle distinct and defined as pizza-chick drooled over our pepperoni. At least my name on her chest would be distinct and defined for her, too.
Sorry, girlie, but the hot woman handing you a twenty right now belongs to me. See, it says so right there on her pec. I smiled and rolled my eyes at myself.
The giggling never stopped the whole time she was here, and it seemed like forever as I waited. When the door finally shut and Lisa sauntered back into the kitchen, pizza box in hand, her smile was beautific. It faded a little when she saw that I'd covered up with her t-shirt in her absence. She pointed at me, a smaller box in her other hand. "Uh-uh, that's cheating. You have to stay as naked as you were when I left."
I rolled my eyes and dropped her shirt to the floor. "Even when you're flirting with the delivery girl?"
Setting the larger box on the counter, she twisted her lips at me. "I wasn't flirting."
Deciding to try on that self confidence that oozed from her so fluidly, I stood up. Her eyes traveled down and back up my body, her smile evening out. "You weren't?" Coming up to stand in front of her, I leaned back on a hip and mimicked a pose that every sexy underwear model used. Pointing at the smaller box in her hand, I asked, "Then what's that?"
Shrugging, she bit her lip. "She had some extra breadsticks. She said we could have them if we wanted."
I shook my head and she chuckled. Quickly setting down the box, her arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me tight to her body. I laced my arms around her neck while her lips traveled up my throat to my ear. "I can't help what women find appealing." Her mouth danced over mine, soft and feather-light, while her hand ducked inside my underwear, cupping my bottom. "But I only find you appealing," she murmured.
Breathing much heavier, I attached my mouth to hers. She could have given her a lap dance for those breadsticks right now and I wouldn't have cared. Well, okay, I would have cared, but I would have let it go. She may be the object of many people's affections, but I was the object of hers.
Just as I was considering removing the last piece of her clothing, she stepped away from me. Grabbing my hand, she twirled me out from her and then back to her. Laughing, my hand touched her chest for a moment before I was swirled away again. Her laughter joined my own, and with only the merriment of our joy as music, we danced for a moment in her kitchen…in our underwear.
We never went back to our game after that, just snatched up greasy slices between dips and twirls. Eating and laughing, Lisa completely swept away any lingering nerves I had about the next morning. She completely washed away any thoughts of self-consciousness too. By the time we were a few slices into our pie and through a few of her hard-earned breadsticks, I was shaking my modestly covered booty for Lisa. Nearly in hysterics when she chose to copy my move, I enjoyed finally feeling a small speck of her confidence.
And she was the reason I felt it. Her gaze, her touch, her smile, her laugh, no one had ever made me feel…worshipped…quite like she did. I felt like I could do anything as I danced in that kitchen with her and I knew, without a doubt, that I really would be fine tomorrow.