JENNIE

A few sleepless nights later, I came down the stairs in the morning with Taehyung. Lately, I always waited until Taehyung was ready for the day before I got my coffee. Taehyung insisted I could sleep in, that I didn't need to get up with him, but, honestly, weeks of getting up early to spend a little time with Lisa in the mornings had started a pattern in me that I couldn't quite shake.

The fact that Lisa had disrupted my physiology irritated me, but upon entering the kitchen with Taehyung, seeing Lisa irritated me even more. It wasn't her stupidly-perfect brown eyes, that turned to look at us when we entered, it wasn't her stupidly-perfect tousled hair, casual and messy, it wasn't her stupidly-perfect chiseled body, and it wasn't the stupidly-perfect crooked smile that she was giving us. It was her stupid shirt!

She was relaxing against the counter, waiting for the coffee to brew with both hands behind her, making the bold lettering on her basic red t-shirt stick out all the more. It very simply read – 'Will sing for sex'. It looked odd on her. It was something more in line with what Jackson would wear, which gave me a sneaking suspicion over where she got it. It was blatant. It was crude. It was pissing me off!

Taehyung cracked a smile when he saw it. "Nice! Do you-"

I immediately cut him off. "If you even ask her for one of those, you will be sleeping on the couch for a month." My tone was a little more seething than perhaps a crude t-shirt warranted, but I couldn't help it.

Taehyung found my reaction humorous however. He grinned goofily and cocked his head adorably. "I wasn't going to, babe." He gave me a swift kiss on the cheek and went over to Lisa, slapping her on the shoulder before grabbing mugs for my coffee and his tea from the cupboard. Glancing back at where I was still glaring at him, he chuckled and said, "You know I can't sing anyway."

Lisa, who had been silently watching the exchange with an amused grin on her face, sniggered and struggled to contain her laughter.

Steamed at both of them now, I frowned, and icily said, "I'll be upstairs, when the coffee's done." I turned and stormed out, their no-longer containable laughter following me up the stairs.

Hours later, I was at work and still mired in irritation over the whole morning, when I was interrupted by a sweet voice. "You're doing it again, Jennie." Somi leaned over a table and smiled at me.

"What?" I said coming out of my trance, shaking my head a little.

I was having trouble focusing. Lisa was doing something that she had never, in all the months Taehyung and I had lived with her, done. She was, as she put it, dating. Lisa had brought a different girl home every night, and every night, I had to listen to her "date" through our thin walls. I would have to use the term date loosely, as these women seemed very little interested in Lisa as a person. They were more enamored with her small slice of fame, and of course, how fabulously she was shaped. The same woman never entered our doors more than once, and there seemed to be a never-ending line of them. It made me ill. Sleep was impossible. Eventually, I passed out from exhaustion each night. But it, and the constant angry fire in my belly, was taking its toll.

"You're glaring at Lisa again. You guys fighting or something?" She eyed me curiously.

I startled, realizing that I had been glaring at her openly for the last several minutes while I had been lost in thought. I hope no one else had noticed that. I struggled to fix my face into a genuine looking smile. "No, we're fine…perfect."

"You're not still mad about the women at the party, are you?" Fire wrenched my gut as she brought up that horrible memory. I wanted to bend over and clench my stomach, it hurt so badly. But I stood there and took it, trying to maintain my fake smile. "You know, that's just how she is. Always has been, always will be." She shrugged her shoulders.

"No…I don't care 'what' she does." I stressed the word "what" more than would pass for casualness, and Somi noticed. She started to say something, and I blurted out the first thing in my head to stop her. "Have you and Lisa ever…" I stopped my tongue when I realized where my question was heading. I really did not want to know that.

She understood though and grinning, she shook her head. "No, no way." Somi glanced over at her at her table, where she had some adorably cute little Asian girl sitting on the edge of it and was whispering to her in-between nibbling on her ear, much to the girl's delight. Lisa had worn that damn shirt to the bar and it had been effective. Earlier, she'd had a small group of adoring women clustered around her at her table and had obliged them with a few verses. She seemed to have narrowed her choices down to one. My face heated, knowing I would see…or hear…her later.

Somi looked back at me, still smiling. "Not for her lack of trying though."

I blinked, surprised, and then realized I shouldn't be. Somi was a beautiful girl. "She hit on you?"

She nodded, coming around to my side of the table. "Hmmmm…relentlessly, for the first week I worked here." She crossed her arms over her chest and stood beside me, watching her with her bimbo. "One day, I just had to tell her flat out, no, but we could be friends, if she stopped trying to get into my pants." She laughed and looked over at me. "She had found that pretty hilarious and she stopped, and we've been fine ever since."

I struggled to keep the incredulity from my face. She turned her down…repeatedly? I had been so bad at it, that it was a wonder to me that someone could. "Why didn't you…?"

She looked at me thoughtfully. "I knew what she was like, even from the beginning. I'm not interested in a one-nighter, and I don't think she's capable of anything more." She shook her head. "At least, not yet. Maybe one day she'll grow up, but…" she shrugged again, "it wasn't worth it for me."

I blushed and looked away, feeling really stupid. She was right. That was what Lisa was - a seducer. But she wasn't relationship material. Never had been, never would be. I watched her with her woman sadly. Somi looked over at me curiously.

"Why do you ask, Jennie?"

I realized I didn't have a good reason to ask her about Lisa. "No reason. Just curious, I guess."

She stared at me intently for a second, and I wondered how to walk away without offending her. "Did she…did she hit on you?"

I blanched and struggled to maintain my composure."No, no of course not." That was pretty true…well, maybe half the time anyway.

She didn't buy my answer. "If you need to talk to me, Jennie, about anything, you can. I would understand."

I nodded and grinned, like I hadn't a care in the world. "I know. Thank you, Somi. I better get back to work, I see some thirsty people." I tried to laugh, but it came out dead and hollow.

She watched me leave, clearly suspicious, and then she turned and looked at Lisa, equally suspicious. God, they were friends…would she talk to her? Would Lisa tell her anything?

While at first, I had never seen her do anything other than flirt with women, and even that had tapered off while we were…flirting, now, I was seeing way more than I ever wanted to. It seemed to be everywhere. I couldn't escape it. If I had the night off she would bring a woman home, and I'd have to endure the sound of them kissing in the kitchen before they disappeared upstairs. On nights I worked, she would usually already be…deeply involved in her date, by the time I trudged upstairs. And these women were not concerned in the least that Lisa had roommates. In fact, I don't think they were even concerned that she had neighbors. Maybe they were under the false assumption that Lisa gave out awards for who could be the loudest…who was the most enthusiastic…who could say "Oh god" the most. Then again, maybe the jerk did actually give out prizes. And I was getting sick and tired of hearing Lisa's name being called out. I mean, really…she was aware of her own name. Actually, the only name she was probably aware of in the whole room was her own.

I couldn't even escape it at work. She always seemed to be tucked away somewhere, shoving her tongue down someone's throat. One time, I had even watched her try and help a girl play pool, which made me laugh smugly, since I knew she was a worthless pool player. But watching her bend someone else over the table…yeah, that had hurt a little. Watching their joint shot miss horribly and watching the girl immediately spin in her arms to practically molest her…that had hurt a lot.

By the time she was up to the fifth "date" in a row, in just that week alone, I finally lost it. Trying to ignore the laughter and intimate noises drifting across the hall, I angrily shifted in bed.

"Taehyung!" I snapped.

He shifted over to look at me and took his eyes off the uncomfortably loud TV he was trying a little too intently to watch. "What?"

I glared at him angrily. "This is beyond ridiculous! Do something! I need some freaking sleep!" And for Lisa to not be a man-whore! Our last kiss in the kitchen had been so amazingly soft and tender, but now it seemed as phony as the over-eager noises coming from her room.

Taehyung looked alarmed and slightly embarrassed. "What do you want me to do? Knock on her door and ask her to keep it down?"

Yes! That was exactly what I wanted him to do…maybe he could even throw the hussy out! "I don't know…do something!"

"You know, she does have to put up with us." He laughed softly. "Maybe this is payback."

I looked away swiftly, before my suddenly hurt eyes could betray me. It was something all right, just not what Taehyung thought.

Taehyung considered something for a moment. "It's a little weird. Lisa has never had issues with women, but when we moved in, she sure seemed to go through a dry spell." He shook his head. "Well, apparently everything is back to normal." He looked down at me sheepishly. "Not that I condone that. It's just, well…Lisa is, you know, Lisa." He shrugged.

More miffed than I should be at that statement, I snapped at Taehyung, "What do you mean, 'never had issues with women'? You knew her for one year in high school, and she was what…a freshman, sophomore? How active could she have possibly been back then?"

Looking a little curious at my reaction, he shrugged. "Well, let's just say that Lisa got an…early start." He laughed at a memory. "This one time, when her parents were gone, whe brought home these twins…" He stopped relaying the story at the icy daggers I was glaring into him.

"Not for me. They disappeared into her room. I didn't see a thing. I didn't touch them…promise." He smiled sheepishly and said nothing further.

My icy stare didn't stop. I had not thought he had touched them. That was not what had me pissed off. So why was I so angry? So, Lisa had always been a slut. The way she was with women, was that any great shock? She wasn't mine, I wasn't hers. I really needed to let this go…

I fought back sudden tears and tried desperately to keep my voice even. "Just talk to her, please."

He looked at me intently for a second, before finally saying, "No."

My icy daggers returned. "Why not?"

Still looking at me thoughtfully, he calmly replied, "I'm sorry, but you're overreacting."

I sat up on my elbows, getting irritated at him. He didn't usually deny me anything. "Overreacting!"

He sat up straighter too. "I hate having to tell you, no, Jennie, you know that, but…the fact is, this is her place and if she wants to…entertain nightly, then she has every right to. She's letting us stay here for next to nothing. This is the best we can do right now. I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to ignore it."

His tone, although pleasantly accented, offered no rebuttal. He was not going to budge on this. It was not a tone I was used to hearing from him. I didn't like it.

"Fine," I said heatedly, flopping back down to my pillows.

He sank back on to one elbow, tilting his head to the side, watching me. Suggestively, he ran a few fingers down my arm. "You know…we could try and drown them out?"

Absolutely not in the mood, I smacked him in the chest with my pillow and flopped over on my side, away from him. He sighed irritably and shifted to look back at the TV, turning up the already too loud volume just a tad, as the noises across the hall miraculously increased. "Fine…can I finish watching my show then?"

"Whatever." I bit my lip, and prayed for sleep to take me.

A few days after that, still nothing had changed. Taehyung really wasn't going to talk to Lisa about something he deemed none of our business. I disagreed, but I couldn't really explain why to him. I was getting beyond irritated. I was about to "speak" with Lisa about it… and I wouldn't be nearly as diplomatic as Taehyung.

After kissing Taehyung goodbye, a brief peck that I didn't even bother to get out of bed for, and that, although endearing, clearly said, 'I'm not happy with you buddy', I dressed and went to the bathroom to get ready for my day. I looked horrid. There were deep circles under my eyes from lack of sleep, and my hair was a mass of snarls from tossing and turning. Lisa's newest behavior was going to drive me straight to the loony bin. I ripped through my hair angrily, picturing Lisa's perfect face in every snarl.

Sooner than I would have liked, I saw her actual face…and it was more perfect than in my imagination, which at the moment, I deeply resented.

"Mornin'."

I said nothing, her sparkling eyes, charming greeting and perfectly wild, messy hair instantly irritating me. I silently vowed to not utter a word to her today. If I had to hear…too much…from her, then she could hear absolutely nothing from me.

"Jennie?"

Stubbornly, I grabbed a coffee cup and began pouring some, ignoring her smooth voice, ignoring how amazing she smelled, even from a distance.

"Are you…mad at me?" Her voice seemed amused by that idea.

Breaking my vow of silence, I glared over at her. "No." Well, that didn't last long.

"Good, because you shouldn't be." Her smile faltered while she spoke.

"Well, I'm not…" I knew my tone was snotty, but I couldn't seem to help it. If she was going to hear me this morning, then at the very least, I could make it an unpleasant sound. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"We both ended things, when it started getting…out of hand." She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes while she spoke.

"I know that. I was there." There was definitely some ice in my voice, and she frowned at hearing it.

"I'm only doing what you asked. You wanted to know if I was seeing someone." Her tone was starting to get snotty as well. She was not happy with my attitude this morning.

That was fine with me. I wasn't happy with her…behavior. "I didn't want secrets between us…but," I shook my head angrily as I glared at her, "I didn't want to see it!"

Her eyes cooled as they narrowed even more. "Where would you have me…?" She stopped and took a calming breath. "I have to see it…hear it. You're not exactly quiet either. Do you think I like that? That I've ever liked…" She took another deep breath and stood up while my face heated in embarrassment. "I try and understand. You could do the same." And not looking at me again, she left the room.

I took the bus to school, as I had ever since Lisa started her…dates. Really? She wanted me to understand? Was I just supposed to be okay with her…whoring all over town? Yes, she had to listen to me be with my boyfriend, but…well, I'm not sure how that relates, but what Taehyung and I had - have - is vastly different than just screwing for the sake of screwing. It was sickening. I hated every second of every day.

I sighed as I walked through the campus to my class, the chill in the air causing the other students around me to hurry towards the warmer buildings. I also missed her every day. Even now…I missed her. My withdrawals were no less painful, simply because I was angry at her. If anything, they were worse. Being…replaced, made it worse. I sighed again as I entered the building where my Lit class was, and immediately froze. Standing just down the hall was a familiar head of springy red curls. Curls that I didn't want to see any closer, curls that were walking my way, curls that, even from a distance, looked agitated.

Candy stopped directly in front of me as I tried to step away from the doors. "Are you Lisa's girlfriend?"

Well, abrupt then. No formal how do you do? I've never even been introduced to this girl.

I sighed and stepped around her, to walk towards my class. She followed close beside me, her hair flaming as red as her mood. "No…I already told your spies that, months ago. She's just a roommate."

"Well, people keep telling me that they've seen the two of you together all over campus…all over each other." Her tone was annoyingly snotty.

By people, I assumed she meant her two friends. I blushed, knowing that we had been a little casual at school…although, we were hardly "all over each other". I picked up my step, hoping I could lose her inside the classroom. She easily matched my pace and glared at me icily, clearly expecting an explanation.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. I have a boyfriend and it is not Lisa." A boyfriend that I was determined to remain faithful to. A boyfriend who did not drop his pants for every willing woman who walked by. Irritation knotted my stomach, and I blurted out something I really shouldn't have. "If you really want to hook up with her so bad, you should just go to Pete's bar. She's always there."

She stopped following me, just as I reached the door to my sanctuary. "Maybe I will," she replied, rather haughtily, as I walked through the door.

Well, that's just great…

As if to further accentuate how sucky my day was, the stupid bus broke down on the way home. They made us wait in the bus until a new one came to pick us up. They wouldn't even let us out to walk if we so chose. Personally, I think the bus driver was having just as crabby of a day as I was, and was exerting his power over us helpless life forms. Of course, some of the more aggressive people simply pushed their way off the bus, but I wasn't that forward of a person…and the bus driver scared me a little bit, so I just stayed put and grumbled a lot.

I had already stayed late at school, studying, and avoiding home, if I were honest with myself, so now I was running really late for work. I should have gone straight there, but my original hope had been to get home in time to take a refreshing shower. It had been a long, emotional day.

Lisa's car was in the driveway as I hurried past it to the front door. I hated to ask her to do anything, and I really didn't need another awkward car ride, but maybe she could help me out and take me to Pete's? My shift started in ten minutes. If I had to take yet another bus, I was going to be so incredibly late…

I swiftly went to my room and set down my bag. Pulling off my blouse, I grabbed my Pete's t-shirt from the floor, where I had tossed it last night after my shift. Quickly, I put it on then scrounged around the room for an elastic band. Finding one in-between the bed and the nightstand, I hastily began pulling my hair into a low ponytail. I put my jacket back on and grabbed my bag again, and made my way to the hallway.

I was just wondering where Lisa might be, when I heard soft music from her room and I noticed that her door was cracked open. Only thinking that I was massively late and needed her help, I went to the door and automatically put my hand on it, opening it slightly wider. I froze in shock when I peered through the crack in the door. My stomach clenched and threatened to rise. My mind wouldn't register what I was witnessing.

Lisa was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her head was down, her eyes were closed, she was biting her bottom lip and her hand was clutching the sheets. My mind resisted, but the rest of the picture snapped painfully into focus. A woman with loose blonde curls was kneeling on the floor in front of her, her head in Lisa's lap. Looking at the picture as a whole, there was no mistaking what she was doing.

Wholly absorbed in what they were clearly enjoying, I don't think they were even aware of me standing at the partially open door. I felt ill. I wanted more than anything to run as far away as I could, before I lost my stomach right here. I couldn't move though, I couldn't stop staring in horror.

The woman must have finally felt another presence in the room. She started to raise herself off of Lisa. Lisa was not so aware, either that, or she didn't care. Her lips parted - her breath noticeably faster, and cringing slightly, she moved her hand automatically to firmly hold her in place. The woman went nuts, she immensely enjoyed that. I however, felt the acid in my stomach starting to rise.

Finally able to move, I ran from the room and down the stairs. Only thinking of escape, my fight or flight response in full alert, I hastily grabbed Lisa's car keys from where she had tossed them on the entryway table. I slammed the front door shut behind me – if she hadn't been aware I was home before, she was now!

I flipped through the keys as I rushed to her car, and stopped on the one for the ignition. She never locked her…baby, so I opened the door and slipped inside, immediately starting it. A perverse thrill went through me as the car growled to life, knowing that she would hear it, and instantly recognize what I had done. I watched the door for half a second, but she didn't rush out. I threw it in reverse and peeled out in my haste to get away from her. Watching the house through the rearview mirror, the front door never opened. Perhaps she was too busy enjoying her "date" to care about her car.

I broke a half-dozen traffic laws getting to work on time, but I did. I smiled when I parked the car in the lot at Pete's. It was really fun to drive, and I loved the thrill that Lisa was going to be so angry about her precious car being gone. Good. I shouldn't be the only one angry in the house. Grinning wickedly, I turned her radio to a station that was playing what sounded like polka music and cranked the volume before I shut the car off. It was a childish prank, I know, but it made me feel better, and I was grinning ear to ear as I walked through the parking lot.

"Hey, you're peppy tonight," Somi exclaimed as I bounced through the front door, still a little high from my carjacking.

"Yeah? No particular reason…" I grinned at her as I shoved Lisa's keys into my front jeans pocket.

Throughout my shift though, my joyride-high faded, and sadness from the scene I had unintentionally witnessed took over. It was one thing to hear one of Lisa's dates, it was quite another to see one. I was feeling pretty melancholy when the doors to Pete's angrily burst open, about an hour later.

I cringed and looked over to the door. Lisa was striding through, looking decidedly more put together than I had last seen her. She also looked decidedly pissed off. Her fiery brown eyes locked onto mine instantly. Lucas came in closely behind her and attempted to place a hand on her shoulder. Lisa snapped her head around to him, pulling back her body, and said something heated. Lucas immediately dropped his hand and held them up in the air, apparently backing off.

My heart started racing and panicking, I backed up a couple steps. Taking her car was not a good idea. What was I thinking? Should I just toss her the keys and make a run for it? Irritation flashed through me and I took a deep breath. No! She would never physically hurt me. If the jerk wants her keys…let her come over and get them.

She strode over to my location. The people between us quickly scooted out of her way at the look on her face. Her blazing eyes narrowed in anger, her lips compressed into a thin line, her hands clenched into fists, her chest noticeably rising and falling – she was strikingly attractive angry.

She walked right up to me and simply held her hand out.

Expecting a more flagrant reaction, I snottily said, "What?"

"Keys," she seethed.

"What keys?" I wasn't sure why I was goading her. Maybe the sight I had witnessed had finally unhinged me?

She took a deep calming breath. "Jennie…my car is right over there." She pointed to where it was in the lot outside. "I heard you take it-"

"If you heard me take it, why didn't you try to stop me?" I quipped.

"I was-"

I pushed a finger into her chest roughly, cutting her off. "You were," I raised my fingers into air quotation marks, "on a date."

Her face noticeably paled. Apparently, she hadn't realized I had seen that. Scowling, her color returned. "So? That gives you the right to steal my car?"

She was right, of course, not that I would ever admit that to her. "I borrowed. Friends borrow, right?" I asked haughtily.

She took another deep breath and then shoved her hand into my front jeans pocket.

"Hey!" I tried to beat her away, but she already had them.

Holding them up in front of me, she seethed, "We're not friends, Jennie. We never were." Then she turned and stalked out of the bar.

My face heated at her hurtful words and turning, I fled to the hallway, then to the safety of the bathroom. I collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily through my mouth, trying not to cry. I felt pale, I felt faint. My heart felt torn to pieces.

The sound of the door opening entered my awareness, as I sat there inhaling and exhaling forcibly.

"Jennie…?" Somi's soft voice asked. I couldn't answer her. I could only stare up at her blankly. She walked and knelt down beside me. "What was that about…you okay?"

I shook my head weakly. Then I started to sob, wracking, tortured sobs. She immediately sat by my side, gently putting her arm around my shoulders. "Jennie, what's wrong?"

In-between sobs, I managed to choke out, "I made a horrible mistake…"

She stroked my hair and pulled me tight. "What is it?"

Suddenly, I didn't just want to tell her about taking the car…I wanted to tell her everything. I choked up, how could I tell her? She would hate me, she wouldn't understand…

She looked over at me. "You can tell me, Jennie. I won't say anything to Taehyung, if you don't want him to know."

My sobs eased as I blinked at her in surprise, did she already know? It came out before I could stop it, "I slept with Lisa." I held my breath, shocked at myself.

She sighed. "I was afraid of that." She hugged me with both arms. "It will be okay. Tell me what happened."

I was so shocked, I could only ask, "You knew?"

She leaned back against the wall, putting her hand on her lap. "I suspected." She stared at her hand quietly for a second, twirling a ring on her finger. "I've seen things, Jennie. Looks you would give her, when you thought no one was watching. Smiles she would give you. I've seen her touch you in discreet ways, like she didn't want anyone to notice. I've seen your face when she sings. Your reaction to her at her party… I've wondered for awhile."

I closed my eyes. She really had seen way too much. Had anyone else?

Quietly she asked, "When did it happen?"

The sobs started again and finally through my sobs, I opened up to her, and told her everything. It was such a relief to finally talk about it with someone. She listened in silence, occasionally nodding, smiling, or looking sympathetic. I told her about the first innocent touches. Our drunken first time while Taehyung was gone. Her coldness afterwards. My panicked reaction to her almost leaving, which led to our second time. Our not-so-innocent flirtations. The club, although, I left out what I did to Taehyung, and what Lisa did with my sister – I just couldn't talk about that yet. The fight in the car, which made her gasp and say, "She said what!" My jealousy over her women…the last one that was still burning through my mind. Her last hurtful comment…

Somi drew me tight to her, both arms around me. "God, Jennie…I'm so sorry. I knew she was like that with women. Maybe I should have warned you earlier? She's just that kind of person."

I sagged against her, tired from the emotional night, and she held me until my sniffles stopped. "What are you going to do now?" she asked quietly, pulling away.

"Besides kill her?" I wasn't sure if I was joking or not. "I don't know…what can I do? I love Taehyung. I don't want him to ever know, I don't want to hurt him. But Lisa…I can't stand the women, it kills me. I feel-"

"Do you love Lisa?" she asked quietly.

"No," I said immediately.

"Are you sure, Jennie? If you weren't angry, what would your answer be?" I didn't answer her. I couldn't, I wasn't sure. Sometimes I felt…something for Lisa.

Without warning, the bathroom door swung open. Kate stood in the doorway, looking down at us on the floor. "Oh, hey…there you are. It's getting crazy out there. Are you guys coming back…please?"

Somi piped up. "Yeah, we're coming. Just give us another couple minutes."

Kate gave me a sympathetic look, as a few tears escaped my eyes and I hurriedly wiped them away. "Oh, okay…no problem." She smiled sweetly at me, then left the room.

"Thank you, Somi." I looked over at her, grateful for her listening to me without judging me.

More tears dropped on my cheeks and she wiped them away. "It will be okay, Jennie. Have faith."

I was pretty quiet for the rest of my shift, and absorbed myself in helping to solve my customer's simple problems. That helped. By closing time, I at least no longer felt like sobbing. I also didn't feel like going home. I didn't know if Lisa had had enough…dating, for one day. Who knows, maybe she ran out of milk and went to the store, only to pick up another hussy there. I was pretty sure that for people who looked like her, those kinds of things were stocked items, tucked right in-between the deli meats and the day old bread rack. Yes, I'll take a pound of ham, and the busty brunette.

I sighed and approached the bar, where Kate and Somi were talking to Rita. Pete had ducked out early. He usually was the very last one to leave, probably hours after the rest of us, but tonight, he'd grabbed his coat right at closing and told Rita to lock up. She was taking advantage of his absence by pouring drinks for us girls. She sat a shot of something dark in front of me as I came over to stand beside Somi. I sighed again. At least it wasn't tequila.

"Okay ladies," she said holding her glass high, "one for the road." We all raised ours, clinking them together and then downed them quickly. Kate and Somi giggled as I made a horrid face. Whatever it had been, burned. Rita made no face at all and began pouring us all another. "Okay, one more."

Kate and Somi made a face at each other, but let her pour one more. I didn't care, I wasn't driving, and it had been one heck of a long day. I glanced over at Somi who smiled reassuringly, her pale blue eyes sparkling warmly at me. She truly was the nicest person. She offered me a ride home every night, and even though I felt bad about accepting, she wouldn't take no for an answer if I had no one else to take me. She insisted that she drove past my street anyway, so it really was no big deal. That made me feel a little better about the whole thing.

Rita finished pouring everyone's second shot and looked at each of us with a sneaky half-grin. "If you had one night…with any man…no strings attached, no complications…who would it be?" She looked at me pointedly. "And you can't pick your own boyfriend."

She looked at each of us while Kate and Somi started giggling again. Thinking of my answer, even though I really didn't want to, I started blushing. Rita sighed. "Okay, well it's an easy one for me…Lisa." She sighed dreamily while I paled. "God, I'd do that girl again in a heartbeat…"

Kate giggled and then gave me an odd look. I wondered for a split-second if she suspected what Somi had suspected, and paled even more. She daintily shook her head and shrugged. "Lisa…definitely."

She and Rita shared a knowing glance and turned to stare at me, waiting for my answer. My throat went dry and I felt ill. I tried to think of someone else, anyone else…someone innocuous, but my mind went completely blank, and only one name was shouting through my head. And it was the one name I dared not utter…not here.

Somi popped up beside me. "Taehyung," she said cheerily.

Kate and Rita both turned to stare at her, then at me, and then back to her, like she had just committed the act she had spoken of. I could have kissed her. With one simple word, she had shifted all of the focus off of me and my stupid answer, which, was of course also Lisa. They were still staring at her in disbelief, well, Kate's look was disbelief, Rita looked more amused and possibly impressed, while I forced a fake frown.

"Cheers," Somi said in her still bubbly voice and we all did our second shot, everyone forgetting that I never actually answered Rita's stupid question. "Ready to go, Jennie," she asked calmly.

"Yeah," I said in a displeased voice, even though I wanted to hug her.

Rita laughed, while Kate gave me a quick consolatory hug. Out the door and out of earshot, I thanked Somi profusely.

I came downstairs a few heartbeats before Taehyung the next morning. Our house had been quiet last night, apparently once a day was enough for Lisa. Well, at least she had her limits. The quiet hadn't helped the hurt in my heart though. I frowned when I saw her sitting at the table with an elbow propped on it and her fingers tangled in her hair. She was staring at the table, looking deep in thought. She glanced over at me when she noticed my entrance, and opened her mouth like she was going to say something. She immediately shut his mouth when Taehyung followed me a few seconds later.

Her latest hurtful comment stung my brain and, feeling a little snotty, I turned to face Taehyung. "I know you're dressed already…" I ran a hand down his dress shirt and rested my fingers on his belt, "but, do you want to run up and take a shower?" I angled my face so that Lisa could see me raise my eyebrows suggestively and bite my lip.

I flicked a glance at Lisa while Taehyung chuckled, she didn't look happy, as she concentrated a little too hard on the tabletop. Good.

Taehyung kissed me softly. "I wish I could, babe, but I can't be late today. Max is on a rampage with the holiday coming."

"Oh." I over exaggerated my disappointment. "It could be a quick shower?" I bit my lip again and flicked another glance at Lisa. Her jaw clenched and I resisted the urge to smile.

Taehyung grinned wider. "I really can't. Tonight though, okay?" He whispered that last part, but I was completely sure Lisa heard him.

I kissed him deeply, running my hands over every inch of his body. Taehyung seemed a little surprised at my enthusiasm, but kissed me back eagerly. I watched Lisa from the corner of my eye as we kissed. She stood and not looking at me, sniffed once and stalked into the living room. I pulled away from Taehyung, smiling warmly at him as I heard Lisa's door close…rather loudly. Inwardly, my smile was vindictive. Two could play at this game.