JENNIE

After getting chastised by Lucas for missing practices, Lisa was diligent in not missing any more. Unfortunately, things worked out so that I couldn't go to another rehearsal, so I saw less of Lisa in that last week then in all of the weeks previous. We'd sort of been hovering around each other lately, blowing off friends and easy-to-miss obligations to roll around in Lisa's bed for a few hours. It was inexcusable of us really, since her practice was important and the few classes I'd skipped had been important. But we'd needed the time together as each looming day brought our separation to the forefront.

So having that cycle of irresponsibility broken by Lisa, who was suddenly being focused again, was a bit of a struggle for me. I adapted though, throwing myself into work, school and friends. And Lisa made our time apart interesting by trying out her new cell phone. She'd interrupted me a few times during class by texting me highly inappropriate comments. Most of them made my cheeks flush bright red. Honestly, she was too seductive, even through technology.

But eventually Friday was upon me at last.

There was feeling in the air when I woke up in my new spacious bed, a feeling of goodbye. I woke up with Lisa's arms around me, my cheek lying on her chest. She was stroking my hair in a soft, repetitive fashion, her fingers gently tucking strands behind my ear, so I knew she was awake.

Stretching, I lifted my head and looked up at her. Brown eyes, deeper and more beautiful, stared back at me. Smiling, she ran the back of her finger down my cheek. "Mornin'," she whispered.

Smiling, I leaned up to gently touch my lips to hers. "Good morning."

We didn't say anything more and I laid my head back down on her skin and held her for at least another hour. She held me as I tightly as I held her, occasionally kissing my hair. It was one of the most comforting experiences I'd ever had, and I knew a part of me would remember this morning forever, tucking it away to pull out on a later day, when I was missing her so much I physically ached.

After a fast eternity of bliss, it was time for me to get ready for school. I grudgingly pulled away from Lisa, but she came with me, a playful smile on her face. That impish grin followed me into the bathroom, all the way into the shower. Trying not to be too distracted by the stream of water flowing down the lean muscles of her frame, I let her pamper and caress me. She lathered me with soap and affection, touching me everywhere but refraining from turning the moment into a sexual one. she only washed me and I in turn washed her. It was comforting, too.

Once we were finished, the water turning chilly on us, she wrapped herself in a towel and headed out to make us some coffee. I smiled at the low-slung cotton riding just over her backside, and quickly got myself dressed so I could rejoin that half-naked body.

Dressed for my day in jeans and a few layered t-shirts, I opened my door at the same time my sister did. Blinking sleepily, even though it was well past eleven by now, she scratched her wildly attractive bed head. "Hey, sis, you headed out to school?"

Nodding, hoping my sister didn't decide to go to the kitchen for any reason, since Lisa was still currently only rocking a towel-skirt, I stepped in front of her line of vision. "Yeah, pretty soon. Lisa's taking me, so you can have the car today."

Jisoo nodded and yawned. She had the car most days so that really wasn't news to her. Stretching so that the tight t-shirt she'd slept in rode up her bikini-clad hips, she nodded towards the kitchen. "She in there? I should wish her a good show tonight."

Hearing Lisa humming, I tried to block my sister's vision even more. She may not care if I'd seen her boyfriend in all his glory, but I didn't need her ogling Lisa in hers. That was my job. "Yeah, she's making coffee." When she smiled and took a step towards me, I grabbed her shoulder. Looking down at her scantily dressed body, I raised an eyebrow. "Would you mind putting on some clothes before you go waltzing out there?"

Covering a yawn, she shook her head. "She doesn't care, Jennie. I'm like a sister to her."

Sighing at the impossible beauty of the sexpot before me, I shook my head. "Please?"

Maybe seeing my expression as I wistfully glanced over her curves, she finally nodded. "All right."

After she slinked back to her room, I darted into mine and grabbed Lisa's clothes. Holding the bundle tight to my chest, I hurried down the short hall into the kitchen. Lisa was leaning against the counter with her hands behind her, her glorious chest on full display. I paused a moment to just stupidly stare at her.

Her hair was a damp, disheveled mess, and water drops occasionally dripped onto her shoulder. One drop followed the curve of her collar bone before trailing over the elegant script of my name above her heart. From there, the frisky ball of water rolled over her pec, across her ribs, and straight down to the deep V cut of her lower abdomen. It traveled that line quite a distance before finally hitting the absorbent towel slung around her hips. It was the luckiest damn drop of water on earth.

"Jennie?"

Lisa's entertained voice brought my eyes back up to her highly amused ones. Grinning crookedly, she raised an eyebrow. "See something you like?"

Flushing, I tossed her clothes at her. She flinched at the sudden move but managed to catch them. "Jisoo's awake and getting ready to come out here. Can you get dressed please?"

I said that last part forlornly as I glossed over her body again. Lightly chuckling, she set her clothes on the counter and watched me watch her. I bit my lip as another drop traveled down her broad back. "You sure?" she asked, still amused.

Sighing, I took a quick glance back at Jisoo's room. Luckily the door was still closed. "Yes."

When I looked back at her, she shrugged and unwrapped the towel from her waist. In the middle of my tiny kitchen, she let the material fall right to the ground. My eyes widened at the sight of her completely bare. Lisa didn't need to…um, glorify her manhood with accessories like Jackson did. She was absolutely perfect in her natural state. Flushing red hot, I watched her lightly shake her head at me and very slowly grab her underwear from the pile. I wanted to snap at her to hurry, and at the same time I wanted her to slow down even more. Smiling, I knew this mental snapshot would also come back to me when I was missing her.

When the last piece of clothing was over her body, I sighed sadly and walked over to lace my arms around her neck. "I'm gonna miss you," I murmured, shaking my head at her.

She smiled, lacing her arms around my waist. "I'm gonna miss you, too."

We were softly kissing when my sister entered the room. "Damn it, was she in a towel?"

I looked over at my sister frowning playfully, pointing at the evidence piled on the floor. Grinning, I laid my head on her chest. "Yes, sorry, you missed the peep show."

Sighing dramatically, she reached into the cupboard next to us and grabbed a few coffee mugs. "I always do," she muttered, handing one to me, then Lisa.

Laughing and shaking her head, Lisa disengaged herself from me so she could pour everyone coffee from the pot that had just finished brewing. When she handed a full one to Jisoo she politely thanked her. Taking a small sip, she raised her eyebrows at her. "Hey, good luck at your show, Lisa. I'm gonna get off work a little early so I can catch the tail end of it."

Lisa nodded and smiled, handing me a cup with room for creamer in it; I couldn't stand black coffee like she and my sister could. "Thanks, Jisoo. I'm glad you'll be able to make it to this one." Smiling at me, she poured a final cup for herself. "It should be good." She shrugged casually, like it was just another show and not her farewell show.

I bit my lip to stop the stinging sensation building in my eyes as I poured a good helping of flavored creamer into my mug. I didn't want to get emotional over the fact already. There would be time for tears later, I was sure. Jisoo sighed, the sound matching my mood. "I wouldn't miss it for anything, Lisa."

Jisoo gave Lisa a supportive pat on the shoulder then left us so we could have one last peaceful morning together with our cups of coffee. And it was the most comforting of all.

After driving me to school, Lisa threw her arm over my shoulder and walked me to class. The people here were finally used to seeing her walking down the hall, since she walked me nearly every day, but the girls still stared appreciatively. I'd considered skipping today, so we would have all the time in the world together, but Lisa had firmly told me no. School was important, she'd said, and I'd missed too much already. Knowing she was right, I'd reluctantly agreed.

Surprising me, Lisa walked me all the way into my classroom. When she walked me over to a row with a couple of open seats, I rolled my eyes at her. "I can handle this part. You can go…nap or something."

Chuckling adorably, she shook her head and, holding my hand, walked backwards down the aisle with me. "I'm not walking you to your seat." Edging past a couple of girls staring at her wide-eyed, she sat down and motioned for me to sit beside her. "I'm joining you," she said, smiling brilliantly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I stared at her open-mouthed. she'd teased about sitting through a class before, but I never thought she'd actually do it. Lisa wasn't dumb or anything, but she wasn't exactly the academic type. She'd be bored out of her mind sitting here with me while the teacher droned on and on about morality clauses in contract agreements. Shaking my head, I sat down beside her. "All right."

Chuckling, she slung an arm over my shoulder. Looking over at her, I raised an eyebrow. "No falling asleep." She laughed a little and stroked my arm with her thumb. Smiling, I added, "And no funny business. I actually need to learn this stuff."

Lisa rolled her eyes and made a pledge over her heart. "I'll be the perfect student." Facing forwards, she muttered, "And if I'm not, you can punish me later." her grin was so devilishly attractive, I had to look away. Unfortunately, I looked right across the room at Candy.

She was sitting with her friends, her head turned all the way around as she stared at the rock star sitting in on her class. Her surprised expression nearly matched what my own had been. As I leaned into Lisa's side, resting my head on her shoulder, her expression relaxed into a neutral one. Rolling her eyes and muttering a word that I could clearly tell was, "Whatever," she jerked back around to the front of the room.

I grinned and waited for my girlfriend to receive her first college lecture. I hoped she liked it.

In a way that surprised me, Lisa was the perfect student. She listened enraptured, even leaning forward a little. During a discussion period, she even piped up with a couple of well thought out questions. I smiled as she got into a debate with a guy a few rows down from us. Lisa's side of the argument was much more persuasive, and the legitimate student in the room conceded to it by the end. The professor commended Lisa on her points, then tilted his head like he was trying to place who Lisa was…and if she was actually a student. Eventually he gave up trying to figure it out and dismissed the class for the day.

I was very proud of my girlfriend as we left the room. Given another life, she probably would have done really well here.

Lisa was ear-to-ear smiles and I clenched her hand, loving that she'd loved it so much. Everything was going great, until she walked past a group of giggling girls. Feeling bold, they stepped right in front of us, blocking our exit. Still on cloud nine, Lisa smiled at the group. "Ladies?" she asked politely, tilting her head.

They giggled even more at being addressed. I wanted to sigh and roll my eyes. There was something about her that turned mature, educated, enlightened women into fifteen-year-old school girls. I'd seen it happen way too often.

The boldest of the group stepped forward. "You're Lisa, right? We just love your band."

Nodding politely, an odd expression passed Lisa's face as she studied the group of women assembled before her. It was something that the girls probably wouldn't notice, but I did. It was almost like she was trying to place a name with a face. Throwing on an effortless grin, she smoothly said, "I'm glad to hear you enjoy us. Our last show is tonight at Pete's." Leaning in, she raised an eyebrow at them. "I hope you guys can make it." Her tone was so suggestive that I actually raised my own eyebrow. I was used to her flirting a little with them, but sometimes she took it just a bit too far.

They, of course, ate it up. Lisa smiled as she flicked her eyes over the group. She kept looking at one in the back and I curiously started examining her too. She was biting her lip and eyeing her in an intimate way, a way that clearly said she was a step above the other fawning fans around. It was a look I'd seen before on women who'd approached her, or sometimes even shown up at her place. It was the look of a woman who'd shared a bed with her before, and probably wouldn't mind sharing a bed with her again.

As Lisa's eyes kept flashing over the woman, I finally registered the look I was seeing on her face. It was an expression of, I know you…how do I know you?

Irritated by the whole situation, I started to subtly pull away from her. Maybe taking the hint, she excused herself from the gawkers. "It was nice to meet you all…I'll see you at the show." I groaned a little that she'd tossed that in at the end. Now they all probably assumed that she literally meant she'd spend some time with them at the performance tonight. And I've-slept-with-you girl was probably expecting a great amount of personal attention.

I was scowling by the time we were outside. She noticed. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Glaring over at her, I rolled my eyes. "I hope you all can make it. See you there, ladies," I mocked, not really meaning to.

She stopped and stared at me. "I was just being friendly with some fans, Jennie. It doesn't mean what you think it means."

I stopped, setting my hands on my hips. I was fine with the fans, truly, I was, but that girl in the back had gotten under my skin. It was so weird to have so many people know what being with her was like…in that way. And they kept popping up everywhere. This girl, Candy, Rita, and I was pretty sure about that mechanic chick too…and that was just in the small circle that I saw often. I knew the list was much, much longer than that.

Pointing back to the building, I snapped out, "You've had sex with that girl!"

She blinked at my tone and my words, then her face heated. "And?"

I blinked that she didn't even try and deny it. "And…and…" Not having a real argument, I sighed and hung my head. "And I'm tired of running into girls who know what making love to you feels like. "

She sighed and stepped into me, cupping my face. Her voice and face softer, she shook her head. "No one but you knows what making love to me feels like." Raising her eyebrows, she rested her head against mine. "I didn't even know what making love was like until you."

Pulling back, she tilted her head at the building. "What happened with that girl…was just sex. A mindless, physical act that had no meaning or feeling behind it. It was just pleasure…and I don't even really remember it."

Squatting down, she met my eye. "I remember every single time with you. Even before we were together, being with you haunted my dreams. I couldn't forget, even when I wanted to…" Her thumbs brushed over my cheeks as I felt tears falling down them. "You…seared me. That's making love. That is something that none of them have over you. You are…unforgettable…and I love you."

Sniffling, I swallowed a couple times before I could finally say, "I love you, too."

She kissed me then, and I felt the passion and the truth in her words. They'd had her, but not like I'd had her. For some reason, I was different to her, and I was eternally grateful for that. I was still thinking about all of her conquests on the drive to her place, though. Feeling a little melancholy, I sat on her couch after we walked in her door. She sat beside me, a little cautiously.

"Jennie? You're not still mad, are you?"

I shook my head as I looked over at her. "No, I'm not mad, I'm just…"

Sighing, I bit my lip. Looking nervous, she shrugged. "You're what?"

Knowing we had to have this conversation sooner or later, I gritted my teeth and inhaled. On the exhale, I calmly said, "I'm curious…about the women."

Looking away, Lisa sighed, like she'd known this was coming. "Jennie…you know why I use to…"

She trailed off, staring at the floor. Grabbing her cheek, I made her look back at me. "I know, Lisa. I know why, I just don't know…how many."

She pulled back from my fingertips, her brows pulling together. "How many? Why do you…? Why does that…?" Shaking her head, she shrugged again. "What difference does that make, Jennie?"

Sighing as I stared at the floor now, I shrugged. "I don't know why, Lisa. I guess I just want to know how many….others…I could potentially run into." I peeked back up to look at her; her brow was still furrowed. "Do you know how many there has been?"

She swallowed, her eyes avoiding looking at me. "Jennie, I'm not really comfortable with…" she sighed and finally looked at me. "Can we not do this, please? Not today, not when I'm leaving tomorrow."

I sighed again, wishing I could just let it go again. But I'd let it go too many times already, and really, this was the perfect time to talk about it. "We should have this conversation, Lisa. We should have already had it, but you and I had…different problems getting together, so this just kept getting put on the back burner. But it's important…we need to talk about it."

Exhaling, she shook her head. "Why? It's ancient history. I'm not that person anymore, Jennie. I'm not gonna be that person again. Can't we just ignore it?"

Cupping her cheek, I shook my head. "We can't ignore things and have a solid relationship. And…it's not ancient, Lisa. That girl today proves that it's still relevant. We're going to run into these girls over and over and I need…" I exhaled in a rush, "I just need to know what I'm up against, Lisa."

Dropping her head she muttered, "You're not up against anything." I didn't say anything and she peeked up at me, hope in her eyes that I'd drop this. When I didn't, when I just kept silently sitting and waiting for her, my heart in my throat, she sighed and nodded. "I don't know how many, Jennie…I'm sorry."

Looking around the room, she leaned over and rested her elbows on her knees. "I suppose if you do the math…" she looked down at her hands. "I've been having sex for about a decade, with two or three different girls a week," she peeked up at me, guilt all over her face, "on average," she looked back down at her hands, "so that's…."

I held my breath, already having calculated the answer. She looked up at me and blinked after she did the math. "Crap…that's over fifteen hundred girls." She looked back down to her hands and muttered, "That can't be right…"

I sighed, knowing it was. Even if she only had sex twice a week with a different girl each time, that was over one hundred girls a year. Since she'd started so young, and she had almost ten years of that sort of behavior under her belt…well, that was almost a thousand girls. And that was assuming a low average. I had a feeling some years had been much higher than two or three a week. Sometimes she'd had two or three a day.

She looked a little ill as she sat on her couch, considering that. She clearly never had before. "Jesus," she muttered. "I really am a whore."

Actually feeling bad for her, I put a hand on her knee. "Well, I can see why you don't remember them all," I whispered.

She looked up at me, horrified. "I'm so sorry, Jennie. I didn't realize…"

She shook her head and I shook mine too. "I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty, Lisa, I just…we should talk about this openly, honestly."

Sighing, she leaned back against the couch. Nodding, she splayed her fingers out to me. "What do you want to know?"

"I know you don't remember all of their names, but do you remember their faces? Would you recognize them all if we ran into them again?" I cringed, thinking of this afternoon.

She bit her lip, thinking. "Maybe girls from the last few years, but before that…no, I'm sorry, the faces blur together and you know I didn't always ask…" she looked down," their names."

I squeezed my hand on her knee, and asked the one question that I really needed answered, the one that seemed the most relevant…and the one that terrified me a little. "Were you safe…with all of them?"

My heart thudded in my chest. True, STDs and other communicable diseases were high up on my list of concerns, but the one thing that scared me the most was the idea of some woman out there having had her child after a one night fling with her. It happened all the time. It was so plausible. It terrified me to no end that some woman knocking on her door would also come with a toddler…with same brown eyes.

Her eyes immediately flashed up to mine. "Yes," she whispered, her voice sounding completely sure.

Sighing, I slumped against the couch. "Lisa, you don't have to lie to make me feel better…just be honest."

Her hand came out to cup my cheek. "I am. Even from the first, the very first, we used condoms. I always carried some with me after that day. I didn't want…" she sighed and shook her head, "I didn't want another…me…to happen to some girl."

I stared at her blankly, amazed that the circumstances of her own conception had sacred her straight, so to speak, even at the tender age of twelve. Without thinking about it, I murmured, "How can you be sure…if you don't remember them all?"

She shook her head. "Because it was my rule, and I never broke it. It was the one thing I…was good about."

Frowning, I pushed her hand away from my face. "You weren't with me. You never even thought about it with me."

There was a little heat in my tone as I thought about all of our skin-on-skin moments. She looked down, her eyes flicking back and forth. "That's because…" she peeked up at me, "it was you." I furrowed my brow, not understanding. She sighed, bringing her fingers back to my cheek. "I wanted you…so much…and in a way I'd never wanted any girl." She rested her forehead against mine, exhaling lightly. "I loved you…even that first time. I didn't want anything between us. I wanted…"

Pulling back, she looked away. Grabbing her cheek, I made her look at me. "You wanted what?"

Looking guilty again, she shrugged. "I wanted…to own you. I wanted a part of me in you." She cringed. "I wanted to mark you, make you mine." Sighing, she shook her head. "Because I knew you really weren't…but it made me feel…closer to you, to think that way."

She lowered her eyes as mine watered. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that."

Swallowing, I brought her mouth to mine. "I love you, too," I muttered between our lips.

Grabbing her head, I pulled her back as I laid down on the couch. She went freely, settling herself over the top of me as our mouths moved in perfect synch. Breaths heavier, our kiss intensified and my body melted under hers, ready for her to stake her claim on me again. But when I tangled my fingers in her messy hair, lightly scratching her scalp, she pulled away from me.

Staring down on me, she shook her head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but can we not have sex right now? Can we just…cuddle…until you have to go in to work? I just want to be close to you for a while."

Shifting my fingers to brush some stray hair from her forehead, I searched her eyes. "Yeah, of course."

She smiled lightly and kissed me one final time before shifting to lie beside me. Her head on my shoulder, she wrapped her leg over mine and laced our fingers together. Kissing my knuckles, she sighed softly. "I love you, Jennie," she whispered.

Kissing her forehead, I rested my cheek on her head and absorbed the feeling of her body sprawled across mine. I was wrong before, this was the most comforting thing ever.

We stayed that way, cuddling and silently comforting each other, right up until it was time for me to go to work. Almost immediately upon entering the bar, Lisa was handed a shot of something from Sam. A big grin on his imposing face, the huge bouncer clapped Lisa's shoulder. "Here, man, it's your night, drink up!"

Lisa immediately swished it back. "Thanks, Sam." she grinned, laughing a little as she handed the empty glass back to him. "I never thought you, of all people, would hand me alcohol."

Lisa laughed a little more and Sam rolled his eyes, his smile dropping. "Well, since you're not going to end up on my doorstep tonight, I'll allow it."

I frowned at Lisa, remembering her confession of getting herself obliterated on Sam's doorstep because of me. I'd had to deal with the drunken idiot that night, when I'd had no idea why she'd gotten tossed. It was a little surprising that she could joke about that evening now, but that was Lisa. If anything, she'd developed the ability to bounce back. I supposed, with her life, she'd had to.

Sam shook his head then laughed and clapped Lisa's shoulder again. "We're gonna miss you, Lis." Walking away from Lisa, I thought I heard Sam mutter, "Drunken idiot."

Ignoring that last part, Lisa shouted back, "Thanks!"

I tried to walk with Lisa to her table, but it seemed like every third step we took someone stopped her, usually offering her a drink along with their congratulations. She happily took them all, slinging them back and thanking the person offering it. After the fourth such stoppage, I gave up walking with her and kissed her on the cheek, telling her that I had to get to work. She nodded as she took another shot from someone. Shaking my head, I hoped she slowed down enough so that she could actually give her final performance tonight. It would be quite a disappointment to her fans if I had to drive the drunken idiot home in an hour.

By the time I officially started my shift, she was surrounded by a boisterous group of men and women. Everyone seemed to want some time with her before she left tomorrow. I was grateful that we'd had our tender moments already today, but it did make me sad that our private time was over. I'd have to share her from here on out.

About an hour after my shift started, the rest of the band showed up. The place erupted into fanfare with the whole group assembled; it was about ten times as loud as the applause they'd received after Bumbershoot. Everyone here was proud of their band and wanted to wish them well. The bar was bursting at the seams, and there were still a couple of hours before the show officially started.

Hearing the noise, Pete popped out from the back. He sighed despondently at his entertainment moving on from him, then shook his head and raised his hands into the air. The place eventually quieted as everyone twisted to look at him. Lisa, working her way through the crowd to stand near her band mates, locked eyes with Pete.

Smiling at the singer, Pete said, "Lisa…guys…you've done wonders for my little pub and I'll never forget that. If and when you return, you always have a place here." Lisa smiled, her eyes drifting to the floor. The other D-bags beamed, smiling at each other. Sniffing in a clearly emotional way, Pete shook his head. "Anyway…a round for everybody, on the house!"

The bar erupted and my eyes widened. There were a lot of people here. As Pete went over to chat with his band, Somi, Kate and I got to work on pleasing the masses with their free beers. It took an eternity to get everybody satisfied, but eventually, with Rita, and the day bartender, Troy, helping out, we did. As a content murmur filtered throughout the place, I leaned against the bar and sighed, already exhausted.

Kate and Somi leaned against the bar with me, one on either side of me. Kate blew a stray piece of hair out of her eyes, the first stray piece of hair I'd ever seen on her. "I'm gonna miss those guys, but whew, this is gonna be a long night."

Rita popped over behind us, pouring us each shots. "A round for the ladies!" Troy walked up to her side and Rita gave him a suggestive smile before pouring him one. "And you too, I suppose." I hid my smile from her, not bothering to tell her that I was pretty sure Troy would never be interested in her the way her smile insinuated. I was pretty sure Troy's interests laid elsewhere…like in my girlfriend.

Clinking glasses, we all took a quick shot. It burned going down, but afterwards it was warming and calming, just enough to help me get through tonight's chaos. As Rita and Troy moved off to help start the next round for people, Somi sighed and laid her head on my arm. "I'm going to miss Evan…and the guys. Pete's just won't be the same."

I nodded, resting my head against her. "I know…nothing will be the same really."

Kate sighed and we both looked over to her. "Yeah, I have some really good memories of those guys." Giggling, she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "A couple summers ago they kidnapped me for my birthday." She grinned at Somi. "Evan made me wear that stupid birthday hat, remember?"

Somi grinned back at Kate and shook her head. "Yeah, that was fun." Wistfully, she looked over at the guys. "I remember when they did a show in Eastern Washington. A group of us decided to road trip it over the pass with them. We all got stuck halfway through when Jackson's Van broke down. We had to camp at a rest stop." Somi started laughing, Kate and I joining her. "Lucas never booked another show over the mountains after that."

Somi wiped her eyes as the memories of that trip washed over her. I sighed, wishing I had been here for those happy times. Kate reached over and tapped Somi's shoulder. "Remember the water slides fiasco?"

Somi nodded. "Yeah, Jackson still isn't allowed to go back there."

They both started belly laughing, and I frowned, wondering what the creaton had possibly done. Tears streaming down her cheeks, Somi said, "And remember the rooftop party? The heights freaked Lucas out and he spent the whole night in the exact center of the roof." Wiping her eyes, Somi laughed out, "Lisa had to sling him over her shoulder to get him to leave."

I laughed with them, imagining that, then I sighed. I'd missed so many memories. Giggling nonstop, Kate added, "Remember when you walked in on me and Lisa that one New Year's Eve?"

I instantly stopped laughing and swung my head around to Kate. She instantly stopped laughing too, remembering who I was. "You and Lisa?" I looked her up and down with narrowed eyes, like it had just happened. "What?"

My tone was a little bitter and Somi put a hand on my shoulder. Kate blanched and shook her head. "We didn't have sex…it didn't get that far." She pointed over to Somi. "She…" Biting her lip, Kate shrugged, looking very apologetic.

My eyes narrowing even more, I put my hands on my hips. "Why didn't you ever mention this before?"

Kate cringed a little bit. "What was I supposed to say? Hey, I nearly had sex with the one you're seeing? That's not cool." She shrugged again. "Besides, it was a while ago, and we were really, really drunk. I don't think she even…" Looking around self consciously, she shrugged again. "I should get back to work."

Feeling my cheeks heat, I didn't say anything and she quickly turned and fled. God! she'd done Rita, she'd asked Somi out, and now I come to find out that she'd seriously made out with Kate. Did Lisa not have a history with anyone at Pete's!

Seeing me fuming, Somi stepped in front of me, putting both hands on my shoulders. "She's different now, Jennie." Looking over to where Kate had disappeared, Somi shook her head. "And don't hate Kate for caving into Lisa." Looking back at me, she raised an eyebrow pointedly. "You know how persuasive Lisa can be."

I flushed for another reason and slumped a little against the bar. "I know…I just wish everyone in the entire world didn't have some sort of sexual history with the person I'm in love with."

Laughing softly, Somi ducked down to meet my eye. "It's a lot, Jennie, I know, but I'm sure it's not everybody." Shaking her head, she smiled cheerily. "I don't have a history with her. I've never even kissed her." She instantly frowned and pulled away, her eyes suddenly deep in thought. "Hmmm…"

My mouth dropped as she shook her head, her frown lines getting deeper. I smacked her shoulder. "You have kissed her, haven't you?"

Looking back at me with a small grimace, she shrugged. "There was this one time after she drove me home from a shift." My mouth dropped wider and I made a very unladylike noise. She twisted her lips and shook her head. "Sorry, I forgot. It wasn't too long after I started working here. She was looking sad and lonely and she offered to drive me, so I caved and said yes. Then we were talking in my drive and she leaned over and kissed me." She shook out her beautiful, blonde head of hair. "I pushed her back and told her I didn't want to." Rolling her eyes, she added, "I think that's what started her hounding me for a date, until I finally put my foot down."

She shrugged as she stared at me, like it was no big deal. Closing my eyes, I shook my head and stormed off to the back room. I needed to go some place where another woman that Lisa had been intimately involved with was not. And right now, that meant I had to be alone.