J

"You made the paper," Tammy announced, tossing the Monday local section of the Seaport Times newspaper in front of me. My dear friend Fred was holding Tammy's other hand. He pulled out a chair so Tammy could join me at the big, round table in the middle of the pub.

I was so glad when Fred put that engagement ring on Tammy's finger. He loved her so much and she surely made him happy. Tammy was a sweetheart and a great friend.

"We did?" I asked as I paged through the newspaper to find the article.

"Yep, you're on page two," she replied.

"Where?" I didn't see an article.

"There, the picture." Tammy pointed.

I studied the photo of people standing outside my front door. The caption read "Local night spot Kim's Pub had a long waiting line Saturday as visiting celebrities were reported to be inside."

"That's it?" Hyunji asked as she read over my shoulder. "No story?"

"Whatever. I'll take the free advertising," I joked. "And speaking of long lines… here, this is for you." I pulled two envelopes from my pocket and slid one to both Fred and Hyunji.

"What's this?" Fred asked, peering inside the envelope. He counted it out. "This is five hundred bucks!"

"Well, we had a monumental Saturday night and I wanted to share the profits with you. You both worked very hard and I wanted to say Thank You in more than words."

"Thanks!" they both said in unison.

Hyunji's husband Gary tried to grab the envelope from her.

"Hands off, mister!" she yelled, smacking his hand. "I busted my ass for this!"

"Yeah, Gary! Keep your hands off that money!" I scolded him. "Hyunji needs all of that. Maybe that way she'll be able to stay in the game longer tonight."

"Oh, I see!" Fred bellowed. "You think you're going to win this money back tonight, do you?" He grinned at me.

"That's right! We're upping tonight's bets from quarters to dollars. And the sooner you shuffle the cards, the sooner I'll be rich," I teased him. "Hyunji… while you are over there, can you grab a bowl for the pretzels, pretty please?"

"So we're not playing for quarters?" Fred's face fell.

Tammy nudged him in the arm. "I'm pretty sure Jennie is joking."

Hyunji was digging in one of the cabinets behind the bar when the telephone rang. "Good evening, Kim's Pub."

I looked over at her, confused by her actions. "Don't answer that. We're closed, remember?"

"No, I'm sorry. We aren't open tonight. The pub will be open tomorrow at one o'clock. Sure, hold on a minute." Hyunji held the phone to her shoulder. "Jennie, phone call."

"Who is it?" I whispered at her.

She shrugged her shoulders, not bothering to ask. "I dunno."

"Hello?" I answered.

"Jennie? Hi, it's Lisa. How are you?"

"Good! And you?" Why is she calling me?

"I'm good. I was just wondering if you were open. Jaehyun and I were looking for something to do and I thought about shooting pool," Lisa rambled.

"Well, actually I'm closed on Mondays," I said regrettably.

"Oh, what are you up to then?" she asked.

"I'm just hanging out with a few friends. On Mondays we play poker."

"Did you say poker?" It sounded like she didn't believe me.

"Yeah," I laughed nervously. "We play every Monday."

"That sounds like fun!" Lisa stated.

I could hear another male voice in the background asking Lisa to explain.

"Playing poker," Lisa spoke to someone else.

"Oh hell yeah!" the voice in the background replied loudly and enthusiastically.

"So I guess this is the part where I ask if you want to join us?" I snickered.

"I don't know. Are there a lot of people there?" she asked worriedly.

"No, just four of my friends. That's it."

"Just four? Do you mind if we come over?" she sounded hopeful. "We'd love to play; we need to get out of the hotel."

"No, I don't mind. That is as long as you don't bring your psycho fans with you. By the way, we play for money."

Lisa laughed in my ear. "You'll have to sneak us in then. We can come through the alley."

"Hmm, sounds like you thought about this already," I accused her.

"Maybe," she shot back. "We'll be there in a half hour."

"Who was that?" Hyunji asked. Her eyes narrowed in on my face.

I sat back down at the big table and ran my finger around the rim of my beer glass.

"That was…" I took a deep breath. "Lisa."

"What? You mean like Lisa Manoban?" Hyunji just about shot out of her chair.

"Yep." I was fighting back a smile.

"And?" She glared at me.

"She and someone named Jaehyun are going to be joining us tonight."

Tammy lurched onto the table, almost spilling her drink. "Jaehyun? Jaehyun Yuno? You mean the actor Jaehyun Yuno who played Blake' brother Randolph in Seaside?"

"Who's Blake?" I asked.

"Chase! You don't know who Blake is?" Tammy shrilled at me.

I slid back further in my seat and shook my head. She sort of scared me for a moment.

"Blake is the character that Lisa Manoban plays in Seaside!" Her expression made me feel stupid, like I was missing a big chunk of common knowledge.

"Okay, if you say so. She said Jaehyun, so if that's the same Jaehyun, then yes," I replied.

"NO freakin way!" Tammy yelled. "They are coming here?"

"Calm down, Tammy. They were here Saturday night. Well, Lisa was but I don't think Jaehyun was. Anyway, listen, it's no big deal, okay? They're just regular people." I tried to get her to come down from the clouds.

"You all have to be cool about this. I don't want to hear any of you gossiping about them being here either. You have to promise. PROMISE!" I shook my finger at them. "They just want to play poker with us so everyone just relax."

Hyunji's eyes were bulging in her head. She knew I was holding back.

"All right Jennie, spill it! What the hell is going on here? Lisa Manoban just showed up here randomly Saturday night and now like it's no big deal that she's going to be joining us for poker?"

"I met her the other day," I reluctantly confessed with a sigh. "The boy that came in here Friday night had a message from Lisa. She sent him to ask for my cell number."

"That makes sense now," Fred replied.

"What?" I thought Hyunji's head was going to dislodge from her body. "She asked for your number?"

"Yes, all right?" I said a bit defensively. "But I didn't give it to her. I guess that's why she showed up here on Saturday."

Hyunji was shaking her head violently. "Lisa freakin' Manoban asked for your phone number and you didn't give it to her? Am I hearing this correctly?"

I just shrugged and rolled my eyes.

"Are you out of your mind?" Hyunji screamed at me while pulling on her own hair.

"I have my reasons."

"What? What reasons could you possibly have? One of the hottest person on the planet wants your phone number, but you have reasons? This shit better not be about Mingyu, because I'll kick your ass myself!"

"No, this has nothing to do with Mingyu. Lisa is a celebrity for God's sake! She's only in town for a couple of weeks. What do you want me to do? Just lie down for her because she is famous?"

"I would," she said, but the look Gary gave her made her back track her comment. "I mean if I was you, I would."

"Well you should know me better than that. You of all people." Her judgment of me hurt. "Look, she's a nice person, and if she wants to be friends while she's in town, I'm okay with that. But I'm not going to have my heart smashed again, by anyone. And I'm certainly not going to delude myself into thinking that she is going to pursue a relationship with me!"

My own words stung. I stood up from the table and hurried to the bathroom. I did not want to continue this conversation. Good enough for lust, but not good enough for love flashed through my mind like a scrolling electric sign.

Hyunji and Tammy followed me to the bathroom. The second Hyunji was through the door she pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in my ear. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's all right. I upset myself." I stared over her shoulder at the tiled wall as she squeezed me.

"Lisa is really, really nice. She's funny and kind and… she is the kind of person I could easily fall for. But I can't. I will not allow myself to get caught up like that. She's a celebrity! She has girls standing in line for her."

I had to look away. Once again I found myself becoming interested in a person who was unobtainable.

"Oh, Jennie," Tammy said while rubbing my back, "she obviously likes you! Why else do you think she's coming around? Don't be so hard on yourself. You are a gorgeous, awesome woman. And you don't know what the future holds."

"I know why she's coming around," I muttered, knowing that she's a person with needs. "If she wants to be friends - fine, and if she wants to play poker - that's fine too. But please, please don't make a big deal about this, and don't pressure me about her either. You two are my best friends, and if you love me and care about me, then you will understand that I don't want to get used or hurt again. And I'm not interested in a one-night stand."

"Okay. We understand," Hyunji said, letting me go. "Lisa freakin' Manoban, huh?" She looked completely astonished. "Are you sure you don't want to have her just for one night and then tell us all about it and maybe take pictures?"

I smirked. "No, absolutely not."

"Hey, it was worth asking!" she teased.

Twenty minutes later I met Lisa and Jaehyun at the back door to the pub. They arrived in an ordinary SUV, and as soon as the car stopped, the two leapt from the vehicle and darted into my open doorway.

"Hey you!" Lisa greeted me with her crooked smile. "Jennie, this is Jaehyun."

"Hi Jaehyun, it's nice to meet you," I said politely as I held out my hand. I had never seen him before so there was no celebrity association in my mind when meeting him. He was just another regular person to me.

"Hi Jennie! It's really nice to meet you too." Jaehyun grinned widely at me then flashed his eyes and raised his eyebrows at Lisa. I spotted the guy head-nod acknowledgement. "Lisa tells me you have a nice place here."

"Thank you!" I replied. "Please, come on in, we're playing out in the pub."

Lisa and Jaehyun followed me out of the kitchen. Jaehyun gave Lisa a teasing shove. I guess I passed the friend test.

Everyone introduced themselves and my friends were somewhat contained in their emotions, although I can't deny they were star-struck. It's not every day you have famous people hanging out with you. I poured a beer for Lisa and Jaehyun and danced my way to the large circular table where we would play.

"I love this song!" Fred grabbed my hands and started to dance with me. We shuffled our feet for a few moments until he spun me under his arm in the direction of my usual poker seat.

"You two are crazy," Tammy squealed.

Lisa sat down next to me; she nudged me with her elbow before flashing me a smile.

"You know how to play Texas Hold-em? We play for money," I whispered to her.

She nodded at me and stuffed her hand in her front pocket, pulling out a wrinkled wad of mixed bills. I grinned at her. Her casual disorganization amused me for some reason.

"Well, since you've made me extremely wealthy tonight, Jennie, give me two hundred in chips." Fred tossed his money across the table. "I'm feeling lucky!" he said, rubbing his hands together briskly.

While I was counting out Fred's chips, Lisa was trying to straighten out her cash pile mess. She must have had almost a thousand on her; I saw several hundred-dollar bills when she organized them. Good thing those obsessed fans didn't reach into her pockets!

Fred was singing along with the song that was playing; he made me laugh with the way he bobbed his head back and forth.

"Hey Fred," Gary called across the table, "who sings this song?"

"Michael Bublé!" Fred answered proudly, knowing that he had the right answer.

"Well maybe you should let him sing it instead? What do you say to that?"

"Wait for it… here comes the horns." As soon as the trumpets started playing in the song, Fred chucked his two middle fingers at Gary with each beat.

I could see Tammy and Hyunji itching in their seats. Both of them kept gazing over at Jaehyun and Lisa, like they were dying to ask them questions. Tammy started to open her mouth, looking at me for my approval. I hoped my displeased expression would be enough to deter her. Oh please don't ask them anything.

Tammy held up her finger. "Just one?" she mouthed at me. "One tiny one?"

I let out a deep sigh and rolled my eyes to the ceiling.

Lisa looked at me, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"My girlfriends are dying to ask you questions… no doubt about your movie, but I wish that they would just leave you be," I said with humor while trying to let them know that I was a little annoyed.

"Can I ask you just one question about Sea…?" Tammy started.

"I knew it! I knew you wouldn't be able to resist!" Fred laughed. "What is it about this freakin' movie that's like crack for you women?"

"I've been trying to figure that one out myself," Lisa admitted. She looked at me and smiled.

"Don't look at me! I have no idea," I defended.

"Yeah, you didn't even know who Blake was!" Tammy laughed as she pointed at me.

Lisa was still grinning as her eyes locked on mine.

"I still don't know who Blake is," I admitted.

"I'll tell you what it is - all women love dangerous bad guys and that's what the movie is about," Tammy stated.

"Yeah, I guess there's something sexy about someone who wants to kill you," Lisa muttered.

I gathered that was not the first time she said those words out loud just by her body language.

"Hey Hyunji, get me another beer or I'll kill you," Gary muttered. Hyunji smacked him hard in the arm.

"What? I'm just trying to be sexy for you!" he pointed out, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"What's your question, Tammy?" Lisa asked, still laughing from Gary's remark.

"I was wondering if the one scene from book two, where Blake finds Gwen bleeding in the cave, is going to be in the movie?"

Hyunji moved to the edge of her chair. She obviously wanted to know the answer to that one too.

"Yes. It's a pretty significant scene. We've already filmed it," Lisa answered.

Hyunji and Tammy looked like they were going to explode from excitement. Fred was shaking his head; he thought the whole conversation was absurd.

"Oh Fred, you don't understand. Blake finds Gwen barely alive in a cave after she'd been shot. And Blake's supposed to kill her too, but instead she takes her shirt off and wraps it around Gwen to stop the bleeding. And then Gwen looks at her and begs her to kill her so the pain would stop, but Blake says she loves Gwen too much to let her die…" Tammy gushed like she was going to cry.

"And?" Fred asked. "Does she die?"

"Of course not! She," she pointed at Lisa, "saves her."

I glanced at Lisa; she was sitting forward in her chair with her head bowed. She appeared to be slightly uncomfortable with the conversation.

I leaned over to her, wrapped my arm around the back of her chair, and whispered in my worst British accent, "I see you've managed to get your shirt off."

Lisa looked over at me and laughed lightly. "It's a rock monster; it doesn't have any vulnerable spots," she replied. She grinned widely and leaned even closer to me, bumping her arm into mine.

Everyone else in the room was oblivious to our movie line references. It was like we had our own secret language.

"And what about…" Tammy started again but I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

"Please, Tammy," I pleaded while Lisa and I were still leaned close to each other. "Don't bug her."

Lisa quickly ran her finger under my chin, apparently pleased that I defended her. It felt like my skin burst into flames when she touched me.

"How long until you guys are finished here?" Fred interjected quickly.

"We'll be here for another six weeks and then we have a break around Thanksgiving," Lisa replied as she playfully kicked the back of my foot. Her little tap made me smile.

"Jaehyun, I understand you're married to Wendy Shon, is that right?" Tammy asked.

"Yes. We just had our sixth wedding anniversary." Jaehyun nodded proudly.

"Is your wife here in Rhode Island with you?" Tammy continued.

"Not yet, but she's flying in on Saturday with our daughter, Cami. I just found a house for us to rent nearby."

"I remember watching your wife when she was on Just Neighbors. I loved that show! How old is your daughter?" Tammy asked.

"She's almost four - and quite a handful," Jaehyun said. "I miss them."

"It must be hard when you're away from your family. But it's nice that she's coming out here to see you," Tammy said.

"Yeah, it's hard, but we make sure that the time and space that we're apart doesn't divide us," Jaehyun said as he looked at Lisa and me.

With no one the wiser, Lisa stretched her leg and rested her foot so it was touching mine. As much as I wanted to move my foot, I couldn't. Why did she have to smell so damn good? I took a deep breath to clear out the haze she caused in my brain, straightened up in my chair, and moved my foot away.

We played poker for almost two hours. Everyone was having a good time laughing, drinking, and picking on each other. Lisa and Jaehyun were just two friends having a good time with the rest of us.

"Last round and then I think we need to take a break," Fred announced as he dealt the cards.

I kicked Lisa back in the foot. She had kicked me too many times under the table when I wasn't paying attention and I owed her one.

Gary looked at his cards and folded immediately. "Couldn't you just deal me two good cards instead of that shit?" he ribbed Fred as he scratched his moustache.

I looked at my cards. Fred dealt me a ten and an ace – both hearts. "I raise four dollars," I said as I tossed in chips. I had two high cards in the same suit… not bad to start with.

Lisa peeked at her cards. "Call," she muttered. I felt her foot tap mine.

"Call," Jaehyun said, tossing in his chips.

Fred was taking his good old time looking at his cards. While we waited, I stretched back in my chair and tapped Lisa in the back of her calf with the top of my foot, causing her leg to fly forward and her foot to slap on the floor. She peered at me through the corner of her eye and gave me a dirty look. Her evil eye didn't last too long before the sultry grin appeared on her face.

Finally Fred counted off four dollars in chips and threw them into the pile in the center of the table.

"Fold," Tammy said, tossing her cards to the center of the table.

"Me too," Hyunji huffed. "I'm keeping my chips."

Fred laid out the Flop cards - another ten and two aces.

I had a beautiful Full House - Aces over Tens. I noticed Fred frowned slightly and he sat back a bit in his chair. Fred always sat forward when he had a good hand. I could tell he had two lousy cards.

"I raise four," I said nonchalantly, casually tossing my chips to the center of the table. I didn't want to give away that I had an awesome hand.

Lisa was mangling a drink swizzle straw in her teeth. She glanced at me as she slid the straw around in her mouth. She played with her chips for a moment, and then scratched her eyebrow with her thumb. She was stalling.

"I see your four and raise you four," she replied.

"Fold," Jaehyun announced sadly. He tossed his cards and pressed back in his chair.

"Ah, I fold too," Fred grumbled. I snickered to myself… I knew that was coming.

It was my turn again. I counted my chips; I had sixty dollars left and a strong Full House. I was thinking about how Lisa scratched her eyebrow – was she nervous or bluffing?

"I'm all in." I pushed all my chips towards the middle of the table.

Lisa's eyes narrowed on me and she had a serious expression on her face. Her lips pursed and twitched a bit around the straw that wiggled in her mouth.

"How much was that?" she asked, nodding at my chips.

"Sixty," I replied.

She picked fifty-six dollars off her pile of chips and tossed them into the center. She still had chips left.

"Let's see what you got, sweetheart." She grinned, raising her eyebrows at me.

I flipped my Ten and Ace over. Lisa had two Tens. We both had Full Houses, but my hand was higher. We looked at each other and smiled. It wasn't over yet.

Fred laid out the turn card. It was a useless Nine of spades. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was still winning.

The last card, the river card, was a Four of diamonds.

"Yes!" I said quietly.

Lisa chuckled, knowing that she just lost. She stretched back in her seat, and then ever so casually patted and rubbed my back as I pulled the chip pile to my chest. The sensation of her touch sent a tinge of electricity through my body.

--

Lisa squeezed my shoulders when we stood up to walk away from the table. Her grip felt amazing on my achy muscles. It had been a long time since I let any one get close enough to touch me that way. I was starting to turn to putty under her fingers.

"Good play!" she whispered her private compliment in my ear. I felt the warmth that emanated from her lips caress my skin. Her chest pressed lightly into my back. A million tiny impulses fired through my body.

"I'm impressed. Remind me to take you to the casinos sometime," Lisa joked with me.

--

Jaehyun and Gary walked over to the pool table and everyone else followed them. We all needed a short break and a stretch from sitting.

I quickly stepped behind the bar and grabbed a metal mixing cup, which I spun across my palm. I hadn't been in this good of a mood in a long time.

I just started pouring the vodka when Lisa joined me at the bar.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"Mind Erasers." I smiled. "It's first break shot time."

"Sounds good! I'll take two," Lisa said, winking at me.

Lisa walked aside of me as I carried a tray of shot glasses over to the poolroom.

"Don't you dare try and trip me!" I joked with her after she gave me a nudge. I kicked the bottom of her foot as she was taking a step. She started laughing.

"This is a beautiful pool table, Jennie," Jaehyun said. "Do you think we might be able to bring some people from the set here one night? I think everyone could use a relaxing, fun night like this." His eyes flashed over to Lisa. Lisa was nodding in agreement.

"I guess so." I looked over at Hyunji. "I suppose I can shut down one night for a private party."

"We'll cover your losses for a night if you'd be willing to do that for us," Jaehyun said.

"You'll just have to let me know what night and we can arrange something," I replied.

Jaehyun and Gary played a game of pool and then Fred and Lisa played Jaehyun and Gary as teams. Fred and Lisa dusted them. The guys got along great together.

"Are we going to play another round of poker or what?" Lisa asked out loud as she was putting her pool stick back on the wall rack. "I'd like an opportunity to win some of my money back," she kidded me, giving me a finger poke in my stomach.

Her eyes were absolutely mesmerizing as she looked at me.

"Good luck with that!" I teased her and tugged on the straw in her mouth. Lisa clamped her teeth down hard on her straw and playfully snarled at me.

We all gathered back at the table to play the next round of poker. Everyone was concentrating on their cards; it was eerily quiet. Lisa and I had already pushed and kicked each other under the table a few times and we were both smiling from our secret.

Fred broke the silence first. "You know what I could eat right now?" he asked out loud as he was stacking his chips.

"Pussy?" Gary answered immediately.

"Gary!" Hyunji yelped and smacked him in the arm.

Lisa was taking a sip from her glass; she just about spit her beer all over herself, breaking out in a laugh.

"What?" Gary flinched away from Hyunji. "He asked, I just answered. Sounds like a perfectly good thing to eat right now, right guys?"

"You're driving him home!" I pointed at Hyunji while laughing.

"Although I have to agree with Gary, I was actually thinking about those juicy steaks Jennie grilled for us a couple of weeks ago. They were delicious!" Fred ran his tongue over his lips.

"See? Fred has juicy meat on the brain," Gary teased.

"No, I think you have juicy meat on the brain," Hyunji groaned. She shot her elbow into his ribs.

I smiled and laughed with embarrassment. My friends were nuts.

"Lisa, do you like pus…steak?" Fred asked.

"Yeah." Lisa nodded and smiled shyly.

"You almost asked her if she…!" Gary was laughing hysterically as he pointed at Fred. He couldn't even finish his own sentence. He turned a few shades of red while coughing and trying to catch his breath.

Lisa looked down in embarrassment, but she was still grinning when she rolled her gaze over at me.

Fred ignored Gary's outburst. "Well this girl here grills one hell of a steak," he stated proudly, pointing a finger at me.

"They were the best steaks I've ever had," Tammy agreed.

"What can I say?" I shrugged. "It's good that I get to use my college education."

"Where did you go to college?" Lisa asked conversationally.

"Brown, in Providence. Economics/Business – sirloin steak major," I declared.

"So are you going to grill me another steak soon, or what?" Fred wanted to get back to the point.

"Fred, you know I'll grill for you any day of the week!" I love cooking for my friends.

"So where do you grill these wonderful steaks?" Lisa asked.

"On the roof." I laughed.

"No really." Lisa looked confused.

"On the roof!" I repeated with a giggle. "The top of my building is flat. I have a garden patio up there. We have excellent summer parties, right guys?" My friends all confirmed. "You can see the ocean from up there too," I continued.

"A steak does sound good right now," Jaehyun agreed.

"Okay, let me ask this. How many people were you thinking about having here for this private party?" I asked Jaehyun.

"Maybe ten or twelve people?" he summed.

"And would you mind if my four friends here attend this gathering?" I asked.

"Sure, they're welcome. Absolutely," Jaehyun confirmed.

"You tell me what night, and I'll grill steaks. How does that sound? Then everyone will be relaxed, happy, and well-fed."

Lisa slid her foot under my leg. Our legs were touching now under the table and I was hyper-aware of her presence.

"We'll check everyone's schedule and get back to you. Is that all right?" Jaehyun asked.

"Sure. Just so you know I have entertainment booked for Friday and Saturday, but we can do a weeknight or Sunday if that suites you. Just give me enough notice so I can get the steaks."

We played for another hour; Hyunji started to yawn. "Are you ready? It's getting late." She grabbed Gary's arm and started to pull him up out of his chair.

"Oh man, been sitting too long… my hip hurts," Gary moaned. "Hyunji, you're going to have to get on top tonight!" He grinned.

Lisa and I could not stop laughing.

Everyone started shaking hands and having those brief "it was nice to meet you – see you later" conversations. Jaehyun used his cell phone to call for their driver. I was sad to see the night come to an end; it seemed to fly by so fast with Lisa here.

I walked my friends to the door and locked up behind them. Lisa and Jaehyun would leave by the back door. Jaehyun departed for the bathroom, leaving me all alone with Lisa. I started to clean up.

"I had a really great time tonight." Lisa smiled and set a few empty glasses on the bar. "Your friends are great."

"Thanks!" I smiled back. "I'm sorry about the questions though."

Lisa shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm glad everyone had fun," I said, even though I truly meant I was glad that she had fun.

"I'll call you when we figure out what night we can do this party gathering, okay? Um, so what number should I call?" Lisa asked.

I stopped in my tracks and smiled to myself.

"What number would you like to call?" I asked, knowing what she was truly getting at. I just wanted her to say it.

"I'd like the number that I asked for, but I'm not sure I'm going to get it," She said. She grinned at me as she took a new Kim's Pub napkin out of the holder and turned it over.

I took a deep breath and picked up the pen next to the register. I questioned my own actions as I wrote my cell phone number down. My friends were the only ones who had my cell number. I justified that she and I were becoming friends too.

Lisa's smile was huge. "Thank you!" she quickly snatched up the napkin and shoved it in her pocket.

I walked both of them to the back door and Jaehyun thanked me for an excellent evening. He gave me an awkward hug before putting his coat on. Their car pulled up in the alley and Jaehyun patted Lisa's arm before heading out the door.

Lisa looked down at me and smiled as she took a step closer. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me in to give me a nice hug.

Sensations, long suppressed, rocketed through me when our bodies touched. Her body pressed into mine when she hugged me tighter. I allowed myself a moment to appreciate her warmth, her scent, the feel of her back muscles on my hands, the enjoyment this hug gave me.

Lisa's hand gently cradled the back of my head, her fingers slipped into my hair. She kissed me softly on my forehead; her lips lingered for an extra second or two before she released our embrace.

"I'll see you soon," she whispered softly, took a few steps back, and slipped out the back door.