Chapter 17
Jennie
My stomach gurgles and my throat feels thick. A telltale sign I'm going to throw up. I pride myself on saying I have an iron stomach and often bring up how I survived the Kim Family Picnic disaster, over seven years ago, with just a twist of nausea when everyone else was riddled with food poisoning.
But right now, there's no stopping what's coming up.
And also right now, Lisa's hand lands on my cheek, gently cupping my face and turning my chin up to her. She leans in and I know she's going to kiss me. I want nothing more than to kiss her back, but I can't.
Not right now.
I push her hand away and turn, barely making it to the sink before I throw up.
"Fuck, Jennie," Lisa says and moves in, grabbing my hair and holding it back. My stomach heaves again, and I shudder. Throwing up is awful. Just fucking awful.
I turn on the faucet and rinse my mouth, washing away any vomit that might be on my face. Lisa's hand lands on my back, gently rubbing it, and she's still holding my hair. I'm suddenly hit with emotion, and tears spring to my eyes. I splash cold water on my face. I don't feel sick anymore at least.
"Let me walk you to your room," she offers. "Do you want anything? More ginger ale or ice chips or anything?"
"No, but thanks."
Lisa hands me a towel for my face, and I rinse out the sink, thankful for the garbage disposal.
"You're sick," Lisa says.
"Really? What gave that away, doctor?" I don't mean to snap—again—but I do. Lisa's back to irritating me, especially with her looking all hot and bothered, sitting there in her boxers as she tries not to look at me. Add in her rushing to help me find Boots and then springing in to hold my hair back and I'm close to having feelings for her again.
Close.
But I'm not stupid. I went to MIT, for fuck's sake. I'm an overall rational person who likes science and technology. I do believe in ghosts and like to think that maybe unicorns and dragons used to actually exist, but that's as far as my belief in fantasy goes.
And believing I could be more than a hookup to Lisa Manoban is definitely fantasy.
"It did take me over eight years of college plus several years as a resident to figure out that vomiting is not a normal reaction of the body when someone tries to kiss you."
"It wasn't because of—" I stop, realizing she's razzing me. I'm not in the mood. I just almost lost one of my mom's dogs and then threw up in the kitchen sink like a drunk college student sneaking in after a night of partying. "Thank you, Lisa. Really. You didn't have to help me, and you did, so thank you, for what you did."
God, I need to learn how to stop talking. I don't know why I ramble and repeat myself so much.
Lisa's lips press into a thin line, and she nods, grabbing my coffee mug from the counter.
"You should get some sleep."
Her hand settles on the small of my back again, and I love and hate the way her touch makes me feel. I've missed her touch badly, but my sex drive has gone into overdrive in the last few days, and my dreams have all involved her naked and with me, who is also naked.
In itself, it's nothing new. Lisa has been the subject of my sex dreams for many years, though knowing what she's really like in bed makes me want her even more.
But I shouldn't. She's not good for me and what happened was a one-time deal.
We go upstairs, and I'm feeling more and more exhausted with each step. Something in the back of my mind nags at me, saying everything I've been feeling isn't normal. I don't see how I could have a bug lying in wait for a week, making me feel nauseous for days before it hit me hard enough to cause further damage.
But what else could it be?
I make a mental note to go to bed earlier this coming week and to lay off the coffee. Usually, I do pretty well with healthy eating, and when I veer off the healthy path, my insides take a beating. Maybe that's it. I have been eating more junk than usual this week.
Stopping at the threshold of my bedroom door, I turn around to look at Lisa. Out of all the rooms in this big house, she's in the one next to mine. It wouldn't be hard to sneak into her room in the middle of the night or invite her into mine. Hooking up again would be easy. Heat spreads between my legs thinking of it, and I'm aching to have her big cock inside me again.
Blushing, I flick my eyes to her crotch, feeling weird that I know what's behind her boxers. It's like a hidden secret, and knowing Lisa not only has a monster cock but knows how to use it well makes me feel a little dirty.
And dammit, I like it.
Lisa is looking at me as if she's remembering what I look like naked as well, and when our eyes meet, it's not awkward. She mirrors back the lust I'm feeling, and if I hadn't just barfed, I'd be tempted to grab her and kiss her, dragging her back into my room with me for the night.
I've never been thankful for throwing up before. Getting back into bed with Lisa is like a death sentence. I can only withstand so much before I crumble and fall, and trying to convince myself that I'm not upset, that it's okay, that I didn't have expectations for things to continue has taken its toll on me.
Because I am upset.
I do have feelings for her.
And I thought maybe, just maybe, she'd call me and tell me she missed me. That she'd try to come up and see me on her weekend off, or she'd invite me down for a mid-week booty call.
I'm a hopeless—and hopeful—romantic at heart and I can't help it.
"Well," I say, pushing my shoulders back, trying to regain as much composure as I can for someone who just threw up in the kitchen sink. "Thank you again, Lisa. Goodnight, and good luck on your interview tomorrow."
Instead of giving me her cocky smile, her brow furrows and she looks, dare I say, sad. Her hand lands on the back of her neck, a subconscious gesture I'm starting to realize she does when she's uncomfortable.
"Of course, Jennie," she says my name softly, and it rolls off her tongue like velvet. "If you get sick again, you can come get me. I am a doctor after all."
"Right. I'm glad you reminded me because I almost forgot."
Her frown starts to turn. "We can't have that now, can we?"
"You probably should start wearing your white doctor coat around the house. And have one of those gold-plated stethoscopes around your neck like the TV doctors do."
"Mine's platinum."
I laugh. "Even better. Goodnight, Dr. Manoban."
"How do you do this every day?" I fall into a lounge chair, over exaggerating my exhaustion. Though I am dragging, even with sleeping in past ten this morning.
Jin shrugs, a slight smile on his face as he watches his son run around the yard with the dogs. "You just do."
"You're like a superhero. Literally. Saving lives as a cop and rocking the whole single-parent thing."
He bypasses the compliment. "Keep your shoes on, buddy!" he shouts to Jackson. "He's going through a barefoot phase right now."
"Better than his bare-butt phase when he wouldn't wear pants."
Jin laughs, adjusting his gun on his belt before sitting on a chair next to me. He's on his lunch break, and came by for a homemade meal and to see Jackson.
"You do know the crime is really low here, don't you? Or have you been away so long you forgot? I'm not saving lives in Eastwood."
I shoot him a look, trying desperately hard to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach. "Fine, you're no Avenger, but you keep this town safe. We'd have higher crime if we didn't have good police on our force." Jin rolls his eyes. "Can't you just accept a compliment?"
I flatten my hand over my stomach, swallowing down the lump rising in my throat. "He starts preschool this fall, right?" I grab the can of ginger ale I brought out and pop the top. This is my third one today and the only thing so far that helps. I've made a point to avoid junk food, even though the cookies that made me sick last night look oh so appealing today.
"Yeah, he'll go two days a week."
"Are you sad about it?"
"Not right now," Jin says. "On the first day, I think it'll hit me. Though it'll be good to have him in school for a few hours those days. Mom loves watching him while I work, but Dad's been getting busier and busier. Mom will never admit she's crunched for time, but I'm sure she is."
"Have you thought about hiring a nanny?"
"I shouldn't have to hire a nanny," he grumbles, looking away. I know where his thoughts have gone, and I feel bad for directing them that way. Jin's wife left when Jackson was only a few months old, leaving a note saying she cracked under pressure. She showed up on his first birthday, played the role of perfect housewife for a while and then left again.
Jackson doesn't remember her, but he still asks if his mommy will come home. I hate her and I never want to see her again. Well, only so Jin can divorce her once and for all.
"So," I start, changing the subject. "I made a fake video of the Batmobile for Jinwoo. Want to see it?"
Jin chuckles, eyes sparkling.
"Of course."
I show him the video, and we both laugh. Then Mom calls us all in for lunch. She made homemade mac and cheese, along with a cucumber and avocado salad that I usually devour. But right now, a small bowl of mac and cheese is all I can handle.
After Jin leaves, Jackson and I go into the living room to watch a movie and hopefully get the crazy kid to nap. I end up falling asleep before him.
I wake up to the sound of Jackson playing with PAW Patrol on in the background. Lisa is sitting on the ground with Jackson, pushing toy cars around on the ground. She's still wearing the suit she wore to her interview. The top few buttons are undone.
Good Lord. It should be against the law for a person to look that good.
Don't even remind me of the fact she's sitting on the ground talking in funny voices to a three-year-old who I just happen to love more than life itself. Feeling hot and bothered, I sit up and push my hair out of my face.
"Aunt Jen!" Jackson exclaims. "Come play with me!"
Lisa turns, eyes meeting mine. She looks happy and relaxed sitting there playing, and it's doing bad things to me. Fuck, I want her so bad.
"How was the interview?" I ask, deciding it's best to just stick to polite conversation. She did hold my hair back as I threw up last night. And as much as I want to hate her, I can't.
"I think it went pretty well," She says, eyes meeting mine. "How are you feeling?"
"Better."
Her eyes go to the ginger ale on the coffee table in front of me. "Really?"
"I haven't thrown up again, so that's a plus, right?"
"Right."
I get up and move to the floor, tucking my hair behind my ear. Jackson can be a little bossy when he plays and tells us all what to make his toys say. It's nice sitting here with Lisa, and with Jackson here as well, there's no risk for drama.
Not yet. Not until Lisa and I are alone together. Which is something I'm going to make sure doesn't happen.
About fifteen minutes later, Jackson's finally tired. Mom comes out of the home office, saying she needs a break after arguing for an hour on the phone with a plumber they hired for a job. Jackson snuggles up with her on the couch and falls asleep almost instantly.
"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" Mom asks me.
"Just hang out here. Jamie is working a double today, so she can't do anything."
Mom covers Jackson with a blanket, kissing the top of his head. "I have a few errands to run before dinner tonight, would you mind possibly doing a few of them for me?"
"No, not at all," I say eagerly. Getting out of the house and away from Lisa is a good idea anyway.
"Great! Lisa, why don't you tag along? One of my errands is to go to the feed store and some of those bags are heavy."
"I can handle it, Mom," I say dryly.
"I'm sure you can, but why not enjoy some company? And I don't think Lisa wants to sit in the house with me all day," she adds with a wink. "My list is on my desk."
"I'm going to change first," Lisa says, not meeting my eyes. I don't want to hurt her feelings, even though I don't think she considered my feelings when she had sex with me three times and then never called.
"Good idea," I say. "It's hot. Out. Outside. It's hot outside, I mean. You should change into something not so hot. Not that what you're wearing is hot like that. I mean in temperature."
Lisa nods, smiling slightly at my word vomit and goes upstairs to change. I use the bathroom, shove a few mints in my purse to help my unsettled stomach, and get the list from Mom's desk.
I get into my car, cranking the air to cool it down, and fiddle with the radio until Lisa joins me. We leave in silence, with nothing but the radio between us. It doesn't take long to get into town, and since downtown isn't very big, we can park in the middle and walk to most of the stores.
"What's first on the list?" Lisa asks once we're out of the car.
"The feed store is right there," I say, pointing across the street. It's been a while since I walked around Eastwood's downtown. It's worlds different than Chicago, and for some reason, the nostalgia is hitting me hard.
Lisa nods and follows me to the corner. I can feel her eyes on me and do my best to ignore her. I don't trust myself not to give in to the intense desire to kiss her that's currently crippling me.
We cross the street and go into Henry's Feed and Garden, an old cowbell jingling when I open the door.
"My oh my," Mrs. Miller says, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "Is that you, Jennie Kim?"
"It is," I say with a smile.
"I haven't seen you in years! Get over here, girl." She opens her arms and wraps me in a big hug. Mrs. Miller and her husband, Henry, have owned this feed store for as long as I've been alive. Back in my youth, I showed goats and horses at the county fair and I spent a decent amount of time in this place. My parents got rid of the goats soon after I graduated high school, and my show horse died five years ago.
I still miss him.
"You look amazing!" Mrs. Miller exclaims, holding me out at arm's length. "I heard about your fancy app and your fancy job. We're all proud of you, hun. This whole town is."
"It was nothing," I say, trying to brush off the compliment. It wasn't nothing, and it took a lot of work to create the app. Selling it was part talent and part luck. The right person saw it at the right time and offered me a deal I couldn't refuse.
"And who is this?" Her eyes go behind me to Lisa.
"Hi," Lisa says, offering her hand to shake. "I'm Lisa. Jinwoo's friend."
She is Jinwoo's friend. It's not a lie. But for some reason her words make me feel all stabby. What is up with me today? I must be PMSing hard.
We talk with Mrs. Miller for a bit before getting the things on Mom's list. Lisa carries two heavy bags of feed out to the car like it's nothing. I open the door for her and step aside.
"Jennie," she says once the bags of chicken feed are in the car. "I don't want you to be mad at me."
"I'm not mad," I say softly, tempted to go with Mom's favorite and add 'I'm just disappointed' to the end of it. I don't, and instead, I pull the list out of my purse to see what else we need to get. "Mom wants two bouquets of flowers. The florist is just down the block."
I take off, and Lisa falls into step next to me. "You seem mad, and I wouldn't blame you."
Coming to a sudden halt, I whirl around. "Really, Lisa? You wouldn't blame me? How very generous of you."
I take off again, wondering where the fire inside of me is coming from. I'm not a confrontational person. At all. I know I have feelings for Lisa, but I guess they're rooted deeper than I thought for all this snapping.
"Jennie, stop." Lisa grabs my wrist, gently pulling me back to her. I let her bring me close, and rest one hand on her chest, feeling her heart beat beneath my fingers. I want nothing more than to kiss her, for her to pick me up and press me against the brick wall of Eastwood's only bookstore, not caring who sees.
Tingles make their way through every inch of me, and my pussy aches to feel her touch. I need her.
And I think she needs me too.
I lick my lips and inch in, wanting to feel if her desire matches mine. It's a bit unfair, if you think about it, how women can hide it when they're turned on but guys can't. Especially guys like Lisa who have a big dick. Not that I feel sorry for him in that aspect, of course.
"You said you like honesty," Lisa says, voice deep, rumbling right through me. "So be honest."
I swallow hard, throat suddenly thick. "Fine. I can be honest." I raise my head, lips inches from her, and open my mouth. Lisa tips her head down, and if she doesn't kiss me, I think I might explode.
Lisa grips my hips, pulling me to her, and I feel her cock start to harden. I melt into her embrace, remembering how good it felt to have her inside me. Even before that, the way she touched me, the way she looked at me, the way she made me feel like I was a goddess…I miss it and I need it.
I slowly bring my hand down her chest, keeping my eyes locked with her. My fingers dance over her waistband of her athletic shorts, so close to the tip of her cock.
And then the door to the bookstore opens, swinging out and almost hitting us. We jump back, separating just in time.
"Jennie!" Jinhwan exclaims, stopping short. "Didn't expect to see you here."
