JENNIE

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"Thanks, George." The guy from the mailroom had just come around and dropped off a package. On top was a legal-size manila envelope with my name across it.

I kicked off my shoes and sat down at my desk to slice it open. Inside was a Notice of Hearing for my zoning variance, and there was a yellow sticky stuck to the middle of the page.

Ms. Manoban asked me to pass this along when it came in. – Alice

At first I was confused. What in the heck was Lisa doing with the paperwork for my house? Then I noticed the date of the hearing—a week from today. The architect had told me the building department was months behind. Had I even mentioned that to Lisa? Ahhh… I'd told Santa Lisa. How the hell had she done this?

I picked up my phone and started to text her, but decided to call instead. I wanted to remind her about something else anyway.

Lisa picked up on the first ring.

"Are you really Santa Claus or something?"

She chuckled. "Hang on a second." I heard the sound of the phone being covered and then a muffled "Excuse me for a minute, gentlemen," before a door opened and shut and Lisa returned to the line.

"I'm guessing you got the paperwork from the City."

"Yes. But how?"

"I have a friend at the building department who owed me a favor. I called it in and asked him to prioritize whatever you needed."

I shook my head. "I can't believe you did that. Thank you so much."

"Can't have my employees homeless, now can I?"

"Is that why you did it? Because I'm your employee? If that's the case, I think I overheard Jim in Accounting say his landlord was kicking him out of his apartment so his daughter could move in. I'll stop over and tell him you're on it and will be finding him a new place to live."

Lisa chuckled. "Can't let one slide, can you?"

I leaned back in my chair. "Thank you so much for doing that. It was really sweet. And here I was, thinking it was already Wednesday and I hadn't heard from you, so you might be blowing me off."

Lisa was quiet for a minute. "Figured it might be best to give you a little space."

"Is that what you want? Space?"

"What do you want me to say, Jennie? That I haven't been able to get you out of my mind since the day we met? That I've jerked off every day this week to the way you looked when you came on my tongue the other day?"

"If that's true, then yes."

She blew out a breath, and I pictured worry lines on her forehead while she raked a hand through her hair.

When she went quiet again, I got up and shut my office door. "Would it help if I shared, too? You aren't alone in this. I haven't been able to stop thinking of you either. In fact, I thought of you last night while I was in the bathtub."

Lisa's voice was gruff. "Jennie…"

"Remember when you told me you thought you could slip your hand into my shorts while we were outside on the boat and get me off while people watched? That I basically couldn't control myself once we started kissing?"

She grunted a yes.

"Well, I shut my eyes and imagined that. You slipped your fingers in…but since you weren't around, I had to use my own and pretend they were yours."

"Jennie…"

"It's funny—the tone of my voice while I was saying your name over and over last night was about the same as yours is right now. Almost sounds painful, doesn't it?"

"Fuck…." She let out a loud exhale.

I smiled. "Anyway, I think I interrupted a meeting when I called. I'm sure you're really busy. I just wanted to say thank you to Santa Claus and remind you about the wedding Saturday. I'll let you get back to work."

Lisa groaned. "You don't really think I'm going to be able to walk back into my meeting after you just told me you masturbated while pretending your fingers were mine, do you?"

"Oh." I giggled. "I guess it is a little easier for me to hide my arousal than you."

"Yeah, thanks."

"If you want, I'll stay on the phone and tell you more about my bath last night while you slip into the restroom and take care of business."

"As tempting as that may be, I think I'll just take a quick walk."

I smiled. "Okay. Well, thank you again for pulling the strings at the Building Commission."

"No problem."

"Have a good afternoon. Hope your meeting isn't too hard."

"I look forward to repaying the torture, Jennie. Very soon."

After I hung up, I sat in my office smiling. I felt better than I had in days. Lisa might not have called because she was trying to give me some space, but what she'd done to get my zoning variance told me lack of contact hadn't stopped her from thinking about us. Not to mention, I was giddy hearing her say she'd done the same thing as I had during her shower.

I left for the day around one, which was technically the end of my workday since I started at five, though I rarely left before three. I needed to pick up my dress from the tailor for Rosé's wedding this weekend and run a bunch of errands. Since my workday ended when most people were heading to lunch, the lobby was bustling. Just as I was about to walk out, Lisa's sister Jisoo happened to be walking into the building.

Seeing me, she smiled. "Hey. I was going to call you. I enjoyed torturing my sister at the carnival, but I wasn't kidding when I said I'd love to have lunch."

I smiled. "I'd like that. When did you have in mind?"

She shrugged. "I'm just coming back from a meeting and haven't eaten yet. Now, if you're not heading somewhere else?"

I had a mile-long to-do list, but…I hadn't eaten anything other than a power bar on the way to the office at four o'clock this morning. Plus, I had so many unanswered questions about Lisa, and who better than her sister to shed a little light on the enigma? So, screw it. Why not? The tailor would still be open in an hour or two.

"Sure. Let's do it."

..

"So…my sister really likes you, I can tell," Jisoo announced.

She and I had made small talk through most of lunch. I was relieved when she not-so-subtly brought our conversation around to Lisa during coffee.

I smiled and lifted my cup to my lips. "I like her, too. Though sometimes she can be…"

While I was thinking of the right words—maybe difficult, hard to read, abrupt—Jisoo filled in the blank.

"A total jackass."

I laughed. "Yeah, that."

She smiled warmly. "She doesn't often bring women around, not casually anyway. She'll bring a date to something formal that requires one, but it's been years since I saw her with a woman while she was dressed in a pair of jeans. It's like women became necessary companions for social functions and, well, I'm sure for other purposes we don't need to discuss unless you want to see my lunch all over this table. But they aren't really a part of her life anymore."

From what Lisa had told me about her dating, her sister's assessment was on point. Lisa kept women very separate and distant from the things that mattered in her life. But while Jisoo's comment wasn't a surprise, I hoped she could shed light on why Lisa was that way.

I nodded. "When we've talked about her previous relationships, that's pretty much what she alluded to. Actually, she didn't allude. She came right out and said she was upfront with the women she's dated the last few years—she wasn't looking for a long-term relationship."

Jisoo frowned. "You two seemed pretty relationship-y on Sunday. Something's different than the way I've seen her with other women. She's warm, not cold. I watched you guys walk out to the parking lot; she even took your hand."

"She's trying. But we take a step forward, and then she retreats."

Jisoo sighed. "My sister has trouble letting people in."

I wasn't sure I should be discussing the things Lisa had confided in me about her marriage. But I knew that had to be the root of all her cynicism on relationships. She'd been burned badly and was afraid to get too close to the fire again.

"Her marriage obviously had a profound impact on who she is today."

"Has she…opened up to you about her marriage?"

"Somewhat. She's told me about Lily's mental health issues."

Jisoo was quiet for a moment. She seemed to be debating something or lost in thought. Finally she said, "Did she…go into detail about how it ended?"

"Not really. It was more general, I guess."

Jisoo nodded. Again she was quiet as she considered her words. Then she reached across the table and covered my hand with hers. "My sister is like an oyster. She's shut tight, and she might never open, or you just may be the one who pries her loose. If that happens, I promise you'll find a pearl waiting for you."

..

On Thursday morning, Lisa called and said she was taking an earlier flight home than expected and asked me to meet her for dinner. She said she would come straight from the airport because she knew my routine included being in bed by eight o'clock on weeknights.

I agreed to meet her at a restaurant not too far from my house, and when I arrived, I found her already seated at the bar. A woman in a tight green dress stood next to her, talking, and her hand rested on Lisa's back as she spoke.

"Hey. Sorry if I'm a few minutes late," I said as I approached.

Lisa stood and kissed me on the lips. "Flight landed early. You're not late." She kept her hand on my back, and the woman stood there waiting to be introduced.

Lisa cleared her throat. "Jennie, this is Sana. She's the hostess here. She used to work over at the steakhouse next to our office."

I smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Though she showed me her pearly whites with a full, plastic smile, the quick drop of her eyes to assess me said a lot. When she is standing with Lisa and another woman approaches, she sizes her up for one of two reasons—to see who her competition is or to see who the girl she's lost has moved on to. I wasn't sure which this was.

"You, too," she finally said. She reached out and touched Lisa's arm. "I'll check to see if your table is ready."

When she walked away, Lisa buried her face in my hair. She took a deep breath in. "Mmm... I missed you."

"Really? It seemed like you had good company…"

Lisa arched a brow. "Do I detect jealousy?"

"Do I have a reason to be jealous?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. But full disclosure, Sana and I did go out a few times."

I frowned. "Did she visit your apartment?"

Lisa looked down. "I know you didn't think I was a virgin. Though if I'd known she worked here, I wouldn't have picked this place." Her eyes rose and locked with mine. "I get it, though. I wouldn't be happy in the presence of anyone you've been with."

Her not belittling how I felt made me feel better. Besides, I was being silly. We both had pasts. I shrugged. "It's fine. I'm a big girl."

Sana walked back over to us. "Your table's ready."

After we followed a woman Lisa used to sleep with back to the table, it made me realize we'd never spoken about seeing other people. The thought of her with anyone else made me crazy. Though, I suppose technically, we both had the right to do it.

Lisa pulled out my chair, and once we were both seated, Sana said she'd send the waiter over to take our drink order. I shook out my cloth napkin and laid it over my lap.

"We've never spoken about seeing other people."

Lisa had picked up a glass of water and froze with it halfway to her mouth. "I assumed we were exclusive at this point."

"Oh. Okay."

"The thought of you with a man makes me feel irrational."

I smiled. "I feel the same way."

She leaned across the table. "I'm glad we've had this talk. I thought it was torture to be near you and not know what it feels like to be inside you. But apparently there are way worse things than not fucking you, such as imagining that someone else is."

I laughed. "Well, put that thought out of your head. How was your trip?"

Lisa shook out her napkin. "Productive. We're buying a building on the east coast and going to relocate a few of our smaller businesses' headquarters around the city into one building. It's a good time to buy."

"Oh, that's exciting."

"I thought it was. Though I'm realizing how much time I'm going to have to spend out there to get it done. I like New York, but it's a long trip."

"I haven't been there in years. I'd like to go at Christmas. I'm sure it's touristy, but I think it would be nice to skate at Rockefeller Center and wait in line to see the windows at Bloomingdale's."

"You sound like Leo."

"He wants to go to New York at Christmas?"

Lisa nodded. "Maybe we'll take him."

I got that warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach again. She didn't hesitate when she spoke of things in the future, like it was a given we'd be together.

The waiter came over to take our drink order. I loved that Lisa remembered the wine I liked, yet looked to me for approval when ordering it.

I'd been hesitant to mention that a bunch of us had booked hotel rooms down the block from Rosé's wedding. It would be odd to not stay in the same room, and yet I hadn't been sure I was ready for that. Though we'd just confirmed we were in an exclusive relationship and were talking about plans a few months away, so what was I waiting for? God knows desire wasn't the problem. I only had to look across the table to get my feathers all ruffled.

So when the waiter walked away, I decided to go for it. "Umm…this weekend… Most of the wedding party is going to stay at the Park Place Hotel down the block from the restaurant. This way everyone can indulge and not have to worry about getting home. And Rosé is having a brunch the next morning at the hotel restaurant. I have a room booked, if you would want to stay."

"Is that really a question?"

I laughed. "I guess not. But I wasn't going to assume."

"Let me make it easy for you in the future. If the invitation involves you and the potential of you being naked, count me in."

What had started as an awkward arrival with the green dress now turned into a fun and comfortable dinner. Sana passed by a few times, and I could honestly say Lisa didn't notice. She had a way of making me feel like the only woman in the room without even trying. I felt all of her attention, because I actually had it.

I needed to use the ladies' room, so I excused myself after Lisa ordered a slice of cheesecake for us to share with a wink. When I finished up in the stall, I opened the door to find Sana lining her lips in the mirror. Her eyes slanted to mine in the reflection. She wasn't surprised to see me.

"How long have you and Lisa been together?"

I stepped to the sink to wash my hands. I had no desire to chitchat with this woman, or any woman Lisa had slept with. But a sadistic part of me was curious.

"Not too long." I tilted my head and flashed an insincere smile. "She mentioned you two were…friendly."

"Is that what she told you? That we were friends?"

I dried off my hands. "No. But I thought it sounded nicer than fuck buddies."

She squinted at me. "We were together for about six months."

That surprised me. Though I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing it. Instead, I followed her lead and started to line my lips in the mirror. She watched me in silence.

I blotted and looked at her pointedly. "Did you want to tell me something else?"

"I thought I'd give you a little woman-to-woman advice. When she tells you she's not cut out for a relationship, believe her. She says one thing and acts another way. It'll make you think you're different than the rest. She's very convincing. I remember one time my car had gotten towed, and I asked her if she could take me to grab it after work from the impound lot. When I walked out of work, my car was parked in my usual spot in the parking lot. She'd even gotten it washed for me. She's very sweet when she wants to be. Took me a year to get over her."

Even though my insides were freaking out, I kept my face stoic. I dropped my lipstick into my purse and walked behind her. Catching her eye in the mirror, I said, "Thanks for the advice. But you're fooling yourself if you think it took a year for you to get over her. Obviously, you're still not."

I walked out of the bathroom and stopped in the hall to catch my breath, feeling completely rattled. Clearly, the woman was still hung up on Lisa and wanted to shake things up between us. Oddly, that isn't what upset me. It was what she'd said about Lisa getting her car for her. For the last few days, I'd been feeling like everything with Lisa was good, feeling the first sense of security that maybe she wouldn't rip my heart out. And why? Because of the simplest thing—she'd done something thoughtful by taking care of my problem with the Building Commission.

Not all that different than getting Sana's car out of impound, was it?

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