JENNIE
As Lisa and I waited for the Walk signal to flash so we could cross the street, I shifted a bag of groceries into one hand and squinted up at my beautiful wife.
"You're staring," Lisa told me.
"Sorry," I said but didn't look away.
She was so damn distracting, that—
"Oh, shit," I said and frowned. "I forgot Manchego cheese. We can't have a Spanish feast without Manchego."
"Certainly not," she said with a half-smile. "I'll run back. Wait here?"
"Where would I go?"
We'd driven into the city for one of Lisa's events the night before and had stayed at the penthouse. Now, we grabbed last-minute groceries before heading home to Oak Park for our impending party.
Lisa dropped her plastic bags right there on the sidewalk. In one swoop, she embraced me, bending me backward over her arm. I squealed just as she locked her lips over mine for a passionate kiss.
"What was that for?" I asked breathlessly when she pulled away.
"Nothing, honeybee. I just couldn't go another second without doing it."
A large, all-consuming smile overtook my face as I blushed.
"Actually, that's why. That smile right there," she said quietly, running her thumb over the corner of my mouth. "I'll be right back."
She gently righted my body, steadying me when I swayed slightly. Her kiss still had that effect on me.
When she turned away, I was hit by a familiar glare from the patio of a café across the street. Taehyung, my now ex-husband, sat at a small table with Jisoo and Bohyun. I froze as his eyes bored into me and sent a chill down my spine.
I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I hadn't seen Taehyung—or Jisoo—in almost two years. From the outside, he hadn't really changed. But did he feel like a new person the way I did?
Taehyung finally blinked and turned back to Jisoo, who appeared to be mid-story as she gestured in Taehyung's direction. Bohyun rubbed her back as she spoke. She wore her hair even shorter than she used to, whereas I'd let mine grow. They all broke out in laughter simultaneously, and my heart tugged. For a moment, I entertained the thought of going over to say hello, but what would be the point? I had nothing new to say to them, and I doubted they wanted to see me.
I'd reached out to Jisoo once more since I'd read the e-mail she'd sent the day Lisa had proposed, but nothing had come of it. It'd taken a while for me to grasp, but I eventually realized that for her, the friendship was over. She and Rosé had made up and remained close, so I heard bits and pieces of Jisoo's life that way. I could see, even from a distance, that she was happy, but I still missed her friendship.
Taehyung, on the other hand, had made it hard to miss him. The six months Lisa and I had waited for my divorce had been grueling. Though Lisa had assured me she was fine keeping our engagement a secret, I'd wanted her to know how proud I was to wear her ring. Taehyung didn't hide his disgust at the news. Fortunately, he and Lisa never laid hands on each other again, but there were times I'd thought Lisa would push Taehyung through the wall for the way he'd spoken to us during the proceedings. A year and a half had passed since we'd seen him, but from the look in his eyes just now, nothing was yet forgiven. It made me all the more sure that I'd made the right decision.
Not that I need any reassuring.
Lisa exited the grocery store with a big smile, her aviators locked on me, her gait leisurely and confident. An attractive woman did a double take as she passed her. She turned and lowered her sunglasses to get a better look. My chest swelled with pride as she checked out my love, but I couldn't help laughing a little when she stumbled over a curb.
"Manchego," Lisa said, holding up the block of cheese. "Crisis averted."
"My superhero," I said.
She leaned over and picked up all the bags, including mine. "Let's get this party underway."
As we walked away, I shot one last glance at the table of friends. They made a good group and seemed happy. I couldn't be upset about that. I stuck my hand into Lisa's back pocket, and we made our own heavenly way back home.
In the car, as we pulled up to the house, I smiled. I always did. Lisa's vision, with some input from me, had blossomed before our eyes. The sylvan paradise had come to life again—or maybe for the first time, I wasn't sure. The newly fixed stone walkway led a natural path to the front door through green grass, and a revived, leafy landscape.
Before Lisa had taken the six-month job in New York, she'd warned me that I might not like her overly "masculine" apartment in the city. I'd teased her that masculine was code for bachelor pad. To both our surprise, I'd fallen immediately in love with it. Unlike her bright, white Chicago apartment, New York was dark and woodsy, with exposed brick walls and dim, yellow lighting. The vintage furniture was heavy leather and oak, worn but solid.
I'd suggested we decorate our house somewhere in between the two places. Sliding glass doors lent themselves to good lighting, especially in the mornings, but the wood-heavy home, earthy and sturdy, reminded me of Lisa, which I loved most of all.
It was a perfect Chicago night for a party. Lisa opened up all the doors and windows for the setting sun. I'd almost finished laying out a buffet of food on a table in the backyard when a knock came at the front door. Lisa and I met in the entryway, the same spot I'd told her over two years before that Taehyung had put in an offer on this very house. We kissed quickly.
"We can see you," Lisa's sister called as she peered through a vertical window that ran alongside the front door.
Lisa opened the door and groaned. Equipped with margarita mix, wine, whiskey, and other assortments of alcohol, stood our friends and family: Jihyo, her son Alex, Rosé, Mingyu, Mack and Cooper—who'd become friends—and Lisa's parents, Judy and Gerard. Just past them, Yuna and her fiancé, Brock, climbed out of his car.
"Well, baby," Lisa said, looking down at me, "I'd say we have extremely punctual friends."
They all piled in at once, and Lisa assumed bartending duties. They were a rowdy bunch, and sometimes they were weird, but I couldn't complain. I loved them.
"In honor of Lisa and me returning from our recent trip to Spain, we're having tapas," I announced in the backyard. I gestured to the expansive spread. "Help yourselves."
"So?" Jihyo asked, linking her arm with mine. "How was the honeymoon?"
I smiled wistfully and attempted to think of a word that could possibly do it justice. "Magical," I decided, every detail of the memory clear.
I waved back at Lisa—my wife—from a beach towel. She looked sexier than ever, perched on her surfboard, waiting for the water to swell. Riveted, I watched as she caught a wave, fluidly hopping onto her shortboard and riding it down the line.
I reclined back onto my towel, inserted my earbuds, and closed my eyes to soak in the hot Spanish sun. Cool drops of water punctured my relaxed state. I opened one eye and squinted up at Lisa.
"I couldn't help noticing you from the water," she said. "Mind if I join you?"
"Actually," I purred, "I was thinking of taking a dip myself."
She set her board down next to me and held out her hand. I took out my earbuds and let her hoist me up with one pull.
She scooped me off my feet. "I was hoping you'd go for a swim."
"Well, actually, I was just planning to get my feet wet . . ."
Lisa cut gracefully through the sand. "I don't think so, honeybee. The water's perfect."
"But—" A squeal tore from my lips when she threw me into the sea. I popped up, gasping for air, and splashed her as I tried to run ashore.
She caught my waist and spun me into her. I breathed hard as she captured my lips in a quick kiss. "You look incredibly sexy, Mrs. Manoban."
Ah, Mrs. Manoban. I was certain hearing my new name would never get old. "Thank you for this," I said, motioning in the general direction of San Sebastián. "All of this."
"Thank you for all of this, " she replied, running her hands greedily over my body. Her fingers teased the straps of my bikini top. One hand skated down to my lower back and pulled me so close that my entire body warmed with her heat, even through the cold salt water.
"Lisa Manoban, you scoundrel," I teased.
"Jennie Manoban, you temptress."
"Do you intend to take me in front of all of Spain?" I asked hopefully.
"Would a gentleman do that?" she smiled and then peered over my shoulder. "Remind me to find us a private beach next time."
"I don't care," I said, kissing her briny neck and then working my way down to nibble on her shoulder.
"I know you don't," she said, shaking her head and pulling me off. "But I do."
"Damn it," I said under my breath, and she laughed. But I wasn't ready to give up. "It's our honeymoon—we're supposed to do this sort of thing."
"Oh, we will do this sort of thing, as much as possible, and as long as possible—in a place where I'm the only one who gets to see you naked." she kissed me. "Oh, how I do love that pretty pout, though."
I caught myself fingering the gold disk that hung between my breasts from its chain. I raised it toward her. "Read it to me again," I said suddenly.
We'd spent the first week of our honeymoon in the South of France before making our way to Spain. I'd learned that my new wife spoke French, and she spoke it beautifully. She'd impulsively stopped in a small jewelry shop and unbeknownst to me, ordered a hand-engraved gold necklace that we'd later picked up on our way out of town. I'd never heard the famous quote by French poet Rosemonde Gérard and made Lisa repeat her words often.
"Haven't you memorized it by now?" Lisa asked, bringing me back to the moment.
"No," I lied.
"Car, vois-tu, chaque jour je t'aime davantage, aujourd'hui plus qu'hier et bien moins que demain."
I smiled and looked at her, waiting.
She covered my hand that held the delicate disk. "For, you see, each day I love you more, today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."
The honeymoon had been three weeks of espresso, navigating tiny streets, laughing until our faces hurt, and sex in cramped places. We learned even more about each other during the trip, and though we fought at times, the arguments always ended in either fits of laughter or steamy sex.
My heart began to race when Yuna approached me in the backyard, her lips quirked into a small smile. During my time away, I'd given her a very special assignment, and I was as worried as I was excited to hear her feedback.
"Well?" I asked.
"I loved it," she said. "Genuine, fluid, and actually quite funny. Your first novel is going to be a smash hit."
I exhaled a rush of air. I'd finished my first draft right before we'd left for the honeymoon, and I'd needed someone to look at it and tell me I wasn't crazy to pursue an agent. "Thank you," I said. "It still needs a lot of work, but it's a start. Please tell me you have notes."
"Meet for coffee next week to discuss?" she asked, swirling her margarita. "Tonight, I'm about to get drunkity-drunk."
Once I'd begun to make real progress on the book, I'd quit my job at Lisa's urging. Since I was now Jennie Manoban—happily—I'd use that name to distance myself from my mother's work.
In a final attempt to get my mother to accept our upcoming nuptials, Lisa and I had stopped to see her as we'd driven my dad's early wedding gift, the '68 Shelby, from Dallas to Chicago. Despite telling her we were coming, or perhaps because of it, she'd been drinking when we'd arrived. I'd tried to convince her to let me take her to a fancy rehab facility Lisa had found nearby, but she'd refused. She didn't like Lisa because of the affair, and whenever I'd used the word alcoholic, she'd become more combative.
After hurling one too many insults at me, Lisa had marched me back to the car. It was with heavy hearts that we'd left, but I'd known we'd run out of options.
Lisa and I hadn't gotten married right away. With her ring on my finger and, finally, my entire heart in her hands, she respected my request that we wait a respectable time after the divorce was finalized. We'd had a small, intimate affair held amongst the peacefulness of the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool, followed by a bigger party for all our friends and extended family. My mom hadn't attended, but I'd had my dad along with Lisa's family, who'd become mine, too, and who couldn't have been more loving and supportive.
And, of course, Mack Donovan had also been in attendance as he was tonight.
"I haven't had a chance to thank you properly since you left right after the wedding," Mack said as I made him a margarita. "You and Lisa are both angels," he said warmly. "Just like my Davena."
"Contributing to Davena's foundation was the least I could do for both you and her," I told Mack. I vividly remembered Lisa's and my conversation one evening as we'd sat at our new kitchen table, planning the wedding.
"Is there anything you want that you don't have?" Lisa asked. "Anything in the world, baby."
I smiled at her and moved from my chair to her lap. My arms wound around her neck. "Nothing."
"Think really hard. Anything at all."
"Nope." I shook my head and kissed her on the lips.
"Then, in lieu of wedding gifts, I think we should have our guests donate to the animal shelter," Lisa said.
My eyes watered instantly as chills lit over my body. Lisa always prioritized me, no matter what, and sometimes I thought she knew me better than I knew myself. "I love that idea," I whispered. "But I have a better idea. What if they had the option to donate to the foundation Mack set up in Davena's name, too?"
She touched the tip of her nose to mine. "And I'll match the final donation to both."
"Oh, honey, you don't have—"
"Shh," she said softly. "I want to. My gift to the bride."
I blinked back tears and kissed her again, this time for her generous and loving spirit.
When I saw Rosé leaning against the bar outside by herself, I made a beeline for her. She'd recently cut her hair shorter and was wearing it straight these days. She looked happier and much less angular, having put on a little weight, which suited her.
"So, how was the trip really ?" Rosé asked. "Did you put a dent in Europe from all the fucking?"
"Yes," I confirmed. "It was amazing. You'd love Spain."
"I have no doubt."
"In fact, I brought back a special Spanish wine just for you," I said, walking behind the bar to grab it. "Want to try it now? It's yummy."
"Um, well, no," she said, picking at her fingernail. "I'm not thirsty."
"Not thirsty?" I asked, gaping at her. "I don't think I've ever heard you turn down an alcoholic beverage."
She gave me a slight smile that slowly spread across her face as she failed to suppress it. "By the way," she said, "I hope you're free next month. Mingyu and I are moving up the wedding, and we're doing it here at home."
"Wait, what?" I exclaimed. Ever since Mingyu had proposed, Rosé had been talking non-stop about her grand plans for a destination wedding. "Why?"
"Well, I don't want to look like a porker in my dress," she explained.
I frowned, confused. A few pounds did not a porker make. Rosé looked fabulous. Was she planning to put on more weight?
That made no sense. Unless she was . . .
An arm landed around my shoulder, and I looked up as Mingyu squeezed me to him. They exchanged a look.
I gasped, and my gaze shot back to her. "Are you pregnant ?"
She nodded and walked into Mingyu's open arms. "We're having a baby," she said. "A happy accident."
"An ecstatic accident," Mingyu corrected.
I squealed, drawing Lisa immediately to my side. "What?" she asked with an edge of panic.
Mingyu put a hand on Rosé's tummy and looked at Lisa. "Thirteen weeks pregnant."
I fanned my face to hold in tears as Lisa gave Rosé a gentle hug. I turned and announced the news at the top of my lungs, receiving cheers in response.
Once dark had fallen and everyone had gone home, Lisa and I cleaned up the party. "Go to bed," Lisa said when we'd almost finished. She threw an empty beer bottle into an oversized black trash bag. "I'll finish this."
"You're a good wife," I called back to her. I let her clean because I had plans to reward her copiously. In the bedroom, I pulled black stockings up to my thighs and attached them to a matching garter belt. I slipped into one of Lisa's favorite pairs of stilettos and topped everything off with a short black-lace negligée. I snuck into our sprawling master bathroom to fix my hair and then perched on the bed to wait.
Our sex life had become a drug for both of us. Like our connection from the day we'd met eyes, it only intensified the more we gave in to it. The more we pried each other open, the more we spilled into each other—and the results had been mind-blowing.
Lisa had lovingly escorted me to the best gynecologist in town to hear our options concerning sterilization. For now, we'd decided to leave our options open just in case. The fact that she would be willing to get a vasectomy for me, though, was a testament to the love and faith she had in us.
When I got bored of waiting for Lisa to come to bed, I slid open the door to our built-in balcony and let the cool night wash over me. I hopped onto the ledge. Lisa hated when I sat on it, but to lean over our own backyard and feel the breeze exhilarated me, even if it was only from the second story.
I heard her in the bedroom so I got into position by straightening my shoulders and spreading my thighs. "Out here," I called.
"Holy fucking shit," she drawled when she walked outside. "You look good enough to eat, but if you don't get down right this second, I'm going to be pissed."
"How pissed will you be?" I asked, grasping the wood railing between my legs and leaning back slightly.
"Jennie, I'm not fucking around," she said, approaching cautiously as though I might let go. She leaped and grasped me in her arms. I giggled as she threw me over her shoulder and swatted my lace-covered behind. "You are in so much trouble."
"Yes," I whispered excitedly under my breath.
"What was that?"
"I said, 'Please be gentle.'"
She vaulted me backward onto the bed, and I landed in a pile of soft down. "I gather you aren't aiming for gentle in that outfit," she rumbled, standing between my legs and running her hands along my thighs.
I licked my bottom lip, bit it gently, and shook my head. "No, Ma'am."
Her lids lowered. "Turn over, ass in the air."
I obeyed and pressed my cheek against the mattress. She spread me open, pushed my panties aside, and slipped in one finger. "Always so wet for me," she murmured.
I agreed with a muffled purr. She bent to kiss me between the legs, then ran her tongue along the length of me and inserted another finger. "Do you want to come like this?" she asked.
"No," I breathed.
"How then?"
"I want you inside me."
She chuckled. "Of course you do." She fingered me slightly harder, causing me to writhe. "Hold still."
I fisted my hands into the sheets and took it, trying not to squirm as she tongued me—but I couldn't help it.
Without removing her mouth, so I still felt her breath between my legs, she asked, "Will you hold still, or do I have to tie you up?"
"I want to be bound," I said. "But only by you."
She climbed onto the bed, and I offered my hands behind me. She grasped both of my wrists easily in one big hand, yanked my underwear to my knees, and pressed the head of her cock against my opening.
"Please," I said with a moan.
Her grip tightened around my wrists while she slid her crown up and down my wetness. My body shivered with anticipation. "I will," she said, "when you stop squirming."
I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax.
After a moment, she bent over my back so her mouth was at my ear. "That's a good girl," she said and rammed herself in to the base. Her hands moved to my biceps as she straightened up and pulled me onto her as she thrust once.
"Oh, Lisa," I rasped.
"Love when you say my name," she grated out and thrust another time, still keeping me in a stronghold.
"Lisa," I whimpered, and her pace quickened, giving it to me hard as she used my own body as leverage. "Oh, baby, you feel so good," I cried out brokenly. "So fucking good."
My shoulders ached, and my cheek burned from the comforter, but she went faster, harder, and without mercy. In her control, I could only moan my satisfaction into the mattress.
I could tell she was close when her fingers squeezed my arms. "You look sexy as fuck right now," she said. "Come on, Jennie."
"Come with me," I pleaded.
I clenched around her, and she yelled out, jerking my arms back as she gave me a punishing final thrust and began to spurt into me. I quivered as I both came apart and drank her in at the same time.
"Christ," she breathed. She pulled out, and I dropped my hips, flattening out on the bed. I stretched and shook my arms, and she climbed over my ass to straddle me.
I groaned happily as she kneaded out my shoulders and arms. "Orgasm and a massage?" I asked. "Best wife ever."
"Best what?"
"Best wife ever."
She leaned over my back and growled into my ear. "Say it again."
I knew what she wanted. Since the wedding, she'd grown very attached to her new designation. "Wife."
She flipped me onto my back suddenly and looked me in the face. Her hand smoothed over my hairline, and before she could say it, I cut her off. "Love you," I whispered.
She smiled. "Love you, too." And then she pinned me with a passionate kiss. Within seconds, she stiffened, long and hard against my thigh.
"Mmm. Again?" I asked hopefully into her mouth.
She nodded. "Again."
I jerked awake to our bright bedroom when Lisa's phone vibrated on her nightstand. Her arms disappeared from around me as she reached for her cell.
I groaned at the loss. "Who's calling at this time on a Sunday morning?"
She ignored me and answered the call with a curt, "Manoban." I closed my eyes and listened to her rumbling voice. "Right now?" she asked and paused. "Yes, yes. That's good. I'll be there."
"Honey?" I asked when she hung up. "What's going on?"
"I have to run into the city for a little bit."
"No," I said. "Not now. I'm cold."
She laughed and wrapped me in her big, warm arms. "I hate to leave you cold, honeybee, but this is important. I promise I won't be long." She pulled my earlobe between her teeth. "Nightmares?" she whispered.
I smiled and shook my head. I hadn't had one in more than a year, but that didn't stop Lisa from checking now and then.
"All right," she said. "Go back to sleep. You won't even miss me."
I sighed, and though she pulled the comforter up high around me, I shivered in her absence.
I fell back to sleep and didn't wake again until I heard the familiar rumbling of Lisa's Porsche out front. I hopped out of bed and pushed open the window to see that she'd parked at the curb instead of in the garage.
The memory of the night before stirred in me as I watched her round the car to the passenger's side and squint up at me. I smiled at my weekend-Lisa in her t-shirt, jeans, and aviators. "Get down here, beautiful," she yelled.
Snatching her t-shirt from the floor, I ran down the stairs two at a time as I pulled it over my head. I burst through the front door, meaning to run and jump into her arms but stopped short. I gasped as my hand flew to my mouth. A black and tan furball bounded through the grass in my direction.
Tears pierced my eyes as I caught the puppy and hoisted her into the air. His tail wagged excitedly, and he licked my face, causing me to squeal with delight.
"Oh, Lisa," I said as she approached. "Is he . . .? Can we . . .?"
"Anything that makes you smile like that, baby, yeah. We can keep him."
"A German shepherd puppy," I cried.
"Yes."
"Like Canyon."
"Yes, just like Canyon. My favorite breed." She grinned. "I told George at the shelter months ago that if a German shepherd puppy ever came in, to call me immediately."
I jumped up and down, and Lisa laughed heartily. "He's perfect," I said. "Just perfect! Do you think we're ready?"
He nodded. "I've already arranged for him to stay with Jihyo while we're in Greece next month. Alex is thrilled."
"I'm sure he is." I buried my nose in the puppy's fur, and he licked my nose. "What should we name him?"
Lisa put her arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple. "How about Prince Siegfried?"
I laughed. It was the name of the lead character in Swan Lake, the ballet where Lisa and I had met. Where we'd first met eyes across the lobby of the theater.
"Well, hi, darling Prince," I cooed, cuddling the puppy close and looking up at my wife with pure love and gratitude. "Welcome to the Manoban family."
THE END . . .