Lisa

I'm surprised when I walk into the kitchen early in the morning to find it empty. Jennie is always there already, a cup of coffee in her hands. I frown and turn the coffee machine on. I guess she's sleeping in today.

I sigh, my mood dropping immediately. My mornings with her are my favorite part of my day. On the few occasions that she hasn't been there, I've always been in a bad mood. I take a sip of coffee and lean back against the kitchen counter, my mind drifting back to last night. The jealousy in her eyes, and the way she looked at me… I want more of that.

I'm startled when Jennie walks into the kitchen, a robe covering her from head to toe. I glance at it in amusement. I'm pretty sure that robe is one of mine. When did she even steal that from me?

"Morning," she says, her cheeks flushed. She walks up to me and takes my coffee cup out of my hands, lifting it to her lips.

"Morning," I murmur, my eyes roaming over her.

"I thought I'd come for a swim with you," she says, her voice soft.

I grin at her, my fingers tracing over the collar of her robe. "I see."

Jennie frowns at me, her smile wavering. "Hey, the water is heated, right?"

I chuckle and brush her hair behind her ear. "Yes, Minx. It's heated."

She sighs in relief and grins up at me before putting down her coffee cup and taking my hand. I glance at our joined hands in surprise and smirk.

"Come on," she says, excitedly. "Let's go."

I let Jennie pull me through the doors. She yelps when her bare feet hit the cold stone and she turns back around, slamming into me. I laugh and wrap my arms around her.

"Second thoughts, Minx?"

She looks up at me, her hands on my chest. She flattens her palms against my skin and slides her hands up, until she's got them wrapped around my neck. I love it when she touches me like that, without abandon. Slowly but surely, she's turning back into the girl I used to know.

"Who? Me? Never."

I chuckle and lift her into my arms in one fell swoop, eliciting a yelp from her. She hangs onto me tightly and shoots me a warning look. "Don't throw me in," she warns, and I pause.

"Hmm, I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it…"

She narrows her eyes and I grin at her as I lower her to the floor. "Go on, get in. You'll get cold if you stay out of the water."

Jennie nods at me and looks up into my eyes hesitantly. "So… I didn't actually have swim wear," she says as she undoes the sash on her robe.

I blink at her, my heart racing. Her robe falls open, and she lets it fall off her shoulders slowly, until she's standing in front of me in black lace underwear. I bite down on my lip harshly and try my best to look away, but try as I might, I can't. She's fucking stunning. I thought she looked amazing years ago, but she looks even better now. I wish I could touch her. I wish she was still mine.

Jennie smiles in satisfaction when her robe hits the floor, and she bites down on her lip as she walks past me. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. I'm about to make a huge fool of myself with the tent in my swim shorts. Thank god they're loose shorts at least. I turn my back to her briefly to reposition myself in a feeble effort to hide how hard I am, and I shake my head. This hasn't happened to me since I was a teenager. Matter of fact, no woman other than Jennie has ever made me hard so unexpectedly. I still have no control over my body when she's around.

Jennie's eyes roam over my body curiously as I enter the water, and I'm certain there's a brief flash of disappointment when her gaze reaches my swim shorts. This Minx. She was trying to turn me on on purpose.

Jennie swims on her back, her eyes on the clouds in the sky. I grin at her as I do my laps. She's not even remotely swimming in a straight line, and multiple times she ends up banging her head on the edges of the pool, because she has zero spatial awareness.

I swim up to her and stop right in front of her, a huge smile on my face. I pull her up, and Jennie grins and puts her hands on my shoulder, keeping herself up as I wrap my hands around her waist. "Minx, you still can't swim for shit."

She laughs and pulls me just a little closer. I want her flush against my body, my fingers threaded through her hair.

"You know what this reminds me of?" I murmur.

Jennie grins, her cheeks bright red. "The lake."

I nod. "The lake."

The last time she and I were in the lake by the summer cabin I had her pressed up against one of the wooden posts by the pier, my cock buried deep inside her and her lips on mine. Just that memory has me getting impossibly hard.

Jennie smirks when she feels my bulge against her stomach. I thought she might move away, but she doesn't.

"I told you I'd marry you someday," I whisper.

Jennie tightens her grip on me, her smile bittersweet. "And I said I know."

That day was the first time I asked her to move in with me. Even then, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I think I still do.

I pull Jennie even closer, until her body is flush against mine, and she wraps her legs around my waist, the way she did back then. I'm rock hard and pressing right between her legs. I bite down on my lip as Jennie wraps her arms around my neck.

I drop my forehead to her shoulder and inhale deeply. "I always thought you'd be my wife by now," I murmur.

Jennie buries her hand in my hair and clutches me tightly. I lift my head to look at her, and her eyes are filled with the same intensity I'm feeling. She cups my cheek and drops her forehead to mine.

"Me too," she whispers. "For years I avoided all mention of you, scared that I'd read about you dating someone else, or even worse, marrying someone else. I wanted you to be happy, but I just… I couldn't."

I thread my fingers through her hair, the way I've been wanting to, and look into her eyes. "I'd never marry anyone that isn't you, Jennie. I haven't even had a girlfriend since you. Sure, there have been some girls, but no other woman ever got to call me hers, the way you always have."

Jennie looks at me, insecurity making her gaze waver. "What about Layla?"

I smile and shake my head. "No. Never. She doesn't even remotely have any rights to me. There's only ever been you for me."

Jennie looks away in guilt, and I wonder if it's Mino she's thinking about. I don't know how many men came after me, and I don't want to know.

I can't help the direction that my thoughts turn to. I can't help but think of her with Mino.

"What are we doing? I whisper. "You just broke up with your boyfriend, and your father is sick. You're vulnerable, and you're probably still heartbroken."

I'm surprised when I feel Jennie tighten her legs around me. She looks at me as though she can read my mind. As though she knows exactly what I'm thinking. "Lisa," she whispers. "I'm here with you now, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. No one else I'd rather be with."

She grabs my hand and entwines it with her own before raising it to her lips. She kisses my knuckles softly and looks at me. "You told me, didn't you?" She whispers. "You told me he couldn't touch me. That he couldn't lay a finger on me… And he hasn't."

I narrow my eyes, suddenly filled with insecurity and jealousy. I grab her hands and push them above her head. "Tell me the truth," I say, my body radiating anger. "You spent weeks sleeping next to him. I've lived with you before, Jennie. You and I have never spent a whole night together without having sex at least once. So don't fucking lie to me, Jennie. Don't look into my eyes and lie to me like that."

I sigh and pull away from her. "Come on, it's getting late," I murmur.

"Lisa, no," she whispers, anguished. I push away from her and turn to get out of the pool, needing space.

The idea of Jennie with Mino ruined my mood. Just knowing that she used to be his. That he's had her, that he's probably still on her mind. It fucking kills me.