JENNIE

..

Over the next couple of weeks I avoided Chan's continued attempts at contact. His messages sat unanswered in my voice mail. Between Chan's unreasonable demands and worries over my last meeting with Professor Calder, I needed a distraction from the stress because revising my thesis only added to it. I persuaded Lisa to work on my tattoo. It had become a talisman of catharsis. She scheduled three mini-sessions to fix the spots where the ink hadn't taken. She refused to work on me for more than an hour at a time. As long as we were making progress, I wouldn't complain. The upside to the frequent sessions was the amount of time I spent in the shop. The easy banter between the four of them gave me insight into just how close they were. They loved and fought like siblings.

I even got to know Rosé better. She was warmth personified, and I gravitated to her. Apart from her visits to Serendipity, we hadn't spent much time together, because I'd always been with Lisa. It was nice to have a reason to hang out with her that didn't include clamps and needles.

Lisa was busy cleaning up her station after our third session when Rosé approached me, eager to show off her newest jewelry acquisitions. She pulled out a tray of curved barbells. They looked so harmless, sitting against the black velvet backdrop. Rosé was highlighting the benefits of a hood piercing. My reluctance had more to do with healing time than pain. From the research I'd done, there would be no sex for two weeks. Lisa would implode. We'd barely been able to handle five days; fourteen would be insanity, but the positives might outweigh the cost.

Rosé was in the middle of explaining the difference between a vertical and horizontal hood piercing when I noticed a flash of red on her left ring finger.

"Is that new?"

She held it out to me. A single ruby sat cushioned amid a circle of tiny diamonds set in a platinum band. It was stunning.

"Eunwoo proposed last night." Her smile was radiant.

"Oh, my God. Congratulations! That's great news!"

A riot of conflicting emotions hit me as I hugged her. Kai had been over-the-top romantic with his proposal. It had been a complete surprise, particularly since it came on the heels of a two-month break. After weeks of limited communication, he showed up at my undergraduate commencement and took me away for a weekend in Minneapolis, intent on fixing things between us. We'd had a private dinner in an upscale restaurant on a rooftop patio. He'd asked to me marry him over dessert, while the sun had sunk below the horizon. I'd been months away from turning twenty, having fast-tracked through my undergraduate degree. I'd been naïve, blinded by the romance and the allure of a safe and comfortable future.

When Rosé released me I felt disembodied. I welcomed the numbness. Happy though I was for her, the news resurrected pieces of my past I didn't have the energy to deal with.

My mouth was full of cotton, my brain just as fuzzy as she told the story, her excitement uncontained. Her unbridled joy was exactly how a person should feel after a proposal.

"We're having a party this weekend to celebrate. I know it's short notice, but I've already talked to Cassie. She's going to close Serendipity early so she and Nate can come, at least for a little while." Rosé's exhilaration was infectious as she chattered away. "You don't work tomorrow, do you? I'm taking the evening off to shop. I thought maybe you'd want to come?"

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been shopping with a girlfriend. My friends and I used to go to the city regularly for weekend expeditions. I wanted to replace the memories with new ones that didn't hurt so much.

"I'd love that. And I could make cupcakes for the party," I offered.

Lisa's arm came around my waist, surprising me. "What's this about cupcakes?"

"For the party this weekend." Rosé flashed her ring in explanation.

"Right. Good plan. You'll make extra?" Lisa burrowed her nose into my hair and whispered, "Maybe I can come over and help with the icing."

..

Lisa didn't get the opportunity to help me, because Rosé and I spent the next two days planning her party. Lisa was miffed by my lack of availability, but in the wake of Rosé's announcement, I welcomed the space. Almost. The nightmares returned without her, and her absence in my bed made me anxious. It reaffirmed how much I'd come to depend on her.

Jisoo wasn't working, so I invited her to join us with the party planning. She and Rosé hit it off right away.

The three of us congregated in the kitchen, the counter overflowing with baking supplies and cooling cupcakes. Jisoo measured icing sugar and dumped it into the mixer. It puffed up in a sugary cloud and she shrieked, batting it away.

"It's sugar, not poisonous gas," I said sardonically.

"I don't understand why the two of you like baking," she grumbled as Rosé hip-checked her out of the way and took over.

"Why don't you pour some wine?" Rosé suggested.

"Excellent plan. I'll take care of drinks, and then I can be the delegator or something. I'm good at that," she said with a cheeky grin.

"How's your stalker situation as of late?" I asked.

Jisoo rolled her eyes. "Don't get me started. He has to be the most persistent man I've ever met."

"What's this about?" Rosé asked.

"Oh, just this guy Jack who's been at my work a lot lately. He won't take a hint."

"What she's not telling you is that Jack happens to be covered in tattoos," I prompted.

Rosé's eyes went wide. "Not our Jack?"

"The one and only." I grinned.

"Oh my God!" Rosé gave Jisoo a speculative look. "Well, it all finally makes sense."

Jisoo's hands went to her hips. "Does someone want to fill me in here? What exactly does 'our Jack' mean?"

Interesting. She sounded jealous. Maybe his persistence was paying off. "I meant to tell you a while ago, but it slipped my mind. Jackson and Lisa work together at Inked Armor."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh! You didn't know?" Rosé asked. "This just keeps getting better and better!"

"How did it slip your mind? It didn't strike you as vital information to pass on?" Jisoo looked flustered. She rushed across the room and peered out the window at the backlit sign across the street. "He works right across from where I live? I can't believe you didn't tell me until now!"

"I've been preoccupied." The morning I put things together, I'd been overwhelmed by more stressful revelations. Since then, Jack hadn't come up in conversation, and I hadn't thought to unveil that little tidbit.

"Right, of course." She sashayed back to the counter and grabbed her wine, downing half the glass in one gulp. "Wait. So this party he invited me to—" She rooted around in her purse and pulled out the postcard-sized invitation. "This is for you? He invited me to an engagement party? What the hell?"

"You have to come. Please?" Rosé begged. "Jack will totally expect you to blow him off. I would pay to see his face when you show up. He'll cream his pants."

Jisoo crinkled her nose. "Ew. I hope not. That wouldn't say much about his stamina."

"There's nothing wrong with Jack's stamina," Rosé said dryly.

"How do you know?" Jisoo asked.

"Word of mouth."

"The rumors must be true then." Jisoo looked upset by the possibility.

The oven timer went off, so I checked on the cupcakes.

"So, where is it you work?" Rosé asked.

"The Dollhouse."

There was a beat of heavy silence as I took the tray out of the oven.

"I worked there before it changed hands," Rosé said. "From what I hear, it's still a pretty loosely run establishment, and management isn't any better now than it was then."

"You used to bartend at the same nightclub Jisoo works at?"

Jisoo cough-choked on her wine. "The Dollhouse isn't—"

"That was part of my job detail, but it was a long time ago." Rosé switched off the mixer and turned to me. "Let's check out your closet and plan your outfit for tomorrow."

..

Rosé picked me up early Saturday afternoon. Together we loaded six dozen cupcakes into the trunk of her car. Before we headed to her place, I stopped at Inked Armor to let Lisa know she should meet me there. She hadn't slept at my place since Wednesday. She was in a foul mood.

"I'm staying over tonight," she said testily.

I was looking forward to a peaceful sleep. I stretched up on my tiptoes and kissed her chin. "That sounds good. I'll see you in a few hours?"

"You're really excited about this shit, aren't you?"

"I guess. It's nice to have girlfriends, to be involved in something normal."

She leaned down and kissed me. "I love that Rosé fits into your idea of normal."

"Everything is relative, isn't it?"

Rosé poked her head in the door. "Hands off, Lisa, she's mine today."

"She's been yours for the past two days. I want her back."

"You can have her tonight. I'm double-parked, so we have to go."

Rosé hauled me out of the shop before I could steal another kiss. Lisa watched me through the window as I got into her car and we pulled away.

Rosé's house was magnificent. It was clear both she and Eunwoo were artists in the strictest sense of the word. Her 1950s-era décor blew me away. Everything appeared to be original and in pristine condition.

It was very different from my own jumble of mismatched furniture. It dawned on me that Lisa only ever came to my place, which I guess made sense because of TK. She was still just a tiny thing; as silly as it might be, I didn't like the idea of leaving her alone overnight. Lisa always stocked my fridge with various snacks and drinks, but the only personal item she left behind was a toothbrush and body wash so she didn't end up smelling "girly" after a shower. I wondered what her place would look like. I imagined it would have a distinct absence of clutter; stark, neat, organized. It stung that in all the time we spent together, she never invited me to stay over. Not once.

Rosé and I spent the rest of the afternoon decorating her house and preparing appetizers. She knew how to throw a party. At six o'clock we went up to her bedroom and changed. The theme reflected her love for all things '50s, and she poured me into a red-and-white dress with a flouncy skirt and a narrow bodice. The back came down low, showing off the outline of my tattoo. Rosé pulled my hair into a high ponytail, and the effect was complete.

We were in the kitchen, testing Rosé's spiked punch, when Eunwoo came home. She swatted him away from the food and sent him straight upstairs to get ready. When he came back down twenty minutes later he was wearing black pants, a matching vest, a white dress shirt, and a bowler hat. The vest he'd worn before, without a shirt under it. Leave it to Rosé to make a costume party out of her engagement celebration.

Jackson showed up shortly after, decked out in a suit. When he saw me, he gave a long, low whistle. "Lisa's going to flip her shit."

"In a good way or a bad way?" I asked.

"That depends on who hits on you tonight."

"Will she be here soon?"

"She'll be a while yet. She ended up with a last-minute newbie."

Cassie and Nate stopped by for a drink. There was talk about Thanksgiving dinner preparations. I'd tried not to think about the upcoming holiday. It was too close to the anniversary of the crash for comfort. Both Cassie and Rosé informed me I was to come for dinner, enlisting me to make cupcakes. Apparently it was quite the event, followed by Black Friday shopping.

Just after nine, the tone of the party changed. The house began to fill with Inked Armor clientele and acquaintances of Rosé's and Eunwoo's. I felt inadequate among the inked and the pierced, like an imposter surrounded by those who had embraced the lifestyle to an extent that I hadn't. Lisa was such an extremist that it made me curious about the kind of women she'd been with prior to me. I didn't have to wonder for long, though.

A tall blonde with death trap shoes came into the kitchen and shrieked when she saw Rosé. They hugged, obviously old friends. The blonde didn't even acknowledge my existence as she looked around the adjoining rooms. "I don't see Lisa. Is she busy already?"

"She's not here yet," Rosé replied, shooting me a quick glance.

"Well, when she gets here, tell her I'm looking forward to catching up." She winked at Rosé and sauntered off.

"Who was that?" I asked, watching her long legs disappear around the corner.

"Just a friend." Rosé poured more wine into my glass. "Lisa should be here soon."

Several more women asked after her. While some of them wore designs that were clearly hers, not all of them seemed to be clients. I shouldn't have been surprised. She was gorgeous and talented and recalcitrant, a heady combination of masculine energy. They all preened as they surveyed the room and wore the same look of disappointment when Rosé informed them she had not yet arrived.

When she did, she was a sight to behold. Dressed in black pants and a white button-down, she obviously decided she'd tried hard enough. Her sleeves were rolled up to her forearms. The top two buttons of her shirt were open, revealing a white undershirt. Her hair was out of control, as if she'd been in too much of a rush to bother with it. She didn't look happy as she scanned the room, her frown deepening as she took in the crowd until she saw me standing alone in the kitchen. Her eyes burned with a predatory gleam as she took a step toward me.

And then some she-banshee threw herself at her.

..

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