KICK IT | JENLISA

116

Jennie

"You're trespassing, darling." she repeated.

The imaginary voice cracked open my eyes. Not only were the words wrong, but the tone wasn't Taehyung's. I blinked through the bright blurriness and drew in a congested breath that tickled my nose.

Nothing but expansive openness surrounded me. A visual checklist – blue sky, puffy white clouds, and overgrown grasses rippling with textured waves - pushed a breath between my lips. I focused on the same hot, dry breeze caressing my cheeks. That was real.

Now I was hearing voices. Fucking fantastic. I forced myself to hear Taehyung's voice, so I remembered it wrapped around his determined spirit, but Lisa's deep voice in my head was a kick in the vagina.

Rough wood pricked the pads of my fingers. That was real. Worth the prick of splinters, but the sickening realisation that I could no longer siphon this place's comfort was also real. It was never mine, but now it was someone else's.

"I said you're trespassing, darling." my brain's Lisa voice called.

Rustling sounds of a presence approaching pricked my ears. Was that real? I cracked open my eyes and focused on where two broad shoulders relaxed. Dark brown eyes, sun glinting on the rounded texture of her hair. A few pieces fell over her forehead, messy and effortless.

She was so gorgeous it hurt to look at her. A crew neck T-shirt clung to her shoulders and pecs from perspiration, and her light jeans sculpted to her thick legs. The bottoms were tucked into faded brown leather boots with creases at the dip. Cute.

Lisa stopped at an arm's distance apart. One of her hands lifted, and her long fingers wrapped over the top gate board. She tucked a large, rolled-up paper under her elbow. Her eyes shifted off mine and softened at the natural expanse around us. "It's nice." Her chest expanded with a deep breath. "I can see why you like trespassing here."

Defiance forced a smile on my lips. "Only the owner can say that. You know them?"

"I do." I lifted my eyes from the sparkles in her to the dark strands trailing across her forehead, where a slight crease appeared. "Some rich asshole who should be better with her finances."

Her gaze dropped to where my index fingers shredded the cuticles around my thumbnails. She opened her mouth, then closed it. With a crunch, her hand curled around her paper, and the other hand dragged down the back of her neck. A cloak of guilt hung on her, slumping her shoulders and weighing down her gaze. After a week of debating, I wanted it peeled back. "I'm sorry, Jennie." she whispered. "It's not what you think."

Her admission, which sounded like the words of a liar, was a storm cloud sweeping in and bursting a downpour into my already soggy mood. I shifted my gaze to her truck blocking mine in. "Which part? The one where you sleep with your staff? Or..."

"I haven't slept with anyone but Kendall since she dropped herself into my life..." Her eyes never left mine, even with the clench of her teeth that tightened her jawline. Insistence tightened her voice. "... third year at Baylor."

She lifted her head under my gaze, and the corners of her lips twitched up. "Uhh, except with you. Twice. Which I'd really like to do again if you're up for it."

What did that mean? She hadn't slept with Nancy and Mina? Kendall's accusations were all I had formed my opinion on. Lisa's eyes narrowing into a glare didn't help. "Rein that back for a moment." My mind wasn't ready to go in the direction my heart leaped. Steadying my breath against the traitor ramming holes in my chest, I eyed her. "Explain."