Summer in France || 𝖩𝖤𝖭𝖫𝖨𝖲𝖠 ✔︎

eight

"Hey." Jennie opened the kitchen door to find Lisa with a big bunch of roses. "Here, these are for you." She handed them to Jennie.

"For me?" Jennie smiled in surprise.

"I always make sure there are fresh flowers," Lisa said, "but since you won't let me change the bedsheets or send someone in to clean the house for you, I didn't have a reason to let myself in."

Jennie opened the door wider and stepped back so Lisa could enter. "Thank you. But you didn't need to do that. And you know I don't mind it if you let yourself in, it's just that I happen to like cleaning and doing the laundry. I've always had a housekeeper, but there's no excuse now." She held up the book in her hand. "All I do is read, paint, swim and sleep. I've almost finished this one and it's the last one in my bag.

"You're really getting into reading, aren't you?" Lisa tried not to stare at Jennie. She was wearing her robe, and the faint contour of her nipples underneath indicated that she wasn't wearing any underwear.

"I am." Jennie sighed. "I could read on my laptop I suppose, as I don't have an iPad, but I'm used to the paperbacks now, and I like them. I went into town today, but I didn't realize it would be so hard to find English books around here."

Lisa took the book and studied it. "So, you like crime stories?" Jennie shrugged. "I don't really know what I like, I've never taken the time to read before. All I know is that I've enjoyed every book I've read so far, and they were just random picks from the airport, so I guess that means I like reading in general."

"It's never too late to discover new passions," Lisa joked. "You could try the international bookstore in Nice. They're pretty good. Or you could borrow some of mine? I'm not sure they'll be to your taste, they might be a bit..." she paused.

"Different?"

Jennie shook her head. "Oh please, I don't care, I'd love to borrow a book, at least until I've bought some more. I'm panicking already, just at the thought of having nothing to read in bed tonight." She bit her lip, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Would you mind if I came over to take a look at your books?"

Lisa laughed. "Jesus woman, you sure seem desperate for reading material." She turned back towards the door. "Give me a minute, will you? My place is too messy to let anyone in right now. I'll bring a couple over for you." Jennie folded her hands in front of her chest in a grateful gesture.

"Thank you so much, Lisa. I promise I won't drop them in the pool." She pointed to one of her books that was drying on the radiator.

Lisa waved a dismissive hand as she headed towards the annex. "Don't worry, I'm not precious about them."

A little later, Lisa was back with a pile of books that she dropped onto the kitchen table. She sat down and nodded when Jennie held up a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Thank you. I could do with a glass around now. It's been a long day." She pushed the books into Jennie's direction.

"These were the only ones I could find, stowed away in a box under my bed. I tend to give them away or lose them after I've read them." Jennie's poured two glasses of red wine and put a chopping board with fresh rosemary bread and a bowl of olive oil in between them. She picked the books up one by one, studying the front and the back.

"Sorry," Lisa said, referring to the third book that Jennie picked up. "That one wasn't supposed to be part of the selection." She laughed. "I must have forgotten I had it, I just grabbed whatever I could find." She studied Jennie's face as she read the blurb. Jennie's cheeks went rosy when she realized it was a lesbian romance novel.