KICK IT | JENLISA

92

Jennie

Heaviness pulled down my legs, making each step harder. I gripped the railing and took a slow breath. All week, I cursed my feelings. I should have been riddled with guilt for cheating on Taehyung, but I didn't. That constant mindfuck forced me into bed hibernation.

A tall, leggy blonde bombshell in a fire engine red cocktail dress smiled at me from the top of the steps. Full of scrutiny, her brown eyes dragged over me. Whatever test she administered, I must have passed because she smiled. "Jennie?"

What was she doing on this floor? My eyes flitted down the hallway, which showed no Lisa. Petty satisfaction filled me when I climbed the last step and she was six inches shorter. A pink flush spread over her face, her mascara was smudged at the corners, her red lipstick was absolutely perfect, and her pupils were round enough to eat the brown out of her irises.

"Nancy." Her arms choked me into a tight, breasts meet breasts, hug. Mine were bigger. "I'm so relieved Lisa's shoulder is healed."

"Right." I rasped out under her gorilla grip.

"Sorry, I'm a hugger." She released me and squeezed my arms. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person. And this is my husband, James."

My eyes followed her gaze, to a hallway bathroom that a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out of and smoothed his hands over his black hair. He tucked his blue polo shirt into his grey pants and approached with the same red cheeks. Once near us, he roped an arm around Nancy's waist.

Oh. They've been... good for them? This was why I was anti-social. "Hey." I whooshed out an exhale at Lisa's publicist. Her married publicist. "Where's Lisa?"

"Bathroom, I think." She leaned closer and murmured in my ear, "She'll be happy to see you."

"Right. Let me go say hi then." I pulled a tight smile and made my way down the hall. I struck out in two guest bedrooms, both of which had a view of the back yard. Soft lights were strung around the covered porch and her pool lights illuminated the soft water ripples. Each room was dark and empty.

I gasped at Lisa's bedroom. A warm mix of spice and faint stink of sweaty gym clothes was all Lisa. I smiled at a picture of her and her parents on her dark wood dresser and paused at her massive four-poster bed. If I wasn't wearing makeup, then I would faceplant into her puffy, white comforter. "Lisa?"

"In here." her voice called out of the cracked open bathroom door, followed by the sound of running sink water. I dragged my lead feet across the floor. The closer I approached her bathroom door, my heart became heavier than my steps and my stomach twisted around itself. I pushed the door handle, to a sight that dropped my jaw.

Lisa stood at the sink, drying her hands with a white towel. Compared to her casual workout clothes, Lisa's formal wear was a visual feast. The bitch between my legs ached for her piece. She was hotter in person than the blurred phone screen I clicked through like an obsessed fangirl. The black pants painted on her tree stump thighs sent hot throbs through me. Her black dress shirt hugged that toned frame that drilled me into oblivion, outlining her broad chest, rounded shoulders, and narrow waist. She was devilishly gorgeous. But her eyes pinned me in place. The warm browns brightened, chased by a heat that swayed me against the door.

"I'm sorry." Lisa's blurted out words dissolved any uncertainty I had following Jackson's mandate that I come tonight. Sincerity slipped through the crack in her tone, as rich in tone as it was in relief.

I blinked. She wasn't mad?

My moment of boldness ended when I closed her bathroom door behind me. Both legs locked up and my ankle rolled. I wobbled worse than a new-born deer and accepted Lisa's help. Her palm cupped my elbow, her fingers sending goose bumps up the back of my arm. The other hand's fingers lifted through my hair and cupped the nape of my neck. Her touch burned my skin in a hold that was both supportive and invoking.

I pulled back before I followed through on what my body screamed for. Her eyes piercing daggers through me didn't help. Torment burned in her pupils and willed me to feel her pain. It gave me as much whiplash as my push-pull bullshit.

My voice was weak and hollow. "I'm sorry too. So sorry. Lisa, we should ta..."

Her mouth covered mine. Heat from her lips rushed an airy sensation into my chest. I lifted my hands and fisted her shirt. The muscles in her chest tightened. She teased my mouth open with a tug on my bottom lip and slid her tongue along the seam. It wasn't the frantic, teeth smashed desperate version of a kiss my body ached for, but it was the kiss I needed – impatient, reassuring, and drew me in closer.

Fuck, I missed this. I missed her.