No Strings Attached

Chapter Five

“Yes to both your questions,” Jennie answered hastily.

“That’s great. You’re staying at the same hotel as the other time? I’ll meet you at the hotel lobby at 7.30pm. I’ve gotta go now. See you tonight, Jennie.” Lisa patted Jennie’s arm, lingering a little longer than usual and left the washroom.

Jennie stood in front of the sink, staring into the mirror. She could still feel Lisa’s touch on her arm. Her cheeks had a tinge of pink to them and she was sure she didn’t put any blusher this morning when she came to work.

~*~*~*~

Jennie was ten minutes ahead of the appointed time. As she was talking to towards the lounge area, she spotted a familiar figure sitting on one of the sofas.

“Wow, you’re early,” Jennie greeted.

Lisa rose from her seat and smoothed the winkles in her vest. She put on a cotton v-neck vest over a new blouse and wore the same pair of dark blue jeans. “I don’t like to keep people waiting,” Lisa replied with a smile.

“You look beautiful.” Those words escaped Lisa’s mouth when she came face to face with Jennie. Jennie was wearing a simple sleeveless black dress. The dress hugged her body and showed off her curves. She had light makeup on and her long hair caressed her shoulders. A black cardigan and black chanel bag hung loosely from her arm.

“Thank you,” Jennie replied, pleased with the reaction Lisa was giving her. “You’re looking good yourself too. Do you have any place in mind to go to?”

Lisa blushed. It was rare someone complimented her on her clothes as she was hardly a person who enjoyed dressing up.

“Just follow me,” Lisa said as she led the way out of the hotel.

Hopping into a taxi, the women made their way to a nearby suburb. After a quick dinner at a ramen place, Lisa pulled Jennie into one of the side streets, away from the hustle and bustle. She led the way up the second storey of a building and went into a shop upstairs. A tiny silver bell rang as Lisa pushed the door open.

Jennie gasped at the sight of the numerous cakes lined up neatly in a huge glass display. The glass display took up most of the space in the tiny store and it extended from the ground to the ceiling. There were only four sets of tables and chairs in the café and the walls of the café were filled with handwritten colourful post-it notes.

Still holding onto Jennie’s hand, Lisa pulled her towards the cake display. She pointed to one of the shelves and asked, “Would you like to try one?”

Jennie couldn’t decide which cake to pick. In the end, Lisa told her to sit at the table by the window while she placed the order.

Minutes later, Lisa emerged by her side, holding onto a tray of cakes and two iced coffees.

“This store is opened by my mentor Suzuki-san. He owns two stores in Japan and both of them are takeaway outlets. That explains why there’re only so few tables and chairs here. His chiffon cheesecakes are often sold out by midday. I told him to leave some for us tonight,” Lisa explained. She had a lot of pride in her mentor’s products.

“Honestly, I didn’t realised you’re a baker. I thought you just had a keen interest in baking but didn’t expect you would make a career out of it,” Jennie commented.

“Why is that so? I don’t look like a baker to you?” Lisa asked, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“No, I don’t mean it that way,” said Jennie defensively, afraid she may had offended Lisa.