On Your Ground | Jensoo

Chapter 11

"Cupcake?"

"Hey," Jisoo breathed out. She frowned a little, and then seemingly making a decision, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Jennie, sinking into her.

"Hard day?" Jennie pressed a kiss to Jisoo's forehead and immediately started her fingers through her hair.

"I had a terrible day. So hard. So many people...I didn't lose anyone, thank god, but..." she stopped herself and took a deep breath in. "I'm so glad I'm here with you, Jendeuk."

"Me too, sweetheart," Jennie said. Jisoo lifted her head up. Her eyes still looked concerned, anxious and Jennie wanted to fix it. "Let me make some hot cocoa for you and you can tell me about it," she offered, starting to untangle herself from Jisoo's arms.

"No, don't leave," Jisoo said, tightening her hold. She kept her stare, only for a moment shifting her eyes down to Jennie's lips, before snapping them back to Jennie's. "Okay. About earlier...in the spirit of being completely candid with you..."

"Yeah?" Jennie smiled, unsure where this was going.

"You've been an incredible friend to me, Jennie. The last few months have been surprising – I never thought we'd be this close; I never thought I could be this close with anyone. I'm glad that we are. But..."

"But?"

"But: I'm ready for more. I couldn't help myself earlier; I hadn't seen you in over a week and I missed you way too much for it to be considered friendly. Option two was actually a cookie that I stress-ate before seeing you. So...I kissed you."

Jennie smiled. "You did..."

"You asked me, all those months ago, if I was waiting for you and the truth is: I have been. I didn't realize that at the time but I think I've waited for you all my life. And I'm tired of waiting, when all I want to do is be with you. And everyone in my life has been telling me to go for it, hell, even my dad told me to. So I did."

"Oh."

"'Oh'? Seriously Jennie, I just said, like, a hundred words there. I'm kind of pouring my heart out to you –"

Jennie stopped her by grabbing her face and kissing her. Finally. They could do this every day for the rest of her life and Jennie felt like her response would always be finally. She'd learned that every minute she wasn't with Jisoo was a waste of time, and validation from Jisoo that she actually felt the same way, as strongly as she felt?

It was different from their previous kisses. The first kiss was overwhelming, an outlet for sexual frustration more than anything. It felt like drowning. Subsequent kisses were either calculated or controlled or filled with anticipation – they were beautiful in a lot of ways, like a promise for more.

But this kiss? It felt less like drowning and more like falling.

When her tongue touched Jisoo's, she couldn't hold back her moan. When Jisoo tugged a little at her hair, she saw stars. Jennie's heart was beating so quickly, she was sure Jisoo could feel it. She pulled back and stared into Jisoo's eyes. She realized it was the first time she'd ever initiated a kiss with her.

"Well, damn, cupcake. I thought I was going to do the grand gesture, give the big speech."

"Is this okay? I know I told you it'd give you time, but you're all I could think about today – if I'm being honest here, you're all I've been thinking for months – and with the day I had, all I wanted was to come home, but when I tried to picture home, your face kept coming up and - "

Jennie kissed her again, both of them smiling, their grins awkwardly pressing together. Jisoo cupped her face, bringing her impossibly closer. They stopped laughing, their eyes locking into one another, both realizing at the same time what was being said without saying the words. So Jennie said them.