Instead of willing herself to be sucked into a black hole of abyss, Jennie took a moment to steady herself, preparing for the inevitable interrogation from her friends. They waited patiently out in the hall as Jennie rid herself of the blanket and threw on some old jeans and a t-shirt. She chanced a quick look over at Lisa's window only to find her no longer there. She didn't know if that made her feel relieved or uneasy.
"Okay you guys. I'm dressed. You can come in."
Her two friends opened the door and sidled into her room, managing to avoid all eye contact with her. A silence hung in the air as they all stood there, not knowing what to say. Somi looked at Jisoo, who looked back at her. Jisoo then looked at Jennie, who was looking between the two of them. Their game of visual volleyball continued for another moment before all three girls simultaneously burst into laughter. They roared until their stomachs hurt and their faces turned bright red, unable to control the laughing fit.
Once it finally died down to a few chuckles and snickers, Jennie broke the ice.
"So...what's new?"
Jisoo and Somi snorted in laughter once again. "You tell us, Kim."
"Yeah," replied Jisoo. "Is there a reason you were sprawled out on your bed looking like you were ready to take a dick?"
Jennie threw her head back dramatically. "Must you be so graphic? Besides, you're the ones who are two hours early. You're the ones who decided it was okay to walk right into my house and into my bedroom without knocking."
"We've always done that. We've just never been greeted like that before," protested Somi.
"Well it wasn't exactly for you," admitted Jennie.
"Who was it for?"
"I was just...air drying. From my shower."
"I call bullshit," exclaimed Jisoo.
Jennie knew there was no way to get out of this without some hint of embarrassment. She couldn't exactly pass this off as her just lounging around her room. Not when she was in the position Jisoo saw her in.
"Okay, fine. I was...having a moment...with myself."
"You were jerking off in the middle of the day? Without any porn on in the background? Damn, how horny are you?" Only Jisoo could turn Jennie's delicate words into something so blunt.
"You know, as much as I'd love to relive my embarrassment with you two, I think we should just let it go. For my own sanity. Please."
"Fair enough. For now." Somi nodded in agreement as something caught her attention outside Jennie's window. She looked closer to see what it was. "Oh my God, Jen. Your neighbor girl is closing her curtains."
Jisoo ran to the window. "Jesus, Kim! You need to be more careful. What if she saw you? I mean, she very well could have. Especially since she just happens to be closing the curtains right now."
Jennie knew her face was bright red. There was no way she could hide it.
"Guys, it's fine. She didn't see me. Nothing to worry about. Let's go grab some dinner or something."
Jisoo conceded. "Fine, but we're not done talking about this. I mean, I'm not judging you. What a woman does in her own bedroom is her business. Even when she knows she has friends coming over..."
"Not for another two hours!"
"Whatever. All I'm saying is maybe close your blinds next time. Unless..." Jisoo's eyes looked as though a light came on inside of that complicated, wildly inappropriate head of hers. "Unless you trying to get her attention."
"What?" Jennie feigned as much offense as she could muster.
"Jennie Kim, is your little crush on the girl next door turning into a full-fledged voyeuristic obsession? Are you trying to lure her over here with those legendary boobs of yours?"
Somi's eyes grew wide when she realized just what Jisoo was insinuating while Jennie unwittingly folded her arms over her chest and slouched a bit.
"No way. Jennie, is that what you're doing?" Somi was dying for an answer.
Jennie simply shook her head. "You guys are being ridiculous."
"Are we?"
She couldn't bring herself to look at either of them. All she wanted to do was get out of there. She had already been embarrassed enough and she had no idea how Lisa was doing since they were interrupted. She slyly grabbed her phone and put it in her pocket.
"Look, can we just go to dinner? I promise you we'll talk at dinner. I'll update you with any...new developments with Lisa. I just need to get out of here."
Jisoo shrugged. "Fine with me. It reeks of sex in here anyway."
Jennie knew she wasn't off the hook. Her friends were way too observant and stubborn to let this go. She knew it was pointless to deny anything. She just hoped that they wouldn't think she was a freak when she told them the truth. After a few drinks, of course.
•••
"Pick up, pick up, pick up." Lisa paced back and forth in her back yard. She hadn't heard from Jennie since her friends had interrupted their post orgasm bliss. She had sent her a quick text asking if she was okay, but gave up on getting a reply when she noticed the three girls driving off to wherever they were going.
"Hello?"
"Seulgi! Thank God! I've been calling you for over an hour."
"I just got back from the beach. What's up?"
"The beach? Where are you?"
"I took a trip down to Virginia Beach with some friends."
"That's only three hours away," Lisa mumbled to herself.
"Is everything okay?"
Lisa took a deep breath. "I'm having a crisis."
"You're gonna need to be more specific."
"A girl crisis."
"Is that so?" Seulgi teased. "How bad is it?"
"It's bad."
"How bad?"
"Can we talk in person? I'll drive to you. I know you're on vacation, but I could really use someone to talk to."
"Wow. That bad, huh? Yeah, of course you can come. It'll be good to see you. I'll text you the address of the hotel I'm at."
"I thank I can make it there in about three hours."
"Lis?"
"Yeah?"
"This girl...did she break your heart? Do I need to have a talk with her?"
Lisa laughed. "No. Nothing like that. It's just complicated and I don't think it's something I can bring myself to tell you about over the phone."
"All right. Please drive safely. I'll see you in a few hours."
Lisa ran upstairs to pack an overnight bag, but not before sending another text to Jennie. She wanted to keep things light. After what happened, she wasn't sure how Jennie was feeling about everything.
Lisa: Have fun with your friends. Don't get into too much trouble!
Lisa cringed as soon as she sent it. She was capable of formulating much better texts than that. But right now, she didn't have time to dwell on it.
•••
Jennie was on her third vodka soda and she was finally starting to feel a little buzz. She was thankful the server didn't bother to card them. There was no way she could do this sober. Jisoo and Somi refused to stop with their incessant questions prompting Jennie to tell them if they asked one more time before she was ready to talk, they would get nothing. That managed to shut them up and they engaged in some small talk while waiting for the alcohol to take effect on Jennie.
She downed the rest of her drink and slammed it on the table, then signaled for the server to bring her another one.
"Okay." Jennie readied herself for the inquisition.
Her two friends sat up straight and leaned in, waiting with bated breath for Jennie to speak.
Jennie wanted to preserve Lisa's role in all of this. She didn't feel right divulging that information to her friends, so she tried to find the best way to convey what was happening.
"As you know, I have a crush on the girl next door."
"Lisa."
"Yes, Lisa," Jennie continued. "Without going into too much detail..."
"Whoa, we didn't agree to that," argued Somi.
"You'll take what I give you and like it," informed Jennie. "Anyway, without going into too much detail...things happened. We sort of started flirting through the windows. I mean, you can see how easily I can see into her room. And she has the exact same view. And we...I...I got undressed in front of her one day. It wasn't on purpose. And she saw me. And I'm pretty sure she didn't mean to do it. But then it just sort of escalated from there. She then got undressed in front of me...so I returned the favor and we went on like that for a couple days and it all led up to today. She witnessed me..."
"Jennie, we're all adults here. You can say it."
Jennie sighed heavily. "She watched me masturbate and I watched her and that's it. Then you guys barged in and I died a little inside."
Jennie almost had to laugh at the way her friends were staring at her. She couldn't tell if it was a look of shock, judgment, or respect. Perhaps it was a little of all three.
"You guys are freaking me out. Say something. Am I the worst person alive? I mean, it's sick right? It's a sick, bad thing."
Somi shook her head. "No. That's not what I was thinking."
Jisoo grabbed her water. "Hold on. I need to cool down real quick."
Jennie rolled her eyes. "Seriously Chu. Is it bad?"
"Not at all. I mean, I think we're just shocked because it's you. I wouldn't have expected this level of kinkiness from you."
Somi nodded. "It's obviously mutual, right? I mean, you're not spying on her without her knowledge."
"No, no. We're both into it."
"Damn, Kim. I really didn't think you had it in you. You never really talked about sex much. Just that you had it, but never really gave us details."
"Well, technically we haven't had sex."
"Which kind of makes it hotter," exclaimed Somi. "She's practically a stranger."
"Not really. We've been getting to know each other when we go running."
Jisoo shook her head. "Still, you just met her a few weeks ago. That is really some kinky ass shit. You're both just huge pervs."
Jennie started to get defensive, but then realized Jisoo was right. And she didn't know how that made her feel.
"Only when it comes to each other. Unless she's done this with other people, but she doesn't seem like the type. And she seemed just as nervous as I was. I've definitely never done anything like this before."
Somi still had a stunned look on her face. "Wow. Just wow. That is seriously so hot."
"What if she thinks I'm a freak? What if she regrets what happened?"
"Have you talked to her since?"
"No. I've been with you guys. We didn't exactly have time to talk thanks to you."
Her friends started to look a bit guilty. Jennie was starting to wonder if that was even an emotion they were capable of experiencing.
"You should text her. Just something casual."
Jennie pulled out her phone and noticed she had two missed texts from Lisa. She felt a bit of relief upon reading them, then showed her friends.
"See? She's okay. Nothing to worry about," offered Jisoo. "Now, I know you refuse to give out all the juicy details, but you have to tell us one thing: what does Lisa's bangin' body look like naked?"
Jennie could feel the blush rising in her cheeks moving all the way up to her ears.
"I've already told you guys too much. I need to respect Lisa."
"Kinda hard to do that when you've been playing pervy peek-a-boo with her." Somi grabbed the cherry out of her rum and coke and squeezed it seductively between her teeth, trying to get her point across.
"You're no fun, Jennie. What's the point of having a dirty sex fetish if you can't entertain your friends with every single detail?"
Jennie hid her head in her hands. Why did she think it was a good idea to tell them this? She pulled her phone out and texted Lisa back.
Jennie: I'm okay. I hope you're okay. I'm sorry about the interruption. My friends have no concept of time or personal space.
Jennie: I'm at dinner with them now. I hope you're having a good night.
It only took a moment for Lisa to respond.
Lisa: I'm okay. Driving right now. Will text you tomorrow.
Jennie couldn't hide the disappointment in her eyes upon reading the text. Text speak was always difficult to decipher and Lisa was driving, but something about it made her feel uneasy.
That feeling was short-lived, however, when she received another text.
Lisa: By the way, in case I didn't make it clear earlier today, you are really, really beautiful. Have a good night, Jen.
Jennie didn't even try to suppress the smile on her face as she re-read the text a few more times.
"Oh my God, Jennie. You are so into her." Somi snapped her out of her stupor.
"You really are. Look at you. You're all dopey."
Jennie dramatically dropped her head down to the table, lightly banging her forehead against it.
"I really am, you guys. I admit it. I don't even know how it happened. But I think we've just gotten so far deep into this sexual fantasy thing, that we don't really know how to be around each other. We don't talk about it. We just talk about regular things."
"So...like a normal couple."
"We're not a couple. And nothing about this is normal. But I don't want it to stop. And at the same time, I want to keep getting to know more about her. I don't know what to do."
Both her friends replied simultaneously. "Ask her out on a date!"
"What?"
They repeated simultaneously. "As her out on a date!"
"Seriously, Jennie. If this girl brings out the naughty side of you while also making you smile like that, it's a no-brainer. Ask her out."
"But..."
"No buts, Kim. Well, except for Lisa's butt. Because it's seriously hot. Ask her out. She's obviously into you. Just see where it goes."
"And for the love of God, the next time you guys decide to try a little mutual masturbation, warn us first and then give us details after!"
•••
Lisa woke to a stream of sunlight through the crack in the hotel curtains and the sound of crashing waves. She pulled herself out of the queen bed and walked over to the window. She didn't get much time to appreciate the view when she arrived late last night, but watching the sun rise over the ocean was quite a breathtaking sight.
She heard stirring from the other queen bed in the room.
"Good morning, sunshine."
Seulgi did not look amused. "Are you still getting up at the ass crack of dawn every morning?"
"The sun's out. It's not that early."
"I need another six hours of sleep," complained Seulgi as she fell back on the bed.
"You need to get up and walk with me on the beach because I'm about to have a mental breakdown."
"Why couldn't you tell me what's wrong last night?"
"I was exhausted and you were drunk off your ass when I arrived. When you introduced me to your equally drunk friends, you kept telling them I was your little gay padawan and you were my Yoda. And you kept telling them I had girl trouble and then your friend Nayeon tried to get me to make out with her and all I wanted to do was go to sleep."
"Oh Lis, babe. I'm so sorry. Yeah, Nayeon had asked me about you a couple times after meeting you at the Christmas party. She's harmless. But it's probably best you refused her advances. That girl is all drama."
Lisa looked back out at the ocean.
"Believe me, I didn't even give her a second thought."
"Oh no? But she's hot. Since when are you not interested in hot girls?"
"Since I met THE hot girl." Lisa watched as the waves danced in the sunlight, the deep blue water reminding her of the eyes she couldn't stop thinking about. "But she's more than that. She's sweet and smart and sexy and funny and not even remotely athletic, but it makes her all the more charming and adorable." Her voice became more and more melodic as she listed off each of Jennie's characteristics.
Seulgi studied her cousin in silence for a moment.
"Damn girl. You are in trouble. Okay, I'm getting up and we're going for a walk."
•••
Lisa spent the first half hour of their walk recounting what had happened between her and Jennie. To her credit, Seulgi didn't interrupt once. Though, she did make a few faces that told Lisa she was a bit shocked.
"And then her friends walked in on her right after we finished and it seemed like it was kind of an embarrassing mess for her. And we haven't talked since. With the exception of a few texts."
Seulgi certainly took her time digesting the information. Her silence was almost deafening to Lisa. She was afraid her cousin was going to tell her what an awful person she was. That she was ashamed to have someone who would do such a thing in her family. And now she was terrified that she might tell her parents. But she wouldn't do that, would she? She would never betray her. Plus, how many countless sex stories of Seulgi's had Lisa endured over the years? Her brain was driving her to madness.
"Seulgi, you're killing me here."
"Sorry. I just...wow." Seulgi put her hand in the air. "Come on, cuz. Don't be shy."
Lisa reluctantly high-fived her.
"Wow, Lis. I knew you were a bit of a stud at school, but I had no idea you were into that kind of thing."
"I'm not! I wasn't. Not until Jennie."
"So what exactly is the big problem here? You need me to tell you it's okay? That you're not a huge pervert? That people sometimes have intense sexual chemistry and start to discover certain things that turn them on? Because it really is okay." She stopped for a moment and rested her hands on Lisa's shoulders to reassure her. "You are a completely normal young woman who met another completely normal young woman who found you as attractive as you found her and some sexy stuff ensued. I promise, you're totally fine. Just have fun with it!"
Lisa frowned. "What if I don't want to just have fun with it?"
"You want to stop? That's fine, too."
"No. I definitely don't want to stop, but I also kind of want more."
"Don't tell me you're gonna start filming each other."
Lisa broke away from her hold and scoffed. "Not like that! I want more than just what we're doing through the windows. I like her. From what I know about her, she's a really cool person."
"You want to date her?"
"Yes, but what if we already fucked it up by going too far too quickly?"
"Ask her out. And once you get comfortable with her, for the love of God, talk to her. You need to have a discussion about what it is you're doing. You can't just leave it there like nothing happened between you. That's just awkward city."
"I don't think either of us wants to really talk about it or acknowledge it. It's just something we do in the privacy of our bedrooms. No big deal."
"Yeah, sure. No big deal. That's not at all why you drove over three hours just to have a discussion with me."
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Seulgi put her arm around her as they kept walking.
"So, do I get to see what this amazing, hot, smart, funny, sweet, equally-pervy-as-you girl looks like?"
Lisa pondered her request for a minute. It was the least she could do for the girl after pulling her out of bed so early while hungover. She pulled her phone out and texted Jennie.
Lisa: I hope I'm not waking you, but I have a random request. Can you text me a pic of yourself?
Lisa considered of the implications of her text and quickly sent a follow up.
Lisa: I'm with my cousin. So just a cute fun pic would be cool.
Jennie: Were you afraid I was going to send you something risqué?
Lisa: I would never presume...
Jennie: You totally did presume. But I don't blame you. So is this request coming from you or your cousin? And doesn't she live in Boston?
Lisa: It's from her, but now that I think about it, I wouldn't hate it. ;)
Lisa: She's in Virginia Beach for the week. I drove down last night to see her. It was a last minute thing.
Jennie: And I didn't even get an invitation. What's her number? I'll send her a pic, but not you. Rude.
Seulgi started reading their texts over Lisa's shoulder.
"Are you seriously worried about asking that girl out? She's obviously into you. Every text is dripping with flirtation."
Lisa ignored her cousin as she saw a picture text come into her phone. Her heartbeat sped up when she opened it to find a photo of Jennie lying in bed in her sweats and tank top, looking completely angelic.
Seulgi grabbed the phone away from her.
"Holy shit, Lis! No wonder you've got it so bad. Look at her! It should be illegal to look that good this early in the morning."
Another text came in.
Jennie: Sorry I don't look so great. I was out drinking with Jisoo and Somi last night. Feeling kind of crappy.
"And modest, too. Well, that settles it," said Seulgi. "You were right. She's THE hot girl. Early in the morning AND hungover and she still looks like that? You really are fucked."
"Why do I even come to you for advice?"
"Because I'm your Yoda, my little gay padawan."
She took her phone back and texted Jennie. Seulgi did make a very good point.
Lisa: I don't know how you manage to look this good so early in the morning. Seriously, you're gorgeous.
She nervously awaited a reply, wondering if what she sent was too much.
Jennie: I'm kind of glad you can't see me blushing right now. It's embarrassing. When are you coming back?
Lisa: Probably tomorrow morning.
Jennie: I'm thinking we need to even things out again. I don't have a picture of you.
Seulgi grabbed the phone away before Lisa could even say anything.
"Here, stand with the ocean in the background." She started messing with Lisa's hair, making sure it looked perfect flowing in the wind. "Oh yeah, this is a work of art. Wait! I have an idea. Take off your shirt."
"What?!"
"Your bikini, Lis. Give her a little something. Show her some cleavage."
"I can't do that."
"Oh, but you can strip in front of her and start—"
"Okay! Okay! I'll show my bikini top. But the shorts stay on."
Seulgi snapped the picture and sent it before Lisa even had a chance to approve it. She tossed the phone back to Lisa.
"That should definitely get you a date. And to second base. And NOT with yourself!"
Lisa ignored Seulgi's remark and read Jennie's response as soon as it came in.
Jennie: Okay. Now I'm really, really bummed you didn't invite me. Please tell Seulgi thank you. I have a feeling the bikini was her idea. I definitely owe her for that.
Lisa smiled. "Okay, Seulgi. Dinner's on me tonight. And drinks."
"And why is that?"
"Because you are a very wise Yoda."
"Damn right."