Jennie
By seven o'clock, Louis and I have taken to avoiding each other. Or perhaps I should say that I've taken to avoiding it, as he still hasn't moved from his spot on the couch. I mix him up a large batch of food, adding milk as instructed, but he hasn't touched it and it has since turned into a glob of gelatinous goo with quite an offensive odour. I quickly retreat to my bedroom for the next hour to avoid both cat and odour.
Lisa still hasn't called, although I specifically remember her saying she'd stop by. Or at least try. Shouldn't she confirm these plans with a phone call today? Perhaps she's changed her mind - I continuously fight the urge to call her up myself and instead busy myself with a book to pass the time.
I start to doze a few minutes later. I've read the book so many times that it acts like a sleep aid more than anything else. Eventually, I drag myself back to the living room and take up residence on the recliner. When stretched out, Louis takes up over half the couch. It doesn't even flinch as I make a cup of coffee and sit down.
"Don't you have a bed or something?" I ask Louis. His ear twitches in reply. "Well you can't just take up the whole couch, you know. You have to share." Again, he ignores me. I already regret helping him get onto the couch to begin with. It's as if he senses his current advantage and refuses to get down in case he can't get back up again.
I flip through the channels on the TV for a few minutes and nearly jump out of my skin when the phone rings. I hasten to answer, breathing a sigh of relief when I see it's Lisa.
"Hey, Jennie. I was wondering if you're still free tonight," she says. I automatically grin just from the sound of her voice and then I roll my eyes, grimly conscious of how ridiculous I am.
"Um, yeah. I'm still free." I force casualty into my words. "Are you still coming over?" I inquire.
"Yes." she pauses, the lapse of noise awkward and misplaced. "I should be there in about fifteen minutes."
Fifteen minutes! I grin like a fool knowing she was already on her way.
"Were you already near Seoul?" I ask slowly, feigning nonchalance.
"Uh, no." she chuckles uncomfortably. "I was already on my way. I guess I was just hoping you'd still be free."
Either that or she's realized that I am, in fact, pathetically single six nights out of seven. On a good week. A very good week.
"Good. I guess I'll see you in a few." My words betray my smile, but I hope she doesn't notice.
After we say good-bye, I buzz around the apartment tidying up small things. I tug the throw from underneath Louis and fold it neatly over the back of the couch. I try to coax Louis from the couch by holding the bowl of foul-smelling food beneath his nose. He doesn't budge. I eventually store the bowl inside the bathroom and shut the door, leaving it open only a crack so that he can reach his litter box whenever nature calls. I'm in the middle of loading the dishwasher when I realize that, only a few days ago, I had been purposefully destroying Lisa's home to get a rise out of her. Now I'm cleaning my home in anticipation of her arrival. What am I doing?
How confusing. I don't even know whether or not my apartment should be clean! With a sigh, I finish my current task, reasoning that it needs to be done anyway. Might as well do it now.
I work myself into a sort of frenzy while waiting for Lisa to arrive. I know I shouldn't look forward to her company this much. I know I'm just setting myself up for heartache.
I know, but at the moment I don't care.
Her eventual knock on the door comes as a melody of sorts. Knock. Knock. Knock knock....knock. I count to ten in my head, slowly, then stand and answer with as much grace as I can manage considering my mounting anxiety. I swing the door open and my breath hitches at the sight of her, though she's only dressed casually in a grey T-shirt and jeans. I realize I've rarely seen her in casual attire and it's very nice. But then, she could make anything look nice.
I appraise her a tad bit too long. Long enough to elicit the cocky half-smile from where it usually lurks, barely out of sight.
I don't bother commenting on her arrogance this time. I move aside so that she can enter.
"Hey beautiful," she greets me. The nickname falls from her lips with an easy finesse.
"Hey yourself."
She leans down to kiss me, "chaste peck" written all over her quick movements, but in a rush of motion that's too quick for me to fully grasp, her lips are pressed firmly against mine, the force sending me stumbling back a step or two. I grab a fistful of her shirt at the same time that she grabs my hips to steady me. Despite this commotion we remain latched onto one another. Soon I'm giggling against her lips, amused at our obvious lack of grace, and I can feel her smile against my own. "Well, that was quite an entrance," I tease, but she silences me with another searing kiss.
A few moments later, she rests her forehead against mine. "God, I've been thinking about doing that all day," she admits. I detect a hint of uncertainty as her eyes find mine. It's an emotion that puzzles me.
"Me, too," I say. All day, all week - is there really a difference?
She kisses me again and I'm elated. Finally, it seems as though we can just kiss without all the awkward doubt and uncertainty that always seems to be peeking around the corner. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to kiss her with such wild abandon this way. I'm doing what my mother always told me I should do - living in the moment - and at this moment all I want to do is fucking Lisa Manoban until she can't breathe.
Jisoo won't approve. It's lucky she's not here. And I shall not be disclosing this little lip-lock session to her - no, not after yesterday.
Lisa kisses my forehead and steps back. I frown at the sudden rush of cool air against my skin.
"Have you eaten dinner?" she wonders. I realize, for perhaps the first time tonight, that I actually haven't had dinner and I'm hungry. The anticipation of her arrival has put my nerves in such a twist that the thought hasn't even crossed my mind.
"No, I haven't," I answer. "You want to order out?" I can think of nothing more appealing than spending the evening with Lisa here. Perhaps we can watch a movie. And kiss... lots and lots and lots of kissing.
"Yeah, that sounds great, actually," she says. "You have anything in mind?"
I scrounge up some menus from the kitchen drawer and we settle on Chinese food. I order while standing in the kitchen; Lisa walks towards the living room and I watch as she freezes, her body stiffening with her back to me. With a frown, I hang up the phone.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Yeah," she says uneasily. "Um, what is that?" I look towards the couch and it dawns on me. Of course, she's referring to the giant sloth currently taking over my furniture. "You got a cat?" she goes on.
"Oh! Well, um, I'm just cat-sitting," I clarify. "For a friend. His name's Louis. He's very... er-friendly."
"Your friend or the cat?"
"The cat."
"Oh." she stares at Louis another moment, not moving from her spot. "Well that's, uh... very nice of you," she finally says. "To watch their cat."
"Um, yeah. You know... they'd do the same for me," I awkwardly lie. "Hey, they said the food should be here in half an hour. You want to watch some TV or something?"
She nods and we head for the living room. With Louis taking up half the couch there isn't enough room for us both to sit there. One of us will have to sit in the chair while the other accompanies the giant cat.
Obviously, that's not about to happen.
"Louis, you need to move now," I tell it, nudging his shoulders slightly. "You remember what I said about sharing?"
Lisa is watching me with a very amused expression. "So whose cat is that exactly?" she wonders.
"Oh, uh... my friend's. I mean Louis is his daughter's cat."
"He?"
"I work with him. It's kind of a long story," I say dismissively, not wanting to continue on the current conversation. Luckily, Lisa lets it go. I continue pushing at the cat, trying to provoke Louis to move his ass in the nicest way possible.
"I can just sit over here," Lisa offers, but at the very same moment Louis shoots me a lethal glare before plopping down off the couch and wobbling away.
I nearly fist pump the air at my victory.
"Ah, there we go," I say, taking a seat. The cushion is nice and warm from Louis' body heat. Lisa chuckles as she sits beside me.
"Anything in particular you want to watch? I don't really know what's on right now..." I begin flipping through the channels mindlessly. I can't seem to focus on the TV when Lisa is just a couple of inches away. A couple of inches too many.
"Anything is fine," she assures me. Perhaps she's just as disconcerted by the space as I am; she drops her hand, causing it to graze my thigh. She leaves it there, and even though my leg is covered by a pair of jeans, the small amount of contact nearly drives me insane. My focus zeroes in on that spot. Lisa notices and quickly pulls her hand away.
"Sorry," she mumbles, and I want to scream at her for moving. Instead, I clumsily divert my attention.
"It's fine," I say. A moment of silence drifts between us.
"You had a better day today?" Lisa finally asks. I'm surprised, having momentarily forgotten our discussion from last night.
"Oh yeah, today was fine. Work's actually been going really well lately - not too hectic."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. What about you?"
She shifts beside me and I can tell she's debating her response. "Work was good," she says slowly. She rubs the back of her neck uneasily, and I'm happy to realize that I'm getting good at reading her body language. Right now, she's troubled by something. But what?
Before I can ask, she adds, "You know, I actually felt better all day just knowing I'd see you tonight."
She frowns, as if dissatisfied with this conclusion, and looks at me.
"Is that a bad thing?" I ask, unable to stop myself.
"No, Jennie. I guess it's not."
I want to be happy by this admission, yet I can't help but be a bit perturbed by her nonverbal response. Is she lying? Does she feel guilty for coming over? Is she upset because maybe she does, in fact, like me, despite everything?
I sigh and look away, not knowing what to say without revealing too much.
I feel Lisa's hand on my chin, gently redirecting my focus to her. "Jennie?"
I smile weakly. "I'm fine, Lisa." she doesn't look convinced but, nonetheless, she relaxes.
Then she furrows her brow suspiciously. "I worry about you when you call me Lisa," she states seriously. I can't help but giggle.
"You're right," I agree. "Must of had a lapse in judgment or something."
She smiles softly and lowers her lips to mine, kissing me sweetly. My eyes flutter closed as I relish the feel of her lips against mine, the smell of her faded cologne. I shift, wanting to get closer but not knowing how.
I twist towards her, my left leg bending as I pull it onto the couch, but this doesn't help close the gap. In lieu of climbing into her lap again, I accept this small distance and run my hand over the hard planes of her chest, across smooth skin, and finally into the soft hair at the nape of her neck.
Our tongues touch, each tentatively stroking the other, and it begins sweet and careful - a full two days of bad luck finally being eased by each other.
Then Lisa gently pushes my shoulder, forcing me back, and I feel her hard chest against mine as she follows. We only break apart for a moment - just long enough to catch our breaths - and then her mouth is on my jaw, my neck, and back to my lips again. Except this time, it isn't soft and sweet. This time, it's needy and passionate, sweet caresses turned to longing, and I'm responding with the same fervour.
Her fingers are on my cheek with feather-soft touches. They travel down the front of my body, across my breasts, and down my stomach before resting over the cotton shirt at my side. I twist my hand into her hair and gently pull. She moans into my mouth, the vibrations sending a chill through my body.
There's a sudden knock at the door which seems unusually loud; it startles us both, and we tear apart from one another as if caught in a compromising position. We both take a moment to catch our breaths while I try to slow my racing heart. There's another knock, even louder this time.
"Must be the Chinese food," I say, quickly standing. Suddenly Lisa is behind me, gently grabbing my wrist to stop me.
"I'm buying dinner," she says, her tone leaving little room for argument. I nod as she gives me one more quick kiss and fishes her wallet from her back pocket. I head to the kitchen for drinks while Lisa gets the door.
As I'm pulling glasses from the cabinet, I hear another man's voice. I assume they're discussing money or the food and don't bother listening to what they're saying.
Then I hear my name, loud and clear. "Jennie." I whirl around to the door and gasp when I see Hanbin standing there, a bottle of wine and small bouquet of flowers in his hands.
Both of them stare at me. I try to look at Hanbin, to decipher exactly what the hell he's doing here, but I can't tear my gaze from Lisa's face.
She's pissed. Pissed and... hurt?
It pains me and also helps me find my voice. "What's going on?" My eyes finally flutter to Hanbin, who's openly glaring at Lisa.
Lisa recaptures my gaze with her own. "That's what I'd like to know."