"You're such an idiot," Rosé groaned, looking down at Lisa as she spotted her chest presses.
"Feeling confused about mixed signals doesn't make me an idiot. Also, I was hospitalized for minor hypothermia, so who knows if what I heard was a dream or reality," Lisa grunted.
"She slept at your bedside. Your bedside," Rosé retorted. "Hypothermia-induced dreams or not, that means something."
"Last month, she said she doesn't want to see me outside of the hospital," Lisa sighed, putting the bar back into the rack and sliding out from under it.
"And last night she watched over you and slept by your side and was royally pissed when she woke up alone. According to Jisoo," Rosé replied, arching a brow in her friend's direction and putting her hands on her hips.
"Well shit," Lisa huffed, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyelids. "How do I make up for that?"
Rosé checked her watch, seeing that it was already past four in the afternoon. "They get off in a few hours, at seven. You could try talking to her."
"And I packed sweats for after work. Fantastic," Lisa sighed, looking down at her sweaty t-shirt.
Rosé cracked a smile and slung an arm across her friend's shoulders. "It pays to have me as a best friend. I have an entire closet in my locker."
"Oooh what about those dark jeans?" Lisa asked, swapping places with Rosé so that she could spot the last set.
"Nope, I'm wearing them."
"Some friend you are," Lisa scoffed.
"You can have the ripped black ones I stole from you last week. They're washed and folded and in the bottom of my locker," Rosé huffed, cranking out her chest presses quickly.
"You steal my clothes and hoard them in your locker?" Lisa asked, raising an eyebrow at Rosé.
She did her last rep and then racked the bar. "You're fucking welcome."
"So... what do I say to her?" Lisa asked, messing with the hem of her t-shirt.
——————
"I'm not saying that," Jennie sighed, taking a long sip of coffee and willing it to chase away the dreariness behind her eyes.
"Let's think about this from Lisa's point of view for a second," Jisoo coached.
"Let's not," Jennie replied, dropping her attention back to Pride & Prejudice.
"Oh no, let's think about it please," Crystal grinned, leaning over the desk in the E.R. to talk to Jennie.
"Can't you just leave me to read and mope in peace?"
"You told her you didn't want to see her outside of the hospital-" Jisoo started.
"But then I told her I'm not all work and kissed her and fell asleep at her bedside," Jennie defended, almost deciding to abandon the book since she knew Jisoo and Crystal weren't going to let this go.
"While she was dealing with some minor hypothermia," Crystal mumbled.
"Yeah, Lisa was chatty, but she was a little out of it," Jisoo nodded.
Jennie sighed and looked up from the book, narrowed eyes moving between them. "She left. I'm working. Whatever, life goes on."
"You're reading actually, and you've been rereading that book for the past few months, so I'd bet that you have it memorized by now," Crystal said, looking down at her watch.
"I think the two of you need a sober, wide-awake conversation. Some talking would work wonders for you both," Jisoo sighed.
Jennie ignored her friend's observation and kept right on reading, spinning slowly in the desk chair she was sitting in.
The doors to the E.R. slid open, sending in a cool rush of air and blowing Lisa's hair around her face.
"Flirt Eyes, ten o'clock," Crystal hissed, smacking Jisoo's shoulder.
"I still think it's Heart Eyes," Jisoo whispered back.
"Whatever eyes, she only has them for one person," Crystal chuckled, nodding at the way Lisa was staring, unabashedly, at Jennie as she read behind the nurse's station desk.
"Hi, Lisa!" Jisoo said, loudly enough for Jennie to hear. The doctor immediately jerked up, the book falling from her hands. She looked up toward the door, feeling a flush creep up her neck.
"Uh... hi," Lisa answered, lifting a gloved hand awkwardly.
"Bet you wish you'd been listening to our advice now, don't you?" Jisoo hissed, stepping out from behind the desk and pulling Crystal across the room and away from them.
Jennie grabbed her book from the floor and got to her feet, not wanting to stay seated for whatever this was going to be.
"Hey," Lisa breathed out, sliding up to the desk and resting her arms on the top of it.
"Hey," Jennie replied, her eyes a little guarded.
"I know I'm early. You have ten minutes left of work, right?" Lisa asked, pulling her gloves off of her hands and shoving them in her coat pocket.
"I actually have thirty. I started late this morning because I woke up in the exam room very unprepared for my shift."
Lisa shot a slightly guilty look in Jennie's direction before glancing down and taking a deep breath.
"Would you mind if I waited? I can wait in my car if that's better," Lisa asked, motioning with her thumb to the sliding glass doors.
"You... you want to wait?" Jennie clarified, struggling to catch up. When she'd woken up this morning, she was sure that Lisa's departure was a rejection of some sort. But now... now she wasn't sure and she hated uncertainty.
"Yeah, I have a few questions if you're free to talk. I uh- To be honest, last night kind of feels like a fever dream or something, and I just wanted to clarify some things that are a little fuzzy," Lisa nodded, offering Jennie a small smile.
Jennie looked around at the people milling about the E.R. They weren't busy, and there were more than enough doctors and nurses to cover should something happen. Making a split-second decision, she walked out from behind the desk, grabbed Lisa's arm, and pulled her toward the on-call room.
She opened the door, dragged Lisa inside, and then shut and locked the door behind her.
"Pride & Prejudice?" Lisa said, looking down at the book in Jennie's hand.
"Is that one of your questions?" The doctor countered.
"No, sorry," Lisa mumbled, shaking her head as if she needed to clear her brain. "You were at dinner with your mom, and then you came here."
Jennie nodded slowly and stayed rooted to where she was standing a mere handful of inches away from Lisa. She couldn't fathom retreating now.
"Did you just miss patching me up or something? Why else would you come in on your night off to check on me?" Lisa asked, trying to read Jennie's expression and understand what was going on in her head.
The doctor's eyes flicked down to Lisa's lips and then back up to her eyes. Jennie subconsciously wet her lips and tried to formulate some semblance of an answer.
Everything Jisoo and Crystal and her mom had told her was bouncing around in her mind, convincing her not to punish Lisa for something she wasn't doing, pushing her to get over her fear of being with someone who ran headfirst into danger, daring her to give in to the feelings she had for Lisa she'd spent these last few months denying.
"I... um..." Jennie trailed off, words deciding to fail her now when she needed them most.
"Cause you were pretty clear last month about not wanting to see me outside of the hospital, maybe not even in the hospital since you kept reminding me to stay out of your E.R.," Lisa said, swallowing thickly and forcing the words out, even though she felt incredibly unprepared for Jennie's answer.
"Do you think being subtle or being direct is better?" She asked. She knew she wasn't giving her the answer Lisa seemed to want, but she was moments from going past the point of no return, and she just wanted to know how she should go about getting there.
"What does that mean?" Lisa wondered, her eyebrows scrunching together even more.
"Do you prefer direct or subtle?" Jennie replied, her voice shaking slightly with nerves.
"Didn't I tell you that direct approaches are best?" Lisa murmured, her stomach rolling at the close proximity of Jennie and the way her voice seemed to become huskier with the last question.
Getting the answer she was looking for, Jennie went direct. She went direct and bold and in your face with it. She was done miscommunicating and missing each other. She knew what she wanted, and thanks to some motherly advice and Lisa showing back up, she knew how she could get it.
Jennie let her eyes flick down to Lisa's lips once more before she surged forward. She kissed her eagerly, her hands rising to frame Lisa's face as she kept her lips pressed against the girl's. For the briefest of moments, Lisa didn't respond and Jennie worried that she'd read this so wrong.
But then Lisa responded, and it was so much more than something. It was everything.
Lisa's entire mind went blank. Her skin heated up and tingled with each touch of Jennie's body against her own. She didn't know where to put her hands, not when she wanted to put them everywhere. So instead, they moved with a mind of their own, trailing up Jennie's sides as she kissed her back, matching the doctor's fast pace.
Jennie broke the kiss for a moment, pressing her forehead against Lisa's as she kept her eyes tightly shut. "I was here for you," she whispered into the space between their lips, her thumbs moving across Lisa's cheekbones softly. "I'm always here for you."
"I wanted you to be," Lisa admitted, brushing her fingers under the hem of Jennie's scrub top and along the base of her back.
She sucked in a stuttered breath, her eyes flying open to meet Lisa's. "Then why'd you- why'd you leave?" she asked, her voice quiet.
"Do you know how hard it is to believe that you wanted to be here for me?" Lisa sighed, catching her breath still. "I... I wanted to give you time to change your mind, just in case it was a 'she's in a hospital bed, and I feel bad for her' moment-"
Jennie leaned in and interrupted her with another kiss, this one slower and carrying with it the promise of more.
"It wasn't. My mind's made up," Jennie murmured, moving one hand away from Lisa's face and burying it in the soft waves at the back of Lisa's head.
"So, you do want to see me outside of the hospital, or is this just an on-call room at the end of your shift kind of thing?" Lisa asked, tracing a finger along the bottom half of the doctor's spine.
Jennie shivered at the sensations that such a light, innocent touch evoked within her. "Definitely outside... and inside sometimes too," she replied with a small smile. "I do have thirty minutes to kill."
"I'm really glad I didn't wait in my car," Lisa whispered, pressing her lips against Jennie's once more.
——————
Sheridan's was as packed as it always was. It was a hole-in-the-wall bar that had become a favorite for locals, a hidden gem that always seemed busy, no matter the season or time of day.
This time of year, Lisa welcomed the busyness. The crowd made the small space even warmer and homier.
She kept a hand on Jennie's back, noticing that she seemed a little taken aback by the crowded space. Lisa guided her toward the back of the bar, luckily finding a small table that was unoccupied. She let Jennie take the one seat that was still sitting with the table and snagged a free one from another group of patrons, dragging it over to the table and sitting down across from Jennie.
"Have you been here before?" Lisa asked, suddenly glad that tonight wasn't a live music night, and they could actually hear one another over the radio and other people talking.
"Never," Jennie shook her head, her wide eyes still taking it all in.
"It's kind of a local favorite," Lisa said, watching her glance around the space.
"Favorite bar for your favorite doctor?" Jennie asked with a shy half-smile, done with her perusal of the place as she moved her gaze to meet Lisa's.
"Something like that," She nodded, her smile immediately growing. She hadn't heard Jennie shamelessly flirt for almost a month, and she was relishing in every second of it now.
"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked softly, noting the color in Lisa's cheeks and the warmth back in her eyes, the ones that had been missing last night. Even if she'd cradled those cheeks between her palms less than an hour ago, unable to deny the warmth and life they held, she still couldn't get the image of Lisa, pale and shivering, out of her head.
"Good," she said with an easy smile. "Frank wouldn't let me go on any calls today, so I stayed inside pretty much the whole time. So, I'm toasty warm again."
Jennie reached across the table and trailed her fingertips across the back of Lisa's hand. She pretended to gasp and drew her hand back, shaking it slightly.
"Definitely toasty warm again," she teased.
"Wooow, who knew Dr. Jane could be corny," Lisa smirked.
Jennie blushed and dropped her eyes to the table, pushing a hand through her curls.
"That was pretty bad, sorry," Jennie laughed, her eyes lifting to meet the girl's once more.
"It was cute," Lisa said gently. "Thanks for coming to check on me last night. I should have said that then."
Jennie had to bite her tongue to keep in the immediate response, something where she would brush it off and claim it had something to do with being a good doctor. Instead, she chose to be as brave as she'd been in the on-call room a little while ago.
"I had to make sure you were okay," Jennie replied softly. "I was worried."
"If I'd known hypothermia would make the woman I'm crushing on come to see me, I would have found a frozen lake earlier," Lisa teased, immediately backtracking when she saw Jennie's lips turn down into a frown. "Kidding, kidding, just kidding."
"You better be," she huffed, feeling her heart flutter at the admission. "I can't have the woman I'm crushing on getting hypothermia again."
"I will stay away from frozen water as much as I possibly can," Lisa nodded, a smirk growing on her face as she looked at Jennie. "So... you kind of like me or something."
Jennie blushed again, dropping her eyes to where her hands were fidgeting on top of the table.
"Yeah," she hummed quietly, a smile playing at her lips. "I thought me jumping you in the on-call room was evidence enough of that."
"Just making sure. I kind of like you too," Lisa added, looking past Jennie to nod at someone behind her.
The doctor felt her brow furrow as she turned to look at who Lisa had nodded to. She saw the bartender approaching with a pint of amber-colored beer, the foam dripping down the side.
"Are you also a beer person? You look more sophisticated than Lis," he said, putting the drink on the table and slapping Lisa on the back.
"Beer can be sophisticated," Jennie grinned, enjoying the sparkle of amusement she could see in Lisa's eyes. "Do you have any North Coast Berliner Weiss?" she asked, silently thanking her older sister for being such a beer snob and forcing her to try a lot of it.
"She's a keeper, Lis. I'll bring you some. I'm Taylor by the way. Let me know if she gives you trouble," he added, ruffling Lisa's hair.
"I think she's all trouble. Thanks, Taylor," Jennie replied with a smirk.
"She's got you figured out," Taylor said, letting out a deep belly laugh as he walked away.
"Don't listen to him. He's always been jealous because I wouldn't go to prom with him," Lisa said, glaring at the back of Taylor's head.
"So you grew up here?" Jennie asked, leaning forward on her arms on the tabletop, bringing her closer to Lisa. She found herself wanting to know more about her, about what she was like in high school, about what kind of beer she liked. She wanted to know so much, so quickly, it should scare her. But surprisingly, she wasn't scared.
"Yep," Lisa nodded. "Born and raised. I think I've only left the state three times?" she guessed, scratching the back of her neck in thought.
"For what?"
"My oldest sister lives in Florida now, and my other sister lives in Maryland. I went to their weddings and for my nephew's birth," Lisa answered.
"Not an only child, then," Jennie hummed, bobbing her head as she smiled at the fondness in Lisa's tone.
"I have a little brother too, but he and my parents live in Sitka now. You don't strike me as an only child either," Lisa said.
"I have two sisters. They're both still in L.A. with my parents," Jennie replied.
"You must hate it here," Lisa laughed, nodding toward the front window of the bar.
She tilted her head to the side, keeping her eyes on Lisa and not bothering to turn and look at the snow that was piled up outside.
"Honestly? I don't," Jennie chuckled. "I expected to, don't get me wrong. I spent my whole life on beaches in gorgeous, sunny weather and when I came up here in October and it was already freezing... it was a shock for sure. But I-" she hesitated, trying to find the right words, trying to say enough without saying too much. "-I've found lots of reasons not to hate it here."
"Once you get past the cold, it can be really beautiful," Lisa said with a smile.
Jennie let her eyes trail across the firefighter's features for a moment, taking in the smile lines around her mouth and the softness in her brown eyes.
"Really, really, beautiful," Jennie murmured, a pretty blush coloring her cheeks.
"It got more beautiful in October. See, I can be corny too," Lisa added with a smirk.
"Fancy beer for the fancy lady," Taylor said, placing a pint in front of Jennie.
She had to force herself to look away from Lisa so she could offer Taylor a grateful smile.
"I appreciate it, thank you," Jennie said.
"Thanks for taking Lis out. Leaves more for the rest of us," Taylor winked.
"Stop," she grumbled, a blush heating her cheeks at Taylor's words.
Jennie laughed, the sound warm and light and infectious. As Taylor walked away with a laugh of his own, she turned back to Lisa and arched a brow playfully.
"Were you stealing all the pretty ladies from the locals?" Jennie teased.
"Absolutely not," Lisa said, taking a sip of beer and hoping that it would cool down her flaming cheeks. "He has a boyfriend right now. He's just trying to stir the pot."
"Wouldn't surprise me if you were," Jennie shrugged, playing with the label on her beer bottle.
Lisa raised her eyebrows at the doctor's brazenness. "Speak for yourself. The number of guys at work who talk about the new doctor in town..."
"But none of them are my favorite patient," Jennie pointed out before taking a long sip of her beer.
"Except Frank," Lisa said with a lopsided smile. "But he only has eyes for Doris, so you're out of luck."
Jennie snapped her fingers playfully as if she'd missed out on something. "Damn... but I guess that means a spot's opened up. I wonder who's going to fill it?"
"I happen to have lots of medical experience and unwanted opinions," Lisa said with a smirk.
"You're hired," Jennie teased with an attempt at a wink.
"Was that a wink?" Lisa asked, tilting her head to the side as she processed the adorable blink that Jennie had just shot her way.
"Straight from sunny Los Angeles, just for you," the doctor grinned.
"Well that was adorable," Lisa chuckled, practically beaming at Jennie from across the table.
She took another long sip of beer, feeling that ever-present flush in her face that always seemed to come around whenever Lisa opened her mouth.
"I want to take you out on a date," Lisa said, leaning forward over her side of the table, just wanting to be closer to Jennie, wishing there wasn't anything between them. "Not here. Somewhere quieter and with better food."
Jennie slightly choked on her sip of beer and coughed, lifting a hand to cover her mouth. She really did like that Lisa was direct and forward and went after what she wanted. She really, really did. But she just wasn't expecting her to be direct and forward when she had a mouthful of beer.
"That caught you off guard, didn't it?" Lisa asked, handing her a napkin.
"No," Jennie croaked, taking the napkin and daintily wiping her mouth. "It didn't, I just- I'm not used to direct, I guess. Even after four months of you being direct."
"I can be more subtle," Lisa offered. "Um... maybe we could see each other again at some point after this?"
Jennie chuckled and shook her head. "Direct works... and I'd like that," she replied, her voice going soft at the end. "How's tomorrow? Too soon?"
"That's a long time to wait," Lisa said with a smile.
"Okay then, how about tonight?" Jennie countered, surprising even herself with the question.
Lisa lifted her eyebrows at Jennie's response, having not expected her to match her direct, forward approach.
"I'm kind of over this beer," she said, knocking a knuckle against the pint that she'd managed to drink half of.
Jennie grinned and finished off the last of her beer, dropping the empty bottle to the tabletop.
"Where to, Manoban?"
Lisa pulled out a few bills and put them on the table before she led Jennie back through the crowded bar and out into the cold air. She helped her into her car that they'd driven to the bar and quickly racked her brain for the closest restaurant that they would enjoy.
"Moose's Tooth," Lisa said, pulling away from the curb.
——————
As far as first dates went, this had to be one of the best Jennie ever remembered being on.
It wasn't stiff, with fancy clothes and way-too-small portion sizes like Jennie was used to. Where people got all dressed up and pretended to be someone they weren't while also pretending not to be seriously hangry.
This date was comfortable and easy, with good food and even better company. It had Jennie wondering why she put this off, why she denied herself Lisa's warm laugh and sweet smile for so long.
"This was... definitely the best pizza I've ever had," Jennie declared, sitting back in her chair.
"It's a staple," Lisa sighed, dropping her last piece of crust onto her plate and wiping her hands on her napkin.
"You absolutely cannot leave that. Not finishing the crust is an indictment against the entire institution of pizza," Jennie teased.
"But it's only one tiny piece of crust," Lisa said, her smile growing at Jennie's words. "Would you like it?"
"You're really not going to finish that?" She asked.
Lisa only smirked and picked up her wine glass, taking a sip of the Pinot that Jennie had chosen.
"You really leave me no choice then," she sighed, reaching out and grabbing the discarded crust. She popped it in her mouth and shot Lisa another one of her 'adorable' winks.
"Your wine choice doesn't suck," Lisa said with a smile, enjoying Jennie's company much more than she ever thought she would.
"You sure know how to flatter a girl," Jennie chuckled.
"The last glass of wine I had was at my sister's wedding, and it was kind of awful, so that was a compliment. This is good wine," Lisa said with a laugh.
"You like it, really?" Jennie asked, narrowing her eyes a bit as she tried to gauge whether Lisa was just sweet-talking or if she genuinely enjoyed it.
"I already know you like me. I don't need to lie about wine," Lisa teased. "It's good. I didn't realize I was a red wine person."
"I would offer you another glass back at my place but... my mom's there tonight, and Rosé and Jisoo might be too. And Chae and I- well, we aren't currently speaking so," Jennie admitted with a bashful grimace.
"Excuse me?" Lisa asked, lifting her eyebrows. "What did she do?"
"Not her. It's totally a me thing. I might have gotten a little angry with her yesterday when she brought you in, and I haven't had time to apologize," Jennie sighed, clenching her jaw at the reminder of her brisk tone and harsh words.
"Not to make you feel worse, but she is the one who helped pull me out," Lisa said with a sheepish smile.
"She was also the one who let you go out there, so," Jennie shrugged, her eyes falling away from Lisa's. "I might have been a little harsh."
"Like I gave her a choice. But I wouldn't have gone out there quite so willingly if I'd known they'd been drilling holes in the ice for fishing," Lisa said with a sigh. "I'm sure your place is nicer, but we can avoid her at mine if you want. I can't promise wine."
Jennie felt her worry and her guilt over yesterday bleed away. She was instead overcome with nerves and excitement, almost able to taste the promise in the air.
"I think I'm good on wine for the night, but the change in location is too good an offer to pass up," Jennie replied, shooting Lisa a shy smile.
——————
"It isn't much," Lisa said, flipping on the light switch to illuminate the hallway connected to the garage. She was suddenly very aware that she'd left a couple of dishes in the sink and a pile of laundry in front of the washing machine.
"It's nice. Cozy, toasty warm," Jennie observed with a teasing lilt in her voice as she followed Lisa down the hall.
"It's small," the taller laughed. "Makes it feel extra toasty."
Jennie wasn't sure why she was nervous, not when they'd spent the last thirty minutes of her shift making out like teenagers in the on-call room. They'd already kissed and touched and kissed some more. She shouldn't be nervous to be alone with Lisa, to be alone with her desire for the other woman, but she was nervous all the same. She was nervous in that wonderful sort of way, and she had a feeling Lisa was too.
"Did you ask me all those questions you wanted to? The ones from earlier?" Jennie wondered, shedding her winter coat and hanging it next to Lisa's.
"I might have one more," Lisa murmured, dropping her car keys in the dish and leaning against the hallway wall. She reached forward, letting her fingers slowly run up and down Jennie's arm.
The doctor gulped, feeling fire in the wake of Lisa's touch. "What- uh, what's your question?" she stammered, her eyes locked with brown ones.
"What's your opinion on kissing at the end of a first date?" Lisa asked, glancing down at Jennie's lips for the hundredth time that night.
"Considering we started this whole evening off with a kiss, I'm not opposed," Jennie replied, her voice getting just a little bit deeper.
"Good to know," Lisa murmured, stepping into Jennie's space and catching the doctor's bottom lip in between her own. She ran her tongue along her bottom lip and trailed her hands over Jennie's back, just like she'd been wanting to do since she first met her, just like she'd done in the on-call room earlier that night.
The short woman sank into the kiss easily, like they'd been doing this dance forever. She looped her arms around Lisa's neck and dropped them onto her shoulders, bringing their bodies closer together as their kiss deepened.
Lisa stepped forward a little more, backing Jennie up against the opposite wall of the hallway. She rested her hands on Jennie's hips, letting her thumbs slide under the hem of her sweater and brush over her skin. As Jennie let out a soft sigh, Lisa just barely slipped her tongue into her mouth, smirking slightly when Jennie's tongue chased after her own.
It turned into something resembling a competition after that moment.
When Jennie reached up to pull the hair tie out of Lisa's hair and grip tightly onto the wavy strands at the back of her head, Lisa purposefully slid her thigh between Jennie's and rocked forward.
When Lisa's touch skirted higher up Jennie's sides, the doctor used her free hand to deftly unbutton the top few buttons of Lisa's shirt and run a teasing touch along her collarbones.
When one of them would skirt the boundary, would push against the next line, the other would send them both across it without hesitation.
"What's your opinion of sex on the first date?" Lisa asked, pressing her forehead against Jennie's and trying to catch her breath, her shirt almost fully unbuttoned, and her hands pushing the doctor's sweater up higher and higher.
"Have it. Definitely have it," Jennie rasped, sucking air into her lungs. She felt her stomach tighten with anticipation, a coil of desire taking root there and chasing away any lingering nerves.
Lisa stepped back, tugging on Jennie's belt loops to pull her closer. "I couldn't agree more," she husked, taking her hand in her own and leading her through the kitchen, down a long hallway, and into her bedroom.
It felt strangely parallel to have Lisa leading her into a room and shutting the door with a sense of finality, just like she'd done earlier today. It also felt strangely perfect.
Jennie was helpless to resist as Lisa led her over to the bed and gently pushed her down onto the edge of it, stepping between her parted legs with a coy smile.
"You're the most stunning woman I've ever seen," Lisa hummed, leaning down and capturing Jennie's lips with her own again.
With each kiss, they lost a little bit of hesitation and an article or two of clothing. Black ripped jeans and light wash blue jeans were discarded on the floor, a fully unbuttoned shirt and a forest green sweater joined them soon after.
With each kiss, Lisa offered a softly-worded, whispered compliment. Jennie had never heard so many variations of the word beautiful, and she'd never felt so absolutely adored in her entire life.
Laid bare beneath Lisa, with her hovering above her, with her chest heaving and want clouding her mind, Jennie felt a small smile grace her lips. A smile tinged with more than desire and giddiness. It was tinged with happiness, genuine happiness.
"This is okay?" Lisa asked, pausing all her movements to look at Jennie's eyes and make sure that she hadn't changed her mind somewhere between losing her clothes and laying down on the bed.
"Very okay," Jennie hummed, wrapping an arm around Lisa's waist and pulling her flush against her.
She hooked a leg around the back of Lisa's and rolled them over so that now she was hovering above the taller. Jennie delighted in the look of sweet surprise on her face.
"I just wanted a different view," Jennie grinned, brushing hair out of Lisa's face and tucking it behind her ear.
"This one's just as good," Lisa whispered, running her hands over Jennie's ribs.
She kept her movements still, allowing Jennie the time to explore and sinking into the way that her touch made her skin feel like it was on fire. Jennie's gaze alone made Lisa's heart race, and for a minute she wasn't sure that she would survive the night with her.
But then Jennie's hand was trailing up her legs and sinking into the warmth between her thighs, making Lisa's back arch off the bed and a moan spill from her lips. Her body reacted to Jennie's soft touches more than it had reacted to anything from anyone else ever before.
The doctor let out a throaty chuckle and looked up at Lisa through her lashes, her lips ghosting across her stomach.
"Would it be corny to mention toasty warm right now?" Jennie asked, leaving a trail of kisses up Lisa's chest as her fingers continued to draw out the most addicting sounds from her lips.
Lisa let out a breathy laugh, smirking at Jennie's teasing. She was having trouble focusing on all that she was doing. She couldn't decide whether Jennie's lips or hands were more intoxicating, but she knew she didn't want either to stop. Lisa reached around Jennie, her nails scraping slightly on the doctor's back as her hips rolled up into Jennie's hand.
"You can be as corny as you want as long as you keep doing that," Lisa husked, a completely different shiver racing through her body.
"In that case..." she trailed off, moving her mouth closer to Lisa's ear. "I'm no firefighter, but I think I'm an expert in what's hot," she hummed.
Lisa just barely caught what Jennie said, fixing her with a slightly amused look before another groan ripped itself from her chest when she felt Jennie slide a finger inside of her.
"Fuck, don- don't stop," she moaned, pulling Jennie even closer.
The other woman didn't stop. In fact, she didn't stop after making Lisa come apart for the first time. She didn't stop, coaxing moans and orgasms out of Lisa with her hands and her tongue, over and over again until she could barely even breathe.
"You're-" Lisa panted, rolling onto her side to look at Jennie. "You're greedy."
"I was trying to be direct," Jennie smirked, her tongue darting out to lick her fingers clean.
Lisa let out a huff and let her forehead fall onto Jennie's shoulder, her hand sliding down to her thigh. "Well, let me be direct now," she whispered, her lips brushing against the shell of Jennie's ear and her hand sliding between her legs.
A moan slipped out of both of their mouths. Lisa hadn't ever felt this much of an effect from feeling someone else on her fingers. She pulled her fingers up to her mouth and sucked on them, keeping her eyes on Jennie's the entire time.
"You taste amazing."
"Jesus, Lisa," Jennie husked, fisting her hands in the sheets and feeling her hips jump off the mattress, only catching air despite wishing for friction.
Lisa smirked at Jennie's reaction, at the way she clearly wanted her just as much as she wanted her. She leaned down and pressed her lips against Jennie's, then her jaw, finally landing on the soft skin along her neck.
"No marks. Low scrubs," Jennie managed, threading her fingers in the hair at the back of Lisa's head.
"Of course not," she mumbled, moving her lips down toward Jennie's collarbones, finding skin that would be covered by her scrubs. "Here?"
"Please," the doctor rasped.
"A please gets you a long way in life," Lisa whispered, repeating Jennie's words that she'd said when they first met. She gently sucked on the skin underneath her collarbone, scraping her teeth over the skin and soothing it with her tongue.
Lisa groaned against Jennie's chest as she slipped two fingers inside of her and felt her clench around them.
"Oh... my... god..." Jennie groaned.
"It's Lisa," the taller smirked, curling her fingers inside of Jennie.
"What is?" She teased, her voice hoarse and breathy and dripping with desire.
Lisa didn't need to respond. She took one of Jennie's nipples into her mouth and swirled her tongue around it, keeping her fingers moving at a steady pace. By the time Jennie's chest was heaving and her legs were twitching, Lisa had left three marks along her chest and had decided that this view was the absolute best she'd ever seen.
She led Jennie over the edge, feeling herself grow wetter and wetter with every noise that slipped from the doctor's mouth. And when she'd finally helped Jennie ride out the last of her aftershocks, Lisa realized she'd been wrong.
This was the best view she'd ever seen. A sated, spent Jennie Jane, whose eyes were fluttering softly open and closed, whose chest was heaving, whose hair was spread across a pillow, whose fingers were tangled in her sheets.
This was Lisa's new favorite view.
——————
"Lisa. Eyes on the road," Jennie hummed, her eyes locked on her phone as she typed out an email.
"Sorry, some of us are still trying to wrap our heads around the really sexy doctor who's sitting in their car," she mumbled, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of a Barenaked Ladies song.
Jennie blushed and looked up from her phone.
"You've called me sexy seven times already this morning," Jennie replied with a smile, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Lisa's ear.
"And beautiful and talented and sweet and just my type. And you like me. It's kind of unreal," Lisa grinned, pulling her eyes away from Jennie and driving through the intersection now that the light was green.
The doctor's blush deepened as she put her elbow on the center console and propped her chin on it, watching as the early morning rays of light bathed Lisa in a golden glow.
Her phone and the email to Jill were abandoned in her lap, Jennie watched Lisa bob her head to the music and mouth along to the words, the picture of carefree and joyful. Her cheeks were starting to ache because she was smiling and happy and also feeling like this was a bit unreal.
It was unreal how good Lisa was. In bed. At making her laugh. At being sweet by bringing her coffee in bed. At talking about anything and everything. At making it feel like they'd been doing this dance for ages, not just hours.
"You're going to steal all the good words. What will I have left to call you?" Jennie murmured with a teasing lilt in her voice.
"You went to Stanford. I'm sure you'll come up with something," Lisa laughed, her eyes crinkling and her cheeks aching.
She hadn't felt this happy in a long time. She realized that she probably hadn't felt this happy as an adult... ever.
Last night with Jennie had been perfect. It had been incredibly hot, full of desire and need, but also sweet and tender. It had felt safe, like coming up for air, and Lisa couldn't remember ever feeling that way before.
This morning had been better. It had started with coffee in bed and only gotten better when Jennie joined her in the shower and sat on her counter while Lisa made breakfast.
"Hmmm..." Jennie trailed off, running her finger down the bridge of her nose and tapping the tip of it. "Oooh! How about pulchritudinous? That's a big, Stanford word for you."
"I have... no clue what that means. But you just got sexier," Lisa grinned, fanning herself with one hand.
Jennie threw her head back in laughter, the rich sound bouncing off the inside of the Porsche. Her arm fell from the console, her hand resting on Lisa's thigh as she continued to laugh.
The taller's smile grew even wider at the huge laugh and the way Jennie was touching her. It felt natural, like second nature, and Lisa had an inkling that Jennie felt the same way.
"Do you think we can do something like this again?" The firefighter asked, drumming her fingers a little faster on the steering wheel, not with the beat but with slight nerves.
"Tonight too soon?" Jennie replied, repeating the same words she'd used yesterday. She couldn't help it. She wanted to see Lisa again and again and again.
"I was really hoping you'd say that," Lisa hummed, reaching down with one hand and lacing her fingers with Jennie's. "Dinner? We can go out or order in or I can sort of cook."
"Sort of cooking sounds dangerous," Jennie teased. But her smile dropped a little and she let out a small sigh when Lisa pulled the car up in front of Anchorage General. She wanted to stay in this car and not go to work. The last thing she wanted to do today was work. "How about I bring dinner over after work? I get off at 8," she added, turning away from the view of the hospital and looking over at Lisa, her green eyes a little shy yet hopeful.
"Dinner sounds good," Lisa said as she put the car in park. She turned in her seat to face Jennie, reached across the console, and ran her thumb over Jennie's cheekbone. "I don't want to go to work today," she mumbled.
"Me neither," she pouted, leaning into Lisa's touch.
"Maybe I'll have to come by sometime today," Lisa offered, leaning closer to Jennie.
"You better not show up here bleeding, broken, or needing stitches," she hummed, matching Lisa and leaning closer as well.
The firefighter shot a toothy grin at Jennie, erased the distance between them, and pressed a kiss to Jennie's lips.
"I was thinking more about stopping by with lunch or something," Lisa admitted with a blush.
"An injury-free lunch sounds perfect," Jennie replied, going back in for another kiss. "Maybe no avocado-based meals, okay?" she added with a smirk, pecking Lisa quickly and leaning back.
"I'll get someone else to do the cooking," Lisa mumbled, tugging Jennie close again and stealing one last, lingering kiss.
A loud smack against the hood of the Porsche had them both pulling apart, matching blushes on their cheeks. Jennie narrowed her eyes and peered through the windshield. Seeing who it was, she chuckled and hid her face behind her hand.
"No kissing in the parking lot," Jisoo teased, shooting a wink at Jennie and smiling at Lisa. "But can I just say, finally!"
With a wave, Jisoo headed inside, leaving Jennie still blushing and hiding behind her hand.
Lisa pressed her forehead against the top of the steering wheel, hiding her own blush but letting out a small chuckle.
"I guess that's my cue," she said, turning her head to the side to look at Jennie.
"Unfortunately," she sighed, shooting Lisa a smile. "See you later?"
"I'll text you about lunch," Lisa nodded, still feeling that same unreal feeling she'd woken up with. A feeling Jennie had inside of her as well.