Half an hour later, Lisa returned home from bringing Jisoo to her house. Inside her bedroom, she threw her shirt on the bed and thought about how relaxing a long hot shower sounded. It had been a long, eventful day, and all she wanted to do was feel the spray of hot water on her aching muscles. Kicking off her shoes, she opened the bathroom door.
What she found on the other side was the last thing she expected. With her back to her stood Jennie, drying her wet, naked body off with a fluffy white towel. For an unknown reason, Lisa couldn't peel her eyes away. Jennie turned around, drying her face and unaware of her presence, giving her a full-frontal view of her body.
Her breath caught in her throat, and Lisa knew that she should look away, but she could not bring herself to do it. She caught sight of a tiny tattoo on the front of her right hip ... an angel. Lisa did her best to keep her eyes on the tattoo rather than her more private areas.
"Oh my god!" Jennie exclaimed, quickly covering herself from her gaze with her towel. "Lisa, what are you doing in here?"
"I-I didn't realize you were in here, I just got back," Lisa told her, turning her eyes to the ceiling. "I'm sorry."
Jennie was shaking, but not from being cold. "Could you leave me alone? This is kind of a private thing."
"Yeah, yeah. Of course." Walking out of the bathroom, Lisa shook her head in disbelief. And she knew that when she went to sleep later, her dreams would be of Jennie's curvaceous body and the tiny angel tattoo.
*****
The wind whistled outside, knocking tree branches against Lisa's bedroom window. She found the sound soothing; she always loved a good storm, even as a child. Growing up, Lisa would sit in front of the window watching the lightening as it lit up the otherwise black sky.
A knock at the bathroom door disrupted her musings. "Come on in," she invited, tearing her eyes away from the brewing storm outside.
The door opened, and Jennie entered, wearing a worn yellow robe. "Hope I'm not interrupting you."
"Nope. Just looking outside," Lisa told her, shaking her head. "What's going on?"
Jennie glanced down. "Nothing. Forget I came in here." She turned to leave.
Lisa reached out to touch her. "What is it, Jennie? Is it because of what happened earlier? Look, I'm really sorry about walking in on you like that. I guess I'm not used to sharing a bathroom with someone. I didn't set out to embarrass you."
"I'm not embarrassed, Lisa. It's just that...well, you've seen all there is to see of me. Now I want to see you."
Lisa stood in shock; she couldn't move. "You want to *what*?" she wasn't sure if she'd heard her correctly.
Jennie took a few steps closer to her. "It's only fair," she said, her voice becoming seductively low. "Come on, it isn't like we're breaking any laws. We *are* married, after all."
"You want me to get undressed?"
"What? You don't want to? Are you ashamed?" she teased.
Once again, she shook her head. "Not at all."
Jennie smiled knowingly. "Oh, I get it. You don't want to be alone. That's okay, I don't have anything to hide anymore." She brought her hands to the belt of her robe and untied it. Then she let the garment fall the ground. "Better?"
"I..." Lisa did her best to keep from staring at her, but she couldn't. And she didn't know what it was about Jennie Kim that made her act like a teenager with raging hormones. She affected her the way no other woman before had ever done.
She could see where her gaze was locked: on her tattoo. "I see you noticed my tattoo. Do you like it?"
"It... it's very nice," she stuttered.
"I thought so. It's an angel, I got it right after my parents died. They never would have let me get one when they were alive, so I got one as a tribute to them a week after the accident. Jisoo has one, too." Jennie took her hand, outstretched her pointer finger, and placed it on the tattoo.
Her finger took on a life of its own and traced the ink outline along her hip. It was all she could do to keep from looking at the rest of her body. "Did it hurt?"
"A little. This is fate, Lisa. I have a tattoo of an angel and a wife with the face of an angel. Someone up there is telling us this is meant to be. And I'm a firm believer in fate and destiny."
In one swift motion, she had Lisa backed up against the wall, a wicked smile across her innocent face. She placed her finger on her lips, running it down her jaw to her neck, then across her firm chest and stopping when she reached her boxer shorts. With a hand on either side of her waist, Jennie pulled off the only garment her husband wore. Once she stood naked before her, she looked her up and down with appreciation.
"Exactly the way I pictured you," she commented. "But it seems like a waste, you know? For the two of us to be here like this and not give in. I mean, think about it. We're both young and relatively good-looking, why shouldn't we make the most of it? Obviously, we are attracted to one another if this is any indication. Why should our marriage be in name only? It isn't right. Three years from now, do you want to look back in regret on what you and I could have shared? I know I don't."
"I don't either," agreed Lisa. "But we shouldn't."
"Why not? Don't you want me?"
Her heartbeat quickened. "More than you'll ever know." she bent her head down, taking her lips in a passionate kiss and pushed her body to flush against her. Jennie's arms wrapped around her neck, and she began to lead her to her bed.
With a grunt, Lisa awoke, unconsciously moving her arm to the left side of the bed to feel for Jennie. What she found was the cold mattress instead, and it left her disappointed. 'It was just a dream,' she thought. 'A very nice dream. But I can't see Jennie doing any of those things. It's so not like her.' Sitting up in bed, Lisa rubbed her eyes and then found the bedsheets tented around her waist. 'Just great.'
Climbing out of bed, she put her sweatpants on and went downstairs for something to drink. she poured herself a glass of milk, then took a seat at the kitchen table to do some thinking. 'What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I having these fantasies about Jennie? I can't be having feelings for her, can I?'
"What are you doing up?" a voice asked her.
Lisa looked up from her drink, seeing Ella standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "Ella, I didn't see you there. I was just thinking. I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No, I was thirsty, and I saw you sitting there. What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
"Nah. I had a strange dream. Needed to think."
Ella got herself a glass of water and sat down across from her. "And so rather than waking up Jennie, you decided to come down here and think alone?"
"Something like that."
An awkward silence followed. "Lisa, I guess I owe you an apology for the way I've been acting. I have been really mean to you, and you don't deserve it," Ella apologized.
"You've been going through a rough time of it lately. I understand that."
Ella shrugged her shoulders. "That's no excuse. You've been so nice to us and given us a lot, especially Jisoo. And I can see how happy you make Jennie. Her entire face lights up when you come into the room."
"It does?"
"Totally. Jennie did something so unexpected when she married you, and it threw me."
Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Why's that?"
"Jennie's the last person in the world to run off and marry someone she's only known for a week. We all figured Jisoo would be the one to do that, but never Jennie. I guess you could call her a hopeless romantic. Saving herself for Mr. Right, but always meeting Mr. Wrong. Well, until she found you," Ella said. "Even if you two don't always act like you're married all the time."
"I wasn't aware I came as a shock to everyone."
"That's okay. We like you. So far."
Lisa laughed. "I hope you continue to like me. Although I want to warn you, I don't know how to deal with teenagers. As you can probably tell."
"Yeah, I've noticed. But that's okay. Just keep making Jennie happy. Lisa, do you love her? Really, truly love her with all your heart?" she wanted to know.
"What's not to love about her?"
"I don't know. Jisoo says you two are perfect for each other. And I think she's right for once."