Jennie
Bambam greeted Lisa with a fist bump and a quick hug before turning to me. I blinked to life and sputtered, "B-Bambam? I mean, Mr. Bhuwakul."
"No," he said with a grin. "Just call me Bambam. Please, come in, both of you. Mina is finishing up dinner and the place smells amazing. You want to get as much of it as you can."
Lisa smacked him on the back as she pushed her way inside. I followed, knowing it was my only option, still openly staring at Bambam, stunned. I hadn't seen Bambam Bhuwakul outside of the stadium, not ever. He'd traded his football gear for a pair of sweatpants and a white tee shirt. At least I wasn't underdressed for the occasion.
"Is that Lisa?" someone called from the kitchen and a woman appeared in the doorway a moment later, a smile on her face so wide it seemed to stretch from ear to ear. Her dark eyes glinted in the light of the crystal chandelier as she pulled Lisa in for a hug, making a comment under her breath that had them both chuckling as they separated.
When she turned to me, her smile somehow brightened even further. She had beautiful fair skin that seemed to glow in the ambient light of her home and she had all the confidence of a woman comfortable with who she was. Her earrings dangled beside her cheeks as she moved towards me, arms outstretched. I braced myself for a hug much like what she had given Lisa but instead she reached for my hands, holding them out between us and smiling as she looked me over.
"So this is the Jennie Kim I've heard so much about?" she asked with a quirk of her brow and I glanced to both Lisa and Bambam who were standing nearby. Bambam was smiling, hands in his pockets, at ease. Lisa looked slightly uncomfortable, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand and clearing her throat. Has she been telling them about me? What has she said? I opened my mouth to introduce myself, though it seemed entirely unnecessary at this point, but she spoke again before I could. "She's beautiful, Lisa, truly."
Lisa cleared her throat again, cheeks turning red. I was so stunned by the sight of her radiating anything but pure arrogant confidence that I was unable to speak. It didn't seem to make a difference to Mina who squeezed my hands to force my attention back to her. "You're the one who set up the skills camp at the high school," she said with a genuine smile that reached her eyes. I nodded and her grin broadened as her voice lowered so that only I could hear. "That meant a lot to my Bambam. I won't forget it." Before I could respond, she was spinning on her heel, headed back to the kitchen. "Come on, you all!" she called over her shoulder. "I won't have slaved away just for you to let it get cold."
We gravitated toward the sound of her command like children filing to the cafeteria at lunch time. I didn't say a word to Lisa but she caught my eye and gave an encouraging smile. I don't think I imagined the nervousness I saw there. Another surprise awaited me in the dining room. We weren't alone. Three children occupied seats at the table already. One, the oldest, was a boy around ten. I imagined he was the one so into football like his father. Mina slapped his hand as he reached for the bread. Next to him was his sister, a younger girl perhaps six. She grinned up at me and giggled when I smiled back, her braided hair shaking around her face as she hid her gaze away from me. The youngest, another boy maybe four, was slamming his fork against the plate and dancing to the clanking music he alone seemed to enjoy. Mina calmly took the fork and set it just out of his reach before gesturing for us to join them.
We did. Lisa and I sitting on the opposite side of the table from Mina and the small girl. Bambam sat at the head, the four year old between him and his wife, and his eldest son sat at the opposite end, pouting over the lack of bread on his plate. In no time at all, Bambam and Lisa were talking football and Mina was asking me polite questions about what I did for the team and how I liked the city.
"Lali," the eldest boy interrupted after a time. "Could you throw the ball to me out in the yard when we are done eating?"
Lisa glanced my way but I gave her a reassuring smile. "Sure buddy," she answered and the boy went back to his dinner, much happier than before.
"Miss Kim," a small voice spoke up then from the opposite side of the table. It was the little girl. I smiled and waited for her to continue. "How many boys have you dated?"
Bambam choked on his wine. Lisa just stared, open mouthed, fork paused just before her mouth.
"Annie," Mina snapped.
"It's okay," I told her with a smile. "Four."
"That's it?" Annie asked, stunned. "But you're so old."
Bambam snorted at that, earning himself a swat on the shoulder from his wife. Even Lisa smirked.
"Maybe," I answered, restraining a laugh of my own. "But I have very discerning taste."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I don't date someone unless I really like them."
"A good way to live," Mina muttered under her breath.
"So you must really like Lali then," Annie mused. The table went silent. I opened my mouth but Mina beat me to it.
"Who wants dessert?" she asked, chair scraping on the tile below as she got to her feet.
"I'll help," Bambam said quickly, tossing his napkin down and standing to join.
"No," Mina snapped. "You stay. See if you can get your children under control. Jennie? Would you mind?"
"Of course," I answered, standing and following Mina into their beautiful kitchen. She headed to the refrigerator, heels clicking on the floor as she sighed.
"I'm so sorry for Annie," she was telling me. "When it comes to boys and dating, she's already got the curiosity of a twelve year old. Bambam doesn't know how much he's in for with her." I chuckled lightly. "It's fine," I assured her. "I take no offense at all."
She paused, turning to face me. She narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips in a whole new examination that somehow felt more honest than the others before.
"Look, I like you," she started and I braced myself for whatever but was coming my way. "Clearly, Lisa likes you. Hell, even Bambam seems to like you. But I would be remiss if I didn't give you the whole don't hurt our Lisa speech."
"Funny," I answered with a snort, moving forward to place the waiting cupcakes on a nearby serving tray. "My friends said the same thing. Only it wasn't directed at me."
She cocked her head to the side and watched as I balanced seven cupcakes onto the tray. "Lisa's a good person," she said. "I know what the media likes to say about her, the assumptions they like to make. I know the sort of reputation she's earned spending all that time with those air head models but that isn't who she really is. She's one of the good ones."
I met her gaze then, holding eye contact with her as I replied, "I know."
"And I think you're a good woman. But I know what it's like to be with one of them. A football player, a star athlete, whatever you want to call it. People start to make assumptions about you too. And they can protect you from a lot of things but not the tabloids, not the gossip," she told me.
I paused, hand hovering over the plate of cupcake. Wasn't this exactly what my friends had been trying to tell me? I sighed. Of course it wasn't easy. With the constant threat of my losing my job should anyone find out and the unending barrage of the media trying their best to discover who the girl that Lisa Manoban had hinted about in her interviews was, there was a lot against us. But was it too much?
