READY FOR LOVE | JENLISA

Chapter 14

Lisa

Jennie and I walk to the parking lot and hop into Hoony's truck. She gives me directions to her house that's fifteen minutes away from campus, and I'm not surprised when she tells me to turn into a nice subdivision and pull into the driveway of a beautiful home. It's a sizeable split level house with light grey siding and white trim and shutters. With the colourful flowerbeds, careful landscaping, and literal white picket fence, it looks like it could grace the cover of a home magazine.

"This is it." Jennie states, reaching for her backpack on the floorboard. "Would you like to come in? It may take me a minute to find that lab manual for you."

Again, unexpected excitement bubbles up in my chest. "Sure."

We both climb out of the truck and she leads me up the sidewalk to her front door. Pulling her keys out of her backpack, she unlocks the door that holds one of those decorative wreaths with a large 'K' in the middle and leads me inside. Stepping into the foyer, I note that her house is just as beautiful inside as it is out. With a relatively open floor plan, her house is homey, filled with soothing, neutral colours. Nothing is too modern or dated, everything seemingly perfect to show that it's a well lived-in family home.

"Dad?" Jennie calls out, dropping her keys in the bowl next to the door.

"Hi, honey." an older male voice calls out, and it's soon followed by the sound of footsteps. An older man comes into view, he's probably in his late forties. His dark hair is starting to grey, as well as the well-groomed, full moustache resting above his top lip. "Oh, hello." he says, momentarily surprised to find someone else in his home.

"Dad, this is Lisa Manoban, we go to school together. And, Lisa, this is my dad, Richard." Jennie introduces us.

I politely extend my hand. "Hello sir. Nice to meet you."

He gives me a warm smile, removing the reading glasses from his light blue eyes before placing his hand in mine, giving me a firm handshake. "Trust me, kiddo, I know who you are. You sell me a lot of jerseys."

It takes me a long moment before I get it all to click.

Kim. As in, Kim Sporting Goods.

I nearly smack myself for not realising it sooner. Kim Sporting Goods is the largest local sporting goods store. They sell and make the team's jerseys and apparel. Richard must be the owner. I let out a soft chuckle. "It's my pleasure."

"I'll tell you, kiddo, I've seen you play a handful of times. With how well you play, I wouldn't be surprised if I find your name printed across the back of an official NFL jersey in a couple of years." he states, clearly impressed by me.

I can't help but grin. "That's the plan, sir."

Her father launches us into a full blown conversation about football, and I feel bad for Jennie, not really knowing how to engage in the conversation. She stands patiently though, listening to us talk about previous seasons and tactics. If this was anyone else, I'd blow them off in a heartbeat to give her back my attention, but I'm definitely not about to do that to her father in his own home.

Once the conversation dies down, Jennie cuts in to let her dad know that I came here to drop her off and grab something for class from her. As soon as I say goodbye to her father, she leads me up the stairs to her bedroom.

Her bedroom is almost as I pictured it. Neat and tidy with white walls and furniture, a powder blue bedspread that matches her backpack adorning her bed. She walks in and drops her backpack at the foot of her bed before walking over to a large bookshelf, skimming. "It should be in here somewhere." she mutters to herself.