Loved You First (Jenlisa) COMPLETED

24

It was raining the next morning as Jennie set out for the bakeshop. She decided to walk anyway because she needed to inhale the fresh air, feel the thick, wet drops on her skin. She needed to remind herself that the life she was so excited about just two days prior was still there and waiting for her.

Truth be told, it had shaken her, the way Lillian and Marco had stumbled upon them the night before. She'd planned on handling the situation with a delicate turn, introducing the concept of her and Lisa a little bit at a time, and now that opportunity was gone. Completely blown.

But something else had shifted also.

She'd seen the situation through their eyes and what she was doing with Lisa was a big deal. Was she exactly ready for that and everything that came with it? She nodded. She was. She knew she was, so why was she now sidestepping what was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time? She amended that. Maybe ever.

She was running again. And she hated herself for it.

-

Sunday mornings at Flour Child brought in pretty steady traffic. It was one of their better days of the week as far as foot traffic went. They'd sold several dozen trays of buttery croissants, and more muffins than she could remember. They were completely out of the orange raspberry coffee cake, but Dara was at work in the back trying to make up for it. If they could keep this kind of business going in the middle of the week as well, the shop would be in much better shape financially. It was those before-work runs to Starbucks that were the difference. In contrast, the leisurely Sunday morning pace invited family and friends to luxuriate a bit more, and that meant a trip to Flour Child.

She smiled widely as she handed the customer her change, sliding the pink box across the counter to her.

"Enjoy your breakfast."

"Thanks, Jennie. See you next weekend."

And there it was. Another indicator. She blew out a breath. In just a few more days, her financial woes would at least be temporarily quelled and she could focus on revamping the shop. With the check from Siwon, she could settle her bills and maybe even have enough left over for an espresso machine, a concept she'd been tossing around in her head for a little while now.

Quaint little bakeshop or not, she needed to keep up with the big boys, and that meant fancy coffee drinks in large cups. It was time to jump into the twenty-first century and win back some of those weekday customers.

"You're lost in thought."

She raised her gaze to find Lisa smiling back at her from across the cash register. And there was that crazy mixture of feelings again. Happiness to see her. There was always that. And the undeniable guilt that the happiness brought with it, stronger now, so much sharper after the events of the night before. She didn't know quite how to reconcile the two.

"Sorry, just thinking through some things. What can I get for you?"

"Uh..." She surveyed the display case, perhaps caught off guard by the business like question. "Just coffee, I guess. I'm not really hungry."

"Coming right up." Lisa reached into her back pocket for cash. "Stop. You don't pay for things here, remember?"

"Right." She put the money away.

But Jennie understood the gesture. Because somehow, nothing felt certain anymore. Norms that once flowed easily now felt shaky and suspect right along with everything else.

She'd known it wouldn't be just the two of them in some secret romance forever, and now reality was very much present and accounted for. The world at large now intruded upon what had been just theirs, and they had to find a way through it. They could do that, right? She wished she had more confidence.