Pure Connections

Epilogue

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

     

      Delayed flights had always been Lisa's least favorite aspect of flying. Hours spent in freezing airports, the monotony of the announcements, the restless thrum of her body from being made to sit in a single spot instead of delving deeper into all that awaited her. Reclined on a chaise lounge outside her rental villa in Maui, gusts of salty air rolling in from the ocean to rustle the towering palms flanking the covered poolside, this twenty-four-hour delay felt like a minor inconvenience, if not an outright blessing.

      The rhythmic strokes of Jennie freestyling laps up and down the pool echoed a reposeful resonance Lisa never knew she cherished until now. She lowered her phone to the aqua-colored cushion of her lounger, relinquishing her half an hour scheme of responding to comments on her socials in favor of watching Jennie swim. Eight months and the compulsion hadn't waned—this arbitrary, crushing need to stop and remind herself that by some twist of fate she'd crossed paths with the most incredible person while they were both near 8,000 miles from home. The sheer implausibility of it still made her heart race, still made her crave Jennie in ways that made her flush and burn and ache... even after a long weekend of picturesque drives along Hana Highway, roaming Haleakala Park, getting too close to its volcano, then taking each other apart on just about every inch of their stunning beach front villa.

      Last night, when the moon hung high, blanketing the ocean in its silvery glow, Lisa had held Jennie from behind, face buried in the crook of her neck, a lump lodged in the back of her throat when she murmured, "I want this forever, Jen." It could've been the weight of their first trip together—a three-day Valentine's getaway—or the glamor of standing beneath the stars, or all of it. When she drifted off with the press of Jennie's skin against hers, she dreamed she'd slipped a ring onto Jennie's hand instead of the tennis bracelet she'd bought months ago. Timing was everything. Maybe it was too soon, but Lisa knew unequivocally, inevitably, she would marry Jennie Ruby Jane Kim.

      Jennie drifted to the surface, both hands smoothing her hair back before wiping at her eyes. She leveled her arms against the pool coping, chest pressed against them, accentuating her cleavage in an already tempting bikini, skin slick and sun kissed. "I can feel your eyes on me beneath the water."

      Lisa's eyes tracked a path from the droplet of water rolling past Jennie's collarbone, along the soft swell of her breasts, before seeping into the black fabric of her swimsuit. Her brain processed it like a breadcrumb trail left solely for her lips. "Can you?"

      One corner of Jennie's lips ticked up. Her eyes gleamed in a dead giveaway that she'd discerned Lisa's train of thought before it had even fully materialized. "You're supposed to be working."

      "I am. I was. I will?" Lisa released a soft breath, giving up on the technicalities to speak the words dancing on the tip of her tongue. "Come here."

      "Stop it."

      "Stop what?"

      "That...thing." Jennie's laugh came as a breathless exhale. "The one where your voice drops and you look at me like that, and suddenly I feel tingly all over."

      "Jennie...come here."

      The moment stretched with their eyes locked, building the intensity of Lisa's anticipation and breaking Jennie's resolve—the flush creeping up her neck, parted lips and visible shift in her breathing all the encouragement Lisa needed. Jennie braced her palms on the edge of the pool, pushing herself out of the water, all grace and seduction when she twisted to sit against the cool concrete. She glanced over her shoulder, one hand wringing water from her hair with a deliberate leisure that had Lisa's mind wandering... Harvesting memories of the distinct whine in Jennie's voice when Lis pulled her hair the slightest bit during sex. The way she clenched and gripped, nails digging into Lisa's skin with delicious abandon. She stood, water droplets rolling down her taut abdomen, drawing Lisa's gaze as she slipped her fingers beneath the V of her bikini and adjusted it. Purposeful in every motion, every stride that brought her closer. As intrigued by being watched as Lis had always been with watching her.