HOW YOU LIKE THAT | JENLISA

Chapter 32

Jennie

I located Lisa in the horse stables. It was too hot outside, so I'd prepared a jug full of fresh lemonade. I told her that she could have it when she was feeling tired but she ignored me and concentrated on the work at hand, so I placed the tray on an empty crate nearby and settled down on an upturned bucket watching her as she worked on her favourite brown coloured horse named Star, who had cute silky fringes covering its forehead.

She was only wearing her tank top, and a pair of jeans that rode low on her hips. Her muscles flexed as she lathered the horse with shampoo, and that was a sight for sore eyes.

I didn't really have a reason to complain.

It was nice to see Lisa concentrate on something that she loved doing so much, whether it was the playing with her toy trains, or fixing those remote control cars or tending to the horses.

The sun was beating down harshly; the birds chirped in the trees nearby, it was a lovely day and the mansion looked something right out of a fairy-tale story. Only, it was anything but a fairy-tale. The darkness and horrors inside this mansion were simply unspeakable.

I tried my best to stop myself from thinking of the negative side and concentrate on the positive, like how Lisa's hair had streaks of gold in the sunlight or the way she'd smile when she was doing the things that she loved. Drops of sweat trickled down her body, and I stared at her, totally fascinated.

Stop it, Jen!

There's no way that Lisa would even have liked me if she had a choice. She was way out of my league, and not to mention, I was employed by her family... more like kidnapped, so what would my attraction towards Lisa be called? Stockholm syndrome? I didn't think so. Lisa was every bit a victim in this family as I was.

"Do you want me to leave?" I asked her.

Lisa probably thought that I was a hindrance, so I could just walk out here and observe her from afar. She turned to face me. "Stay."

"Well, can I at least help you bathe him?" I asked.

She didn't answer for an entire minute and I thought she was back to ignoring me again when she said, "Okay."

I took a generous amount of shampoo in my palm and began scrubbing the horse. The texture of the horse's mane felt soft under my fingers. "Hmm... this feels relaxing. He's really sweet."

"I helped Star's mother... through labour when he was born." Lisa said proudly, like a vet who'd delivered a healthy baby.

Pretty sure this was the longest sentence that she'd said to me in a while. I'd noticed since I'd stopped giving her the medication, her speech patterns had improved.

"I see. I would love to watch the process someday as well."

Lisa shook her head. "You'll be disturbed."

"Trust me. What I've been through so far in this house, I don't think anything else will disturb me for a very long time."

Lisa froze, with her brush stopping mid-scrub. She turned to me. "I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "No, Lisa. It's not your fault."

Tension filled the atmosphere. And Lisa didn't need to feel guilty for Nichkhun and Sorn's sins. Even though she was their older sibling, she wasn't to blame for what was going on in this household.

To make the situation lighter, I splashed the water from the bucket at her.

Lisa stared at me in complete bafflement and for a second, I thought she was going to be angry about it, but a moment later, I stood there bewildered until I was sprayed with a water hose.

And the sound of Lisa's laughter rang in my ears. It was one of the nicest laughter that I'd ever heard, a rich, deep tone that I could never tire of listening to.

I grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and threw it towards her. She walked towards me slowly, with the hose still in her hands. I took a few steps back and made a run for it, until I realised that I was trapped completely.

Lisa's eyes were mischievous as she approached me like a predator hunting for its prey until she grabbed me with her right hand and sprayed more water all over me.

"Oh God!" I laughed, "Stop it!" I tried to push her away, but she wouldn't budge.

I snatched the hose from her hand when I saw the chance and did the same to her, so now she was drenched like me too. I giggled, "Serves you right."

My giggles started fading when she inched closer, until I was sandwiched between the wall and her. And I was aware of how the thin fabric of my dress clung to my body, outlining the off-white bra that I was wearing underneath, not to mention the dress sticking to my body below the waist and highlighting every shape. By the looks of it, Lisa had noticed it too, because her eyes kept darting from my chest to my lips. She stared at the top button of my dress as if it bothered her.

I was lost in her intense gaze when her lips met mine in a slow caressing kiss. Her mouth was insistent over mine as she was silently seeking permission for more. She smelled of something like sunshine, and lemon mixed with the twinge of her unique scent that came after a day of working in the stables. I moaned, unable to let go or tell her that what we were doing was wrong. She kissed like someone who'd lost practice at it, but knew exactly what she was doing.

I felt myself falling deeper and deeper, like I was being pulled by an ocean wave. My hands went into her soft brown curls, and her grasp over me tightened. Her tongue moved desperately inside me.

I pulled away enough to say, "Lisa... we can't."

But she was too far beyond to listen to what I had to say. She was breathing hard and staring at my lips. She pressed her fingers on my swollen lips. "Jen. Tomorrow. Same place."