JENNIE
I wake in the morning to the sound of the tide washing along the beach. Oh, and to Lisa rambling about pineapple and ferrets.
Even though she talks nonsense in her sleep, it's hard not to smile when she's curled on her side, her arm still draped over my shoulder, my hand pressed against her stomach. It's also hard to ignore the pulse between my thighs and bite marks covering my body.
Life really doesn't get much better than this.
Blinking, I adjust to the bright yellow sun streaming in from the window, warming my skin where it cuts across the bed. I watch it bathe Lisa in a peach-hued light, and something wraps around my heart, growing tighter the longer I look at her.
Memorizing her profile, I lightly trace her cheek with my finger. Her chestnut hair against the stark white linens, eyes closed but fluttering in a dream, perfect full lips slightly parted and ready to be kissed.
For days, I've been living on a cloud, and now, I'm hyperaware of this end to what feels like a fairytale. There's even a painful twinge in my chest, and I know I'm in for a crash landing when we get back to San Diego.
Why?
Because this feels like something.
Underneath Lisa's fancy wrapping is a kind and gentle soul that feels so strangely connected to mine. Our time together has been nothing short of a revelation. I breathe in, storing every memory. Every one of her curves and dips, every small hollow. I start replaying our conversations and reliving every touch. The way she stared at me when I spoke. A million sparks lighting up her face.
No one has ever looked at me like that before.
No woman has ever made me feel the way she did.
None have ever been quite like Lisa.
Just a few more minutes here with her...
She mumbles something in her sleep, hooking a smooth leg over mine, and moves closer. When my alarm buzzes for the third time, I gently extricate myself from her grip and slip out of the bed to shower.
When I reenter the room, it's obvious we've officially slipped back into work mode. There's no chatter or affection, and Lisa is having problems looking at me.
A weird fog hanging over us. How can we possibly go back to normal after this?
Lisa huffs when she sees my lip gloss smeared on her collar and disappears into the bathroom, grumbling along like some gorgeous ogre because she can't seem to find her right heel either. Meanwhile, I have to undress and dress again because I'm accidentally wearing her bra, which is making it difficult to breathe.
When I'm fastening my sleeveless cream silk blouse, Lisa is zipping up her black gingham pencil skirt and muttering under her breath.
I smooth down my crop pants. "Still complaining?"
"Of course," Lisa replies, staring at the ground, and I roll my eyes.
On impulse, I ask, "You up for breakfast by the pool before we go to the airport?"
"I suppose," she mumbles.
I smile quietly to myself. Even though this is the 'end,' we'll share one final meal in paradise. "Well, I'm ready. I just need to get my bag from my room," I say, and Lisa lifts her head, eyes skirting the length of my body, then quickly back up. A trail of heat follows that path, and my heart begins to pound. My stupid nipples also salute her through my top.
Lisa closes her eyes at the same time as my hand flies to my chest.
I try not to laugh, but this is awful.
In an effort to avoid me, Lisa spins around and knocks into the sideboard, then rams her suitcase into the door on the way out. I fare much better, my knee only collecting the corner of the bedpost.
Unfortunately, it doesn't get much better in the elevator on the way down. A group of ten or so middle-aged line dancers wearing 'I love Tennessee' t-shirts decide to squeeze in on the fifth floor, and we end up plastered against each other in the far left corner. Lisa is against the back wall, and I'm wedged in on the side. Our own luggage actively conspiring to fence us in.
Lisa keeps her eyes fixed on the polished mirror doors. "This is like a nightmare," she mutters.
She is not wrong.
Every exhalation is tickling my neck, and she definitely cops an overhead view of my breasts which, given the slight height difference, seem to be pressing directly into her nipple line.
Oh my God.
I can feel her heartbeat. I try to find the words, but it's drowned out by her rhythmic thud. My vision starts graying at the edges, and when my gaze briefly flits down to her lips, Lisa mouths a hostile "Don't."
Suddenly, manic-type laughter bubbles up inside me over the sheer absurdity of the situation, and she rolls her eyes for like the hundredth time this morning.
I never thought I'd see the day when Lisa Manoban was rattled, especially by me, but I secretly love it. I also can't explain this free-falling happiness I'm feeling around her.
All I know is that I don't want it to stop.
~~~~~~~
A/N:
The girls did amazing in their day 2 even if it was raining 😌
Anw, I hope we'll have an awesome week ahead! Hoping for something less heart-aching dating rumor fuels huhu please Lisa? Jen? Can you guys give our heart some time to breathe? I mean, you girlies can actually give our delulu hearts us a reason or two to be happy for a bit 😋
