La Fleur D' Amour || JenLisa

LA FLEUR D' AMOUR 4

Open House was the most stressful night of Jennie's year. Yes, even more stressful than parent-teacher conferences. Not only did she have to impress the parents of her students, but she also had to show that yes, they had been doing good work all year, while also making sure her students were on their best behavior all at the same time. It was hell.

Parents were very judgmental, and they had a lot of questions for Jennie. The most annoying part was the handful of questions that weren't about the work they were doing or the things their children were learning but were about Jennie's own personal life...

"Is there a Mr. Kim in the picture?"

"Why aren't you married yet, dear? You're a lovely young woman."

"Weren't you engaged when we met at parent teacher conferences? Whatever happened to him, I'm sure he was a fine young man."

Jennie had thought she left her personal life behind when she had one last talk with Kai, but apparently not. She wanted to scream, but miraculously kept her composure until the parents and students all left for fifteen minutes to visit the music teacher.

As soon as the last soul was out of her classroom, Jennie leaned her back against the blackboard, closed her eyes, and counted to ten. Then she buried her face in her hands and let out a loud, frustrated yell.

"Am I interrupting?"

Jennie's heart skipped a beat. She knew that voice.

"Lisa," she said, looking up and finding the woman that she hadn't seemed to be able to get out of her head the last three weeks. Her hair was tied back in a bandana and she wore high waisted jeans, combat boots, and flannel with the sleeves rolled up over a dark wash t-shirt. Her face lit up when Jennie said her name. She was holding a bouquet with a mixed array of flowers. It looked unplanned and sporadic, but somehow all the different pieces were composed into something beautiful.

"Everything okay, love?" Lisa asked, stepping through the open door and into the classroom. Jennie's heart fluttered at the simple term of endearment. That was going to keep her up at night, she just knew it.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Parents are just... stressful is all. But that's not important." Jennie shook her head and turned her attention to Lisa. Her hand came up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and she eagerly cocked her head to the side. "What-um, what are you doing here?"

Lisa held up the flowers, her cheeks flushed lightly pink. She walked up to Jennie until she stood right in front of her and, without breaking eye contact, set the vase down on the table next to them. Jennie swallowed, the breath caught in her throat at Lisa's sudden proximity. She had to look up ever so slightly to meet Lisa's eyes, being a few inches smaller.

"Um, you mentioned being stressed about Open House tonight," Lisa muttered. She seemed a bit nervous. Jen had never seen Lisa nervous before. "We had some extra flowers lying around at the shop. I thought I'd throw them together and bring it by. I hope this isn't a bad time."

"No, it's-it's perfect," Jennie said quickly. She glanced down at the array of flowers and smiled. "They're beautiful."

Lisa shrugged, sheepish. "It's nothing."

Jennie wasn't sure if it was her imagination or wishful thinking, but it felt like Lisa shifted, leaning into her space, and lingering there for a moment. Jen's breath was shallow as her eyes studied how Lisa's face looked this closely. How the glow of the fluorescent lights reflected in her brown eyes, the curve of her nose, the light dusting of freckles that was really only visible from this proximity, and her red lips that Jen wanted nothing more than to-

"You seem busy so I best be off," Lisa said quickly, starting to lean away, and Jennie tried to hide her disappointment as the space between them grew. "But I do hope the flowers could brighten your day a bit."

She turned to leave and, well, Jennie wasn't quite sure what came over her. "Wait," she said, and reached out to grab Lisa's hand on her own.

Lisa's hand tensed for a moment before relaxing at Jennie's touch. Her hand fell open and Jennie was able to intertwine their fingers and rub her thumb gently across Lisa's knuckles. She let out a soft sigh of contented relief at the simplest touch.

Lisa's eyes were lit up in surprise, but she didn't shirk away from Jennie's touch. In fact, she watched Jen with a look of content, yet curious wonder in her eyes, like she couldn't quite believe what had just happened. Jennie felt vulnerable under Lisa's watchful eyes and nervously averted her gaze, looking down at the floor.

"I'm sorry, I-" Jennie cut herself off and cleared her throat, trying to buy herself time, still trying to think of what to say. She felt Lisa squeeze her hand in reassurance, giving Jennie that last bit of confidence she needed. "I hope I haven't misinterpreted anything here."

Lisa was quiet for a moment as she processed Jennie's words, then slowly shook her head. "No," she whispered. "No misinterpreting."

"Good, good," Jen muttered. She fidgeted nervously with her other hand, trying to build up the courage to continue. She took a deep breath. "So, I've never done this before, but I am... recently single."

Lisa chuckled at that, and the sound helped ease Jennie's nerves a bit. She stopped her fidgeting with one hand and her shoulders relaxed. She found Lisa's eyes as she spoke.

"Do you want to get a coffee sometime?" she blurted out before her nerve faltered.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "You, a Korean-American and your coffee," she muttered. "I never saw the appeal, but... I suppose I could make an exception. Just this once."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes," Lisa laughed. "I'd love to." She dropped Jennie's hand all too suddenly, and Jen's hand felt empty, like there was a piece missing now. But Lisa reached into her pocket and fished out a small piece of paper. "My card," she explained, setting it down on the table. "So, you know where to find me."

"Okay," Jennie said, nodding her head excessively. She bit her lip, trying to suppress the radiant grin that was bursting from her lips to no avail. She was bursting with joy and didn't care if the whole world sees.

Lisa lingered for another moment, watching Jennie with the same hungry curiosity as before. She pursed her lips, then stepped back. "I'll see you soon, Miss Kim."

"Thank you again, Lisa," Jennie said. "For the flowers." Lisa saluted as she backed out the door and disappeared.

Jennie's heart thudded erratically in her chest. Did that really just happen? She never imagined she could be so brave, but ever since she ended things with Kai it was like Jennie Ruby Jane had died and now she felt like a whole new person as Jennie Kim. And this new Jen knew exactly what she wanted.