No Strings Attached

Chapter Nine

Almost every night, Lisa would drop by Jennie’s hotel room to spend the night with her. She would usually come straight from the bakery where she spent her time helping her mentor to set up a new branch in downtown Tokyo. Each time, Lisa would bring a new cake or dessert along. She would make Jennie guess before she revealed the answer. Sometimes, there was a lingering scent on Lisa and it hinted at the contents of the white box Lisa brought.

They enjoyed spending time with each other in the night, chatting about random stuff. They connected with each other on an intellectual level and even shared similar views on issues. Sometimes, Jennie gave her opinions on the new recipes which Lisa was experimenting. Other times, Lisa lent a listening ear to Jennie when she was ranting about work.

Lisa always woke up before the sun rose as she needed to get to work much earlier than Jennie. Since she was coming over so often, she left a few sets of clothes at Jennie’s hotel room so that she didn’t have to go back to her hotel to change. Each time before she left the room, Lisa would always plant a goodbye kiss on Jennie’s eyelid. There were instances when Jennie was awake when Lisa kissed her but she chose not to open her eyes and continued to pretend to be asleep.

Jennie enjoyed the little gestures that Lisa did for her. Lisa was unlike the other women whom she met or slept with. Lisa made her feel wanted and her constant appearance also meant that she was not left alone at night, which was something that always bugged her when she travelled overseas for work.

Every morning, Lisa would leave a handwritten note on Jennie’s work desk in the hotel room. She knew Jennie was very stressed at work and wanted to do a little something for her to brighten up her day. It was something Jennie looked forward to after she got dressed for work.

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. - Ernestine Ulmer”

Jennie picked up the small piece of paper and kept it in her schedule book, along with the other notes which Lisa had written.

“That girl is always thinking about desserts,” Jennie said to herself. She caught herself smiling in the mirror as she took out her cosmetic bag to apply her makeup.

~*~*~*~

“Rise and shine!” a chirpy voice echoed throughout the room.

The curtains were drawn apart, allowing the morning sun’s rays to flood the room completely.

Jennie curled up into a ball and pulled the blanket over her head. A few seconds later, the empty space next to her dipped with the weight of someone jumping onto the bed.

“It’s a Saturday!” Lisa proclaimed. She shook the figure who was hiding under the blanket.

Jennie pulled down the blanket to reveal her head and gave a death glare at the smiley figure sitting cross-legged next to her.

“Precisely it’s a bloody Saturday and one of the rare ones I don’t have to report back to the office.

Why the hell do I have to wake up early for?!” Jennie roared.

“Because we’re going to a special place that’s only open early in the morning! It’s a must for all tourists to visit this place when they come to Tokyo,” Lisa explained excitedly. She proceeded to pull the blanket off the sleepy brunette and started tickling her.

“Yaaaa!” Jennie delivered a flying kick to the slim sized Lisa that sent Lisa falling off the edge of the bed and onto the hard floor.

Thud!