Chapter 16 Resolved

Lisa stared at her wife from across the kitchen entryway as she engaged in conversation with Mrs. Song and her grandfather. She had been standing there for a good eight minutes just looking at Jennie seated on the granite countertop next to the refrigerator.

She wore an oversized asymmetrical fuchsia cotton shirt that bared one deliciously tan shoulder, paired over a short denim skirt with jagged edging. Her hands were planted firmly on the countertop on either side of her hips, her shapely legs were crossed by the ankle and she was unconsciously swinging them while she listened intently to whatever the cook was saying.

The past few hours after they parted ways in Irene's apartment building felt like it's been stretched into days. Lisa was practically praying to the god of time—well, she had hoped there is one because she's never been one to pray or believe in divine intervention—to speed up the seconds so that she can leave Seulgi without feeling like a good for nothing best friend and rush home to Jennie to enjoy their newfound intimacy with hopefully no more interference.

But as it turned out, the god of time—if there is one—does not listen to non-believers such as herself when they suddenly resort to prayers to make things go their way. Seulgi was nowhere near getting better even after she got her settled in her own apartment. In fact, she became worse. Seulgi threw up just as she was about to leave which she instantly took as a bad sign health-wise and out of worry, she was left with no other option but to bring her to a doctor.

So Lisa drove Seulgi to the local hospital where one wing housed several clinics of doctors with varying specialties. She brought her in to be thoroughly examined since she doesn't really have a clue to what caused her best friends' current state of grogginess aside from what Irene told her—and her claim was close to outlandish that she was having doubts about the truthfulness of her accounts.

The lust surging in her veins for Jennie had to wait for the sake of a long time friendship. And she knew Jennie would definitely be disappointed or probably get mad at her if she just left Seulgi like that. Even Irene who never fails to express her dislike for Seulgi went out of her way to help her friend so naturally she, being the best friend, should take the extra effort to make sure Seulgi is left in a better condition.

Following medical procedures for the check-up meant waiting and waiting plus another hour or so . . . waiting for the results of the laboratory tests done on Seulgi. She had been waiting for so long that she was convinced there is indeed a god in charge of time and this god either hates her with a passion or it happens to be a fan of comedy since he's pulling quite a prank on Lisa by making her sit and wait longer than what she expected.

A crack of laughter from the three other occupants of the kitchen brought Lisa's musings to an end and she realized that her grandfather was animatedly retelling a story to an amused Jennie while Mrs. Song seem to be inputting some minor details to the old man's tale.

"She did that when she was only six?" Jennie's hands flew to her cheeks seemingly shocked by Patrick's story.

Mrs. Song rejoined. "Six and a half but I think the curiosity started at five."

A soft smile appeared on Lisa's face when she saw Jennie's eyes narrow and her nose scrunched up as if she's in doubt of Mrs. Song' words. She never ceases to entertain her with the facial expressions she manages to show depending on her mood. She can look like a four-year-old one moment whose been denied a favorite toy thus finding solace in pouting then a vixen the next that can seduce a huge number of the male population even without trying.

Quite obviously, she's included in that male population that she's unconsciously seducing . . . especially now that she's still riding on last nights' intense sexual high.

Clothed or unclothed, she has a body that unquestionably invited any man and woman's hand to touch it, a pair of russet eyes that mirror an amazing display of naiveté and playfulness but could ignite desire to any straight guys and gays that happens to stare back. And her lips—dewy, soft, perfectly shaped—she will never get tired of feeling it against her own.

Patrick nodded chuckling at the memory. "She's always been curious of the female species even though she's also one. Maybe because, she was special for having a male reproductive organ that still made her curious on the female population and you know what the funny thing is? My wife was there when the curiosity struck up that day. She ended up getting ear pinched for attempting to peek under a girl's skirt."

Lisa instantly comprehended that her grandfather was telling Jennie one of her naughty childhood days. She straightened from the wall she was leaning against, feeling suddenly indignant and wanting to confront Patrick for narrating her errant behavior as a child to Jennie.

The small movement alerted Mrs. Song of her presence and before Lisa could move another muscle, she called out to her. "Lisa! We were just talking about you."

"I heard the gist of it, Mrs. Song." Lisa drawled shaking her head at the two seniors in mild annoyance before her vision zoomed in on her wife Jennie.

Chocolate eyes raised and locked to the hazel ones. They held their gazes unblinkingly for some minutes in a silent greeting while the two older people in the room seated between the counter Jennie was perched on and the entryway where Lisa was swung their heads in both directions waiting for either to speak first.

But the couple seems to be content just staring, communicating with their eyes the things that they can't say with words. There was a spark of delight in both their eyes the moment their gazes met, coupled with a hint of knowing mischief and some other vibe that only they could understand.

And of course, there's the very apparent air of longing and desire which is slightly more pronounced in Lisa's piercing dark hazel eyes than in Jennie's chocolate orbs.

After a while, Lisa took a step inside the kitchen to get to Jennie but she never once tore her gaze from her in the short walk covering the distance that separated them. When she was close enough, she stood directly in front of her, wrapped her arms possessively around the brunette's waist while hers draped over Lisa's shoulders then the Thai woman finally uttered a quiet greeting, "Hi, Mrs. Manoban."

The small smile that tugged at the corners of Jennie's lips widened and she whispered in response, "Hi."

Lisa nuzzled their noses lazily, forgetting the presence of her grandfather and the cook that was thoroughly enjoying their show of affection. "Miss me?"

"Yup," Jennie nodded, her fingers unconsciously playing with the ends of her hair that rested on her nape. "You?"

Lisa grinned then pressed her lips to the brunette briefly. "Hell yeah."

"How's Seulgi?"

"Much better."

"That's good but someone has to be with her while she's recovering."

"I called her sister. She's with her as we speak."

A deliberate cough cut through their moment then Patrick's voice said, "We're going. It's obvious we're not wanted." It was followed by a shuffling sound, a door swinging as Mrs. Song headed off and the click of the cane hitting the tiled floor.

Without moving from the position she was in, Lisa addressed her grandfather offhandedly, "You're not wanted."

Jennie slapped her shoulders lightly but other than that, she didn't move in Lisa's embrace either. "Grandpa told me a lot about your childhood adventures."

"That's why he's not wanted."

Patrick surprisingly did not retort back to Lisa's pointed remark instead he laughed good-naturedly and ambled to exit the kitchen. Before he showed himself out, he paused by the door and looked at the couple who were back in their own little world talking in hushed tones and had zoned out the rest of their surroundings.

He smiled approvingly at the two. And for the first time in a long time, he felt very, very good about what the future will bring.

"Did you finish the paperwork?" Lisa asked when she sensed her grandfather had gone.

Jennie's brows curled in uncertainty and she pulled back slightly from the Thai woman's hold. "What paperwork?"

"Paperwork in the studio," Lisa answered, keeping a straight face when her eyes grew in alarm as it dawned on her what the tall girl was talking about.

"Oh!" Jennie breathed, hastily covering up her sudden tension with a wide smile. "Um, yeah. I did. It's finished."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" She nodded vigorously in an effort to convince Lisa of something she didn't do.

Lisa had to hold back a cackle at her futile attempt, enjoying her discomfort in trying to hold a steady gaze. If she hadn't brought Seulgi in to see a doctor and waited for hours for the results, she might have not learned that she went on a trip to the doctor as well.

Coincidentally, the gynecologist she went to was in the same building as Seulgi's doctor. When she emerged from the clinic holding a prescription and discussing it with Irene along the waiting area, she understood why she was there in the first place.

"So what did Irene mean when she said—" Lisa paused recalling what She overheard the blond girl say earlier to Jennie.

"You don't have anything worry to about anymore. The doctor said she gave you the extra strength stuff...proven effective for squashing hyperactive fishes swimming in water."

Jennie's jaw dropped in shock then closed after a few seconds when she found her voice. Those were the exact words Irene told her in the clinic. "How do—you were there?!"

"Yep. Three doors away from your gynecologist." Lisa revealed with a sly grin. "But next time tell Irene to speak in a low voice especially when she's talking about squashing my fishes."

Jennie groaned inwardly but decided to come clean since as Irene told her earlier, there really isn't any reason for her to be hiding the fact that she asked the doctor for a morning after pill because of their carelessness last night. They did not have sex to make a baby. They did it out of physical satisfaction but they lost their wits along the way and forgot to use protection.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I don't know why I felt embarrassed to tell you. This is new to me you know," Jennie apologized in a despondent tone, focusing her gaze on the edging of her skirt instead of meeting her husband's hazel eyes. "I asked for a pill prescription—the birth control kind. We forgot—"

Lisa silenced her with a kiss on the lips. She understood why the brunette was reluctant to tell her. She's never had to deal with this kind of issue before. It must have scared the shit out of her thinking that their first-time sex might have made her pregnant.

Surely, babies aren't part of the agenda when she decided to have sex with her husband and she's on the same sentiment as her.

It had alarmed Lisa too when she realized why the brunette paid a visit to a gynecologist. She wanted to smack her head on the wall for failing to think about using a condom. There wasn't even a time, as far as she could remember, that she forgot about protection. She always made sure she engages in protected sex.

She had been so focused on Jennie last night—feeling her against her, pleasuring her, making things easy for her and just the idea of her being the brunette's very first sexual partner did unimaginable things to her senses—that she completely spaced out on the matter of protection.

Jennie was momentarily stunned by Lisa's kiss but her hands that found its way inside her shirt caressed her skin soothingly, making her relax and assuring her that there was nothing to be discomfited about.

Lisa murmured against her lips, smiling at the fading pink tint that appeared on her cheeks a minute ago. "I'm sorry I forgot about it last night, Nini. It's my fault." Then her lips descended to the brunette's neck, kissing the smooth column.

"Yes, it was." Jennie sighed tilting her head to give the tall woman better access to her neck and closing her eyes to let the tingling feeling of her kisses wash over her. "Uh, Lisa . . . with the other girls before . . . you forget it too?"

"Never."

"Why did you forget last night?"

Lisa's lips kissed its way to her shoulder, nipping the exposed skin tenderly. "I blame you for that," she jested. "You made me forget."

"You made me forget too."

"I guess we're even." Lisa laughed softly, boosting her wife off the counter and capturing her lips with a hard kiss that made the brunette moan low in her throat.

But when Lisa lifted her mouth and tugged at Jennie's arm to lead her toward the exit with the obvious intention of continuing their kissing upstairs in bed, sanity came back to Jennie. She pulled back her arm to get the Thai woman's attention and voiced out another one of her pressing concern.

"Lisa, wait..." she said. Lisa stopped and gave her a confused stare. She stuttered to explain. "How—I still don't know how—Chaerin's ultimatum. I have to find out who told her about us."

Instead of looking annoyed like she expected, Lisa stepped close and smiled at her. She raised a hand to stroke the side of her face as if trying to comfort her worries. "You don't have to prove anything to her."

It was Jennie's turn to get puzzled. "But my inheritance is at stake, Lisa." She reasoned, slightly hurt that the tall woman would think so little of her problem with Chaerin. "It's not about the money. It's about getting what's rightfully mine."

"Nini, I know."

"No, you don't get it." Jennie countered quietly, shaking her head. She wants her to understand why she's worried when it comes to Chaerin. "That inheritance is the only—"

Lisa finished for her. "Only connection you have with your parents."

Jennie looked up to see her husband's smiling face but her eyes held a somber expression in them as she gazed into her worried ones. "I know." Lisa repeated, bracketing her jaw with both hands as she stroked the curve of her cheeks with her thumb. "Let me handle Chaerin, okay?"

Jennie took a moment to weigh Lisa's idea then finding no reason to refuse, she nodded bizarrely pleased that the latter understands why she beats herself up over her stepmother. Even more so that the Thai woman would take away her problems and solve it herself. "How? Do you know who told her?"

"No. But didn't you say Chaerin also knows about me getting sick?"

"Yes."

"Other than the people in this house, nobody else knows I was sick. Well, except Irene but she doesn't count and I doubt my grandfather would chat with Chaerin about it." Lisa's hand fell away from her face to run up and down her arm in a slow caress. She couldn't seem to stop touching her no matter what they're doing. "It's possible someone in this household is under Chaerin's payroll too."

"Oh crap." Jennie groaned smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand for failing to consider that possibility. Even Mino did not think of that.

Lisa chuckled while taking a hold of her hand to stop her from scolding herself and laced their fingers together. "Not exactly crap. In fact, Chaerin saved you the trouble of proving we had sex. The entire household already knows. We have Irene and Grandpa to thank for that."

"And Seulgi too." Jennie mused with a hopeful glint in her eyes, already seeing the advantage of the embarrassing experience earlier when they were discovered by the servants and Patrick. If Lisa's suspicions are true, Chaerin already knows their marriage is a done deal. "But I don't mean that I liked what happened to Seulgi . . . just how the events played out that lead to them knowing that we did what we did."

"Sometimes you talk too much," Lisa said playfully squeezing her cheek with her thumb and forefinger.

Jennie frowned. "You're lucky I like you," she announced in a haughty manner then stepped away from Lisa's hold sticking her tongue out at her.

Lisa cracked up in laughter. "I like you too, Nini. I like you in bed with me right now." It was one of her rare abilities to shift from serious to mischievous in a snap that never falls short in entertaining her. "Come back here," she said, reaching an arm out to pull her back in her embrace.

But Jennie evaded her, skirting off in the opposite direction and rounding the kitchen island so that she kept an ample distance from her husband. "I want ice cream," she announced, smiling with mischief.

Lisa wants her with her—in bed. "I want something better than ice cream," the Thai woman retorted already getting impatient, striding towards her but before She could grab her she moved around the counter again.

Jennie could see the sexual longing in her husband's eyes and her deliberate avoidance is obviously aggravating the latter. But she continued to tease, curious to see what the tall woman will do once her patience is stretched thin. "There's nothing better than ice cream. I've been craving for it since I got back."

"Ice cream is bad for you." Lisa played along but waited for a chance to catch her wife off guard so that she can grab her and pin her.

"Ice cream is sweet."

"Sex is pleasurable."

"Ice cream is comfort food. You feel good when you eat it."

"Sex is satisfying. You feel physically contented after you do it."

"Ice cream is—"

"It's fattening. Sex is an exercise only ten times more exciting."

"Well, I still want ice cream." Jennie insisted firmly. She stifled a laugh when Lisa narrowed her eyes and her plump lips stretched into a thin line as proof of her impatience.

"Hey Lisa. Jennie." Grandpa suddenly appeared in the kitchen, making them whirl around in surprise. He hovered close to the open door with a pleasant aura to his face. It was quite obvious that he heard their banter about ice cream and sex.

"Grandpa, you're still not wanted."

"Don't be rude," Jennie scolded Lisa which added more to the latter's irritation. "Grandpa, would you care for some ice cream?"

"Sure!" Patrick replied eagerly.

Lisa cursed aloud, braced her elbows on the countertop and pressed her forehead on the cool surface. She straightened after a couple of seconds and resignedly sat herself on one of the stool chairs. With a surly face, she watched Jennie take out the tub of milk ice cream from the fridge and then scoop some for her and her grandfather.

"Why did you come back here?" Lisa asked her grandfather as the old man scurried over to the table by the window, a bowl of ice cream in one hand and his cane on the other.

"I forgot to tell you two that I'm leaving tomorrow."

Lisa's ears perked up. She cast a fleeting glance at Jennie seated on the stool across her and saw that she was surprised as well. "Leaving as in flying back to