Chapter 21 Unspoken

"The tea bush is pruned and harvested, and its height maintained at about three feet. This tea bush is the standard for most of today's tea cultivation due to its richer and fuller leaves."

Lisa grunted in reaction, making the brunette know she was still listening to her lecture about tea.

It was a Saturday and normally, they should be outside enjoying their time with Lisa's cousins and the rest of the Manoban clan, but no, they were currently inside the library, adjacent to Marco's home office, discussing about tea.

Jennie was tasked to educate Lisa on anything and everything about tea while Lisa herself should listen and get everything in her head that's related to their subject of tea.

Why?

That's the part Lisa hated because she had no say in the matter that her father and grandfather decided on early that morning while they were enjoying breakfast in the gardens.

"Go to the farm on Monday, Lisa. You have to see firsthand how the processing works. And you need to meet all the people who work for you there," Marco had said, or more like ordered, in the midst of a happy conversation about non-consequential subjects that everyone on the table can give an opinion to.

At first, laughing at Adam's joking remark about a messed-up Nursery Rhyme involving Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf, Lisa thought she heard her father wrong or that whatever he's saying wasn't directed to her. But her grandfather seconded the spur of the moment decision. "Stay for a week or longer than that. You have to make sure when you leave the farm you already know what there is to know about tea like it's the back of your hand."

She objected of course. She doesn't want to go to the farm and spend more than a week there, waking and sleeping with thoughts of tea leaves—even if she knows her father's decision to send her off is for a very valid reason business wise.

"Dad," Lisa groaned and placed her knife on the table, loosing her appetite and the jovial mood she was riding on since yesterday. "I can't—" She slightly tipped her head in Jennie's direction who was seated to her left. "Not right now."

"I'm sorry, my daughter," Marco sighed apologetically. He understood his daughter's reluctance to leave Jennie but the decision for her to go to the farm is in the best interest of the business and with the upcoming opening of the new restaurant, it's a must for Lisa to be well educated on the industry of tea. "But you have to. The people there should know you are interested to learn about what they do."

"Ask her to come with you," Patrick suddenly suggested. "Just be sure to learn about tea when you're there and not spend all your time exploring her anatomy."

Patrick received a mild reprimand from Alicia for the intrepid remark but Lisa had already ignored them, turning her attention back to Jennie who was having a lively chat with her other relatives while enjoying her breakfast of caramel waffles and fruits. She gently squeezed the brunette's hand that was resting on the table next to her to gain her notice and when she did, she whispered Patrick's suggestion to her ear.

But to her disappointment, Jennie couldn't come with her to the farm. She explained with the same regret Lisa was feeling that she has prior commitments for the entire week she cannot back out of. Well, she can but she risks being sued for breach of contract.

So they ended up in the library. Jennie had been talking tea for nearly an hour while Lisa, every now and then, would ask questions about some points that aren't as clear. But it didn't really mean she was interested at the moment to know about tea.

"Soil and weather affect how the tea plant is grown, right?" Lisa asked half-heartedly, leaning against the backrest of the small sofa they were seated on and flipping through the glossy pages of the book that had pictures of tea leaves, tea farms, tea processing equipments and the like. She was just glad Jennie is with her, next to her with the brunette's legs stretched out over her lap while sharing her knowledge on tea.

"Altitude is a factor as well," Jennie informed sounding as bored as Lisa was. The brunette doesn't want her gone for a week. She'll miss her. "Some teas crave high mountains and cool mist, while others grow better in lower terrain. Most premium quality teas grow at higher elevations, where mountain mist and dew shield the plants from direct sunlight. This humidity helps protect the leaves during the cycle of each day, maintaining a temperature that allows the leaves and buds to develop and mature at a slower pace."

God! One week—or more—that's too long. Just the thought of the week to come without being able to see Lisa is making Jennie depressed. But what can she do? It's not as if Marco and Patrick want to separate them on purpose. They have a compelling reason behind the decision and having grown up in family where business is an integral part of daily life, she knows sacrifices should sometimes be made for the good of the business.

"What's the difference between loose leaf and tea bags?" Lisa inquired still flipping pages to look at pictures while her free hand absentmindedly stroked Jennie's lower legs.

The nerd in her makes her answer most of the Thai's questions in an instant. Not once did Jennie pause to think or consider what she will say. "Loose-leaf teas are usually made up of whole leaves or broken leaves, while tea bags are usually filled with fannings or dust. During processing, raw tea leaves are graded from best—the bud and the first two leaves of the shoot—to worst which are fannings. Many tea connoisseurs consider brewed whole-leaf tea the best tasting. A whole leaf does have more surface area for water to extract the flavor characteristics of the tea. On the other hand, tea bags made from fannings and dust doesn't have much surface area for this extraction."

Yet, even though Lisa is amazed by her wife's familiarity of tea, she cannot be bothered to appreciate it at the moment because she keeps thinking of the Monday to come when she would fly off to the farm without her.

"How about Orange Pekoe? I've been hearing it often when people are talking about tea. What is that exactly?" Lisa will miss her. No doubt about it. But there is another feeling that's equally prevalent . . . it's the thought of being apart and not knowing what will happen while they're miles away from each other . . . like what had happened to her and Niki.

Much as Lisa hated to think of Jennie in that way, she can't seem to stop her mind from worrying about what lays ahead. Call it learning from past mistakes or whatever but, married or not, she can no longer afford to be complacent or so assured that what she left with is the same when she comes back.

Jennie shifted slightly, adjusting her hips a little to a more comfy position. Her interest on tea and its processing is slowly developing into hatred. "Many people think that it is a special kind of tea but the term Orange Pekoe is only a grading measurement of the tea leaves' size and condition."

Lisa nodded slowly then closed her eyes, brows creasing while she massaged her forehead as if to remedy the onset of a headache. When she let up on the massage and opened her eyes, she snapped the book shut and carelessly tossed it to the floor next to the sofa.

Swinging her gaze over at Jennie who remained unusually overcast as she rested the back of her head on the armrest of the sofa, Lisa sighed heavily and gently pulled the brunette up so that they were staring face to face and Jennie straddled her lap.

"I don't want to leave," Lisa quietly admitted, reinforcing the somber look on her doll-like handsome face.

"But you have to," Jennie replied in the same soft voice, the sadness in her eyes matched his.

Lisa shook her head, while her thumb brushed across Jennie's plump lower lip in a gentle but possessive caress before stroking up the angle of her cheekbone and then she rephrased her words. "I don't want to leave you."

That made Jennie smile. It wasn't a big one but Lisa could tell she was pleased to hear what she said. One hand reached up to cover the Thai's hand that was laid against her cheek and the other rested over her broad shoulder, lightly squeezing it.

"I will miss you too," Jennie averred softly.

With eyes that suddenly turned dark, Lisa held her chin steady for her kiss. "I will miss your gummy smile, your gorgeous face, your laugh, your company . . . I will miss you," she stated in a slow but firm and clear voice, letting Jennie know how seriously she will be missed by the former.

Jennie's heart gave a lurch as she carefully observed Lisa's face. Is that the look of a woman in love? Her face solemn, her hazel eyes roaming the features of her face as though she was memorizing every line, every nuance she had and there was both awe and pleasure in the brown depths as the Thai looks at her that could only be likened to someone who's in love.

But then, what does Jennie even know of how a woman in love would look? Nothing. There's no previous experience, past love or lover to base it on. Probably what she's seeing on Lisa's face could be just what she says . . . the look of a woman who will be missing her wife.

Yet, Jennie hopes that somehow it's more than just missing her.

I love you.

The brunette gasped faintly at the sudden thought in her head and her eyes widened a bit, which Lisa merely took as a natural reaction to their closeness.

Oh my god! I love her.

The past months, the events that took place between them, the progression of their relationship—from ignoring each other to being friends then to flirting and eventually to being like a real married couple—and the rollercoaster of emotions she felt during those times up until this moment flashed in her mind and she finally realized and accepted . . . she does . . . she fell.

Jennie has fallen in love with her husband.

Does she feel the same?

Instead of going for her juicy lips, Lisa brushed her lips against her wife's temple first then she kissed across her forehead and down to her cheek then skimmed the delicate line of her jaw.

A muffled laugh escaped from Jennie as she angled her head to give Lisa better access to her neck. It was a laugh of both wonder and a giddy unexplained feeling in the pit of her stomach over the startling insight to what her heart has been trying to tell her for so long.

"What?" Lisa asked, pulling back a little, surprised by her reaction.

"If you want to let me know how much you'll miss me, better improve on your aim, Lisa. My lips are still in the same place as before," Jennie retorted, mildly joking. Her clear brown eyes looking at the Thai with amusement and unknown to her, love.

Lisa's dark hazel eyes registered some confusion before it was quickly replaced by a desiring look the same time as her mouth crashed down on her smiling ones, failing to notice the change in the way Jennie was gazing at her.

"You're trying to suggest something, Nini." Lisa said with a girlish smirk against the brunette's semi parted lips. "I can sense it. We can, you know. We're alone in a stuffy library."

Jennie smiled into the kiss but deep inside she was wishing, hoping for a sign or anything at all to give her a clue as to what the Thai may be feeling for her. "Don't we have to abide by your parent's rules? This is their house."

"On the contrary, they are quite lax when it comes to me and you." Lisa's enjoying their teasing as much as the kissing itself. "We can do whatever we want . . . for as long . . . as we please."

Jennie hands glided up from Lisa's chest to go around her neck. "That's what we did last night," she said, unconsciously pressing the lower part of her body against her.

"That was last night." Then, Lisa kissed her hungrily, moving her mouth with urgency and fierceness to make her moan low in her throat and respond by kissing the Thai back with equal passion.

Lisa thrust her tongue inside the warm crevice of Jennie's mouth, retreating then plunging back in repeatedly until she felt delirious with desire at the suggestive rhythm. The Thai woman smiled against the brunette's lips when her thighs that were straddling her instinctively tautened and her hips slowly moved in a grinding motion.

Of its own accord, Lisa's hands glided up Jennie's flat stomach, past her ribs to cup her breasts after easily unclasping the bra covering. Her thumbs circling the hardened bud underneath the cotton dress, coming alive, thrilling and filling her hands with its fullness.

Jennie moaned into the kiss that had become more insistent and deep. Her senses flooded with trembling sensations from both her husband's tongue and the caress of her hands, she was dimly aware that Lisa had shifted their position and she was now lying on the sofa with the Thai hovering over her, never once breaking connection.

After a while, Lisa forced her hand away from her tingling breasts, sliding it down the same way, curving tenderly around the brunette's tiny waist to press it up closer to the contour of her body then running the wide palms of her hands over her smooth back.

Lisa lifted her mouth for much needed air after some time but her fingers did not let up with their caress. "Lisa . . . someone might come . . ." Jennie breathed the objection even as she made no move to pull or arrange her dress that was hiked up to her waist, exposing the lower length of her.

Lisa's lips silenced whatever the brunette was about to say. Then she growled into the kiss, "They're all outside." Lisa loves looking at her beautiful face, flushed with desire that she is the cause of. It gives her a sense of pride that she alone could make Jennie tremble, make her respond without reservation and that this one special girl, who carries her name and who now means a great deal to her than when she married her, gave herself to no one but her.

A weak intake of breath reached Lisa's ears and immediately her body tensed. She slowly lifted her mouth from Jennie who looked like she also heard the sound coming from door of the library. Turning their heads in unison over at the source of the disturbance, Jennie promptly blushed like pink roses abloom in spring while Lisa cursed under her breath and murmured something like, "Why the fuck does this always happen to us?" before she pushed her body off of the brunette and quickly pulled her up into a sitting position beside her.

Alicia stood there, her face looking somewhat contrite despite the pleased little smile that tugged on the corners of her lips. Marco, on the other hand, had a grave face and his arms were crossed over his chest as though he was displeased with what he saw them doing when Lisa was supposed to be learning about tea.

Expecting a chastisement from Marco, Jennie's head flew up to gaze at him when he said, "I was gonna tell you to take a break . . . but I can see you're already way ahead of me." Then, she noticed the almost imperceptible smirk on his lips, making avert her gaze once again and she blushed even more.

"Not to be strict or anything because you two are married and what you do together is perfectly normal for married couples," Alicia added looking from one to the other as they sat on the couch like teenagers waiting to be summoned in the principal's office. Jennie appeared embarrassed while Lisa was definitely not shy about scowling to show his irritation. "...but there are kids in the house. It's best to keep things G-rated during the day."

"Thanks mom," Lisa said, not bothering to temper the sarcasm in her voice. She stole a quick glance at Jennie who also shot her a look and silently spoke with her eyes as if to say, do you still think my family is wonderful?

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"You have a stupid smirk on your face honey," Alicia commented to her husband as she sat beside him on the rattan settee in the sunroom, looking toward the basketball court where Lisa with her cousins and some of her high school friends are playing, while off at the side, the girls, including Jennie who had her camera up, were cheering them on.

Without looking up from the newspaper he was supposedly reading, Marco uttered offhandedly, "You mean, same as the one you have on."

Swinging her gaze at Marco, she grinned broadly. "I can't help it!" She breathed on a delighted note. "What I'm feeling right now should have been the one I felt during their wedding." She waved a hand over at the court. "I'm excited, happy and very pleased with myself!"

Marco chuckled, folding the newspaper and setting it aside. He draped an arm on her shoulders and gazed at the court just as Lisa made a perfect lay up followed by loud cheers. Then running across the court, she pointed at Jennie and winked at her. The message was clear, the basket is for the lovely brunette. "It does make you feel not guilty anymore, doesn't it?"

Nodding in assent, Alicia continued smiling. Over at the court, the opposing team had called a time out and Lisa took the chance to jog over to Jennie, accepting the bottled water the brunette offered to her. Lisa took a swig then leaned forward to whisper something in her ear causing her to laugh. "She's marvelous, isn't she?"

"She's sweet, unselfconscious and refreshingly candid."

"And she makes our daughter happy."

"Apart from Patrick's approval, which by the way is quite a feat, the youngsters seem smitten with her and the rest has nothing but good words for her." The time out ended but before Lisa went back to the court, she tucked the loose curls from Jennie's bound hair. "I never thought I'd say this, but right now, seeing them like that, I'm glad we forced this marriage on her."

"Yeah," Alicia agreed, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiled when Lisa paused midway to the center of the court and trotted back to Jennie to press a quick kiss on her lips. "They looked good during the wedding...but seeing them like that is so much better in my opinion."

"It could be passion . . . or more than that."

Alicia shifted on her side to better see Marco's face and more or less lean something from it that made him ask that question. Not that she doesn't hope for a fairytale sort of ending for Lisa and Jennie, but with the reality of how they got into the marriage, she just wants to keep things as real as they are and that includes dismissing the notion of love this early in their marriage. "What makes you say that?" She inquired. "Is there something you know that I don't?"

"Let's just say I overheard their conversation."

"You eavesdropped?!" Alicia clamored, her face scandalized and she shot her husband a censorious look.

"I overheard," Marco corrected. "There's a difference, honey. They were talking in the halls and I heard them."

He earned an assessing look from his wife as if determining the truthfulness of his defense and after about a minute she decided he