All That You Got (Skin to Skin, Oh My God)

Chapter 11

• The One with French Fries and Brown Eyes •

Chaeyoung returned and things weren't as terrifyingly awkward as Lisa expected them to be. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised. They had always been great at refusing to acknowledge the elephant in the room. The elephant in this scenario, of course, being the fact that they kissed. They kissed. Lisa still couldn't believe it, and perhaps would have thought it something she dreamed up, if it weren't for the strange electric tension between them that had definitely intensified since the kiss.

It felt safer when they weren't alone together, as much as Lisa hated that. It did provide some small measure of relief, at least. They were currently at the lake with their other friends, and Lisa was trying not to show how absolutely aware she was of Chaeyoung.

"What are they even doing?" Chaeyoung narrowed her eyes against the sun, lifting a hand to her forehead for shade as she squinted out at Doyoung and Mingi roaring with laughter in the paddleboat they stood in, rocking it.

"Being children," said Sunhee absentmindedly. She was focused more intently on smoothing out the red-polished bubbles that had formed on Chaeyoung's toenails.

Dahyun's voice came out muffled from where she lay stretched out on her stomach on the towel next to Chaeyoung. "Opposed to the despondent man-child wallowing next to us."

Chaeyoung didn't tear her gaze away from Doyoung and Mingi and Sunhee's focus didn't waver from her task of painting Chaeyoung's toenails. Lisa glanced over at the towel spread out a few feet from she and Jinsoul's farther up along the shore. Yunho was looking as sullen as ever, his brows drawn together in a severe line as he concentrated on the magazine he was idly flicking through. A thought struck Lisa's mind then, and a snigger escaped her lips before she could stop it.

"What?" said Chaeyoung, finally shifting her regard from where Mingi and Doyoung had tipped over the boat and fell into the water. Like usual, Lisa had to fight to resist the urge to squirm under her gaze.

Lisa shook her head, suppressing her smile, but then Dahyun nudged her ankle with her elbow so she would get on with it. "I was just thinking of the porno magazines Nayeon found in his room in the fifth grade."

"Is he reading one now?!" asked Chaeyoung enthusiastically, her head whipping toward where Yunho lay.

"No!" Lisa lifted her hands away from Chaeyoung so she could grip Chaeyoung's knee and tug her back around. "No. I was just imagining how funny it'd be if he was hiding one inside that magazine he's reading."

"Oh. Ha." Chaeyoung smirked, glancing Yunho's way again before she arched a brow at Lisa. "You know, I've never even seen a porno magazine before."

Dahyun snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious!" said Chaeyoung, eyes wide.

"Everyone's sees porn at some point," said Dahyun disdainfully.

"I've seen porn," said Chaeyoung, and a weird lump seemed to form in Lisa's throat; she turned her head to busy herself with her book again, hoping no one noticed her blush, "I mean, I haven't watched it myself, but Jaehyun showed me it once. I thought it was stupid."

"Porn is stupid," said Yeosang absently. "It's unrealistic and fake. I hate the overdramatic moans and unrealistic dialogue."

"Jesus, Yeosang," chuckled Dahyun while the rest of them smirked. "Have you like, studied it or something?"

Yeosang went pink and said something, but Lisa was distracted by the hand tugging on her wrist. She turned and found herself hardly an inch away from earnest brown eyes.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

Lisa swallowed. Alone time with Chaeyoung was dangerous.

Of course she said yes.

***

"What's your favorite thing in the world?"

She was sitting in their favorite red booth at the local café, The Dropship. Chaeyoung sat across from her, and Lisa had finally accepted her heart would probably never stop swelling in Chaeyoung's presence.

This question, though. It almost made Lisa think that Chaeyoung knew.

"French fries," Lisa answered easily, dipping one into Chaeyoung's vanilla ice cream and popping it into her mouth for good measure.

Chaeyoung arched a brow, her lips curved slightly in amusement. She tilted her head into her hand almost thoughtfully as she sucked on the end of her straw, watching Lisa with a shrewd expression on her face. Lisa deliberately held her gaze as she ate a few more fries, hoping her expression looked bored and vaguely uninterested and that it didn't at all reflect the way her heart was beating a little too fast in her chest, and the difficulty she was having in breathing normally. Don't get her wrong, she loved French fries, especially the ones at The Dropship. But they definitely weren't her favorite thing in the world.

You're my favorite thing in the world. Well, you aren't a thing. But you're the best thing about the world. You're the smartest person I know, like ridiculously, stupid smart. A fucking genius, almost too smart for your own good, even though you're such a dork at the same time. You're going to make the best doctor. You have the biggest heart, the best laugh. The most gorgeous smile, and these unbelievable, amazing eyes that look like magic...

"French fries?" repeated Chaeyoung, skepticism layering every syllable.

Lisa nodded quickly, evading her gaze by peering intently at the particularly twisty spiral of fry she plucked out of the basket. "Yeah," she said lightly, looking back up at her. Chaeyoung didn't look even remotely as though she believed her answer, and panic pulsated within Lisa, but she just smiled. "French fries," she said again, biting down the next words. And brown eyes.