What's Mine Is Yours (Chaelisa)

Chapter 13

Rosie attempted to gracefully wrestle the keys out of her pocket with her good hand and not drop her laptop or the few bags of groceries, full of absolutely nothing healthy, that she’d picked up on her way home. She was a mess, that much she knew. She’d caught a glimpse of herself on the way out of the market and had immediately deflated. Messy ponytail, raggedy worn jeans and the torn Johnny Cash t-shirt she’d grabbed in her hurry, that she was pretty sure was Lisa’s, did not scream posh or put together. If only she’d gone home earlier like she’d planned to and hadn’t gotten caught up in all that cross-referencing for her upcoming article.

You could’ve at least thought ahead this morning and prepared for the possibility that you would be late and maybe picked out a decent outfit. Maybe she could sneak into the bedroom with her jacket on and quickly change. But what difference would that make? Her hair was still a mess, she hadn’t bothered with makeup and she was pretty sure there was still some Oreo lodged in her teeth from her mid-afternoon snack. What a great way to make a first impression. Even if it technically isn’t.

Shaking her head in frustration she finally latched onto her key ring and opened the door to quietly let herself in.

“Well well well. If it isn’t the little ingenue that could.” The smooth, confident voice behind her caught her off guard and she immediately felt herself tense even further at the moment. She turned as the door closed, taking in the sight of Lisa sitting at the kitchen table, smiling softly at her along with two other beautiful faces that she definitely did not recognize.

“Hey, I was starting to think you were going to ditch me and leave me alone with these two hoodlums for the night,” Lisa said as she got up from her seat and quickly moved towards Rosie to take the bags in hand from her.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I um, got sidetracked with some research. I didn’t mean to hold you guys up.”

“Nonsense, we were just giving Lisa here a hard time about the fact that she hasn’t come to visit in far too long.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s a simple train ride away, Seul,” Lisa argued, sending a teasing wink Rosie’s way. The blonde bashfully smiled back as she set her laptop bag down and pulled off her jacket, realizing a moment too late she should’ve kept it on. “Is that my shirt?”

“Oh um… I think so. I’m sorry. I was running out of the house this morning because I was late meeting Tzuyu and Jisoo, and I just grabbed something from the left side of the dresser. I didn’t even realize until I was already at Café Au Lait that it was probably yours.”

“It’s not a big deal, Chaeng.” She felt Lisa’s soft hand reaching for hers and looked down, watching their fingers interlace and swallowed hard.

There had been a lot more touching over the last week, ever since the night she’d desperately grabbed onto Lisa and clung to her, tears in her eyes as the memory of the Christmas ornament flooded her brain. Or at least, a lot more touching on Lisa’s part. They’d be watching television and she would reach over and gently run her fingertips along Rosie’s arm or the back of her hand. They’d be eating dinner at the kitchen island and the dark haired girl would gently squeeze her knee and smile. They’d even gone out and walked around the neighborhood the day before and Lisa had grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers without any hesitance.

Rosie, on the other hand, had found herself avoiding the initiation of any obviously loving or intimate touches. There was nothing wrong with an accidental shoulder brush when they sat next to one another or a quick wrist squeeze every now and then. But beyond that, she found herself pausing.

She initially had felt a little lighter after the minor breakdown a week ago. She’d gone to bed that night feeling more secure in the knowledge that Lisa wasn’t just going to up and bail on her and had fallen asleep with a small smile on her face. But when she’d woken up, the new day had her feeling confused and hesitant. How was she supposed to reciprocate unconditional feelings of love for someone who she still didn’t technically fully know? Someone who’d been in love with her for years? Someone who was willing to give up literally anything and everything for her? Lisa had come right out and said it; she was all in.