Caught In The Shadow [Jenlisa]

Epilogue 10

By the time early January reared its head, Jennie and I were starting to settle into being a couple. Granted, we weren't your average couple, but we were getting comfortable with who we were. The nightmares became less frequent and we attacked each other less often. Jennie let me put it in her ass sometimes (grin).

Naturally, I had to try my best to fuck it all up.

Okay, before I even go on, please let me say I am not proud of what I did next. I was bored and insatiably curious. Also, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not your typical girlfriend material.

It was the first time I'd ever been in Jennie's apartment alone. She had classes during the day but didn't have to work in the evening. She asked if I'd be there when she came home and I said yes because it beat being in my hotel room.

The sun flooded Jennie's apartment. I lay in her bed, smothered in throw pillows of various colors and shapes. I felt especially dirty jerking off in her frilly bed. I was sure to wipe up my come with a fuzzy pink pillow. I hoped it would prompt Jennie to throw the damn thing away.

Afterward, I took a shower, made myself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs, and perused the stack of movies Jennie had rented and left on the coffee table. I'd never been the type of man who liked to eat cereal, let alone kid cereal, but Jennie loved the stuff and it was often the only thing I could find in her kitchen. I knew she could cook when she wanted to, but it seemed the mood rarely struck her. Some nights we ate cereal for dinner.

I decided not to watch the movies without Jennie since she seemed to enjoy regaling me with random movie factoids as we watched.

As I sat on the couch eating my cereal, my eyes landed on Jennie's laptop. It was just sitting on the coffee table—daring me! Jennie was on the thing whenever she had time. I desperately wanted to know what Jennie had been writing and why she was keeping it from me.

I remembered the way Jennie had snapped at Kreisha to be quiet. Then the way she'd avoided the topic in Paris. It only made me more curious. I determined fairly quickly it had to be about me, us, or better—her.

I shoveled the remainder of my cereal into my mouth and set the bowl on the table. I scooped up the laptop and opened it. A smile curved my lips when I saw her screensaver.

It was a picture of me asleep on her couch on Thanksgiving. I was wearing pants, but the photograph focused on my face and naked chest. What a little pervert, taking pictures of me while I'm helpless.

I was prompted for a password. Why did she need a password? Didn't she trust me? I hope you're smiling, because I know I am.

Anyway, it took me the better part of the morning, but I finally gained access to Jennie's laptop. Her password gave me mixed emotions: Survival. If you're horrified, please consider that I was fully aware Jennie would discover what I'd done. I wasn't trying to hide my actions. I just wanted to know what the hell was on her laptop and why she chose to keep it from me.

There was a fleeting moment when I considered I might be opening Pandora's box, but it really was fleeting. I make it my business to know what's going on around me, and it has saved my ass more than once.

Jennie is very systematic. Her desktop was organized into a series of folders: FLM101, ENG202, HIS152, ART102, School Plan, and most alluring, Caught. One guess as to which folder I opened first? No! Not film.

There were several different documents inside the folder: Lisa, Jeom, Kim, FBI procedures, Mexico, East, Stockholm Syn, Human Traffick, Caught_D1_R2.

My fingers began to shake as I hovered over each file. I wondered what I would discover. I wondered if I could process what I'd find. I wondered if I would feel different toward Jennie once I read them. If she was betraying me in some way, did I want to know? I knew already there would be no going back. Ignorance had never served me well.