my brothers girlfriend

shopping

SIX - LISA

On Wednesday afternoon, I sit in my last class of the day, counting down the minutes until it's over. It was the only day of the week when my timetable gave me half the day off, which gave me the perfect opening to see Jennie again.

Since our last encounter on the weekend, we've been texting every day. Mostly just getting to know each other, giving live updates and so very light flirting. It was getting dangerously friendly which would be a shame, but overall I know that it would be best. Before some irreversible damage was done. 

Jennie was usually the one to nip my subliminal advances in the bud. She never outright initiated, but she regularly placed bait in front of me. After I bit, we would have a playful back and forth, similar to Saturday night, but after a while, she would change the subject entirely, as if it had never happened. 

It was confusing, but this whole situation was confusing, so I didn't doubt she was also confused. Perhaps, like me, she gets caught up in moments and lets herself enjoy them, but her moral compass takes back over quickly. A small part of me hopes she has more self-control than me. A larger part hopes she doesn't.

I suspected today would clear things up for me. It would be easier to read her in person and harder for her to change the subject. It would also be harder to keep myself in line, especially if Jennie reciprocated, but I was too curious to let alone. I was too captivated by Jennie to let a chance with her slip through my fingers. At the very least, I had to know.

When the bell rings, I'm out of the class quicker than most, briefly checking my phone to see a message from Jennie telling me she was here. My heart rate starts to pick up with my excitement and it accelerates when I leave the building to see Jennie's black Mercedes parked about twenty feet away from me. 

"Hey," she greets and smiles at me when I get in the passenger seat. Her gummy smile was quickly becoming my favourite thing.

"Hey, Jennie."

"How has your day been?"

"Boring, so far."

She starts the car and begins to reverse. "Hopefully that will change." I was feeling optimistic that it would.

The conversation flows on the way to the mall. Kai doesn't come up once despite him being the only reason we knew each other, but it seemed that it wasn't only my side that knew Kai was an unspoken, forbidden topic.

"Are you hungry?" Jennie asks just as we pull into the parking lot.

"Starving," I tell her.

"Good. So am I."

After parking up, I let Jennie lead the way. Walking by her side I feel a prickling urge to grab her waist and pull her closer to me because the space between us was too friendly right now. But that's what we were, friends, so I push it to the back of my mind and pretend it hasn't even occurred to me.

"What do you want to eat?" Jennie asks as her line of sight catches the food court and she turns her heels in that direction.

"You."

"Huh?" Jennie stops in her tracks and turns to look at me.

"You decide," I smile at her.

She doesn't buy it, I can tell. She looks me up and down and purses her lips before sighing and linking her arm through mine, pulling me along to the food court. A happy grin spreads across my face.

"I hope you like sushi," she comments as we take our place in a line.

"I love raw fish."

"I bet you do." Jennie doesn't entertain my comment with a look this time. She just brushes it aside as if she expects nothing less from me.