Lovestruck

by KT Grant

  "Wow." Jenny finished with her first slice of pizza. She couldn't imagine having a million dollars, let alone a billion.

  She continued to read about how Barbara had become a person to be feared.

  Many men assumed they could walk all over her because of her gender. But she proved them all wrong. Jenny smiled when she read the part where Barbara mentioned her older brother, Christian Jennings, Dean of the Economics Department at New York College, and Jenny's teacher as well. Stella, the youngest Jennings sibling and a famous artist, also was mentioned.

  Jenny scanned the rest of the article but there was no mention of Barbara being in a relationship. And if Barbara preferred women like Jenny did, she didn't think Barbara would make such an announcement. A man admitting to be gay seemed to be more acceptable than a woman coming out and announcing she was a lesbian.

  Jenny rubbed her eyes, took one last look at the then-thirty-year-old Barbara, and went to check her email. Maybe she would go to The Watering Hole for a drink so she could unwind. If she sat here, she would read every bit of information she could find on Barbara.

  "Ugh. You have it bad, kid." She rolled her eyes and finished her second slice of pizza. She felt too exhausted to go out. Instead, she would finish checking her emails, and stick with her original plan. A little television, then bed at a reasonable hour so she could be wide awake for class tomorrow.

  "At least I'll get to see one member of the Jennings clan at school tomorrow."

  Jenny snickered. She closed her laptop and decided to put on her pajamas. She sat on the couch in front of the television and clicked through the channels, but couldn't find anything to watch. Her gaze returned to her computer. It seemed to call to her. Jenny, come read about Barbara.

  No longer able to deny the temptation, she turned off the television, grabbed her laptop and went into her bedroom. She sat on her bed and became glued to the screen as she read through every piece of information about Barbara she could find out. By the time she finished, she heard Mike come stumbling in, singing at the top of his lungs.

  Jenny glanced at the alarm clock next to her bed and gasped. It was after midnight!

  She cursed under her breath as she shut down her laptop. She had to keep her mind on her studies and work. She had to stay focused, not spend all her time lusting after a tall, beautiful blonde who made her all hot and bothered.

  As Jenny shut off the light, she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. She swore her butt still tingled from the light caress of Barbara's hand. Sighing, she snuggled into her pillow, wishing Barbara's arms wrapped around her.

  Jenny had just finished her final class for the day when she looked in her bag and noticed she failed to give her footnotes to Professor Jennings when she handed in her paper.

  "Shit!" she said as she sat at her desk in the classroom. The few students who remained gave her amused looks. Jenny glanced down at her watch and bit back another curse. Professor Jennings would be leaving soon. If she didn't get her footnote page to him before he left, he would lower her grade on her paper.

  Jenny jumped up, ran out of the room and down the hall. Jennings' office was across the street. She would have to book it in order to catch him. She couldn't believe she forgot something so simple. She didn't have everything together this morning because she'd tossed and turned throughout the night, which made her groggy and out of sorts in the morning—all due to her thoughts of Barbara.

  Yet another reason why she needed to get the woman off her mind.

  She ran across the street as the light changed from red to green, barely missed colliding with a group of students, but made it into the Economics building in less than two minutes without incident. She let out a few huffs, thinking she needed to start exercising more. Professor Jennings stood in the hall in front of his office, talking to a woman wearing an expensive gray suit. Jenny couldn't get a good look at the woman since her back faced her. The Professor had a big smile on his face as he laughed and rubbed the stranger's arm.

  Jenny smiled. Could this be his sweetheart? She took a moment to regain her breath, and with her paper in hand, walked toward the couple. Before she could interrupt, Professor Jennings saw her and smiled.

  "Jenny, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the honor of seeing you twice in one day?"

  Jenny smiled at her favorite professor and had opened her mouth to explain, when she finally got a good look at the woman beside him. Her mouth snapped shut.

  "Um, Ms. J-Jennings?" she stuttered out in a squeaking voice.

  "Hello, Jennifer. I'll echo my brother's thoughts and say how great it is to see you again." Barbara gave Jenny a big smile.

  Jenny swallowed. Even though Barbara's smile looked friendly enough, her eyes showed another thing altogether. The woman had her gaze zeroed in on her chest. And when Barbara licked her lips, Jenny's legs quivered.

  Time seemed to stand still as Jenny stared at Barbara. Not until Christian started talking did both women snapped out of their mutual trance.

  Jenny looked away first. "I'm sorry, Professor, what did you say?"

  "I think it's a funny coincidence you work for Barbara, and I also happen to be your teacher."

  "I guess it's a small world after all." Jenny fought the urge to shuffle her feet. She could feel Barbara's eyes on her, watching her every move.

  "Yes, it certainly is a small world," Barbara said softly. "Chris and I just finished having coffee together. Too bad you couldn't join us."

  Jenny looked everywhere other than at the woman in front of her. She rubbed the back of her neck. There was no way she would have been able to sit there pretending to enjoy herself with both Barbara and her Professor.

  "I guess it wasn't meant to be." She shrugged and turned back to speak to Christian.

  Jenny noticed Barbara's frown. She ignored her.

  "Professor Jennings, I have to apologize and I hope my grade won't be affected, but I found my footnotes page in my bag. I thought I had it in the folder along with my paper. I wanted to catch you before you left for the day." She held out the paper and he took it.

  Christian looked more than surprised. "I must say I'm impressed, Miss Caffey.

  Most students would wait until the next day to find me. Thank you for being considerate. You don't have to worry about your grade." He gave Jenny a warm smile.

  Barbara cleared her throat. Christian looked down at her and rubbed her arm.

  "Sorry there, sis." He pushed his glasses back up his nose.

  Jenny thought he looked charming and knew many of her female classmates thought the professor to be a very attractive man. He looked a bit like Jude Law. If Jenny liked men, he'd be right up her alley.

  Her smile faltered when she noticed Barbara giving her a disgusted look. Her heart jumped. Had she done something wrong?

  Christian looked down at his watch. "It's almost five and I have to get to the dry cleaners before they close." He hugged Barbara. "Thanks for the nice chat. Want me to walk you to your car?"

  Barbara gave her brother a pat on the back. "There's no need. Please go. I have to ask a Jennifer a question."

  He nodded and looked back at Jenny. "Have a good weekend, Jenny. I'll see you on Monday." Christian picked up his bag and walked away. He gave one last wave back at both the women and walked out of the building.

  Jenny watched him go. "Your brother is such a great person and one of the best teachers I've ever had." She turned to look back at Barbara and swallowed hard when she saw the flash of anger in the other woman's eyes.

  "Um, is something wrong?" Jenny asked cautiously.

  Barbara raised one of her eyebrows. "You and my brother get along pretty well.

  He's a good looking guy. I can see why you would have a crush on him."

  Jenny rubbed at the tension growing in the back of her neck. Could her boss be jealous? What did her statement mean? Perhaps honesty was the best thing in this case.

  Barbara could make her life miserable and force her to lose her j
ob, and perhaps whisper some words of warning in her brother's ear.

  "You think I have a crush on Professor Jennings?" Jenny couldn't help but blush.

  She looked up and down the hallway and held her book bag tight against her chest. "I know some of the girls like him because he's a handsome man. But I'm not interested in him that way."

  "Why not? You already have a boyfriend?" Barbara moved in closer to Jenny.

  Jenny shuffled her feet. "Um, no. It's a . . . I'm not interested in men. I, ah . . . like girls, I mean women. Crap, I'm a lesbian." She looked up. Barbara no longer appeared angry and had a blank look on her face. Jenny's embarrassment grew and she wanted to leave as fast as she could before she humiliated herself any further.

  "I think I should go now. Bye, Ms. Jennings."

  She began to walk away, but Barbara grabbed her by the arm. Jenny stopped.

  "Don't leave yet. I know I don't have any right to ask you about your sexual preference or even your personal life. I hope I haven't offended you." Barbara caressed the skin of her inner elbow with her thumb.

  Jenny swallowed back a whimper and her stomach jumped. "Oh no. I'm not offended. I don't announce it to everyone. People think I'm straight. I wish I were.

  Things would be so much easier."

  Barbara snorted. "Isn't that the truth?"

  "Huh?" Jenny asked, trying to form a coherent thought. Impossible, with Barbara's hand on her arm.

  "I'm just thinking out loud." Barbara released Jenny's arm. "I have a work-related question. In the next few days I'll be meeting with everyone at the hotel. It's more like a review of everybody's work. If you're free right now, would you like to get a bite to eat, my treat of course, and we can discuss your responsibilities at the hotel?"

  "Yes." Jenny blurted out.

  Barbara smiled at her.

  "Great. We can—"

  Jenny's stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. "Oh my god." Jenny's face heated. "I guess I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since noon."

  "I know the perfect place to feed your hunger." Barbara winked.

  Jenny could only stare. Had her boss—one of the richest women in New York City—actually just winked at her? She shook her head. She had to be seeing things.

  "Er . . . okay. Well, I'm ready when you are."

  Barbara linked her arm through Jenny's. "Yes, dear, let's go. We'll take my Porsche; I parked next door."

  Jenny's mouth dropped open and Barbara laughed

  If someone had told Jenny she would have spent the afternoon riding in a Porsche and eating at one of the most expensive steakhouses in the city, she would have laughed in their face. But here she stood in Taylor's, where the entrees cost upwards of thirty dollars and the price of a bottle of wine would set her back a whole week's paycheck. At least she picked a black skirt and nice, dark red button-down shirt to wear today, instead of her decade-old jeans and some t-shirt with a cheesy logo in the middle.

  Not that anybody seemed to care.

  The moment Barbara walked in, the maître d and hostess both gave her a big hug. Even the owner came over. Jenny felt a bit out of place, but when Barbara introduced her to the staff, they welcomed her with open arms as if they'd known her for years.

  As she and Barbara followed the hostess to a booth in the back corner, Jenny noticed patrons whispering to one another. She heard Barbara's name mentioned several times, and more than a few diners watched them as they walked over to their table. They probably wondered what a normal, mundane woman was doing with someone so glamorous. Barbara didn't seem to notice as she chatted away with Taylor Jackson. Jenny followed along, feeling a little lost and a whole lot out of place.

  Their booth faced away from the center of the room, providing privacy and intimacy. Perhaps a little too much intimacy, Jenny thought as she slid in and placed her backpack beside her. Barbara joined her, and Taylor handed them menus. Although the booth was large, Jenny and Barbara sat close together in the middle.

  "Ladies, enjoy your dinner. I'll bring you a bottle of my best red wine, on the house of course." Taylor winked and went back into the kitchen.

  Jenny glanced around in awe, trying to wrap her mind around the fact she sat in a booth at one of the biggest hotspots in the city. Barbara chuckled. Jenny couldn't help but smile in return.

  "This is amazing. When you mentioned dinner, I thought we would get a quick bite somewhere. This is just . . . wow."

  Barbara reached down and patted Jenny's leg. "I have a standing reservation. My father invested in Taylor's when it first opened. I used to come here as a little girl almost every week for dinner with my dad."

  "This is so nice. Thank you so much for doing this." Jenny looked down at Barbara's hand lying on her leg. She wanted to place her own hand on top, but resisted the urge. Instead, she opened her menu and studied the entrees. Barbara removed her hand and sat back.

  "Aren't you hungry?" Jenny asked when she noticed Barbara's menu remained closed.

  "Don't mind me. I know the menu by heart. Go ahead and order what you want."

  Jenny nodded and turned her attention back to the list of entrées. A moment later she gasped. "Oh, dear lord. There is no way." She closed the menu and pushed it aside.

  Barbara put her chin in her hand and placed her elbow on the table. "No way?"

  Jenny shook her head. "Have you seen the prices here?"

  "Of course. Like I said, I know the menu by heart."

  Jenny rolled her eyes. "You must think I have no class. I do go to nice restaurants from time to time. But the prices here are a bit out of my normal range."

  Barbara patted Jenny's leg again. "Don't worry. I told you dinner's on me. Think of this as a business dinner. You're the client and I'm wining and dining you."

  Jenny knew it was pointless to argue. Why not let Barbara pay?

  "Okay, Ms. Jennings. I won't argue." Unable to think straight with Barbara's hand on her leg, she fingered the menu instead and watched as a waiter came over with a bottle and showed it to Barbara. Barbara nodded and the waiter opened it.

  "Call me Barbara." She gave Jenny a pointed look, and as the waiter poured her a glass of wine, she released Jenny's leg.

  Jenny let out a small breath and watched as Barbara drank a small portion of the wine. Barbara nodded in approval and the waiter poured them both a glass.

  "My name is James," he said, "and I'll be your waiter for tonight. Please enjoy your drinks and I'll give you a few more minutes to look over the menu." He gave them a brief nod and walked away.

  Jenny ignored her wine in favor of the ice water. Her throat felt parched, and she drained half the glass in one swallow.

  Barbara took a deep sip of her wine. She looked at Jenny and raised a brow. "Is there a problem? You don't like wine?

  Jenny made a face. "I don't drink very often, but when I do, it's always beer."

  "Or coffee?" Barbara gave her an odd little smile.

  "Oh yeah. I need coffee every morning or I'm a zombie for the rest of the day."

  "Do you like Starbucks? What about the one on Twenty-Ninth and Park?"

  Jenny took another sip of her water. "I go there all the time. Do you?"

  Barbara rolled her eyes. "You honestly don't remember? You bumped into me one Monday morning last month. You stood behind me in line, wearing a baseball cap that covered your whole face. You looked like you were ready to tip over from lack of sleep, and when you got your coffee you spilled it all over your yellow t-shirt and my briefcase."

  Oh, my god. Oh, shit. Jenny covered her mouth and shook her head. "Oh no.

  You're going to fire me."

  Barbara laughed and pulled Jenny's hands away from her mouth. "Calm down.

  No one is being fired. You looked so familiar in the bathroom. At first I couldn't place you. But then it all came rushing back."

  "That's the first time I ever did something so stupid. I'm not much of a morning person. But I'm trying to be more aware of my surroundings. Don't let that first impression make you
think I'm like that at work." Jenny decided now might be a good time to develop a taste for wine. She picked up her glass and took a long pull, hoping the alcohol would calm her nerves.

  "Jennifer, you're worrying too much. I didn't bring it up to embarrass you.

  Seriously. I think it's funny. Talk about a coincidence." Barbara reached to stop Jenny from gulping down the last of her wine. "Sip, don't guzzle. I want you to close your eyes and put the glass up to your nose."

  Jenny frowned but did what Barbara requested.

  "Now inhale the aroma. Open your eyes and swirl the liquid in the glass around.

  Good. Now take a slow sip and don't swallow it right away. Let it sit in your mouth for a few seconds."

  As Jenny took a sip, some of the wine missed her mouth and dripped down her chin. Jenny opened her eyes when Barbara wiped the drop of wine off her chin with one of her fingers.

  Jenny didn't say a word as Barbara's tongue came out and licked away at the wine on her finger. Heart racing, Jenny took another sip of her wine.

  "What do you think?" Barbara asked in a whisper and moved in closer.

  Jenny's eyelids fluttered as Barbara's breath drifted over her face. "It's pretty delicious."

  "I thought so. You should be daring and try something different now and then.

  Don't you think?"

  Jenny's cheek brushed Barbara's. They were close enough to kiss.

  "Well ladies, have you decided?" James stood by the table, bread basket in hand.

  The moment shattered, both women moved apart. Jenny blushed and chugged her wine. Barbara looked like she wanted to ring James's neck. Instead, she raised an eyebrow.

  "Oh, yes, James, I think we both know what we want."

  After that small interlude, the atmosphere changed. Jenny and Barbara kept their physical distance and concentrated on their meal. Jennifer had insisted she had no idea what she wanted and had asked Barbara to order for her. Barbara decided they would have the house salad, the flank steak entrée with a vegetable medley and Taylor's