Jenna's Awakening (Dr. Jenna Harper Series Book 1)

by Missy Redstone

  “Not at all. I searched online for a range of houses since we haven’t discussed your price range or what you’re looking for. Any family that we need to consider when looking at the number of bedrooms?”

  “No, just me.”

  “Okay. Well, I’m still waiting on my assistant to confirm the appointment times. Are there any homes around town you’re interested in, so I can figure out what style to focus on?”

  “I can’t think of any. I’ve only been here a month, and I’ve been so busy trying to prove myself at the hospital, I haven’t had time to make any friends.” Jenna shook her head. “I’m sorry for the long answer. The truth is I don’t have a clue about real estate or what to look for.”

  “That’s okay. Let’s take a walk downtown. I need another coffee.”

  The weather was warm with a slight breeze. Kris enjoyed summer mornings like these, but was finding it hard to relax around Jenna. Jenna was her kryptonite. They took a leisurely stroll down the sidewalk and around the block towards one of the local coffee shops.

  “So, tell me about yourself,” Kris said.

  “There isn’t much to tell. I grew up in a small town in the South where everyone knew each other. It was hard to get away with anything or keep any secrets. Gossip is what held the town together.”

  “Where did you go to school?”

  “Duke University, near my hometown. After that, I continued my education in the cardiothoracic program at Yale’s School of Medicine.”

  “Beautiful and smart, impressive.”

  “Thanks, you’re too kind. I wouldn’t use either of those words to describe myself.”

  “Oh, and modest too?”

  Jenna laughed. “So, back to your original question about what I’m looking for, I do love this area of town, so I would like to look at any homes around here that are available. I like the fact that I can walk to get groceries, walk to cafes and restaurants, and even walk to see a movie or concert. It’s also safe to run in the streets in this area or I can go to one of the nearby parks.”

  “Good, now we’re getting somewhere.”

  ***

  They sat outside the cafe with their lattes. It was warming up fast, proving it was going to be another hot sweltering late August day.

  Jenna took a sip and placed the cup down on the metal tabletop. “I heard through one of the nurses that the surgeon I’m covering for is thinking about retiring.”

  “That’s wonderful news. It’s time to get serious about your future here.”

  “Well, it is good news, but I’m kind of in a difficult situation right now. My lease is up at the end of the month, but I don’t know how much longer it will be before I know something definite.”

  “Can’t you extend your lease for another month or two?”

  “Mrs. O’Neal only agreed to a two-month lease starting out because of my situation, but now she needs me to sign a one-year contract. She wants to guarantee she’ll have a tenant through the fall and winter.”

  Kris studied Jenna while taking a sip of her latte. She smiled and leaned forward. “Hmmm, that is a challenging situation for you, but I may be able to help.”

  “Really? I’m interested in any option I have right now. I’m pretty desperate at this point.”

  “Since you’re still not sure about how long you’ll be here and your landlord is giving you an ultimatum, I might have a better solution. I have a spare bedroom at my place that you’re welcome to use until you figure out your future plans.”

  Kris read the apprehension in Jenna’s face. She couldn’t imagine what it sounded like, a woman she had just met and barely knew offering her a place to stay.

  “Thanks for the offer, but are you sure?”

  Kris nodded her head and took another sip hoping Jenna would accept.

  “I’d love to use the extra bedroom. It would be nice not having to worry about finding another place to stay while waiting to hear something from the hospital. That would be a huge relief to me. Let me know how much and who to make the check out to.”

  Kris waved her hand in the air to dismiss the notion. “Don’t worry about that now. We’ll discuss it after you’ve seen the place. If you are still interested after that, then we’ll settle the details.”

  Wow, so much for baby steps. They hadn’t gone out on a date yet, and she already had Jenna moving in with her. The U-Haul jokes her friends had made replayed in her mind. Now, if she only knew if Jenna was a lesbian or not. The entire time Kris had to hold herself back from prying into Jenna’s personal life. She wanted to ask her if she was seeing anyone, and she was dying to know if Jenna dated women. Jenna was very friendly towards her, but she wasn’t sending her any signals to let her know the attraction was mutual.

  ***

  Kris canceled the appointments for the day since Jenna had another temporary place to stay. They walked around town and went into a few shops. Jenna had been to most of them before, but Kris did show her a few hidden gems she had been unaware of. They ended up walking to one of the parks, which was full of people enjoying the last few weeks of summer.

  Jenna was enjoying herself for the first time in a long time, longer than she could remember. She was having a great time with Kris who had so graciously offered her a place to stay. Kris was such a pleasure to be around and neither of them ever ran out of things to talk about. Jenna’s connection to her was growing stronger and stronger.

  Jenna had plenty of friends in college and medical school, but she had to work hard at keeping them. They spent time with their boyfriends or talking about them, but her course work and studying occupied her time. Now, her friends had husbands and children as well as their own careers to deal with. They didn’t have any extra time to spend catching up with her, and Jenna didn’t feel like she could relate to them any longer either. One by one, each of her friends had drifted away until they were only exchanging an occasional holiday card.

  Kris was different from all her other friends. She was another independent career-driven woman that Jenna could identify with. This was only their second time meeting and everything was easy. She didn’t find herself working hard to find things in common with her or things to talk about. Kris was about the same age as her. She was also single or she wouldn’t have offered her spare bedroom without asking the other person first. Jenna felt there was something more to this connection, something that she had never had with anyone before.

  Jenna spotted an ice cream stand at the edge of the park. “The heat is pretty intense today. Let me buy you some frozen yogurt.”

  “No, that’s okay, really.”

  Jenna nodded towards the stand. “I insist. Come on, let’s go.”

  Jenna ordered vanilla frozen yogurt in a cup and Kris ordered chocolate in a cone. They sat down on one of the park benches to people watch and enjoy their refreshing treats.

  Kris watched as Jenna dipped her spoon into the creamy yogurt, flipped the spoon upside down onto her awaiting tongue, and slowly pulled the spoon from her perfect lips. She made an exaggerated moan as if she had just quenched a deep down thirst.

  Jenna giggled. “I’m sorry for making a spectacle of myself. This is so delicious and cool and it’s so hot.”

  Kris smiled and almost crushed the cone she was holding while waiting for Jenna’s next taste of decadent yogurt. She didn’t know it was possible for anyone to make eating frozen yogurt look so sexy.

  Kris's frozen yogurt was starting to melt by now and had begun to drip down the side of the cone. She had to catch the drips with her tongue before they fell any further since they had forgotten to grab napkins at the stand.

  Jenna laughed at Kris chasing the drips one by one. “You missed a spot. Oh, no, other side now. Almost. There’s one by your pinky.”

  She studied Kris as she lapped at her ice cream cone. She had blond shoulder-length hair pulled back into a sporty ponytail, much like Jenna would wear her hair during her morning jogs. There was no hint of make up. No rings. It was obvious Kris wasn’t i
nto materialistic things.

  Finally, Kris had gotten the colossal frozen yogurt meltdown under control and zoned in on the mound of yogurt on top of the cone.

  Jenna found herself mesmerized watching Kris lick the frozen yogurt in perfect circles twisting the cone around until she had covered it from the bottom to the top. As if the temperature wasn’t enough, it melted in an instant on contact with her tongue until the last little bit disappeared behind her lips. Had it been so long since she had sex that she was getting turned on watching Kris? She started to feel a little uncomfortable. She had never thought about women like that before, not that she had ever been against the idea, but why now? Why all of the sudden? Why did she feel this way watching Kris? Jenna cleared her mind and continued eating her yogurt.

  When she looked back at Kris, she burst into laughter. Kris had yogurt on the tip of her chin. After feeling uncomfortable before, she was now laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.

  Kris had no idea what was so hilarious, and Jenna couldn’t stop laughing long enough to tell her. “What is it? What’s so funny?”

  Jenna put her hand on Kris's cheek and wiped the yogurt off using her thumb, which she placed between her lips and tasted.

  What had only lasted a few brief moments, seemed like an eternity to Kris. She felt Jenna’s soft, warm hand against her cheek and had no idea what was happening. When Jenna wiped the yogurt from her chin, she was a little embarrassed but got caught up in the contagiousness of Jenna’s laugh. She laughed with her, but she was hooked now. She had to find a way to probe deeper into Jenna’s personal life without being obvious about it. She didn’t know how much longer she could hide her attraction.

  Jenna’s cell phone rang and it was the hospital. There was an emergency that came up that needed her attention.

  “I’m sorry, Kris. That was the hospital, and I have to go.”

  “I understand. Let’s get back to your place. Do you need a ride to the hospital?”

  “No, but thanks for the offer.”

  They walked back to Jenna’s house at a brisk pace arriving sooner than Kris would have liked. “Give me a call later, and we’ll get together to talk more about my extra bedroom.”

  “Thanks. I will, and thank you for this morning. I hated I wasted your time looking at houses that we never got around to seeing.”

  ***

  Jenna’s emergency patient required more attention than she expected. It was touch and go for the rest of the afternoon and into the night, so she decided to crash on the couch in her office at the hospital. As she drifted off, the memories of Kris and the frozen yogurt flooded her consciousness. She fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

  Chapter Four

  The next day Jenna called Kris. “I’m so sorry about leaving so abruptly yesterday.”

  “No worries,” Kris said. “Why don’t you come over to my place tonight for dinner, and you can check out the spare bedroom we discussed.”

  “That sounds great. What should I bring?”

  “You don’t need to bring anything. Does seven o’clock sound okay?”

  Jenna checked her watch. “Yes, it does. I’ll see you this evening.”

  “Okay, great. Goodbye.”

  “Bye.”

  Jenna decided she’d take a quick nap. Once her head hit her pillow, her semiconscious mind began thinking about Kris and how she had made her feel the day before.

  She only slept for what seemed like thirty minutes to her before awakening. She changed out of her hospital scrubs into a pair of short black spandex running shorts and matching sports top. Jenna loved to run. It gave her a chance to clear her mind, and she always felt better afterwards. She grabbed her phone, laced up her running shoes, and sprinted out the door. She definitely had a lot on her mind and looked forward to thinking things through during her run.

  She was enjoying her run. This is a nice town. At a busy intersection she took the time to glance down at her watch. She thought her watch stopped working because that couldn’t be the right time. According to her watch, she needed to be at Kris's house for dinner in fifteen minutes. She raced north towards her house to get in a quick shower before heading out.

  ***

  Kris called her neighbors, Erin and Liz, to tell them about meeting with Jenna the day before. She also wanted to get their advice about what to do about dinner. The two of them came over to hear the entire story from Kris.

  “Don’t get your hopes up,” Liz said.

  Erin dried her hands on the dish towel and nodded. “She’s right. She accepted your offer to stay in your spare room, that doesn’t mean she’ll be hopping into your bed any time soon.”

  “I know you are both looking out for me, but I just have a feeling about her.” Kris opened the oven to check on the chicken. While she had her back turned, she checked the time on the microwave. Jenna was five minutes late. I hope she hasn’t changed her mind.

  The doorbell rang and Kris’s smile came back. She winked at Erin and Liz and raced towards the door slowing down just before reaching it. She opened the door to find Jenna standing on her doorstep with a bottle of wine.

  “Sorry I’m late. I feel like I’m always apologizing to you. I went for a run and didn’t realize how late it was. I raced back as fast as I could and jumped in the shower, but I still didn’t make it on time. Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it, I was just finishing up dinner,” Kris said. Jenna’s hair was down, still wet from the quick shower. It was almost like Kris's dream a few days ago was coming true, except this time it wasn’t a dream, meaning there would be no sex in the foyer. Jenna was wearing jeans again with a flattering royal blue button-up shirt. The top first few buttons were left unfastened exposing the soft, silky, smooth skin of Jenna’s chest. For a brief second, Kris imagined the rest of the buttons falling to the floor as she ripped the shirt off of her like she wanted to.

  “Come in. I want you to meet my good friends who live next door.” She grabbed Jenna’s hand and guided her to the kitchen. “This is Erin and her wife Liz. They’ll be your neighbors if you decide to take me up on my offer.”

  Kris watched Jenna’s face as she introduced Erin and Liz. She wanted to see how Jenna reacted when she introduced them as a lesbian couple.

  Jenna extended her hand and shook hands with both of them, all the while with a warm smile on her face.

  Kris bit her bottom lip. Check mark in my favor.

  “Will you ladies be joining us for dinner?” Jenna asked.

  Liz shook her head. “No. Kris told us she was going to make dinner, and we came over to supervise. She should never be left alone in the kitchen.”

  Everyone laughed and Kris held up her hand to show her battle scar from her previous attempt at preparing dinner.

  Erin and Liz made their way to the door. “It was nice meeting you, Jenna, and we both hope to see more of you soon. We could use some help keeping an eye on Kris,” Erin said.

  “Ha, ha.” Kris gave them both a hug and a kiss on the cheek before pushing them out the door.

  “It was nice meeting both of you too,” Jenna replied. She turned to place the bottle of wine down on the counter.

  Liz gave Kris a thumbs up and winked before closing the door behind her.

  Jenna and Kris sat down and chatted over the chicken parmesan dinner Kris had prepared. They shared stories and a few good laughs before the meal was over. While clearing the dishes, they both reached across the table for a butter knife at the same time. Their hands touched with Kris's hand being on top of Jenna’s. She waited for Jenna to pull her hand away, but she didn’t. That, plus the fact Jenna didn’t bring up Erin and Liz’s relationship, made her feel more confident about the way things might turn out.

  “You win,” Kris said, “after all you’re the surgeon.”

  “Speaking as the doctor who treated your mishap with a knife the other night, I’d have to agree.”

  They laughed. Jenna’s remark wasn’t that funny, but they had enjoyed Jen
na’s bottle of wine at dinner.

  “Well, someone isn’t getting any frozen yogurt for dessert tonight.”

  ***

  After dinner Kris showed Jenna around what she hoped would soon be her home too. Kris walked her through the entire downstairs and also showed her the basement and garage. She took Jenna upstairs to complete the tour.

  Jenna fell in love with Kris's home. She loved the modern style Kris had injected into the old New Englander house. The colors Kris had chosen for each room made it feel comfortable and cozy. She could picture herself coming home after a hard day of work and relaxing here while unwinding and chatting with Kris.

  When they reached the spare bedroom the door was shut. Kris paused and leaned against the door frame before opening the door. “There is something you need to know before you agree to move in.”

  Jenna prepared herself for whatever it was Kris was about to say. She had already fallen in love with the place.

  “I should’ve told you before I offered, and I hope I’m not putting you in an awkward position.” There was another long pause as Kris took a deep breath.

  Jenna was starting to get a little worried. She had no idea what Kris was going to tell her next, but she liked Kris and the house, and hoped whatever it was wouldn’t be an issue.

  Kris looked her in the eye. “I’m a lesbian. I just thought you should know in case it was a problem for you.”

  Jenna let out a sigh of relief. “You had me worried there for a minute. That isn’t an issue for me and it isn’t a deal breaker, but thank you for feeling comfortable enough to share it with me.” She put her hand on Kris's shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze. “Now, show me my new room.”

  Chapter Five

  Jenna and Kris kept in touch over the following few weeks to work out the details of the move. The thought of moving in with Kris excited her and made her happy. She had a new friend and roommate with an awesome house to stay in. She wasn’t concerned at all about Kris's confession of being a lesbian. The thought had never occurred to her that Kris was a lesbian, or had it? Maybe that was part of the reason she kept thinking back to that day they shared in the park so much. Maybe that explained the extra connection she felt with her.