A Love That Heals Page 2
“The pay would really have to be very good,” said Alissa.
“It will be, don’t worry,” said Jenna, “what do you say?”
“I am in. A week of coming to the school, in return for a job that also has a chance to be permanent in nature if I do good, have I got it right?”
“Absolutely,” said Jenna.
“Okay, and you can stop here, to the right. We have arrived,” said Alissa, as Jenna parked in front of an apartment complex medium in size.
“So, I will see you in class today?”
“Yes,” said Alissa, and for the first time, Jenna saw the girl smile, and she felt her heart melt.
She realized she wanted to see this girl smile more often, and she also realized there was something special about this girl, something that was making Jenna feel a certain way, feel things she had only felt for one other girl, many years back.
∞∞∞
The classroom was packed with students. The exams were fast approaching, and this was the time when students left everything to attend the last few classes, because this was the time when the teachers only taught and made the students revise the important topics that would have the most chance to show up in exams.
When Jenna entered the class, and saw the grade 12 students packed like sardines in her tiny classroom, she knew they were only here because they wanted to know what would show up in the exams, and Jenna knew this was the perfect opportunity to grill some of the students whose presence was rare in these classes.
But there was one face that Jenna hoped to see more than anyone else’s, and she noticed that face sitting right at the front of the class, a faint grin on her face.
“It is good to see a packed classroom today, for a change. And you know what that means, a lot of you will be doing a lot of answering today. Especially the ones who have shown their gorgeous faces after a long time,” said Jenna, and looked directly at Alissa, whose smile grew just a little wider.
As the class progressed, Jenna called out the names of all those people who were absent frequently in the past few weeks, and the entire time, Alissa was expecting her name to be called out any second.
But it never came up.
As the final bell rang, and the class was dismissed, a few students did walk up to Alissa to ask why her name was not called, some even joking that Mrs. Smith might just have a crush on you.
Alissa dismissed them with vague excuses, and waited for everyone to leave.
Once the class was empty except for her and Jenna, she approached her teacher, and stood in front of her with her hands behind her back, making a very cute, pouty face.
“I felt left out today,” said Alissa.
Jenna looked up from her laptop, and asked, “Why?”
“I wanted to be grilled by you.”
“Wasn’t morning’s grilling not enough for you?”
“No, I want more,” said Alissa and smiled again.
“I like it when you smile. You should smile more often.”
“The reasons have dried up recently,” Alissa whispered, talking almost to herself than Jenna, “Anyways, what is the plan for today?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, when do we start work?”
“I told you, you need to be regular for a week, and only then.”
“But, I promise I will be regular. Why should we wait? We will lose precious time, and I am sure you want to publish that book as soon as possible.”
“Do you promise to be regular?”
“I do, Mrs. Smith, and to be honest, I need the money as well. Umm...rent is due and I may get kicked out.”
“What? How the hell did you get in this position anyway? Oh god, what are you doing with your life, young woman? Okay, come with me to my house after school today, and let's get started, but after that, I want to know what the hell is going on in your life. I saved you from those men yesterday, and I am giving you a job. That's the least you can do for me.”
Alissa thought for a few seconds, and then she said, “Okay, I will. So...should I wait for you in the parking lot after school is done?”
“Yes, wait for me by my car.”
Alissa smiled, and then she turned around to leave, but suddenly, she turned back around to face Jenna, and she said, “Can I confess something?”
“Yeah.”
“You have always been my favorite teacher. And I always used to try and impress you in class, that is why I put in extra work.”
“Really?” asked Jenna, arching her eyebrow, “and why is that? Is it because I teach well?”
“It has got nothing to do with your teaching.”
“Then?”
“I find you very pretty. I always used to think, I want to grow up to be as gorgeous as Mrs. Smith. You were kind of...my crush, if that makes sense,” Alissa said, and giggled, and then she kept her hand on her mouth to stop herself from smiling like an idiot, and the action caused her crop top to rise over her navel, revealing her underboob, and suddenly, Jenna could not take her eyes away from Alissa’s sculpted midriff and the slight tease of her underboobs.
Suddenly, she felt her pussy tingle for Alissa, the young student who she had rescued.
“I...don’t know what to say. I mean, you don't have to worry about not growing up as a pretty woman, because clearly...you have got it covered,” said Jenna, and she scanned Alissa from head to toe, and once again could not believe how much the girl looked like Kendall Jenner.
Alissa smiled, turned on her heels, and left, and Jenna watched her cute little butt sway, as the girl disappeared around the corner of the hallway.
Chapter Two
“What is the main story about?” asked Alissa, sitting across from Jenna on Jenna’s couch.
“It is a love story between two women,” said Jenna, and Alissa spat out the water she had been drinking.
“I am sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I was just caught by surprise.”
“But why?” asked Jenna, slightly amused by Alissa’s reaction.
“I don’t know. I see you as a very conventional woman, and to write a lesbian love story, I think you need to be a little adventurous, I mean, don’t mind.”
“So you think I am vanilla?”
“Not vanilla per se, but a little orthodox.”
“Oh, you have no idea, girl. Never judge a book by its cover, but yeah, I do want you to design a cover that will make people judge the book favorably,” said Jenna.
“So, a lesbian love story?”
“Stop using the word lesbian. It is a love story, and it has two people that love each other and want to stay with each other, no matter what. I don’t want to trivialize it by giving so much importance to their gender. Love is love in the end, isn’t it?”
Alissa looked at Jenna, and saw that the woman was staring deep into her eyes, and for a second, both the women sat still, staring into each other’s eyes, and then Alissa said, “Of course, I have many gay friends, and I have always been very supportive. So, what do you have in mind for the cover?”
“I want to depict two women on the cover, one hugging the other, her eyes closed, her face nuzzled in the neck of the other woman, but the other woman needs to be looking straight at the reader, her eyes should be open, and she should have a stoic expression on her face.”
“So you want two women in an embrace where one has her face hidden, and the other should be looking at the camera, holding the woman but with like...anger on her face?”
“Not anger, but concern. She should convey the feeling that she is enjoying this embrace, but also realizes the repercussions or the consequences of this embrace, while the other woman is careless, free, and devoid of any apprehension.”
“You just threw a lot of heavy words at my face there, Mrs. Smith, you need to slow down, and I need to write this stuff down. Wait,” said Alissa and took out a little notepad and a pen from her backpack.
“I really like how you think., Mrs. Smith.” said Jenna, making notes on her pad.
“Really?”
“Yes,” said Jenna, and then she got up, and sat next to Alissa, and Alissa’s perfume hit her nose, making her feel things between her legs.
“I have made the notes, and now I will send you some photos that we can use for the cover, or if you have any then you can send me, and I will see what I can do with them,” said Alissa, and looked at Jenna, who she found was looking at her with a curious expression.
“Everything all right, Mrs. Smith, I mean...Jenna?”
“Yeah, I guess you are all done for the day. That wasn’t much work, was it?”
“I mean, I can stay around and look for the pictures right now if you want?” asked Alissa.
“Would you? That would be great. At least I would be satisfied that we have begun on something. Meanwhile, let me make some coffee, I surely can use some!”
As Jenna left Alissa with her laptop on the couch, Alissa started her search for the perfect photo for the book cover, and for that, she started going through many pictures of lesbian couples, in different poses and acts of cuddling.
Some were outright erotic, but Alissa would stop and stare at them for some time, and something in her would stir.
Just the way women were holding each other in these photos, the way their lips met, and they were looking in each other’s eyes was so pure and romantic, and something that Alissa had never experienced before, and she wondered if she would have been better off with a girl as a lover.
The more she searched for the perfect picture, the more she found these lesbian couples cute, and then suddenly, she had forgotten all about searching for the picture, and had gone down the rabbit hole of just looking at pictures, and imagining herself in them, and suddenly, the thought of feeling a woman’s embrace, and her touch started exciting her, and when a picture popped up, in which an older looking woman was caressing a younger girl, while squeezing her ass, her brain replaced the older woman with Jenna, and the younger woman with herself, and instantly, her heart began to beat faster, banging against her chest, telling her how kinky and hot it would be to feel her teacher’s hand on her ass.
Just then, Jenna returned with the coffee, and her eyes fell on the screen of the laptop, and Alissa was too late in hiding the screen.
“That is a very hot image, but I don’t think that is what I am looking for,” Jenna said, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
“I am sorry, I got carried away. But..damn...I never realized girls making love to each other would be so hot. I mean...I am sorry if I am crossing a line here, but I said it because you just said I am a friend.”
“I don’t mind, Alissa, and yes, there is something very pure in the way a woman touches another woman in a loving way. It doesn’t even have to be sexual.”
“I would like to experience it once, even though I think I am pretty much straight,” Alissa confessed.
“You never know until you try it,” said Jenna, and took a sip of her coffee.
“I think I just might,” said Alissa, picking up her own cup of coffee and putting her lips to the edge.
Jenna noticed it all, the way her lips almost kissed the edge of the cup, how the coffee flowed into her mouth, and how she licked the wetness around her lips, all while staring at Jenna.
“Let me help you find the right picture,” said Jenna, trying to get a hold of herself, and trying not to get distracted by the angel sitting on the couch beside her.
For the next hour, Alissa and Jenna went through many many pictures of girls, kissing, smooching, cuddling and embracing one another, until suddenly, Jenna cried out, “this is the one.”
Alissa looked at the picture that had roused Jenna’s interest, and saw that the picture presented the same scenario that Jenna had earlier described, and additionally, the woman looking at the camera in the picture looked eerily like Jenna herself.
“This is perfect. I think I want to go with this one,” said Jenna, pointing at the picture.
“Looks good to me as well,” said Alissa, “I will begin work on it as soon as possible.”
“Great,” said Jenna.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Jenna got up to see who it was.
Alissa heard Jenna say thank you to someone, and then, before Jenna, a little girl came running into the hall, with a pink bag over her shoulders.
“This is Alexandra,” said Jenna, coming up behind her daughter, “the troublemaker of this house.”
Alissa’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw the girl.
If there was one thing that brought all of Alissa’s feelings to the forefront, it was kids, and Alissa just couldn't get enough of them.
“Hey!” Alissa squealed, as the little girl, with black hair and big brown eyes ran up to the couch and jumped on it beside Alissa.
“Hi, who are you?” Alexandra got straight to the point.
“I am your mother’s friend,” said Alissa, extending her hand for a handshake, “I am Alissa.”
“I am Alexandra, and I am my mother’s daughter,” said the witty child with a grin.
“Oh really? I wouldn't have guessed,” said Alissa.
“Aren’t you too young to be momma’s friend? All of her other friends are really old,” said Alexandra, looking at her mother with a fearful expression, afraid she might get scolded for saying too much.
“What? Alexandra...I am not that old! I am 35!”
“But she looks like she is 18,” said Alexandra, pointing at Alissa.
“What? How did you guess that so perfectly? Aren’t you a smart girl?” Alissa said, making a surprised face.
“Yes, I am. Anyways, I am hungry. I want to eat something.”
“There is broccoli inside the fridge. If you are so smart, then you shouldn’t have any problem taking it outside the fridge, heating it up, and serving yourself, right?”
Alexandra made a face like she was going to puke, and said, “I don’t want to eat broccoli. I want Pasta!”
“There is no Pasta. And I am in no mood to cook it. You have to eat your veggies,” said Jenna, sitting down on the sofa opposite Alissa and Alexandra.
“What if I cook pasta for her?” Alissa suddenly said, surprising herself as well.
“You want to cook for her?” said Jenna, surprised.
“Yes. Pasta was one of my mother’s favorite foods, so I used to make it very frequently. So frequently, that I think no one makes better pasta than me.”
“Really? Then let’s put that statement to the test!”
And so, it happened.
Alissa went into the kitchen, and whipped up the best pasta that she had ever made and brought it out for Jenna and Alexandra, who were waiting for it expectantly at the table, and in that moment, Alissa forgot all about the pains that had been haunting her ever since her mother had died, and there, in the Smith house, sitting with the family, Alissa felt that she belonged somewhere, and all of this had happened because of a kind, beautiful person, who was sitting across from her, tasting the first spoonful of the pasta that she had made, and complimenting Alissa on how amazing it was.
Alissa was too overwhelmed to say anything, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not control the tears that started to run down her cheeks, making her get up, and run back inside the kitchen, where Jenna found her over the sink, sobbing softly.
“Alissa?”
Alissa turned around, and hastily wiped the tears from her face.
“I am sorry for that. Mother’s death still makes me emotional from time to time, and I know I shouldn’t be behaving like this in front of a girl, and…”
Jenna did not let Alissa complete. She strode towards herm and took her in her arms, and hugged her tightly, and Alissa did not know why, but she started crying even harder once Jenna hugged her, and Alissa hugged her back, tighter than ever, and she just let herself go, sobbing in Jenna’s arms as if she had known the woman for ages.
“It’s okay,
Alissa, it’s okay to feel hurt. It’s okay to feel sad for people who are not there with us, but remember, after one point, wherever those people are, they would also want you to move on, and it would hurt them to see that the people they have left behind are hurting because of them.”
Alissa did not respond, but kept crying, and then suddenly, she broke free of the hug, and said, “I want to go home. Can I go?”
“But you haven't even eaten the pasta?”
“It is okay. I had made it for Alexandra.”
“But, I can't let you go in this state. Please stay for some more time.”
“But you don’t understand that I hate being in this position. I hate being this vulnerable, especially in front of people I have just met.”
“But I thought we were friends,” Jenna said, taking Alissa’s hand in hers, “Listen, you can sit with your earphones on the couch, while I feed Alexandra, and then I will drive you to your home. Is that okay?”
Alissa thought for some time, and then she nodded her approval.
∞∞∞
“Who was she?” asked Alissa, as the car skirted around a corner, and entered the freeway.
“Who?” asked Jenna, relaxing her hand on the steering wheel and arching her back to find a comfortable position in the driver’s seat.
“The girl that you loved?”
Just as soon as Jenna had somewhat relaxed, Alissa’s statement made her tense up.
“What are you talking about, Alissa?”
“It is clear that the main story in your book is about you and some other girl. Someone you loved and lost. Someone you could not save. You even chose the cover that had a woman who looked like you.”
“Don’t you think that is a little too personal?”
“I am sorry if I offended you.”
“No, you didn’t. I have no problem sharing with you, but this has to be a two-way street. You will also have to be transparent with me, and tell me what is going on in your life.”
“Deal,” said Alissa, who would have agreed to anything just to hear Jenna’s story.
“You seem pretty excited to hear all about it. Okay, well, I don’t want to go too much in detail, otherwise, you would be the one holding me while I cry in your arms. It all happened many years ago when I was in college. I had always dated boys until my second year, when I met this beautiful, smart, charming girl who shared my interests for Agatha Christie novels, David Lynch movies and salsa. We became very good friends, and that is when I started falling for her. She made me realize that I was bisexual, and very heavily leaned towards girls. But she was a wild one as well. She used to love partying, loved alcohol, and loved getting into trouble. But she used to drop all of those things whenever we used to hang out, and then one day, I confessed my love to her, and we made love. But she never really said that she loved me. We just made love, and then she left the next morning while I slept. The same night, I heard that she had overdosed on drugs, and that was that. I never got to know whether she loved me back, or was I just a fling for her. All I knew was, I would never love anyone else as strong as I loved her,” Jenna completed, and although she was determined not to cry, a tear did sneak out of the corner of her eyes, a small reminder of the pain that still lingered buried somewhere in the confines of her mind.