"Sorry, ladies, I uh... I just... I think I dropped something earlier. Just... gonna..." Will quickly bent down by the stool he had occupied just moments ago, coming back up with a set of car keys. "There we are. Well," he glanced uncomfortably between the two women, "I'll be on my way." And with that, he made his second exit of the night.
The two women let out matching sighs of relief, looking at each other for a long moment while letting it sink in how close they had come to being caught by one of their friends. Lisa tried to remain casual, but the seriousness of what had just occurred between them - no matter the premise - was not lost on her. Jennie may have been putting on a show for the sake of thwarting a stranger's unwanted advances, but it had gone a bit far and they both knew it.
Lisa was first to break the tension, "Jennie, I don't know what that was," she moved her hand between the two of them, "I mean, I know what that was but I don't really understand what it means. I just..." she looked around the room for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. "What are we doing, Jennie?" she asked in a hushed tone, surprised that she was even able to get the words out knowing that whatever Jennie answers, it would change everything.
Jennie gave a sigh, sliding her hands down Lisa's arms to take both hands in her own. Lisa felt so small, so... vulnerable. "I don't know, Lisa," she finally answered, her gaze trained on their joined hands. "But whatever it is, I'm not sure I can stop."
Lisa inhaled sharply at Jennie's confession, the naked truth of her words surprising her more than she thought they would. She wanted so badly to have this conversation - figure out what was going on between them and move forward in whatever way they needed to - but this was neither the time nor the place. Lisa had made a mistake pushing Jennie to say those words. She wanted to hear them - needed to hear them - but what could possibly be said in a crowded, noisy restaurant where their friends could appear at any moment and catch them saying things that Lisa wasn't even sure she was ready to say or hear herself?
No.
This wasn't right.
Lisa gave Jennie's hands a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry, it was unfair of me to ask," she apologized.
Jennie looked at Lisa, her brow furrowing slightly, "No, you had every right to ask. We need to talk about this," she said, glancing quickly behind her, "but not now."
"Not now," Lisa agreed, with a nod of the head. Emboldened by the night's unexpected turn of events, Lisa removed her hands from Jennie's grasp and, placing them on either side of Jennie's face, drew her in for one last lingering kiss. As she pulled away, Lisa could see Jennie's eyes flutter open, a warm smile gracing her features. "Not now," Lisa repeated, "but soon."
"Hey-ya, ladies!" came a familiar voice.
Jennie slowly stepped away from Lisa, putting a more respectable distance between their bodies just as Gabrielle pushed her way through the final clump of patrons separating her from her friends.
"Uh man, where are those losers? A certain someone who shall remain nameless - you know who you are," she pointed a finger at Lisa in mock accusation, "promised me there would be a juicy, juicy burger awaiting my arrival. Clearly your friends aren't in any hurry to make good on our deal," she huffed, flopping down on the stool next to Lisa. "Just for that, double order of fries!" she exclaimed, slapping her hand on the bar.
Lisa chuckled at Gabrielle being... well... Gabrielle, and swiveled her stool back toward the bar to find the beer she had abandoned when Jennie arrived. Lisa sat quietly sipping her beer while listening to Jennie and Gabrielle chat about the new daytime security guard stationed at the front entrance of their office. Lisa's thoughts drifted a bit as she watched Jennie, remembering how it felt holding her so close, her soft lips pressed against her own. But she was dragged out of her reminiscing when she heard Jennie inquire if why Gabrielle had asked to leave early from work earlier.
