Haircuts & Flirtations // Jenlisa

4

"Oh."

There's a pregnant pause. Dead air fills the space between them.

Lisa blinks slowly.

"Canada?"

The corner of Jennie's mouth does an almost invisible twitch. "This would be a bad time to crack the obvious joke, wouldn't it?"

Her mind still playing catch up, Lisa doesn't follow at first and it must be evident in her clueless expression.

"Oh Canada...?" Jennie fills in with a slight lift of her brows.

A small, tentative smile sits on her lips.

"As in, the national anthem?"

Closing her eyes, Lisa pushes a controlled breath out through her nostrils. "Right."

Normally, she'd be kicking herself for not making the connection sooner, but she's going to blame mitigating circumstances for her current lack of intellectual acuity.

She shakes her head a little, an attempt to dispel the mental fog that's equal parts exhaustion, woozy post-orgasmic stupor, and just plain bewilderment at how rapidly things took a slide. Only minutes ago she was lazing in the afterglow, about to happily surrender to sleep at last. And now... now her brain is fried, thrown into overdrive as it works to process the news that Jennie is leaving LA for who knows how long.

The thing is, Lisa was aware of the possibility—at least in the abstract.

Time apart comes with the territory of dating an actress. A series regular. In a prestige show on premium cable that's already generating early online hype over and above the standard industry buzz (Jennie had divulged at dinner, flushed with success and enough champagne to exhibit a healthy amount of pride in her accomplishments).

And so, Lisa fully expected there would be weeks when their schedules didn't align thanks to night shoots or early morning starts and punishingly long days on set. She understood that, eventually, at some vague point in the future, Jennie could be away on location, off doing press junkets and other promotional obligations, or she might even have to live elsewhere for a stint.

All demands of the job; none of it news.

But in Lisa's mind, the worst case scenario of Jennie moving to the opposite coast—or, fuck, across the border—was a distant prospect. Something to deal with further down the line when their relationship was more solidified. She wasn't prepared for it to happen so soon and it's the suddenness that's throwing her extra hard for a loop.

Meanwhile, she's also conscious that Jennie is studying her closely. Gauging her reaction. Bottom lip tucked behind her teeth and a crease between her brows as her eyes roam over Lisa's face in the pale, pre-dawn light.

Even partially shrouded in shadow, Lisa sees Jennie's hesitance; the worry and trepidation. How she draws in a short, steadying breath, gathering the nerve to say softer, more seriously, "I know it's a lot to spring it on you like this."

"I mean..." Lisa lifts her shoulder a fraction then lets it drop. "As a resident of the US, I do prefer to cap off the night with The Star-Spangled Banner."

The touch of sarcasm earns her a flat look and a swat on the ribs, but then Jennie sags into the mattress, relief spilling over her features, and Lisa is glad she opted to diffuse the tension with a little sass.

"So," Lisa says after a moment's silence to recompose. She flexes an eyebrow. "Toronto."

She does her best to keep her tone neutral, to keep any hint of dejection out of it. Determined to ignore that heavy, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she runs her knuckles back and forth over Jennie's hip bone.