Stay The Night (Chaelisa)

Chapter 4

Every few months, Patterson Corp volunteers for the day at a local shelter. It’s a tradition that’s been in the company since she was a child. This year, she’s informed that some of the Lakehawks will be joining her at People Serving People to help serve food at lunch and dinner.

It should have occurred to her that if any Lakehawks would be showing up for what is - in some more cynical minds - a press event, it would be Lisa Mackenzie. But she hadn’t thought much of it and when she catches sight of Lisa in the small shelter kitchen it stops her movement for a brief second.

“Miss Patterson,” Lisa greets warmly, clearly aware of watching eyes and listening ears. Roseanne smiles a bit.

“Lisa, I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Of course,” Lisa says. “I volunteer here during the offseason anyway. I’m happy to do it on behalf of the Lakehawks and Patterson Corp.”

The personal anecdote surprises Roseanne a tad, but she manages not to react other than a nod of her head and a smile. A flash startles her from staring at Lisa and she spots a man with a camera to their right.

“Smile for the newsletter!” he says and Lisa doesn’t hesitate before wrapping an arm around Roseanne’s shoulders and smiling.

It’s a good thing that Roseanne naturally smiles in reaction to a camera being pointed her direction because otherwise she’s not sure exactly what the picture would look like. The entire side of her body is suddenly plastered against the heat of Lisa’s and she’s so acutely aware of Lisa’s fingers gripping around her bicep that it feels like she can’t notice anything else.

Satisfied, the photographer moves away from them and Lisa detaches from Roseanne’s body. Warmth lingers from where they were touching, but Roseanne just shakes it off, mindful of the rest of the people shuffling around them.

“So, you ready to serve some lunch?” Lisa says with a quirky grin that makes Roseanne smile.

“Of course,” Roseanne replies, running her palms over the fabric of her slacks to try and get the clammy feeling to leave.

Lisa’s grin turns mischievous. “You’re not exactly dressed for the part.”

Confused, Roseanne looks down at her outfit – a pair of very casual black slacks and a white blouse – but when she looks back up to protest that Lisa’s not dressed much differently something is being tugged over her head.

“Wha -”

Suddenly, Lisa is very close to her again and it registers after a few seconds that she’s tugging a cheap hairnet over Roseanne’s perfectly styled hairdo with a laugh.

“Much better,” Lisa jokes when the piece is settled and Roseanne manages to compose herself enough to roll her eyes.

“It took me a half hour to do my hair this morning,” Roseanne deadpans – and it’s not entirely true, but Lisa doesn’t need to know that.

“And it only took me two seconds to perfect it,” Lisa replies with a tease and a smile and Roseanne struggles to keep a straight face, eyes narrowed into a glare even as she does nothing to pull the hairnet off her head.

“If a picture of me in a hairnet ends up on the internet tomorrow I will personally see to it that you’re traded to the Skippers,” Roseanne says in a low whisper. It comes out sounding threatening, like she means it, but she’s sure that the way her lips quirk at the end gives her away.

Lisa only looks affronted for a second before laughing and leaning in close to Roseanne. “My contract is ironclad. You should know that.”

Roseanne rolls her eyes and pulls away a bit, taking a deep breath. Lisa is a bit too close and the slacks and button down combination she’s wearing is a bit too enticing to Roseanne. She’s glad they’re at least in relative privacy for the moment – tucked in the small shelter kitchen with only a few attendants around. If Lucas were to ever see pictures of she and Lisa Mackenzie smiling at each other in close proximity, she’s sure he’d plaster her apartment with it as a wallpaper.