Prank Date [✔]

Part 26

I watched the blonde on the TV screen knock over a table. Coffee cups crashed at the feet of her cheating female lover.

Jesus Christ! Is that really what a relationship between two women is like? Twice the estrogen means twice the drama? I shook my head at myself. Oh, come on. Be fair. If you had been deeply in love with Patrick, you would have been this upset about his cheating too.

The phone rang, making me jump. Stop being so paranoid. It's not the heterosexual mafia calling to make sure you're staying away from lesbian TV shows. Even Jisoo and her other straight colleagues had watched this particular show when it had first aired, so there was no reason to be embarrassed. I paused the DVD that was the latest part of my private research and glanced at the caller ID.

I smiled when I saw the name on the display. See? Not the heterosexual mafia. I picked up the phone. "Hi, Lisa."

"What are you wearing?"

Lisa's husky voice sent a shiver through me. I had to clear my voice twice before I could speak. "Excuse me?" I stammered.

"For Thanksgiving," Lisa said, now in a more normal tone. "I'm wondering about the dress code at your parents' house."

"Oh." I fell against the backrest of the couch.

"What?" Lisa laughed. "You thought I was trying to have phone sex?"

Of course, I hadn't really thought that, but watching the lesbian TV show with its scenes of physical intimacy between women hadn't left me unaffected. Not that I would ever admit that to Lisa. I still had a hard time admitting it to myself. "No." I frowned, annoyed at how squeaky my voice sounded. "Of course not."

"Don't blush." Lisa giggled.

I rubbed my burning cheeks. How does she know? "I'm not blushing."

"No, of course not," she repeated my words. I could imagine the grin on her face. "So," she said, "is there a dress code?"

She's worried about what to wear? There's a hundred things about Thanksgiving that worry me more.

"Not really," I said, "but my father usually dresses pretty formal. He'll get back from his matinee performance just before we have dinner, so he'll be in a vest and tie."

Lisa sighed. "That formal, huh?"

"Yes, but you can wear whatever you want," I said. I smoothed my hands over my sweatpants, wondering what I would wear. Should I show up at my parents' home in my usual slacks and blouse? Or dress differently to reflect my newfound lesbian status? Oh, great, now I'm nervous about what to wear too. "Jin will probably show up wearing jeans, so you don't need to dress up."

"Oh, yes, I do. Rule number one of conquering someone's heart: get her family on your side, even if it means dressing up to impress the parents."

She's got some kind of unwritten rulebook? I wondered how many hearts Lisa had conquered. It doesn't matter. Yours won't be one of them. I paused and stared at the TV, again surprised at the thoughts I kept having. "But you're not really trying to conquer my heart," I said as matter-of-factly as I could.