Lisa
The whole world felt different to Lisa and seemed to have shifted on its axis over the past twenty four hours. Her feelings for Jennie had been simmering just below the surface since she'd arrived, but had exploded through the floodgates once her lips touched Jennie's. That one kiss intensified every emotion that Lisa felt for Jennie and she was finding it difficult to navigate and control the new feelings.
Lisa and Jennie left the coat closet hand in hand as she led her back to the main room. Normally having Jennie in close proximity or within eyesight was enough to put her at ease, but now she wanted... needed physical contact.
Knowing that they were entering a gigantic room full of wolves in sheep's clothing who were out to hurt Jennie, put her on edge. She would fight the whole damn world for Jennie, but had to keep herself in check because the last thing she ever wanted to do was suffocate Jennie.
She longed for independence and Lisa wanted to give that to her, trying her best to tamp down her overprotective nature and monitoring Jennie closely from the side-lines, which was difficult, but necessary. She knew if she pushed too hard or overpowered Jennie, she would lose her and that's not the relationship that they had established. The truth was, allowing Lisa to help Jennie required a certain level of submission and trust that Jennie wasn't used to and she needed to become comfortable with that on her own time, but Lisa was patient and Jennie was worth the wait.
Escorting Jennie over to one of the bars, she ordered a drink for her and they both turned to watch Richard and Dara on the dance floor. Richard and Dara were elegant and poised with most of the eyes in the room glued to them and Jennie smiled brightly as she watched.
Lisa looked on with Jennie, but noticed a tall slender man with long hair who kept looking over at Jennie. Sure most men stared when Jennie walked past, especially with her in that fucking dress, but this man was shifty and trying to conceal his occasional glances as if he were working up the courage to walk over. A few seconds later Jennie registered the man's gaze and whipped her head and body around to face the bar. Her body language was off and Lisa knew instantly that she was scared of the man. She leaned forward on her forearm and stirred her drink nervously with the other hand.
"That guy's been staring at you for the past fifteen minutes and by the looks of your body language, I'm guessing he's not a friend." Lisa said low into her ear. "He's... no one... I just don't like him," Jennie lied. "You don't strike me as the type to dislike someone without cause. Talk to me Jennie."
Jennie didn't respond and Lisa watched her mutter something inaudible under her breath as if she were giving herself a pep talk before she raised up from her leaning posture, straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin.
Come on sweetheart you don't have to do that anymore. You don't have to fight all these battles on your own. I know you're scared. Trust me enough to tell me.
"It's nothing. I can handle him." Jennie said forcing confidence into her voice that wasn't truly there. She had armoured up and was closing the man out, but closing Lisa out in the process. Luckily Lisa was patient and understood that taking down Jennie's defensive walls was going to take some time and effort, but she was willing to do that even if it was brick by brick. "So you admit he needs to be handled?" Lisa said arching a brow at her.
"No... yes... I mean I can handle him on my own. It's not a big deal he just... we... I..." She couldn't form a complete sentence as the man made eye contact with her which told Lisa that she wasn't just intimidated, she was terrified. "Jennie, I know you said you can't show fear or vulnerability in front of those men, but sweetheart, I'm not like them. It's okay for you to be vulnerable around me honey. It's just me." Jennie looked up at Lisa with wide unsure eyes before she spoke and when she did, her words were soft and slow as if she were scared to say them out loud. "I'm afraid of him." she admitted softly.
