But thankfully sanity had kicked in at the last moment. It was crazy - proposing marriage. There were a million reasons why it was crazy. It had only been a couple of weeks that they'd even been back in touch. They'd spent a grand total of nine nights together.
It's not like as though they had spent nine months together. Maybe that would be a reasonable amount of time for a courtship. Nine weeks would be pushing it too. But nine nights? You don't get engaged after nine nights. That would be the definition of insanity.
Not to mention the fact that they lived on opposite coasts. Or the fact that Lisa was away on tour six months out of the year. Or that Lisa was stalked relentlessly by paparazzi everywhere she went. Or that she literally had 75 percent of the world's female population throwing themselves at her.
No, none of that was the reason it would've been the biggest mistake of her life. The fact was, Jennie knew deep down that Lisa hadn't really meant it. She knew how Lisa was. Impulsive. Lisa was always getting carried away and saying things she lived to regret. That's all it was. They'd been reminiscing about old times, and Lisa had gotten caught up in the memory. It wasn't a real proposal. Lisa didn't even have a ring. She had probably thought better of it 30 seconds after the words were out of her mouth. She was probably thanking her lucky stars that Jennie had said no.
Jennie had considered telling Jisoo about the marriage proposal over drinks tonight, and she felt a bit disloyal for holding back. Jisoo had been her best friend since they were both freshmen in college 12 years ago. They had always told each other everything. But somehow, she couldn't tell her friend this. It was just a little too raw. A little too painful. To hear the words she'd always dreamt of hearing from the one person she'd always wanted deep down to say them - and to know in her heart of hearts that it wasn't real. A fantasy, that's all it really was. A scene that would make for a great ending to some Hollywood romantic comedy, but had absolutely nothing to do with real life.
"Don't get me wrong." Jisoo said. "I'm all for the idea that you're taking a vacation. When was the last time you took one?
"I guess when I had that flu a couple years ago..."
"That's not a vacation, Jennie."
"I know. I need a break." That much, at least, Jennie could agree on. She was a senior associate at a top New York City law firm, and she couldn't afford to make the kinds of careless mistakes she'd been making lately. Ever since that morning Lisa had spotted her in the crowd at the Today Show, it was like her mind had taken a little vacation of its own. She'd been having trouble focusing, forgetting clients' names, leaving important emails unanswered, letting her mind wander in the middle of closing arguments the other day in court. She'd still won the case of course. It wasn't as dire as all that. But people were starting to notice.
"Listen..." Jisoo said. "I get that she's sex on a stick. She always was, even before she was Ms. Big Shot in Hollywood. But can't you just go to a Club Med or something? Meet some hot young guy on the beach?"
"It's already done, Jisoo. I bought the tickets. I'm flying to LA on Saturday."
"You're going to get hurt."
"Probably." Jennie knew it was true. There was no way Jennie could spend two weeks with Lisa and not get her heart involved. It was too late for that already. She'd tried to nip things in the bud with Lisa after the first night, but she hadn't let Jennie. Lisa had sent that tweet, and then she'd come to Jennie's apartment to confront her, and Jennie hadn't been able to deny her feelings after that.
She'd never been able to fall in love with anyone else in all the years they were apart. No one had ever been able to compete with her memory of Lisa. The way she filled up a room the moment she walked in. That way Lisa had of looking at her, like she was the most desirable woman Lisa had ever set eyes on. It was irresistible, that look - more addictive than any drug - which was the reason why every actress in Hollywood found Lisa utterly irresistible as well.
Jennie drained the last of her drink, feeling the alcohol burn its way down her throat and meld itself with the slow warmth that spread upward from the pit of her stomach.
"It's not too late to change your mind." Jisoo said. "Tickets can be changed. Just think about it, ok? Think long and hard."
"Long and hard?" Jennie tittered.
Jisoo broke into a grin. "You have a filthy mind, Jennie."
"I will think about it," Jennie said, grinning back. "Deeply. Over and over and over...."
They giggled together, and Jennie closed her eyes. Her head was starting to swim from the alcohol. "No, but seriously..." she heard Jisoo say. "It's not too late to change your mind. Promise me you'll think about it before you get on that plane."
"Ok," Jennie said. "I'll think about it. I promise."
As if she could think about anything else.
