Jennie made her way across the darkened living room to where Lisa was standing. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Let me see."
"I know how to check a circuit breaker, Jennie."
Lisa looked down at her. Jennie was up on her tiptoes, craning to see past Lisa toward the electrical cabinet, but she kept herself planted in place to block Jennie's path. Lisa knew she'd only bought herself a little time. How long before Jennie figured out that she'd tripped the main switch? How long before Jennie left to go charge her phone somewhere else?
Was this the last time Lisa was ever going to see Jennie's face up close? Jennie's face. Jennie's big brown eyes. Jennie's soft, full lips. How many times had she dreamed of seeing Jennie's face here in this house? Jennie, in her living room. How many times had she pictured it? And now Jennie was finally here, and she had blown it. Not 24 hours into the visit, and Lisa had already ruined everything. Just a matter of time now. The fuse was lit, and the moment Jennie got her phone charged, the bomb would go off and the whole thing would blow sky-high.
How many times had she imagined Jennie here in this house, under this roof? How many times had she planned exactly what she would do? Lisa had meant to savour it. Open some wine. Play some music - something slow and smooth. Take Jennie in her arms and dance together in the living room. Just sway together, feeling Jennie's heart beating against her chest, inhaling the scent of her hair. And then slowly begin to kiss her... dance her over to the bedroom... bit by bit, take off her clothes...
But there was no time now for any of that. Forget savouring it. Forget setting the mood. Forget that Lisa was punch-drunk from lack of sleep, and her eyes felt like someone had scraped off the corneas with sandpaper. Forget that she'd been wearing the same clothes for the past 12 hours, and the fear-induced sweat from the night before hadn't yet dried on her damp t-shirt. Forget that she probably smelled like a zoo animal.
Time's up, Lisa thought. Too late. Too late for slow and smooth. Too late to play it cool. Too late for anything now but naked desperation.
Lisa reached out and dragged Jennie's body against hers, planting her mouth firmly over Jennie's.
Jennie had been trying to see the fuse box when she felt Lisa jerk her against her and cover her mouth with her own. For a moment, Jennie was too surprised to resist. Lisa tilted her head, kissing her deeply, and Jennie felt her own mouth open in response from pure muscle memory. Lisa's arm was around her waist, pressing Jennie against her, and she could feel that Lisa wanted more than just a kiss. Apparently, Audrey hadn't managed to empty Lisa's tank completely... so supermodels aren't that good in bed?
Jennie brought up a hand between their bodies, dragging her mouth away from Lisa's. "What are you doing?"
"Power outage," Lisa answered breathlessly. "Got to kiss someone in a power outage."
Jennie shook her head. "I've never heard of that one."
"Must be a West coast thing," Lisa replied, dipping her head to kiss Jennie again.
She brought up her other hand to stop Lisa. "You stink." Jennie said, wrinkling her nose and pushing against Lisa's chest. "You need a shower."
Lisa released her arm from around Jennie's waist, and she took a step backward, but Lisa reached out and grabbed her hand. Without a word, Lisa began pulling Jennie towards the bedroom. "What?" Jennie said.
"Let's take a shower then," Lisa told her roughly as she led Jennie past the bed and towards the bathroom.
This was not part of the plan, Jennie told herself. She was supposed to be packing. Get in and get out. That was the plan. No showering.
Especially no showering with Lisa.
