Lisa
After work, I stopped at a florist and picked out a bouquet of Jennie's favourite flowers. Then I stopped in the store to buy a box of chocolates and hot chocolate and plucked a bottle of Jennie's favourite wine from the shelf. I walked through the store looking down at every aisle. Was I missing anything else?
I snatched a Starbucks gift card right before the cashier finished ringing me up. This had to work.
When I showed up at Jin's doorstep, he laughed at me.
"What the..."
"They're for your sister."
"Excuse me?"
"Jin, I have literally no one else to ask since you wouldn't ask any of the single moms at your school. Jennie is literally the last girl I can ask before I have to venture into the dating app world and I'm honestly not ready for that." Jin eyed me and crossed his arms as he leaned against his door frame. "Do you think she'll say yes?" I asked hopelessly. Jin plucked the bottle of wine from my hand and inspected it.
"If she says no after you give her this bottle of wine, then you had no chance at all."
I grinned and clutched onto that glimmer of hope. I put Jennie's bribe on the table and settled onto the couch with a glass of wine while we waited for Jennie to come home. I obsessively checked the time until it was around 5.30pm, then I obsessively looked to the door, with my heart in my throat.
"Calm down." Jin said.
The moment I heard the lock jiggle, I jumped to my feet and rushed to the kitchen to grab her my bribe. Jennie kicked off her shoes with a loud sigh and untangled her scarf. When I approached her with my arms full of her favourite things, she was pulling her tucked-in shirt out of her slacks.
Jennie did a double-take when she noticed me. "Hi?"
"Hi."
"What's all this?"
"I have a favour to ask."
Jennie narrowed her eyes. "What is it that you want?
I offered her all of my gifts, then with my best puppy dog eyes and sweetest smile, I asked, "Will you please go to my company Christmas party with me?"
Jennie blinked. "No."
"What?" I asked crestfallen. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to."
"Jennie, please!"
"No."
"Jennie, please, it's Christmas!"
"You're still talking about this?"
"Jennie, there are only two weeks until the party! Nancy is growing smugger by the second! Please! I'm desperate."
"I'm your 'desperate' option, huh?"
I looked to Jin for help; there was no way for me to get out of this one unscathed. He shrugged. Jennie looked at me with her eyebrow raised while the gears in my brain turned, trying to come up with a plausible argument that didn't involve me putting my foot in my mouth.
"Free dinner on my rich boss and endless booze."
Jennie quirked her eyebrow. Impossibly, I was making progress.
"Please, I'll do anything."
"Be careful about what you promise."
"I'm serious! I'll do anything! Please don't make me go alone and listen to Nancy gloat all night. I'll bring you coffee, I'll drive you to work, I'll do your laundry."
"Hmmmm."
"I'll even watch all of the shitty Christmas movies with you and bring hot chocolate and make mulled wine!"
Jennie chewed her lip in thought.
"I am literally begging you." I said, while dropping to my knees and clasping my hands together. "Please, Jennie!"
"Okay, fine."
I jumped up and wrapped Jennie in a bear hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Okay, okay. You're crushing me. Get off."
I pulled away and gave her a big kiss on the cheek which she immediately wiped off. "You're literally a saint. I owe you. Literally anything."
"I have a list of demands."
"Here comes the lawyer..." Jin muttered.
"Name it and you've got it." I said.
Jennie put up one finger. "You have to do all the Christmas shopping with me."
"Done!" I said quickly.
"You have to bring me coffee, every morning for the next two weeks."
"Done!"
Jennie raised her eyebrow and was assessing just how much that she could get away with. She glanced at Jin. "Are you going to come ice skating with me this year?"
"Absolutely not. I told you that I will never touch a pair of ice skates again."
Jennie looked at me again. "Then you have to go ice skating with me."
"Okay, okay fine. Anything else?"
"And you have to watch any Christmas movie that I want, when you're over here."
"Easy."
"And make me mulled wine."
"Done."
"I'll let you know if I think of anything else. I reserve the right to add on to my list of demands."
"Deal!" I stuck out my hand and Jennie shook it.
"I don't think you should have agreed to that." Jin said from the couch.
"No one asked you." I retorted. "Hey Jennie, can we take a couple of pictures for like, my phone background, so Nancy will actually believe that we're dating?"
She sighed but agreed. "Fine."
We sat on the couch with a glass of wine in our hands and I leaned in close with a huge grin on my face. I snapped the picture and changed my phone background to a picture of us. "There. Irrefutable proof that I have a girlfriend. Ha! Take that Nancy!"
"Fake girlfriend."
"Fake girlfriend." I agreed.
Jennie finished her wine then stretched. "I'm going to bed everyone. It's been a shitty week."
"No dinner?" Jin asked.
"I ate at work."
Jin frowned but didn't comment.
"Lisa." Jennie said, turning back to me. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at 8pm."
"What? Why?"
"We're going Christmas shopping."
