your boots beneath my bed | JENLISA

Chapter 7

Jennie peeked through the kitchen window for the tenth time that afternoon. She sipped her third cup of coffee of the day and felt her eyebrows pull together when she saw that Lisa's truck was still gone. It had been since she'd woken up.

Her phone ringing broke her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, are you okay?" Channing asked as soon as Jennie picked up the phone.

"I'm good, yeah. How are you two?" she replied distractedly, still staring over at Lisa's tiny home and wondering where she had gone off to and why it felt a little like Lisa might be avoiding her.

"God, I wouldn't have left if I'd known the power was gonna go out like that," Channing said, her voice apologetic.

"It was a storm, Chan. We survived it and I'm going to go check on the property in a bit," Jennie replied with a small smile at the concern she could hear in her sister's voice.

"We?" Channing asked quietly.

"Oh, uh, Lisa came over to make sure I was surviving my first ice storm," she explained, her stomach flipping at the memories flashing through her mind.

"That's very sweet of her," Channing hummed.

"It... okay, can you please be my sister and not my co-owner for a second?" Jennie asked, leaning against the kitchen counter with the phone pressed to her ear.

"I'm always your sister," Channing chuckled.

"She slept over and there was an almost something on the couch when we were cuddling for warmth, but now she's gone. No truck, no sign of life. And the note she left me was sweet and all, but she's literally disappeared," she rushed out.

"Okay, back up. You cuddled for warmth?" Channing asked, her voice tinged with what sounded like a mixture of excitement and worry.

"It was cold, Chan," Jennie defended.

"Was it... nice?"

"She's warm," Jennie replied softly, pushing her hand against her blushing cheek. "And hard-headed."

"What does that mean?" Channing laughed.

"The power came back on and startled us out of the almost something and we might have smacked foreheads," Jennie sighed.

"Okay, that's adorable," Channing cooed into the phone. "So, you almost kissed in the dark and then bumped heads and got shy?"

"I'm aware that could be a plot in one of those romance books I read but it actually happened and it was- it was nice," she said quietly.

"I'm glad," Channing replied, her voice equally soft. "I really do think you two would hit it off. Your chemistry is great. I just- if this is gonna be something involving feelings, you need to make sure everyone's heart is protected... if that makes sense."

"I don't know if I follow," Jennie mumbled, her voice tight, completely understanding exactly what Channing was saying but pretending not to.

"You're my sister, and I love you. I want you to be with someone like Lisa. But I also know Lisa, and I really like her. She deserves honesty and sensitivity. From you," Channing tried again, rolling her eyes slightly at Jennie's immediate response.

"And you're afraid I won't give her that?" Jennie asked with a slightly tensed jaw.

"Have you told her? Or were you planning on taking her on a date before talking about it?" Channing sighed.

"We're done talking about this," she replied coolly.

"Jennie, you can't just ignore it. Your... situation might not be a factor for you, but it's a factor for some people. And if you don't want a relationship with Lisa, I respect that. If it's just fun, I respect that too. But you should tell her that. If it isn't just for fun, you should make sure that you're available to date someone."