Take My Mask, I'm Home

just a single brush felt like an electric touch

They hadn't got very far down the hallway before Lisa suddenly pulled Jennie to a stop with a jerk.

"Lisa, what-"

"Wait," Lisa said, before pushing the door to a spare bedroom that was hardly ever used, dragging Jennie into it. She shut the door behind them, turned the light on, and leaned back against the door. "We haven't discussed... you know. Our situation. Our relationship. They're going to want answers, and what do we tell them?" Lisa asked in a hurried whisper, squeezing Jennie's hand tighter in her worry.

Jennie yelped. "Ouch, Lisa, my fingers!"

"Oh, sorry!" Lisa said, letting go, and watching as Jennie shook her hand out and frowned at her in surprise.

"It's alright," Jennie said with a wince. "You're just... really strong. And, I think we should just try to be as consistent as possible. What did I tell Hyeri earlier?"

Lisa blushed slightly. "Um, you basically told her that you seduced me in the office and that I was meant to be a one-night stand, but that you fell in love with me instead."

"Right," Jennie said slowly, as if she regretted saying that because now she'd have to follow through with it, "and then I said that keeping it a secret was my idea because of work and... well, now that I'm freefalling out of the closet, I guess we can use that excuse. And the fact that I saw my sexuality all over social media and the news earlier just lends credence to the story."

"I'm sorry," Lisa said, guilt she had no reason to feel thrumming through her. She meant it; she was sorry. She couldn't imagine being forced out of the closet for any reason, but fake marrying your personal assistant to keep from being deported didn't come top of the list.

"Well, there's nothing to be done about it now. Our colleagues seeing us holding hands was enough in terms of everyone talking about my sexuality, although I've seen no mention yet of the engagement. I'm sure my mother is having a field day regardless. Okay, oh, one last thing that's pretty basic information. Could you remind me when your birthday is? I'm not about to miss it, am I?"

"It's March 27th. I was born in 1997," Lisa supplied. "What about yours?" she asked when she realized that she didn't have the first clue when Jennie's birthday was, or any other important information. Oh, she could certainly tell you where she liked to go on vacation, some of her allergies, and a multitude of other information that was relevant to organizing Jennie's life. What she didn't know was whether Jennie celebrated Christmas or not, or whether she was religious. She had no idea where Jennie spent her Thanksgivings, or even anything as basic as whether or not she knew how to drive a car, since she had a driver who took her everywhere.

"January 16th, 1996," Jennie replied, breaking through Lisa's musing. "And, I think we should try to drop the engagement news as organically as possible. Try to keep your left hand hidden for at least a few minutes. Ready?"

Lisa shook her hands out, clicked her neck from side to side, and did a funny little body wiggle that had Jennie chuckling. "Yup! Let's go."

Lisa turned the light off. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door again and let Jennie go through first, catching hold of Jennie's hand again as they made their way towards the stairs. She could hear the murmur of voices coming from the dining room, and Lisa led Jennie through the kitchen and through into where the others were sitting.

Clare, Rosie, and Hyeri were sitting around the set table, a few bottles of red wine open and breathing in the middle. There was a small bucket with a bottle of white sitting in ice as well, in case anyone was more partial to that.

"Hey!" Lisa said excitedly, although the nerves in her stomach made a rude return as her eyes tried to catch the brown ones of Rosie's across the table. Rosie was looking at Jennie with curiosity as she stood slightly behind Lisa, both of her hands clasped over Lisa's left, hiding the ring. "Rosie?"