Choosing you | LisRene AU [BOOK 2]

12

"Babe," Lisa murmured, rolling over and colliding instantly with her girlfriend, "ugh, Irene. Babe. Baby."

"What the fuck do you want?" Irene groaned in a whine, and Lisa didn't really blame her. Whatever time it was... was definitely way too early for a Saturday.

"Your phone is ringing," Lisa whined back. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, and she involuntarily cuddled closer to the brunette even though she knew that Irene would have to move at any moment. "It's been ringing forever."

"Forever is an exaggeration," Irene muttered dejectedly, and she gently tugged herself free from Lisa's grasp. The younger girl let out a disappointed whimper, scooting a bit closer to Irene's side of the bed. "Babe, lemme just answer the phone."

"Can't you do that while we're cuddling?"

Lisa felt an arm suddenly wrapped around her, and Irene's body was back to being entangled with hers. Aside from the brunette's left arm, she realized, and the annoying sound of the phone ringing suddenly went away. "What do you want mom?"

Hearing her girlfriend's cold voice made Lisa's eyes shoot open, especially once she heard Irene's mom's name.

"Oh yeah, trust me, I know," Irene bit out, and Lisa pulled away a little to look at Irene's face, which was void of any pleasant emotion. "You'll be glad to know, however, that your constant gifting me with money is going to be enough to hold me over until I get a real art job. So thanks for that, if for anything at all. Oh, sorry, what was that? No, I think I'm losing connection. Oh shit, maybe I forgot to pay my phone bill! I guess that would happen when half your income disappears. Did you say something? I really can't tell. I think – oh shit, I think we're breaking up!" She pulled the phone away from her ear and brutally stabbed the end-call button with her thumb.

Lisa immediately propped herself up on her elbow and grabbed Irene's phone, silencing it and reaching over to the brunette to set it down. "No more phones. It's too early."

"I agree," Irene murmured, rolling back onto her side to face Lisa. "Good morning."

"No, not a good morning," Lisa denied, frowning.

Irene smiled a little and shook her head. "No, it is a good morning if I'm waking up laying next to you. I spent so much time in my studio this week that I feel like I've hardly seen you since Tuesday. I made us miss our Thursday night in."

"It's okay baby," Lisa insisted. "You had to get ahead on your art, I understand that."

"Good news is that I sold three pieces on Etsy this week, and got two new commissions," Irene said with a wide smile. "I've gotta do lots of painting this weekend for those if I'm going to keep up. I went wild trying to promote my stuff online yesterday."

"I can't say I'm surprised. Your art is amazing."

"Thanks, baby."

"Wow, no comment about me flattering you?"

Irene grinned, and Lisa was slightly confused as to how she could be so happy even after her mom had just called her and reminded her of the fact that she'd lost her job earlier in the week. However, Lisa herself was pretty happy as well, and she assumed that their shared joy stemmed from the same thing – the fact that moving to New York was turning out to be a clearer picture, one that might actually be real. "I've given in. You're going to keep complimenting me no matter how much I tease you when you do."

"Mm. You're not wrong." Lisa nuzzled a bit closer to the brunette.

"How was your week? We haven't caught up much on anything that happened, I'm assuming that's because no more major life changes have collapsed onto us like buildings," Irene murmured softly, and Lisa chuckled quietly.