Lisa
I took the salmon and asparagus off the grill and placed it in front of Jennie, who clapped excitedly as she looked down at her plate.
"Bon appetite." I said as I sat down across from her and ate off my plate. Jennie took a bite of the salmon and closed her eyes, "This is amazing." I smiled at her compliment as I picked up my own fork and started eating, "Thanks." If there was one thing I was proud of, it was my cooking skills. I spent so much time watching my mom in the kitchen that it kind of became second nature for me.
Jennie cut off a piece of the asparagus and ate it, "No, for real Lisa, this is better than the food at some of the Michelin restaurants that I've been to." she marvelled.
I choked out a laugh, "Jennie, you don't have to keep complimenting me, you're already dating me." I joked.
She tilted her head and put down her fork, "Now that you bring it up; how are you still single? I mean, you're beautiful, you can sing, play instruments, and you can cook? How has no one swept you off your feet yet?"
My body tensed at the question, this was going towards dangerous territory and I wasn't sure that I was ready to open up just yet. Instead, I pasted a smile on my face, "If I didn't know any better, it seems like you like me or something." I joked.
Jennie's face softened and it was as if she saw past the joke. Instead she put her hands up in surrender, "I won't push you for anything that you don't want to tell me."
A feeling of relief coursed through my body and I was about to change the subject, but the look on Jennie's face was so open and attentive that everything just came out. "I was with my ex-boyfriend Jungkook since high school up until last year. We were best friends growing up and he was everything to me."
I cleared my throat, "We ended up moving to Arizona because that's where I got accepted into school and he found a job nearby, so it made sense for us to move in together." I smiled at faint memories, "Everything was perfect, I'd come home from classes and he'd get off work and we'd cook dinner together and just talk about our day." the smile slid off my face, "He stayed home one morning because he said he felt sick and as much as I wanted to stay home, I couldn't because I had a test and another class that day."
"So I finished up my test and skip my next class so I can take care of him. But I come home to find him in our bed with a co-worker of his." I pursed my lips, "I've never felt so stupid before. I immediately left, took a flight back home and eventually dropped out of school." I stretched my arms on the table, "Breaking up with him was one of the hardest things that I've ever had to go through, and it has kind of ruined my perspective on love."
I knit my eyebrows together, "It's not like I don't believe in love, I do. I think that everyone is destined to be with someone. But I personally don't think it's worth it, to open yourself up to someone like that, give yourself fully to someone, only to have them stomp on your heart and throw away your relationship without giving it a second thought."
I swallowed the lump that formed in my mouth as unwanted memories flooded my mind of Jungkook. I hated that even though he cheated on me and even though it was in the past, I couldn't hate him. He was my first love and my best friend, how could I hate him? I was lost in my thoughts for a couple of minutes on a downward spiral of memories when I suddenly felt a warm hand envelope mine on the table. I looked across at Jennie as she gave me a sympathetic look.
"I don't know your ex-boyfriend and I'm sure that he's a nice guy, but he's dumb as fuck. Like, why and how could he cheat on you? What did the other girl have? A second set of boobs?!"
I burst out laughing, with the expression she had on her face I would've never guessed that was going to come out of her mouth. "How do you do that?" I asked.
She frowned, "Do what?" My hand tingled under hers and a wave of electricity coursed through my body. I pushed that feeling away, "Make me feel better almost instantly." I stared down at my lap, "I was going into a bad place in my head and you somehow pulled me out of it."
She shrugged and pulled her hand away and I suddenly missed the contact, "You did the same thing for me on the way here." she put her elbows on the table, "I see your 'scumbag ex-boyfriend...', and I raise you '... good for nothing parents'."
I raised an eyebrow at her and smirked at her poker reference, "Call." I folded my arms across my chest, "Why? Are they not happy because you aren't in two major movies in one year?"
Jennie has a stiff look on her face. Great Lisa, you struck a nerve, way to go.
"They never wanted me to be an actress." she said in a low voice. "They said it was a waste of time and it wasn't a respectable career."
I scoffed, "Not a respectable career? How entitled do you have to be to look down on a person's profession?"
"My father's a judge and my mother is a prosecutor. They met in law school." she replied, "They didn't take my decision to go into acting after graduation very well. There were a lot of words exchanged that I wish I could take back." I sat back in my chair while she continued, "As soon as I graduated from high school, I moved away, found an apartment with Alison, finished school, and now I'm here."
She looked so small in her seat, "I thought maybe if I landed my first big movie they'd come around but they haven't reached out to me since I left home."
It was quiet for a second before I broke the silence, "Well, it's their loss. Whether or not you ended up being a talented actress, they missed out on a great daughter." I leaned forward and put my elbows on the table, "I know it kills them not being able to see you and talk to you."
She gave me a small smile, while I shook my head and chuckled softly, "Look at us both, having a pity party." I clapped my hands, "Let's bring up the atmosphere, shall we?"
"Would you rather wear one sock that's always wet or always use clumpy mascara?" I asked.
Jennie let out a surprised laugh, "What!?"
"Wear one sock that's always wet or clumpy mascara?" I repeated. "You said that you wanted to bring up the atmosphere and what better way to do that than talking about nonsense?"
The 'would you rather' game brought me back to when Jennie was taking care of me when I was sick and how fun it was to learn stuff about her. Jennie had a thoughtful look on her face before she smiled, "Easy, one sock that's always wet."
I looked at her in shock, "You monster! I thought for sure that you were going to go with the clumpy mascara." She laughed, "Everyone can see clumpy mascara, at least with a wet sock, it's hidden in my shoe and only I know about it."
"Ahh, I forgot how important image was to a celebrity." I mumbled.
Jennie raised an eyebrow at me, "Well, we can't all be movie ready in the morning."
"You come pretty close to that." I replied with a smile, "I almost started to resent how almost flawless you look in the morning."
Oh shit, did I just say that out loud? I quickly observed Jennie's reaction, but other than a slight pink hue on her cheeks, she didn't look bothered. I cleared my throat, "Alright, let's finish eating and get some sleep. I have a lot of activities planned for us tomorrow."
