so, do we like each other or not? // JENLISA

Chapter 23

Halfway through her long weekend in Miami, Lisa felt like she was ready to go into retirement. The events Jennie took her to there were nothing like the ones she'd gotten used to in New York – if anything, they were more similar to the places she and Chaeyoung went to after work, and although there were moments of genuine fun to be found, mostly the whole experience just felt greasy.

Lisa walked through a party on Friday evening, carefully avoiding the crowd of men doing cocaine off the bar, and sought out Jennie. She'd lost her an hour ago when Jennie had gotten into a heated debate about the pros and cons of hyperrealism with a group of people Lisa didn't know, during which Lisa had gone wandering off in search of someone she recognised. She had eventually stumbled across Archie and Marco, who looked even more out of place than she did. They had chatted for a while, but the pair decided to excuse themselves when the hard drugs came out, leaving Lisa by herself once more.

She eventually spotted Jennie on the terrace and hurried out to meet her. She was alone, which was unlike her, but when Lisa got closer she saw that she was typing something into her phone. She looked up when Lisa approached.

"There you are," she said, placing a hand on Lisa’s lower back while continuing to type with the other. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes and no," Lisa said, twirling her diamond necklace around her finger. "I think I walked in on someone getting a blowjob in the bathroom."

"Excellent. I hope you took a photo to sell to the press."

"What are you doing out here?" Lisa asked, turning and leaning back against the railing so she could look at her properly. Jennie wore different clothes here, too – her usual shift dresses and button-down shirts wouldn't fit in with this crowd, and so she had filled the closet in their rented villa with sparkly dresses, tight skirts and pants that did very strange things to Lisa’s insides. Right that second she was wearing skin-tight skinny jeans and a sleeveless black shirt. She had let her hair dry into its natural curls, something Lisa hadn't realised she found disgracefully attractive until she'd seen it that morning, and she was wearing large hoop earrings that made her look like she owned a dive bar in Seattle rather than a billion art galleries across the Northern Hemisphere.

"I just had to send an email. It's hard to concentrate with the music in there," Jennie said, still looking down at her phone. She was squinting as she tried to read the tiny print. Whenever she did that, Lisa always wanted to lean forward and kiss the wrinkle by her nose.

"You need to wear your glasses more."

"I am not wearing glasses to a function," Jennie said.

"Why not? They're on trend."

"I look 10 years older in them. It's never happening."

Lisa paused before admitting, "I like you in them, you know."

"Yes, I do," Jennie smirked. "You're not very subtle about it."

"I am!"

"You drool like a toddler. But it's flattering, so I can't say that I mind."

Lisa glared at her. "Your head is way too big."

Jennie already knew that was true, so she didn't respond. "And why are you out here?"