The small click of the door shutting snapped Lisa from her thoughts. Her eyes looked up to meet Jennie’s a few meters across the room. Her face wore a lopsided grin as she murmured a small “hey” to the blonde.

“Hi.”

“Sorry for makin’ you wait,” Jennie sheepishly scratched the back of her neck, taking her prior spot on the bed again.

“It’s okay.”

“So uhm –”

“Listen,” Lisa interrupted before Jennie could proceed. “I think that we should stop doing this… whatever this is.”

Jennie eyes went wide, taken aback by the statement. Blinking a few times, she concentrated on her lap, finding the seams of her jeans more interesting to look at than Lisa’s face.

Lisa waited for what felt like centuries for Jennie’s response. Finally, not being able to bear the brunette’s lack of words she added,

“Being friends who don’t kiss from time to time just seems better right now.”

 “You’re right,” Jennie spoke at last. “We should stop.”

She lifted her head letting her gaze rest on Lisa, “It’s not right, now that you’ve got Nate.”

“Yeah… exactly,” Lisa said although it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than she was Jennie.

She offered a small smile which was returned with a rather sad one from Jennie’s part.

“I guess it’s back to work then,” Jennie lilted in attempt to change the subject, her thumb pointing to their unattended homework on the bed.

***

Lisa eyed her father as he chugged his glass of water and gently set it on the dark wood dining table. She knew what was coming next. He would always ask the same question every night at the dinner table. 

“So how’s school going, Lisa? Anything new?”

She would always muster up a smile and give him the same answer, “It’s going good, dad.”

However today was going to be a little out of the ordinary.

“There is something that’s uh kind of new actually.”

Her father lifted a skeptical eyebrow at her as he chewed his meal and somehow she had even managed to catch her sister’s attention.

“What might that be, darling?” her mother cooed, her voice laced with curiosity.

It was very rare that Lisa shared anything with her parents so the sudden intrigue from her family members was understandable. With this in mind, Lisa still felt like she was being given too much attention. All three of them had halted their eating, herself being the centre of their fascination. It was a little overwhelming and suddenly she felt nervous.

“Uhm… well I uh I have,” she paused her stammering to gulp while her family continued to look at her expectantly.

“A date.”

There was a second of silence as they processed the information before an eruption of cheer. It was a mix of “It’s about time!” from her father and a “That’s great, sweetie!” from her mother. Her sister on the other hand offered her signature toothy grin and quiet applause.

She was dumbfounded at how happy her family was at her revelation. Lisa knew they were fine with her dating but not this fine.

“Who’s the lucky fella?” her dad questioned, beaming.

“This boy named Nate.”

“The blonde kid? Who comes to church?”

Lisa simply nodded in response and averted her gaze to her plate.

“A fine young man. My daughter has good taste,” he stated proudly. “Much like her mother.”

Lisa cringed and refrained from rolling her eyes at her father.

“When is it?” her mother asked.

“Saturday.”

“That’s so soon. Have you picked out something to wear? We could take you to the mall tomorrow if you want.”

“It’s fine mom. It’s just a date; I have plenty of clothes.”

Her mother looked at her incredulously. “Just a date? Honey this is your first date! You’re going to remember this for the rest of your life and…”

She didn’t bother to hear the end of her mother’s mindless ramblings and tuned her out instead.

Her parents continued their questions and concerns about the God forsaken date for the remainder of their dinner. Even her baby sister was eventually influenced to pester her about it. By the end of it all she regretted ever telling them anything.

It made her think though, what if she had said Jennie’s name rather than Nate’s? Would they still have been as happy?

***

When Saturday night came around, her parents seemed more excited for her date than she was. She just wanted it to be over with. She was hoping he would show up a little late – or better yet not show up at all – unfortunately for her, he showed up. And he showed up right on time.

After being interrogated by her parents he finally got the chance to walk her down the steps of her porch and to his car. He even took the courtesy of holding the door open for her as she stepped in. They engaged in small talk, and of course he didn’t forget to call her beautiful at some point during the ride. He’d taken her to a small diner not too far from where she lived. It was neat, cozy, and not too crowded just the way Lisa liked her food places.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he’d said to her. “I kept it simple.”

“No I actually like it.”

“Whew, that’s a relief,” he used his hand to wipe off fake sweat. “Hopefully you’ll like the food here too.”

She smiled resting her head in the palm of her.

“We’ll see.”

It didn’t go as bad as she’d thought it would. She had to admit she had a decent time. The food was delicious – not to mention free, courtesy of Nate – and blondie didn’t seem like such a classic douche to her anymore. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that he actually had a personality. In a way he reminded her of Jennie. Maybe that was the reason she had agreed to a second date when he had asked.

***

Jennie strolled through the aisles of bookshelves one by one in attempt to subdue her boredom. To her luck, she stumbled upon something, or rather someone, who never failed to entertain her.

“Funny seeing y