the twelve months of christmas | JENLISA

chapter 1; december

Jennie had had worse Christmas Eves.

There was one year, right when she'd moved to New Orleans, that she'd spent Christmas Eve in the airport, her flight grounded and her small stash of snacks dispersed amongst the handful of people stuck at Gate 36C with her. A few years ago, she'd spent it between painfully expensive, red satin sheets, praying her girlfriend at the time would have actually been honest about her experience with a strap-on.

Last year, at this very same Christmas party, her friend Crystal had tried to hook her up with a stiff, boring engineer who inspired little confidence about his ability in the bedroom, or really any other room.

And it looked like this year was no different. The same Christmas party, another set-up by her friends. Someone who would probably, definitely disappoint.

Again.

"You'll like her. She's completely your type," Rosé promised as she adjusted the long piece of tinsel around her shoulders.

"Sporty, sexy, cute," Irene added through a mouthful of Goldfish.

Jennie just let out a disbelieving hum as she straightened the Santa hat on her head.

"She's got guns," Jisoo added, flexing her arms in her red cut-off that was designed to look like the front of Santa's coat.

"Mhm, sure," Jennie said with a tight smile, lifting up her glass of Santa Sangria in a mock cheers.

"She's bound to be better than the one I recommended last time," Crystal mumbled, her smile sheepish.

"Why you thought a guy named James would do it for me is beyond me," Jennie teased, winking over at Crystal to take the sting out of her words.

"Jennie and James would make a great Christmas card," Crystal laughed as she walked over to the speaker to turn up the music.

"Who is this year's victim?" Jennie sighed, already dreading the inevitable disappointment.

"You'll know her when you see her. She's got brown hair and legs for days. She's more butch than... Andrea? Anne? Alice?" Rosé said.

"Carina," Jisoo supplied as she walked past Rosé to finish turning on the Christmas lights set up around the brewery, shooting her a wink.

"That was four years ago. I think two years' ago started with an A," Rosé replied with a furrowed brow. "Whoever she was, this year's date is more of a... what did you call her Iren?"

"Chapstick lesbian. Sporty spice who still has long hair. Better to hold onto, am I right?" Irene answered as she shot a wink over at Jennie.

"Never had cause to hold on," Jennie grumbled, draining her Sangria.

"I've heard she's wild," Irene smirked. "And by I've heard, I mean I experienced it once before Sue, but don't let that deter you."

Jennie wrinkled her nose and got up from her chair, one of the many scattered around the indoor brewery space. She approached the long, wooden bar and went right for the Sangria bowl.

"Happy holidays to me," she sighed, getting herself a fresh glass.

+++

The brewery was split into two sections. The largest part was the actual brewery where Lisa spent most of her time during the workday. The second part of the brewery was a smaller dining space where guests came to try beers and ciders and eat small plates of food. The two sections of the brewery were separated by a large glass wall so that visitors could see the working brewery while sampling beers.

And what was typically a little tidier and quieter was now covered in Christmas decor, crammed with people, and filled with loud music. It was exactly what a Christmas party would look like for Irene.