The Marriage Deal [Jenlisa FF]

Part 21

Ella padded into the kitchen at ten o'clock on New Year's Day, shocked to see her sister-in-law standing in front of the stove, flipping eggs in a pan. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Lisa laughed. "At least last time I checked."

"That's not what I meant. Considering how late you guys came in last night, I thought you and Jennie would sleep the day away."

"I can't sleep past nine anymore, it's become habit. And as for Jennie, I wouldn't expect her to be making an appearance for quite a while. I have a feeling she's gonna need her sleep."

Ella took a seat the kitchen table. "Gee, do you think? She could barely walk without falling over when you guys came home last night. Or should I say, this morning. How much did she have to drink at the party?"

Lisa put the eggs on a plate and placed it in front of the girl. "Hope you don't mind; the eggs are over easy."

"Thank you, it's fine. But you didn't answer my question. How much did you let her drink last night?" she repeated.

"Enough. What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?"

"Very funny. I'm being serious."

"It's not really a question of how much I let her drink. Jennie did it on her own. I guarantee she'll regret it when she wakes up with a pounding headache."

She took a bite of her eggs. "Yeah, she's not too much fun to be around when she has a hangover. When she was sixteen, she and Winter went to a frat party and some guys there paid their drinks with some alcohol. The next morning, she had such an awful headache that she snapped at anyone who tried to talk to her. Mom grounded her for a month."

"Looks like I have something to look forward to when she wakes up."

"Oh yeah. Just don't let her drink again until she's twenty-one. Think you can keep her away from the booze for another two-and-a-half weeks?"

Lisa nodded. "I think I can handle it. What do you have planned for today?"

"I was thinking about going over to Ashley's house at eleven. Her family will have movies marathon and they invited me over."

"Sounds like fun."

"Can I go?"

"Don't you want to wait until Jennie gets up and ask her first? She's the boss around here."

She sighed heavily. "I'm not sticking around long enough to face the wrath of Hangover Jennie. Been there, done that. Deja vu just isn't what it used to be."

"Go ahead. I'll tell her where you went. But just to let you know, you're a big chicken."

"No, I'm smart. Thank you. I'm going to get dressed and head over there before she wakes up." Ella stood up and started to leave the room.

"What about the rest of your breakfast?" she asked.

"It was good. Good eggs, Lisa."

Lisa glared at her, disapprovingly. "Sit down and finish them. You're not going anywhere until you do."

Aggravated, Ella threw herself back on the chair. "You know something? You're as bad as Jennie."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Eat."

****

Groaning, Jennie struggled to open her eyes, but her pounding headache made it difficult. She did her best to wipe the sleep from her tired eyes, then pulled the covers from her body. 'Why do I only have on my bra and underwear?' she wondered when she looked down at herself. With a great deal more groaning, Jennie climbed out of bed, put her robe on and made her way downstairs.

"Lisa?" she called once she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Are you up?"

Lisa walked out of her office, seeing her wife looking around for her. The sight brought a smile to her face: Jennie dressed in a white terrycloth robe, her shoulder-length blonde hair in a state of disarray. "I'm right behind you, Jennie."

She turned around. "Morning," she mumbled.

"You mean good afternoon," Lisa clarified.

"What time is it?"

"One-thirty. You've been asleep for almost twelve hours. You had too much champagne last night at the party. And you got drunk." Lisa paused for a moment. "It was quite entertaining."

Jennie gazed at her. "Entertaining? So glad you thought so. Where's the aspirin? I have a pounding headache; it feels like I have workmen using sledgehammers in my head."

"That would be called a hangover."

Jennie shot daggers at her. "Thanks for the diagnosis, Dr. Manoban. But I already know that."

Lisa led her into the kitchen, where she handed her two Tylenol caplets and a glass of water. Figuring she'd be in pain, she had them ready for when she woke up. "Ella was right, you *are* cranky when you're hung over."

"Shut up."

"Sorry," Lisa apologized sarcastically. "If you need me, I'll be in my office. I suggest you have a cup of coffee; it's brewing now." After what they had almost done the night before, Lisa wasn't about to stand there and let her berate her for the way she was feeling. she couldn't take it.

Jennie sat down. "Did something happen between us last night?" she asked when she was about to leave the kitchen.

Lisa stopped dead in her tracks. "What do you mean?"

"This is going to sound stupid, but I had this dream and it felt so real. I-I dreamt that I begged you to undress me, to make love to me." Jennie closed her eyes. "Please tell me it was only a dream; I'd be so embarrassed if it really happened. It didn't, did it, Lisa?"

Lisa couldn't bring herself to look at her 'I can't tell her the truth; she'll hate herself and me. I care about her too much. I love her too much. God, where did that come from?' "It was just a dream, don't worry. And even if it wasn't, I wouldn't have taken advantage of the situation. You were drunk." It was the closest she could come to telling her the whole truth.

"Good. Now I don't feel like an idiot...well, except for telling you about my weird dream. Promise you won't hold it against me?"

"Promise."

"Did I tell you what I did to Irene? I slapped the bitch for lying to me about sleeping with you," Jennie told her proudly. "It felt damn good."

Lisa smiled. "Yeah, you told me between glasses of champagne. Good job. She deserved it."

"She did."

"I'm planning on having a talk with her tomorrow. And after this case is finished, I guarantee she'll be out of our lives. For good."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do."