The pre-date
The bells chimed at the end of the school day signalling departure, and Sayo stood at her locker. The clouds were beginning to grow dark, so she pulled out an umbrella, holstered her bag over her shoulder and began on her way home.
However, when she turned around to start, she was pulled around the corner, away from the eyes of her peers and her back almost slammed into a wall. A certain girl stood in her way.
“Sayo!” Lisa hummed. “Howzit going?”
“I am doing fine, Imai-san,” Sayo replied, slightly disoriented. She tilted her body to the side, peering at the crowd of students leaving on the main path. “I’d love to chat - trust me - but I really need to head home…”
“Okay, okay, okay,” Lisa repeated to herself, over and over. “I’ll be quick! So… uh...”
She’s jumpy, Sayo noticed. She asked, “Are you feeling alright?”
“Just stumbling over my words, that’s all,” Lisa giggled. “I’ll let you go on your way, trust me. I just wanted to ask you something!”
“Oh, what is it?”
“So,” she said, “I asked my mom, and she was totally cool with it...” Lisa shifted in her spot, but her smile never faded. It was like a young school girl asking her crush to dance. “Did you maybe wanna come over one day - after school? Hang out, or something like that? I’ve been wanting to ask…!”
Sayo stared at her, quizzically. “Is this a date you are asking me on, Imai-san?”
She fiddled with her fingers. “Well, it could be like… a pre-date, if you want. We already talked about going on one before… so this could kinda be a test run for the real thing!”
“Are you certain your mother wouldn’t mind if I came over?” Sayo found herself asking. She, in fact, loved the idea of spending time with Lisa in private. But, it was still foreign, and she was cautious.
Lisa nodded vigorously as a raindrop passed by the side of her face. “Trust me, she’s lowkey your biggest fan. She keeps asking at dinner when you’ll come over again~.”
Sayo found herself blushing at the praise. “Is that so…?”
Lisa smiled and nodded again. “So - is it okay if I text you to iron out the details…?”
Sayo found it odd that despite being so popular and well-liked, Lisa was able to act insecure when it came to relationships; but still, this was their first relationship, and both of their first times dating a girl, on top of that.
Deep down, Sayo also found herself thinking: does Lisa ever worry about her image? She was very popular, in the friend-sense, men and women alike. It was as if she soared above it all, uninvolved with rumours and gossip. But now, Lisa was playing with fire, and their last moments with Roselia would have fueled that insecurity if anything. But at that point in time, Sayo wouldn’t know if that was true, so she shook the question from her mind, preferring simple thoughts.
Sayo affirmed, “You have my phone number.”
Lisa grinned before scampering off. “I’ll text you tonight then, see you!”
The sentence felt incomplete - a lack of ‘ girlfriend’ or pet name at the end of it left a drab taste in her mouth. But she didn’t mind, she had yet to even say the words out loud to herself.
Lisa is my girlfriend.
She propped open her umbrella and began on her way home. The trip was calm with the patter of the raindrops and the funnel of her thoughts.
But Sayo couldn’t help but secretly feel excited - giddy in the cliché, dancing in the rain, getting soaked, way. Her thoughts though, awake and dormant, were of Lisa and Hina and her guitar.
Not Roselia.
But the truth was, forever honest, she really didn’t mind.
-
Two days later, with the newfound freedom of the weekend, Sayo accompanied Lisa to her home as promised. It was a jaunt as she remembered, but she didn’t mind. Thanks to the long walk, Lisa stayed over that one night - the night that lived free in Sayo’s mind.
When formally introduced for the first time, Sayo was anxious, but she kept a calm front. Lisa’s mother was a very kind and warm woman, but also a very intense one. The older lady - not too old, she’d probably say - was bombarding Sayo with questions regarding Lisa relentlessly.
Apparently, she was just very happy that Lisa had a friend besides Yukina.
A very close friend.
Still, Sayo did her best to give an answer to each, in the meantime hiding the important details that could destroy their friendship façade. Lisa would be lying if she said she wasn’t impressed by the display considering her girlfriend’s asocial nature.
Soon enough, Lisa’s mother said her goodbyes and headed upstairs, noting that as much as she’d love to stay and chat more, she couldn’t miss the new airing of her favourite cooking show; because, as she put it, who else was going to do the cooking?
As she left, Lisa grabbed Sayo’s hand and pulled her into a hallway to the side, then through another door. She had no reason to say anything, so she stayed quiet, curious to where she was being whisked away.
Sayo could deduce, given the peach curtains and bedding - along with the variety of make-up sitting next to a regal-looking vanity - they were in Lisa’s room. As she would have expected, it was cute - cute in a feminine, girly way.
Lisa closed the door behind them and lead Sayo to her bed. She sat her down and then walked to her vanity. She opened the drawer and began sifting through its contents. Sayo asked, “What are you doing, Imai-san?”
She didn’t answer initially, instead rummaging through what Sayo guessed to be make-up. “Just sit there for a sec,” Lisa said, and the instructions were followed without a word. She added under her breath, “I’ve imagined this over hundreds of times, I’m not gonna mess this up.” Sayo stared at her as she monologued, then after more searching, Lisa gasped, turned around with a new item in her hand, and sat beside Sayo.
Lisa turned sideways, crossed her legs, and then unzipped a cherry-coloured pouch. She began taking out various vials of nail polish, placing them between her and Sayo. “I didn’t want to do anything too ‘out there’ for our pre-date, y’know? So I was wondering if maybe…” Lisa placed her hand on top of Sayo’s. “Could I please paint your nails?” she asked, almost coming out like a beg. “I bought some new colours just for this!”
She found herself asking, “You’ve been preparing for this?”
Lisa nodded hesitantly without removing her hand. “Surprisingly, I’ve never done this before, so I really don’t wanna mess this up.”
Sayo smirked. To see Lisa, the popular girl who was almost always fawned over by the majority of able-eyed boys, anxious and flushed, it took a toll on Sayo. A very wonderful toll. She asked, “What colour do you think would look best?”
“On your nails?”
“Of course.”
“Then in that case…” Lisa paused and stared at Sayo intently, oblivious to the actual space between them, or more importantly, the lack thereof. Sayo breathed unevenly before Lisa pulled back, toying with the tension. “Green,” she said matter-of-factly. “It complements your hair and your eyes, it’ll make you look super pretty.”
Slightly blushing, Sayo hushed, “Then let’s start. I’ve never done this before, so you will have to take the lead.”
Lisa nodded and took a deep breath like painting nails was a grievous chore. But, considering their situation - the foreign nature of it all - Sayo didn’t mind, she even understood. Lisa grabbed a vial of nail polish, a green colour. “Mint…?” she asked, to which Sayo nodded.
Then, as Lisa twisted the lid open, the room went silent. It wasn’t the kind of silence that held tension, or felt uncomfortable - or rather - one of common understanding, it was calm, but again, it was just very hot. She took Sayo’s hand into her own and spread out her fingers. Once she dipped the tip of the brush into the mint, she danced it across Sayo’s fingernails, one by one.
The sunlight poured in through the slight crack between Lisa’s curtains, and it was quiet, with only the cooking channel going on in the next room. Painting your girlfriend’s nails held more intimacy than they both would have expected, and Sayo’s heart beat in her chest. She felt embarrassed just sitting there, but secretly, she really really enjoyed it.
Lisa broke the silence, looking up from her hand. “You’ve never done this before? Painting your nails?”
“Not that I remember,” Sayo replied. “I was never that into… cosmetics as a child.”
Lisa giggled. “Well, I guess you have a girlfriend who can help you with that now!”
And truth be told, Sayo felt immense satisfaction when Lisa said ‘girlfriend’. She wanted to hear it from her mouth, over and over if she could. This is unlike me. Deep breaths, don’t lose your cool.
Lisa did one final stroke before moving her hand back, keeping Sayo’s hand resting on top of the palm of her other. “I think…” she squinted, “we’re all done! Now we just need to wait for it to dry.”
“How long should it take to dry?” Sayo asked, stretching her fingers out, viewing the final product.
“Just an hour or two.”
She made a sound of affirmation before she felt a new stickiness on her skin. The room felt warmer, much more than before. She muttered to herself, “Was it this hot before?”
Lisa shrugged. “Apparently it’s supposed to be a super hot summer.” She then lied down, her head resting on her pillow, hands over her stomach. “The A.C. is on, and all the fans in the house are too, so I guess we’re just gonna have to make do. Sorry.”
Sayo dismissed the apology, claiming that it was unneeded before the room went quiet again. The pause allowed the whirring of the fans to become more apparent, and they were both silently grateful that the curtains were closed. It made the room feel a tiny bit cooler.
Sayo couldn’t disagree, it was starting to get hot.
Lisa scooted over to the side, leaving room for another body. She patted her hand on the empty spot on her bed against the wall and said quietly, “You wanna….? Just make sure to not mess up your nails.”
Sayo stared at her, and she felt her heartbeat quicken. This is… this is new. Very, very new. But, she found herself nodding. Her limbs moved sporadically with anxiety, but she crawled her way beside Lisa. Then, experimentally, she lied down, eyes on the ceiling above her, barricaded in every direction but south.
Her hip was touching Lisa’s. She didn’t mean to notice it, but now she couldn’t unnotice it.
“Sayo,” Lisa said, turning her gaze to her girlfriend beside her.
“Yes?” Sayo replied, casting her eyes aside as well.
“You’re happy with me? - being in a relationship with me?”
Sayo paused. Then said, “I am.”
Lisa turned her body on its side, then delicately draped an arm over Sayo’s stomach tenderly, full of unspoken affection. Her ginger hair sprawled around her like a ripple in a pond. She mumbled into her neck, happily. ”Good.”
Sayo pulled her arm all the way through to Lisa’s back, holding her in her embrace as well. Her eyes began fluttering, desperate to stay open, and she could tell Lisa was fighting sleep as well. Her mind didn’t hold a single thought.
Then, the sticky heat in the room enveloped them, bringing them into an intertwining deep sleep, healthy and whole.
-
Lisa was warm when she woke up, feeling well-rested but groggy. Sayo was still intertwined with her, so she did her best to stay still. Savoury smells drifted from the hallway - the kitchen - and she smiled to herself.
It smelt very good; apparently, the cooking channel might have actually been helping her mother after all this time.
She took in another deep breath, and that gulp of oxygen made her realize something strange.
How can I smell something from the kitchen when my door is closed?
Slowly with caution, careful to not stir Sayo, she turned her head to the door to her room. A wave of dread mixed with the smells from the kitchen, filling her body in a warm way the heat just couldn’t.
The door was wide open.
They left it closed. They definitely left it closed, and the only people that were at their home were Lisa, her mother, and Sayo. Given the fact that a certain someone was still asleep with her, and knowing she for god didn’t, there was only one possible option.
Her mother opened the door.
And if she was to guess, she must’ve come to tell them about dinner. And quite obviously, she didn’t wake them for whatever reason.
Motherly instincts must have kicked in because her mother quietly scurried into the room with her maternal fifth sense. Or maybe, Lisa had just made a sound. She didn’t know.
Her mother threaded her cool fingers through Lisa’s mossy bangs, pushing them back and uncovering her peachy face, mixed with the mortification and humidity. She spoke calmly in a hushed tone, “Lisa, everything’s okay.” Her eyes swapped between Lisa and Sayo for a moment. “We can talk about this once Hikawa-san leaves, okay?”
Lisa had the urge to conjure an explanation - we accidentally ended up like this - it's not what it looks like - although it most certainly did look like what it looked like. But underneath it all, the edge of her lips just wanted to say: you don’t mind?
Knowing that anything she’d say at this point would incriminate them more - reveal them more - she stared back at her mother with a parted mouth, and no words brought it to a close.
Her mother whispered an ‘I love you’ and pressed a light kiss to her forehead before leaving the room once more, and Lisa tried to smile a lopsided, uneven smile. It was quite obvious, she didn’t mind. Or; she suddenly became a good actress.
Lisa felt a stir from on her chest, and she watched Sayo waken with a yawn. Her face turned to Lisa’s, and they were only inches apart, they could feel their puffs of breath morph into each other’s, and Sayo stared at Lisa dreamily with half-lidded eyes.
Then, as if the smells from the kitchen dropped her back into reality, Sayo sat straight up quickly, a blushing mess. Her arms moved in front of her and flurried back in front of her. “M-my apologies Imai-san, I… I should not have fallen asleep…! And on top of you at that…! I apologize, I apologize!”
Before Lisa could respond, her mother did, yelling from the hallway. “Dinner's ready!”
They both stood up, and there was a new electricity present between them, a current that wasn’t there before. But they didn’t exchange a word, and Lisa didn’t tell Sayo that everything was alright, or even that something was wrong. Because, despite her hopes, her best guess, their best-case scenario, she really couldn’t say anything for certain. She’d rather not give hollow hope if she could avoid it.
So they went to the kitchen without a word, and Lisa was grateful that Sayo didn’t notice the open door.
-
If her mother wasn’t a surprisingly proficient cook, Lisa would have struggled to stomach the majority of her food. She didn’t think her mother was angry, but given what she had walked in on, anything was possible.
Sayo was the complete opposite, she appeared oddly satisfied at the dinner table. She acted polite and courteous as always, saying the proper ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when need be. Her mother also kept the conversation alive with Sayo, which was surprising, yet oddly fascinating.
Sayo was changing, she was more open.
Lisa only thought to herself, given how things were going at dinner, it was almost as if her mother had never seen them.
But, Lisa knew, she very much did.
When the evening neared its end, and Lisa and her mother said their goodbyes to Sayo, she wondered: should I say anything? But what is there to even tell?
So, she just waved and smiled, smiled and waved.
When the door closed behind Sayo, she turned around. Her mother was leaning forward against the kitchen island and gestured with a cough and a head tilt to an empty seat opposite to her.
Lisa took a deep breath, exhaled, and sat down. She didn’t meet her mother’s eyes, she felt like she was awaiting a punishment.
But instead, her mother asked sweetly, “You and Sayo are dating - an 'item', kids would call it?”
Lisa didn’t bother to lie, she knew she was bad at it. She simply nodded meekly, scared of what would await her.
She smiled tenderly. “I’m glad you’re being honest, I know it must be hard, nerve-wracking even.” She then placed her hand on top of Lisa’s. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy; I hope you know that.”
At that point, Lisa felt her heart beat more calmly, and she felt her back relax. “You don’t mind?” she asked. “You’re not going to do something bad to me?”
Her mother cried, “Oh, of course I don’t mind - you’re my pride and joy, if you weren’t in my life, I’d have no idea what I’d do!”
To this, Lisa regretfully felt herself start to tear up slightly, relief coursed through her body. She isn’t angry. I’m okay, I think.
I think.
Her mother noticed the wetness around her daughter's eyes and stepped around the counter before embracing her daughter in a warm hug. She dabbed her thumb against the under of her eyelids, ridding any tears that may have slipped out. “Don’t cry~! You know that when I see people cry I just fall apart… No fair…!”
“You really aren’t angry?”
“Angry that you’re gay?” her mother gawked amusedly.
“Well, maybe not that… not... gay... maybe…”
“Guys, girls, humans - please - I’m just glad you haven’t shut me out like the majority of teens your age.” She slowly unsheathed herself from their hug, but still remained at Lisa’s side. “But I need to ask, how long have you two been seeing each other?”
Lisa replied with a cautious warmness, “Maybe like, two weeks?”
“So it’s still pretty fresh, pretty new…” she said to herself, then she clapped to herself. “Yay, this is so exciting…!” Lisa then stared at her mother, honestly surprised at how supportive she was being. “Have you two…” she asked, “been physical at all?”
Lisa stared at her mother with part disgust and a slight wanting to wither away. Unsure of how to answer, she stuttered, “N-no… we haven’t… um…”
Her mother raised her hands defeatedly and chuckled to herself. “I know, I know; it’s awkward to talk about this kind of thing with your mom. But it’s important for me to know.”
“Yeah,” is all Lisa said.
“So to be careful, ” she said, punctuating her words, “you two won’t be hanging out whenever I’m not home, not from now on.”
Lisa did a double-take, half-disappointed and half-dazed. “I just said that we’ve never…”
“Trust me, sweetheart. I was a teenager at one point too,” she said. “And although it may not be on your mind right now, things change. And just because nobody can get pregnant, it doesn’t mean that you couldn’t end up hurting yourselves too.”
Lisa stared at her mother with a deadpan look, having had enough of the conversation. “I’ve got it.”
“So,” her mother said, unaware of the weight the next words would bring, “you promise, no sex?”
She had almost fallen out of her seat at the mention of the 'S' word.
Lisa coughed into her shoulder. She stuttered, “I... won’t have Sayo over whenever you’re not home.”
“No sex?” she said once again, unsatisfied.
We've never even discussed going that far.
“I won’t have Sayo over whenever you’re not home,” Lisa repeated, feeling even more flustered. “Are we... Can I go now?”
“Go relax, I’ve put you through enough for one night,” she laughed as she waved her hand in a shooing motion. Lisa then slipped out of her chair and left to her room, wanting to slip out of the conversation, and maybe, forget it happened as a whole.
She giggled to herself, “Jeez, she can be such a teenager sometimes."