nishka//loki (nishka) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-05-18 14:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | loki |
Today the way I play the game is not the same, no way
Who: Nish and Jen [NPC]
What: Painting and dinner and a budding...something.
Where: Art Studio, and Jen’s apartment
When: Wednesday, May 17, 2017
“It looks nice!” Jen insisted, looking over the painting with a smile. Nish elbowed her in the arm and smirked.
“It’s not right...look, the lake looks kinda lopsided,” she said, pointing at a curve that didn’t look quite natural. Jen looked at it and had to concede that she was right, but instead she grinned.
“So it’s a lopsided lake...I’m sure they exist in nature. Not everything natural is perfect, you know,” she pointed out. Nish rolled her eyes and considered it, plotting on how she could fix it.
“Bob doesn’t have any lopsided lakes in his paintings,” Nish complained.
“Bob can make a splotch of paint into a happy little tree,” she pointed out. The two laughed together as the instructor wrapped up the class, reminding them to clean their brushes and put away their projects for next week.
“So I had an idea,” Jen said as they were fitting their supplies back in the cupboard. Nish settled her painting down and turned to her with curiosity. “How about we make food. I’m not a half-bad cook, and I have everything we need to make some epic pasta bowls.” She leant her hip against the cupboard and watched her friend’s reaction. Nish, for her part, didn’t miss a beat, but inside her stomach was flip-flopping.
“Just so long as you understand that I’m a hopeless cook that could probably burn water,” Nish said with a guarded smirk on her lips. Jen laughed and closed the cupboard and they walked together to collect their purses.
“Then we perfectly compliment each other,” she grinned. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll walk you through it…” she said, leading her out. Nish followed Jen’s car to her place not far from the studio, parking on the street in front of the low-rise building and following her into to the ground floor apartment.
“Nice,” she complimented, taking in the place. It was small, but airy. Hardwood floors, large bay windows and a balcony facing trees in the backyard.
“I bet it’s nothing compared to Pax,” Jen teased, letting her purse fall on the sofa and kicking her shoes off haphazardly on the way to the kitchen. “That place looks so posh; does it cost an arm and a leg to get a place there?”
Nish shrugged and followed her into the kitchen, leaning against the counter as Jen started pulling food out of the fridge. “It’s not bad, though not the cheapest place I’ve ever rented. Probably the most expensive actually, but then I assumed that was just California.” Jen chuckled and pulled some pre-chopped veggies out of a container.
“You’re not wrong, everything in this city is expensive. Because Hollywood.” She pulled a pot out of a cupboard and tossed in a bunch of veggies - broccoli, carrots and snow peas - and covered them with water, setting them on the stove to cook. Another pot came out of the cupboard and she set it on the stove next to the first filled with salted water for the pasta.
“So you’re from here then?” Nish asked her, but Jen shook her head.
“Nahh, I moved down here when I was twenty, looking for fame like everyone else. I thought I could make it as a model, but it turns out I enjoy food too much.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but it obviously bothered her.
“You’re kidding...they said you were too…” Nish trailed off, looking for a diplomatic word, but Jen supplied it for her.
“Fat. They said I was fat. I needed to lose weight and go on a strict diet. I told them to go fuck themselves.” Nish smiled widely.
“Good girl. Seriously though, they’re full of shit. You look amazing…” She allowed her eyes to wander up the other woman’s frame in an appraising look, but then forced herself to look away, thinking it might be a little forward. Jen didn’t seem to mind though, grinning and blushing, but not turning away from her.
“You’re pretty hot yourself,” she said in a playful tone, winking at her. Nish laughed, but inside her stomach was flip-flopping with joy. “Come on, I’m surprised you’re not taken yet,” Jen prodded, swiftly squashing that joy and making her look away to hide a frown. “Ohh...I’m sorry...sore spot?” she asked. Behind her, the water started to boil and she reached in the cupboard for some ramen, dropping three cakes into the water.
Nish watched her with a frown she was trying very hard to dispel. “It’s...complicated,” she said, wanting to laugh at the word but not succeeding. Instead she managed a sour smile. “I was in a relationship for a while, but...it didn’t work out. We broke up a few weeks ago.” Nish shrugged, trying to push the topic away, but it didn’t seem to work.
“Gosh, I’m sorry,” Jen said, putting a warm hand on Nish’s arm. She smiled and covered it with one of hers for a moment.
“It’s alright. Things weren’t good for a while, and...I sort of saw it coming.” She watched the water boiling on the vegetables and pasta nearby for a moment, and then smiled to herself. “I’ve sort of sworn off guys for a while. Those relationships never seem to end well. At least with girls I’ve seemed to have better experiences,” she said lightly, shrugging. Jen smiled back at her and then ducked her head, busying herself with draining the pot of blanched vegetables and then stirring the ramen.
“Girls can be pretty nasty too,” she said casually, “it’s all about personality, not gender. I’m sure it wasn’t all bad with those guys after all, just like it’s not always all good with girls. Trust me, they can be just as bad.” She drained the pasta in the sink, causing a cloud of steam to bloom in the kitchen, and then took various things out of the fridge to start making a sauce. Nish watched her, only half paying attention to what she was doing and more to what she’d said.
“You’re right. And we did have fun. Rafe was...he’s a genuinely good guy. And I thought for a while that I was in love with him. But I think...I was just in love with how he made me feel when I was with him, you know?” Jen nodded, stirring the bubbling sauce and then tipping the noodles and vegetables into it. She served it out into two bowls for them and handed one to Nish, sticking a fork into it for her and pulling a jug of iced tea from the fridge.
“I totally get that...you get addicted to the romance and companionship, but not necessarily the person providing those things,” she said, pouring two tall glasses for them and then leading Nish into the small dining area where they sat with their dinner. Nish chewed a bite of noodles thoughtfully and swallowed.
“Yeah maybe. I mean, I did fall for him pretty damn fast,” she said with a guilty chuckle, which Jen echoed happily.
“He was that good, was he?” she asked with a smirk. Nish grinned back at her and nodded.
“Ohh, he was good, that’s for damn sure,” she laughed. “But...I’d vowed not to get that deep with anyone again after the last time...and I went ahead and did it anyway. And now I’m hurting from doing the same stupid thing over again, even though I saw it coming.” She wound some of the pasta around her fork and stabbed a piece of broccoli on the end of it, popping it in her mouth.
“So...that just makes you as flawed and screwed up as the rest of us,” Jen said with a smile. “Welcome to the human race; you must be new here.” Nish snorted.
“Sometimes I feel like I am.”
They ate the rest of their dinner with companionable chatter, and then ended up sitting on the couch watching re-runs of Big Bang Theory, which Jen insisted was hilarious and Nish was having trouble wrapping her head around some of the geeky jokes, though Jen made a valiant effort to explain them. Halfway through the second episode they ended up somehow curled up together; Nish with her head resting on Jen’s shoulder and Jen resting her head atop Nish’s, absently threading her fingers through her hair, dancing fingertips across the skin on her arm. Before she realized it they were kissing, though she couldn’t say for certainty who started it. Gentle, soft, comforting kisses and light touches that didn’t feel like fireworks exploding, so much as a warm glow filling her stomach.
About an hour later Nish’s phone chimed with a new email, breaking the spell and causing the two of them to stir from their revere. She slipped her phone from her pocket to check, finding an email from one of her clients that would need attention in the morning. With a sigh she settled back on the couch, her head turning to gaze at Jen. “I should go,” she murmured softly, “but I don’t want to.” Jen took her hand, lacing fingers with her, toying with them in her lap.
“Get some sleep, Nish,” she replied just as softly, a smile tugging at her lips. “Maybe you can cook for me tomorrow.” Nish chuckled low in her throat, eyes never leaving their entwined hands.
“If I don’t burn my apartment down in the process, you’re welcome to the result.” She looked up at her and held her eyes, searching, but not sure for what.
“Don’t worry about this, okay?” Jen said softly, catching her eyes and lightly caressing her cheek. “The last thing I want is to add to your stress right now.”
Nish smiled warmly. “I think you’re doing a pretty good job of relieving some of it,” she said. She leant forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, lingering a little longer than necessary before pulling away. “Tomorrow,” she said, then reluctantly got up to leave.
Jen followed her to the door and saw her out, and once in her car Nish sat for a few moments in the dark just smiling to herself, touching her lips and enjoying the warmth in her belly. Then she turned on the ignition and headed home, already planning what she’d make for dinner tomorrow.