Usually operating under the belief that she was good at taking instructions, Lisa wasn’t sure if that was the truth tonight. When she’d dropped Bella off with her parents earlier that night, they had been firm in telling her that she should have fun tonight. And she had promised she would. That had been her intent. Right now, she wasn’t sure she was making good on following through with that promise though.
As she sat on one of the stools of A Novel Idea, chewing on the straw of her vodka soda (it was the only thing she knew how to order and not sound dumb, despite working in a bar), she realised that maybe she’d forgotten how to have fun. These days, fun for her was feeding the ducks in Central Park with Bella before heading home for a Paw Patrol marathon. It didn’t exactly scream 360 Party Girl, but it was all Lisa had ever really known. Even as a teenager, she’d never gone to house parties or snuck into a bar with a fake ID. Instead, she’d been determined to stay on the straight and narrow, just in case she accidentally stepped one toe out of line and her adoptive parents decided they couldn’t deal with her. Because it wouldn’t be her that suffered from a decision like that, it would affect Rachel too.
Speaking of Rachel, she realised her little sister was long gone. Eva had text her earlier asking if she’d come to Davey’s party instead and even though Rachel knew that her little sister would never dream of abandoning her in uncharted waters, she’d taken one look at the hopeful, puppy-dog expression on Rachel’s face and had fondly told her to make herself scarce.
It did mean she was on the outskirts of this party, alone and feeling out of her depth, despite the fact that Colin was probably around somewhere. She’d spotted Ash earlier as well, but figured he was busy pretending not to be affected by his pretty coworker’s sparkly dress.
Still chewing on her straw and wondering how much her parents would roll their eyes if she showed up on their doorstep, claiming that she’d prefer to watch the ball drop on the TV with her and Bella, she nearly missed the surround sound speakers switching to a new song. The familiar intro soon registered with her and, at once, her eyes widened.
“I love this song!” she declared aloud, immediately hopping down from the stool, her sensible white sneakers hitting the floor. She realised she’d announced this to absolutely nobody, and it wasn’t as if she was breaking new ground here. Who didn’t love Dancing Queen?
Heat rushing to her cheeks at her own animatedness, she glanced around, certain that she could be comforted by the knowledge that nobody had been paying any attention to her. As she turned, however, she realised that a bemused looking (but incredibly stunning) woman was staring at her.
“Sorry,” Lisa apologised at once, scrunching up her features. “I just… I love this song. I love ABBA.” She winced, hyperaware of how awkward she must sound. Maybe the vodka soda was hitting harder than she thought.