The evening air was cold. The heaters did what they could to fight this away. She wrapped her coat on even tighter and fiddled with her drink. Jess had taken off her scarf, somehow the weather did not bother her in the slightest and she insisted on sitting in the outdoor section of the bar they had ended up in. Jess was organising her haul from the trip, the bags rustled against each other when she put them in as a compact an arrangement they could get under the table. Kara's solitary bag looked a bit pathetic in comparison. She should have known that this would have ended up more Jess' trip than hers. One thing that had become obvious from their time together was that Lena paid her very well.
Jess finally settled herself and took a sip of her vodka martini. Her measured movements and eye for fashion always gave had an elegance and class about them. Even with the short time knowing her, she had gotten to know Jess quite well. Lena was a busy woman so there was usually some time to kill waiting for her to be available for whatever interview or assignment needed to be filled. One day outside the office Jess decided to strike up a conversation and they had become fast friends. Even with the chilly air, the outside area was quite crowded. The pre-amble to bustling nightlife of National City was kicking off. The white noise of after-work chatter, glasses clinking, and the start of exciting evenings was all part of the ambience. The bar suited Jess, trendy and expensive. With her long black hair, slender figure and keen dress sense, she had already drawn the attention of several patrons. The bar's aesthetic might have been smooth with its white surfaces and cool mood lighting. Even she was noticing the attention Jess was getting so guessed the people around her were not quite as suave as their surroundings.
"Well here we are. An unexpected night out. Fun all the same," Jess said. She gently placed her glass down. Kara had opted for a small glass of red wine, she swished it around its glass before taking a sip.
"Yeah, sorry it was so short notice," she said.
"I should apologise, I may have gotten a little carried away," Jess said, she pushed one of the bags further under the table to clear the walkway.
"I was going to mention that, you really went for it there," she said.
"Yes well, you've seen how dresses. I need trips like this every so often just to keep up," Jess said. She took another sip.
"Lena forces you to dress this well?" Kara asked and tensed up, worried perhaps Lena was more controlling than she had gathered.
"Oh of course not, I just see it as important for Ms. Luthor's image that I try to look good as well," Jess said. Kara let out a small sigh of relief. A sly look rose on Jess' face. "Speaking of which, you still haven't told me what's so urgent. What I do know is that it involves and that you wanted some very honest opinions about what you were buying today."
Kara looked away from her smiling friend, suddenly very embarrassed about the situation she had got herself into.
"Is it so strange to want to look nice every now and then?" Kara said, she raised her glass in attempt to hide behind her drink.
"Yes, one might say it was urgent." Jess laughed to herself and scanned her up and down. She tapped the table and grinned again. " invited you to the Gala, didn't she?"
Kara nearly spat out her wine, as gracefully as she could manage, she turned it into a cough and managed to keep it from spraying out. She clearer her throat, patted her chest and leant back as casually as she could muster. Inside she was spinning as to what Jess might have heard.
"Did she mention anything about me to you," she said. Jess had leaned forward to make sure she was alright, though quickly clocked on to how she was trying to play it off. She laughed to herself again.
"Very smooth. No, she didn't mention it," Jess said. Kara's mood crashed down to earth at this lack of a revelation.
"Then how did you know?" she said, deflated.
"I'm her assistant Kara, I know her schedule. I like to credit myself with masterful deduction but with the state you're in, the rest wasn't hard to put together," Jess said.
"So, she didn't mention me, like at all?" Kara looked at Jess for an answer, it took a couple more seconds for the rest of the sentence to register with her. "Wait, what do you mean the state I'm in?"
Jess finished her drink, leant forward an took her hand.
"You're great at what you do, sweetie. You're kind and conscientious. So please don't take it the wrong way when I say you have this flustered air about you whenever I see you at L-Corp," Jess said.
"Flustered…" Kara began.
"The same flustered I'm seeing right now," Jess said. Kara huffed and huddled into herself. She stared up at the heater hoping it would somehow know to help her out.
"Okay, maybe I can get a little nervous around Lena," she said, Jess chortled at her, then leaned forward with a hushed tone.
"I know I really shouldn't pry into my boss' personal life. I'm still going to. Is this a romantic evening for the two for you?" Jess said. Kara necked the rest of her drink.
"That's the problem, I have no idea. She invited me and I've been racking my brain all day trying to figure that out," she said, wanting to rest her chin on the table and hide behind her arms again. The noise of the crowd around her reminded not to make too much of a scene.
"You have no idea? Did she not make it obvious," Jess said.
"No, she just turned up, invited me and left," she said.
"That explains why she actually took her lunch break today, normally she works through them," Jess said. Jess said turning away a man who had approached their table with a mere gesture. This man unsuccessfully tried to play it off like he was going somewhere else. Kara ignored the distraction.
"She went out of her way to do it. You think that means it is a date?" she said.
"Why are you asking me and not ?" Jess said.
"Is it really that hard to understand that if I ask and it isn't a date that I would be mortified?" she said, more aggressively than she had intended.
"Woah, steady on. I was just asking. The outfit you bought more sense now though, conservative enough that you can play it off as casual if you need to," Jess said. Kara looked down at the bag, her heart sank.
"You think it's too conservative?" She said.
"Don't panic, that's not what I said. I wouldn't have given it my approval if it didn't look great on you, and something raunchier isn't exactly your style anyway," Jess said. Kara looked down at her bag again, weighed down by new doubts about her choice.
"We're not going for a round two Kara, you'll look great in that and I've already done enough damage to my bank account tonight," Jess said.
"You know, it is possible to enter a shop without buying something," she said. Jess looked at her like she was mad.
"That travesty of a statement aside, I'm guessing you want me to help you figure out what was getting at," Jess said. Kara nodded and went over the event, trying to remember each detail. She began to notice that perhaps Jess' flustered observation was more accurate than she liked as she tripped over words and was getting overexcited just talking about Lena.
"Certainly a lot to digest," Jess said, stroking her chin.
"Thank you, yes. My sister implied there wasn't any subtext," Jess scoffed.
"There's always subtext. I'm going to have a think as I get another round. Watch my loot will you?" Kara nodded.
She took in the growing crowd of the bar. She usually steered clear of places like this, the only positive she could spin out of the mass of bodies she saw Jess push through was the warmth of it. She could start to see her own breath as the temperature sank lower with the setting sun. The volume of boring, beat-heavy music had also increased. Luckily for her a lot of the noise was lost to the smoky open air. Jess was certainly being more helpful than her sister, at least taking the magnitude of the situation semi-seriously. Her heart was quickening as to the insights she could provide. Jess' knack for observation would surely be useful. There was a now a pit in her stomach that Lena saw her only as a flustered reporter and that her outfit would not impress. Jess returned with surprising speed, two martinis in hand.
"I don't really drink spirits, Jess," Kara said, eyeing the drink nervously.
"I figured, it might relax you a little. Anyway, I've given this thing between you and a thought or two," Jess said.
"And?" Kara said, immediately dismissing her worry about a stronger drink.
"Well here's what I think. That one time you rushed right by me into her office and her response was to tell me to let you in wherever possible? Total power move," Jess said. Kara could only smile at this.
"Though, she's also media-savvy and you write positive reports on her so maybe she's playing up to that," Kara's smile vanished, her cheeks were like dead weight.
"As I said, she also actually took time off to invite you personally today. Which is quite something," Kara perked up again, far more pleased with this line of thinking Jess was following. "But, she also goes out of her way to make people feel welcome a lot. Also the positive reports thing again." Kara rubbed her face, her heart sank.
"The fact she didn't mention it to me is interesting. Perhaps it was more personal to her," Kara planted her elbows on the table and leant forward. "Or it could be she didn't think it was significant enough to mention." Kara's arms flopped down, narrowly avoiding the drink. No longer caring about making a scene she hid behind her folded arms and plonked her forehead on the cold table.
"Why are you doing this to me, Jess?" her voice was muffled in the safe cocoon of her arms. She heard a chuckle.
"I'm messing with you, Kara. From what you're saying, it sounds pretty ambiguous. Plenty of reasons to think one way or the other," Jess said.
"That doesn't help me," Her breath at least warmed her face in this muffled huddle of hers.
"I'm not sure what you want me to say here," Jess said. She was gently attempting to pry Kara away from the haven of her arms. She gave a little, lifting up slightly and plonking her chin down so she was at least looking at Jess' amused face.
"I want to know one way or the other, is that so much to ask?" she said. Her chin ached funnily as her head bobbed up and down near the table
"Well I can't read minds and apparently asking her for clarification is a no-go, so I'm afraid that's the best I've got for you," Jess said. Kara groaned, her chin started to get sore. She briefly contemplated hiding again. She thought better of it and eyed her martini.
"Come on, drink up. I need to prepare for tomorrow's gala too and you've potentially got a big night tomorrow," Jess said.
"Potentially? Ugh. Why are you so intent on teasing me?" She said.
"Because you're an adorably easy target, now come on. I expect that to be finished by the time I gather up all my bags," Jess said. She started going about separating the tightly formed blocks as Kara blankly stared at her drink, lost as she swung between excitement and fear for tomorrow every few seconds.