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(o.O) Lounging Bunny (c) Productions Presents
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(Chapter Two)

The Chase

~ . ~
"If you're willing to chase me, I promise I'll run slow."
Unknown
~ . ~

Letting herself into the bar the next morning, Elizabeth locks the door behind her before getting started on cleaning up the place, having promised Jake that she'd have the place back to normal by the time they open up for business that night. Slipping a quarter in the jukebox, she puts on a good song to dance to before grabbing the disinfectant spray bottle and rag, starting with the bar and making her way around the room.

Getting to the table that she had been sitting at with Jason, she can't help but picture the moment as she straddles him, taking claim to his lips as if it had been her right to do so. The feelings that surged through her as his lips moved with hers, the desire that sprung to the surface the moment their lips touched, Elizabeth could literally feel the fears creep into her mind, reminding her of all the pain that love can cause.

Shaking thoughts of him from her mind, she continues to clean up the bar, needing to keep as busy as possible. As long as she can keep herself busy, thoughts of Jason and the moment they shared will not be an issue. As long as she keeps busy, she can pretend as if nothing has changed and make it as if the moment never happened. She just has to keep busy long enough for it to take hold.

~ . ~

Shutting off his bike at the end of the bridge over Black Stone Canyon, Jason makes his way to the center of the bridge before hopping up onto the railing and taking a deep breath in. It has been so long since he has made his way up to that bridge and simply stood there. Ever since things ended between him and Robin, it has been hard to be there without her, but he couldn't help it this time. He needs the calm that this place provides as he tries to figure out his next step in regard to the woman that literally crash landed into his life.

Sonny has told him not to get too attached, many having tried to get through to her in the hopes of a getting a chance to be with her, but none succeeding. For him to have gotten as far as he did was a miracle all its own. In spite of Sonny's warnings, however, Jason can't help the feelings burning brightly within him.

Something about her calls to him in a way that he can't even put into words. When she kissed him, it felt as if his whole life, everything he had been through, was leading him to that moment, to her. Just thinking it to himself, he felt as if he was crazy for believing such a thing, but he can't shake it. The only question now was how is he going to prove to her that he's the one worth taking the chance on? He knows, just as well as anyone, that love is a huge risk. You give yourself to the other person, hoping and praying they don't break you, but knowing that they just might.

~ . ~

Deciding to take a break for breakfast, she makes her way to the local diner, knowing her best friends will be there relaxing before the start of their work day. They seemed to be the only constant thing in her life that she could truly rely on. Every morning, without fail, they are there for breakfast before going their separate ways. Constant things like routines are things she has come to appreciate after all she's been through. They lend her life some normalcy and she's thankful for that.

"Elizabeth!" Emily, her number one best friend, exclaims when she walks through the door.

"Emily!" Elizabeth exclaims mockingly before eyeing her in confusion. "What's with the excitement?"

"We need to talk." Emily says as she drags her away from the other two and into the bathroom. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Elizabeth counters once the door is shut and locked behind Emily. "Remind me again why the bathroom seems to be our meeting place?"

"Forget about that." Emily waves away her sarcasm. "Johnny told me you kissed my brother last night. That's huge!"

"Its huge that I kissed your brother?"

"That you kissed anyone!" Emily says seriously. "I mean, how long has it been since you've been comfortable enough to do that?"

"I was drunk, Emily." Elizabeth sighs before leaning against the sink. "Its not a big deal."

"You don't get drunk." Emily reminds her. "Sure, you get buzzed sometimes, but never too drunk to control yourself. You knew exactly what you were doing and you know it."

"Can we not talk about this?" Elizabeth asks almost pleadingly. "The fact that it was your brother should have tabled this conversation from the get-go."

"I'm your best friend, which means that no topic is off limits, remember?" Emily folds her arms over her chest firmly. "Talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I like him." she sighs, knowing just how pathetic that sounds, but its true. "And I don't want to."

"Are you sure that's it?" Emily counters. "Because I think its not that you don't want to, its that you're afraid to."

"The difference being?" Elizabeth states. "At the end of the day, I'm not going to let it happen."

"Don't do that to yourself." Emily sighs, knowing just why she's so against allowing her feelings to lead her. "You can't let what happened in the past prevent you from putting yourself out there again."

"I'm not like you, Emily." Elizabeth says seriously. "I can't get my heart ripped to pieces, put it back together, and then just go for round two. That's not me."

"You are one of the bravest people I know. There isn't anything you wouldn't do for the people you care about." Emily says wholeheartedly. "Why can't you do the same thing for your own happiness?"

"Because I learnt a long time ago that happiness is a fleeting thing at best." Elizabeth says simply. "And I will not chance my heart on something that won't last."

"If you only knew just how wrong you are."

"I know its hard for you to believe, Emily, but love just isn't going to happen for me and I need you to accept that." Elizabeth says seriously. "I need you to accept that its just who I am. Okay?"

"I'll accept it for now." Emily says firmly. "But I refuse to believe that you'll never find love again. You're just too good a person for me to ever believe that."

"I wouldn't let Audrey hear you say that. The woman practically breathes her hatred for me." Elizabeth says with a laugh before unlocking the door and pulling it open. "Come on, I want to eat breakfast before I get back to work."

Thankfully for Elizabeth, that had been the end of that conversation, but she knows that Emily will try to broach the topic again soon enough, that's just who she is. When she had met Emily, she wasn't expecting for the girl to become her best friend, not in the least. She was just growing tired of the popular girls being complete bitches to her and stepped in to put at stop to it. No one deserves for their mistakes to be thrown at them on a daily basis when they were trying their best to overcome them. Since then they seemed to be there for each other when it really mattered and then there was no turning back.

~ . ~

Jason does his best to school his features when he walks into the diner and finds her sitting with his sister. A part of him was surprised to see that the two were friends, but not too surprised that she was friends with Zander and Juan. They seemed to be a good match as far as friends go. If Emily hadn't decided to throw herself into the life by dating Johnny, he would have had those two thrown out on their asses when she introduced them as her best friends.

"Jason!" Emily greets her brother happily before wrapping him up in a warm embrace. "You here for a late breakfast?"

"Something like that." Jason admits, chancing a glance at Elizabeth before focusing on Emily. "Do you want to join me?"

"We were actually on our way out." Emily says after a moment of thought, yanking both Zander and Juan to their feet. "Right guys?"

"But I'm not done with my..." Zander started to complain when he noticed her glaring at him. "Uh, yeah. On our way out...right."

"Elizabeth just ordered though." Emily points out before ushering her friends to the door. "Keep her company, won't you?"

In that simple gesture, Jason realizes that his sister knows about the kiss that they had shared, most likely thanks to her boyfriend who will soon be tasked with the painful job of guarding Sonny for the foreseeable future. Taking a deep breath, he turns away from the door to look at Elizabeth, who also didn't seem too pleased with being set up like this.

"You don't have to eat with me." she says as she picks up her plate and drink before moving to another table. "In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't."

"I'd never hear the end of it from Emily if I don't." he points out as he takes a seat across from her. "Unless you have a good enough reason why I shouldn't."

"Because I don't want you to."

"Are you sure?" Jason counters, reaching over to take her hand in his. "Because I think you do."

"No..." she says as her eyes remain frozen on their joined hands, trying her best to not let it affect her. "...I don't."

"Elizabeth." he says in a tone of understanding, causing her to look at him in confusion. "Its just breakfast."

"Fine." she says, practically yanking her hand from his, unable to take it for a moment longer. "But we are not going to talk about last night."

"We didn't require much talk then." he says with a slight smirk. "Why complicate it with a conversation now?"

"Exactly." she says simply. "Well, are you going to order something?"

Waving over the waitress, he places an order before sitting patiently for it to arrive, a soft smile on his face as he watches her eat. She seemed to be trying her hardest to not look at him while being unable to stop herself from doing so at the same time.

"Stop staring at me." she says seriously, dropping her fork into her container. "Its impossible to concentrate when you keep looking at me like that."

"Have dinner with me."

"What?" she looks at him like he's lost his mind. "You can't be serious."

"But I am." he says firmly. "Have dinner with me."

"No." she says seriously. "Just no."

"Why not?"

"Why not?" she looks at him in disbelief. "Because I don't date. That's why."

"Who said anything about a date?" he counters. "I just asked you to have dinner with me."

"Its the same thing!"

"No." he shakes his head as the waitress sets his plate down in front of him. "Dinner's just dinner. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Dinner's never just dinner." Elizabeth says seriously. "Breakfast, sure. Lunch, maybe. But dinner is never just dinner."

"You're making it more complicated than it has to be." Jason replies, reaching over to take her hand in his once again. "I just want to have dinner with you. That's all."

"You're not going to give up until I say yes, aren't you?"

"Basically."

"I know I'm going to regret this." she sighs before shaking her head. "But fine...I'll have dinner with you."

"Was that so hard?"

"You have no idea." she replies before rising to her feet. "I start my shift at Jake's around ten, so, when do you want to have dinner?"

"I'll pick you up at seven." Jason says simply. "As for where we'll go, you'll just have to wait and see."

"Okay." she says before tossing a couple bills down onto the table. "See you tonight."

Watching her walk out of the diner, he wonders just what she has been through to cause her to be so guarded, finding that it'll be a very interesting battle to get her to see that he wasn't planning on going anywhere. Finishing up his food, he pays for his meal before heading over to the warehouse where he'll spend the rest of his day, only leaving when its time for him to get ready for his dinner with Elizabeth. One way or another, he'll get her to admit its a date, but he knows it'll take some time and a lot of effort on his part.

~ . ~

Getting back to work on cleaning up the bar, Elizabeth felt like she wanted to bang her head against the wall until she was thoroughly incapacitated, anything to get out of her dinner with Jason tonight. She wasn't sure what he was trying to get at, but she was certain that it will end badly for her. Every time he touches her, she can feel her body aching for more, needing more and that frightens her. Just being around him, Elizabeth can feel her reserve begin to crumble and she can't let it happen. She can't want him because wanting him will mean caring about him. Caring about him will lead to deeper feelings and deeper feelings will mean her own destruction. Regardless of all the reasons why she should be running away at this very moment, Elizabeth's heart aches for her to stay, to try, and that's what frightens her most.