CHAPTER TWO:

"Lisa…?"

The look on his face, a cross between determination and vulnerability, made her chest hurt.

"Corporal Hunter, please don't ask me again. I'm sorry but the answer is still 'no' and it's Commander Hayes, not Lisa."

Inwardly, he was crushed beyond description but outwardly, he maintained his composure and acted as if he hadn't heard what she'd just said. He knew it wouldn't be easy asking Lisa for a date but he hadn't count on her turning him down three times in a row in less than a week.

"We're off duty, Lisa. Remember, at our very first meeting you said I didn't…"

"Yes, I know what I said, Corporal— um... Rick. But please you have to stop asking me to go out with you. You seemed like a very nice young man and I'm sure you are, but I'm busy, and I'm not in a very outgoing mood."

Without waiting for a reply, Lisa turned around and marched toward the elevator, praying that Rick would not follow her and walked in. She jammed her finger into the button to close the door.

As much as she liked him, Lisa knew could not and would not encourage him. There is no room in her life for silly romances and flirtations. Nevertheless, she found herself smiling.

I have to give him credit for being persistent.

"How about tomorrow? I'm off and I know you are too."

Lisa froze and looked up to see him smiling back at her from outside the elevator door.

"Absolutely n--" And the elevator door closed between them before she could finished.

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Disappointed and disheartened, Rick took off his uniform jacket and fell upon his bunk.

He knew he should eat something before letting exhaustion claim him but he had no appetite. How could he, when his heart felt as if it had sunk into his stomach?

"Christ, I'm a fool!"

Turning over, Rick buried his head into the pillow and let his mind drift.

Lisa definitely has gotten under his skin and she hadn't even tried. She wasn't a flirt; she was as strait lace as a nun. She would probably slap his face if he tried to kiss her. That thought made him grin and he decided there and then that he was going to try it very soon.

Why? He asked himself again. Why her?

He felt somewhat breathless just thinking about her and he gave up.

He had always had an eye for attractive women, so of course he would notice her. But there was something else about her, something he could not put his finger on. He just knew that every time he looked at her there was something in her eyes, something of loneliness that touched his.

God, I must be a masochist… yea, that's the only sane reason why I keep going back for more…

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Lisa spent a miserable evening pacing back and forth in her quarters, unable to unwind and relax. Unable to enjoy the dinner she made for herself or watched any of her favorite movies.

A hundred times, she called herself a fool for letting Rick riffled her and damning him to perdition. The rest of the time she spent working to compose herself, determined to put him out of her mind and to never let him guess how badly she wanted to go out with him.

Go to sleep, Lisa! But every time she looked at the clock on her night stand a minute or two has passed only.

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"Lisa…?"

Flat gray clouds hung over Macross's fake sky, imitating an early, chilly morning. Standing at a rail on a simulated edge overlooking the city, Lisa felt the light air from the air ducks hung high overhead tugging at her hair which she had put up this morning in a ponytail.

She had come to this place to clear her mind. This was her special place for it was tucked away from the path of the main park thus unfrequented by park users.

Unconsciously Lisa's hand came up to her throat as she turned to see who had called her. Upon recognizing him she bit her lip unconsciously and waited. He was in a jogging suit just like her.

Rick stopped directly in front of her and though his expression was carefully guarded, there was no mistaking the surprise in his eyes. She wondered at his thoughts.

Her own were in turmoil. Anger at Rick for tempting her. Anger at herself for wanting to be tempted.

Regret.

Uncertainty.

Heartache.

This latter she refused to dwell on.

"Rick! What a surprised to see you."

"Yes," he said and he was well aware that his heart was racing. "I didn't think you were a morning person, Lisa."

"Usually I'm not but—"

"Couldn't sleep either?" he said without letting her finish.

"No that's not what I was going to say—"

"Come on, let's jog."

She started to protest, but Rick had already captured her hand and was pulling her with him.

When she started to keep pace with him, he let go of her hand and they began to enjoy a comfortable pace together, neither saying much of anything to each other. They must have put in a good two miles before Rick slow down and pointed to a water fountain.

"Ladies first," Rick said and executed a slight mocking bow when they reached the water fountain.

A delicate rose bloomed in her checks but Lisa said nothing and proceeded to drink. Afterward they walked back the path they had jogged.

"This is weird, Corp—Rick," Lisa said after a long silence. "I don't usually go jogging with people I see in the park, especially not men anyway; men that I don't know."

"You know me."

"No, I don't. I don't know you other than your rank, unit and what's written in your service record. Just because I see and hear you over the commo screen every day does not mean that I know you. Who knows, you could be an axe murderer or psycho killer."

Rick laughed.

"It's not funny, Rick. I'm serious." Her tone rose with some anger.

"That can be easily fixed, Lisa," Rick said and he smiled at her, far too seductively in her opinion and Lisa immediately stiffened and stopped walking.

Noticing, Rick also stopped too.

"Lisa, I'm not going to attack you." Rick said and fought to keep his voice down for he was angry now. "You can get to know me now… lets see, my name is Rick Hunter, Rick short for Richard. No one calls me Richard, not even my dad, not even when he's mad at me. I'm originally from--"

"No, that's not what I mean and before you interrupt me, let me finish explaining myself." Lisa saw Rick's eyebrows lifted but he said nothing.

"My refusal to go out with you," she began, "has nothing to do with me playing hard to get. I don't play games, Rick. And it has nothing to do with you, please understand. I am flattered by your attention but that's it."

"Is it my age?" Rick said before he even thought about it.

Lisa stiffened.

"I'm sorry!" Rick cried, meaning it. "That was a thoughtless thing for me to say and I'm interrupting you. Forgive me, Lisa, please continue."

She bit her lip so hard that it hurt. "No, it has nothing to do with your age or rank or eye color or hair!" she said coolly.

"It has to do with me. I told you, I don't play games. I don't have time for them. I make decisions everyday that affects thousands of lives in a blink of an eye. I have to be focused and clear headed all the time. I don't have the time or room in my life for infatuations and flirtations, Rick. Please leave me alone," Lisa finally said her voice low now, almost a pleading whisper.

"Okay, but I'm not …," she heard him said but had walked away from him already. She didn't want to see the disappointment in his beautiful blue eyes or hear the longing in his voice.

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Rick got drunk that night. The day after, he slept till noon and woke up with a raging headache. For several long moments, he confused the banging in his head with the heavy raps on his door.

Then the door swung open and Roy strode in.

"Get dress. We need to talk."

Roy had never seen his friend so miserable looking before. That Rick was unhappy was more than clear. Roy had a feeling he knew why.

Roy was sitting at his desk when he emerged from the shower, shaved and dressed in his uniform. There was a hard set to Roy's jaw that hadn't been there when he was younger but now seemed never to leave him.

"Here," Roy said and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Roy said, "as your squadron leader I'm assigning you two extra shifts this week for not showing up for your shift this morning. But as your friend, I'm going to tell you that if you ever do this again, I swear, I will forget that you are my little brother and court-martial you. Am I making myself clear?"

"I'm sorry, Roy."

Taking a deep breath, Roy looked at Rick. "I believe you are, Rick. Come, let's get going. We're needed to guard the convoys as they load up on supplies from the Sara Base on Mars."