I'll Be Your #1 With a Bullet

Chapter 10

Beep Beep Beep Beep…

A hand comes slamming down on it, trying to rid the deplorable noise. '10am,' the clock screams. Lisa drags herself out of bed and goes into the bathroom to wash her face.

"Well Lisa, it's your last day of vacation." She says this as she looks at her reflection, adjusting her hair when she sees a strand out of balance.

Her vacation wasn't at all exciting (if you scratch out the part where she was trapped at Jackson's place). She basically just moped around the house, trying to figure things out. Jackson had totally consumed her thoughts and she hated it. She just wanted to kick him out of her mind, toss him out like a trash bag. But you couldn't do that. That was one of the many human struggles. She wasn't a goldfish who lost her memory every three minutes.

Although she spent the past few days preparing for Jackson to show up again, she decided to give up on the idea today. She just had to face the facts that he was gone in her life. And that was a good thing right? After that kiss she wasn't so sure. When she thinks back to that incident she gags on the outside, but on the inside…she has no clue what's going on in the inside.

The bell rings as she enters the café. Around her is the chattering of strangers.

'This will be a good end to a vacation.' She goes in search for her favorite table, but discovers that an old couple had taken it. A bit disappointed, she finds an empty seat at the bar area. Right beside her sits a man around her age, sipping some beer. He was rather handsome with his clean-cut blonde hair and hazel eyes. Lisa skimmed down his fingers to find that he wore no wedding ring.

Lisa just wanted to move on. Perhaps getting into a relationship will help her.

"Hi. I've never seen you around here."

The man turns toward her direction, quite pleased to find a pretty young lady staring back at him. "Oh," he says with a smile. "I don't come here too often. I've only been here a couple times."

"Well it's a nice place here."

"Yeah." He extended out his hand. "I'm Jim. Jim Coleman."

"Lisa Reisert," she responds, taking his hand. She was surprised that she was socializing so well. It's been so long since she went up to a guy like this. That last time she did it, the end result didn't turn out so well.

"So you live around this area?"

"I do. I actually work not too far from here."

"Really? Me too." They both beamed pleasantly, each fanaticizing a romantic date.

Jim worked at getting the question out. "You know what's a really good place? That Caramelo Restaurant. Have you been there?"

"No, I can't say I have."

"Well what are you doing this week?"

There it was. The question she's been waiting for. "Well I'm not busy—"

"Excuse me miss, but can I take your order?"

"Jackson!" She quickly covers her mouth, her whole face flushing. There he was, right behind the counter, laughing at her embarrassment. In one hand he held a pen and in the other a small notepad.

Jim just looks at both of them with a palpable look of bewilderment. "Do you two know each other?"

"No/Yes!" they chime at once. Lisa's head goes dizzy from all the hysteria.

"Jackson, can I have a word with you?"

"Sure thing my darling."

Oh how she wanted to hit him when he said that! "I'm sorry Jim, I'll be right back."

"Uh, okay," stammered the guy as Jackson and Lisa went off to the far side of the counter.

"Are you just trying to ruin my life? 'Cause right now you're doing a pretty damn good job of it!"

Jackson just stood there with a smug grin on his face. He loved infuriating Lisa.

'Compose yourself. Compose yourself.' She ran her fingers through her hair, allowing herself for a few moments to get lost in her thoughts.

"Why are you here anyway?"

With a low voice he replied, "The killing business is a little slow right now."

"But why here?"

"Why not here?"

"You knew I liked going here. That's why you got this job."

She was right. Jackson was well aware of the fact that this was Lisa's favorite place to unwind. He wanted to see Lisa again. Now that they kissed, Jackson just didn't want it to end there. So when he found out that the Van Dyke Café was hiring, he went for the job and got it. Besides, he could already tell that Lisa was growing fonder of him. You wouldn't kiss a person if you absolutely hated him. What she said that other day, that was just a cover up. She was very good at lying.

When Jim decided to check up on Lisa he found her and Jackson immersed in a stare off. "What's going on over here?"

Lisa broke away from her angry glare. "Oh, we were just chatting. Nothing really. I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"No problem." Jim slowly shifted his eyes to Jackson. Jackson didn't look so cheery now. He scowled, giving Jim the message to back off.

"So what about that restaurant?"

It was those cold blue eyes that startled the man. "You know what, let's do it another time. I really got to go."

Before Lisa could manage to say anything else, Jim was already making his way out the door. She watched in distress as he exited with not much as a simple look back. She was so caught up on the moment that she forgot who was standing behind her.

"Aw, poor Leese. Just got rejected aye? Welcome to the club."

Her sadness soon dissipated and fury set in. "It's all your fault."

"Mine? All I did was ask to take your order." She felt his heavy hand against her shoulder. Her heart fluttered. "But now that we're on the subject, what do you say about me taking you out?"

"Forget it Jackson." She brushed away his hand and attempted to make it out the door, but was stopped from doing so.

"Leese? I didn't know you were here!"

It was Jen the waitress. As usual, her blonde hair was tied up in a loose bun and her skin was abnormally tan. She took Lisa by the hands and they went off to an empty table.

"Guess what. There's a new employee and he's incredibly hot!"

"Oh," said Lisa, hoping she wasn't referring to Jackson.

But she was. "He just came in two days ago. See, that's him over there. The one behind the counter."

They both passed a fleeting look at the man who was handing a woman a cocktail. Jackson could sense the stare, and looked back at Lisa with a grin. She quickly responded by turning her head away.

"Don't you think we'd make a great couple?"

"Yeah." Lisa felt sorry for the girl. Jackson would never date Jen. His heart was set on her. And much to her dismay, she felt proud of that.

"I've got to introduce you to him. Come."

"Oh no…" Lisa tried to refrain, but Jen dragged her out of the chair. "It's okay, really."

"Nonsense! You really got to meet him."

Lisa avoided Jackson's eyes as they made their way to the counter. He exited the inside of the bar area to affront them.

"Hey Jackson! I'd like you to meet a long-time customer." She pushed Lisa right in front of him. "This is Lisa Reisert. Lisa Reisert, Jackson Ross."

'Ross?' she thought as she looked back at him wearily. She could tell that Jackson was enjoying this by his facial expression. He may not be laughing on the outside, but he definitely was laughing in the inside.

"Yeah, we've met before," said Jackson.

"You did? Why didn't you tell me Lisa?"

"It was a very quick introduction. He just handed me a drink."

An impatient lady in the front was demanding for some service. "Oh, I forgot!" Jen rushed over to the frustrated customer. "Here I am!"

Lisa was left alone once again with Jackson.

"Dammit Leese. You really need to quit this nasty habit of yours. Practically everything that comes out of that mouth of yours is a lie."

Lisa couldn't come up with anything to say. She just stared furiously at him, blowing a piece of hair away from her face. With a turn she began to walk away. As she did she felt Jackson's fingers brush up against hers. He gently tugged her hand.

"Come on Leese. Just give me a chance. I'm not going to hurt you. What are you afraid of?"

She wanted to scream. 'What am I afraid of? What am I afraid of! You Jackson! That's what I'm afraid of! How can you just dismiss all that you've done to me? Don't you see how much pain you've put me through? And yet—and yet…

As she reached the door she took one last glance at Jackson. He was still stationed in front of the counter, his pleading eyes fixated on her. At that moment she just wanted to jump into his arms and listen to the rhythm of his heart. But she didn't. It was like her heart and mind were in a battle. Her heart wanted to take his offer and give him a chance, but her mind—her conscience, wouldn't allow it. And with all that Lisa's been through, she had learned that it was better to trust her conscience than follow her heart.

"Goodbye Jackson." She could hear the clinking of the bell as she exited the café.

A/N: One thing that sort of bugs me in this chapter is my tenses. I don't know, but I'm getting the feeling that I'm switching on and off from past tense to present tense. I tend to do that a lot. And also, I know I say this in every author's note, but thanks for the reviews! (>'.')> Kirby dance to all of you! (>'.')>