Lisa

Lisa Reisart was certain that something or someone in the cosmos hated her.

Ever since the rape she had become despondent, withdrawn and put all her energy into her work instead of her life. All of her relationships were strained and she was constantly finding herself pushing people away. It's not like she enjoyed the solitude of her empty apartment or all those long, lonely nights, it was just her coping mechanism. She felt safer not letting anyone break down her barriers by getting too close to her.

But something bewildering happened; her encounter with Jackson, brief as it was, completely rattled her. For the first time in two years she found herself wanting more. He managed to connect with her in a way nobody had been able to lately. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about him made her feel more like her old self, who she was before the incident. Despite her reservations, she joined him for a drink and was positive that something would come out of it.

Jackson didn't say anything too suggestive to make her think their tryst was anything more than a way to kill time, but something deep inside her said otherwise. Lisa was sure she could detect something in his eyes and found herself sneaking constant glances at him over her drink. Here was a man with the ability to actually captivate her with a mere glance and she smiled as he languidly tossed back his jack and coke. At times she caught him looking at her questionably and she wondered if he was some kind of mind reader, causing her to pinken slightly.

Screw the flight to Miami, what she wanted was to sit by the bar with him all night. It felt like she was in some kind of dream. But like all dreams she eventually had to wake up to harsh reality. With the simple distraction of a phone call he bid her farewell leaving her with the discomfiture of her delusions. It was ridiculous really the way life seemed to taunt her.

Her mind full of erratic thoughts, Lisa gingerly boarded the plane and scanned the seats in first class hopefully. When she realized Jackson was nowhere to be seen she sighed and pushed her way into coach.

18G where are you? Lisa wondered impatiently, squinting at the numbers running along the wall.

Well there's 18F….so I'm obviously right next to…Jackson! Lisa's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh…hi…again," she said trying to disguise her pleasure at seeing him.

Jackson peered up at her with friendly eyes, "I figured you'd be in first class."

"Oh no, no, not me I'm all coach all the time," she interjected quickly.

"Me too," he said with a small laugh.

Oh God, can he tell how nervous he makes me? Lisa wondered frantically.

"I…think that's my seat," she said hesitantly.

Jackson looked at the seat to his right with skeptical eyes.

"What? You're not sitting here?" he asked in surprise.

'Well? I don't know, does that say 18G?" she asked.

I am such an idiot, of course it says 18G, Lisa thought, wondering how foolish she appeared as she thrust her ticket towards him.

Jackson leaned towards her, "You're kidding….you're not kidding…uh, you need a bellhop?" Gallantly, he jumped up to help her.

"Uh, no, that's okay," she replied. Ignoring her protests and Jackson picked up her bag and began to stow it in the overhead compartment.

What a nice guy, Lisa thought to herself as she backed into her seat. Deep in contemplation, she backed into her seat and in the process nicked her head on the ceiling.

Grabbing her head in embarrassment she noticed that Jackson was staring at her.

"You okay?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah," she winced.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…I'm not normally such a lightweight," she said hoping she didn't sound as big an idiot as she felt, "Some strong baybreezes," she added lamely.

Lisa looked away from the piercing gaze of her seatmate; she was picking up on a strange vibe. She remembered how insistent Jackson had been on her ordering a seabreeze. Now, she could admit to herself that she purposefully ordered the baybreeze…but that was only because she wasn't comfortable with her predictability.

The only problem was he seemed to realize this as well. So either she was pretty damn transparent or Jackson Rippner was a mind reader.

Quirking an eyebrow at him, Lisa wondered what else he knew.

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A million thanks to all of you who reviewed, and please bear with me….I'm trying to stay true to the movie so you may have recognized some direct dialogue, hopefully it didn't bore anyone.