Can a second chance change it all?

Chapter 4

A walk trough the city

Author: Jo
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Robotech or Robotech; I'm just doing this for fun. Well, maybe the personality of Riber is mine (he is my ideal man)
To: Sphersian, to K71 for been my beta now (thank you so much), for all the members of the forum and especially for Carla.

Lisa opened her eyes and the nice smell of coffee and pancakes made her smile.
She rubbed her eyes and got up and when she arrived in the kitchen she found
Karl there making breakfast.

"Hi" said Karl throwing a pancake in the air

"Hi" said a sleepy Lisa

"You are ruining my surprise, I wanted to wake you up with the breakfast ready"
said Karl with a small deception on his face and walking in her direction

"It's ok, don't worry" said Lisa trying to hide the smile that covered her
entire face by closing the upper part of her academy sport outfit that she had
put on before entering the kitchen "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine," said Karl when he was by her side "you look beautiful" he said and
put some of her hair behind Lisa's ear

"Liar" said Lisa smiling and hitting him softly on the stomach

"You know that I never lie," he said taking her by the waist

"Really?" said Lisa looking at him in the eyes, with sexy eyes

Karl moved his face closer to hers until their foreheads touched and then he
said, "you know very well that I never lie about that" and finishing the last
word Karl kissed her with tenderness and passion, until something called his
attention

"What's that smell?" asked Lisa who was still holding Karl and resting her head
on his forehead

"THE PANCAKES!" said Karl and released Lisa and ran to the stove, in middle of
the laughs of Lisa, who followed him to the stove and helped him to remove the
burned pancakes from the frying pan

"Hey! This is not funny-" said Karl as Lisa laughed

"Of course it is, you should have seen your face," said Lisa leaving the frying
pan in the sink

"Very funny, but all this is your fault" said Karl seriously

"My fault?" asked Lisa surprised

"Yes, It's your fault" said Karl and came closer to her "If you hadn't entered
the kitchen and if you hadn't distracted me, nothing would have happened," said
Karl looking at her in the eyes with sensuality

"It's not my fault that you can't concentrate when I'm in the same room," said
Lisa raising and eyebrow

"It's your fault that I'm crazy for you" said Karl with tenderness and started
to give her small kisses, little and tender kisses

"So, you are crazy for me?"• asked Lisa separating herself a little from him.
He only nodded a yes and kissed her on the forehead

"You also have me crazy for you, you know" said Lisa shyly looking at the
floor

"I love you," said Karl taking Lisa's face in his hand making her look at him
in the face

"And I love you too" said Lisa and they kissed. When they broke the kiss Lisa
kissed him softly on the cheek and held him

"What do you think if we have breakfast Lizie?" asked Karl kissing Lisa's hair

"I think it's a great idea" said Lisa and separated from Karl

They ate breakfast in calm and after that they turned to take a shower. While
Karl was taking his shower Lisa washed the dishes and ordered the kitchen

"So what we are going to do today?" asked Karl when he appeared in the living
room with a towel drying his hair and dressed with a black cotton T-shirt and a
pair of used jeans that were too long for him and dragged to the floor. Lisa
stayed there looking at him, with her eyes wide open and feeling that her jaw
was falling open without being able to do anything to help it. Karl looked
incredibly sexy; his hair still wet, it looked a little bit darker than usual.
Lisa had noticed a few days ago that Karl's hair was a little bit blonder than
when he was on Earth. Also she had to admit that his new haircut looked amazing
on him. Besides the fact it was in disorder because he was drying it with the
towel made him look even sexier. Then Lisa lowered her eyes a little bit and
stopped on his brilliant blue eyes that looked more shiny and blue than usual
and his perfect smile that completed his face, giving him this good boy look
that he has always had and that had captivated Lisa from the first day. Lisa
continue lowering her eyes and she noticed the black T-shirt that Karl had on
fit him a little tight, but only tight enough to show a little bit of Karl's
abdomen muscles. That made Lisa realize that Karl was no longer the skinny
teenager that she had met. Now he was a man, of wide back and with arms that
showed that Karl had been working out on Mars, because he had the muscles of
his arms and torso very well defined.

Lisa continued with her inspection of Karl's body and observed that the jeans
that he had on were a little bit long for him. Even though Karl was now taller
than what she remembered. Although he was about 1.80 meters tall, the used and
long jeans gave him a bad boy look that was completely opposite to the good boy
face that Karl had. This translated into the perfect mixture that made Lisa's
heart bit faster than usual. Besides that, the smell of soap and Karl's
aftershave made Lisa feel that she couldn't breath. Lisa made a mental note to
herself to check Karl's lower back when he turned, only to make sure how well
the jeans fit him. In that precise moment Karl looked at her in the eyes and
smiled at her

"What do you think if we go downtown? It's not fair that you spend another day
here at home," said Lisa smiling too, when she was able to take her eyes off of
Karl's body

"I think it's a great idea, besides I can buy some new clothes" said Karl
looking at the clothes that he was wearing. Lisa laughed out loud when he
turned and she saw on the back of the T-shirt the rabbit symbol of Playboy.

After that she checked how well the jeans fit the backside of Karl and she
concluded that she needed to take Karl to buy a pair of jeans just like tose

"You don't think that I will go with you downtown dressed like that?" said Lisa
raising an eyebrow

"Really and what about you? You are going downtown in the academy sports
uniform?" said Karl raising an eyebrow too

"Very funny, wait here that I'm going to change my clothes and then we will see
who will be ashamed of who" said Lisa and started to walk to her room, leaving
Karl with a smile and waiting impatiently for her to come out

Lisa took a quick shower and left the bathroom covered with a towel robe and
appeared through the bedroom door

"I'm going to close the door in case you want to spy," said Lisa winking at
Karl, who was seated in the living room looking at Lisa's bedroom

"And you are going to leave me with no fun?"

"I thought that you were a gentleman," said Lisa before closing the door

"I am a gentleman, that's why you don't need to close the door," said Karl
looking at her with a winning face

"Yeah, well you know, better prevent than heal," said Lisa laughing and closed
the door

Once she was inside the room, Lisa stood in front of her closet and opened it
completely and started to pull out all the clothes that she had. There wasn't a
single piece of clothing that she wanted to wear at that time. She could even
hear Claudia saying to her "Lisa, honey you need to change your wardrobe! Tell
me Lisa, the last time that you went out shopping was in the academy?" And how
right she was, all her wardrobe couldn't be more out of fashion, her last buy
had been a sport outfit to practice kickboxing. But as far as clothes to go
out, she didn't have a single thing to impress Karl with.

After she turned up side down her closet for the fifth time she finally decided
to wear a pair of jeans with T-shirt with no sleeves that the trio had given to
her for her birthday. With it she wore a jacket that Roy and Claudia had given
to her for the same occasion that was still in the gift bag.

Finally she left the bedroom and the expression on Karl's face confirmed to her
that she had chosen the best things that she had in her wardrobe and secretly
said thanks to her friends for her birthday presents. Lisa only smiled to Karl
and started to walk towards him with her jacket on her right shoulder, just
like models do and stopped in front of him, but not before make a turn

"Do you think now I look good enough to go out with you?" asked Lisa looking at
him with a smile and putting one of her hands on her waist

Karl only gave her a smile, one of those smiles that melted Lisa completely
while he got up and stood in front of her

"What do you think?" he asked sensually as he put his hand on Lisa's waist

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking you" she said raising and eyebrow

"Let me think" Karl said and suddenly he pulled her to him violently "I think
that maybe I don't want you to go out looking like that" said Karl touching
Lisa's lips with his and then stepping back

"Why would that be?" asked Lisa stepping back too

"Because I don't want any other man to put his eyes on you" said Karl and tried
to kiss her but she avoided him

"Does that mean that I look ok?" asked Lisa, deciding to make Karl suffer. She
could see this spark in his eyes, that something that appeared in his eyes
every time that she played with him like this and it drove her crazy

"You Look much more than good" said Karl and this time he pulled her to him
with more strength "You look gorgeous" said Karl softly when he was just a few
inches away from her lips and finally kissed her. He gave her a quick kiss
first and then he looked her in the eyes and kissed her again but without
closing his eyes, making her look at him in the same way, like in an eye
contest, but this time when they broke the kiss he bite her lower lip softly,
like he was trying to contain himself. They stood looking at each other with
intensity, waiting to see which one will be the first one to surrender in this
eye contest. But like an inevitable force they started to come closer again
and this time Lisa put her hands behind Karl's neck, making him come closer to
her. They kiss passionately, almost fighting not lose control.

When they broke the kiss they looked at each other for a few more moments, with
out daring to kiss again, until Lisa spoke

"What do you think if we go to the city right now?" asked Lisa taking her hands
off of Karl's neck

"Sure" said Karl removing his hands from Lisa's waist

"Good, then I'll go to find my purse"

"Do you think it's necessary to take a jacket with me?"

"Only as a precaution"

"I'll go check which one of your friends jackets fits me" said Karl with a
smile and walked to the bedroom

He get out of the bedroom a few moments later with a leather jacket in his
hands, while Lisa waited for him standing next to the door with her jacket on
and her purse in her hands

"Ready to go out and visit Macross?" asked Lisa with a smile

"Always ready" said Karl with a smile

"Then don't waste more time, boy scout" said Lisa and open her house door

They left the military sector and started to walk to the town, they had only
walked a few blocks outside the military installation when the buildings and
the shine of the advertisements appeared signing the city and leaving Karl
surprised

Lisa turned to look at him and noticed immediately that his eyes were shining
and that his mouth was slightly open out of surprise, making her smile
Then she came closer to him and put one of her hands on his chest

"Welcome to Macross" said Lisa looking at him and smiling, making him bend his
head and look at her still surprised and smiling

"This is.., it's an entire city" said Karl still surprised and unbelieving

"Of course it is, the first city in orbit with almost 50.000 inhabitants"

"This is wonderful!" said Karl looking at the city again with a special glow
in his eyes

"Then don't stay there looking like a fool, let's go to visit it!" said Lisa

and took Karl's hand and started to walk towards the city.

They started to walk first by the park of the city. Karl was amazed by the
trees and how beautiful the park was even when it was part of a space city.
Then they visited the surroundings of the city. They went to the viewpoint and
from there Lisa pointed out the main buildings and most important spots of the
city to Karl. Then they went down, walked to the restaurant area, the movie
theater and finally the sector of clothes stores. During the entire walk Karl
watched the city amazed, like a child that is taken on a walk for a place that
he had only dreamed and Lisa couldn't feel more happy. It was as if she
realized almost for the first time how beautiful Macross City was, a city that
she had visited only on a few occasions.

"What do you think if we go and buy you some clothes?" asked Lisa

"Great, it would be nice to dress in something that fits me," said Karl

smiling

"Karl" said Lisa rolling her eyes and smiling

"But it's true" said Karl smiling and pointing to his pants that were crawling
to the floor

"Let's go then," said Lisa and started to walk only to stop in front of a male
clothes store, then she noticed that Karl was still standing where she had left
him. "What happen?" asked Lisa looking at him with surprise

"Nothing, I was just looking at you" said Karl smiling and coming closer to her
and putting one of his hands on her waist "you are so beautiful"

"Liar" said Lisa raising an eyebrow, a gesture that for Karl was the sexiest
gesture in the world

"Do you prefer that I call you ugly?" he asked with a sensual gesture

"Ugly?" she said with a frown

"Grumpy, do you really need to complain about everything?" said Karl and kissed
her on the forehead

"Should we go inside?" asked Lisa separating from him a little

"Yes we should, in fact do you see the shirt in the showcase? How do you think
it would look on me?"

"It would look good, besides that color looks great on you"

"All the colors look great on me," said Karl winking at her and entering to the
store

"Vain" said Lisa entering the store as he held the door for her.

They entered the store and checked all the halls, choosing clothes together.
Every time that Karl picked something he asked for Lisa's opinion and the same
thing happened when she chose something for him. They bought some things and
then they checked other stores. Before going to have lunch they stopped in
front of a store that specialized in men's underwear and pants

"Are you sure that you want to go in with me?" asked Karl politely, afraid that
maybe she would feel uncomfortable inside "if you want you can go home and
I'll reach you there"

"It's ok, you have nothing to worry about, besides I wouldn't want to leave you
alone" said Lisa with an easy smile

"Good, because I don't want to be alone, I mean I don't want to separate from
you," said Karl smiling to her

They entered the store and Karl went to the underwear section while Lisa was
checking the pants, she chose a pair of pants for him and started to walk in
his direction

"What did you find?" asked Karl when he saw her

"These pants, but I'm not sure if they are your size," said Lisa giving him a
pair of jeans just like the ones that he was wearing

"I think I'd better try these on, probably they are longer than my size"

"Don't worry sir, we can fix it for you if you would like to try those on" said
the salesman that was next to Karl

"Where are the dressing rooms?" asked Karl

"Over here Sir" said the salesman and started to walk behind the underwear
section

"Wait for me, I want your opinion about it" said Karl smiling to Lisa

"Ok, I won't move," said Lisa smiling

The two men disappeared behind the dressing room door and Lisa stood there
standing in front of a box of sale clothes. She left the bags that she had on
the floor and rest over the sale box

A few minutes later her eyes fixed on what was in the box and only then she
noticed that it was a box full of boxers, which she looked at with no attention
waiting for Karl to come out of the dressing room

Rick had left the base and went downtown. Today finally was his day off and he
needed to find Minmei's birthday present no matter what it took. He had several
ideas in his mind, but every time he had spoken to one of his squadron members,
they had bought what he had in mind or something similar for Minmei. Apparently
everybody was giving her chocolates, flowers, teddy bears or some piece of
jewelry. So he had to find something original, something that Minmei would see
and remember him and only him.

He had walked over the downtown three times and he hadn't found anything to
give her. He had seen a pair of earrings that had a precious stone that was the
same color of Minmei's eyes, but it was just out of his league. He had also
seen some CDs and perfume, but nothing he really liked. He was walking caught
up in his thoughts with his hands in his pockets, when suddenly he saw a male
clothes store and remembered that he needed to buy some stuff for himself. He
had forgotten to send his clothes to the RDF laundry and he had gone to the
town laundry. With so much bad luck they had shrank everything, so they had the
obligation of buying some clothes for him, but he had been so busy thinking
about what he was going to buy for Minmei that he had forgotten that he had no
clean clothes.

He entered the store and started to look at the shelves, while in his mind he
made all the calculations of how much money he could spend and still have
enough money to buy Minmei's present. By the time he had all the calculations
done, he realized that his money would only allow him buy underwear clothes. He
started to walk to that section of the store, especially to the sale box and he
saw there a woman that caught his attention, it was someone that he knew. He
decided to come closer to her, after all he needed to buy some boxers and she
was standing right in front them. He was a few steps closer to the woman when
he noticed who she was; it was nobody else than Commander Lisa Hayes. Rick
stopped a moment to watch her, in middle of some shelves and a mannequin. The
commander was standing in front of the box with several bags at her feet,
dressed in a pair of jeans that showed her long legs and a tight jacket. Ok, he
had to admit that the commander looked pretty attractive and much younger and
how to say it, alive? Fresh? In a word different, especially with her hair free
and looking a little bit curly. Suddenly a smile crossed Rick's face; maybe he
could take some advantage of the situation

He started to walk towards Lisa's direction and when he was a few steps away
from her he asked with the most naïve and surprised voice that he could fake
"Commander Hayes?"

Lisa heard the voice and couldn't avoid jumping. She turned immediately to the
voice's direction, she thought that she had recognized the voice and prayed to
all the saints that the voice didn't belong to who she thought it belonged. But
her prayers weren't answered and it was Rick Hunter who she found standing in
front of her

"Yes?" said Lisa surprised bending down her head

"What a surprise find you here Ma'am" said Rick almost with an evil smile on
his face

"Certainly" said Lisa a little bit ashamed

"What brings you here?" asked Rick resting on the box

"I came with someone"

"I see," said Rick looking around incredulous

"It's true," said Lisa in a hurry when she noticed the incredulity on Rick's
face

"As you said Commander," said Rick with a smile

"It's true corporal, he is in the dressing rooms" said Lisa nervous, afraid
that Rick wouldn't believe her

"Well I guess then it's not wrong that you're visiting a man's store," said
Rick putting one of his hands on his waist

"No.. of course not" said Lisa a little confused

"Besides you know how the gossips are here in Macross, it would be bad if the
first officer of the SDF-1 was seen visiting a male's underwear store alone,
don't you think?" asked Rick almost tempting his good luck. He enjoyed too much
seeing the commander nervous, out of place. In fact he almost had to bite his
tongue not to laugh when he noticed that Lisa was starting to flush

"You're right, it would be bad" finally was all Lisa could articulate, as she
felt that her cheeks started to turn red

Rick bent down his head so as not look at her and that way she wouldn't see him
laughing. At the same time Lisa bent down her face so he would not see how
ashamed she was

"Commander?" said Rick and made a pause

"Yes?" asked Lisa

"Would you mind turning around while I chose the underwear that I want to buy
for myself?" said Rick and he took a pair of boxers in his hands

"Oh sure…yes.. don't worry" said Lisa nervous and turned immediately, but with
such bad luck that she turned too fast and hit the edge of the box, making the
box lose balance and fall to the floor throwing away all that was in it

"Da !" Said Lisa when she noticed the disaster that she had caused and bent
down immediately to pick up all that had been thrown to the ground. She tried
first to put the box up again, but she was so nervous that the box fell to the
floor again. Rick was still holding the pair of boxers in his hands and
couldn't hold the laughter any longer. He started to laugh in silence when he
saw Lisa so nervous and red, a laugh that Lisa noticed immediately and that
made her more nervous and wasn't helping her to calm down

Rick finally bent down and started to help her to pick up all the boxers that
had fallen to the floor. They finally picked up everything that was in the box
and Lisa remained with a pair of boxers in her hands waiting to put it in the
box

"Could you pass me those boxers? They are the model and the color that I was
looking for," said Rick

"Eh? Oh yes, take it" said Lisa and passed him immediately the boxers that she
had with a shaky hand

"Yes, this are the ones," said Rick looking at the boxers closely "You have
great taste commander, you just found my size" said Rick showing her a pair of
black Calvin Klein boxers

"Eh.. Eh.. I.." said Lisa looking away from the boxers, red as a tomato

"Lizie" she heard a voice to her back and she gave a released breath

"Karl" said Lisa and turned in his direction still red and Karl looked at her
almost with an interrogation sign on his face when he saw her there with
another man

"I waned to ask you what you think of these jeans, but I didn't know that you
were talking with somebody, sorry to interrupt" said Karl standing in front of
Lisa with his hands in his pocket

"Oh I.." said Lisa and turned to see Rick who was still with the boxers in his
hands and with a smile on his face because Lisa was still red and nervous. He
thought it was almost unreal that she was so nervous for something that small
and with no importance "I want you to meet Corporal Hunter"

"Nice to meet you" said Karl giving his hand to Rick

"This is Lieutenant Riber," said Lisa when Rick was already shaking Karl's
hand. In that same instant Rick's smile was replaced with a more serious
expression

"Nice to meet you too" said Rick politely observing Karl for an instant. To be
honest Rick hadn't recognized him, now that Riber had his hair short and was
wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He no longer had the long hair and his prehistoric
space suit nor did he have the look of the mendicant that Rick had rescued on
Mars

"Your name sounds familiar to me somehow," said Karl looking at Rick

"He was the man that rescued us on Mars" said Lisa standing by Karl's side

"Yes, now I remember" said Karl shaking Rick's hands again "Thank you very much
corporal, you were very brave there on Mars, Thank you very much" said Karl
shaking Rick's hand effusively, genuinely thankful

"I was just doing my job," said Rick a little bit uncomfortable

"But you saved our lives, you gave me a second chance, you gave us a second
chance" said Karl and looked at Lisa, who smiled at him

"You have nothing to thank me for"

"Oh, you have no idea of how much I have to thank you for" said Karl and smiled
again

"Well I have to go, I have to get back to the base" said Rick, who felt
incredibly uncomfortable in Riber's presence, he felt somehow that Riber was
invading his space

"It was a pleasure to meet you Hunter and if I can help you with something,
count on me for everything, after all I owe you my life" said Karl and shook
Rick's hand again

"Like I said before, you have nothing to thank me for, but thank you anyway for
your offer" said Rick shaking his hand "Well I have to go, bye"

"Bye" said Karl

"Goodbye commander" said Rick saluting Lisa

"Goodbye corporal" said Lisa and bent down her head

Rick walked away from them and moved to the cashier's desk to pay From there he
watched Lisa talking happily with Riber as Riber spun around, so she could see
the pants that he had on. Then he noticed that Riber was wearing the T-shirt
that he had given to Roy on his birthday when he was still flying in his father
flying circus. In that precise moment he felt his blood start to boil. Who the
hell was this guy to be wearing the T-shirt that he had given to Roy? To be
like that with the commander like they had known each other for a lifetime?
Even more, what decent man would bring a lady to a male underwear store? Rick
felt that in some way Riber was invading his space, taking something that
belonged to him.

Finally he walked to the exit of the store and before crossing the door he
looked back and saw Lisa laughing while Karl took one of her hands and pulled
her towards him. She gave him a small punch in his unharmed arm and he shook
her hair and went back to the dressing room.
Finally, he left the store feeling upset and decided to find that present for
Minmei as a way to clear his mind.

Lisa and Karl left the clothes store and went to a small restaurant in the city
that was away from all the noise. They had lunch in calm, talking, laughing and
enjoying the food. After that they finished their tour of the city and finally
they stopped at a store to rent some movies and watch them in the comfort of
Lisa's house. Karl picked one and Lisa another and then they went to the
supermarket to buy all the necessary food to enjoy a relaxing afternoon
watching movies.

They walked through the park again and stopped in front of a big oak that was
in one of the corners of the park

"Doesn't this tree remind you of the one that was at your house?" asked Karl
watching the tree

"Now that you mention it yes, it's looks like that tree"

"Can you imagine the things that tree could say if it could speak?" said Karl
smiling

"Don't even say it" said Lisa and looked at the tree thoughtfully

"The last time that we were in front of that tree was the day that I told you
that I was leaving to Mars"

"Yes I prefer to remember when we met there behind my father's back"

"Do you remember when I would leave you notes in the middle of your piano
score, so we could meet at the tree at a time that we set"

"Yes, and I would leave you notes in middle of my father's mail that I knew you
would check"

"Several times your father was about to find one of those notes"

"And Mom yours"

"You know what? We should make this tree our meeting point" said Karl and
looked at Lisa in the eyes

"That would be great, we can come here to the park and sit here and remember
old times"

"Yes, only you and me" said Karl and came closer to her and gave her a kiss on
her forehead

"Maybe we could put our names here finally," said Lisa with a smile

"I can't believe that you still want to do that" said Karl laughing

"You can be so annoying sometimes" said Lisa and push him softly

"I'm just kidding, the next time that we come here I'll carve our names on the
tree"

"Mmm, maybe it isn't a very good idea, after all I'm the first officer of the
ship and it would look bad that my name is carved on a tree"

"Are you serious?" asked Karl surprised

"Yes" said Lisa serious and watched Karl's expression for a few seconds. He
looked disappointed and then she started to laugh "I was just kidding"

"You are evil" he said and pushed her softly

"Fool"

"Grumpy"

"Annoying"

"Ugly"

"Karl!" protested Lisa

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, you know that you are the most beautiful woman in
the universe" said Karl and hugged her but she moved away from him "come on
Lisa, don't be mad"

"You are such a pain," said Lisa pretending that she was hurt

"Gorgeous, you are the most gorgeous woman on the Earth" said Karl looking at
her, but Lisa still was wearing her hurt face. "Of the galaxy?" asked Karl but
Lisa's expression didn't change "Of the Universe?" asked Karl and look at her
with a puppy face "Do you want me to scream it? Because you know that I will"
said Karl and Lisa only raised an eyebrow

"LISA HAYES IS..!" was Karl saying but Lisa cover his mouth with her hand

"It's ok, it's ok, I forgive you" said Lisa laughing

"Really?" he said, still with his puppy face and she only smiled and grabbed
his arm

"Let's go home to watch movies" said Lisa and held his arm and they started to
walk

Rick was walking through the park angry. He had been paged from the bridge for
an emergency flight, so he couldn't buy the present for Minmei. Even more he
was pissed off because this guy Riber was wearing the T-shirt that he had given
to Roy. He was walking through the park because it was the short way to the
base. He walked with his fist tight and wanting to strangle the officer that
was replacing Lisa.

And if that wasn't enough when he was leaving the park he found there nobody
else than Riber and of course he was with Commander Hayes. They were in front
of a tree laughing and pushing each other, like they were a pair of students
and suddenly he heard him say something loud. Something like 'Hayes is' or
something like that and then he saw her covering his mouth and later held him
and walked away. She was holding his arm and few steps ahead he kissed her on
the forehead.

What that supposed to mean? Was she dating this guy? No he didn't think so, she
only loved her work, she was incapable of loving someone else, he said to
himself. But what would happen if she were dating this guy? asked Rick to
himself as he was leaving the park. But he convinced himself that wouldn't
happen. Probably the guy was a friend of the commander and they had met from a
long time ago. Probably that was the reason why she had wanted to save him on
Mars and it was logical that between friends they had went out, shopping and
walking together. Apparently the commander did have a friend; concluded Rick
while he climbed up to a military car that would take him to the base. What if
he was more than just a friend of the commander? His subconscious mind seemed
to ask.

Lisa and Karl arrived home. While Karl went to the bedroom to order his new
clothes in one of the drawers that Lisa had saved for him, Lisa went to the
kitchen to make some popcorn, and to serve the soda and the candies so they
could start their movie afternoon. Once she was all set, she arrived to the
bedroom with a tray with all the food.

"Ready to watch movies?" asked Lisa

"Almost" said Karl as he hung his jackets in the closet, closed the door and
turned in Lisa's direction "now I'm ready" he said

"Fine, then I'm going to leave this here" said Lisa and left the tray on the
bed

"But Lizie, the TV is in the living room" said Karl

"Aha, that's what you think, wait a second" said Lisa and closed the curtains
of the room, turned off the lights and cleared the table that was in front of
the bed "just watch the amazing things that technology does" said Lisa and
pushed a button. In the same moment the wall of Lisa's bedroom started to open
and in front of Karl's eyes appeared a giant TV screen, flat liquid crystal,
that covered almost half of Lisa's bedroom wall

"What were you saying about the TV?" asked Lisa looking at Karl

"This is, oh my God, amazing" said Karla and came closer to the screen

"Doctor Lang developed the screen for data transmission for the bridge and well
you know the benefits of being the first officer of the ship" said Lisa winking
at him

"This is like having the movie theater in your home, literally" said Karl
walking towards Lisa

"Well you know, I have always liked movies"

"You always love to watch the same old romantic movies," he said caressing her
face

"I also like action movies" said Lisa protesting

"But I love to see you cry at the end of those romantic movies" he said and
gave her a tender kiss on the mouth

"You also cry sometimes," she said as she felt that her feet were leaving the
floor

"But that's a secret between you and me only" he said and kissed her again
They sat on the bed and Lisa put in first the movie that she had chosen. They
put the tray in the middle of the bed and sat holding each other to watch the
movie, one of those old and romantic movies that Lisa loved

Karl had his nose in Lisa's hair and she was cuddled against him holding him
tight. The movie was about to end when Karl noticed that she was shaking a
little, he smile to himself and moved so he could take Lisa's face in his
hands

"Lizie" he said tenderly and Lisa made a sob and wiped her tears "Honey" said
Karl sweetly and ordered Lisa's hair and wiped the rest of her tears

"I can't believe that I'm crying," said Lisa sitting straight and trying to
stop crying

"It's ok honey, there's nothing to be ashamed of, besides you look very pretty
when you cry" said Karl caressing Lisa's face

"You can't say that I look pretty when I cry, my nose turns red and my eyes
swell up, I look awful when I cry"

"That's a lie, you have the most beautiful red nose and puffy eyes that I have
ever seen" said Karl and kissed her on the forehead and she held him

"I love you," said Karl holding her tight

"I love you too" said Lisa cuddling next to him

When Lisa's movie finished they continued watching Karl's movie, but since it
was night and it was colder they got under the sheets and cuddled together to
watch the movie.

Karl was so caught up in the movie that he didn't noticed that Lisa had fallen
asleep and only when the movie was over he realized that she was sleeping
holding him, with a smile in her face. He also smiled and turned off the TV in
silence and cuddled next to her. Karl felt that his heart wouldn't fit in his
chest because of how happy he was. The fact of being there with Lisa, of having
her in his arms, of smelling her perfume, of seeing that she seemed as happy as
he was, made him the most happy man in the world. So he stayed there watching
Lisa's face, saving in his memory every single detail of her face until he fell
asleep holding Lisa in his arms.

To be continued…………..

Author's Note: I know that so far, I'm just to center on Riber and Lisa but I promise that thing will get more interesting ahead, but I feel that it's necessary to show their relationship. I'll be waiting reviews please!