Secret Lies

[zydrate]

Another day, another dollar.

That's what the day started out like. Jessica Lasson was working her usual busy shift, the night crowd. At 1PM, it seemed some of the local club patrons were doing with drinking and such, just get breakfast and then start all over tomorrow.

Not that she was complaining, this was usually a good thing for her on making tips, her shift didn't end until 3AM anyway...this was life. Working and making a living.

Just like everyone else, she had bills to pay...at 25, she knew she wasn't going to be doing this forever. She was going to school in the days to become a nurse because she wanted more than to end up in her 50s and still working at this place. A girl needed a little fun in her life and to have that, she needed to have a better life style.

As she gave some snobby uptown couple their order, she noticed a man enter and take a seat at an empty booth. One of her booths, but that was fine, it seemed her busy hour was calming down so another face didn't matter. Usually she wouldn't have noticed such a man, but this one caught her eyes. He was handsome...had an air about him that said he could handle himself...that and he was there alone.

Walking up to his table, Jessica gave him a smile, "Hello, what can I get you tonight?" She asked, her usual line asked.

 

[BeachBum25]

James Drake, at least that was the name he was going by these days, walked into the restaurant after a long day of tracking the people who were after him. He had every intention of turning the tide on them, but he was not yet in a position to make his move. He had not been able to identify all of the enemy operatives, and, until he did that he could not make his move. When he spoke of the enemy, he spoke of other agents from the USA. For reasons that James was not aware of, he had been burned, and was now on a hit list.

He sat in a booth facing the door. He had to keep an eye on everyone entering the restaurant. He had to make sure nobody got a jump on him. The waitress approached and greeted him. "Hi. May I have a cup of coffee and a toasted bagel with butter please." He looked at the waitress. She was very attractive. He smiled at her briefly, but maintained his focus on the front door. He was thinking about where he was going to spend the night and where he was going to pick up the trail of his followers tomorrow.

 

[zydrate]

Noticing the way he kept his eyes on the door made Jess sigh. He was probably waiting for his date or some such. What did it matter anyway?

She heard his order and nodded, still being gracious. She didn't bother writing down his order. It was simple enough. She went up to the kitchen and placed his order, then poured his coffee. He hadn't said if he wanted it black but for safe measure, she poured him a fresh canister of cream.

Walking to his table, Jess set his coffee down, along with the cream. "Your bagel is warm up now...are you sure that's all you want? Perhaps something for who ever is going to join you?" She was being presumptive but hell, she was taking a chance.

 

[BeachBum25]

James continued to look toward the door. He was tired and wanted to make sure that he did not let down his guard. The coffee would help.

When the waitress came back he looked up at her. She was even more attractive than he first realized. She would certainly be able to keep him awake. There was no doubt about that.

"There is nobody else joining me. That is, of course, unless you are going to sit down and join me." He smile at her. He took a sip of his black coffee. "Would it be a violation of your workplace rules for you to sit down with me for a while?"

 

[zydrate]

His invitation was a shock and that only made Jess smile even wider, chuckling a bit. Shaking her head, she placed a hand on his shoulder as she walked away, "Let me check on your bagel."

It was a bit of friendly banter, perhaps a ruse to get him to leave a big tip, she did it a lot to the male customers, as to some female. Perhaps it was just late and he was going to be alone, but his invitation was tempting but she knew better. Her shift was ending soon, and that meant another night/morning alone...

Bringing him his bagel, Jessica set it down and also is ticket, "My name is Jessica and let me know if you need anything, OK? I'll check on you in a bit." Again, another light pat on his shoulder.

 

[BeachBum25]

She placed her hand on his shoulder as she went to check on his order. He was sure that it was something she did to a lot of her male customers. She was good at her job and she knew that it increased her chances of getting a bigger tip. Most guys thought that if they gave a hot waitress a bigger tip that they had a better chance of hooking up with her. James knew that the hand on his shoulder said that he had no shot.

When she returned with his check and his bagel he thanked her. As she walked away, he called to her, "excuse me Jessica, may I have some more coffee please." He went back to watching the door. When she came back with his coffee he thanked her and asked her, "is there a decent hotel nearby? It doesn't have to be fancy. Just someplace I can get a good night sleep."

 

[zydrate]

"A hotel?" She echoed. "Well, around here...yeah, I can't think of any where you won't survive the night...but there are a few better ones uptown.." she looked at him as she was leaning against the booth. It seemed the night caught up with her and she was getting tired.

Stiffling a yawn, she set the pot down and looked at her watch. It was near her time to clock out, "Listen, I really don't do this but from the looks of it, you're not from around here so if you don't mind, we could share a cab and I could tell you where to go from there?"

If she weren't so tired, she would have realized what she was doing but at this point, he looked just as tired as she felt.

 

[BeachBum25]

James realized that he was letting his guard down a little as he chatted with the waitress. He glanced back toward the door and realized nobody was coming in, so, he looked back at Jessica. She was very easy on the eyes.

"Well, I have a entail car so I don't need a cab, but I would be more than happy to give you a ride home. I understand if you are hesitant to go with me, but the offer is there. I appreciate you trying to be helpful."

He realized that his offer seemed to be very forward and maybe even a little creepy. How could he expect an attractive young woman to accept a ride from a total stranger....especially one that walked into the restaurant in the middle of the night? "I am sorry to appear so forward jessica. I was just trying to be nice and save you the cab fare."

 

[zydrate]

With a smile, Jessica thought about what he was offering. It wasn't like her to be doing any of this, but she figured since she was the little sister of 4 bigger brothers who had taught her to defend herself, she figured she was going to be alright with this.

Besides, all of the activity in the little restaurant was being recorded, which no one but the staff knew about so if anything happened to her, they would at least see who she would be leaving with.

And, anyway, it was just a ride, she could give him directions after he dropped her off, it wouldn't be that difficult.

"Well..." she said as she thought about it...or at least pretended to think about it, "I don't normally do this but..." she paused and scolded herself for making it sound like a line but it was already out there, "I'm done in 15 minutes if you don't mind waiting?"

 

[BeachBum25]

James looked back to the door as the waitress considered his offer. He slid forward in his seat and placed his right hand on the small of his back as he noticed a car pull up in front of the restaurant. He watched a woman get out and walk to a car that was parked across the street. Then both cars drove away.

"Sure, 15 minutes is no issue at all. Wild you mind refilling my cup for me one more time, please?" When Jessica returned with the coffee pot he handed her the check and a $50. "We are all square. Thank you for your help."

 

[zydrate]

The process of closing out her check for the night seemed to take longer. Why was she anticipating this so? All the man was going to do was give her a ride home while she gave him directions for a hotel...

Perhaps it was because she was nervous about what exactly she was doing. She was getting a ride home from a stranger but in her mind, she figured she did the same when she too a cab home every night from work, so in all, this wouldn't be as different.

She grabbed her coat and purse, and walked up to the man's table and gave him a smile, "Are we ready?"

 

[BeachBum25]

James continued to look toward the door as he finished his final cup of coffee. It did not make a lot of sense to drink that much coffee before trying to get some sleep but it really wouldn't keep him awake once he hit the bed.

When she walked back to him, he got out of his seat, " let's go pretty lady. It's late and we need to get ourselves to bed." He smiled at her as they headed out of the restaurant. As he stepped onto the sidewalk he looked up and down the street. He did not see anything to worry him. He pointed Jessica to his car. He opened the door for her and then went around and got in. "Okay, where too?"

 

[zydrate]

Jessica noticed how cautious the man seemed, but she didn't question it, it was normal for those not used to this side of the city to look twice before walking or even driving.

She blushed at his words of "pretty lady" because she knew she must really look like hell after such a long day of school and then coming to work soon after.

"Well, my place is at 12th and Maple, you can just drop me off there and I can give you directions from there...sound good?"

 

[BeachBum25]

He pulled the car away from the curb and headed toward where she said her place was. He checked the rear view mirror for anyone following him, and then relaxed....just a little.

"I bet that someone as good looking as you gets plenty of offers for a ride home at the end of your shift. What made you accept my offer? Obviously I do not seem like a threat to you. Either that or you plan on trying to take advantage of me." He laughed as he looked over at her.

 

[zydrate]

Jessica stifled a yawn and shook her head, smiling, "I don't know what made me accept it... perhaps it's because you looked like you needed a friend or perhaps, you just looked lost. In any case.." she turned to look at him, "I don't think you're one to give any one problems..at least not someone like me.."

Was she being conceited? It wasn't meant in that fashion, it was just, she knew how to take care of herself, she carried a taser in case she ran into trouble with anyone...

"What about you, you're obviously not from around here, I could tell that the moment you walked in..."

 

[BeachBum25]

He smiled at her when she said that he didn't look like the type that would give anyone problems.... If she only knew........

" no, I am not from around here. I just stopped in town to see if I could connect with a couple of old friends. Unfortunately, they are no longer among the living, so, I decided that I would find a place to spend the night and get on my way in the morning. It just so happened that your restaurant was open and I needed coffee to keep me awake while I tried to find a decent place to stay. Looks like I made out even better than I hoped. I found a beautiful woman that is willing to tell me where I can find a place to spend the night."

H pulled the car up to the corner. He looked around. "Is your place fit here on the corner? I will check to make sure you get in on time. Just do me a favor and tell me where I can find a good place to stay."

 

[zydrate]

"Oh I'm sure.." she said, adding a bit of sarcasm in response to his words. As he stopped the car, she grabbed her purse and coat, hugging them to her. "Well, my place is actually 4 blocks down that way, I just figured this would be easier here so you don't have to fight with all the little streets..."

Jess reached for the door handle and opened the car door, the light from the top, illuminating his features, "If you keep on this road about 3 miles, you'll run into a line of hotels near the freeway."

 

[BeachBum25]

"There is no way that I am going to let you walk four blocks at this time of the morning. If you had taken a cab home it would have dropped you at your door. I can understand that you don't want a stranger to see where you live, but I insist on getting you closer to your place than this."

James pulled the car from the curb and started driving in the direction that she had indicated that she lived. After three blocks he pulled to the curb. "How far are we from your place now?"

 

[zydrate]

Before Jess could protest, the car was in movement and she had just enough time to close the door. As he drove closer to his place, she decided that he wasn't too dangerous..

Just because he wants to make sure you're safe doesn't make him a saint.. she thought.

When he stopped in front of her building, she sighed and looked over at him, "Well, thank you for making sure I get home safe, but you didn't have too..." she bit her bottom lip and slowly reached for the door handle again before turning to him, "You want to come up? I could make you some more coffee..."

 

[BeachBum25]

He was surprised when she thanked him for getting her home. He did not think he would get her that close, although, he could tell by the way she reacted as he drove that he was getting close to her place.

He was shocked when he heard her invite him up for coffee. He smiled at her...thinking...there is much more than coffee I would want from her. "No, thank you. I don't want to impose on you. You had a long night at work and I am sure you just want to crawl into bed. Thank you though. You are very kind......daring in that you are inviting a stranger into your house, but kind. Trust me, there are plenty of people that would do you harm, and that taser that you are hiding in your purse would not be able to stop them." He winked at her and smiled.

 

[zydrate]

Oh...a challenge...

"Fine, your loss... perhaps if I had been more forward, then I would've just said come on up and let's have sex...would you have come up then? We'll never know now, won't we? OK then, good night!" She quickly closed the door and headed over to the entrance of her apartment building. She punched the button for the elevator and waited...

...and waited...

 

[BeachBum25]

He chuckled at her little tantrum. "Maybe it is my loss, but, then again, maybe it really is your loss. You are correct thigh, I guess I will never know."

James watched as she walked off and went toward the elevator. He would wait until she got on the elevator before heading out to find a hotel room.

 

[zydrate]

Good Lord...how stupid was she?!

Jess mentally beat herself up as she opened the door to her apartment...her lonely apartment, which she didn't even call home, just a place to live for now...

As she threw her purse on the floor near the door and tossed the keys on the couch, she wondered what would've happened had she brought him up here if he had said yes to the coffee... she'd probably calm up because Lord knew she didn't have a plan after that.

Although it was fun, trying to pick up someone...even though she was turned down, she was grateful, at least she still had her dignity...? Sure. That's how you want to make yourself feel better...she thought...

The apartment was still dark as she flopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling... On the way to her bed, she lost her uniform, her shoes, stockings and was only clad in a pair of panties and matching bra...

 

[BeachBum25]

He sat there for a minute, and then decided that he had been pretty rude to someone who was willing to help him. He exited the car and walked into the lobby of the apartment building. Approaching the elevator, James noticed what floor the car was on before pushing the elevator call button.

When the doors for the elevator opened, James exited into the quiet hallway. He looked both ways and then listened......carefully. He heard the faintest of movement in one apartment and decided to take a chance. He walked to the door and knocked quietly.