Part Ten: The Budget Gourmet

"So," James said suavely, "what exactly did you want me to come up here for?"

Jessie's eyes widened. He had never acted quite like this before, but then again, she wasn't exactly herself either. "Well, um... I thought we should have lunch! I mean, that *is* what we went out for in the first place, right?"

James looked unhappy, "yes, well... oh."

She went to the refrigerator and opened it, James following closely behind, and was suddenly hit by a wave of pure odor. James's face turned green, and he stepped back, making gagging noises, while Jessie sniffed at the air in disgust. "Oh," she said sheepishly, "I think my ham went bad."

"You *think*?" he exclaimed.

She giggled nervously and turned to him in embarrassment, "I would cook, but you see... I, uh, I'm not a very good cook. In fact, I think I managed to burn soup the other day..."

Despite the pork-induced nausea, James smiled, "I can cook! I love to cook! Just... can you get the ham out of here before you get to see my last meal, too?"

That dumb, feminine giggle escaped again as she rounded up the rancid meat and took it straight out of her apartment, down the hall, and shoved it into a garbage chute. By the time she returned, he had donned an apron and a chef's hat that Jessie was *sure* that she didn't own, and was already pulling random spices that Jessie didn't even know existed from her cupboards. She just gaped for a moment, shook her head, and settled in her living room to watch tv, Arbok nestled comfortably around her, providing a rather nice pillow with its midsection.

By the time he emerged from the kitchen, bearing a trayful of cocktail weenies, Jessie was so completely immersed in the soap opera that she was watching that she sat on the edge of the couch, biting her nails, with her eyes glassy and wet with sympathy tears for whatever character was on the screen. "Err...." James said, bringing the plate toward her.

"Don't you have any empathy at all!?!" Jessie yelled, grabbing him by his neck, "be QUIET! This is the good part!" With that, she went back to the couch, pushing him away.

James winced and fell over, knocking the tray of weenies to the ground, and begrudgingly returned to the kitchen, from whence he returned shortly with an intact tray. Now, this time, he made perfectly sure to put the tray on the table before approaching her. It was an unnecessary precaution in this circumstance; a commercial came on and she snapped out of her drivel-induced glaze to greet him with a smile. "What, you finished already?" she said, her voice syrupy sweet.

He blinked at the mood swing and replied, "no, actually, this is just the appetizer!" He ran back to the table and zipped over with the tray in hand and a cheesy grin on his lips. She took one by the decorative toothpick that held it and took a cautious bite.

She chewed thoroughly, and her eyes lit up. "James!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and toppling the other tray of weenies onto the floor to mingle with their predecessors, "these are absolutely wonderful! I never knew you were *this* good a cook!"

-'Never knew,' James thought with an air of suspicion, 'that was another slip. There's more going on here than she'll admit, and I know it. There's something she's not telling me.'-

She went on, "well, chef, where's the rest?"

"Half of it is on the floor..." he rolled his eyes, "but the rest of the meal is coming up shortly."

Jessie looked at the tv. Still on commercial. "So... can I watch ya cook?" she asked, going big on the eyes. No one could resist the eyes.

"Sure," he sighed, "if you really think it's that interesting."

In the kitchen, several pots broiled over on the stove, and smoke was filling the area quickly. James let out a yelp and began scurrying around, draining water into the sink and cursing as he burnt his hands. Jessie watched in awe, and then backed away. 'I guess he finally found a passion...' she thought, thrilled for him.

She sat in the living room and watched the conclusion of the soap opera as he finished the preparations. He served the lunch with true flair, even finding an old red tablecloth and a pair of candles in a closet somewhere. It wasn't the classiest meal- he had made pizzas out of various vegetable ingredients- but it was beautiful. They barely talked, not wanting to spoil the perfect gazing moments where they would accidentally meet eyes with trivial conversation.

After lunch, they went to sit on the couch and talk, though James was still wary of the overly friendly Arbok.

"James," she began, "thank you so much for this, and for everything else you've done for me... I was wondering if you would grant me the honor of your company... James, I'd like you to stay here with me."

He smiled broadly, "You know I would love to, Jasmine. I'll call Cass right now and tell her I'm picking up my things." Even in a moment of triumph, Jessie couldn't help but flinch at the mention of Cassidy.

'No, this time, I won't let her bother me. I'm a different person now.' Jessie thought resolutely.

In the other room, James was already on the phone. It was picked up in one ring.

"Hello?" a gruff male voice greeted him.

James scowled, but continued the conversation, "yes, hello. This is James, I'd like to speak to Cassidy."

"Just a minute," Butch growled in return.

"Hello-oo," Cassidy said cheerily after Butch had hung up, "James? How are you?"

"Quite well, Cassidy. I just wanted to call to tell you that I'll be picking up my belongings today, and to thank you for all your hospitality."

The line was silent.

"Hello?" James asked, coiling the phone cord around his finger.

"I'm here," she said miserably, "yeah. I'll see you then."

Then she hung up.