The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With The Shopping Mall

Jen had really enjoyed her night with the girls on Saturday.  They took it in turns to host and since most of them lived on the same cul-de-sac they could easily stay up late with a few drinks then walk home.  However, she couldn't help but feel a little sad at not being able to open up and share her feelings for David with them all.  She wanted to shout from the rooftops that she had found a wonderful, loving, funny, strong, sexy guy who she was falling harder for day by day, but she knew she had to keep it entirely to herself for now at least.  It went against every instinct she had not to tell her closest friends who she usually shared everything with, but she kept reminding herself of a few important lessons told to her by her favourite high school teacher, 'Tell one person and you may as well tell the world'; a secret shared is no longer a secret' and 'it is better to conduct the gossip orchestra than be the victim of it'.

David was sat at a secluded table against a red brick wall in the far corner of the vibrant deli, and he waved to greet her as she walked through the door late on Sunday morning.  He stood and instinctively placed a kiss on her lips before taking her coat and sitting back down on the high-backed bench seat, Jen sitting to the left of him, their knees meeting together under the table, their backs to the rest of the room so they had almost total privacy.

"Hey you" she smiled, her eyes shining even in the dim light, "sorry I was a little late, the girls wanted me to stay longer and I had to try and think of an excuse to leave."

"Hey you" he replied, not even trying to contain the wide smile that spread over his face, "what did you tell them?"

"Oh I just said I had a lot of learning to do for the show this week which isn't a lie........ So, this place is really nice, I can see why you like it. Great vibe and I love the colours and the exposed brick walls."

"Just wait until you've tried their food!  It's so good!  I'm pretty sure you said during 20 Questions that Mexican is your favourite right?"

"I do love Mexican! How did you remember that? We were pretty drunk that night!" she exclaimed, recalling their first alcohol fuelled cast night out when they had all played the game to get to know each other a little better.

"I tried to remember everything about you" he said, "call it a character study......"  He quickly added, "I'm not a creep I promise!  I've just realised how weird that must have sounded!  Anyway.... the reason I said that is because the Heuvos Rancheros here is pretty special, at least I think so."

"Well after a recommendation like that I can't possibly not try it now can I?" she giggled as David called the waitress over and ordered for both of them.  "And for the record I think that's really sweet and not creepy at all.  I am pretty sure I can remember most of what you said that night too."

"Really?  Go on then, what can you remember about me?"

"Well I remember that your first role was as a fairy godmother in Cinderella when you were about 10. Your middle name is Lawrence.... erm, your birthday is November 2nd which is the same day as your Mom and erm.......you love science, not dinosaurs though.  Your favourite food is pizza and uhhhhmmmmm...... your favourite song is one by Michael Jackson...... but I can't remember which one it was!"

"Don't stop 'til you get enough" he said, "Woah, I am seriously flattered that you remembered all of that.  You're good!"

"Your turn" she grinned, resting her head on her hand as she leaned forward on the table.

"Uhm ok, well your middle name is Joanna, you like Mexican food, your dad is on Days of Our Lives and I am a big fan of him by the way. Let's see.... Telly Savalis is your godfather, your favourite drink is either a Dirty Martini or a Margarita, you are scared of flying and.......... and..........and you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen."  He leaned in and placed a delicate kiss on her lips, feeling her hand come to rest on his thigh as she sidled closer to him and he draped his arm around her shoulders.  "I've always loved this place, but being here with you is extra special" he said, "I could get used to this."

"Me too" she replied as an air of quiet contemplation settled over both of them, "me too......"  They knew what each other was thinking, that this felt so right and so, so good but at the same time there was that nagging little voice telling them this was a dangerous game to be playing and they'd better have one eye on their backs.

David was right, Jen did indeed absolutely love the food, declaring it the best Mexican breakfast she had ever had and vowing to visit again in the very near future. David had insisted on paying the bill, it was their first date after all he had joked, which prompted some good-natured teasing from Jen about how she would have dressed up more had she known it was an official date.

"So, I'm going to take a walk to the little mall a few blocks away...... do you have any plans or do you fancy joining me?" David had asked as they exited the deli into the bright early afternoon sunshine.  "It's usually pretty quiet on a Sunday so I doubt anyone will notice us, especially with this exceptional disguise...." he added with a laugh as he pulled his baseball cap out of his pocket and pulled it down hard onto his head, shielding his face.

"Do you think that's wise?" Jen questioned, not not wanting to go with him but afraid of being spotted.

"Well, it's not like we are doing anything wrong by shopping together is it?" David had replied.  "It's not like we can't be seen together, I guess we just have to be careful what we are doing if we are. But I absolutely understand if you'd rather not, please don't feel pressured."

"Hey, believe me, I would love to come with you..... in fact hold on a moment...." Jen rushed off to her car and returned less than a minute later wearing her hair twisted up in a butterfly clip and oversized sunglasses. "There...." she said, "much less obvious now...... right, let's go shopping!"

They had spent at least 2 hours wandering through various stores as David tried on clothes and shoes, whilst Jen had picked out a few things for herself too, both complimenting and being brutally honest with each other about what they had picked up.  There was one particular pair of jeans which had fitted David to perfection, causing Jen to whisper in his ear exactly what she liked about them and how much she would like to get him out of them right now before placing a quick but suggestive kiss on his lips.  On exiting the store, they had set off back to where they had left their cars, arm in arm, not noticing a small group of girls pointing and gesturing towards them until it was too late.  They had been recognised.  "Hey we love your show!  Are you guys a couple? Could we get your autographs please?"  Jen had charmed them all instantly with her friendly tone and beaming smile, answering a few questions and signing a couple of autographs, David hanging back a little, totally blindsided by what was happening and just wanting to be back in his car now.

"Fuck" Jen had muttered as they were finally out of earshot.  "Fuck, fuck, fuck..... do you think they believed me when I told them we weren't a couple?"

"You sounded pretty convincing to me" David replied, his tone flat with a hint of despair.  They walked the rest of the way back to their cars in silence.

"I'd invite you back to mine but I'm not sure if that's such a great idea since it's broad daylight still and my girls might see you." Jen had said as they reached the parking lot.  "But please don't think I don't want to...."

"I think we need to be extremely careful about doing that anyway" David had replied thoughtfully.  "And it's definitely not that I don't want to either, but if we are going to manage to keep this a secret then I think we have to be as discrete as we possibly can.... And your car parked at mine overnight or vice versa is not exactly un-noticeable, especially as the show appears to be taking off and we have started to lose our anonymity."

"So no overnights then......."

"No overnights......" he sighed.

"And no being out in public together on our own?  Do we need to make that a rule too?" Jen asked with sadness in her eyes.

"I guess after that it's probably for the best."  There was a long pause before he added "Urgh this is going to be really hard."

"Too hard?" Jen's voice was barely above a whisper now.

"I don't know......." His eyes were locked with hers as they stood face to face out in the thankfully empty parking lot, "I really don't know......"

After what seemed like an eternity Jen spoke, her voice heavy with emotion.

"I think you do know........ I think we both know, we just don't want to admit it."