The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With The Meeting

"Fuck! Shit! Fuck!" had been Jen's first words after she had ended her call which happened just moments after David had had his. "We're going to get fired. Shit, I shouldn't have had so much to drink. I shouldn't have asked you to bring me here. Fuck, I'm so sorry this is all my fault."

"Whoaaaaaaa hold on there a moment, you are not responsible for this. You didn't drag me here kicking and screaming, I wanted this just as much as you did." David was pacing the room as he talked, and thought, and talked some more, picking up the clothes that he had discarded on the floor yesterday before another of their lengthy love making sessions, and grabbing some clean ones from his closet. "Maybe they just want to talk to us about this and we won't get fired after all the show is proving pretty popular so maybe they'll cut us a little slack. We can say it was just a drunken mistake."

"Only it wasn't a drunken mistake" said Jen feeling a stab of pain.

"Oh god sorry, no I didn't mean that, it wasn't a drunken mistake at all, I was just thinking maybe if we told them it was they might believe us and let us off with a warning."

"But I don't want to lie. I am so done with the lies and the secrecy. I want to be proud of loving you and able to shout it from the rooftops."

"You love me?" David spun around to face her.

"I love you" she replied, her voice quiet and filled with emotion. "And I know this is not the ideal time or way to say it to you for the first time, but I do, I love you."

David moved across the room to where she was sat on the edge of his bed, sitting down beside her face to face. "I love you too. More than I have ever loved anyone ever. And I agree, I don't want to have to hide it either so if it is you or the show then I choose you."

Jen had taken a cab back to her place where she quickly showered and changed before getting into her car and heading over to the studios. All the time she was driving she was playing over different scenarios and questions in her head. Had someone seen them talking outside and then leave, assuming they were going off together despite taking separate cabs. She hadn't seen anyone around when they left but she had been a little tipsy. Neither of them had travelled into work that day in their cars as they knew they would be drinking at the wrap party and the plan had always been to take a cab home, so it wasn't like they had left their vehicles abandoned in the parking lot for days to incite questions. Maybe it was the kiss? Maybe their kiss had been too intense and real and they had figured it out from that. All Jen really knew by the time she pulled up in her regular parking spot was that she felt sick to her stomach with worry.

David's car pulled up less than a minute after she arrived and they now stood awkwardly in the parking lot, both nervous to go in and unsure how to be with each other at this moment.

"Look, let's just walk in with confidence and hear what it is they want to say and take it from there" David had suggested, which Jen went along with as she certainly didn't have a better plan. He reached the door first and held it open for Jen to enter. They were almost instantly greeted with Marta, David and Kevin sitting and leaning on some prop boxes, laughing and joking with each other and certainly not giving off angry or negative vibes.

"Jen you're here! Oh and David, you're here too? Fantastic! Thanks for coming in at such short notice. Listen, we're sorry to do this but we needed to run something by you both and it's a little bit sensitive. Come and grab a seat."

The pair had walked over to where the three producers were and taken up positions as far away from each other as they could, David leaning on the top of one box and Jen hopping up and sitting on another a short distance away.

"So guys, I'm sure you're both wondering what we have called you in for. Well, I'm not sure if you heard but the show has been sold to several countries including a number of European ones and the network is keen to promote it over there. The thing is, although it's an ensemble show, they feel that apartment living in New York doesn't have enough worldwide appeal, and that the biggest selling point to the European market is the potential love story of Ross & Rachel. They want you two to be the ones to go and do the initial promo work in the UK as the show is just about to start airing there. So, you see that's why it's kind of tricky as we don't want to upset the other four, but we can't really fight against the network either. It also means you two giving up a week of your break as they need you to fly out in a few days, but you'll still get almost two months off and I'm sure there will be some free time while you're over there. So, what do you think?"

The room was silent for a few moments as Jen and David processed what had just been said.

"Wow!" Jen had exclaimed a few seconds later, "I was not expecting this when you called me here today!" For the first time since they had entered the room she dared to look over at David, whose face was awash with same kind of surprise as her own. "I'm sure the others will be understanding" she added.

"What kind of promo will it be?" David asked.

"Oh the usual, a few tv and radio shows, lots of magazine interviews and probably a couple of photoshoots." Marta had said, before adding in, "Oh that reminds me actually, did you two go out shopping together a few months back? I had a journalist friend of mine call me about a rumour he heard that you had been seen kissing in a mall? I told him it was crap of course but can you shed any light on it?"

David swallowed very quickly and cleared his throat before answering as truthfully as he could, "Well we did go shopping together yeah, but I promise you there was no kissing in the mall! We did get stopped by a group of girls though who wanted autographs and asked if we were a couple so maybe that's where it came from."

"Yeah, I remember them" Jen had interjected, hoping her face was less crimson than it felt. "They were really sweet and we chatted for a few minutes. Is it a problem? Should we not have gone shopping together? "

"Sweetie, what you do in your own time is none of my business, and I have absolutely no issue with you going shopping together, or eating out together or doing whatever the hell you like together as long as it doesn't affect the show. All I will say is watch your backs. I've seen how this industry works and trust me it's not pretty. Someone can take a photo or hear half a story and twist it to fit whatever narrative they want to sell. Tabloid newspapers and gossip magazines have no soul and no morals and they can make your life hell. So just be careful ok."

After a few more minutes spent discussing the finer details of their trip, Jen and David had left the building together, walking to their cars in a shocked silence. There was a lot to process right now. Relief at not being called out and fired as had been their worst fear; annoyance and slight embarrassment at having been caught in a moment of indiscretion at the shopping mall; but mostly excitement at the thought of a whole week together, alone, in a country where their faces weren't yet known and where they wouldn't have to watch over their shoulder at every turn.