The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One With A Tidal Wave

Jen stood in front of her full-length mirror, pulling at her slinky black dress and checking her make up. Five minutes before she was being picked up for her date. Her date with Brad Pitt. She still couldn't believe that of all the people in the world, he wanted to take her out and get to know her. Her mind was racing and she had nervous butterflies in her stomach. She hadn't felt this much nervous energy since....... since...... since she first met David and realised that he might actually like her in the same way that she liked him. David. God, she missed him. Yes, she couldn't deny she was excited about going out on a real proper date tonight, and she was enormously flattered at being invited, but a big part of her wished the man she was going to see tonight was the one currently working in Chicago and not this Hollywood superstar who she didn't really think she would have anything in common with.

Less than forty minutes later she found herself being escorted into a private dining room in an exclusive LA hotel where she came face to face with her date for the evening. He stood to greet her, kissing her cheek and pulling out her chair then waiting until she was seated before settling himself back down. She expected it to be a little awkward and clunky at first, not knowing what to say and not having that easy rhythm and flow of familiarity, but she needn't have worried as her fears were completely unfounded. She was actually amazed at how completely comfortable and confident her made her feel. They soon realised that they shared a lot of common ground, particularly their love of music, and before the date was less than two hours old, they had already arranged a second, Brad announcing that he had tickets for an upcoming Blur gig and he would absolutely love to take her along with him, something which she agreed to without a moment's hesitation. At the end of the evening, he offered her a lift home, again something to which she agreed instantly, surprising herself as she didn't want the night to end. And as he walked her up the path to her house and closed in for a hot kiss, she felt her knees go weak at the contact.

Jen shut the door behind her, kicking off her shoes and leaning heavily against the wooden frame. Her mind was racing alongside her heart. She had not expected this. She had not expected any of this. She knew right then that she was in trouble. What she was feeling right now was not flattery, it wasn't even lust..... it was the flickering of real attraction and it filled her with a complete mixture of excitement and fear. She loved David. She adored David and she wanted to be with David. But she couldn't be with him, not properly. And one single date with Brad had already showed her a whole other world of possibility. To date him would mean to actually get to go out on dates. Real, dressed up, romantic dates. They could go to a concert together and their only worry would be that a photographer grabbed their picture and sold it to the press. And although that might be a little annoying, it wouldn't get them hauled in front of their bosses to at best explain themselves and at worst potentially lose their jobs. And that kiss. She hadn't expected to feel that rush of adrenaline and desire as their lips connected. It wasn't like kissing David, it was different. Not better, just different, but absolutely something she already wanted to do again. Oh God, this was getting more and more complicated and she had no idea what was going to happen, but she did know that a second date with Brad was something she was very much looking forward to and that surprised her to her core.

By the time two months had passed and she was due to return to the Friends set, Jen and Brad had become almost inseparable. If she was completely honest with herself, she was getting swept along on a tidal wave of attention and attraction, and because he was Brad Pitt, a lot of doors opened for him that would have been firmly closed in her face. He could take her to the most exclusive places, he could get hold of unobtainable tickets, he had invitations to the best and most connected parties and she was washed along in the glamour of it all. She was flattered, she was surprised and if she was brutally frank about it, she was enchanted by the promise of the glittering, golden lifestyle he could offer.

She hadn't spoken to David since she had been dating Brad and she felt guilty and ashamed of herself. She knew that what she had with David was everything she had ever wanted, with the exception of timing. He was a perfect example of right man, wrong time. He was the one she was supposed to end up with, at least that what she had thought for the past five years. But now, for the first time, she had the tiniest seed of doubt in her mind. Of course, she loved David. She loved him so much it hurt. But was love supposed to hurt as much as they did? Wasn't love supposed to be effortless and honest and open, and not hidden and secretive and possibly even futile? Brad was easy. Easy to look at, easy to be with, easy to be seduced by and easy to love. And she did think she might love him. Was it possible to be in love with two people at the same time? She was beginning to think yes it was. But she wasn't at all sure how to deal with that or how to discuss it with David and that bothered her beyond belief.

It was a sunny Saturday morning, two days before Season Five of Friends was due to get underway. David's phone buzzed and he reached over to see a message from Jen flash up on his screen. 'Hey stranger, I've missed you. Can we talk before Monday please? J xx'. He smiled, a smile that reached right to the edges of his cheeks. Jen. He had missed her so much. He'd had to fight himself so many times not to pick up his phone and call her just to hear her voice on the end of the line. He had told himself that distance, space and time were the only things he could do to help himself get that balance back between friends and lovers, but God he had found it hard. There had been a girl at the theatre who was obviously interested in him and he had taken her out on a few dates, but he couldn't help but compare everything about her to Jen, and in every single department she came up short. He pressed dial on his phone and she answered within two rings. "Hey you!" he said down the line, "I've missed you too."

"Hey honey" she said, feeling instantly more guilty and torn as she heard him speak, "I can't tell you how good it is to hear your voice again. How are you?"

"I'm good thanks sweetie, how are you? How is the movie going?"

"Oh, it's ok you know, not exactly easy but it's alright. Urgh, no actually, if I'm honest I wish I hadn't signed up for it and I'll be glad when it's over but I can't say that to anyone else." She paused..... "Listen I need to talk to you about something but I don't want to do it over the phone. Can we meet up today or tomorrow sometime? Maybe at the view point?"

"That sounds a serious, is everything ok with you?" he replied, sensing something wasn't right by her change in tone.

"It's fine, I'm fine..... I just need to talk to you that's all."

"You've met someone else, haven't you?"

"Honey, I really don't want to do this over the phone."

"Hey, it's ok, you don't have to feel awkward, just tell me. We agreed work and home life separate, no pressure, no drama." David could hear the words coming out of his mouth but his heart was pounding and he could feel the blood pulsing in his temples as he fought to sound calm and casual. "So are you going to tell me who he is?"

"It's Brad..... Brad Pitt" Jen said, her voice barely more than a whisper. She could hear the internal battle raging in his head through the phone. This was exactly why she had wanted to have this chat face to face.

"Brad Pitt?" There was a stunned silence as he processed this information that had crashed into him like a ton of bricks. "How did you meet him?"

"He contacted my agent and said he wanted to ask me out on a date" Jen replied, feeling awkward and unkind at sharing such information with him like this. She could tell he was hurting and she hated herself for being the cause of his pain.

"Wow....." David said, desperately trying to hold himself together, "..... well, I'm no Brad Pitt" he added in an attempt at humour, but Jen didn't laugh.

"David, I'm sorry." Her voice was filled with emotion as she tried to contain everything she was feeling, "I love you so much and I don't ever want to hurt you..... but I think I am falling in love with him too and I don't know what to do."

There was another moment or two of silence as they both sat, phones pressed tightly again their ears, trying to process what the other was wordlessly saying through the airwaves. After what seemed like an age David spoke. "I think you do know what to do..... I think we both know what you need to do. I won't stand in your way Jen. Live your life and be happy."