***Jennifer's Apartment***

Jennifer came home from work, and put her stuff down. She went and changed clothes, throwing on some yoga pants and a tank top. Her New York apartment was small, but comfortable. She and a friend from college, Paige, had found it, and snapped it up. It was advertised as a 4 bedroom, 2 bath Apartment. However, they discovered when they moved in that the previous owner had bought two apartments and connected them with a door. So, Jennifer had her side all to herself, and Paige had her side. They shared a long balcony, with an incredible view of the skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. They each had their own kitchen, and their own space. It was the best arrangement they could have asked for. They had lived together for 3 years now, and knew each other inside and out, and were very protective of each other.

"Paige, you home?"

No answer.

Jennifer decided to take time for herself and enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony. She had just sat down when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Jennifer, I am so glad you are home. It's me. Listen, I have a date tonight and I screwed up, and I booked another date too. So, will you do me a favor and entertain the second guy while I am on my way home from the first one?"

"Sure, I guess. What's his name?"

"Jonathan. He's supposed to be pretty handsome".

"Ok. What time is he supposed to be here?"

"7:45. So tell him that I am stuck at an office thing and I will be home as soon as possible. I owe you one".

"No problem".

They hung up the phone, and she looked over at the clock.

7:42.

"Shit, I better change clothes".

She hurried to her room and threw on a black spaghetti strap dress, and some stacked flip flops, and was dressed just as there was a knock on the door.

"Coming".

She opened the door, to the most handsome man she had ever seen.

"Hi, are you Paige?"

"No, I am her roommate, Jennifer. Come on in, you are welcome to wait for her here. She should be home soon. I was just about to have some wine on the patio, would you like to join me?"

"Sure, wine sounds great. Thank you".

"Absolutely".

She disappeared into the kitchen, glad that he couldn't see the effect he was having on her. She could feel her face blushing, and opened the freezer to cool herself off.

She poured him a glass of wine, and then took it to him on the patio.

"I hope white is ok, it's all I had."

"It's fine, thank you".

'God, he has the most beautiful eyes'.

"So how do you know Paige?"

"I don't. A mutual friend set us up. Tonight is our first date".

"Oh, how nice. Well, she's a lovely girl, I am sure you two will hit it off".

"Forgive me if I am overstepping, but I was wondering, since you are her roommate and all, can you give me some advance pointers on what she's like? I just have no idea what to expect, and I would hate to mess this up".

"I suppose I could. But isn't the point of a blind date for two people to meet each other without any preconceived notions?"

"Yes, but it isn't completely a blind date. I have seen a picture of her."

"I see. So, what did you think when you saw her?"

"Well, she's gorgeous. My friend said the photo was a few years old, but that she looked the same."

"That's a possibility".

"What do you mean, possibility?"

"Paige likes to change up her hair color often. And she sometimes wears colored contacts. So, you might meet her as a blonde haired, blue eyed girl, but then within a matter of days, she's a green-eyed redhead".

"I see. Well, that is helpful information".

"What exactly were you told about Paige, if you don't mind me asking?"

"That she writes articles for a magazine, and that she is feisty, smart, and witty".

"All of that is true. Only thing I would add is that when she does something, she does it 100%, more if she can. When she loves, she loves hard, and she loves with her whole heart. If she lets you in, you have a friend for life, just don't abuse the privilege".

"Well, thank you for that information. I am glad to know a little something about her before I meet her".

"Blind dates are hard. Believe me, you have my sympathy".

They chuckled, and she finished her glass.

"Would you like some more wine?"

"Sure, thank you".

He handed her his glass, and she ran into the kitchen and refilled both of them.

She brought him his glass and set down hers.

"I will be right back, please, make yourself at home".

He nodded.

She headed to her bedroom, to escape into the bathroom for a minute.

She stared at herself in the mirror, and saw how flushed her face was. It would be easy to blame her red cheeks on the June heat, but she knew better.

'Get a grip, Jennifer. He's Paige's date. No sense falling for him now'.

Just as she was leaving the bedroom, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Jennifer, it's me. Is he there yet?"

"Yes, and where the hell are you? You were supposed to be here by now!"

"I'm sorry. I kind of hit it off with my first date and we stayed a little longer. Do me a favor, will ya? Have him meet me here at the bar, and you come with him and I will buy you a drink for helping me out. Can you also bring me a black sweater? Mine is in my closet on the back of the door".

"Sure, ok. See you in a few".

"Wait! What's he like?"

"He is tall, dark hair, broad shoulders, so handsome. He has the deepest blue eyes I have ever seen, and he is very polite and charming".

"Great. Glad to hear it. Thanks a million".

She hung up, and went and got Paige's sweater, and then found Jonathan again on the patio.

"Hi, sorry. Listen, Paige just called. She wants us to meet her at the bar across town, if that's alright. She wants me to accompany you, and bring her this sweater, and have a drink, then I will just take a cab back home".

"Great. Except you don't have to take a cab home. I have a car service, I will be more than happy to have them bring you back".

"Thank you, that's very kind of you".

They stared into each other's eyes for a minute or two, and finally Jonathan broke the ice.

"Shall we?"

She nodded, and grabbed her purse and keys.

After locking up, they headed out.

He opened the door for her, and she slid right into his limo, and scooted over to make room for him.

"This is so nice. Do you always travel in limos?"

"Not always. I have offices here in New York, but I don't have a car here, so when I am here, I usually use the car service. In the long run, it's cheaper than taking taxis everywhere".

"And a lot safer than the subway".

She was quiet for a few minutes and then she looked over at Jonathan.

"What kind of work do you do?"

"I own my own business. Well, actually, I own several businesses. I started out as a telecommunications company, and then I started buying businesses that produce products that are in line with my company's interests. Now I have 24 companies, and I am the CEO."

"That's pretty impressive".

"Thank you. I enjoy it. I didn't have a silver spoon in my mouth growing up. Hell, there wasn't one anywhere around me, so it's nice to know that I came from nothing and still managed to be successful".

"So, you mentioned that you have offices here, but not a car. Where do you live when you aren't here?"

"Los Angeles."

"That's a gorgeous city".

"Do you get out to LA much?"

"No, I am usually here or in London. In fact, I go to London every 6 weeks or so, stay a couple weeks, and then come back here".

"Why do you travel back and forth so often?"

"I am a journalist for the New York Times. I also have an international journalism job, so that's how I make the two work."

"I see. I am in London a good bit, it's a lovely city".

"It certainly is".

They were both quiet for a few minutes, and just looked out the window at the scenery. Traffic was so slow going over the bridge, that it took them almost 3 times longer than normal to cross it.

"Geez, I wonder what is taking forever".

Jonathan opened the sunroof and quickly stood up and stuck his head out, to see what was going on, before ducking back into the limo.

"Looks like a bad accident has the bridge blocked".

He used the limo phone to call the bar and hopefully have the bartender alert Paige that they were on their way.

Jennifer had rolled down one of the windows and was looking at the skyline.

After a few minutes, she looked back at Jonathan.

"I bet Los Angeles doesn't have a beautiful skyline like this".

"No, but we have a beautiful coastline. There's nothing quite like seeing the coastline when you are on a boat sailing in"

"Oh, you sail?"

He nodded. "I was in the navy, and picked up a few things. I also own my own sail boat, plus a couple other boats. Sometimes, the best peace and quiet is what you find out on the ocean, in a boat, with complete solace".

"Or maybe it's when you take a horse out and ride out deep into the woods and are alone with your thoughts".

"I take it you like to ride horses".

"Yes, very much so. I grew up on a horse farm in Maryland. Horses were my life for many years".

"I have a horse ranch, and ride myself from time to time".

He leaned forward and opened the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

He handed one to her.

"Oh, thank you. What a great idea".

She opened the bottle and took a sip.

She set the water bottle in the drink holder, and started rubbing her temples.

"Are you ok? You got pale, all of a sudden".

"Yes, thank you. I get headaches, and sometimes, they come on without any warning, like this one".

He scooted over towards her, and began to rub her shoulders.

As soon as he touched her, they both felt an electricity between them.

"Is this helping?"

"Yes, actually. Thank you".

He rubbed her shoulders for about 20 minutes, and then she turned and told him thank you.

"You are the headache ninja- my headache is actually gone".

"Glad to help".

He sat there, staring at her a few more minutes, and then worked up the courage to ask her a question.

"So, which of you is older?"

"What do you mean?"

"You or Paige- who is the older one?"

"Oh. Well, my birthday is in November, and hers is the end of January. So, we are almost 3 months apart".

"I bet that was hard for your parents".

"Not really. It was just me at home. My mom passed away when I was about to start high school, so I went to boarding school. I am not sure where Paige went".

Jonathan had a very confused look on his face.

"What is it?"

"Nothing".

"I'm a journalist. I can tell you are thinking something. So, tell me- what is it?"

"I must have been given some wrong information, is all".

"About what?"

"That you and Paige were twins".

"Me and Paige? Who on earth told you that?"

"I was shown her picture, and told that her name was Paige. When I showed up tonight and you answered the door and said you were Jennifer, I naturally assumed you were her twin".

He pulled the picture out of his wallet.

It was a picture of her from a friend's wedding a few months ago. She had been standing next to Paige, but Paige had been cut out of the picture.

"Jonathan…who told you this was Paige?"

"My business associate Drew Granderson".

"Nope. That's not Paige. This is me, this is our friend Stacie, and Paige was on the other side, but she's been cut out of the picture".

"I see. My apologies".

"No apology necessary". She smiled at him.

"So, you said you were a journalist. Is that how you met Paige?"

"Yes, in college. Then we worked together at the Boston Chronicle, straight out of school. Now she writes for Travel magazine and a few other freelance publications. I work for an editor at the New York Times and an international editor, but I am not required to go to the office".

"So, basically, you could write from anywhere?"

"Theoretically, yes".

"And anyone can hire you to write an article for them?"

"Yes, that's right".

"What would you say to coming to California in a few weeks, and writing an article for my company?"

"I would say great. What is the subject I would be writing about?"

"Me".