Jenkins:

"Mr. Jenkins?" The quiet soft voice of Cassandra Cillian from across the workroom caught my attention. "Is there something I can help you with, Miss Cillian?" Taking that as her cue to come closer, she started toward my desk and began to ramble, "Well, actually, you see… I need… I was wondering if you uh… maybe would… uh, if you could—" As amusing and cute as it was when she rambled like this, I had things to get to, so I interrupted her, "Miss Cillian…" Cassandra looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. As she let the breath out, her words flew with it. "I need you to pretend to be married to me so I can get into the Emerald apartment complex uptown," she spit out as if her tongue were on fire. Of all things, that is not what I was expecting to hear. I raised an eyebrow and took a second to process what she had just said before choosing my response very carefully. "Wouldn't Mr. Stone or even Mr. Jones make a better candidate for this ruse, my dear?" At that, she shot her hands up into the air in frustration. "I knew you'd say that! And no! Absolutely not! I really need to make a good impression at this interview and all of these people are very fancy. I don't think a cowboy or an Australian with an attitude will do the trick." I don't think a man who looks twice your age or more will do either, I thought to myself. "And the age thing won't be an issue," she began as if reading my mind, "because a lot of the residents are rich older men with pretty young wives. We'd fit right in!"

I was utterly dumbfounded. How could I say no when it made so much sense for me to be the one to help? "You really want this apartment, don't you?" I asked her after a few more seconds of silence. "Oh Jenkins, you should see it, it's beautiful! It's closer to the Library than my apartment now and much, much nicer too. I really want to get in, but they don't take singles. My plan is to have you go with me to the interview and just tell them you work a job that requires you to live elsewhere most of the time on business so they won't get suspicious when they don't see you in the building with me. We don't even have to tell the others!" Wow, she really has thought this through. I looked up to the ceiling and thought about it for a minute or two in silence. Was there any harm in pretending for a few hours? I mean, it would be a favor to her and nothing more. I have to admit, the idea of being fake married to Cassandra sounds quite appealing. For that reason, I can't act on this, it might get me into a situation I can't get out of… or worse, one I don't want to get out of. Just as I was about to say no, I looked back at her and she had her lips in a pout and was making puppy dog eyes. Any reservation I had crumbled. In an interview setting though, I guess nothing could really come up about PDA so we wouldn't have to do any more than maybe hold hands and that's harmless.

"Fine," I responded slowly and she was on me in an instant hugging me and kissing my cheek. "Oh, Jenkins! Thank you thank you thank you! I promise, it won't be a big deal!" I smiled in spite of myself as she exited the room excitedly. When did she gain such a hold on me? Ever since she asked me to dinner that day so long ago, I have held her at arm's length. I told her that my age was the issue, and it is, but it doesn't seem like an issue to her at all. I also told her about my promise to Charlene, but Charlene has been gone for some time, so does that promise still stand? I can't deny that I'm attracted to her. I mean, who wouldn't be? She's brilliant, more that brilliant. She's witty and kind and quirky, and not to mention beautiful. That long red hair, smooth ivory skin and mesmerizing blue eyes… any man would kill to have her... But who's to even say she still wants me and this isn't just a random favor? If I were her, I wouldn't still want me after the way I rejected her. I sighed and decided that it ultimately didn't matter because even if we did both want this, it would never work and only hurt the team.

*Two weeks later, the day of the interview*

"Miss Cillian, are you ready?" I called through the workroom as I entered. I was dressed in a suit of navy blue with a canary yellow bowtie and pocket square, per Cassandra's request. She had on a canary yellow dress and navy jewelry and shoes. We looked impeccable if I do say so myself. She turned around from setting the door to face me and looked me up and down. "You look perfect! Yes, I am ready to go, just let me finish setting this really quick… got it!" she stepped away from the globe and adjusted my bow tie. She handed me a solid gold ring and I quickly slipped it on. She was wearing a huge 4-carat rock on her tiny ring finger. Ironically, when we went through the personal items of former Librarians to find the rings, the huge diamond stunner was the smallest size. "Remember the plan?" she asked with a bright smile. "Ah, yes. I am Jenkins Cillian, editor in chief of the Annexian newspaper in Boston and you are my wife whose parents live here in Portland and need taking care of. We are looking for the apartment for you to live in and me to visit in from Boston. We are very in love and making it work long distance." She smiled as I gave the synopsis. "Perfect. Let's do this." I offered my arm to her and she slipped her arm into the crook of my elbow. I moved to step through the door and she stopped me. "Wait, thank you again for doing this. I know there is nothing in this for you and I really appreciate it." There's plenty in this for me, I get to pretend to be married to a gorgeous woman. I can't very well say that, so I squeezed her hand and responded, "There is not nothing in this for me, I'm doing a friend a favor and her happiness is plenty reward." I smiled at her as we stepped through the door.

Most of the interview was a breeze. We laughed at bad jokes and told our "story" for wanting the apartment and held hands pretending to be married. As the interview came to a close, one of the men on the panel said, "I can't help but notice that you haven't been very attached to one another. Most of our residents are very into elaborate personal displays of affection." I felt her tense beside me on the couch as he continued, "It's just that sometimes we get people interview who aren't compatible with the rest of the residents. We just want to make sure you are a good fit here." As he was speaking, I knew what had to happen. If Cassandra was going to get this place, I had to kiss her and show them how "in love" we were. I glanced at her and I saw her face drop. I could tell by the look on her face, she wasn't going to insist that I do anything I had not signed up for. Just as she was about to fess up to our ruse, I leaned over and pressed my lips to hers, partly to help her win the apartment and partly because I had been thinking about doing it for some time now and I finally had a good excuse. It surprised her but she recovered quickly. What was meant to be a small peck turned into a passionate kiss. I slipped my hands around her waist and she brought her hands to my cheeks as if it was second nature and we had done this a thousand times. If I had known kissing her would be like this, I would have done it a long time ago. She was remarkable. Just as I was about to deepen the kiss even more she broke the kiss and looked into my eyes, forehead still resting on mine. Eyes still locked on me, she responded to the interviewers, who I had honestly forgotten were there, "Do you think we'll be a good fit now?" My eyes never left hers as the man responded, "Welcome to the building Mr. and Mrs. Cillian."

Cassandra:

We made our way back to the back door in silence, mostly because I don't think either of us knew what to say. That was some kiss. I've never been kissed like that before. It was respectful but passionate too. It wasn't sloppy or boring or too short or too long. It was perfect. I kind of hated him for it. I know he didn't read into that kiss the way I did and that he didn't want me the way I wanted him, so now every other kiss I ever have will have to measure up to that one and it really wasn't fair. We stopped in front of the door and I turned to him, unable to stay silent for any longer, "Should we talk about what happened back there or…" He glanced at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, a look of shyness on his face I had never seen before, "I- I just knew he wouldn't give you the apartment if we didn't… make it seem real, it was just part of the act. Right?" I felt my face fall at his answer even though I knew that was what he would say. "Uh, yeah, just p- part of the act," I said, trying to keep my composure, "Thanks again." I didn't even wait for a response as I stepped through the door and went straight to the stacks to stay as far away from the workroom as possible for the rest of the day.

Jenkins:

Part of the act? What were you thinking, Jenkins? Why didn't you just tell her the truth? Ugh. I haven't gotten any work done all day because I can't quit thinking about that kiss. It was perfect. I've kissed many women over the years, and was resolved in thinking the act of kissing was about the same no matter who it was you kissed, but no kiss I had ever had in 1500 years compared to kissing Cassandra today and I couldn't stop thinking about it. My hands on her waist, her hands on my cheeks, our foreheads touching as we pulled apart… but she has been avoiding me all day and I don't know if it's because it was just part of the act for her or if she thinks it really was just part of the act for me. I'm afraid that if I tell her how much I truly enjoyed it, she won't feel the same. I looked up at the clock, ten after eleven. I was waiting around the workroom hoping to catch her on her way out the back door, but she was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she had already left and I missed her. I better just give it up. Looks like I'll have to sleep on it. As I headed to my room, the thought dawned on me that I wasn't going to get any sleep and I grabbed a few books on my way out. It was going to be a long night.

I was still awake reading at around 2:30 am when I heard a knock at my door. I got up immediately and went to answer it, assuming something was wrong. As I opened the door, Cassandra Cillian walked angrily past me and right into my room. "Miss Cillian—" "Don't give me that Miss Cillian crap. How could you do that to me?" she practically spat at me. Now I was really confused. "What are you—" I began calmly and started to walk toward her. "That kiss! How could you kiss me like that knowing how I feel about you and how hard it was for me to get over the fact that you rejected me?! Just as things were starting to go back to normal between us, you go and kiss me like that. It's not fair! Now every other kiss I'll ever have will only pale in comparison to that one and it's not fair!" she was practically screaming by the end and I was immensely grateful that the others were not in the annex at this hour to hear it. I was silent for a moment as I thought about the weight of what she had just said.

"You're right," I said quietly and she stopped her fury to looked confused, "What?" "You're right," I repeated, "It's not fair." She continued to look confused as I continued, "You think I'm not attracted to you?" I moved closer to her as I spoke, words quiet but strong. "You're brilliant and beautiful and kind, how could I possibly stand a chance? The way I see it, it's not fair to me that I can't control these feelings I have for you no matter how hard I try and no matter how much I know it's wrong. You're right, my dear: It isn't fair at all." By this time, I was standing right in front of her, towering over her slight frame as I spoke. "I- I don't—" she started but nothing came out. I stepped back from her and fiddled with my robe as I spoke, suddenly shy, "Yes well…" I trailed off. She looked up at me for a moment and I thought she was going to say something, but then she just left the room and I was even more confused than before.