***Two days later***
Jonathan left the office early and headed to Crawley's to get a quick oil change.
Martin came up to him.
"Hi Mr. Hart. What brings you in today?"
"Just an oil change, Martin".
"We can do it in 30 minutes".
"Great".
"Oh and thanks for recommending us to your friend. If you talk to her before I do, can you tell her that we don't buy cars from people? I haven't had a chance to return her call".
"Oh you mean Jennifer? She wants you to buy her car?"
"Yeah, I gave her the total, and she called back and told me to do it, and then she called back and asked if we could purchase her car from her."
"That's strange".
"I got the feeling that she was having a hard time coming up with the payment. But the repairs her car needs are vital. I can't knowingly send someone out of here with a busted engine".
"It's ok Martin. I'll tell her".
He got his oil change and then paid the bill and headed out.
***Jennifer***
Jennifer was at the paper, working.
"Miss Edwards, Martin from Crawley's is on the phone for you".
"Thanks".
She picked it up.
"Hello, this is Jennifer Edwards".
"Hi Miss Edwards. Your car is ready".
"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can".
Shannon saw the look on her face and could tell she was worried.
"What is it?"
"Well, my car broke down, and had to go into the shop. Jonathan came and rescued me and told me where to take it because I had no clue where to take it. And the bill is much higher than I can afford, and now it's ready and I don't know how I'm going to pay it".
"Well, just go talk to them. Tell them you can do payment plans. Tell them you will run ads for them in the paper if they will put the cost of the ad towards your car".
"That's a great idea! You're a genius".
"Want a ride to the place? I was just about to leave".
"Yes, please".
Shannon took her and dropped her off.
She was waiting at the desk for Martin.
"You must be Miss Edwards".
"Hi, yes. Now, here's the thing. I so appreciate your being able to fix my car. It's just unfortunate that I'm not able to pay for it all at once. So, I can do payment plans if you're willing, and I can also do a consignment. I work at a newspaper, and I was thinking-if you want to place an ad, I am willing to run it in every edition, and you can take the cost of the ad and put it towards my car".
"There's no need, Miss Edwards. Your bill has been paid for".
"Paid for? What, by who?"
"This note will explain everything".
He put the keys in her hand along with the note, and walked away.
She walked to her car and unlocked it and sat down.
She started it and let the air conditioning blow on her a little bit.
She opened the note.
"You helped me out, now it's my turn. Drive safely-Jonathan".
She blinked back tears of gratefulness as she drove home.
When she got home, she figured out what she wanted to do.
She called Jonathan at the office.
"Hello?"
"Hey-I was wondering. Do you want to go to dinner tonight? My treat".
"Sure. Where would you like to go?"
"It's a surprise. What time can I pick you up?"
"How about 6:30?"
"Sounds great. And I'll come to your house, you don't have to pick me up".
"Ok, see you then".
They hung up and she went to get ready.
She selected an off the shoulder black dress with a sweetheart neckline. She put on black sheer stockings and black heels, and curled her hair to perfection.
He showed up right on time.
"Hi".
"Hi. You look absolutely gorgeous".
"Thank you. We can go in my car if you want, unless you are more comfortable in yours".
"I'm fine in yours".
She drove them to the fanciest restaurant she could think of-Bay View Palm Steakhouse.
"Oh, I haven't been here in ages! Great choice!"
They walked inside and were shown to their table.
The waiter came and brought them some menus.
"We have an updated price list and a new wine list. I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menu".
The prices were about $30 higher than they had been when Jonathan was there last.
"Jennifer, if you want a good meal, we can definitely go somewhere cheaper".
"No, I told myself that I was going to take you to the fanciest restaurant in town, and that's what I'm doing".
They placed their order and then she turned to him.
"So, I appreciate you paying for my car. I can pay you back over time, if that's ok with you. I have $1000 to pay you now".
"You don't have to pay me back, Jennifer".
"I want to. You were kind enough to give me a ride home the other day, but I never expected you to pay for the repairs too".
"You helped me out with my back, so we are even".
"Jonathan, there is no way you expect me to believe that I gave you a $4800 massage. Now come on".
"Jennifer, it's ok."
"Let me pay you back in installments. This is important to me. Please?"
"Ok, fine. But instead of paying me with actual cash, you can pay me back with something else".
"I beg your pardon".
"I didn't mean that. I meant time. You and I will have a standing dinner date, every Sunday night. 49 dinner dates, and then your debt will be paid off".
"Ok, it's a deal. But we go dutch to those, or I pay for you."
"I can agree to that".
They shook on it and then enjoyed the rest of their evening.
She drove them back to her apartment afterwards, and invited him in.
He only stayed a few minutes and then said he had to go.
"Thank you for dinner".
"Thank you for rescuing me with my car".
She stepped forward and gave him a long hug. He couldn't believe how good it felt to hold her.
"I'll see you tomorrow night. Thanks again".
She locked the door behind him and went to change for bed.
'Tomorrow night. I just can't wait for tomorrow night'.
***Thursday***
Jennifer showed up to Singles who Mingle a little early. She had volunteered to do nametags.
She got all set up, and started doing nametags as soon as people came in.
Jonathan came in last.
"Hi".
"Hi. Here's your nametag".
"Thanks".
Toya flashed the lights signaling the start of the meeting.
"This week we are going to do something different. Ladies on the left, Men on the right".
Jennifer went and found a seat on the left side. Jonathan went and found a seat on the right.
Toya had the women come up with a list of the top ten qualities they find appealing in a man. She had the men come up with the top ten qualities they find appealing in a woman.
Both sides presented their ideas in a debate, and it sparked some genuine conversation.
Just before the end of the meeting, Toya stood up.
"Ok, now, this Saturday, we are having a pool party at Holly's home. The address is 8854 York Avenue. Ladies, bring an appetizer. Men, bring dessert. Now, I'm going to pass out numbers to each side. Find the person with the corresponding number, and your homework assignment for this week is for the men to take the lady with their number for coffee. And ladies, you are to plan an outdoor activity for the guy with your number. Have a good week, see you Saturday".
Jonathan got his number and went and found his match. She was brunette, tall, very attractive.
"Hi, I'm Jonathan".
"Hello. I'm Stacey".
They stepped aside to chat.
Meanwhile, Jennifer found her match. He was tall, blonde, and very broad shouldered. His name was Adam, and he had the greenest eyes she had ever seen.
"Hi, I'm Jennifer".
"Hi, I'm Adam".
Jonathan and Stacey made a coffee date for Monday, while Jennifer and Adam made a coffee date for Sunday afternoon.
She caught up with him when he was almost to his car.
"Hey. Are you going to the pool party?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about it. Are you?"
"I think so".
"Great. So what do you think of your match?"
"She seems nice. We are having coffee on Monday".
"Wonderful".
"What about your match?"
"His name is Adam. And we are having coffee Sunday afternoon. He seems nice".
"That's great. Listen, I know it's last minute, but there's a charity thing I have to go to tomorrow night. Would you be interested in going with me? My company will pay for your ticket if you go. It's just dinner, dancing if we want to, and there's a silent auction. All the proceeds benefit the Los Angeles Zoo".
"Certainly. That sounds lovely".
"Pick you up at 7?"
"Sure. I'll be ready".
"Great, see you then".
He held the door to her car open for her and after she drove away, he went to his own car and headed home.
For the first time in a very, very long time, he felt truly happy. He didn't even realize that he was smiling.
***Friday***
Jennifer left work at 5, and hurried home. She took a quick shower and dried her hair and then picked out a dress. She finally selected a bright blue sculpted halter dress with a black lace edge. She put on some black peep toe heels, and sprayed on some perfume.
Jonathan arrived right on time.
He knocked on the door and she let him in.
"Hi, come on in. I'm almost ready".
She was switching purses.
"Is it an open bar or a cash bar?"
"Cash bar."
"Got it".
She shoved some bills into her purse along with her wallet, keys and lipstick.
"Ok, I'm ready".
She looked over and he was staring at her.
"What?"
"You're so beautiful".
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
"Well thank you".
She locked the door behind them, and he walked her to the car and opened the door for her.
He slid into the driver's seat.
"Jonathan, can we try something? If it doesn't work, we can stop. But I think we ought to give it a try".
"Sure".
He backed them out of the parking space, while she turned on the radio.
She could tell he was nervous, but he didn't stop her.
She found them a fun station with lots of songs that they could sing along to and she could tell he loosened up a little bit.
They were pretty quiet except for singing with the radio on the way to the venue.
He pulled them up to a ballroom that overlooked the water and found them a parking spot.
He turned the car off.
She put her hand on his arm.
"See, we listened to the radio, and we got here just fine."
"Yeah, we did. Thank you".
He came around and opened the door for her and helped her out.
They walked inside and checked in.
"Silent auction will start in ten minutes. Bar is open now, as are the food stations. Thanks for coming and have a good night".
"Thank you".
They found their table and headed to the bar to get a drink.
They both got plates afterwards and sat down and ate. Some of his employees came over to speak to him.
"Hello, Mr. Hart".
"Hello Stanley. Stanley, this is my best friend Jennifer Edwards. Jennifer, this is Stanley Friesen, he works for me. And this is one of my accountants, Ben Stowver".
"Hi, nice to meet you both".
She ate while he chatted with them.
By the time they left their table, she was finished.
He finished his plate and then someone came and asked him to dance.
He turned to Jennifer.
"Do you mind?"
"Not at all".
Jonathan danced with 16 women in a row, none of them Jennifer. Jennifer sat at the table by herself, all night.
Finally at the end of the evening, he came back to the table.
"Are you ready?"
She nodded.
They walked to the car, and got in.
He drove them home and noticed she was being very quiet.
He pulled them up into a spot at her apartment.
She jumped out of the car and yelled "Goodnight" before he could get out of the car.
She hurried inside and headed for bed.
He was torn as to whether or not he should go after her or not. He finally decided to wait and talk to her at the pool party tomorrow.
***Saturday***
Jennifer showed up to the pool party about 10 minutes early. She was wearing cuffed jean shorts and a pastel green racer back tank top. She had a bag with her suit and a towel in it, and she had brought a couple appetizers.
Other people started showing up.
"Jennifer, that looks amazing! What did you bring?"
"Well, this is chicken and waffle sliders. And that is cucumber salsa, and I also made stuffed mushrooms and tortellini pasta salad".
"Oh my goodness! You didn't have to make all this!"
"I know, I didn't mind. I like to make things every now and then".
Just then, Jonathan and a couple of the other guys arrived.
Jennifer poured herself some punch and headed outside.
He followed her.
"Can we talk for a minute?"
She nodded.
"I feel like I did something to offend you last night, and so whatever it was, I apologize".
"Replay the evening in your head, Jonathan. Tell me what you see".
"Well, we got to the venue, and then we got a drink and some food, and then I was dancing and then we went home".
"Exactly. You ignored me all night. And you introduced me to your employees as your best friend. I thought we were more than that. And you promised me dancing, and you danced with everyone in the place but me".
"I'm sorry. I promise, I'll make it up to you".
"How? By taking me somewhere else and ignoring me there? No thanks".
"No, that's not what I meant. Look, I said I was sorry. That's all I can do. I promise, next time we go somewhere, I'll only dance with you".
"That's IF we go somewhere".
"What do you mean?"
"We're only best friends, remember?"
She walked over to the tables and sat down. Other people came out and started jumping into the pool, so Jennifer took her tank top off and then stood up and stepped out of her shorts. She was wearing a dark green bandeau top with a ruffle layer, and black bikini bottoms.
She climbed into the pool and went and sat on one of the ledges. Pretty soon, all the single guys were flocked around her.
Jonathan pulled his shirt off and then stepped out of his shorts. He was wearing tight red swim briefs.
He climbed into the pool and went to sit by Jennifer.
Pretty soon, all the single ladies were flocking to Jonathan.
Between the two of them, it became a battle. Who could get the best reaction out of the other one. Holly soon organized some pool games, and they were all guys against the girls.
Jennifer was the lead scorer for water volleyball. Jonathan was the lead scorer for water basketball.
Jennifer got out after awhile and laid out on a chair.
The party lasted till well after dark, and then everyone started going home.
Jennifer was inside helping Holly clean up.
Jonathan waited in the living room till she was finished and then walked out with her.
"This was a fun party".
"Yeah, it was".
"Listen, the night's still young. Why don't you go home and change and then come over to my house? We can watch a movie up in the theater, or we can keep swimming, whatever you want".
"Yeah, I'd like that".
"Ok, well come over whenever you want."
"Thanks, see you in a little bit".
He got home and immediately got to work on making everything perfect.
She got there a little over an hour later.
Max let her in.
"He's in the sunroom".
She walked through the house and out to the sunroom, and found Jonathan standing in the center of the room with a bouquet of roses in his hand.
There were twinkling lights strung all around the room at the ceiling and soft music was playing.
"May I have this dance?"
