"You really love Jack?" She eyes me intently as I nod my head softly and feel her hands moving over mine. "There's only one thing for you to do then."

*****

"What?"

"Play hard to get."

"That won't work," I shake my head. "You already said he's married and he won't leave her."

"Maybe she'll leave him," Eva shrugs, "and if she doesn't, the least we can do is get him a little jealous."

"How do you suggest 'we' do that?" My eyes move up to meet hers before I shake my head no. "I can't do it, Eva. That's awful. I'd be using him and I would feel terrible for doing that."

"Well you're not technically using him. I mean you could potentially fall in love with him while doing this and then it solves both your problems."

"And if I don't?"

"Someone's going to be hurt in the end, any way you look at it. You can only hope at that time it won't be you. Right now you are hurting, and your pain isn't going to go away until you do something about it."

"So I do what? Seduce Martin and make Jack jealous? We're not kids, Eva. He won't go for it and, besides, it's childish. We're not bringing any relationship to work; it only has potential to hurt the team," I state soundly.

"Well, I'm sure you could bring it to work without doing any real damage. You all partner up, don't you?"

"We switch off; Jack assigns us to each other."

"Hmmm," Eva breathes out softly. "I doubt Jack will assign you and Martin together at first. I bet you can play it up, though."

"What are you suggesting?"

"You stay overnight sometimes--right?"

"Yes," I nod. "What are you getting at?"

"Has Jack ever stayed next door?"

"Yeah."

"You could pretend to be with Martin," she grins wickedly. "Make Jack jealous and think about what he's missing. I'm not saying it's a definite plan that will work, but come on, what other option do you have?"

"It's wrong, Eva."

"No, Samantha; what's wrong is you being in love with a man you can't have."

"You don't understand," I shake my head. "I want more than just an affair with Jack. I want everything he can't offer me."

"And why can't he offer it to you? Because he's married," she grins. "We could always screw with his wife and make her think he's having an affair."

"That's awful!"

"I'm just kidding," she laughs, moving her hand to my shoulder. "Don't worry; we won't do anything that will make him hate you in the end. We're trying to accomplish the opposite effect," she reminds me with a smile.

"It will never work."

"He loves you," she smiles towards me. "He may be conflicted, but he's having the same feelings towards you that probably aren't going away. He probably doesn't know how to deal with them--and with Martin."

"So throwing this in his face will make things better? You make it sound so awful."

"You'll be having fun and in the end you'll win either way. You'll either get the man you're in love with now, or fall in love with the man you've got now. Besides, Samantha, what do you have to lose?"

"Their friendship," I point out.

"How good of friends are you with Jack right now?" She eyes me intently.

"Fair," I answer honestly. "There's a lot he keeps from me, but I'm not certain I'd want to know those things."

"About his wife?"

"Yeah," I nod with a sigh.

"Don't sweat it," she stands up. "Come on---before Martin starts to wonder what we're doing in the bathroom together," she laughs softly and meets my gaze. "You don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with," Eva reminds me. "Take this at your pace," she smiles and whispers ever so quietly, "It'll seem more realistic that way."

"Eva," I eye her and she shrugs.

"Sorry." She opens the bathroom door. "Come on," she tells me, as I head out towards Martin.

"Hey, you two," he eyes me with a smile.

"I can't believe you subjected me to a chick flick and missed half of it!"

"It was only ten minutes," I answer, moving to sit beside him and feel his arm around my shoulder. I lean into his warm body, relaxing and letting the movie take over in my mind.

As the night progresses onward and the film ends, I notice Eva asleep on the small couch and I move to stand up. Martin eyes me curiously as I grab a blanket from the hall closet and drape it over her sleeping form. "It's getting late." I eye the clock, taking Martin's hand and bringing him into the bedroom with me.

"I should get my bag."

"Oh, yeah, right," I laugh softly. "I'll get changed in the meantime," I state, grabbing a pair of warm pajamas and slip into the bathroom.

I bite down on my lower lip wondering what exactly will transpire. I told him I wanted to take things slow and he hasn't pushed me, but---I let out a sigh and come out of the bathroom to see Martin lying under the covers.

I shut off the light and in the darkness slip into bed beside him. I feel my leg brush his and try not to intentionally arouse him.

"Samantha?"

I roll around to face him, and even in the darkness I can make out the features on his face. "Yeah?"

"What happened today?" His eyes never leave mine.

"I don't know," I whisper, feeling lost and confused myself.

"Jack apologized to you," he comments. Martin's hand moves to my face, brushing the hair from my eyes. He watches me as I let out a soft breath.

"He didn't think I should let Eva stay with me either," I answer.

"And?"

"That was it," I whisper. "I pretty much hung up on him because I didn't care what he thought."

"You always do what you want," Martin states with a smile.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No," he answers. "It shows you have ambition."

"Thanks," I answer, although not too sure what he said is true. I roll onto my stomach and close my eyes. I feel Martin's gaze on me and can't help but bury my head deep into the pillow with a smile playing on my lips. "Goodnight," I whisper, before succumbing to sleep.