After a quick late lunch at a new bistro across from Jake's office, they find themselves surrounded by vaulted ceilings, walnut wood flooring, exposed beams, and structural columns in a stark white loft. She is engrossed by its size.

"Do you like?"

"Does my jaw on the floor not indicate that… Yes, it exceeds my expectations. You did a really amazing job here, Jake." Paulina does not stop the tour. She makes her way up the raw steel stairs.

Jake yells from the main floor, "How about you and Dante move in here?"

She immediately peers over the rail in shock, "What?"

"You could have your autonomy, like you want." She makes her way down for him continue his argument, "Plus, you wouldn't be that far from the Penthouse."

Before Paulina responds, the wind conditions increase significantly causing concern. "Did you hear that?" They make their way to the floor-to-ceiling windows finding a street pole bent over at a fifty-degree angle resting on a park bench. "It's getting pretty nasty out there."

Jake scans the rest of the perimeter. "Yeah, we should stay here until it calms down. Those are some serious wind gusts."

"Okay, at least we still have power." That fact remains true for the next few minutes. "Or not…"

Both start rummaging thru cabinets and storage closets looking for anything that could be helpful during this lock-down. They return to the kitchen island with the following found items: hand towel, bottle of tequila, dish-washing liquid, and a can of expired soup.

"Well…" Jake starts.

"Not much. There's not a lot here." Paulina huffs jumping up to sit on the kitchen island.

He grabs the tequila. "This could be fun."

"Fun in what way?" Her left eyebrow rises with his suggestive idea. "Tell me more."

"We could play Truth or Dare… with the consequence being a shot." With his hands on his hips, "You must perform the dare given, or truthfully answer the question asked. No changing of the minds."

"Yes, I'm familiar with the rules. But thank you for the refresher." She ponders rubbing her hands together, "You're right. This could be fun." She leans back on the counter watching him pace in front of her.

After choosing Truth, Paulina asks him a question she has wondered since Canada. "Okay. I will start easy. What one thing did you find when we were in Canada that you missed about us together?"

"Just one…" He stuffs his hands in his pant pockets, "Your laugh. It's not only the epitome of you, but it erupts something in me. It's a sound that can hurt me, surprise me, melt me... It's like finding a rainbow in the sky with you, the pot of gold." Paulina tilts her head amazed by his words. "Not having that in my life daily… it a definite miss. That laugh is a connection of us at our best. I love it." They stare at one another. "Okay your turn."

"Truth." She quickly responds.

"Why did you agree to be a part of a wedding where I was marrying another woman, not you?" Jake leans against the structural column directly across from the kitchen island. He sees Paulina's instant reaction of shock appear. "You can choose the tequila…"

"I guess because we were all friends. Now looking back, I suppose it was an awkward choice." She smirks, "You would have thought I would have learned and said no after the first attempt." She adds, "Your happiness was all I cared about… but, I also was living in this pretend world during that time." She shrugs her shoulders, "Your turn."

They both glance at the windows hearing the wind continue to bustle and then return to each other's faces. "I will go with Dare."

"Okay. I dare you tell me about me…"

Jake likes this challenge, "You are stubborn and loyal. You are insanely intelligent. You have amazing ideas. You are the best mom. You crave love, family, respect. You are a great swimmer. You are afraid of heights… literary and figuratively. You are the bestest of friends. You are fierce… a fighter. You know how to love to the depths…" He steps closer towards her, "You have a huge heart..." He places his hands on her knees. "You have this unimaginable light you hold inside… that very few people get to see." He notices her eyes are glossy, "How'd I do?"

She nods, "Not bad…"

Her hands rest on his face, he reponds, "Return the dare. Your turn… tell me about me." Jake returns to the column.

Paulina rubs her thighs, "Well, let's see. You are charming, very charming. You are so passionate. You are smooth, especially with that smile. You have a horrible temper, well… you used to… those girls have calmed you down quite a bit. You are a big softy when it comes to them. You are the best dance partner. You are so kind. You are a good man. You are romantic. You have dreams… big dreams and have always wanted to prove yourself. You always make me laugh. You have an affinity for…"

Jake answers, "You."

"Yes. That is true, but I was going to say motorcycles." She corrects him with a wink.

They next few rounds end in both taking sizable gulps of the tequila ignoring the dares to impersonate a celebrity and singing your partner's favorite song.

"Truth or Dare, Jake." She jumps off the kitchen island to lean against the counter.

"Dare."

"Yell the first word that comes to mind." She crosses her arms awaiting his response.

"TANGERINES!" He shouts with his arms in the air.

Paulina giggles, "What?" She cannot stop laughing, "Why are thinking of tangerines, honey?"

He snickers, "I have no idea."

Once composure regained, Paulina tells Jake "Truth".

"When were you the most jealous?"

Paulina is not fond of this question and mulls over going tequila, but decides to answer. "Okay… Jealously had a tendency to creep up when I'd see you with another woman whether we were together or not." She stops to clear her throat focusing on the wind, "But the most jealous I got was you with Vicky… I hate that she made love to you. That you lied with her night after night… I was jealous that she conceived your child… children." She runs her hand thru her hair looking at the floor mumbling the next few words, "Did you touch her like you touch me…" She shakes her head, "Not a great question, Jake. I should have gone tequila."

He hugs her from behind, "Don't you think I was ever jealous over you for all the same." Jake kisses the top of her head. "Do you still want that shot of tequila anyway?"

Paulina looks over her shoulder, "Let's agree to never bring this up." They both nod before each taking a swig from the bottle.

This game lasts for another hour in this pitch-black loft resulting in about half of the tequila gone.