We walk down the street to a small burger joint called Rehab Burger Therapy which is decorated with all sorts of odds and ends. Above the fully stocked bar is a surfboard, an acoustic guitar, and a bicycle wheel.

We seat ourselves and I'm gawking at our strange surroundings when the waitress comes to take our order. Jackson orders us two Hawaiian burgers which seem to go with the theme of the place.

"Why did you act like a crazy person when you saw Nick?" I ask, unwilling to pretend he didn't just completely overreact.

"Can we not talk about the posh boy please?" He says with a gloomy tone.

"What do you mean posh boy? That's another one of your English terms isn't it?" I scowl.

"Yes, in your terms you'd call him a preppy boy." He looks suddenly bored with our conversation. "He likes you."

I almost spit out my Diet Coke. "What? How can you tell after seeing him talk for two seconds?"

"I'm very intuitive." He shrugs.

"That's not good enough." I respond with one eyebrow raised.

"Awe fuck, look he doesn't pay attention to anyone in the office but the first time a beautiful girl shows up he's suddenly on a fucking welcome wagon? Nah mate, he was offering you wine to chill your nerves."

I start to speak but he interrupts me.

"Second, the fucking wanker jumped in front of you the second he thought you were threatened." He spits clearly annoyed.

His attitude gets on my nerves, but I can't deny I love that his accent gets thicker when he's upset.

"Well, maybe he is just a gentleman." He tries to interject but before he tries to pull a 'stay away from that guy.' I speak again.

"Besides it doesn't matter in the slightest. I'm already head over the heals for this brooding man who's buying me lunch today." I smile and he gives me a smirk.

"Oh really? Who's paying for your lunch?" He asks jokingly as his diamond eyes widen and he turns to look around the restaurant.

I roll my eyes but can't suppress my laugh. "You know it's kind of a turn on to see your little green jealousy monster come out to play." I wink and he lets out another angelic laugh.

He composes himself and takes his lip ring between his teeth. "Well love I suppose we'll have to make use of that desk of yours after lunch."

My cheeks heat up and I take another drink of my soda to cool down. "I can't. I'm going to finish this manuscript I'm reading when we get back, then I have to go straight to work next door."

"With the way your mouth is wrapped around that straw teasing me, I think we'll only need a few minutes." He says in a gravelly voice that makes me squirm and tighten my legs.

"Jack I really want to make sure I do well here. I don't want to be the girl who got a job because her boyfriend's a famous author." I sigh.

"You'll do fine Mags, but if you insist, I suppose I can just fuck you after work." Jack gives me a cheeky grin and I feel my face flush again.

After lunch, Jackson walks me back to my office and I spend another few hours reading. I proudly finish the first manuscript with only a few more eruptions in tears. I write detailed notes about how the author captures your interest immediately and never lets your attention falter. I finish a short brief on the story and concept then sign off at the bottom of my report.

I'm proud of my work by the time I'm done. I leave to find Christian's office to deliver my consensus and see Jack speaking to Nick. I think nothing of it until I'm a little closer and hear that their hushed tones are definitely not friendly.

I pick up my speed a bit and arrive beside them before they realize I was even heading their direction. They stop talking suddenly when I approach and both look at me nervously.

"What's up?" I ask casually, then lower my eyes at Jackson. I'm assuming they're speaking about earlier and I'm really hoping he's not making requests for Nick to leave me alone.

"Nothing we were just discussing finances on my book After All." Jackson says hurriedly. Nick snaps his head towards Jack and glares at him.

"What are you doing out of your office?" Jack inquires, ignoring Nick who's burning a hole in his head.

"I finished reading the manuscript and wrote up a report. I was looking for Christians office." I explain while watching Nick glare at Jackson.

"Come on, I'll bring you there." Jackson says, wrapping his arm around me to lead me away.

I try to shrug him off and look at Nick but it's too late because Nick has already turned to leave.

"What did you say to Nick? Did you tell him to stay away from me or something?" I ask upset.

"No! I didn't ask him to stay away from you, why? Would you be gutted?" He asks almost upset himself.

"Yes Jackson, of course it would upset me. You're not my babysitter, you're my boyfriend. You can't tell me who I can be friends with." I say confidently.

"You bloody like him don't you?" He asks through grit teeth as he angrily removes his arm from me.

"What?" I'm shocked that he would think that.

"Well he's just perfect isn't he? Prestigious family, clean look, great stable job, what woman wouldn't want to introduce him to dear old mum?" He spits.

"What's gotten into you? Are you going to go psycho every time a man gets close to me? I only like you, but if you continue being an ass- I- I can't promise what I'll do." More like I can't think of what I would do because even though he's an ass, I still love him.

"You'll what? Leave me?" He says sarcastically.

"No, I'll kick you out of one of these windows." I say pointing to the mass array of windows lining the entire building.

He stops in his tracks and starts to laugh, lightening the mood. "Bloody hell, come on Christian's office is just down this hall."

When we arrive outside of Christian's door I knock and wait a bit, but eventual decide he's not there. We leave my report on his desk along with the manuscript.

"Alright, I've got to head to the club now." I mumble to Jackson, still unsure if I'm mad at him or not.

But as I'm about to walk away he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me in for a kiss. His soft lips move perfectly in sync with mine as my hand reaches to thread my fingers through his chocolate hair.

I can't stay mad at him, I'm always going to be a moth to his flame. We linger for a moment, enjoying each other's warm embrace before I really do have to leave or I'll be late.

I'm walking to the exit alone, having left Jack behind, when Nick catches up to me. He grabs my arm and twirls me around to face him.

"Nick are you alright? Are you panting?" I ask concerned.

"Hold on," He manages as he balances his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "I had to catch you before you left."

"What's wrong?" I ask as I place my hand on his shoulder gently.  Our eyes meet and he examines my face, standing frozen, incapable of speech.

His amber eyes look down to the newspaper clipping I'm holding of Jackson, myself and his family then his eyes meet mine again.

"You love him?" Nick asks and I don't even need to ask who's he's talking about.

"Yes." I confess, my brows pulling together in confusion.

He nods then gives me a sad smile. Was he trying to come on to me? What the hell is going on in this world lately?

"I suddenly realized, I never got to find out the ending of the book you were reading." He says with a bright convincing smile.

"You ran all the way over here to find out the end to a novel I briefly told you about in the lunchroom?" I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm and cross my arms.

"Yep." He says as he places his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. "That's me, I love a good romance novel."

My brow raises in question but I'm trying to hide a smile. "One of them passes away, but the other lives a long happy life." I say with a sigh.

"Oh, that's too bad. I guess Alisa was right, authors like to kill off one of the lovers." He says awkwardly, then turns to leave.

That was incredibly strange but the more I meet new people, I'm beginning to realize, people are weird.

I get to the bar to start my shift and leave my purse by Sam. I'm only here for a few hours to help out so it's not worth locking everything up in the back.

Sam gives me one of his bright smiles as always and I suddenly relax. Sam always feels like home.

"Ready for our date Thursday?" He asks with another one of his grins.

"Thursday?" I ask confused.

Oh shit.

I suddenly realize Sam has no idea about anything that has transpired since he asked me out. He doesn't know I've fallen in love, agreed to be Jackson's girlfriend, lost my virginity. Wow, I really have done a lot fairly quickly.

I start to panic, I'm worried I might lose my best friend. I just don't know how to tell him everything now that I know how he feels about me.

"I'm- well- I-" The words won't come out and his smile fades.

"Yes!" I blurt.

What am I saying?

"Yes, I'm ready to hang out with you Thursday." My mouth accepts before my mind can process, by the time it catches up all I can say is.

"But it's not a date. We're friends right?" I blurt again.

Sam's smile is back brighter than ever. "Of course, friends."

Jackson's face flashes in my mind. I take a deep breath and say, "Sam, I'm officially dating Jackson."

His smile fades a bit.

"But that doesn't change our friendship, it just means that's all it can be." My eyes fall to the floor and his hand slips under my chin to bring my eyes to his.

"I'm okay with that." He says gently. "As long as you're still in my life, I'll be happy."

This brings a smile to my face and I pull him into my arms. I start to feel like everything in my life is falling perfectly into place.

"Should we start with coffee and breakfast?" I ask. Usually, when we do our semi-weekly hangout we start with coffee and end with dinner. Sometimes we go shopping, or to the lake, we generally just see where the day takes us.

"I'll pick you up at ten am sharp." He says and I frown slightly.

"Well then you'll have to bring coffee to me if you're picking me up that early." I mumble with a hint of sarcasm and he awards me with a bright smile.

It's been so long since I've spent time with Sam and I'm actually really excited. Now I just have to figure out how to tell Jack. Not telling him is not an option. I believe trust is key in a relationship, so I will not betray that trust and let something silly come between us. I'm giving Jackson my all.

The two hours I worked went by so quickly that when Jack showed up to get me, I hadn't realized my shift was over. He brought me back to his house without even thinking about taking me to my apartment.

I haven't been home in a while now and everything I need to live happily is here. He has even asked me to go furniture shopping with him soon. He says he'd like me to have my say in decor. I hadn't realized just how much his apartment had become a home to me.

We eat some leftover pasta and instead of passionately making love like we have been, we lay in bed and talk.

He's laying on his back and my head is on his stomach and we're both staring at the ceiling. The topics are totally random and the conversations are mostly about nothing, but I feel like it's the best kind of intimacy.

At one point he's got me laughing until my stomach aches and I can't breathe. Another time we pretend we're watching clouds in his ceiling and pointing out shapes.

We share a few kisses, a lot of touches, some jokes, but we stay away from serious topics until he asks about my reoccurring dream.