Mistaken Identities

By Jen

I drummed my nails against the shiny wooden table and rolled my eyes.

I couldn't believe that I had let Amy talk me into this.

"Come on, Jen," she had whined. "How many opportunities am I going to get to meet Donnie Wahlberg?? Pleeeeeeeease...I'll love you forever!"

"You already do," I had reminded her, but she had begged and pleaded until I relented, after telling me that our roommate, Mary, couldn't do it either.

"OK," I had said. "I'll pretend to be you so you can go to your little party, Ames, but you SOOO owe me for this!" Squealing, she threw her arms around me and promised that I wouldn't regret it, but staring out the window of the dark, cozy restauraunt in downtown Boston, I was already regretting it. You're Amy, I told myself. You're Amy and you're a dead girl for sticking your friend Jen with your blind date.

"Amy?" A voice cut into my thoughts and I jumped up, straightening out my skirt. When I looked up, I found myself staring into a pair of blue eyes that were just as wide as mine were. Oh wow.... "Amy?" the man asked again and I was finally able to tear myself away from his eyes to look at his face. I was on a blind date with Joe McIntyre. Oh my God.

"Um, yeah!" I said, shaking my head and sticking out my hand.

"I'm Joe," he said, amusingly, shaking my hand warmly. "I was saying your name for like 5 minutes..."

"Sorry," I said with a nervous laugh. "I guess I wasn't paying attention."

He smiled and pulled my chair back.

"No problem," he grinned. "I'm glad you told me what you were wearing or I would never have found you." I swear, Amy thought of everything. I looked down at my short, black cotton dress and raised my eyebrow.

"Yeah I'm sure there are no other girls dressed like this," I replied, motioning to the other customers. Half were wearing black dresses. Joe chuckled and folded his hands under his chin.

"Well they weren't sitting alone at a table looking like they were ready to kill whoever it was they were waiting for," he said, pointing at me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, shaking my head. "I just don't do well with.."

"Blind dates?" he finished. "Yeah, me either, but my friend Jordan insisted that I go..."

"Wait," I interrupted. "Jordan Knight?" Joe gave me an interested look.

"You know him?" he asked and I groaned.

"I've only met him a few times, but ten bucks said that Mike...damn..." Why would Mike set Amy yup on a date with Joe McIntyre knowing how I felt? Unless he knew about that party with Donnie and assumed that Amy would ask me....oh I was gonna kill him.

"Mike...Africk?" Joe asked. "He set us up?"

"I don't know," I replied, making a mental note to call him when I got home, no matter what time. "It's a possibility." Joe smiled at me.

"Remind me to thank him," he said. I couldn't help but laugh.

"You always this much of a charmer?" I asked lightly, looking up as our waiter took his position by our table. Joe and I exchanged an amused glance and then took our menus, ordering quickly. When he left, I leaned forward and whispered, "Joe, shouldn't you have ordered Coke instead of Pepsi? I mean, what if someone saw?" He got a mischevious twinkle in his eye.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed, wagging a finger at me. "I caught you."

"What?" I asked innocently.

"You were a fan." Oh shit, I had given that away, hadn't I?

"Well, those danm Coke commercials were on like every five seconds, Joe, they were hard not to notice," I countered. He nodded and leaned back as the waiter set down a salad.

"OK, I'll buy that," he said, thanking the waiter. Dinner conversation turned out to be light and surprisingly easy. Joe was so much fun to talk to that I almost forgot to be Amy.

"No way," he was saying as he helped me into my jacket. "I love Jim Carrey, but Mel Brooks?"

"Joe!" I laughed, punching him on the arm. "How could you NOT appreciate Mel Brooks? I mean, talk about classic comedy."

"OK, then Miss Comedy expert. Prove it." He opened the restauraunt door and we both winced as the cold air hit us.

"How do I prove it?" I asked, heading over to my car and praying that the night wasn't over.

"Well, let's go rent a Mel brooks movie," he said, leaning against the back of my car. "If I laugh, then you win."

"And what do I get if I win?" I asked slyly. Joe picked up on my underlying meaning.

"We'll just have to see," he said.

"OK," I told him, opening the door to my car. "I have a ton of Mel's movies at home, let's go there." Joe nodded and smiled, closing my door and leaning on the open window.

"Sounds good," he said. "I'll follow you." I waved as he headed over to his car and started to pull out of the parking lot with a huge grin on my face. Then I realized that I was supposed to be Amy.

"Shit," I muttered, grabbing my cell phone and dialing our number.

"Hello?"

"Mary!" I yelped. "Are you guys both there?"

"Hi Jen," Mary giggled. "No, I just stopped in to get a jacket and then we're going out. Don't wait up!"

"Jordan, huh?" I teased her. "You go, but anyway, tell Amy NOT to go into her room tonight if she's going home."

"Why?" Mary asked.

"And tell her that she can take my room unless I'm in it, ok?" I went on, ignoring her.

"OK, Jen...hey how was your date?" I laughed.

"Tell you tomorrow," I told her. "Enjoy Jordan!" We both said goodbye and hung up giggling. I sighed as I pulled into our complex and shut off my car. I just hoped that I could pull this off.

"Nice place," Joe commented, removing his jacket. I took it from him and hung it along with mine in the hall closet.

"Thanks," I said back, dropping my keys on the front table. It was quiet, which meant that Mary had already left. Turning, I saw Joe pick up a paper from off of the counter and I cursed silently.

"So you’re a writer?" he asked, holding up one of Amy’s articles.

"Um, yeah," I stammered. "I’m a journalist."

"Really, where do you work?" I so didn’t want to tell him that Amy often worked with the Globe, which was one of the papers that constantly printed rumors revolving around Joe.

"Um…for a place…that does..journalistic stuff," I stammered, making him laugh.

"Which one, Amy?" I couldn’t help but laugh with him while I pulled up an excuse.

"I’m in between places write now," I said, taking the article from his hand. "I write the articles, they buy them." He nodded and moved more into the living room. He stopped at a flyer that advertised my daily show on KISS 108. Thank God my picture wasn’t on it.

"Hey, you know her?" he exclaimed. I chuckled lightly.

"Yeah…um…she’s my roommate," I mumbled, finding this whole thing to be uncomfortable.

"Really? Wow, I love her show!" he said. I cleared my throat and stepped behind him to look at the poster.

"Do you?" I couldn’t help asking. His eyes were shining when he turned to me.

"Yeah, she’s hilarious!" Joe was really into the poster. If it wasn’t about my own show, I think I would have been jealous.

"No as funny as Mel Brooks," I reminded him, tugging on his arm and pulling him into the living room. "Now, if you want my opinion, which I’m sure you do, I think we should start with Spaceballs."

"I don’t know, Amy," Joe teased, sitting on the couch and crossing his ankle over his leg. "I saw that a while ago and I just don’t remember it being funny."

"Are you smoking crack?" I exclaimed, turning to glare at him. He burst out laughing.

"You do live with Jen!" he cried. "She says that on her show all the time!"

"Yeah, well, um," I fumbled around, popping in the tape and sitting next to him. "We’ve picked up each other’s habits." Joe nodded and turned his attention to the TV.

"Understandable," he said, resting his arm on the back of the couch. My whole back tensed with the anticipation of his touch, but it never came. Damn. Spaceballs had always been one of my favorite movies, so I just laughed through the whole first part, trying not to recite it.

"I don’t know whether to watch you or the movie," Joe commented, a teasing glint in his eye.

"Well," I replied, swallowing my fears. "Which one would you rather watch?" Joe’s hand moved from the couch to my shoulder, caressing it gently.

"You," he said softly, his blue eyes changing from teasing to excited.

"Well then." I turned my body more to face him. "Maybe you should take a closer look." Joe got the hint and, smiling, he lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me gently. He soon found out that I wasn’t in a gentle mood when I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer, licking at his mouth. He smiled against my lips as he drew me closer, lowering us to the couch while his tongue darted into my mouth.

"So sweet," he murmured, smoothing my hair back as he settled himself on top of me and then kissed me again. I just couldn’t get enough of him, he felt so good. I moved my leg up to caress his thigh and he groaned, running his hands up my side and then under my shirt to caress my breasts. My whole body was on fire from his touches and kisses. He moved from my mouth to my neck and collar and then up to my ear, where he sucked and nibbled. Now, that’s my SPOT, so it was my turn to groan and I boldly reached in between us to caress his growing erection through his pants.

"Oh my God, Amy," he groaned into my ear. Hearing my friend’s name, I suddenly stopped and got up, causing Joe to fall to the floor. I sat up onto my knees and looked down on him, running my hands through my hair.

"Sorry," I tried, but he got up and looked at me like I was psychotic.

"What was that for?" he asked, reaching up to stroke my cheek. I quickly moved away and moved around him to run to the coat closet.

"I’m sorry, Joe, I can’t do this," I said, trying not to look at him so he wouldn’t see how badly I wanted him.

"Wait a second," he said as I handed him his coat. "I don’t get it." I was practically pushing him out the door.

"I’m sorry," I said again. "Really, Joe, I do want this, but…"

"But what, Amy?" His eyes met mine and I could see his confusion, which matched my own.

"But you have to go." With that, I closed the door and leaned my back against it, sighing loudly. Oh I was going to kill Amy when she got home.

Later that night, I awoke to the giggles going on outside of my door.

"Shhh, Donnie, you’re gonna wake Jen up," Amy was saying.

"Too late," I grumbled, throwing a pillow back over my head.

"If everything went well, she probably isn’t sleeping." That voice was definitely Jordan’s and it took all of my control not to go out there and smack him.

"Shhh, I don’t want to know!" That was Mary. "I don’t get it, what was this thing all about anyway, you guys?" I pulled the pillow off of my head and looked toward my door, listening carefully. Yeah, Amy, I thought. What was that all about?

"Oh you mean Jen’s blind date?" she asked with a laugh. "Well, let’s just say that Jen got the surprise of her night tonight."

"Wait, J, didn’t you set Joe up on a blind date tonight too?" That had to be Donnie. Good for Amy.

"Sure did," Jordan answered. "With Amy." I heard them start to giggle and then Amy protested.

"Donnie, don’t look at me like that. We did it because I knew that Jen would take my place if I asked her to."

"And what, you think Jen and Joe would be good together?" Donnie sounded puzzled, not that I could blame him.

"Good together?" Mary laughed. "Oh I feel sorry for the poor boy when Jen gets ahold of him."

"He won’t be able to walk for weeks," Amy agreed and the two girls bursted into a giggle fit that made me stick my tongue out at the door.

"Wait a second." Oh good, Donnie was going to try and clear things up. "So Jen went posed as you?"

"Yeah, well, Joe thought he was going out with me," Amy said. "I talked to him a few times, so.."

"So Jen lied to him?" Jordan asked. I didn’t like the sound in his voice.

"Well, yeah, kind of," Amy said, not sounding as sure of herself as she had before.

"Shit, he’s so not going to like that," Donnie said. "I hope, for Jen’s sake, that she told Joe the truth."

"Yeah," Jordan agreed. "Joe’s big on honesty." SHIT, I so didn’t need to hear that.

"Shit," Mary added, yawning loudly. "Well, enough of this for one night. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m bushed."

"Subtle, Mar," I grumbled to myself, laughing when Donnie let out a loud, fake yawn.

"Night guys," Amy said with a giggle. I waited for the two doors to slam before I even tried to think about what I was going to do. I knew I had to tell him, but I also knew that Jordan and Donnie were right. Joe was big on trust and I wouldn’t stand a chance if he knew I lied to him at the beginning. Life wasn’t supposed to be this complicated.

"Morning, Jen!" Amy was way too cheerful for my mood that morning.

"Morning, Amy…Donnie…" My eyes must have gotten so wide when I realized that Donnie was still there. "DONNIE?" Donnie grinned at me and stood up from his spot at the kitchen table.

"You must be Jen," he said, holding out his hand. "Love your show."

"Thanks," I stammered as he kissed my wrist.

"Is that Jen?" another male voice called out and I groaned out loud when I realized it was Jordan.

"Hi Jordan!" I called into the hallway. I heard Mary giggle and I rolled my eyes and poured myself some coffee.

"Wow, coffee, that’s new," I commented to Amy as I poured in my usual dry creamer and sweet and low.

"That was all me," Donnie said proudly. "I have to have coffee." I nodded and took a sip, sighing as the warm liquid ran down my dry throat.

"So, Jen," Amy started to say, but I held up my hand as I drained the coffee.

"Wow, you’d think it was alcohol," Donnie commented. I smirked at him and turned to Amy.

"So bitch," I said back and she giggled.

"Have fun?" she asked. I shook my head at her and sat down.

"Yeah, Amy, you want to WARN me next time Joe McIntyre is going to be my blind date? And don’t even try the ‘I didn’t know` bullshit cause you so knew…"

"OK!" Amy held up her hands in defense. "Guilty as charged, Jen, but I got you a date with him didn’t I?"

"Worried that I couldn’t have done it on my own?" I grumbled, stealing a glance at Donnie, who was shaking his head.

"He’s a big fan of yours, Jen," he said and I had to ask him to repeat what he had just said.

"He is?" Amy asked. Donnie nodded eagerly.

"He goes on and on about your damn show, no offense, but I’m sick of hearing it."

"Well, he did find the posters interesting," I muttered, more to myself.

"He was here??" Amy exclaimed. "And he saw your posters?"

"Yeah," I told her. "I told him that they were my roommate’s. Now he wants to meet her."

"Shit," Jordan said, coming into the kitchen with Mary right behind him. "So Joe wants to meet you, but he has met you and he thinks that you’re her?" After absorbing all of that, I nodded.

"Sounds about right," I said. Mary sat across from me and smiled.

"But, Jen, how was the date?" Leave it to Mary to not even think about the problems, just the romance.

"It was great," I said honestly. "We had fun."

"Did you tell him the truth?" Donnie asked. I sighed and shook my head, looking down. Before he could say anything, the phone rang and I jumped up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Amy there please?" Oh shit, it was Joe. It was a damn good thing I knew his voice.

"Um, this is Amy," I said, glaring at Amy as I said that. Donnie put his head in his hands, shaking his head and Jordan groaned. I motioned for them to shut up.

"Amy, hi it’s Joe," he said, sounding nervous. "Listen, I’m sorry for last night."

"Why?" I asked, curious, but not wanting to give away too much.

"Well, you were upset, I just figured I came on too strong." Joe really did sound like he was sorry and it honestly touched me. That was probably because I had wanted him to come on stronger than he did, but it wasn’t until he used Amy’s name that I felt bad.

"No, that wasn’t it, Joe," I told him. "It was me, honestly." That got a few raised eyebrows from my friends.

"So can we meet for lunch?" he asked, his voice perking up.

"Sure," I told him before I could think about it. "Where?"

"Well how about your place?" he asked excitedly. "Maybe I can meet Jen."

"Um, no," I said quickly. "Jen’s doing promo all day for the station." Amy even groaned when she heard that. "But how about I meet you somewhere?"

"That sounds great," Joe said reassuringly. "I’ll make us a picnic and meet you at the park in an hour, ok?"

"Great, Joe!" I couldn’t help smiling as we hung up.

"Uh oh," Jordan said. "She’s got it bad." I sure did, but how was I going to fix this?

The thought was running through my mind as I strolled through the park, smiling when I saw Joe already in our designated spot setting up.

"Hey!" I called, waving. He looked up and broke into a huge grin when he saw me and I couldn’t help smiling.

"Hey, Amy!" he said, waving back. "You look great." He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, making me forget all about the fact that he had just called me Amy. I lowered myself to my knees on the blanket and breathed in the smell of nature surrounding us.

"Thanks, handsome," I countered, peering into the basket he had. He slapped my hand as it reached in.

"No peeking," he scolded, handing me a white rose out of the basket. How did he know? That set the mood for me and the rest of lunch went beautifully. Afterwards, we stretched out on the blanket, propped up on our sides, facing each other and talking about everything and anything. It was perfect until I spotted something across the park and my face must have turned as white as a ghost.

"Are you ok?" Joe asked, following my gaze to my other roommate, Micki. She was hurrying across the park towards me, waving frantically. It was good to see her, she had been in New York on business, but this was bad timing. An idea suddenly hit me and I had to act fast.

"Jen!" I screamed, scrambling up. "Jen! It’s so good to see you, JEN!" I hugged Micki tightly. She looked over at Joe and then to me and I begged her with my eyes to play along.

"Hey," she said uncertainly, looking at Joe again. He got up and wiped his hands on his pants, holding it out to her.

"So you’re Jen!" he said, happily…almost TOO happily. "Amy here has told me all about you."

"Amy?" she questioned, shaking his hand.

"Yeah, I did," I said, nodding and smiling. "Isn’t her show great, Joe?"

"Oh I love it," he told Micki. "I swear, I’m your biggest fan."

"Oh really," Micki said, giggling. I guess I couldn’t blame her. "It is a good show."

"Hey think you might let me come on sometime?" Joe asked, looking like a little kid begging for candy.

"Why, sure, Joe, anytime!" Micki said, patting me on the back. I made a mental note to shoot her later. "But, hey kids, I have to go, so…AMY…I’ll see you at home. Joe, it was nice meeting you." She hugged me again, whispering,

"So have so much explaining to do."

"Ask Amy," I whispered back before I pulled away. "See ya at home, Jen!" She smirked at me and waved slightly before leaving. I’m so setting her up with Michael when this is all over, I thought to myself before turning back to Joe to finish our picnic.

"So that was her?" Joe asked, watching her run across the street. "She isn’t what I expected."

"What do you mean?" I asked, starting to pack up the leftover food. Joe shrugged.

"I just pictured her more…well….like you I guess." I gulped when he said that.

"How do you mean?" I asked, softly, not looking at him.

"I don’t know to tell you the truth," Joe said with a laugh as he stood up. "I’m just a freak."

"That’s for sure," I chuckled, catching his eye. He really needed to stop looking at me that way.

"OK, what the fuck was that?" Micki bombarded me the second I entered our apartment.

"Did you ask Amy?" I countered. Micki motioned behind her.

"Does it look like Amy’s here?" she asked, glaring at me. "Now tell me why you just introduced me to Joe McIntyre as you? And what were you doing there with him in the first place?" I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Sit down, Mickala," I told her just before I relayed the whole story. She listened intently, shaking her head the whole time.

"You should have told him the truth," she said when I finished.

"Thanks a lot, Mick, that really helps me now," I muttered. She shrugged.

"Sorry?" she said ,getting up to get a soda. "So how’s Michael?" I groaned when I remembered my promise to her.

"I don’t know," I said, picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Mike, what’s up?" I said, smiling in spite of myself. Michael always made me smile.

"Jen!" he exclaimed. "Long time no talk to."

"I know," I laughed. "I’m sorry, how’s it going?"

"Really good!" he said, excitedly, launching into a description of his latest song.

"That’s great," I assured him. "Hey, listen, Mike, what are you doing tonight?"

"Don’t know, why, are you asking me out?" he chuckled.

"No, dear, see I have this weird obsession with blind dates lately…"

"Hell no," he replied.

"Mike, you owe me after what you and Amy pulled," I scolded.

"Come on, Jen, you’ve wanted to meet Joe forever," he said defensively.

"Yeah, but not as someone else and now I’ve got to fix it, so you’re going on this date and that’s that." I knew I was being a bitch, but it felt damn good.

"OK, fine," Michael sighed. "Who is this girl?" I grinned at Micki.

"You’ll see," I told him. "Meet her at the same restaurant that I met Joe at seven, ok? She’ll find you."

"Sounds mysterious," he said, dropping his voice a notch.

"Call me tomorrow, ok?" I continued, twirling the phone cord around my finger.

"OK, Jen, OK, but we’re even?" Michael reminded me harshly.

"We’re even," I replied. "Have a good time!"

"Bye," he chuckled. I hung up the phone and gave Micki a huge grin.

"What?" she asked skeptically.

"What do you mean `what?’" I grinned, pulling her into her room. "We’ve got to find you something to wear!" We giggled and went through her closet, only poking our heads out to scream hello to our roommates when they got home.

"What are you two doing?" Amy said, poking her head into Micki’s room. I had Micki’s hair piled around her head with little tendrils falling over her face.

"Getting Micki ready for her big half-blind date," I replied, grinning at the results.

"Half-blind?" Mary asked, plopping onto Micki’s bed.

"Well, she knows who he is," I said. "So it’s not all blind." They all giggled as we continued our light banter right up until it was time for Micki to leave.

"I don’t know about this," she groaned as I was pushing her out the door.

"Micki, you’re going," Amy ordered.

"Michael Africk, Mick," Mary added.

"I did not argue with that boy for that long so you could chicken out," was my two cents and before Micki knew it, she was in her car and on her way out.

"I should have given him some other girl’s name," I grumbled as I tried to shut the door, but a massive foot got in my way.

"Ow!" a male voice groaned and I opened the door, glaring at the visitor accusingly.

"Donnie, when you put a foot in the door, it’s going to hurt," I informed him. He grinned at me and pushed his way into the apartment.

"Hey babe," he said, kissing Amy on the forehead.

"Shit, is it 7 already?" she yelped, rushing off to her room. "I’ll be right back!" she yelled.

"You guys aren’t ready yet?" another voice asked and I turned to see Jordan entering as well.

"Wow, it’s a regular party," I grumbled, kind of jealous that my friends all had places to go that night.

"How’s it hangin, Jen?" Donnie asked while the girls scrambled around to get ready.

"Low and to the left," I replied. "Drink?" Both guys chuckled and shook their heads.

"Don’t wanna know," Jordan said, looking up as Mary raced into the hallway.

"OK!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "Let’s go." Jordan smiled brightly and offered her his arm.

"See ya later, Jen!" he called just as Amy appeared and they left as well, calling out goodbyes in the process. I sighed and shut the door behind them, looking around the empty room with a sigh. I smiled and grabbed myself a bowl of ice cream and then settled down on the couch to watch Titanic. I hadn’t even taken one bite when someone knocked on the door.

"What’d you guys forget?" I called, throwing it open only to find myself fact-to-face with Joe.

"You," he said with a grin, looking me up and down.

"Joe!" I said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi to you too," he said, stepping into the room as I opened the door wider. "Cute boxers." I looked down at my plaid Mickey boxers and blushed.

"Sorry, hi," I said. "You just surprised me."

"Want me to go?" he asked in such a cute tone that I just couldn’t ask him to leave.

"No, come on in," I said. "You want something to drink?"

"No thanks," he replied, sitting down on the couch. "Oh Leo..yay." I giggled and sat next to him.

"Sorry, I like this movie," I replied.

"So where is everyone?" Joe asked, looking around. Was he looking for Micki?

"Um…well A..I mean, uh, Mary is out with Jordan." Joe nodded.

"I haven’t seen him or Donnie in forever," he commented.

"And…uh…Jen is out with Michael."

"Africk?" Joe raised his eyebrows. "I knew they were friends from her show, but are they dating?" I sighed, not knowing how to answer that.

"Um, it’s hard to explain," I said uneasily. "Not really." Joe seemed to accept that answer and he leaned back against the couch, placing his arm over the back. A sense of deja vu rushed over me from the last time we were in that position and I jumped up, yanking him to his feet.

"What are you doing?" he asked as I raced to my room to throw on some jeans.

"Let’s go for a walk!" I called, running a brush through my hair before joining him back out in the living room. "Come on!" I grabbed my jacket and before he could protest, we were out the door.

"Damn," Joe muttered as the cold hit us. "You sure about this?" I nodded and grinned at him.

"Yeah, I wanted to go window shopping," I said, holding onto his arm so I wouldn’t slip on the ice.

"OK," Joe said, grinning down at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "You just keep holding onto me like that and I’ll go wherever you want." I smiled back, but quickly averted my gaze to the main street in front of us. "Amy?" he said softly, stopping suddenly.

"What’s wrong?" I asked, looking up at him questioningly. He started to say something, but then seemed to decide against it and instead lowered his head to mine, kissing me softly. I sighed when his lips touched mine, so warm compared to the cold air. He wrapped his arms around my waist to draw me closer as the kiss deepened and my hands went instinctively to his chest.

"Wow," he whispered when we finally broke apart, resting his forehead against mine. I smiled back and took his hand, pulling lightly.

"Come on," I said and we walked to the main street with our fingers entwined. Every so often, one of us would stop and point at something we saw that excited us in the windows and the other would laugh. There were a ton of people on the street and even a few street performers. It was one of those perfect evenings. At one point, I spotted a pet store and my eyes widened as I yanked Joe to the left, stopping right in front of a little, grey-spotted kitten.

"Oh wow," I murmured, not really even noticing that Joe was there. "Isn’t she perfect?" I let my hand trail over the glass longingly. The cat licked the glass where my finger was and mewed softly. I smiled as a tear came to my eyes. Animals always had that effect on me.

"Hey," Joe said, turning my head to meet his eyes. "You’re wonderful, you know that?" I shook my head.

"No I’m not," I muttered, thinking of what his reaction would be when he learned the truth.

"Yeah you are," he said, brushing some of the snow that had started to fall away from my hair. "Just like a little princess." Oh, how I had always longed to hear those words coming from him. I just wish he was talking to me and not Amy. Joe lowered his head to kiss me again, but jerked it back up at the sound of his name.

"Oh my God," I moaned when I looked up the street. Mary, Jordan, Donnie and Amy were all racing towards us, waving excitedly.

"J!" another voice rang out. I turned again to see Michael and Micki also coming up the sidewalk. I suddenly wondered if there was a way the sidewalk could just open and swallow me up. How was I going to get out of this one?

"J, D!" Joe called and turned again to see Micki and Michael. "Hey Michael..Jen." Michael raised his eyebrow hearing that.

"Jen?" he asked, looking at me. I tried to shake my head, but it just wouldn’t move.

"Yeah?" Micki asked, grabbing onto his arm tightly.

"Micki, I didn’t know you were home," Donnie said.

"Who’s Micki?" she tried.

"Michael, you and Micki know each other?" Jordan asked. Everyone was talking at once.

"Jen, how is your date going?" Amy asked Micki. She smiled up at Michael.

"It’s just fine," she said.

"Jen??" Michael asked, looking more confused than ever. I attempted to look up at Joe and groaned. He looked completely baffled.

"Wait a second!" he finally yelled. "Who’s Micki? And who are you guys?"

"I’m Mary, Joe," Mary said, holding out her hand. He nodded and shook it, turning to Amy.

"Amy," Amy said with a grin before she realized her mistake and stopped in midshake. "Um..I mean.." Joe looked at me, the confusion apparent in his gaze. To make things worse, I heard someone yell,

"Jen! Hey I love your show! Can I get your autograph??" A little girl raced up to me who I recognized as one of my co-worker’s daughter.

"Sure," I whispered, scribbling my name on the flyer. I continued to stare at the sidewalk after she left and swallowed. He knew.

"Um, Michael, I think we should go," I heard Micki say.

"Are you going to explain this to me later?" he asked.

"Yes!" Micki replied through clenched teeth as she pulled him out of the scene.

"We should go too," Donnie said. "See you guys later." I was still staring at a crack in the wall of the pet building and didn’t move until Joe cleared his throat.

"Look at me," he ordered. I slowly turned around to meet his gaze, cringing at the anger I saw there. "So..Jen is it?" I nodded and sighed, at least glad to get that out.

"Yeah."

"And that other girl is Amy?" I nodded again. "So who did I talk to the first night?"

"Amy," I whispered.

"So why didn’t Amy meet me that night?" Joe was obviously trying to remain calm, but his voice shook, telling me that he was ready to explode.

"She wanted to meet Donnie," I said, still not meeting his eye. "So she begged me to go instead. Honestly, Joe, I think she planned that a long time ago…that I would take her place."

"Well, A…I mean, JEN, why didn’t you just tell me?" The hurt was now starting to show as well. "I mean, how stupid did you think I was? Damnit, I can’t believe I fell for all of that…"

"Joe," I tried, putting my hand on his arm, but he jerked it away like I had just branded him.

"Don’t touch me," he hissed. "Whoever you are."

"Joe, please," I was starting to cry. "I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was so confusing and you were just so wonderful…"

"Oh please," he snarled. "You were just playing a game with me. What were you going to do, Jen, talk about this on the air? Joke about how stupid Joe McIntyre has become?"

"I wouldn’t do that!" I said, desperately. "Joe, I might not be Amy, but you know me!"

"I don’t know you," he said, bitterly. "I don’t know you at all."

"Joe," I made a grab for his sleeve, but he turned away from me and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking away.

"You know the funny part, Princess?" he said suddenly, turning sideways to look at me over his shoulder. I wiped my wet eyes and sniffed.

"What?" I asked softly, trying to read his eyes, but he was shutting me out.

"I actually thought I was falling in love with you," he said, laughing sarcastically. "Maybe some of us just aren’t meant for love, huh Jen?" With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving me to sob against the brick building, sinking to the ground as I let what had just happened sink in.

I must have sat there for a half an hour with my head leaned back against the wall, just thinking about what an idiot I was. I mean, here was my one chance with the man of my dreams, who turned out to be perfect in real life, and I completely blew it.

"Hey," a soft voice said and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and found myself looking right at Michael.

"Hi," I sniffed, suddenly realized how cold I was.

"Damn, Jen, you’re freezing," Michael scolded, wrapping his jacket around my shoulders and helping me up.

"Thanks," I murmured, looking at the ground.

"So what happened?" he asked, carefully, guiding me away from the main street.

"Oh not much," I muttered sarcastically. "He hates me even though he thought he was in love with me. Nothing big." Michael groaned.

"I’m so sorry," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "We didn’t mean…"

"I know," I interrupted. "It’s ok, I should have told him the truth anyway. Now he thinks I was just playing games with him."

"You really like him, huh?" Michael sighed, looking as guilty as ever.

"What does it matter?" I mumbled, climbing the stairs to our apartment.

"It matters cause we’re gonna fix this," he said, a determined look etched across his handsome features. I smiled finally and reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, but don’t bother," I said, grinning. "Now why couldn’t I just fall for you?" Michael smiled back at the ongoing joke between us.

"Cause that’d be like incest and we’re not in Tennessee," he teased, opening the door for me. Micki was watching TV on the couch and she jumped up when we came in, a worried look on her face.

"I’m ok!" I said before she could ask. I heard a door open and Amy’s voice exclaim,

"Is that Jen?" She hurried into the living room, straightening her clothes, which made my chuckle.

"And what were you doing, Miss Amy?" I teased. She gave me a grin.

"Don’t worry about it," she replied just as a shirtless Donnie came into the room. "So what happened?" Jordan and Mary then emerged from the balcony, their hair all messed up as well. I felt so left out, especially when Michael joined Micki on the couch.

"OK, I’m going to say this once, you guys," I gronaed. "Then I’m going to bed." They all sat down to listen as I relayed a brief story of what happened with Joe.

"Whoa," Jordan interrupted when I told them what Joe had said about loving me. "JOE said that??" I nodded as Donnie let out a laugh.

"Wow, Jen, you’ve accomplished more in 2 days with that boy then some girls have in years," he assured me.

"Great, and how does that help me now?" Nobody had an answer for me there, so I just sighed and got up. "Well, guys, I’m going to bed," I murmured. "Don’t have too much fun." I caught Amy and Mary’s eyes as I left and they both looked so sorry for me that I smiled, telling them silently to enjoy their men and not to worry about me. I hoped they both got enough that night for all three of us.

The next month was the longest I’d ever spent. I couldn’t get Joe and his awful words out of my mind. Those angry, hurt blue eyes kept appearing in my thoughts just as they were that night, accusing me of being the cause of their pain. Yeah, it was not the happiness time in my life. Mary and Jordan along with Amy and Donnie had grown closer than ever, and even though I was happy for them, and Micki and Michael, who were casually dating, I couldn’t help but feel out of the loop. Even if I did go out with them, I would constantly be on the lookout for Joe and that tended to ruin my nights. One afternoon was especially dreary at the station and I couldn’t even get into my show, which was the only thing that made me happy in those days. It was the day that Joe’s next single was released and I had to play it hour after hour, letting his voice soak into me.

"And you want me to be cheerful?" I asked the station manager as Joe’s soulful voice filled the booth. He nodded sternly.

"You’d better," he replied, counting me down.

"You are listening to KISS 108 FM right here in the heart of Beantown," I said into the microphone, immediately getting into my role. "I’m Jen and welcome to my world. That’s right, folks, you listen to my show, you get a sneak peak into my world…" I continued rattling on until I came to the playlist. I loved that about radio, I could just say what I wanted and people had to listen. "OK and coming up next, we…" My voice trailed off as I looked at the CD cover. There were those brooding blue eyes looking back at me. My station manager started banging on the window and I shook myself out of it, going back to the microphone. "Have you guys ever done something that you regret?" I said, not looking up, but holding the microphone’s underside with one hand. "I’m gonna reach out to you people right now because..well…because I can, right? Anyway, oh listeners of mine, last month I did something really…well it was stupid, ok? I admit it, but the problem is that you can do one thing that’s so minor to you at the time, but in the long run, it can ruin you. Well, at least it can ruin what could have been the best thing in your life. That’s been me for the last month, so let me apologize ahead of time for my mood lately, I know I haven’t been the best broadcaster ever, but that’s the effects a broken heart can have on a person, ya know?" I sighed and turned back to the CD player. "So with those lovely thoughts, I’m going to leave you with a new single by someone…..someone who changed my life forever. Even if he doesn’t know it." I pressed play on Joe’s new song and wrenched the headphones off of my head, pushing my chair back and making a mad dash for the bathroom. I didn’t want anyone to see me cry. When I got back, my station manager cornered me.

"Hey, Jen, listen, I put Angie in the booth to take over, ok?" he said.

"You’re going to FIRE me for that?" I blurted out, shaking my head. He chuckled.

"Silly girl," he teased, ruffling my hair. "No, I can’t fire you, you’re my biggest money maker!" I smiled at that. "Just take a few days off, ok? You need it." I nodded and gave him a hug before hurrying out of that station as fast as I could go. I knew what I had to do. I had to see Joe.

The drive to his house proved unsuccessful. The gates were all locked up and the only person there, that wasn’t a fan, had no idea where to find him. Groaning, I lit up a cigarette, which my manager would have killed me for, and headed for Joe’s studio.

"I have no idea where he is," the woman at the desk told me. "He was here earlier, just as miserable as he’s been this whole month, listening to the radio. Then, he just left without a word to anyone." My eyes widened at the news that Joe had been miserable as well.

"Did you see what direction he was headed in?" I asked desperately.

"No, I’m sorry, dear, I didn’t," she said. "Hey, aren’t you that girl who’s poster is hanging in Joe’s office?" I gasped when she said that.

"Can I see?" I whispered.

"Technically, no," she said loudly, then leaned over the counter and whispered. "But if I need somebody to drop some papers on his desk, then who am I to stop you?" I smiled gratefully as she handed me some music and pointed me in the direction of his office. Walking in, I had to smile. The whole place not only looked like Joe, but it smelled like him too. It had various sports memoribilia and gold records hanging on the walls, but there was one poster that was right across from his desk…one that he could see if he was sitting down. It was me and my team in an advertisement for the show. Why did Joe have that hanging in his office?

"Probably throwing darts at it," I mumbled to myself, running my hand over his desk. There were no longer any doubts in my mind how I felt about Joe. I loved him, I couldn’t deny that, but was it worth the heartache to try again? I slammed my fist against the wooden desk. "Yes!" I said outloud, looking around to make sure noone heard me.

"You ok, dear?" the woman asked as I hurried past her.

"Yes, thank you!" I called over my shoulder. I was going home to call everyone I knew. Someone had to know where Joe was and I was going to find him and clear the air, once and for all. Parking my car at my complex, I grabbed my purse and phone book and started flipping through it even as I was hurrying up the stairs. Since I was looking down, I wasn’t paying attention and I ran into someone and would have fallen over if it hadn’t have been for the strong hands that stopped me.

"Jen?!"

"Joe?!" we said at the same time, staring at each other as if we couldn’t believe what we were looking at. The phone book I was holding fell to the floor and Joe leaned over to pick it up, handing it back to me with the hint of a grin.

"What are you doing here?" I stammered, my eyes wide in surprise. Joe sighed and leaned against the cement wall that lined the stairs, crossing his arms.

"I…um…I wanted to talk to you," he mumbled as if he was suddenly at a loss for words.

"Joe, I just searched half of Massachusetts for you and you were sitting on my stoop the whole time?" I said with a mock groan.

"You did?" he asked and I nodded, looking at the ground.

"You know," I began. "I had so much to say a few minutes ago, but now that you’re here…"

"Loss for words?" he asked, nodding. "Me too." I met his eyes and sighed suddenly, relaxing my whole body as he stared right back at me.

"Joe," I said desperately. "I’m so sorry for…"

"Shhh," he interrupted, placing a finger over my mouth. His eyes clouded over as he looked down at me and, with a low growl, he replaced his finger with his own mouth, kissing me with a passion that left my knees weak. Pulling away, he kept a hand on the side of my face as we stared at each other in amazement.

"OK, not that I’m complaining," I said, grabbing the railing behind me for support. "But I so don’t get it." Joe chuckled lightly and moved closer so that his body was practically pressed against mine.

"I heard your show today, Jen."

"You did?" I gulped, remembering how much of my heart I had poured out over the air. He nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, well, I haven’t missed a show in over a month," he admitted. "The more I listen, the more I can pretend that you’re still in my life."

"But, Joe, I was in your life," I protested. "You pushed me away. I mean, I couldn’t face you after the things you said…"

"I know," he said, wrapping his arms around me in a bear hug. "I know I said some terrible things, but you hurt me so badly and I didn’t want that to happen again."

"I would never hurt you," I murmured into his chest, looking up at him. "But are you going to hurt me again, Joe? I’m not sure I could take it." To answer my question, he kissed me again, running his tongue lightly along the lining of my lips, which made me sigh.

"God I missed you," he murmured into my hair when we broke apart. "Let’s just start over, ok?" I grinned and pulled back, stepping out of his grasp.

"OK," I said, holding out my hand. "I’m Jen and you are…?"

"Jen, huh?" he said, a teasing glint in his eyes. "I’m Jordan." I punched him lightly in the arm and he grabbed me and pulled me against him once again, laughing as I was.

"Nice to meet you, Jordan," I kidded, pushing a curl out of his face. He pouted and tightened his grip on my waist.

"OK, enough, please don’t ever call me that again," he groaned. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Alright, Joseph," I murmured as he lowered his head to mine once again.

"So we’re all good now?" he asked, pressing his forehead against mine. "No more lies, right, Princess?" I nodded into his eyes.

"I swear," I whispered. "No more lies." We were both smiling as he kissed me again right there in front of my front door. The door opened and I opened my eyes to see the shocked faces of my roommates, but I shooed them away with my hand only to close my eyes and give Joe the kiss of his life. We were interrupted by a mewing sound coming from under Joe’s feet and we both looked down in surprise.

"Hey," he said, bending down. "How’d you escape from your hiding place?" He straightened up to reveal the very same kitten that I had spotted that night in the pet shop window, only a little bigger. She was wearing a gold collar that said "Princess".

"Joe," I choked. "Wha…"

"She’s for you," he said, smiling. "I saw how happy this little kitten made you, Princess and I couldn’t resist buying her for you." He pet her lovingly. "That was two weeks ago and I’ve had her even since, so we’ve bonded."

"Oh my God, she’s beautiful." I could feel the tears stinging my eyes and I took her from his arms.

"Just like my Princess," he said, lovingly. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. "Come on, let’s bring her inside." I stroked the kitten’s soft fur and reached up to kiss him softly.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I love her."

"Is that all?"

"That I love?" I smiled. "It sure isn’t." Joe grinned and no words were needed. We understood each other.

The End

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