I agreed to have dinner with Jake tonight, and I should have been scared or anxious because he was a freaking FBI agent and all; but to my surprise, I wasn't. I was kind of happy and excited about it and I really had no idea why. Or maybe I did, but really didn't want to think about it.

But whatever I did, I couldn't help but keep thinking about him for the last few days; his eyes, his dazzling smile, everything. And I had to remind myself each time that if he knew a single thing about me, he would handcuff me and throw me to rot in prison. I also have a feeling that I was starting to lose my mind, and Eric supported this theory a lot.

I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds in an attempt to clear my head, but it failed because my mind couldn't get Mr. FBI Agent out of it. I sighed and gave up. I looked at the clock and it was already five PM. Jake said that he would pick me up at six, so I should really start getting ready.

I started by having a quick shower, then I dried my hair and curled the ends a little, I decided to wear a simple Gucci black dress and one of my favorite Prada high heels. I put on some mascara and eyeliner, then I finished the look by putting some red lipstick on. I checked myself in the mirror and was beyond satisfied with how I looked. I checked the clock and it said 5:55 PM. Damn, I really deserve an Oscar for being able to do all of that in less than an hour.

I was putting the last touches when I heard a knock on my apartment's door; it took me a few seconds to get from my room to the front door where I knew a certain FBI agent would be waiting on the other side of it.

"Hi Jake," I smiled at the handsome man in front of me. He was wearing a suit and his hair was in its regular messy style that I liked a lot.

"Hey, Em. You look really beautiful," Jake smiled, checking my dress.

"Thanks." I felt myself blushing a little. I grabbed my purse and walked toward him before I locked the door behind me.

We walked beside each other until we reached the place where his SUV was parked in. He opened the passenger's seat door for me with a smile. I shared the smile with him before I got into the car.

"So, where are we going tonight?" I asked the handsome man behind the steering wheel.

"Well, I'm taking you to one of my favorite restaurants. I hope you like Italian food," he replied with a smile.

"Everybody likes Italian," I stated with a grin.

"Then, I'm pretty sure you're going to like the restaurant." He gave me a confident smile.

We arrived at the restaurant a little bit later, and I was surprised by how nice it was. It was quite big and elegant, also the people there were very nice. Jake seemed very familiar with the place and the people who worked there; he greeted most of them before choosing a table for us. He pulled the chair for me and that made me blush a little; I gave him a warm smile before I sat down.

A waiter came to take our orders. Jake ordered Lasagna and I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo, we also ordered a bottle of red wine. The waiter wrote the orders on a piece of paper before he left us alone.

"It's really nice," I said with a smile looking around the place.

"Yeah, I used to come here a lot when I first moved around here and it kind of became a habit for me to eat here," Jake said.

"Oh, do you live in Manhattan too?" I asked with a bit of a surprise. I didn't think an FBI agent's salary would help afford the upper west side life.

"No. I live in an apartment in Brooklyn. But I like to enjoy every part of our beautiful city." He shrugged, smiling a little.

I gave him a slight nod. "So where were you living before moving around here?" I asked, trying to know more information about him.

"Ithaca, with my family," Jake answered. "What about you? Are you also a New Yorker born and raised?"

"Born, yes. Raised, no," I replied, giving him a vague answer.

"How is that?" Jake asked, raising one eyebrow.

"My parents were always used to traveling from one place to another because of their business and I nearly traveled the whole world with them since I was a baby," I answered, shrugging.

"It must have been amazing," Jake said. "I mean, traveling the world."

"Not really. I really love traveling, but sometimes it makes you forget where home is," I told him, truthfully.

"Where is the place you call home, then?" Jake asked with a soft smile.

"New York has always been the closest place I can get to home. Maybe because I was born here." A genuine smile was now drawn on my face. "Also, New York is like a secret mistress, you can't stay away from it for a very long time."

"I couldn't agree more," he said, chuckling.

The waiter came with our food. I took a bite from my dish and was surprised by how delicious the food was.

"God, it's very good," I exclaimed, happily. I always appreciated a good Italian dish.

"I know, they have great chefs here," Jake smiled as he ate from his own plate.

We ate in silence for a couple of minutes, but we both took glances at each other whenever we had the chance.

"So, are you planning to stay here in New York for long?" Jake asked, breaking the silence.

"Maybe, if things go as I planned," I replied with a slight smirk, thinking about my plan that revolved around him.

He smiled as if my answer had satisfied him.

"So, have you been in love before?" I found myself asking without any thinking. I cursed at myself mentally after the words got out of my mouth.

He seemed a little taken aback by the sudden question; he cleared his throat before starting to speak. "Um... I did have a lot of relationships, but I don't really think any of them could be described as true love."

I nodded and stared at the wine glass in my hand for a little bit.

"What about you?" he asked. Curiosity was clear in his voice.

"Once, as I thought. But I guess I was just fooling myself at the time," I told him, remembering things that happened years ago. Things I really hated to remember.

"Why?" he asked. I thought it was probably a force of habit, and he was turning our conversation into an interrogation.

"It just didn't end very well," I gave him a vague answer to stop him from asking any more questions about the topic.

He just nodded and I guessed that he decided to let the subject drop. We both finished our plates and were now drinking another glass of wine.

"Do you want to go for a walk; maybe somewhere else?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I guess it's a great idea after all of those calories," I agreed, letting out a little laugh.

He laughed, then he called for the waiter to pay the bill.

We decided to go for a walk on the Bow Bridge in Central Park. The place and the view were both breathtaking, especially at night. We walked silently alongside the lake for a couple of minutes, then I stopped to admire the view and I felt a breeze of air tickling my neck and cheeks softly. I took a deep breath and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear; it was amazing. It made me feel free.

I noticed that Jake was looking at me the whole time with a slight smile on his face. "It seems that you really love the place here," Jake said, his smile never wavering.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite places here in New York. I come here a lot when I need to relax or have something in mind bothering me," I said without taking my eyes off the beautiful view. "It's like my comforting place. Besides, it's really beautiful."

"It is. But believe me, the view is not the most beautiful thing here at the moment." I could see his dazzling smirk without even looking at his face.

I couldn't help but smile as I turned my gaze to him.

I didn't realize that I was staring at him longer than I should, but he was also staring at me. I looked away with a blush on my face.

We started walking alongside each other again in silence. But I was walking absentmindedly and I didn't notice a large rock on the ground in front of me so I tripped over it; the heels I was wearing helped a lot too. I made a loud gasp, and before I hit the ground, strong hands caught me and helped me to get back on my feet.

Jake was still holding me by the waist; our bodies were almost touching and I could smell his amazing cologne. Our faces were so close, kissing close that I felt his breath fanning on my face softly. Our eyes connected and we kept staring at each other. I was looking into his eyes, the deep blue drawing me in. Then, I saw his eyes glancing at my lips before returning to mine. I knew what he wanted and to my surprise, I really wanted it too, but I wasn't ready so I resisted my burning desire and broke his grasp of my body. He was taken aback by what just happened and when he realized what I did, he let go of me completely.

"Um... thank you for not letting me fall," I said, plastering a smile.

"Yeah, no problem." He forced out a smile of his own.

The awkwardness in the air was killing and we stood there in silence for a couple of moments, not knowing what to do or say.

"Um, I guess it's starting to get late. We should probably go," I said, deciding that it was the best thing to do at the moment.

"Yeah, I guess," Jake said without any expressions on his face.

We walked silently to the SUV, Jake opened the car's door for me with a smile that I knew for sure was fake and I gave him one so similar to it.

The drive was full of awkward silence, and no one dared to look at the other the whole time. He drove me home and we said goodbye to each other in a very formal way, then he drove away.

><><><

It was a few hours later and I was lying on my bed trying so hard to sleep but it wasn't happening. I was replaying everything that happened today.

I groaned and buried my face into the pillow once I remembered what happened earlier with Jake. I felt rage and anger boiling through my system, not on him but on myself, why the hell did I want to kiss him so badly? I wanted to prove to myself that I really didn't care or give a damn about him, but it was completely the opposite.

What the hell was going on with me? He was a freaking FBI agent. I was supposed to get the information I wanted out of him, then leave him and go on with my life. I just wanted everything to be over, I just wanted to be normal. Why was it too hard?

I still had to go on with my plan. Too bad, I wasn't in a place that would allow me to go back.