Following the end of her relationship with Aidan, Carrie begins to date Jack Berger (Ron Livingston), a novelist with a mixed degree of success. She meets him while discussing her upcoming book at her publisher's (Amy Sedaris) office. That day, Carrie and Berger go for a walk, during which Carrie gets a strawberry milkshake from McDonald's. Berger states to her, "How can anyone order strawberry after the age of eleven?", and Carrie obviously likes his sense of humor. However, when she asks him to be her "Plus One" at her party, he states he has a girlfriend. After an initially rocky start (in which Berger must break ties with his ex-girlfriend, Lauren), they form a rather playful relationship; one that initially seems to make Carrie very happy.