A/N: CHAPTER SEVEN!!! If you thought a lot happened in the last few chapters, a lot more happens in this one.

Countless thanks to my faithful reviewer, adda_edwards! You've kept me going!

Please, please, please review. I can’t make you do it, but it doesn’t take that much effort, does it? Thanks :-)

Disclaimer: Only own Rachel and other characters you don’t recognize. Don’t own American Pie either.

Rachel left her audition workshop after three hours of intensive work from her class and her own work on her solo. It was about 3:00 now, so she would have time to shower and get ready to meet Riley at the coffee shop.

On her way back to her apartment, she thought of how happy she was to see him again. Riley never knew this, but Rachel had considered him one of his best friends while in college. But unfortunately, along with those feelings came stronger romantic ones. Rachel had had a boyfriend for about a year and a half while at college – Jason, the one Riley had asked her about the day before. They dated for the second half of sophomore year, the year during which Riley and she had become so close. While dating Jason after Riley had left and pursued a career in computer programming, Rachel had pushed those feelings for Riley away. But after their sophomore year, there hadn’t been a day that summer that she didn’t think about him and hope he was well.

To have him come back into her life was a delight.

After getting back to the apartment, Rachel was glad to see that Tracey was nowhere to be found. She had left Rachel a note saying that she was out grocery shopping. Smiling to herself since she was liberated from answering countless questions, she hopped into the shower, trying to figure out what to wear. It wasn’t a date, and Rachel didn’t understand why she was so nervous for it.

Once dressed with her hair dried and make-up done, she headed over to the café…but not before leaving a note for Tracey to tell her that was where she would be. She turned on her radio and heard the first words of the song the was playing – “we can make hours into years/wherever you go you’re always here/it’s like I’ve known you from before/but I’m just so happy you walked through the door”. Rachel smiled to herself and laughed at the irony of the lyrics, knowing how happy she was that Riley was back in her life. Those old feelings from college were slowly showing themselves again, but she knew she didn’t have time for a relationship right now. Riley was also on the rebound from his recent ex-girlfriend, and she didn’t even know how he felt about her. The two of them would always be good friends.

She spotted Riley’s car in front of the café and parked a few cars behind it. Inside the shop, Riley was at a table near the window, watching people walk by on the streets. He heard the bells above the door jingle and he stood up and embraced Rachel when she made it over to him. He inhaled her sweet-smelling perfume and pulled away, smiling.

“What do you want to drink? I haven’t gotten anything yet, but I can get something with yours. The new latte sounds pretty good. I think it’s chocolate…or maybe some kind of spice,” Riley said, almost rambling. Rachel smiled and asked for a frappucino, talking her jacket off and sitting down at the table. She suddenly became aware of how low-cut her blouse was, and she was glad she had worn a tank underneath it. When Riley came back with their drinks, Rachel giggled at the song that came on the radio through the ceiling above them.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, sipping his drink and smiling at her.

“Listen to the song right now – Valentine’s Day, sophomore year.” She raised her eyebrows and returned his smile.

Riley listened for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. As the chorus played, he laughed a little and rubbed his face with one of his hands. “American Pie,” he groaned.

They started singing quietly, “Bye, bye Miss American Pie/drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry/them good ol boys were drinking whisky and rye singing this’ll be the that I die, this’ll be the day that I die.”

Rachel laughed and took a long sip from her drink, thinking back to that night. “You were so drunk.”

“It was Valentine’s Day. You’re either drunk with love or drink your pathetic loneliness away,” Riley said matter-of-factly.

“That’s terrible.” She frowned at him, but let a little chuckle slip past her lips.

“Well, at least that night you learned that you should never leave me alone with alcohol. I still can’t believe you found me like that.”

“You were in your dorm room in your underwear singing at the top of your lungs with a drink in your hand. What was I supposed to do?” Rachel said, seeing him blush slightly at the memory.

“You could’ve just laughed and taken pictures of me for blackmail.”

“Who says I didn’t?” she retorted, narrowing her eyes playfully. At the look on Riley’s face, she burst out laughing. “Don’t worry, I don’t have any.”

He let out a long breath and smiled, relaxing. This was easier than he thought it would be. Just thinking about this little get-together made him nervous. He knew it wasn’t a date, but Rachel had always given him butterflies. Not knowing how she felt about him, he knew they would always be friends.

As the time flew by, they were interrupted as Riley’s stomach grumbled loudly. They both laughed, Riley more because of his embarrassment. “I guess I’m getting kind of hungry,” he said, shrugging him shoulders.

“Me too,” Rachel said, glancing at her watch. “Well that figures – it’s already after six.”

“Are you kidding?” he asked incredulously. “I guess that saying is true about fun and flying.”

Rachel laughed and suggested they go somewhere for dinner since they were already out and both hungry. She was glad that their night would be extended a little more, knowing that they had to make up for many years’ worth of lost time.

********

Rachel and Riley spent the night on his lumpy couch watching television and talking as they ate Chinese food from the cartons, reminding them of the nights they had spent together during school. Rachel finally left around ten, returning to her own apartment and her very curious roommate. The next day as they were getting ready to go out to a nightclub, Tracey asked Rachel all about her night.

“It was fun. We just talked, hung out…it’s just so good to do that again,” Rachel explained, trying to decide between two different tops to wear with her dark skinny jeans.

Tracey nodded and smiled slyly. “I’ll bet it is.” She pointed to the pink tank on Rachel’s bed.

“What do you mean by that?” Rachel asked curiously, laughing a little.

“Oh come on, Rach. You cannot tell me that you’re not happy to see him because maybe some of those old feelings you had for him are coming back.” Rachel blushed slightly and turned away from her, putting on the tank.

“No, Riley and I are friends,” she retorted quietly.

“Of course you are – I know that. But you can’t lie to yourself.”

“I’m not – we’re going out tonight. Who knows? I could meet someone completely new who will sweep me off my feet.”

“Yeah, and I could ride home on a white horse with Prince Charming,” Tracey said, rolling her eyes as she scrunched her hair in curls that were bound to fall out before the night was over.

Rachel threw the other top at her and laughed, knowing that she didn’t believe her own words.

********

A couple of hours and drinks later, Rachel approached the bar after leaving Tracey on the dance floor with a man she was getting cozy with.

“Rum and coke,” she called to the bartender.

“Make that two,” a male voice said behind her. The man it belonged to brushed past her and leaned against the bar beside her. He had somewhat shaggy blonde hair that suited him nicely, and was dressed in jeans and a pinstriped dress shirt. He threw down a few bills when the two drinks were brought back to him and Rachel.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, picking up her glass.

“My pleasure. A beautiful woman like yourself deserves a man to pay for her drink once in a while,” he said smoothly. Rachel could hear his British accent, and she smiled involuntarily.

“Well, in that case…thank you,” she said, taking a sip.

“Does a goddess like yourself have a name?” he asked. Rachel threw her head back and laughed. She introduced herself by first name only.

“Rachel, I’m Nathan,” he said, holding out his hand to her. When he took hers in his hand, he gave it a quick kiss while looking into her eyes. “Are you here with anyone?”

“Yeah, just a friend of mine – she’s over there with the guy in the black tshirt,” Rachel replied, gesturing over to Tracey, who was clearly enjoying herself during a song heavily laden with bass.

Nathan laughed and said, “Well in that case, Miss Rachel…what do you say you and me go somewhere a little quieter to talk? Say the lounge in the other room?”

He flashed her a charming smile and Rachel returned it. “I’d love to.”

She could see that this man was her senior, but by how much she was unsure. He looked like he could be in his mid-thirties – the shaggy haircut he had chosen for himself made him appear more mysterious, adding to an air of superiority he held. He made her laugh and his cologne was intoxicating. The two were only able to talk for a little while before Tracey came downstairs, signaling to Rachel to ask to go home. Her once curly hair was in loose, tangled ringlets above her shoulders, and her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Seeing she was talking to a very attractive man, Tracey smirked and put her coat on, pointing to the door to the parking lot. Rachel smiled and turned back to Nathan.

“Are you and your friend leaving?” he asked, frowning slightly.

“Yeah, we both have to work tomorrow, so we should get going,” she replied, nodding.

“We should do this again sometime. May I call you?” Nathan asked. Rachel smiled at his politeness and grabbed a pen from the bartender’s cup, writing her number on the receipt. When she handed it to Nathan, he held her hand for a moment and kissed it once more, slower than he had when he met her. Their eyes locked and a smile grew on her face.

They both stood up, Nathan having not let go of Rachel’s hand. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “Goodnight…Rachel.” The way he said her name made a shiver go down her spine, and she barely managed to say goodnight.

Meeting Tracey in the parking lot, Rachel was sure that she had just met a perfect English gentleman. All of her previous thoughts about Riley were far in the back of her mind.

********

The next morning, Rachel woke up with a smile on her face from memories of the previous night. She even sang to herself in the shower after she ate a quick breakfast. When she was dressed, she turned on the television to occupy herself until she had to go work the lunch shift at one of the restaurants she worked at.

She jumped a little when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, and immediately thought it was Nathan from the night before. She shook her head and smiled, answering the phone calmly. “Hello?”

“Rachel?” The voice on the other end of the phone wiped the smile from her face. “It’s Ben…please don’t hang up!” he added quickly. She could hear him holding his breath, waiting for her reply.

“Hi, Ben,” she said seriously.

“How-how are you?” her brother stammered.

“Good…you?”

“Good.”

At the silence that followed, the only thing the two could hear was the other’s breath.

“How’s Abigail?” Rachel asked suddenly, doing anything to prevent the conversation from becoming more awkward than it already was. Besides, she liked Abigail and had thoroughly enjoyed her company at lunch.

“She’s great – out with a friend at the florist trying to figure what to get for centerpieces at our reception,” Ben replied. Rachel could hear him relaxing a little.

“Didn’t feel like going out to help her?” she asked teasingly.

“We differ a little in our tastes in art,” he said, laughing a little. Rachel could feel her mouth twitch into the beginnings of a smile.

“Are you coming to Dad’s next week for dinner?” Ben asked after a short pause. “Mom finally finished moving in, and they said they wanted to celebrate…”

“Yeah, Mom told me about it when we talked last…” she responded, thinking out loud back to her last phone conversation with her mother. Not only had she had to talk to her mother about Ben, she had to hear about the latest family treasure hunt and how her parents were getting back together. Rachel was ecstatic about the upcoming wedding, but didn’t know how she felt about seeing Ben so often and so soon.

“So…so will I see you there?” he asked quietly. “I know Mom invited Riley, too. He’s practically a part of the family.” Rachel heard her brother laugh a little at the end of the sentence and she smiled to herself.

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” she said, equally quiet. There was another pause on the other end of the phone, until Rachel could hear Ben clear his throat.

“Good…I can’t wait to see you, Rach,” he said sincerely.

“See you soon,” Rachel said, hanging up the phone. She leaned back into the couch, suddenly disinterested in whatever the woman was cooking on the screen. In a few days, the Gates family would be together for the first time in eight years.

A/N: So Ben and Rachel are going to a Gates family dinner. What will happen? And who is this Nathan guy? Thoughts?? Opinions???