A/N: Welcome to my 2nd Greek story, for some of you readers, you've followed my other story "Can't Let Go", at this time I'm trying to write and complete that story so bear with me. I was just inspired to write this one, so there you have it. Please read and let me know what you think. Glad to be writing again!

The Last Conversation

Chapter One

As she entered the cafe, she couldn't help but feel nervous. She didn't even know why she agreed to meet him. It had been seven years since they left CRU and went their separate ways. After graduation they had tried to make it work but in the end they wanted different things. She needed for him to be a man and stand by her side and think about their future. He needed her to not take life so seriously and live in the moment. They were complete opposites in almost everything, but it was their connection to one another that made being together worth it. They loved each other very much, maybe a little too much, but it was a love unlike any other.

She knew Rusty must have told Cappie that she was getting married. She knew her brother was still close friends with him. She received an email from Cappie a week ago asking her to meet him so they could talk. She almost said no, but decided that it'd be a good thing to see Cappie. She had seen him a few times in the last few years but they were brief encounters. When Rusty and Jordan got engaged a year ago, Cappie had been at their engagement party. When Cappie saw Casey, they had smiled at each other across the room but he never approached her nor did she approach him. She wasn't sure if she had imagined it, but she swore she saw Cappie's eyes fill with pain as he watched her with her fiancé.

Casey smiled as she thought about the man she was about to marry. It took going to college for four years and four years of being in the real world to reconnect with Derek, her high school sweetheart. Casey had just started working at Barney's as a shopping consultant when Derek came in needing help finding a suit. Ever since that meeting they had been inseparable and in two weeks they would be husband and wife. She had a good life and good man by her side….but as good a man as Derek was, she knew he wasn't Cappie.

Just then the door to the café opened and he walked in. Casey gulped as she looked at Cappie as he scanned the room looking for her and then their eyes met. He gave her a small smile. He was still a little scruffy, his hair a little longish, but that look always looked good on him. His blue eyes were still full of life and they looked at her with depth and love. He was wearing gray slacks and a light blue dress shirt. Casey could feel herself blush as she eyed him up and down. With every step Cappie took towards her, she felt more nervous than ever.

When Cappie opened the café door he looked at all the patrons for the beautiful blonde that he hadn't been able to get out of his mind for the past several years. He was an idiot for letting her go. After three years of bouncing back and forth at CRU, they finally got together their senior year. She was the one he always wanted. No other women compared to her. Then he screwed it all up when Casey was offered the chance to go to Manhattan and intern with Vogue. Cappie sighed with sadness as he thought about that day seven years ago.

Casey had just received a phone call from Vogue telling her that she had been selected out of all their applicants to intern with the fashion magazine for a year. It was Casey's dream to work for a fashion magazine and she was a step closer to that reality. When she broke the news to him, he was thrilled for her but he knew that she would have to move to Manhattan. And that meant she would be leaving him in Chicago, where they both ended up after CRU. Then Casey asked him if he would go to Manhattan with her.

At first Cappie thought he had misheard her. So he looked at her and said, "What did you just say?"

Casey walked over to him and put her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly on the lips. She tilted her head back and looked at him, her hazel eyes lighting up. "I am asking you to move with me to Manhattan. My internship starts in a month. We have plenty of time to find a place together and think about the road trip out to Manhattan. It'll be so much fun."

Cappie was quiet as he pondered what Casey just said to him. "We just got this place a couple of months ago," he gestured towards their one-bedroom apartment. "It was hard enough finding an apartment in Chicago; won't it be just as hard in Manhattan?"

"I'm sure it'll be hard, but as long as we're doing it together, it won't be so bad. Besides we can always sublet this apartment, who knows if I'll stay in Manhattan after my internship. We could always ask one of our friends and see if they're looking for an apartment. Didn't Beaver just relocate to Chicago? Maybe he'd want to sublet from us."

Cappie shook his head. "I'm sorry, Casey, as happy as I am for you about Vogue, I don't think I can move to Manhattan. I already relocated to Chicago to be closer to you and now you want us to move to Manhattan, too. It's too much."

Casey was confused. She was so sure that Cappie would be on board about going to Manhattan. "Cappie, I'm going to go to Manhattan and I need you there with me."

Cappie sighed and walked over to the window that gave them an amazing view of the city. "I can't go with you. I'm starting law school in a month at Northwestern, remember? There's no time for me to defer and reapply to a school in New York. You go to Manhattan; I know how much you wanted this internship."

Casey went over and joined Cappie at the window. She leaned her forehead against his back. "All I know is that I want us to be together Cap. The thought of being away from you is too much. If it means that much to you to stay here then I'll stay too. Internships come and go, right?"

Cappie turned to face Casey. "You cannot give up that internship because of me. I won't let you do it."

"But Cap," Casey started.

Cappie cut her off. "No Casey. You're going to do that internship whether we're together or not. You need to do it. I don't want you to give up your dreams because of me."

"Cappie, I know what I'm giving up here. There're other places I can find a job or internship at in Chicago. It took us three years to get back to each other at CRU; I just don't want to lose any more time with you."

"Case," Cappie looked into her eyes and gently cupped her cheek. "You have to go. Forget about me okay. Manhattan needs you."

"Don't you need me?" Casey asked softly.

"I will always need you, but this is your career we're talking about. This is a once and a chance lifetime opportunity. I bet there were thousands of applicants and out of all those people Anna Wintour and her crew want you. That's something pretty big and special, Case."

Casey slowly nodded her head. "I know that everything you're saying is right, but there's no one else in the world like you Cap. I don't want to miss that every day while I'm in Manhattan and you're here."

At that moment, Cappie couldn't help but love Casey even more. He couldn't believe she was willing to give up her internship for him. He knew that what he was about to do was heinous but he had to do it because he loved her that much. "Case," he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, you know. And because I love you, I have to let you go."

Casey looked up at Cappie, her eyes full of confusion. "What are you saying?"

"It's over, okay?" He told her softly. "If I need to break up with you in order for you to go to Manhattan, then this is it. You need to go and do your internship."

Casey's eyes glittered with tears. "You're not serious, are you?"

Cappie nodded his head. "I'm letting you go."

Casey was stunned. "You're serious? Oh my god, I can't breathe. One minute I'm asking you to go to Manhattan and the next you're dumping me? I don't get it. Why?"

"Because I love you." Cappie said quietly.

"But why break up? What about long-distance? I could handle that." Casey pleaded.

"You're not getting the point, Case. I'm letting you go because I love you. I have to let you go to Manhattan with a mind clear of me and your life here. You have a new adventure to embark on."

Casey wiped at her eyes with a tissue. "I don't want to lose you Cappie."

Cappie walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Trust me, this hurts me, too. But it's the right thing to do. I'm being selfless here Casey. I want you to enjoy Manhattan and kick ass at Vogue. And if things really are meant to be, we'll find our way back to each other, right?"

Casey gave him a small smile through her tears. "I guess you're right."

Cappie held on to her for a while longer and breathed in her familiar scent of vanilla and thought to himself, I hope I'm right.

Cappie's thoughts were interrupted as he felt the familiar hazel eyes of Casey Cartwright watching him. He smiled as he looked at her. She was as gorgeous as ever. Her hair lay in soft waves down her back. He saw her stand up to greet him and he looked her up and down. She was wearing a black v-neck sweater that hugged her curves. She was wearing dark jeans that looked great on her and black knee high boots. She was definitely fashionable and looked amazing.

With a few steps he was standing in front of her. He looked down and smiled at her. "Hey Case."

Casey smiled shyly at him. "Hi Cap." And then she reached towards him for a hug. As she felt Cappie's arms around her, Casey closed her eyes and smiled. It feels good to be here, she thought.

Cappie breathed her in and closed his eyes. This was going to be a long night. He knew right then and there he didn't want to let her go.