A/N: Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! Here's to hoping that you enjoy this chapter! The text in Italics occurs in the past.

Present day…

"Peaches, she is Godzilla, I tell you!"

"Riley, that is your mother –"

"Godzilla!"

He looks up from the book he is reading, amused, and observes the two women who have just entered the subway. One of them is a blonde who is looking at her companion with amusement, her eyebrows raised and her mouth curled with humor. She is holding on to the railing with one hand, while her companion holds on to her arm.

'Peaches' looks vaguely familiar, and Lucas is trying to wreck his brains to figure out where he has seen her before when her brunette companion turns her head around for a moment and steals his breath away.

She is beautiful, with shoulder-length chestnut brown hair and beautiful bright eyes. Exasperation clouds her pretty face and her cheeks are pink, probably from the cold from outside. She locks eyes with him for a moment, and his heart skips a beat.

He gives her a small nod and a smile, and she does the same. She turns back to her friend and lets go of her companion's arm to brush her hair out of her face, her voice suddenly softer as she whispers to the blonde. He is about to go back to the book he was reading earlier when the train comes to an abrupt halt and he looks up just in the nick of time.

It is as though things are happening in slow motion as he watches her lose her balance. Her arms flail wildly as she moves backwards and he holds out his hands to catch her, pulling her onto his lap.

Red tinges her already pink cheeks, and she says, "Hi. We were just talking about you."

His heart soars at that, and he looks down shyly for a moment before grinning back at her.

"I'm Lucas," he introduces himself and she smiles at him.

"I love it," her eyes widen adorably at her own words and she grimaces. "I'm Riley."

She gets up as her friend walks over, and Lucas' eyes widen when he finally realizes who the blonde is.

"Maya? Maya Hart?"

"Lucas," she nods as a grin makes its way onto her face and Riley looks at both of them confusedly.

"You know each other?" she asks and Maya looks at him with raised eyebrows.

"We met at Zay's party last week," Maya tells her, amusement masking her pretty face as she grins at Riley. "You know, the one you abandoned me for?"

"Oh, you mean the one that I had to miss because I was sick?" Riley puts her hands on her hips as she looks at her friend with exasperation.

"Details," Maya waves her off and Riley snorts. "Hey Huckleberry, where are you heading to?"

"Back to Zay's, actually," he tells them. "I'm living with him until my apartment gets sorted."

Maya turns to Riley and says, "Lucas is the new vet in the animal clinic opposite Zay's apartment. He moved from Texas about a month ago and –"

"Actually, why don't the three of us have coffee or something together so that we can get to know each other better?" he cuts her off, looking at Riley for her answer.

"Gee, Ranger Rick, I'd like that but I have a feeling that you actually only want to have coffee with Riley," Maya nudges Riley, the cheeky grin she has donned on making her look like a child on Christmas morning.

"Maya, Lucas asked the three of us –"

"Actually, I was just asking Maya along to be polite. No offense," he apologizes to the blonde and grins when she just shrugs, not at all affected. He faces Riley and asks, "So what do you say, Riley? Coffee?"

She smiles at him softly, and his heart soars when she says, "I would love that, Lucas. I know just the place."

They stare at each other, and Lucas blinks when Riley shyly looks away. Maya looks between them and Lucas feels the heat rise up his cheeks when he hears Maya say, "It's like I'm not even here."

Jordan drops by to collect his things two days later, and she is thankful when he comes alone. She feels numb as he packs his bags. Riley sits cross-legged on her bed as he walks around their – her – room, grabbing his items from the table. She blinks at him when he walks to her side of the bed, and stands beside her.

She looks up at him, blinking back the tears when he kisses her on her forehead. He whispers a goodbye, and leaves their – her – room. She hears the front door close behind him, and that is when she lets the tears fall again.

Heart-wrenching sobs wreck her frame as she clutches her chest, wanting nothing more than to feel numb again.

He is so whipped.

They end up talking for about three hours at Topanga's, and the more that he learns about her, the more he wants to see her again. The more he observes her little quirks, the greater his resolve is to have another date with her.

There is something about Riley Matthews that makes him feel giddy, like a teenage boy with his first crush. But there is also something about her that makes him feel as though he can do anything he wants to if he sets his mind to it.

She is laughing at a story that he has just told her of him and Zay in Texas when she sees the time on the clock. Her eyes widen in surprise as she checks her phone after, and she apologizes, "I'm so sorry, Lucas! I didn't realize how late it was. And you have to be at the clinic early tomorrow!"

Riley gets up and starts clearing their plates and cups, comfortably navigating through the space behind the counter. She waves for him to pick up the remaining utensils, and motions for him to follow her into the kitchen.

"Can I take you out tomorrow? Like on a date?" he asks her when he passes her the last item in his hands, and he starts feeling foolish when she freezes.

He must have been reading her wrong all this while. He had thought that they had a connection, that the way she seemed to be so attentive to his stories meant that she is as into him as he is into her, but he must have misunderstood her.

She turns to face him, and for the first time since he met her a few hours ago, there is a sadness that lingers in her eyes. Her back straightens as she regards him, and she gives him a sad smile.

"You're a great guy, Lucas," she says, and he prepares himself for the oncoming rejection. "But I've just got out of a relationship and I'm really not ready to date anyone right now. It wouldn't be fair to you. I'm sorry."

No amount of preparation could have stopped his heart from aching the way it is right now. It is scary that after only a few hours together, he wants to continue spending time with her.

He wants to know this girl who could seem so happy and carefree at one time – like the way she had been when they were talking in the café – and then seem so sad the next – like she did when she turned him down.

"That's okay, Riley," he concedes. "Friends, though? I think I'd be dumb to let go of the girl who can rant about the Knicks for twenty minutes."

She lets out a surprised chuckle, holding out her hand. "I would like that, Lucas."

He takes it, and he knows that he is not the only one who feels the tingles on his skin when his large hand wraps around her smaller one. Her eyes go wide as she jumps slightly, and she gives him a nervous smile.

They stare at each other for a while, and Lucas is so sure that he can get lost in her pretty eyes.

Oh, he is so whipped.