Note: I was super happy to have at least one enthusiastic reviewer, thanks a lot. Makes me happy to know this story is read :) , I honestly wasn't even expecting too much readers so having a review honestly made me smile. Hope you, and all others of course, enjoy this chapter as well! x.

Chapter 2: Emerald

1st of September, 1987

"Lily, you're ready?"

"Give me a second!"

Lily came rushing down the stairs, still trying to stick in one of her earrings. What happened to the cool, collected days were she was always ready in time? She knew her mother would be displeased to see her rushing. "Rushing was no such thing for a lady to do," her mother had once told her.

"Lily, what did I tell you…" CeCe looked at her daughter with displeasure. "I told you to wear the red one, not this… Other, one."

Lily huffed. "Well, I know mother, but I like this color on me. Emerald suits me."

CeCe checked her watch and sighed. "Since we don't have time for you to change I guess this will do for the night. Come on, the limo is waiting." CeCe pushed a black purse in Lily's hands before dragging her with her to the limo.

God, this was going to be a long, long night… CeCe would be the guest of honor on a party celebrating the launch of a new clothing range from one of the Upper East Side's best designers. Well, according to her mother at least it was. Lily really wasn't too excited about the entire thing. Yes, she used to love these kind of events. All class, all style… Ever since she'd broken lose and left New York to find her luck on the other side of the country, it just all felt so empty and fake. Yes, this was going to be a long evening, filled with shaking hands and smiling fake smiles.


"Lilian! You're back from the West coast again?" One of her mother's friends came approaching her with a huge smile plastered to her face. She had definitely been doing some botox while Lily had been gone.

Lily smiled her fake smile. "Well, only for a little while, miss Blake."

"Well it's good to see you again, I'd like to introduce you to someone." Miss Blake scanned the room. "You wait here, will you? I'll be right back."

Lily nodded, but the moment the woman was out of sight, she quickly walked out of the room. Another attempt to match her up with some rich Upper East side kid had been avoided. For now, at least. She walked in the direction of the stairs of the building, knowing she'd been able to get on to the roof and sit on her own for a while. Smoke a cigarrete. Or two. These party's really weren't what they used to be… Or perhaps she had just changed too much. Maybe they just weren't right for her anymore.

She was eagerly looking for her cigarettes and really not that busy looking at her surroundings, which was the exact reason that got her bumping into someone.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, I really wasn't looking…"

Lily looked up and was surprised to find a pair of familiar brown eyes looking at her. Her heart started beating faster. "Rufus… What.. What are you doing here?"

"Lily?" Rufus was still holding her hand, a fine smile of both shock and delight forming on his lips. He was looking so good in a suit… Lily really couldn't deal with it. How was it that this guy was having such a hold on her? She hadn't seen him for months.

She was about to utter some words that probably wouldn't make to much sense anyway when another blonde appeared next to Rufus' side. He let go of Lily's hand immediately. She missed his warmth instantly.

"Rufus.. What are you doing?" Lily looked at the blonde, who was, in all honesty, quite pretty. Tanned skin, a pretty freckled face… A Californian bombshell.

"This, this is Lily. We eh…"

Lily interrupted him as she extended her hand to the blonde. "Hi. We met in LA when I was living there. Nice to meet you."

"Hi, nice to meet you too. I'm Debra."

That fake smile really came to good use this time. "Hi Debra. So, what are you guys doing here?"

Debra was about to reply, but Rufus quickly spoke up. "Debra's mother is a designer, she lives her. Debra was invited tot his party, wasn't sure if it would be fun on her own.. So she invited me."

Lily nodded. She actually really wasn't that interested in Debra's mother. She was more interested in whether Rufus and Debra were a couple. She hated admitting to herself that she was jealous, and decided it was time to blow off some steam. "Okay, well, I hope you will enjoy your evening. Excuse me, I just have to go somewhere."

She rushed up the stairs, not willing to look back again. Freakin' Rufus. Why was he having such an affect on her?

She'd been on the roof for almost thirty minutes now. Her mother was probably freakin' and looking all over the place for her. The cigarettes tasted too good though. Rufus Humphrey. Rufus freakin' Humphrey. Her mind fluttered back to the last moments they had shared in Los Angeles. She still wasn't sure why it was even possible for a man she had seen only twice had made such an impact on her.

"Lily… Lily, wait!"

" Rufus, it's fine. You wanted a woman to look at during your show, your girlfriend couldn't make it, you happened to run into me… It's fine, don't worry about it."

"Lily, wait.." He grabbed her arm, and stopped her from walking away from him.

"Rufus, seriously, it's fine, don't bother."

"No, it's not. Listen.. I… I'm not from LA. Me and my band, we're touring around, we're only here for two more days and then we're heading back east. I…. I've never met anyone like you before."

"You do have a girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend, Lily. She's just… A friend. A fan of our band."

Lily chuckled. "Even you guys have groupies?"

Rufus shrugged. "Lily… I know I'm probably never going to see you again. But you're elegant, beautiful… I'm glad I ran into you last night. And… I really, really can not leave you without doing this."

He didn't even give her time to rethink his words as he let his lips crash down on hers. Gently, but passionate. His two day beard gently rubbed against her skin as their tongues started dueling.

"Fucking Rufus," Lily murmured to herself. She flinched her cigarette away, to no place in particular, before she decided it was time to head down. Why was Rufus even here? Yeah yeah, for Debra, blablabla… She couldn't imagine him feeling comfortable in these surroundings. It really didn't seem his style… But perhaps it ws. After all, they had only shared a couple of hours together. Lily hated to admit it, but perhaps she had given Rufus a bit too much credit. Perhaps her own mind had made him into this intresting, different, intriguing person. But maybe he was just like one of the many men she had already met before.

Lily made her way down the stair with displeasure, not too excited to find herself back there. She hoped she wouldn't run into Rufus. Well, that actually was a lie. She did want to see him. Just not with the girl by his side. The moment she walked back into the room were the party was taking place though, she spotted Rufus and Debra . Talking, laughing, touching… God, she was annoyed. She grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the waiters' plates and quickly drank it up. She had to find herself some company as well.

She eyed the people in the room. She noticed Bart Bass standing not too far away from her. He was so cocky though, she knew she wouldn't be able to talk to the guy for more then five minutes. A couple of feet away she saw a good looking blonde guy. She had never seen him before, something that was quite exceptional on these kind of events. Perhaps he was a good candidate. Lily was aboute to make her way over to the guy when a firm hand dragged her away.

"What have you been doing? For Christ's sake, Lily, you can't just attend one of these events and just disappear whenever you feel like it." Her mother seemed tense and angry, and Lily sighed. "I'm sorry, mother. I just, I don't really feel comfortable here."

"I don't understand the problem, dear. Tons of people for you to talk to."

"Yeah, well, maybe I don't want to talk to them."

"Lilian!" Her mother gave her a look of disapproval.

The lights were getting less bright and both Lily and CeCe knew it was time for CeCe to be awarded and honored for all her help.

"I'll keep my eyes on you, Lily. Behave." After one last look of dissaprovement, CeCe walked away. Lily rolled her eyes as she watched Deandra Leftwood approach the stage. She was wondering how long exactly this speech was going to take. The moment Deandra started speaking, someone grabbed her hand and pulled her away into the hallway.

Lily was about to yell when she heard a familiar voice. "Hey, sorry 'bout that. I just wanted us to have some privacy."

"Rufus.. Hey."

Rufus wasn't sure where to start. He had actually been on the look out for Lily ever since they had run into each other. Timing was odd, to see the least. The fact that they were in the same place was even more odd. It probably wasn't very neat of him to leave his date on her own to see another woman, but he really couldn't help himself.

"Lily.. I, I am so surprised to see you here…"

She chuckled. "Yeah, well, me too…"

He took a step closer, inhaling her perfume. It was the same she had worn the night they had met; a heavy, vanilla based scent. It suited her perfectly fine.

"I can't even tell you how glad I am to see you. I… I never expected to see you again." He looked at her, realizing how beautiful she looked. Her hair was curled slightly, reaching just beneath her breasts. The tight emerald dress she was wearing was short, showing her long, perfect legs. Still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His hand instinctively came up to touch her cheek and he caressed it lightly. "You look beautiful."

Lily Rhodes didn't blush. She just didn't. Except for when Rufus complimented her, apparently. "Thank you… I… You look good, too. Suits suit you." She winked.

"Thanks. So, what are you doing here?"

Lily shrugged. She looked at him, at the way he was casually leaning against the wall… No, he definitely wasn't like all those other men in the room. She moved herself a bit closer to him, leaning against the same wall as he was as she said: "My mother is the guest of honour tonight… These kind of events are, well, it's just what she does. She attends them, organizes them.. And, well, I have to tag along, unfortunately."

"Well I'm glad she'd got you tagging along tonight."

She bit her lip and smiled. "Yeah… But, you're here with Debra. Is she your girlfriend?"

Rufus chuckled. "No, don't be silly. She's just… A friend."

Lily eyed him suspiciously. She had a feeling he wasn't being completely honest. But perhaps she was being a bit paranoid. "Hmm, okay. Are you in New York for a while?"

Rufus nodded. "Yeah, I'm thinking about staying here for a while again… What about you?"

Lily shrugged. "I'm still deciding…"

They looked at each other without talking for a little while. Lily couldn't help herself and grabbed his hands, just holding it while both were still silent for a little bit. For a moment, they were completely content, just standing close to each other, their hands and fingers entwined, without saying anything.

"Lily.." Rufus looked to his right and stared right into Lily's big brown eyes. "I eh… I have to get back inside. Perhaps you should to…"

She nodded. "Yeah…"

"But... Do you want to meet for coffee tomorrow?"

Lily smiled. "I'd like that. Eleven at Pierre's?"

Rufus chuckled. "I have no idea what Pierre's is, but sure, fine."

Lily smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure you'll be able to find it."

Their hands were still entangled as they slowly made their way back inside. They were about to enter again when Rufus stopped her. "Hey… You honestly have no idea how good it is to see you." He gave Lily the cutest peck on her lips before letting go of her hand and disappearing into the crowd.