First of all, thank you CSI001 for your great review. I am a fan of your stories! You rock!

Second, thanks to csinumberstlk lover for adding this to your favorite stories! And a huge thank you to all who have read this so far!

This takes place just before the dinner, plus you get a good scene between Greg and Nick!

Enjoy and please review!

The following evening, Greg stood in front of the mirror in his locker and grimaced as he pulled the necktie from around his neck. He was dressed in a navy blue buttoned-down shirt and blue jeans...he wondered why he would even think of wearing a tie with jeans. Why am I so nervous? It's just dinner with a friend. Greg sighed. There was a time he thought of Riley as someone he'd like to know better...more than a friend. But she left before he made his move. He kept telling himself it was just an old friend in town for a convention and they were just having dinner before she had to leave in two days-that wasn't doing any good.

"Whoa!" Greg turned to see Nick walking into the locker room with a grin. "Looks like you're going to have a good night."

Greg just shook his head with a smile. "Nah, just dinner with a friend."

"Good friend?"

Greg rolled his eyes. "Used to be."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Greg sighed. "Riley."

Nick's eyes widened in surprise. "Riley? Really?"

"I saw her the other day at the Tangiers. She's in town for the conference."

Nick shut his own locker door. "She still a CSI?"

Greg rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yes, genius! She and a co-worker of hers are here from San Diego for the conference. I bumped into her yesterday and asked if she wanted to have dinner with me tonight. Don't tell me you're still mad at her!"

"And you're not?" Nick remembered how disappointed he was when he returned from an entemology conference and learned that Riley had just left with hardly any explanation.

"Look, Greg, I liked her. But she just left! She was a part of this team..."

"I know that, Nick!" Greg was trying not to yell.

"Did you know what she put in her exit interview?" Greg just nodded. Riley had said the team was fractured and Catherine was a poor leader. "Sara left, then we lost Warrick, and she didn't even think about that, much less care!"

Greg sighed and raised his head. "Maybe! But I just...I need to know why."

Nick sighed. He knew Greg had had a crush on Riley, and probably just needed closure of some sort. Placing his hand on Greg's shoulder, Nick said, "Okay. I'm sorry."

Greg looked at Nick and sighed. "Thank you."

Nick smiled softly. "Hopefully she feels more-I don't know-useful."

Greg smiled. "Maybe."

Nick left and Greg shut his locker door. He was hurt when he found out about what Riley had said about Catherine and the team almost as much as when he found out Riley left. He pulled his duffel bag on his shoulder and thought about what he was going to say to her. It had been three years since he last saw her. Where would he begin? And how would it end?

Greg arrived at the Tangiers and waited in the lobby. He'd texted Riley while he walked to his car to let her know he was coming, but he hadn't heard anything back. Had she changed her mind? Did she forget?

"I'm sorry, sir. No one's answering in room 1429," the desk clerk explained. Sighing, Greg took out his cell phone and checked the business card with Riley's number on it. He was about to call Riley again when he heard a familiar voice.

"You ready?"

Greg turned and saw Riley in the lobby. Dressed in a pair of black slacks, a buttoned-down gray blouse, and her hair in a ponytail, she was beautiful.

Greg put his cell phone back in his pocked. Smiling at his friend and former colleague, he walked over to her. "Whenever you are," he said as he offered his elbow for her to take.

TBC...