I don't want another pretty face, I don't want just anyone to hold –

Betty's cell phone goes off, causing her to blush as Reggie raises an eyebrow at her choice of ringtone.

"Jesse McCartney, Bets? Really?"

'I just… it's how I always wanted Archie to see me. That's why I programmed it for when he calls.' For some reason, Betty isn't as thrilled as she would expect to be at Archie's call. She hasn't even answered yet.

"That's Arch calling?" Reggie's mood has suddenly darkened considerably. "Don't tell me he wants you to make him cookies and Fedex them over. No, wait, he's having car trouble and he wants you to talk him through how to fix it"

'Er… Reg?' Betty leans across the table and puts his hand over his. Instinctively, he closes his fingers around her palms as he tries to cool down.

Heaving a big sigh, he finally speaks in a calm(ish) voice, "Sorry about that, Bets. Aren't you going to pick up?"

'W-ell… I'm out with you. It's kind of rude' For some reason, Betty is reluctant to leave the table to answer the phone. A part of her is afraid to talk to Archie; she's felt so free in the last week or so, and somehow she thinks talking to Archie might change all that. Unlike on her previous (few) vacations, the red head had hardly entered her mind.

"No worries babe. Answer the phone. Carrot top wouldn't call unless it was important."

'I guess…I should probably call him back.' Betty looks apologetic and strangely hesitant as Reggie broods by the table, mumbling about dumb carrots.

Outside the restaurant, Betty dials Archie's familiar number.

"Hello?"

'Hey, Arch. You called?'

"Er… yeah. Haven't heard in awhile, so I thought I'd check in. The Caribbean is amazing, by the way."

'Haha, the sand, the sea and the beach babes right?' For some reason, Betty doesn't get jealous as a mental image of Archie surrounded by bikini clad girls pops into her head. 'Interesting.' She thinks to herself as Archie speaks.

"Haha you got THAT right. Although Moose is pretty stiff competition.."

'Moose? He won the contest too? That's interesting, although knowing him he probably wouldn't give the girls there the time of day.'

"Tell me about it. It's such a waste, considering he could probably get any girl he wants out here. I wonder why he doesn't get this much attention back home?"

'It's because we all know he's crazy about Midge. It would be pointless to fight THAT losing battle'

"Doesn't stop Reg from hitting on Midge…"

'Midge doesn't exactly discourage him…' A knot had formed in Betty's stomach at Archie's last statement, and her response was curt.

"I guess it's easy to take a good thing for granted when you know it's yours"

Betty rolls her eyes at this. Archie should definitely know what he's talking about with this one. 'I guess so. Hey Arch, I have to go. Reggie's waiting for me before we order and- '

"You're with Reg?"

'Yeah… his family happened to be at the ranch down the street from ours. Why?'

"Hmmm. Nothing. Ron's been out with Jug pretty often too, according to Midge."

'And?'

"And… nothing. Hey Bets?"

'Yeah?'

"I really miss you. Can't wait til we're both back in good old Riverdale."

'Er… yeah. Me too. I'll see you in a couple of weeks.'

Hanging up the phone, Betty sits opposite a very bitter Reggie Mantle. Awkward silence reigns at the table until Reggie bursts out.

"Let me guess… he wanted to borrow money to take out some island chick."

'No, actually. He just wanted to talk.'

Reggie's heart sinks as she speaks, and he looks carefully at her face to gauge her response.

"Really?"

'He said Moose was getting quite a bit of female attention out there.'

Reggie snorts at this. "Moose? He considers Moose competition?"

'Hey… like I told Archie, no Riverdale girl hits on Moose because we all know he's crazy about Midge. If he wasn't, there'd be a long line of girls waiting to get his attention.'

In response to Reggie's quirked eyebrow, Betty continues, 'He's athletic, good looking, and really sweet. He may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he's loyal and trustworthy. Most girls do respect that.'

"When you put it that way, I might want to give up on Midge and ask old Moose out myself" Reggie wiggles his eyebrows suggestively as Betty cracks up.

'I KNEW IT!'

Laughing, Reggie and Betty proceed to order their food, all tension dissipated. As the day goes by, Reggie finds himself wondering why Betty hasn't started sighing and swooning over Archie's phone call, unaware that the blonde next to him is asking herself the exact same thing.