Summer 1989

Her freshman year of college was done and she was now nineteen years old. Ever since winter break when Rachel had chosen Vail over going to help Chandler, she had tried to distance herself more and more from the Geller family. She had cut off all contact even though Monica kept calling but she'd always make up an excuse to hang up or she would not return the call. She wanted nothing to do with them. Monica and Ross clearly wanted to get sucked up in this weird, twisted world of helping someone that was spiraling and she wanted to enjoy college and that is exactly what she did. She, along with Kiki, Joanne, Leslie, Nancy, Sharon, Mindy and Melissa were all accepted into the Kappa Kappa sorority and they would all living in the Kappa Kappa house for their sophomore year. That was going to be fun and they all wanted to share rooms which would be even more fun. They were now her sisters and she was ready. Amy had graduated and was moving into a condo that their dad had bought for her. She would be living with a boyfriend, some guy that Rachel didn't know very well. It didn't matter. She was where she needed to be, where she was supposed to be.

Rachel and her girls, along with eight male friends, had decided on a trip to celebrate the end of their freshman year. The group of sixteen had decided on Amsterdam. They rented a large, expensive townhouse and would call it home for the summer. This was going to be amazing. She was away from everyone. She was seeing the world for the first time. She was out of New York, seeing the the world after a seven and a half hour flight across the Atlantic. She loved not having to answer to her parents, to the Gellers. She was just on her own with her friends.

"And to celebrate," Kiki's boyfriend, Alex, said as the friends settled in after the flight. They were all gathered in the living room. Alex and Kiki brought out several trays of brownies.

"These are special Amsterdam brownies," Kiki said.

"Do I even wanna know what's in them?" Rachel said.

"No...but we have beer to wash it down," Kiki smiled as the brownies were passed around. Rachel happily grabbed a brownie and took a bite. They were delicious and with a very distinct pot smell.

"Oooo, we are so getting high," Rachel said, "Oh, Monica would so judge me right now."

"No, Geller talk. You are forbidden from discussing Geek and Cow," Nancy said.

"Bulimic Cow," Rachel giggled. "And what does the bulimic cow say...blech. Is it hitting me already?"

"No, I think that's just you," Barry said, patting her hand.

"Well, then I'm a bitch," Rachel said as she ate more brownie and grabbed a beer. The brownies led to incessant giggling and sitting out on the balcony drinking more beer and smoking more pot with Barry. She was happy when Barry had decided to come on the trip. She was starting to like him.

"So Barry…you wanna be a doctor."

"I like teeth."

That response made Rachel laugh and she wasn't sure why.

"That's why you wanna be an ortho-dont-ist."

"Exactly."

"Did anyone ever tell you...you look a potato," Rachel said.

"I do not look like a potato," Barry said.

"Yeah, uh-huh….you look like a potato," Rachel said as she began cracking up. "But it's okay because I like French fries."

"You are so high," Barry said, laughing as well.

"So are you...bitch...you bitch...awww, bitchy bitch," Rachel said as she took another drag on her joint.

"Hey, Ray Ray…." Melissa said, stumbling out on balcony. She was also drunk.

"Melly, Mel...Mel….we're high," Rachel said.

"I know. But okay...we're gonna go swimming," Melissa said.

"Okay...let's do that," Rachel said as she struggled to stand up. She grabbed Barry's hand and the two stumbled back into the condo. The group began stumbling down the street towards a waterway that was right out their condo. Perhaps it was the pot, perhaps it was the booze but soon they found themselves in the water with their clothes off, swimming and splashing around. Rachel could feel Barry's arm around around her and she turned and smiled at him.

"You're cute," Barry said.

"So are you," Rachel said.

"Do I still look like a potato?" Barry asked.

"You are my potato," Rachel said, kissing him.

"Wait, wait….we can't kiss here," Barry said.

"Why not?"

"We're in public."

"We're trashed in Amsterdam, grow a pair...and honey we're naked," Rachel said, reaching her hand forward towards Barry and grabbing a hold of him. She grinned as his eyes widened.

"You're crazy," Barry said as they kissed. They continued to swim and splash around, all together. Rachel had never been skinny dipping let alone skinning dipping with fifteen other people. They continued playing until it got too cold and went back into the condo to continue drinking until they had all completely passed out.

A few nights in, Barry wanted to take Rachel on a date. Rachel was dressed in a her fanciest black dress and Barry was in a suit. They were drinking wine and eating food with names they couldn't pronounce.

"So Barry….why do you want to be an orthodontist?" Rachel asked, deciding to get to know him.

"I like helping people. I like making people have brighter smiles."

"That's sweet. I always wanted to be a fashion designer or have my own store."

"That's tough though. Most stores go out of business and it depends on the economy and it's probably next to impossible to be successful as a fashion designer."

"Probably. My parents think it's a great hobby," Rachel said as she sipped her wine.

"It would be….I like you, Rachel."

"I like you too."

Rachel enjoyed sitting with Barry getting to know him. He was sweet. Nice, kind hearted... She liked that he protected her, he seemed to calm her and yet she worked to bring the fun out of him. They were in Amsterdam for an entire summer with their friends and she would not spend the entire summer just going to fancy restaurants and enjoying concerts.

She had read about a club that only let the wealthy in, the famous, so naturally, she wanted to get in. She wanted to be in that club and when she brought it up to the rest of the group, it seemed to be the best plan although Barry did try to think logically.

"We won't get in. We can't pretend to be famous people," Barry said.

"Actually, we can….Melissa, has anyone ever told you that you look like Winona Ryder," Rachel said.

"Why yes they have," Melissa said.

"So make the call, say, hey I was in Beetlejuice and Heathers and don't you know who I am?" Rachel asked, grinning.

"And I think I have a movie coming out," Melissa said.

"You gotta make the call," Rachel said, handing her the phone. Melissa quickly grabbed it and dialed the number.

"Hi, I'm Winona Ryder. I'd like to reserve a VIP area for me and and fifteen closest friends," Melissa said walking off.

"Do you think this such a good idea?" Barry asked, pulling Rachel aside.

"Barry, we're nineteen. Live a little. How often in life do you get to pretend to be a member of an entourage for someone pretending to be a celebrity," Rachel said.

"Almost never," Barry said.

"Play with me, Bar. Be wild and free….you're not an orthodontist yet," Rachel said. Barry nodded as she got up and changed into the sexiest outfit she could find in her bag. As she was adjusting her tight red strapless dress, Kiki walked wearing a long bright pink wig and handed her a long blonde one.

"Why am I wearing a wig?" Rachel asked.

"Because...why not? I wanna wear a pink one," Kiki said.

"You are a crazy person. I don't think I'd look good as a blonde," Rachel said.

"Yes, you would. Don't be ridiculous," Kiki said.

Rachel pulled her brown hair back into a tight bun and put on the long blonde wig, teasing it a little. What a way to end her freshman year with such fun, there were brief moments where she wondered about Monica, maybe calling her to check in. She had heard Ross was an hour or so flight away in Israel but as she stood there staring at herself in her long blonde wig, she really did not care. She did not care about the Gellers, where she was currently was far better. There was no drama, just fun.

Once in club called, Jimmy Woo, Rachel was stunned by how amazing in looked on the inside. The dimly lit dance floor, the plushy white couches, their own VIP area thanks to Melissa. As soon as they made themselves comfortable in their area, a waiter approached them to hand them drinks. They drank quite a bit and Rachel was definitely feeling it and soon the girls of the group were getting approached by guys asking to dance. When one man in particular walked up to Rachel, she looked at Barry who simply nodded that it was okay. The man grabbed her hand and took her onto the dance floor.

"Hey," she said as he held her close.

"Hi. I'm Luke."

"I'm Rachel."

"You look sexy."

"Thank you."

"Is that your real hair?" Luke asked.

"Maybe," Rachel said, her heart pounding at how close they were dancing.

"My brother used to date a girl with hair like yours," Luke said, "he died about about sixteen months ago."

"I'm sorry, what was his name?"

"Tomas. He was killed by this girl he was seeing. The girl was a tramp. Blonde, tall….she was from the States. He was living in Prague. It was ruled an accident. It wasn't, between you and me," Luke said.

"Scary. Let's not talk about scary things."

"Let's not."

Rachel felt a little nervous dancing with this guy but she kept looking back at Barry who was staring straight at her. She nodded a little bit and Barry got up and walked towards them.

"Hey there man, can I dance with my girlfriend?" Barry said.

"Sure, sure," Luke said before walking off. Barry wrapped his arms around Rachel's waist as she grinned wildly.

"Oh my G-d," Rachel said.

"He seemed like a lovely young man," Barry said.

"He was telling me how his brother lived in Prague and was killed off by a girl."

"We can go party with him."

"No. No. How did he get in here?"

"I don't know."

"Don't leave me, Bar," Rachel said.

"I won't. You need me, Rach. I keep you out of trouble."

"Yeah," Rachel said as they shared a kiss, Barry held her tightly. She felt so safe with Barry. He would protect her, she was always the one that got in trouble so maybe Barry was exactly what she needed. She needed someone to reel her, to keep her from going too far overboard.

After the clubbing, the group headed down to the Red Light District. They were all completely wasted and a little high. Rachel and Barry were strolling hand in hand, looking at the prostitutes modeling in the windows. As they walked, they were approached by Luke from the club and his buddies who invited them to one of the brothels where there was an after party.

"I can't believe I'm here," Barry said, shaking his head.

"Come on, let's play Bar," Rachel said as she grabbed his hand and walked towards one of the prostitutes. She was very drunk, she knew that. She whispered into the ear of the prostitute named, Elsie who simply nodded and the three walked into a back room. She, Barry and Elsie spent a night that Rachel would never quite forget and she knew neither would Barry. There was touching, kissing, so much heat and even more booze. They would never turn back now.

They weren't sure of the time when she and Barry woke up in one of the bedrooms of their condo late the next day. Rachel could not stop grinning as Barry kept kissing her.

"I cannot believe we did that last night," Barry said.

"I know. You reel me in and I reel you out. It was fun. I mean, how many orthodontists can say they have engaged in threesomes with prostitutes in Amsterdam."

"Not many," Barry said as he kissed her. She kissed back. She was actually falling for him. Maybe he wasn't crazy or wild, but she could take care of that.

It had been the trip of a lifetime, nights were spent clubbing or cruising the Red Light District and watching the sun rise while still drunk and high on pot. Days were spent nursing hangovers and enjoying being in this new part of the world. She liked this. She loved this. She loved living like this and by the end of the trip, the large group had decided that every school break they had, they'd take a trip. Vail in the winter, Mexico perhaps during Spring Break and a trip somewhere around the world during the summer. Maybe Long Island wasn't her prison, this was her life, a life she could definitely get used to.

Arriving home almost depressed her, it was late August and she had a week at home before having to move into the sorority house. She wanted to go back but first she needed to take care of business. She never thought she'd ever have to do do this. She was hoping Monica would take the hint but she had left countless messages for Rachel over the summer which confused her because she thought someone would tell Monica where she was. She really had tried to distance herself from the Gellers wanting nothing to do with them but Monica really did not seem to let go. She had even sent a letter to Rachel talking about friendship and rambling about random stuff. Rachel knew what she had to do. It was late at night and she picked up the phone to call Monica.

"Monica, it's Rachel."

"Oh my G-d, Rach….I have so much to tell you."

"Monica, I called to ask you to stop contacting me," Rachel said, feeling her heart breaking. She kept thinking about Amsterdam and she imagined herself telling Monica all the wonders of that trip but she couldn't. Monica wouldn't understand. She'd want to discuss Chandler or things that no longer really concerned Rachel.

"What?"

"Look, I got your letter and I was hoping you would take the hint. I don't want to be your friend. We're at completely different levels in our lives. I'm dating a guy who is going to be a doctor. I'm guaranteed to be set for life. You wanna be a chef," Rachel said, feeling like she was outside herself. This did not seem real.

"So?"

"You knew our friendship was not going to last past high school," Rachel said, knowing that sounded mean but she need to cut ties. That stuff that she had done on that trip, Monica would never have done.

"But-"

"I gotta go. Have a good life, Mon."

And with that Rachel hung up and she began shaking and began to cry. She picked up the phone again and called Barry who immediately picked her up and took her to The Lake House, a five star restaurant in Long Island. This was definitely far removed from any outing at Scoops Ice Cream Shoppe or the abandoned drive in.

"It's sad though," Rachel said as they sat across from each other, eating chicken and steak.

"Yeah, but you did the right thing," Barry said.

"I did?"

"Yeah, what do you think she did this summer?"

"I don't know. I think she worked at a catering company."

"You don't need to work. I'll take care of you and we will see the world. You went to Amsterdam this summer. We had a threesome in the Red Light District. We went skinny dipping. She served cheese and crackers to strangers. She's not at your level anymore. You're so above that. You're above her."

"Yeah...although what am I going to do for Thanksgiving now?" Rachel asked. It sounded strange to think like that but maybe it was true? Monica's life was in the city. That was an hour, almost two hour drive away from her. Maybe Barry had a point.

"You'll spend it with my family. You come from a different world than she does. The world is your playground and I guarantee you, if you stick with me, you will never have to work a day in your life. You can sit at home, watch soaps and make clothes all day long."

"That sounds amazing," Rachel said, although a little amazed that he could make those promises now.

"It's a good life."

Rachel nodded. She had loved that summer and she was glad she didn't have to work, she didn't have to intern or cater to people as she knew Monica had. It would be nice to just travel and be taken care of and maybe Barry was right. Monica and Rachel were high school friends, that's all they were destined to be.