By the way, this story is based on a true story and on events from season 9, I just kind of merged them together.

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"You could be good for me -
I've had a taste for the danger...
Heaven forbid,
I take a chance on a beautiful stranger..."

"I looked into your eyes,
and my world came tumbling down..."

On the plane I was lucky enough to be sitting next to a little old woman who couldn't be any younger than eighty. As we prepared to take off she smiled at me.

"Is this your first time to Vermont?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No, I've been there before. Never to Burlington or the areas around it though, I've been to other areas to go skiing a few times. Have you been there before?"

She let out a small laugh. "Oh heaven's yes. I grew up there. My sister still lives there, so I go out and visit when I can."

I smiled. "That's nice."

"We should introduce ourselves. I always make it a habit of getting to know my seatmate. My name is Minietta, but you can call me Minnie," she introduced.

I decided now was a good time to start practicing my acting skills. "I'm Ben," I said, taking her hand. It was the first name that popped into my head.

"I have a son named Ben," she said. "His youngest son, my grandson Tim, is about your age too. Are you in college?"

You have to love old people. They're small, they're nice, and they think you're ten years younger than you really are, "Yes ma'am, I'm studying Shakespearean Literature. I want to become a writer someday."

That's what I really wanted to do with my life anyway. "Oh my, well that's wonderful, dear. Why are you flying to Vermont?"

My mind spun, why was I flying to Vermont? "To visit my girlfriend," I answered. Minnie patted my arm. "Aren't you sweet."

"I try. She came out to visit me at Christmas. I wanted to come for Valentine's Day but this was the only weekend I could get away." I was amazed at how easily a story came once I stopped trying.

"Valentine's Day is any day you treat the one you love specially," Minnie said with a smile.

She and I talked on and on, and I discovered I was an even better liar than I thought I was. The flight passed quickly, and sooner than I expected the pilot was welcoming us to Vermont. Minnie and I walked together to get our luggage. After she retrieved hers and spotted her sister she smiled at me.

"You have a lovely weekend, Ben," she said.

"Have a good time with your sister," I said in return. She made a face and pulled my arm gently so I'd bend down.

"We fight like cats and dogs, but as soon as I leave she starts begging me to come back. She's getting senile, the old bat," she whispered, then winked at me.

I laughed loudly and waved as she walked away. After she was gone I stood holding my bags, feeling a little stupid, now what? I wandered over to the rent-a-car counter.

"Can I help you?" the balding clerk asked listlessly.

"Yeah, actually. Could you recommend a place to stay?"

"You want to be near good slopes?"

"Excuse me?" I said. The man rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Do you ski? Do you want a place near good ski slopes?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah, sure." He eyed me.

"Is that a yes or a no?" he pressed. Suddenly a small, middle-aged woman joined him behind the counter, smacking him on the arm.

"Give him a break, Mike," she chastised, then smiled at me.

"You want a good place to stay?" She said nicely.

"Yeah. Nothing fancy, just..." I shrugged and grinned. "Just cozy," I finished.

"Typical tourist," Mike grumbled.

The woman's smile widened. "I got just the place for you. Are you renting a car?"

"Uh, actually I was just going to take a taxi."

Mike groaned and walked away. "All this work and he doesn't even want to rent a car," he muttered.

The woman shook her head at him and wrote for a minute. When she finished she handed me the paper.

"You just give that to your driver, if they're any good they'll get you there no problem."

"Thanks a lot," I said to her. As I walked away I read what she had written. It was only directions, no name or anything. Oh well, this was all part of going with the flow, what did I have to lose? I called a taxi.

When the taxi pulled to a stop it was like the woman had read my mind. The place was small and quaint; exactly what someone would picture when they'd think of a cozy ski lodge in the mountains. I quickly reserved a room for two nights and went to check it out.

It was small but not too small. There was a king-size bed, two arm chairs, a table, a night stand and a small TV. On the walls were paintings of the lodge from different years and angles, and on the bed was a handmade quilt. In short, it was perfect. I fell onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. I had really done it, I was here. Away from everything. For a whole weekend I was free of everyone, everyone who expected something from me anyway. I could sit in this room and for three straight days and do nothing but eat, sleep, watch porn and drink myself into a stupor if I wanted. But that's not what I wanted to do. What I did instead was head downstairs to the bar for a drink.

The place was near empty when I arrived. My guess was that it was still early so most people were probably still skiing. I ordered a beer and looked around. There were a few people scattered at tables. The person that caught and held my attention was the only other one at the bar.

I'd always been known for being dramatic, the gang constantly harped on me for exaggerating and stretching the truth. So, maybe it would have been just another example of my dramatic flair if I was to say it was love at first sight. Maybe it was just attraction or curiosity. But I doubted it. She was dressed simply, just in jeans and a bulky sweater. Her long blonde hair was swept over one shoulder, and (this was the kicker), she was reading a book, who read a book in a bar? And it wasn't one of those Danielle Steele numbers, it looked like heavy-duty literature. She was engrossed in her reading, occasionally a smile would flicker across her face. She took a sip of whatever it was she was drinking and looked at me.

'You are just here to have fun,' I tried to remind myself as I stared into her eyes, my heart pounding, 'and you love Monica!- or is that what she made you believe?'

'If you love Monica so much, why are you here staring at me?' her eyes asked before she returned to reading.

I shook my head quickly, freedom was going to my brain. I couldn't get carried away. 'But it would be rude now after staring at her to not at least say hello,' I thought. Besides, she was alone, I was alone. Maybe she was lonely. Somehow, though, she didn't strike me at all as the type of girl who was ever really lonely. She probably loved being by herself. I could understand that. I should probably just leave her alone.

'It's already too late for that. Looking at her sucked you in, it's just a matter or time now,' a voice said from the darkest corner of my mind. Almost as if she read my thoughts again she looked up at me.

"When are you planning on coming over here so we can start this?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Start what?" I questioned.

She smiled. "Start seducing me," she said. I smiled back and approached her slowly.

"What makes you think I want to seduce you?" Why the hell did I never have this luck in college when I went to bars?

"If you hadn't you never would have come in here," she responded. I laughed.

"You think I knew you were in here?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Maybe not consciously. Either way, you're over here now, aren't you?"

"You certainly are sure of yourself," I commented.

"No, I'm just sure of you."

"Is that right? Well, what do you think I'm planning on doing now?" I quizzed her.

"Hopefully sitting down and introducing yourself," she answered.

"Hopefully? Why, do you have money riding on it?"

"No, just a lot of personal interest," she responded with a grin. I smiled too. She played the game a lot better than I did. Feeling as if I was throwing the pebble down the mountain that started an avalanche, I sat down and held out my hand. "You win," I told her.

Her grin widened. "I usually do."

Monica always wins too, but with this girl it felt like I was still winning even if she said she won.

The girl smiled at me and took my hand. "And your name is?"

I knew I'd be talking to her again so I had to pick something closer to home. "Chad," I said, "And you are...?"

"Athena, but most people call me Thene," she said. I raised my eyebrows.

"Really? How'd you end up with a name like that?"

"My dad was a Greek mythology professor. He wanted to give me a name that 'radiated strength, intelligence and beauty'. That's how he always put it." For a split second it seemed her eyes glossed over, but with a blink the tears I thought I'd seen were gone.

"Plus I have gray eyes, and supposedly Athena did too," she explained.

"Are you from around here?"

"No, not really."

"Neither am I. What brings you here?" I asked. Thene tilted her head slightly, a faint smile gracing her lips.

"I needed a change of pace this weekend. How about you?"

I considered her and her answers. She was keeping a real air of mystery about herself, who knew if her name was really Athena? Not that I could criticize. I decided I'd just play the same game until she opened up. "Same here, life just got dull. What's that you're reading?"

She folded the corner of the page she was on and closed the book, showing me the title - 'The Complete Works of Shakespeare'. I felt a chill go through me. That was just coincidence...right? 'None of this is coincidence,' the voice in my head answered. "Can I buy you one of whatever you're drinking?" I asked lightly.

"You could if you really wanted, but ice water's free," she informed wryly.

"Well, can I get you anything other than water?" I asked, trying to save face.

She smiled. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

I looked into her eyes. They were gray, like she said, but there were shades of purple and blue swirled in too. It was like they were challenging me and inviting me all at once.

"OK, now I'm stuck. I've introduced myself, I've met the girl, I've offered to buy the girl a drink. Now what? I was never very good at this."

Thene smirked. "Something tells me you don't need my help," she said.

"And why is that?"

"Because your smile gives away the fact that you have done this many, many times."

"And failed many, many times before this. So some suggestions from you would be great."

"Why?"

I flashed her what I considered my sexiest smile. "Because this is the first time I've ever seduced you," I told her.

She smiled widely. "Hmm, that's true...well, you DID forget the crucial complimenting of the girl."

"You're right, I did. Athena, has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"

"Yes, they have, but it never hurts to hear it again."

"No, no, I have to be original...has anyone ever told you hypnotized them from across the room just by reading a book?" I asked softly.

She studied my face. "No," she finally said. "No one. Has anyone ever told you they were waiting for you before they even knew you existed?"

It was about now that the rational side of me woke back up and made its presence known. I was standing really close to the edge. 'This is just a weekend to get away. This girl is nothing extraordinary, you've met prettier, nicer, more forward, more everything. Wait, what the hell am I talking about, no I haven't, but you love Monica' a tiny frantic voice cried. I might have loved Monica, but at that moment I couldn't even picture her face. In fact, as much as I hated to admit it, in the part of my mind that was in control, the part that craved living minute-to-minute and acting on impulse, I was already cheating on her. It was almost as if I had really become some guy named Chad, and all Chad could think about was Thene. She had already entranced me and I barely knew more than her name.

'Chandler, this is exactly the stupid things people would expect you to do, you idiot. It's fun to pretend, but in three days you go back to being Chandler Bing, and all that entails. Walk away from this while you still can," my rationale tried to reason with me. 'That's a crock, it's already too late. Don't fight it,' that prophetic voice boomed.

"Would you like to go outside and make a snowman with me?" Thene asked suddenly, looking innocent and nothing at all like the girl who had just been coming on to me.

I knew if I left the bar with her that would be it, things would just landslide into the inevitable. I wish I could say I paused and really took things into consideration. I wish I could say it was even a decision, but it wasn't. There was only one place I wanted to be, wherever Thene was.

"I'd love to," I said, smiling, and arm in arm we left the bar.