Here is chapter 2...hope you enjoy it.

Ross stood there frozen in time. His comprehension of this gorgeous person…Rachel Green…is it her at last standing in his presence? Along with his inability to speak, he was also inequitably divided…the teenager that had captured his attention with her popularity and beauty, in the past years had morphed into a beautiful desirable young woman.

"Ross, Ross Geller?" Her voice sounded miles and miles away. "ROSS….."

Ross shook his head to indeed make sure he was not dreaming. Soon, he gained enough composure to reply, "Rachel Green…is that you?" Words leaving his lips immediately left his consciousness…instead; his Father's words kept filtering through his mind, Mark my word son, someone else will show up.

Ross would have been more confident if he could have read Rachel's thoughts. She was inequitably divided also…She had remembered back to that geeky, shy neighbor who appeared to have no clue what was going on. Now, even though he appeared somewhat overwhelmed with her presence, his appearance had dramatically changed. He now carried a charisma quality and the preppy style appeared trendier which further pronounced his muscular stature. While Ross looked downward, she noticed his thick black hair had been very tastefully styled. The whole appearance worked in his favor. Suddenly Rachel was curious if he was available. She secretly scanned Ross' left ring finger...hmmm…no wedding band. Perhaps he was single again or then perhaps he just forgot to slip it on? Suddenly she thought to herself…why was she so interested?

"So Ross, what are you doing in Seattle?" Rachel inquired somewhat curiously.

Ross' face fell, "Well…uh that's a long story. I am recently divorced, so to get out of the doldrums; I decided to take this cruise. Chandler Bing, my old college roommate is traveling with me. Why are you here Rachel?"

"Oh…actually, this is a business trip. A few weeks back, I was hired as an Assistant Buyer at a stylish fashion shop in the Village named NJB. They are also the one's that booked me on the upcoming Alaskan cruise. My job is to spy on the latest trends, then report back what general direction the trends are heading for this fall and winter season." While replying to Ross, Rachel still could not remove her eyes from him.

Rachel somewhat relieved that he was single again inquired, "What ship are you boarding tomorrow?"

"The Ms. Zuiderdam."

Rachel in disbelief smiled, "Really…how coincidental? I'm booked on that very same ship."

"Great…hey listen, Monica is down the hall, why don't you go and say hi to her?" Ross was feeling uncomfortable.

Rachel's face fell. She felt disillusionment at Ross' sudden disinterest to cut short their conversation. She would have preferred their conversation continue, but she also would like to catch up on all the latest news about Ross with Monica. Oh well, she would see Monica numerous times while on the trip and she did need to get some rest. Tomorrow would be a tiring day.

Saturday AM

Rachel awoke earlier than usual. She sat up; looking over at the digital clock on the hotel bed stand...it was 6:30 am. Pushing back the covers, she stretched, got out of bed, took a quick shower and washed her hair. After drying her hair, Rachel wrapped the complimentary hotel robe around her waist and made some fresh coffee with the complimentary coffeemaker. Within a few minutes, she poured herself a cup of fresh coffee, opened the sliding window to the balcony and stepped outside. Her room, located on the twelfth floor, offered a penthouse view of the city. Looking out over that picturesque view, Rachel soon spotted Pugnet Sound. The sun reflecting off the water reminded her of sparkling Swarovski crystals. Pugnet Sound also houses abundant sea life, the most popular being the Giant Pacific Octopus (Octopus doflini) known to be the largest octopus in the world. Rachel closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh Seattle air through her nostrils. The scent of fresh seawater blended with the smell of fresh coffee was so Seattle. Rachel began to feel hunger pangs…now would be a good time to get a jump on the Continental Breakfast crowd whom more than likely were now making their way down to the hotel lobby.

The Hotel guests did have the same idea as Rachel's...the line at the buffet was extra long. "Quite a long line isn't it?" a familiar voice spoke from behind.

Rachel turned and looked up. She couldn't believe it...it was Ross and he was alone? "Yeah, I wanted to get a jump on the crowd?" she smirked attempting to hide her glee at his presence.

"Listen, I've got an idea. The City Grey Line tour started a half hour ago. If we take the hop-on and hop-off tour, we can grab a bite of breakfast wherever we desire, plus we will be getting in a tour Seattle. We don't have to be out of the hotel until 2:00 pm and the cruise ship is not leaving dock until 6:00 pm. How about it?" Ross' words just seem to automatically spill out.

Rachel pleased at the impulsive offer quickly replied, "Let's do it."

Ross helped Rachel get a step-up into the open top double-decker Grey Line tour bus. They ran up the steps to the top deck finding two seats towards the rear. The view of the city was awesome. The morning was not the norm for Seattle. It was crystal clear and sixty-five degrees. Rachel began to shiver. To provide some extra warmth, Ross put his arm around her for warmth. She approved and snuggled up next to him. As the bus left it's stop, tree limbs scrapped the windows causing some of the passengers on the upper deck to duck. Soon, they passed by the Seattle Space needle, Seattle's Center and Pioneer Square. As they entered the waterfront, Seattle Seahawk's stadium came into full view. On the far side of the waterfront sat Mt. Rainer. "You know Rachel; actually Mt. Rainer is actually a dormant volcano ready to blow." Rachel smiled and nodded. She was impressed with Ross' intelligence. Why had she not appreciated that quality before?

As the bus made it's way around a corner Ross pointed towards some buildings, "I spot an open restaurant on the pier, would you care to get off for some breakfast"? Rachel beginning to feel hungry herself agreed.

Ross and Rachel soon found an empty table on the pier. They sat down and ordered breakfast. As Rachel sipped her coffee Ross noted how the wind naturally blew her hair backwards revealing her perfectly structured features. After finishing their meal together of eggs benedict, they decided to take a long walk along the pier. The morning air felt fresh and clear. The smell of the fresh blue seawater seemed to revitalize the moment. Ross and Rachel stopped and looked at Mt. Rainer in the distance. Ross for some reason he couldn't explain had an uncontrollable urge to kiss her. He let go of his emotions, bent over, put his hands on her waist and pulled her over to him. His lips gently touched her gently. She was surprised by the impulsive move and then without any explanation, took his face in her hands and returned the passionate kiss. Every possible emotion, physical, longing, caring…was suddenly experienced by both. They were like Mt. Rainer in the background…bottled up, ready to explode.

to be continued

I was in Seattle last month and loved it. We took the hop-on, hop-off open-top bus trip around the city. Seattle, built on a sound and well known for it's consistent rain, was sunny and a pleasant seventy degrees.