The next evening, Boston...

Skye could barely breathe, she was laughing so hard. She had gotten in Chase's car completely downtrodden and annoyed. Now, ten minutes later, she was was begging to change her opinion of the evening. When they had finally caught their breathes, he flashed her a smile that, much to her dismay, made her stomach flip. She was getting really tired of these hormones.

"You know, Skye, I've never gone out with anyone on the second day that I've known them."

She laughed. "Neither have I. In fact, I've never been out with anyone, ever."

He looked surprised. "This is your first date?"

"Yes. Consider it an honor."

He stared at her, shaking his head slightly. "I will..." He bit his lip. "Skye, what made you say yes when I asked you, if you've never been on a date before?"

Winking, she smirked at him. "It must have been the black hole interest."

Chase smiled softly. If she wasn't going to tell him the reason, he wasn't going to push it. "So, do you have a big family?" He chuckled as she widened her eyes and nodded emphatically.

"Oh, yes. There are seven of us kids. How about you?"

"I'm the oldest of fourteen."

Skye's jaw dropped. "And they could afford to send you to MIT!?" Immediately, she winced. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't pry." As pause, as he looked at her, waiting. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her. "Oh, come on! Tell me!"

He threw back his head in laughter before grinning at her. "That's a very reasonable question. Actually, if I hadn't gotten a scholarship, I never would have been able to come. As it is, though, MIT is paying for everything. It ended up being cheaper for me to come here than to just go to our local community college." She nodded, and he parked the car.

She looked up at the restaurant, liking the looks of it, already. It was a small, Italian restaurant. Wait, Italian? Confused, she looked back at Chase. He smiled apologetically.

"The Thai place I like closed. Sorry."

Shaking her head, she smiled. "No worries. I've only had Thai food once, and I think I killed quite a few of my taste buds with the spices."

As they sat down at their table, Skye was instantly drawn by the music in the background. Whoever was playing was very talented. As she got a glimpse of who it was, though, she felt a smile form on her face. No wonder it sounded so good. It was Jeffrey and Alec. Turning to Chase, she smiled.

"Come here, I want you to meet some of my friends." Still grinning, she crept around the bandstand and waited until they came to the end of his song. Then, she tapped them both on the shoulder. Now Jeffrey had no way to escape.

When Jeffrey first felt someone tap him on the shoulder, he just assumed that it was a waiter. As he turned around, through, he had to do a double take. There, right behind him, stood Skye Penderwick, grinning.

Her blue eyes were flashing with humor and she looked lovelier than he had even remembered. Jumping up from the piano bench, he hugged her, and then let her go. As she hugged Alec, he smiled. Gosh, he had missed her.

"How long have you been in Boston for?"

She grinned. "Three days."

Three days... That was a bit of a shock for Jeffrey, and his smile wavered for a second. Catching himself, he moved to punch her in the should, which she easily dodged. "Were you going to tell us that you were in town?" he asked, teasingly. He watched, confused, as she bit her lip and winced slightly, looking slightly guilty.

"Well... No. I knew you guys were super busy and, besides, I'm only here for a week, and most of my time has been dedicated to the conference I'm in town for."

"Oh, really?" Alec was looking over her shoulder and smirking. For the first time, Jeffrey noticed the smiling young man who was standing in the shadows behind her.

Skye followed their gazes with her own, and blushed slightly. Silently, she beckoned the dark-haired, grey-eyed young man forward. Stepping to the side slightly, she began the introductions.

"Alec, Jeffrey, I'd like you to meet Chase Stevenson. Chase, I'd like you to meet Alec McGrath and Jeffrey Tifton-McGrath." She grinned. "Alec and Jeffrey are some of my oldest and best friends. My family's known them for ages."

Chase smiled and shook hands all around. "It's very nice to meet you."

Alec smirked. "Same." He glanced at Skye, and then back at Chase. "Skye, could it be that you are actually on a date?" He winked at her, and she fought a blush. Chase looked at her, and a tint of red could be seen in his face, too.

Determined not to be caught in a sappy situation, Skye glared at the father of her best friend. "We have been discussing black holes and dark matter."

"So you are on a date." Sighing, Skye nodded slowly. Alec was chuckling. If only he knew how much pain he had, inadvertently, caused his son.

An hour and a half later...

Jeffrey was still in a state of shock. Skye. In Boston. Without letting him know. On a date! With a fellow astrophysics lover. He sighed and lay down on his bed. Gosh, he had been stupid.

For some reason, he had gotten the idea that Skye would wait for him, even though he hadn't ever mentioned his feelings. But why would she have? Here she was, a young, gorgeous, likable girl, and he expected her never to fall in love.

And Chase! She would have been a fool to refuse a date with a guy like that. In the ten or so minutes that they all had talked before the two had gone back to their table he could tell that the grey-eyed man and Skye were cut from the same cloth.

Sighing again, Jeffrey rolled over. He had now lost any chance of having Skye as his own, and he had sacrificed their friendship for nothing. And this was what people called the wonderful game of life.

Meanwhile...

Chase sighed and leaned on the front door, looking this amazing girl in the face. "Skye?" She smiled at him. "Look, Skye, I had planned to use this time to ask you out on a second date..." Trailing off, he sighed again. "I'm sorry, but I just can't do that now, not on a clear conscience, at least."

She stared into his eyes through the darkness. "I don't understand..."

"Skye, he's in love with you." Her eyes widened in shock, and she raised and eyebrow.

"Who?!"

"Your friend: Jeffrey."

As her face exploded in surprise, she took a step back. "No, he isn't. We're good friends, best friends, but that's all."

He smiled sadly. Was she really that blind. "No, Skye, he loves you, it's obvious. And what's more, I think you love him, too."

Now Skye was really frightened. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, Skye. Can't you see it? The way you two smile at each other. The way you are so comfortable in each other's presence. You know him inside-out and he known you the same way. You can't know someone that well and not fall in love with them."

"But -"

"Yes?"

She looked him right in the eye and swallowed thickly. "Can I be perfectly honest with you?" He nodded. "Alright. Look - I like Jeffrey. I really really do. But I've never thought of being in love with him. I think I could be, if I let myself, but it just doesn't feel very powerful. I mean -" Here she stopped and blushed, looking down. "Chase, when I first met you, yesterday, I was swamped by such a rush of hormones that I didn't have any idea what I was doing. Two of my sisters are very romantic, and they always have said that falling in love is like being hit by a truck. I never have, and I still don't, believe that, but I've never felt any sort of loss of control with Jeffrey. Oh, I'm so confused!"

Chuckling, he smiled down at the girl next to him. "Oh, Skye. If it makes you feel any better, I felt the same way about you. It took all of my control not to kiss you when you first opened the door. But, Skye, think about it. Do you still feel that way about me?" She shook her head, rather shocked that she hadn't noticed the change. "No offense, but neither do I. You see, Skye. Humans have evolved to have that chemical reaction so that they have a drive to connect with a potential mate. It doesn't usually las very long, and then it either disappears or it becomes basic, simple, love. How long have you known Jeffrey?"

"Six years."

"You see? You were too young to have that reaction when you first met him, and then you were used to him by the time those hormones developed. I have a feeling that you've been in love with him for quite a while, but, because of the exaggerated emotions that we're all told to expect when we fall in love, you haven't known it before now."

He watched, silently, as what he was saying took root in Skye's mind and her eyes lit up. Grinning, she kissed him, heartily, on the lips.

"Thank you so much, Chase! Lunch tomorrow? As friends?"

He laughed and nodded. Turning around, she ran inside. Just as he was starting to walk back to his car, the front door flew open again, and Skye's blonde head poked out.

"Oh! And Chase? If you ever need a date, anywhere, give me a called, okay?"

"Okay! And ditto!"

Satisfied with his work, the young man walked the rest of the way to his car with a bounce in his step and a whistle on his lips. Life was a wonderful thing.

Well, there it is. Please give me some feedback. There will probably only be one more chapter. :-) Thank you for the reviews.

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