"Look alive!"

Rachel shot up, blinking her eyes rapidly. She looked around the room, narrowing her eyes in Melissa's direction. Her friend was doubled over laughing. "Not funny."

"Late night?" Melissa asked her friend. She had stopped over at Rachel's house to see how the illustrations were coming. She'd been surprised to find Rachel nearly falling asleep at her desk.

"You could say that." Rachel yawned and rubbed her eyes. She gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Melissa handed her. She wondered how long she'd been asleep if Melissa had time to brew coffee.

"Anyone I know?" Melissa wiggled her eyebrows.

"JC."

Melissa froze, blinking in surprise. "Wow, there's a name I didn't expect you to mention."

"Right?" Rachel took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. "You can't make coffee for shit Mel." She sat it on the counter and grabbed the milk from the fridge. That and sugar was the only way to fix the disaster Melissa called coffee.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Melissa waved her off. "JC." She tapped the counter to get Rachel's attention. "I wanna hear more about this. God it's been years."

"You're telling me." Rachel still hadn't processed the fact that she had talked to him after so long.

"Still got the hots for him?" She teased, chuckling when Rachel blushed. "Ah! You do!"

"I don't know! It's been so long since... I haven't seen him in nine years I think it's been." Rachel sat at the kitchen table with her newly doctored coffee. "Kenzi ran in to him yesterday when she was selling Girl Scout cookies-"

"How much did she take him for?" Melissa interrupted knowingly taking a seat across from Rachel.

"More than Joey, less than Lance," Rachel laughed.

"Wait until I tell Joey that, he'll buy more just to beat him." She knew her husband's competitive nature. "Kenzi will blow her goals out of the water."

"When she got home it was JC this and JC that," Rachel said, running a finger around the top of her cup.

"Like mother like daughter," Melissa teased. "I remember when it was you that was JC this and JC that."

"That was a long time ago. Things have changed." Rachel broke in. Her life took her in a completely different direction than she thought it would. She had never planned it. The direction took her away from JC. Their paths had gotten close, almost meeting, then hers veered off suddenly.

"Not so much if you're still giddy as a school girl..."

"I'm not a school girl Mel. I'm a 34 year old with a 13 year old child."

"You're not dead."

"I just thought my life would be different," Rachel said quietly, looking down at her cup.

"I know you did," Melissa reached across the table and placed a comforting hand on Rachel's arm. "But here you are. You have a beautiful 13 year old daughter, who is just awesome. You have a loving and supportive family. Great friends. You have a career you love. So the man you wanted got away the first time. He's not off limits Rach. He never has been. He's still there for you to reel in. Don't let him get away this time."

*~*~*

Rachel was still thinking about Melissa's words later on her way to Lance's. She had always thought she'd end up marrying JC. She had many fantasies about their friendship progressing into a more romantic one. She crushed on him hard from the moment they'd met. Those feelings only grew the more she got to know him. She fantasized how they would get married and have a handful of kids. It had always been her dream to have at least four kids. One night had ruined every single dream she had. It had nearly ruined her.

After that night, her life had been different. She didn't dream the same dreams she had before. Those dreams were much too good for her. JC was too good for her. He deserved someone better. Someone who wasn't an unemployed, uneducated, knocked up, unwed twenty-one year old. Someone who could be there for him during the craziness that was being a member of one of the top musical acts.  She wasn't able to be that person for him anymore.

Now she was completely in a different place; both with her life and with her head. She had been able to go to college and graduate. Her parents, Stacy and Ford, plus their extended family had all pitched in to help with McKenzie while she pursued her education. Even though she forbade him, Lance helped with tuition. She had a steady career. Thanks to the childrens' books - a nice nest egg saved in the bank. She rented a nice house, in a good neighborhood, and was able to afford to put McKenzie in a nice school. The same one Briahna attended. There had never been a man though. No matter how many dates she went on, she couldn't make anything grow into a relationship. It was like that night had killed more of her than she realized.

Melissa had been right about one thing. It had been years since the two of them talked about her obsession with JC. There were many nights they sat up talking all night about her crush on the singer. The school girl crush she had on him had continued to morph in to something more. Yet she had never been able to tell him. They had always gotten along so well; had a lot in common. They could always talk to each other without fear of embarrassment. Melissa had hounded her countless times to tell JC about her feelings but she kept coming up with excuses not to tell him.

Then it was too late.

Pulling into Lance's she sighed and relaxed back into her seat. With her head back on the headrest she stared up at the interior. She tried not to think about how her life didn't turn out like she had thought. Thinking like that had never gotten her anywhere. She had McKenzie and she couldn't imagine not having her in her life. Maybe Melissa was on to something. As far as she knew, JC was single. If he wasn't Melissa would have told her. She could reel him in; see if there were lingering feelings for either of them. If not, then she could finally put to rest the dreams she still had of them.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed her phone and quickly sent off a text. ‘You busy tomorrow? Wanna grab lunch and catch up?'

Embarrassment set in when it was too late to recall the text. Unable to face it, she shoved her phone in her purse. Her keys followed suit. Climbing from the vehicle she went to the back, lifting up the hatch. Inside lay a finished painting she had done for someone Lance knew. Lance was gonna deliver it for her.

Inside the house she was met with barking dogs who had come running at the sound of the door. Sitting the wrapped painting against the wall, she knelt down to properly greet the dogs. "Hey Foster," she rubbed his head, scratching behind his ears. She laughed when Dingo wormed his way in. "I got two hands; no need to get jealous. Plenty of love to go around." When she gave them ample amount of scratches and love, she pushed off the floor and walked into the house, searching for her brother or Michael. She found them outside by the pool.

"It must be nice to just lounge poolside all day long," Rachel teased. "All that's missing is a cabana boy serving you drinks, fanning you with a palm frond."

"You're here now."

Rachel laughed at her brother's fiancé. "Left my palm frond at home." She nudged Lance's leg until he scooted over giving her enough room to sit on the lounger.

Lance chuckled at his sister. "What are you up to today?"

"Brought that painting over today," she told him. "It's all finished and ready for you to deliver."

"Great. I'll let him know I have it and I'll probably get it to him this weekend." Lance said. "I saw the photo Kenzi posted on Facebook yesterday of her and JC. How many cookies did she con him in to buying?"

Rachel laughed. "Not as many as you I'm told."

"What kind of uncle would I be if I didn't buy the most?" Lance chuckled. "Besides, I leave them by the desk in the basement and the guests end up taking what they want."

"That how you get people to come on your show? Bribe them with Girl Scout cookies?" Rachel teased. Lance hosted a daily radio show on Sirius. It broadcast from his basement. He had a broad range of topics and guests, but it was mostly pop culture and the current news in the entertainment world.

"You're such a brat." Lance told his sister. "It's my charming personality and good looks that get them to come on."

"You do have a face for radio," Rachel mused, laughing when Lance's arm shot out and slapped her on the thigh.

"Better watch it, your face isn't all that different."

"What are you guys doing for spring break?" Rachel asked, changing the subject.

"When is it?"

"Kenzi's is in two weeks."

Lance looked at Michael who shrugged. "Nothing right now. Why?" He looked back to his sister. He frowned seeing the look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Rachel sighed. "It's just Kenzi is missing everyone back home... she wants to have everyone get together. She wants to go on some grand vacation with everyone, but she doesn't realize the planning it would take and it is such a short notice. God, she was on the phone last night with Leighton talking about it. You should have heard the earful Stacy gave me."

Lance laughed. "I can imagine." He'd been on the receiving end of Stacy's rants plenty of times. "So what did you want to do?"

"Well, I figure maybe we can plan a family vacation toward the end of summer, maybe even July, and go somewhere."

"Kenzi gonna be happy being put off until summer?"

"No. Which is why I thought, we could all go back to Mississippi for the week. You guys too. I know it's not what Kenzi wants..." She shrugged. "I don't even know when Stacy's kids are on spring break."

"Sure." Lance said looking at Michael, seeing him nod. "We're down. Just let me see if I have anything going on that week and if I can reschedule. You talk to Mom yet? Stacy let you get a word in while she yelled at you?"

Rachel laughed. "No. My ear was still ringing an hour later. I'll call her after I leave here and see what she says. Mom as well."

"Let me know. Maybe we can get some place on the coast for a few days."

"Sure, I'll call you later." Rachel stood up from the lounger. She leaned down, kissing Lance on the cheek, following suit with Michael. "You guys are looking a little red, time to turn over."

She left the patio to their goodbyes and I love yous. Her purse was on the floor by the door next to the painting. She picked it up as she walked out the door. When she rifled through her purse for her keys that magically seemed to always fall to the bottom, she saw her phone. The display had lit up revealing a couple of texts from JC. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach and she lifted the phone in trepidation.

‘We could grab lunch now, if you wanted.'

‘But tomorrow is good too if you're busy. When and where?'

Rachel let out a little shriek and did a little dance in her seat. Now she wished she hadn't hid her phone in embarrassment so she could have taken him up on the offer for lunch today. One look in the rear view mirror had made that decision for her. It was fine to visit her brother like this, but she could not go out to lunch with JC.

‘Sorry about that. I was at Lance's. I can't do lunch today. How about...I don't even know where you live. Don't want to make you come out of your way.'

‘I'm down with wherever. I live in West Hollywood.'

Rachel grimaced. She lived in Calabasas. It was over an hour distance between them and that wasn't including traffic. It was bad enough driving to Lance's. ‘I'm all the way in Calabasas.'

‘I told you I don't mind driving.'

‘There is a really good place in Culver City. Mel and I went there a few weeks ago. It's called It's In The Bread.'

‘Yeah. I know the place. It's off Pico and Fairfax. Meet you there around 12?'

‘Perfect! See you then!'