Short story that would take place after season 2's The O.Sea.

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the O.C. No characters, shows, episodes, etc, etc.

"What?" Seth asked as he could feel the blush spreading over his cheeks.

"What?" Summer repeated.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" she asked. The grin on her face widened as she pulled herself closer to him. Her arms could barely reach around him and up to his shoulders, but it was comfortable despite their difference in height. To be perfectly honest, she had been comfortable dancing with him even before she had understood what they were to each other. Even when he'd just been the only free guy at the Cotillion rehearsals and she had to stomp on his foot a few times to get him to be quiet, there was something comforting about being this close to him.

"Like I'm special or, like something really good. I don't know. It's just weird."

Summer laughed and moved her arms until she could wrap them around his neck. "You look at me like that all the time."

"Yeah, but that's me. You don't look at me like that."

"Do you even know what you did tonight, Cohen?" she asked, and her smile widened even more until Seth began to wonder if her face would crack if she kept it up.

"Yeah, I made a fool of myself. I got up in front of our entire class to ask for your forgiveness and proved that I am in fact the tool they were yelling I am."

"No," Summer shook her head. "Well, yeah, but… Do you know what else you did?"

"I totally screwed up my chances with George Lukas?"

"You said you loved me," Summer told him.

"Yeah. So?"

"Seth." Summer shook him as her smile faltered just the tiniest bit. "You said you loved me."
"Summer, I've loved you since we were ten. Everyone knows that. It's not like it's some huge confession."

"But you've never said it before."

"Of course I have." Seth shrugged, speeding up just slightly as the slow song changed to a quick one though he didn't move away from Summer.

"No, you haven't."

"Sure I have."

"Seth." Summer's features hardened as she stopped moving. She hissed at him through her teeth, all too aware that they were still on a stage in front of all their fellow classmates. "You have never told me you loved me before. This is huge and now you're ruining it."

"Well, I'm sorry to kill your moment, Summer, but I have said it before."

"No you haven't, Seth. I would have remembered."

"Apparently not because—" His sentence was broken by a loud gust of breath escaping his lungs as her fist collided with his stomach. It hadn't been nearly as hard as he knew she could punch, but it was hard enough for his arms to fall away from her and she raced from him before he could recover and try to keep her near him.

At least, he noticed taking in a quick scan of the room, that there was barely anyone watching them and witnessing his embarrassment.

He couldn't see her anywhere once he left the building and the cool night air hit him, but he did find Marissa and Ryan holding on to each other, their arms loosely wrapped around the other's body and their heads looking out in the darkness.

"Where did she go?" Seth asked them.

"She just ran out. She got in some limo and she was gone." Ryan shrugged.

"Shit."

"You'll find her," Ryan told him, tossing over his keys. Seth gave him a shrug to which Ryan nodded. "I'll get a ride back with Marissa."

"I owe you one, man." He started walking away, then turned to face the couple once more. "Aren't you curious why I'm here and not at dinner with George Lukas?"

"It's you and Summer. Nothing you two do surprises me anymore."

"Fair enough," Seth answered and sent the couple a wave before heading off toward the parking lot.

"You really think he's going to find her?" Marissa asked.

"He really got up on stage in front of the whole school and asked her for forgiveness?"

"The whole school isn't here, but yeah, basically."

Ryan sighed and shook his head softly. "Even Seth can't have screwed up that badly in the time between that confession and now. Summer will want him to find her, and he will."

"I hope so."

Ryan smiled gently at Marissa and leaned in for a soft kiss.

"So, do you think the Cohen's house is empty?"

"God I hope so," Ryan told her as he grabbed her hand and started pulling her away from the dance.

"I guess Ryan smartened up," Seth told her as he dropped Zach's jacket over her shoulders and sat next to her.

"Yeah, and I bet he isn't going to screw it up five seconds after she forgives him."

Seth couldn't help but smile despite the fact that he knew he was in a lot of trouble already. He reached out and pulled her to him so he could run his hands up and down her arms to warm her.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I'm not entirely sure. But I'm more than ready to apologize to stop from screwing up your dream prom even more."

"Even you must know what you did wrong, Seth," Summer chastised while leaning back against him. She shifted her legs and bottom, trying to find a comfortable position on the hard pier. If she'd known she was going to be spending the evening on the hard wood of the dock, she would have brought a blanket or pillow or something.

"I really don't know." Seth sighed. "Apparently you're mad because I said I love you?"

"I'm mad because you think you've said it to me before when you haven't." Summer wiped angrily at her cheeks, her skin tight where tears had been falling moments before. "You're probably remembering saying it to someone else like Anna or Alex or some hussy you met in Portland or something, and you think it's me. You can't just interchange me with any girl, Seth."

"Okay, first of all, stop calling me Seth." He told her, tightening his arms around her and leaning his head against hers. "Second of all, Portland?"

"It may come up every single time you screw up until the end of time."

"Good to know. Finally, it was you. It was you at the stupid comic book launch when I was on my knees trying to convince you that I was the one you needed in your life. Because I—"

"Told me you loved me and that you thought I did too."

Seth watched her, his eyes scanning up and down her face, trying to find something there other than the confusion and hurt he was seeing. "That's right. So I told you I loved you, and I told you you loved me as well."

"That doesn't count," Summer told him, shaking her head. "You just said it so I would pick you. So I would forgive you."

"I said it because I meant it, Summer. I meant it then, and I mean it now."

She took a deep breath, and chuckled with a shake of her head. "I suppose that if I don't take your declarations of love when you're trying to get me to forgive you I'll never hear them. Then again, if you say you love me every time you screw up, I will be hearing it a whole lot."

"I can say it as often as you want to hear. I love. I love you, Summer. I love you, Summer Roberts. I lo—"

"And I get it." She shook her head at him before snuggling into his shoulder and turning her body into him. "God, Cohen… How did you even know to find me here?"

"I love you. I always know where you are."
Summer raised a sceptical eyebrow at him.

"I was going to check the diner when I passed the limo."

"Oh."

"So why did you come here?"

"I don't know," Summer shrugged. "I didn't want anyone else to find me, I guess."

"So you came to visit the old Gimme Sex, did you?"

"Yeah, you're really going to have to fix that. It's supposed to be my name on that boat, you know."

"I do know," Seth agreed as he pulled her up off the dock.

"Plus that shark thing… no."

"We'll come out next week, and I'll paint anything you want on the catamaran, all right?"

"Good. Now I'm cold, so take me somewhere warm."

"Anything the queen wants," Seth told her, tugging at her crown without daring to remove it from her head. His hand dropped down to hers so they could lace their fingers together.

"Hey," Summer called to him, pulling him back toward her. "Me too, you know?"

"What?"

Summer smiled up at him. "I love you."

"You do?" Seth asked, his grin suddenly matching hers.

"Yeah," Summer confirmed with a sigh and a nod of the head. "I'm not quite sure why, but I definitely do."

Seth smiled and leaned down to meet her lips with his own. "That's good. It'll get me out of trouble the next time I screw up."

"You plan on screwing up again?"

"I don't plan on screwing up again, but I'm sure it will happen."

"Well, while you aren't in trouble, you want me to show you how much I love you?" she asked with a quick raise of her eyebrows.

"Please tell me your house is empty."

Summer nodded.

"I love you."

Summer simply laughed, moving ahead of him and pulling him along. He'd said it so she would chose him over Zach. He'd said it so she would forgive him. And now he was saying it to get her in bed. It didn't matter though. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of hearing it.