TITLE: The Sleepless
CHAPTER SEVEN: Change of Scenery
SPOILERS/SUMMARY/etc.: See chapter one.
Kirsten hadn't meant to fall asleep, it just... seemed inevitable. Whenever she was in front of the TV late in the evening, her eyes would always slip closed, like some sort of strange, Pavlovian response. She slowly opened her eyes and moved to prop herself up, her hand immediately pressing against soft fabric and taut muscle. Her eyes came fully open. "Where am I?"
The chest beneath her fingertips rumbled with laughter, and Kirsten met Ryan's smiling eyes. "If I said you were on Mars, would you believe me?"
"Ryan, I'm so sorry!" She pushed herself off him and allowed him to sit up, her eyes absently noting the small, darkened spot on his shirt. She covered her eyes, which were already shut in a pained expression. "Oh God, and I drooled on you."
Ryan had cooked her dinner, a wonderful rigatoni dish as well as a salad and bread, and they'd ventured into the living room to cuddle up for some TV. Almost like a real couple, she realized with a start, then immediately shook the thought away.
Ryan, not noticing her sudden vacant expression, chuckled and reached over his head for the remote on the back of the couch. "No worries. I took it as a compliment." After flicking the television off, he sat up with a grunt and draped his arm across the back of the couch, kissing Kirsten's forehead when she leaned into him.
"Ah!" She immediately jumped back when her ear touched something cold and wet.
He laughed again. "The drool?"
"Yeah." She rubbed her ear. "My God. Now I know what Seth was talking about."
"Huh?"
"I accidentally fell asleep on him once during some..." She waved her hand dismissively as she shook her head, "some Kung Fu movie he and Sandy forced me to watch, and he claimed that I drooled so much he had to throw out his shirt."
Ryan grinned. "I dunno about that." He glanced down at himself, craning his neck to see the dark spot. "I think this shirt's still salvageable."
Kirsten mirrored his grin and leaned in to kiss him, pulling away with a sigh. "So what should we do now?" She arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Head back to the poolhouse, like usual?"
Ryan tilted his head. "Actually... I have a better idea."
The sand felt amazing beneath her bare feet, cool on the surface but still warm beneath from where the sun had soaked through earlier in the day. The ocean crashed loudly as she and Ryan ran laughing across the beach, heading for the lifeguard tower, one of her hands held tight within his while the other held her shoes. They ran up the wooden plank together and collapsed, still laughing, against the stand, both sinking to the deck.
Kirsten immediately snuggled up to him, leaning her head on his shoulder as she sighed wistfully, "What a great idea."
"I just figured it'd be a nice change of scenery from the pool house. And we don't even have to do... anything."
So they sat and watched the waves lap at the shore... watched the sun fully disappear beneath the horizon, and watched the silvery moon claim its reign over the night sky, stars twinkling overhead. Kirsten had never felt so relaxed, yet so energized at the same time. She felt seventeen again, with Ryan. She wanted to stay seventeen forever.
She watched their hands, joining on the thigh of his bent right leg, fingers slowly twining together, and her heart skipped a beat. Such a natural fit. She sighed again when she felt Ryan's lips dusting across her forehead, gently down the bridge of her nose until their lips met. Still feeling seventeen, she posed a coy question just as their lips touched. "Wanna make out?"
His answering laugh puffed against her lips. "Thought you'd never ask. But first..." he pulled away and jerked his head toward the beach, "you wanna move this onto the sand? It'd probably be more comfortable."
Kirsten inclined her head slightly, sending him a coquettish smile. "I like the way you think."
Ryan rose and offered his hand to his blonde deity, winking when she placed her hand inside his. He pulled her to her feet and led her back down the plank, down the beach until they were just a few yards away from the waves. The breeze off the water blew her hair all around her and she giggled, attempting to push it down as it was obstructing her view.
Ryan just grinned and wrapped his arms around her, lowering her to the sand as their lips connected. Another breeze peppered her arm with goosebumps and he leaned over her, blanketing her body with his. "I'll keep you warm," he promised in a whisper, trailing kisses down her neck.
"You always do," she whispered back, and ran her fingers through his hair.
They kissed and touched for what felt like hours with the scent of sand and sea salt swirling around them. When Ryan's hand began trailing up her leg, bringing her long white skirt up with it, she grinned against his lips. "Why -- Mr. Atwood -- do I get the feeling that there's more on your mind than making out?"
His lips smiled back against hers. "Because there is."
"Hmm." She allowed him to push her skirt up around her waist while she reached for the button on his jeans.
"You're not afraid someone will see us, are ya?" he teased, while easing her underwear down.
Kirsten gave him a smoldering look through her lashes. "Just lose the pants."
His eyes widened briefly before he hurriedly went to work on his zipper. "Yes ma'am."
They remained practically fully clothed... only her underwear missing and his pants pushed down far enough to expose him... and the fact that anyone could drive by and see them added a sense of excitement and urgency to their coupling. No cars passed, for which they were grateful, and the sounds of the ocean cloaked their cries of passion.
Kirsten stifled her laughter and finished dusting the sand out of Ryan's hair as they crept into the darkened Cohen house, the silver beams of the moon their only source of light. "Get some sleep," she whispered, looking around for prying eyes before leaning in to softly kiss him. "I'll see you in the morning."
Ryan nodded and pecked her cheek, giving her a grin over his shoulder while he headed in the direction of the poolhouse. Kirsten watched him go, then sighed quietly, forcibly wiping the wide smile off her face as she made her way to the master bedroom.
She paused outside the door before reaching for the knob, twisting it as inaudibly as she could before allowing the door to swing open. She spotted Sandy's slumbering form already in bed and she tiptoed over to her own side, kicking her shoes under the bed and making a silent promise to herself to pick them up tomorrow. For now, she was too exhausted. Ryan made her feel seventeen, yes, but even her inner seventeen-year-old was worn out.
"You're home."
Kirsten jumped visibly and whipped her head around to see Sandy turning on his side to face her and scrubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He smiled that lovely, pearly smile at her that she fell in love with all those years ago. "Where were you, honey?"
She forced a smile and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I just felt like getting out of the house tonight, so I wandered down to the beach."
"Yeah? Ryan go with ya?"
"Yeah, he followed after awhile. It was a beautiful night out." Carefully keeping her eyes from her husband's, she went around the bed toward their dresser, where she pulled out a pair of pajamas and began to change.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Sandy swung his legs over the side of the bed and slowly rose to his feet, padding over to his wife and snaking his arms around her waist when she was stripped down to her bra and panties. "Who said anything about pajamas tonight?"
Kirsten's heart bumped up into her throat, and she feigned a soft chuckle. "What?"
Sandy snatched the pajamas out of her hand and held them behind his back while he leaned in for a kiss. "I think maybe we should go au naturel tonight, honey. Whaddya say?"
She flashed a bright, but coy, smile while gently disentangling herself from her husband. "I say we both get a full night's sleep. What with your late nights and all, I'm sure you're exhausted."
His smile faded, but he nodded with understanding. "You're right."
Kirsten couldn't help the grin. "Say that again?"
Sandy leaned in to give her a quick peck once more before going back over to the bed. "I'm not repeatin' it," he chuckled.
She smiled to herself, a bit sadly, as she watched him get into bed and pull the covers back over himself, turning on his side. Sandy Cohen. She remembered being twenty-two at Berkeley and having her books gathered to her chest while she hurried toward her next class. She had crashed in to somebody and felt the strangest drop in her stomach; when she looked up, she saw Sandy Cohen. That, in a sense, was when she knew she was supposed to be with him.
And it was that sensation that had caused her concern several months before, when she and Ryan nearly collided in the kitchen at dinner-time. She'd only ever felt that sensation with Sandy... and now Ryan. With Sandy, she'd taken it as a sign that they were supposed to be together. With Ryan, she wasn't quite sure how to take it.Someone cannot be meant for more than one person, can they? She'd always seen the idea of 'soul mates' as being a pair of people destined for each other; a pair that share things where it's good for the relationship, and differ where it's good for the relationship.
That was she and Sandy to a T. But what about she and Ryan? Ryan had a completely opposite background as she, much like Sandy. Ryan rejuvenated her, much like Sandy had when she was in her early twenties. She had been growing tired of being the waspy, cotillion-attending daughter of Caleb Nichol when Sandy had come along. And then she had grown tired of being the Newpsie, Newport-Group-bigwig daughter of Caleb Nichol, wife of Sandy Cohen, and mother of Seth Cohen when Ryan had come along.
"Honey?"
"Yeah?" She turned over her shoulder, only realizing upon turning around that she'd been staring out at the poolhouse.
Sandy chuckled softly. "Are you comin' to bed tonight or not?"
Kirsten smiled. "Yes, I'm coming." She made her way over to the bed and pulled back the covers, sliding between them and leaning over to give Sandy a kiss before she turned to lie on her side. When Sandy curled around her, she patted his arm and sighed to herself, staring out the window at the sleeping city of Newport Beach; and just before she drifted off, she promised herself to sort out her feelings for both of the men in her life in the morning.
TBC
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry, as usual, for the long stretch between updates. This is actually the last complete chapter that I have, because I am unbelievably stuck on this one. I've got lots of other Rysten stories I'm working on, but as far as this one goes? Don't know where to take it next.
That's where you come in. If any of you have ideas for where to go with it, let me know. I know for certain that I'll be bringing Julie back into it at some point... and more sex is pretty much a given ;)
Where else would you like to see me take it? Hit that little 'review' button at the bottom of the screen and let me know!
