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Chapter 9
Taylor blocked a punch before she swept her leg out knocking the vampire's legs out from under him. She quickly staked him before he could recover. Applause from off to her left startled her.
"Nice."
"Thank you."
Another vamp lunged for her, obviously hoping to take care of her 'distraction'. She ducked, grabbed his arm, and flipped him over to land with a thud at her feet. One sharp jab of her stake later, she was kneeling next to a pile of dust.
"Uhm, Taylor?"
She looked up to see Ryan holding a female vampire at arm's length, fist cocked. He didn't seem to be straining much as he prevented it from reaching him, but his reluctance to punch a girl, even a demon one, was blatant.
"You've really got to get over this 'won't hit a girl thing'," Taylor said staking the vampire from behind. "Trust me, vampire guys have no qualms about hitting me."
"Yeah, but they suck."
"Literally."
"You got some dust," he reached out and brushed cheek gently with his thumb.
"Occupational hazard," she said. "So, I think I've done my duty for the night. Thanks for understanding about the stop."
"No problem."
The two of them walked towards the entrance of the graveyard and found Taylor's bike behind the bushes where Ryan had hid it after disobeying Taylor's request to 'stay put'.
"So, you still want dinner?"
"Sure. Diner or Crab Shack?"
"I've got a better idea." Taylor handed him the helmet he'd been wearing before climbing onto the bike. Ryan smiled and strapped on the helmet before getting on behind her and putting his arms around her waist.
--xxx--
"What is this place?"
"Seth and I found it one day when we went riding to break the bike in," Taylor said spreading a blanket on the ground. "You got the food?"
"Uh, yeah. You had the chili dog and the soda, right?"
"Right," she said sitting down after she'd taken her food from Ryan. "Tonight's movie selection is Cool Hand Luke. C'mon, park it."
Ryan sat down next to her with his own food and smiled, "This is better than the diner or the Crab Shack."
"You really don't mind? I kind of wanted some alone time for our first date."
"Works for me."
"Somehow, I thought it might," Taylor smiled at him. "Have you ever seen this before?"
"No. I never went to the movies much in Chino."
"You go parking instead?"
"Sometimes. Sometimes we did...other things."
"Like what?"
"Things that weren't exactly legal. Other stuff."
"Okay." Taylor nodded as she sipped her soda. "Enough said. By the way, I owe you an apology."
"For what?"
"I had no right to come down on you yesterday for trying to help Trey. He's your brother. You should help him."
"Yeah. We're through, though."
"You sure about that? As much as he screws up, he has been your brother for the last fifteen years."
"I mean, I'm through doing his bi...cleaning up after him. Doing him favors."
"Okay. But, you know one day he'll get out of jail and by then he may have straightened his life out and decided to be a better man. Are you still going to shun him?"
"You gotta understand something about Trey - he doesn't take responsibility. Whatever happens, it's the Atwood luck, or bad karma, or the cops coming down on him. Nothing is ever his fault."
"Okay," Taylor nodded.
"That's all you're going to say?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I thought you'd try to convince me that I shouldn't give up on him. He's my brother-blah, blah, blah."
"If you don't want him in your life, that's your decision. It's none of my business."
"Maybe I want it to be your business," he put his hand over hers.
Taylor smiled and turned her hand palm side so that she could wrap her hand around Ryan's, "I'm okay with that, too."
"Good."
--xxxx--
"How could you not ask first," Kirsten yelled at her son and Taylor.
"We're sorry Warden. We broke under the pressure," Seth said.
"It's not like he didn't already know."
"Oh, you mean he figured out that you were the slayer all by himself?"
"She means about the demons, Mom. He knew there was something going on in Chino, he just wasn't sure what."
"So you just decided to tell him? A normal kid..."
"He's not all that normal."
"Which means what?"
"Kirsten, he's stronger than you might think and I'm not talking emotionally."
"Does he know why?"
"No. But he's afraid he can't control it."
"He told you that"
"Read between the lines."
"See, Mom? It's a good thing we told him. You can train him, now. Teach him to control his strength."
Kirsten sighed. "I suppose."
"And Ryan and I are kind of dating," Taylor admitted.
"You're dating?"
"After patrol last night, we had a date."
"I think we should talk about...what's involved...when you start dating."
"Uh-oh. The dreaded 'talk'. I'm gone," Seth zoomed out of the room.
"You never brought up the talk when I was dating Seth."
"That's because you weren't really dating Seth. And Ryan is a very different type of boy."
"I don't think he's the kind of guy to get pushy."
"Neither do I. He is, however, much more...experienced. And it's not his hormones I'm worried about."
"So, you're worried about my hormones?"
"Taylor," Kirsten looked at her sternly.
"Kirsten, we've had one date. I'm not gonna go hopping into bed with him."
"There's what you intend to do, and then there's what actually happens."
"One date and you think I'm going to wind up pregnant? Way to trust, Kirsten."
"Taylor, honey, I do trust you. Both of you. But I'm also aware of how quickly things can happen."
"I can handle it."
"Are you sure you can handle the way Ryan looks at you?"
"He's been leering at me?"
"No, not leering," Kirsten smiled at the girl fondly. "You know what? Never mind. You'll figure it out."
"Okay. I'm gonna go find Seth and torture him for leaving me alone to have my talk."
"Okay. Don't go out to the pool house for a while though."
"Why?"
"Sandy's out there. He said something about have a talk with Ryan about appropriate behavior."
"Oh no," Taylor wrinkled her nose. "That doesn't sound good."
--xxx--
"Now, I know you're more experienced than Seth and Taylor, so I think we should talk about some things."
"Oh God." He'd heard about this from his friends, but he'd never thought he'd be on the receiving end of 'the talk'. A tiny part of him (the part that wasn't humiliated and squirming) was actually happy. Because it meant the Cohens cared about him enough to try and guide him into 'appropriate' behavior.
"I talked to Seth and he told me you and Taylor went on a date last night. I know you two didn't go anywhere in a car so I'm assuming you used her bike, which doesn't have a backseat, but can be driven to a hotel."
"Sandy, it was our first date."
"I know. I also know that your experience doesn't include things like dating, per se."
"I never touched Summer. I thought about it but I couldn't make myself go through with it."
"I'm sure Seth appreciates that."
"I'm not going to force Taylor into anything she doesn't want to do. She's got a pretty good left hook."
"Even if she didn't, I never thought you'd push her."
"Then why are we talking?"
"Because, as the more experienced...partner...it's up to you to call a halt to things if she starts pushing."
"I think you're giving me credit for more self-control than I've got."
"Ryan, just don't let her do anything you think she'll regret in the morning, okay?"
Ryan was quiet. He didn't want Taylor to regret him or anything they did. He nodded, "Okay."
"Now for the hard part."
"That wasn't the hard part?"
"Don't we wish," Sandy sighed, rubbed his hands together uncomfortably, and decided to just blurt it out. "Have you been tested?"
"Yes. I'm negative."
"Great, that's great. And do you have...?"
"Yes."
"Good." They sat in uncomfortable silence for a long moment. "Well, I'm going to do my best to forget this entire conversation. You?"
"Just so long as we don't have to have it again, yeah, me too."
Sandy nodded and smiled before he left the pool house. Ryan sat on his bed looking at the floor for a moment.
"So, how was the talk?" He looked up to see Taylor and Seth in the doorway.
"About as embarrassing as I'd heard it was."
"Didn't your dad..." Taylor elbowed her friend gently to shut him up.
"Kirsten gave me the talk, too."
"How was it?"
"Well," she said coming into the pool house and sitting down next to him, "as I've never actually had sex, she didn't have to ask if I'd ever been tested but there was talk of letting my hormones get the better of me."
"Afraid you wouldn't be able to resist me, huh?"
"Something like that, yeah," she nodded. "Sandy mentioned good news for Seth when he was talking to Kirsten as we passed by. Anything you want to tell us?"
"I didn't touch Summer."
"We know."
"You do?"
"Uh, yeah. She told me." Seth swallowed hard and hoped his brother bought it. He'd forgotten that the memory-spell would've wiped Ryan's declaration of innocence as well as the demon stuff.
Taylor sighed inwardly. She really didn't like lying to Ryan. She'd have to talk to Kirsten about telling Ryan the whole truth at some point in the near future.
--xxxx--
"I cannot believe you're taking their side."
"I'm not, Coop, I'm just saying that you're going off like it was this huge deal and it's not."
"He pushed me into a pool!"
"Because you were trying to break up his best friend and his brother."
"It was Thanksgiving."
"So not why you were there."
"And why were you there? You've barely acknowledged him for the last eight years! Now all of a sudden he's your dream guy? You're a little poacher."
"Excuse me? You're the one who took Luke away from me! And what would you know about who I've noticed? All you do is whine about your life!"
"And you took Seth away from Dorksend-"
"Do not call her that," Summer gritted her teeth.
"You're going to defend her?"
"Yes, and you know why? Because she is a good person who doesn't deserve the shit people talk about her."
"Since when?"
"What has she ever done to you?"
"She took Ryan."
"He was never yours. What has she really, really done? Nothing."
"Fine, you wanna hang out with her? Great. Don't come crying to me when you realize what a vicious little backstabber she really is. Because I won't care."
"Like you ever really did care."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You took Luke from me and still expected me to be your best friend. But where were you when my parents split? When Dad married the step-monster? When I was flunking history and had to get a tutor? All you've ever cared about is your parties and your booze. Well, congratulations; because that's all you've got." Summer turned and walked away from Marissa. She headed for the lounge and smiled when she found Seth, Ryan, and Taylor. Seth was sitting opposite his friend and brother talking. She could hear Taylor's giggle over the other students and even Ryan's soft chuckle. Seth looked up suddenly and brightened even more. He waved Summer over.
That's what should happen when friends wave you over, she thought. Not them narrowing their eyes to see if you look better than they do or the guys eyeing your rack.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Hey Summer."
"Roberts."
"Has anyone told you that you look amazing today?"
"So cornball," Taylor rolled her eyes.
"I like it." She did, she realized. She liked the old-fashioned things and the old-fashioned ways. Like Seth.
"Taylor was just telling me about her first date with Ryan."
"Yeah, what'd you guys end up doing?"
"We went to this outdoor movie thing about an hour away," Taylor said. "We sat on the ground and ate hot dogs and watched Cool Hand Luke."
"We went to that, right?"
"Yeah. We saw Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
"Some people have no class."
"Or taste."
"Look at what they're wearing."
The cheerleaders giggled, eyes slanting sideways to see if the four friends were listening.
Taylor rolled her eyes and then a smile spread across her face as an idea formed in her head. She turned to Ryan and turned his face to hers before she smiled and kissed him; hard.
Summer giggled before she looked at Seth. She shrugged and did the same.
"Ew."
"Gross."
"Freaks."
When the two couples just kept on making out, instead of responding, the comments trailed off. Deprived of their sport, most of the rest of the school ignored the table and the activities around it.
Except for one pair of balefully narrowed blue eyes.
--xxx--
Marissa walked along the promenade swinging a shopping bag in her hands. Nothing like a little retail therapy to make you forget that your so-called best friend had dumped you to hang out with the two biggest losers in school and this generation's James Dean.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't see the boy in front of her stop until she knocked into him, sending them both sprawling to the ground.
"You okay?"
"Of course."
"I'm so sorry."
"Oh, it's all right." She scooped up her purchases, making sure nothing was broken or ripped.
"Here, let me help you," he handed her a blouse.
"Thank you," Marissa said.
"You're Marissa, right? You go to Harbor, don't you?"
"Yes, that's right," she smiled at the boy, trying to place him. "Do I know you?'
"I doubt it. I go to Pacific," he said as they straightened up.
"Oh. Maybe at a water polo meet? My ex boyfriend was on the team."
"Maybe," he nodded.
"Well anyway, I'm sorry, too," Marissa said.
"No damage. See you around, I guess." He started to walk away.
"Wait."
He turned around. "Yes?"
"I never got your name," she gave him a smile.
"Oliver," he smiled at her. "It was nice meeting you, Marissa."
"You, too," she said as he walked away.
