21.

Ryan got up late the next morning, and the house was strangely quiet. He thought that everyone was out, but when he entered the kitchen, Kirsten was sitting quietly reading the newspaper. She looked up.

"Where is everybody?" Ryan asked.

"Seth didn't come back last night. I guess that he'd stayed with Taylor. And Sandy took Sophie to her friend Georgia's to play. He'll be back shortly."

Ryan nodded and headed for the coffeepot.

"I'm so sorry," Kirsten said, looking guiltily at him.

"It's okay. You didn't know."

"But you did?" she asked.

"Yeah. Seth may have mentioned it to me."

Ryan didn't want to tell her the full details. That Seth had actually tried to blackmail him. Things were bad enough already.

Kirsten shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that he'd do that to you. And as for Taylor …"

Ryan shrugged.

"I pretty much already expected it of her. I didn't tell you why we broke up in the first place but I caught her in bed with Henri Michel when I decided to surprise her in Paris. I don't think fidelity is her strong point."

Kirsten absorbed the news. No wonder Ryan had wanted nothing more to do with her.

"Maybe that's something she gets from her mother," Kirsten said, smiling. She couldn't believe how well Ryan was taking all this.

Ryan returned the smile.

"I think I got out just in time."

"I think you're right. But I still can't figure out why Seth would sleep with her when he knew that she wanted to get back with you. She made no secret of it."

Ryan was quiet for a moment, wondering if he should share what was blatantly obvious to him.

"Maybe he was just being a guy and looking for an easy …. Well, you know what I mean. But maybe her connection to me was exactly why Seth slept with her."

From the puzzled look on Kirsten's face she still wasn't on the same wave length. He was going to have to be more explicit.

"Let's face it, right now, for whatever reason, I'm not Seth's favourite person," he continued. "I think he was hoping that I did still want her and that if he slept with her it would upset me. But when he told me he'd done it and I didn't care, then he had to find some other way. So, when he discovered that I was trying to keep my distance from her, he asked her to come and stay, knowing that it would make me uncomfortable."

Kirsten considered the idea. Was her son really capable of that?

"I know he was upset when he found out about you and Summer sharing an apartment," Kirsten said thoughtfully. "Do you think that's what caused it?"

She was trying to find some excuse for Seth's behaviour.

"No. He was sleeping with Taylor before he even knew about that," Ryan explained.

He wasn't trying to get Seth in trouble, but he felt it was time that Kirsten understood just how much Seth had changed and what he would do to get what he wanted.

Kirsten didn't want to believe that Seth had stooped to such a low but the evidence was impossible to ignore.

"I think the time has come for Sandy and I to lay down the law with Seth. He can't go on like this. WE can't go on like this. His problems are affecting all of us now, and we can't wait for him to decide he needs help. We're going to have to force the issue."'

Ryan nodded his agreement. He knew that Sandy wanted that; he'd only been waiting for Kirsten to realise that they had no alternative.

"It's probably for the best. And, that being the case, I was thinking, that if I can get a flight out, I might head home today. Seth's been taking off every day to avoid me, so maybe it would be better if I wasn't here when you confront him."

"But honey, it's New Year's Eve tomorrow. I thought that you'd spend it with us."

"I know that was the original intention, but I think that it's better this way. You need to have a serious conversation with him, and me being here will only complicate things, and make it more difficult."

Kirsten thought about what he said, and knew that he was right. She felt guilty because she found herself wishing that she could ship Seth off and have Ryan stay.

"I guess you're right. It doesn't mean that we won't miss you, but…,"

"I'll miss you guys, too."

Kirsten nodded.

"Thanks. Is it okay if I use the computer in Sandy's study?" Ryan asked. He wanted to get a flight out as soon as possible … preferably before Seth re-appeared.

"Sure. Go right ahead."

Ryan was on his way out of the room when Kirsten's words stopped him in his tracks.

"Can I just ask a quick question?"

"Sure."

"When we first found out that Taylor had transferred to Berkeley, you mentioned to me that you weren't interested in her anymore. You also said that you'd found someone else, someone you liked more, but that nothing was happening."

Ryan waited for the question that he knew was coming, and felt the heat of blush warming his cheeks. He stared at her, praying that she wouldn't ask. But he should have known better.

"Was it Summer?"

Ryan stared guiltily at her, but didn't say a word.

"Oh, sweetie," Kirsten pulled him into a hug. "You poor thing. All this time … and he goes and does this to you."

"I told you it was complicated. But Summer doesn't know anything about it. And nothing has happened. We're just friends."

"Well if she ever decides that she wants to be more than friends, and you want that too, then you should go for it. Seth doesn't deserve your loyalty anymore, and it's about time that you did something for yourself."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Don't let him or your loyalty to us stop you if it's what you really want."

--

Ryan was packing. He managed to get a seat on a flight that left at four, and Sandy was going to take him to the airport. Glancing around the room to make sure that he left nothing behind, he was startled by the ring of his cell.

He smiled when he saw who was calling.

"Hey, lil' sis."

"Hey, big bro. What's happening?"

"Right now, I'm packing. I'm heading back to New York soon."

"Today? I thought that you were going back after New Year's."

"That was the original plan but …"

"But?"

Caitlyn wondered why he was leaving early.

"We had a little incident here last night."

"What did Seth do this time?"

"It actually wasn't Seth."

That surprised her. Caitlyn had very little time for Seth and thought of him as the root of all evil.

"Okay, so spill. Don't make me drag it out of you."

"Taylor came on to me and Kirsten threw her out of the house."

"What?" Caitlyn asked in disbelief.

"You heard me."

"Since when did you need Kirsten to fight your battles? Are you going soft on me?"

Ryan laughed.

"No. I had it all under control, but Kirsten overheard a few things that made her decide that Taylor wasn't one of her favourite people."

Caitlyn chuckled.

"I can just imagine what happened. You'll have to give me all the gruesome details sometime. And Seth? Is he still sulking?

"I don't know. I haven't seen him and I'm sorta hoping that I won't. That's why I'm heading out. Sandy and Kirsten need time in private with him. Me being here seems to make things worse."

"So what are you going to do for New Year's? Any hot parties in New York to go to?"

"No. I'll probably stay home, watch TV and eat pizza."

"No way. Why don't you come here? Mom's having a big party. It would be great."

"Thanks. But I'm pretty much over Newpsie parties."

"But Summer and her Dad will be here," Caitlyn pointed out.

Ryan hesitated. He wanted to see Summer so badly. But did he want to see her with a lot of other people around? He thought about it for a moment. No. It would be better to wait a few more days so that he could talk to her alone. But did he want to wait two more days without seeing her when he could be with her in a couple of hours?

"That got your attention," Caitlyn teased, "and I would guess that it's not Dr. Roberts that sparked it."

"I don't think so, Caity. It's better if I just head home."

"Okay, we both know that your interest in Summer is more than 'friendly'…"

Ryan spoke quickly, cutting her off.

"You know that I told you that in confidence. Remember, I have a lot more dirt on you than you have on me ..."

"Yeah, okay. I know. You've got me there. But when are you going to do something about it? The girl's hot."

"I've noticed," Ryan replied. He didn't need anyone pointing it out to him.

"Well, she's not going to wait around forever. I know that you have this strange sense of loyalty to Seth, but why you bother I have no idea. He doesn't deserve it."

Ryan smiled. It seemed that Kirsten and Caitlyn were in agreement.

"You'll be pleased to know that I've reconsidered that situation. I know that you thought that my loyalty to Seth was misplaced, but it wasn't just to him, it was to Sandy and Kirsten too. But Kirsten's assured me that they have no problem with me going after what I want, and well … you know what that is."

"Yay, Atwood. I didn't know you had it in you."

"I'm not sure I do. She's been avoiding me and I don't know why. But I do need to talk to her and it's probably better if we talk alone. So I'll just head home and wait for her."

"Don't sound like you're going to the gallows. She'd be crazy to turn you down. Hell, if you weren't my sorta brother, then I'd …"

"Don't even say it. I warn you."

Caitlyn chuckled.

"But you're hot."

"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear you say that."

Caitlyn laughed. She really hoped that things would work out for him. He deserved to be happy, and if Summer was the one, it was fine with her. Better than fine.

"So I really can't talk you into stopping by Newport?"

"Not this time. So listen, I have to go. Sandy's waiting to take me to the airport."

"Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow when you're back in New York."

"K. Sounds good."

--

Summer was having breakfast with her father. It was New Year's Eve morning, but she already knew that she wasn't going to be up for celebrating later on. She was worried. She hadn't heard from Ryan yesterday, and she couldn't help but wonder why. In desperation, she'd tried calling him, but his cell was turned off. She knew that things between them were strained, but she still looked forward to hearing from him every day.

Why hadn't he called? Was her plan to keep her distance backfiring on her? Maybe he'd found someone else. A guy like that wouldn't have any problem attracting the opposite sex. She'd seen his mojo at work. Hell, she'd fallen for it.

Neil noted his pretty daughter's frown.

"So what's troubling you?"

Summer looked up, surprised.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about this party tonight. I'm not sure that I want to go."

"But what else are we going to do? It's New Years Eve."

"I know. I just don't think that I'd be very much fun. But you should go."

"I'm not going to leave you on your own on New Year's Eve."

"It's really just another night, dad, and I'm going home in the morning. I should probably use the time to pack."

Neil was surprised by her choice of words. He'd never heard her refer to New York as 'home' before. He wondered what had brought on the change. Maybe Ryan?

"You have plenty of time to pack; you've had plenty of practice. You can do it in ten minutes if you want to."

Summer sighed.

"I'm just not up for it, Dad. I don't feel like getting all dressed up just to talk to Newpsies and fight off the paws of a few drunken trust fund babies. Could you apologise to Julie for me, tell her I'm not feeling well."

"Uh uh. I'm not doing you're dirty work for you. If you're not going, you need to call her yourself," Neil informed her.

He hoped that she'd change her mind and come along. He didn't want her sitting alone, mooning over Ryan, and he was pretty sure that's what she would do if she was left to her own devices.

--

Summer took a deep breath and dialed the number. She didn't want to lie, but she just didn't have it in her to face the Newpsies tonight.

"Crazy House," Caitlyn answered as one of the caterers walked by.

Summer smiled.

"Hey Caity, it's just me."

"Hey Sum, how's things?"

"Um, not so good actually. I was wondering if your mom was there."

"No she's at the hairdressers getting beautiful for tonight."

"Oh. Well, then could you give her a message for me?"

"Sure. Fire away."

"Can you tell her that I won't be coming this evening? I'm not feeling up to it."

"But you have to come. You can't leave me here with all these old people."

"I'm sure there'll be plenty of people to keep you amused. You can always dance with the Bullitt."

"A girl can only do that just so many times, you know. So did you get a better offer? And if you did, can I come too?"

"No. It's nothing like that. I just don't feel up to partying."

"You're as bad as Ryan."

Summer perked up immediately at the mention of his name.

"What do you mean?"

"When I spoke to him yesterday, I tried to get him to come to the party, but he wouldn't."

"But he's in Berkeley."

"Not anymore he isn't. He's back in New York. He was leaving for the airport when I spoke to him."

"But he wasn't supposed to head home until tomorrow."

"I think there was a big blow up at the Cohens, and he decided to let them deal on their own. Said he was going to eat pizza and watch TV. What sort of celebration is that?"

Just the sort I'd like, Summer thought, wondering what had happened to cause him to head home early.

"So Ryan's back in New York?"

"Uh huh."

Caitlyn smiled to herself. She wanted to give this girl a much needed push in the right direction, but she wasn't sure how.

"It seems a pity for a guy as hot as that to be sitting all alone on New Years."

Summer couldn't agree more, but what could she do about it? She certainly didn't want him out on the town without her.

"You know, if you got a flight in the next couple of hours, you'd be home in time to celebrate with him."

"What makes you think that he'd want me there?" Summer asked dejectedly. He'd spoken to Caitlyn yesterday, but not her. Why?

"Oh, for crying out loud. The guy wants you. Bad. You have to know that. If you don't take him up on the offer, you're not the person I thought you were."

Summer was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. But if you repeat one word of it to Ryan, I'll have to kill you."

"What did he tell you?"

"Oh no. I can't tell you that. I've said too much already. He's probably gonna kill me."

"Caity, please. My whole future depends on this. You said if I don't take him up on the offer. What offer? He's never made me an offer."

All Summer could think about was her 'sex without strings' offer. Had Ryan changed his mind about that?

"He's going to. He got the green light from Kirsten to go ahead. But he's shit scared because you've been avoiding him. He's worried that he missed his chance."

Summer didn't know what to think. Could this really be true?

"So? Has he missed his chance?" Caitlyn pushed. "I should warn you that, yes, you're my friend, but if you hurt him, you'll have the combined wrath of the Cooper women to deal with."

"I'd never hurt him," Summer admitted softly.

"Then I'm thinking that you should hightail it back to the East Coast pronto. You know, they say you should start your year the way you want to spend it. If you like him, you should be with him."

"Thanks Caity. I'll never be able to repay you."

"Sure you will. I'll be a bridesmaid."

Summer could feel herself blush, but she had to admit, it sounded nice.

"You're on."

--