Chapter 52 – The Time of Our Lives

Dylan's House

Dylan lies on the couch reading over the first paragraph of the new chapter of 'Fanny Hill' that he had written as he waited for Brenda to come back from rehearsal.

He wrinkles his forehead at the paper and sits up to cross out the parts he didn't like as the door opens.

Brenda drops her bag on the floor just inside the door and slowly walks to the couch and flops down next to him.

'Hey babe,' he says, not even looking at her. He starts to cross out a few more lines and Brenda watches him with a smile on her face.

He looked so determined and focused on his paper that she almost couldn't take her eyes off of him. As tired as she was after a long rehearsal and drive back to Beverly Hills, she feels a second wind coming on by just looking at him.

Dylan stares down at his writing and realizes that out of everything he had written only one and half sentences were really usable. He puts his hand up to his chin and sighs with frustration. He barely even noticed that Brenda had moved closer to him and was softly placing little kisses from his ear down to his collar bone.

When he finally realizes what she's doing, he closes his eyes and lets her touches ease his frustration. He opens his mouth to say something, but only hears her shush him quickly.

She slowly eases his body back against the couch. She removes the paper and pen from his hand and runs one hand up the side of his leg, across his stomach, and up to his chest.

She kisses from one collar bone to the other and back up the other side of his neck as she lifts herself up slowly to straddle his body. She slowly caresses his face and runs her hands through his hair, cupping the back of his neck. She places slow, deliberate kisses on his forehead and works her way down his face, skipping over his lips, and back up the other side.

With his eyes still closed, he moans at her when his lips are left out of her seduction. Brenda smiles at his disappointment and shifts her weight to bring them closer together. She lifts his body slightly off of the back of the couch to slowly remove the shirt he is wearing.

Dylan struggles to keep his eyes closed as she begins kissing his bare chest. He puts his hands on the small of her back for a few seconds before he feels her playfully slap them away.

'Ah, ah, ah,' she warns. She holds his hands down at his sides and sees a smile creep across his lips.

As Brenda continues to seduce him, Dylan tries as hard as he can to fight the urge to open his eyes, grab her, and throw her down onto the couch. He feels her hands move to his legs and her lips playfully nipping at his stomach and shivers a little.

He hears her try to stifle a laugh and decides that he can't take this torture any longer. He slowly opens his eyes and immediately locks on to hers.

Without saying a word, he lifts his arms and wraps them around her body. He holds onto her tightly and shifts his body so that he can stand up with her in his arms. He hears her yelp with surprise as he stands up quickly. She wraps her arms around his neck and holds on as he speed walks into the bedroom.

The Beach

David smiles as he watches Hannah's hair blowing in the night air. They had just enjoyed a nice dinner and were taking a slow stroll down the beach.

'I love how the moonlight reflects on the moving water,' Hannah says softly, stopping to look.

David stands behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. He leans his head down so that they are cheek to cheek and feels her relax her body into his chest.

'Thank you for the wonderful evening, David,' she says. 'I'm having such a good time.'

'Me too,' he says and kisses her softly on the neck.

She leans her head back and turns toward him. He kisses her lips and feels her hand move up to the back of his head.

She holds his head in place as she responds to his lips. David closes his arms around the middle of her body and as the kiss becomes more and more intense, he feels her turn around and places both of her hands around his neck.

The Beach Apartment

'Oh, this movie is so good,' Brandon says as he looks down at a sleeping Kelly. She had her head on his chest and a blanket pulled up over her body and was sleeping soundly.

Brandon smiles and kisses the top of her head. 'I guess political documentaries are really your style, huh?' he asks quietly.

Just as he is about to shift his body and wake her up, he hears the door open and Donna say goodnight to Chase.

'Hey, Brandon,' Donna says as she walks into the room.

'How was your date with Chase?' he asks her.

Donna smiles brightly at him and giggles a little bit. 'Oh, it was wonderful, as usual,' she says.

'It's nice to finally see you happy, Donna,' he says.

'It's nice to finally be happy, Brandon,' she says. 'Goodnight.'

Brandon watches Donna skip down the hallway to her bedroom and laughs to himself.

'Kel, wake up,' he says softly.

'Mmmmmm,' he hears her mumble.

'Come on, baby, wake up. It's time to go to bed,' he says, rubbing her arm.

She slowly opens her eyes and lifts her head to look at him.

'Is it over?' she asks.

'Yes, and I can see how much you thoroughly enjoyed it by your snoring,' he says with a smile.

'Shut up, Brandon, I don't snore,' Kelly says quickly, hitting playfully in the chest.

He laughs at her and shifts his body to stand up. He holds a hand out to help her up. She smiles and takes it and follows him to the bedroom.

Dylan's House

Dylan lies in bed lightly rubbing Brenda's arm after making love.

'Bren, can I ask you something?'

'Yeah,' she says.

'Is there something you want to tell me?' he asks. He noticed that while they were making love, although she was definitely into it, there seemed to be something else on her mind.

Brenda sighs and turns her body to face him. 'Do I seem distracted?' she asked him.

'Not really, but I can just tell that there's something on your mind,' he says.

Brenda can't help but smile at him at how well he knows her.

'Well, there are actually a few things on my mind,' she says. 'The first being what I'm going to say to my parents about moving in here instead living at home.'

'I know you've been nervous about that since your mother called, but I'm sure after all of this time that you've spend here instead of there, it won't really be too much of a shock for them,' he reassures her.

'I guess, I know that deep down, but I still have to have an awkward conversation with them and I'm just not really looking forward to it,' she confesses.

Dylan hugs her tighter to his body and kisses the side of her head.

'What else is bothering you?' he asks.

'Well,' Brenda starts and lets out a deep breath, 'as I was thinking how much of a pain in the ass it's going to be to get the rest of my stuff out of my parent's house. As uncomfortable as that thought is, it's even more uncomfortable to think of the fact that I'll just have to pack it all up again for San Diego.'

Dylan closes his eyes and holds onto her, trying to think of the right thing to say to reassure her that it will all be alright.

'Bren, the difference between those two is that fact that you'd be bringing your things here for good and only to San Diego for a few weeks,' he says.

Brenda looks up at him and stares into his eyes. As much as she wanted what he said to make her feel better, it doesn't.

Dylan sees by the look on her face that he wasn't particularly helping the situation.

'When are you going to go and talk to your parents?' he asks her.

'Tomorrow,' she says. 'The director let me have the morning off from rehearsal so that I could get my things together for the apartment.'

'Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?' he asks hopefully.

Brenda shakes her head and nestles her head into his shoulder and tightens her grip around him.

The Community Center

Andrea walks into the community center bright and early on Monday morning and sees Sam and Ethan talking in the hallway. They stop and turn when they see her.

'Good morning, Andrea,' Ethan says with a smile.

'Good morning,' she says. 'I just wanted to apologize to you guys before the kids get here for the other day. I'm sorry for breaking down like that.'

'Andrea, you don't have to apologize. Are you alright?' Sam asks with concern.

'Yes, I'm alright. I just had a little scare and being around the kids kind of made me feel guilty about it. I'm not sure why, but it just hit me all at once,' she tells them.

'As long as you're okay, that's all that matters. I was a little worried about you,' Sam says.

'I was kind of worried about myself. I guess I just thought everything was okay, when it really wasn't,' she tells them.

'If there is anything we can do to help, please let us know,' Ethan says.

Andrea smiles and nods her head. 'Thanks,' she says.

Casa Walsh

Brenda pulls her car up the driveway to her parent's house. She turns the car off and stares at the house for a few minutes before gathering the strength to get out and go inside.

'Mom?' she calls out as she walks through the front door.

'In the kitchen, sweetheart,' she hears. Brenda walks into the kitchen and sees her mother sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

'I got your phone message from the other day. I'm sorry that I haven't been around lately,' Brenda says, sitting down at the table.

Cindy looks up from the paper and studies her daughter's face. She can see that Brenda was fighting with something in her head.

'What's the matter, honey? You look sad or something,' Cindy says.

Brenda closes her eyes for a few seconds. 'Mom, there are two things that I need to tell you. I kind of wish Dad was here too, but I don't have a lot of time and I can't wait for him to come back from work,' Brenda explains.

Cindy waits patiently for her daughter to speak, but feels her insides start to knot up.

'My rehearsal schedule has become more intense as opening night gets closer and I just can't drive back and forth anymore. The director has found me a place to stay for the next few weeks so that I can really focus on the show and not have to worry about anything else,' Brenda finally says.

'I'll be staying in San Diego during the weekdays and only coming back on the weekends. The last week of rehearsals before the show opens, I'll be there the whole time,' she explains.

'Brenda, do you trust these people? I'm not too thrilled with the fact that total strangers are putting you up somewhere,' Cindy says with concern.

'They're good people, Mom. I've spent the last month of my life with them and I trust them,' she says.

Cindy shifts in her seat uncomfortably.

'I know you're not entirely comfortable with it,' Brenda says, 'and to tell you the truth, I don't think Dylan is either, but I made a commitment to this show and I'm going to do everything that I need to do to be prepared for it.'

'Well, I'd try to talk you out of it, Brenda, but I know that it wouldn't do any good,' Cindy says.

'There's something else, too,' Brenda says. The butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter and she has to closer her mouth and swallows hard to try to calm them down.

Cindy sighs out loud and waits for another blow from Brenda.

'I've decided that after the show is over,' Brenda says and pauses for a second, 'that I'll be, um, moving out.'

'It was incredibly generous of you and Dad to offer me my room to rent until I got on my feet, but I barely spend any time here as it is and it's time for me to move on,' Brenda says quickly.

She almost afraid of her mother's reaction to what she just said and leans back in her chair when she stops talking.

Cindy stares at Brenda, trying to figure out if she was having a nightmare or if what she heard actually just came out of her daughter's mouth.

Cindy opens her mouth to say something, but no sounds actually come out as her cheeks flush with fear and frustration.

Campus Café

Dylan walks into the café to find Monica sitting at one of the tables.

'So, how did your first pass at writing the chapter go?' he asks her and sits down.

'Ugh, not well. Not only can I not write in this format, but,' Monica stops and looks at him. She feels her embarrassment fill her face and has to look away from Dylan's eyes.

'What? What is it?' he asks.

'Look, I don't know you that well, and we've been paired up with this incredibly risqué novel and I'm just still a little uncomfortable, that's all,' she admits. 'Writing about these kinds of situations, you know, involving things like foreplay and sex isn't something that is normally done in teams.'

Dylan nods his head and gives her a weak smile. 'I know that this is difficult, but I promise you that we will get past this. We have to get past this or we're going to tank this assignment and end of failing this class,' he says.

Monica just nods in his direction, but doesn't look up.

'How can I make this easier for you?' he asks her.

She thinks about it for a few minutes and then finally turns her head to meet his gaze. 'Well, maybe if we get to know each other a little better it wouldn't be that awkward,' she suggests.

Dylan raises his eyebrow and cocks his head to the side. He was normally really good at noticing when women were flirting with him, but he seemed to be off his game and couldn't quite figure Monica out.

'Well, we've got one week to get a rough draft of this chapter in to the professor, so the quicker we do this, the quicker we can get to work,' he says. He decides that he needs to find out quickly whether or not Monica is going to throw a monkey wrench in this project.

He gets up from the table and hold out his hand to help her to her feet. 'Let's go for a ride and get to know each other,' he says, turning on the charm.

She smiles up at him, grabs her books, and takes his hand.

As Dylan and Monica start to leave the café, Brandon comes down the steps and sees them. He sees Dylan put his arm around Monica's shoulder and lead her out of the building.

'What the hell?' he says out loud as he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

'Who are you talking to?' Steve says, coming from around the corner.

Brandon turns and immediately notices the black eye and gasps.

'Steve, what the hell happened to you? Are you alright?' he asks him.

'Yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing,' Steve brushes him off.

'It's nothing?' Brandon asks him. 'Did you get into a fight?'

'Not really, I was just horsing around with the guys from the house. Don't worry about it,' Steve says and starts to walk away.

'That's a hell of a bruise for just horsing around, Steve,' Brandon says following him.

'I said, it's nothing,' Steve warns. He walks quickly away from his friend to stop the interrogation.

Steve walks to a table and sits down. He actually really wanted to reconnect with Brandon. After getting ambushed at the club by Brandon, David, and Chase, Steve had tried to distance himself from everyone a little, but he found himself thinking about them a lot recently.

'What's on your mind, Steve?' Brandon says after slowly walking over to the table.

'Ah, nothing, I was just thinking about how we never hang out anymore,' he says.

'Yeah, well, with school starting back up, I know I haven't had a lot of time. Are you still going to club every night?' Brandon asks.

'Not every night,' Steve tells him. 'Look, Brandon, I know that for some reason my friends don't approve of my behavior, but I see nothing wrong with it. I'm being careful with them and that's all you should be worrying about.'

'I know you are, Steve, but it's not just me that has a weird feeling that someone has been following you,' Brandon says. 'Just give it some thought, would you?'

Steve meets Brandon's stare, but says nothing.

'Look, I have to go, give me a call sometime,' Brandon says and leaves the building.

As he's walking down the steps he sees Kelly coming toward him.

'Brandon, are you alright? You look lost or something,' Kelly says.

Brandon turns to her with wide eyes and continues shaking his head. 'I have no idea what is going on.'

Kelly takes his hand and asks, 'What happened?'

Brandon looks at her and decides that for the sake of everyone involved that he was not going to tell her about Dylan and Monica. She tended to overreact with information like that so he only tells her about Steve's black eye.

'Horsing around with the guys, huh?' she says. 'He's definitely lying about that one. Steve wouldn't intentionally engage in activities that might damage his chances with the ladies.'

'Well, something's going on with him. Do you think it has anything to do with the girl that stalking him? He still isn't taking that seriously,' Brandon says.

'I have no idea,' Kelly says, 'but whatever it is, it isn't good.'

Casa Walsh

'So, you're moving in with Dylan again? Is that what you're trying to tell me?' Cindy says.

'Mom, please don't be upset. It has nothing to do with you and Dad. This isn't a decision that Dylan and I have come to lightly. It's different this time,' Brenda says.

'Oh, I see, how different could it possibly be this time? What happens when you need a place to go when you two are not getting along? Brenda, I was really hoping that some of this maturity that you've gained over the last few months would translate into your relationship with Dylan. I was hoping that this time you wouldn't be so quick to make decisions like this,' Cindy says with disappointment in her voice.

Brenda tries as hard as she can not to stand up and tell her mother off. She was very proud of the fact that they had waited even this long to execute their plan to actually move in together.

'Brenda, I don't know what to say about this. You're going to have to come back and explain this to your father and see what he has to say. I just can't,' Cindy pauses and starts to shake her head.

'I just can't even look at you right now,' she finishes and leaves the kitchen quickly.

The Beach

Dylan and Monica sit in his car looking out onto the water after leaving campus. She started asking him a lot of questions and he was getting more and more uncomfortable trying to answer them.

'So, a surfer, you're into classic novels and movies, and obviously cars,' she says.

'That's pretty much it,' he says. 'What about you, then?'

'Well, I kind of keep to myself most of the time. I decided to come to a fairly large school to try to get myself to be more sociable, but I'm not quite sure if it's working,' she says.

'I think that's why I'm really not entirely comfortable with this situation. I love to write and I love it because it's something I can do without other people. The assignment itself causes me anxiety because I have to work with someone else, but that anxiety quadrupled when I read the book and found out that I have to pretty much write a sex scene with a complete stranger,' she explains.

Dylan looks at her while she is talking and starts to feel sorry for her. Maybe she wasn't trying to flirt with him, she was just really insecure. The anxiety she was talking about definitely showed on her face and in her body language.

'Well, I can understand that it's a little difficult to open up to someone you just met, but we've got to find a way to make this work,' he says.

'I've got an idea,' he says. He reaches over her and opens the glove compartment. He pulls out a small pad and a pen and hands it to her.

'What is this for?' she asks him.

'Let's write a story right now, in regular language, that includes some of the themes in the book. If we can come together and do that, then we accomplish two things; one, we break through the anxiety and get it out of the way, and two, maybe we can take what we've written and just transform it into the writing style format of the book,' he explains.

Monica nods her head as she starts to understand what he is saying.

'If it's good enough, then we're done,' he says.

Monica takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She takes the cap off of the pen, opens the pad and looks up at him.

'I'm willing to give it a shot,' she says with a confidence she did not have before.