Muchos gracias for the reviews (Kelly, you rock). They definitely make my
day! Read on and enjoy, because I'm pretty entertained by writing this.
Anything to pull us through until the end of the month, right?
___________
Summer buried her face into the pillow, trying to ignore the hard ache in her head and the bitter taste in her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could sleep forever.
"Summer," Marissa said softly. She rolled over, groaning at the bright light that filled the room. "Here, drink up." Marissa handed her a glass and she obliged. Water was the best cure for a hangover.
"Thanks."
She rolled out of the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. The water for her shower was scorching hot, almost scalding, and she let it run over her for a long time. She could barely remember anything from the night before, so she asked Marissa for a recap at the kitchen table.
"Well, you were drinking like a sailor for a while," she began.
"So I gathered," she said bitterly, raised a fingertip to her throbbing temple.
"And some guy was getting a little friendly...."
"Friendly?"
"Friendly, grabby, sleazy," Marissa supplied.
"Ew. Who?"
"I'm not sure- you'll have to ask Seth."
Summer studied her orange juice. "Why Seth?" She finally gave in.
"He told the guy to back off, then found me."
"Oh." She let this new information sink in.
"And then," Marissa added, "He drove us here and carried you to my room."
"Show off," she rolled her eyes, but her heart wasn't in it.
"If you think that's showing off, how about the fact that he took off your shoes and tucked you in?"
"Damn."
"Yeah, that's major brownie points."
"No," Summer argued. "I don't owe him anything. He made his own choice to help me out. It's like he's trying to prove that he's the bigger person." She paused. "I don't need him acting the saint."
Marissa didn't think that Seth had any mixed motives, but this wasn't her battle.
"Hurry up," Summer urged, watching Marissa daintily eat her toast. "After I pop some Advil we're going to the beach."
Sun, sand, and hot guys. Summer needed a distraction.
___________
Seth saw the rail and tried for a frontside flip. He pulled it off, and the adrenaline pounded in his head. On a roll, he ollied up onto a cement wall for a boardslide. Upon success he slowed down and rolled to the edge of the indoor skate park, pleased with himself. He gulped some bottled water from his backpack and planned his next move, eyeing the half pipe.
"I think you're the only guy here who has top grade mineral water over Gatorade," said a voice behind him. He turned around and saw a cute girl in capris sitting on a bench, her sandy hair up in a ponytail. She was smiling at him.
He felt his cheeks turn red. "I just grabbed something out of the fridge," he explained. He joined her on the bench; she had an easygoing, approachable look about her.
"Don't sound so apologetic. I'm Dawn Michaels," she held out a hand, and he shook it.
"Seth Cohen."
"I've heard that name before," her face turned thoughtful.
"You're kidding."
"Cohen... Cohen. I think my dad does business with that name."
"It's likely," he shrugged.
She seemed to lose interest in his surname and changed the subject. "So have you been skating for a long time?"
"Almost as long as I can remember," he nodded. "I love it. What about you, do you..." She wasn't dressed for skating, he noticed, trailing off.
"My little brother," she laughed, seeing his confusion. "I end up driving him here a lot. He's ten."
"Oh, okay. Does that, uh, get boring for you?"
"Sometimes," she admitted. "But I like to watch."
"And today you're just lucky enough to have met me," he said, immediately wondering where the heck that came from.
"I know we just met, but can I be honest with you Seth?"
"Sure. Honesty is good, I can deal with honesty," he babbled.
"I've been watching you skate all morning."
Seth bottom lip was between his teeth. What was the deal with him and particularly forthright girls lately? First Elizabeth was all over him, then Summer was planting a few on him, and now this girl was studying him with her blue eyes.
"Oh..." Suave, Cohen.
She found his slightly confused and certainly nervous expression cute, so she continued. "Good form, and you're consistent."
"Thanks," he shot her a smile, not used to receiving compliments.
"Not to mention you make this adorable face when you try to stick a rail," she grinned. "Like you're concentrating really hard."
"Adorable?" He pretended to wince. "Don't you mean masculine, sexy, tough?"
"No, but it was sexy when you pulled off that frontside nosebone."
After the encounters with the last two girls in his life, the last thing Seth was looking for was to jump into a relationship of any kind. On the other hand, he did need to move on, sitting in his room and reading comics wasn't going to get him anywhere.
"Do you want to have dinner with me?" He asked, no warning. She raised an eyebrow a little and gave a half smile.
"Sorry," he apologized." I don't know where that came from... just... yeah."
"Sure. But only if you can impress me on that half pipe," she joked.
"So... where do you want to go?" He was suddenly shy.
She suggested a restaurant near the water and he agreed, jotting down directions to her house.
"Now go skate," she shoved him playfully. "I want to be entertained."
Seth rolled away, feeling slightly dazed. Where had that come from? They had barely spoken before he had asked her on a date... but she had been flirting with him. And it couldn't hurt. It would give him something to look forward to, something to focus on.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to concentrate, he picked up his board and headed home.
___________
"So are you going to call any of them?" Marissa laughed that night, examining the collection of numbers that Summer had gotten at the beach that day.
"Nah," she waved one hand. "Entertainment value, that's all Coop."
"Of course."
Her phone rang, and she picked it up, hearing Ryan's voice on the other end. Summer watched curiously as Marissa's face lit up. She was still beaming when she clicked off the phone.
"Ryan wants us to come over," she explained.
"Um, hello? I don't want to run into Seth," Summer sighed.
"Ryan said he just left."
Summer wondered for a moment where he had gone to, then shrugged. "Sure, let's go."
They were sitting in the living room, debating on what movie to watch, when they heard Seth's voice from another room.
"Atwood, have you seen my wallet? I was halfway there when I had to turn around, I can't go on a date without my stupid wallet..." He trailed off as he entered the room, seeing Summer.
He stood there for a moment, everyone feeling ill at ease. The tension was ridiculous.
Summer stared, her mind in overdrive. A date? She would have given anything to know who with.
"Um, check the recliner, man. Maybe it fell out of your pocket," Ryan suggested.
Seth walked past them awkwardly, cursing his absentmindedness. He wondered if she was watching him as he poked around the chair, searching. When he turned back around, wallet in hand, she was looking right at him. This caught him a little off guard... he had half expected her to be studying her nails casually or rolling her eyes.
"Who's the lucky girl?" The facetious tone was in her voice, full force. Marissa shifted and seemed to look at Ryan for help, but he was as dumbfounded as she was.
"Um, her name is Dawn."
"When it rains, it pours," she said tartly. "Right?"
She could tell that he wasn't sure how to respond, and that pleased her. She watched him work the wallet nervously in his hands.
"I'd better get going," he said, stuffing it into his back pocket. He slipped out of the room and Summer tensed up even more.
"Summer?" Marissa said her name carefully.
"Oh please," she sighed. "I'm just shocked that he managed to find a date. Poor girl must be desperate."
___________
Seth spent a pleasant meal with Dawn, having recomposed himself during the drive to her house. Before the meal was through he knew her dog's name, her favorite place to shop, her favorite subject, her worst fears, her shoe size, her middle name, and then some.
She was fun and sweet, he decided. He liked her freckles and how she sincerely complimented him on his striped green collared shirt and cologne. He also liked how she would naturally touch his arm or his hand when she was talking to him or laughing at something he said.
He was closing the passenger door for her in her driveway, wondering if he should kiss her when bam, there she was. Her hand was on his cheek and she kissed him, lightly biting his bottom lip and pulling back. She seemed to take full control and he rested his back against the car, Dawn leaning into him. His hands were at the small of her back, and hers were everywhere. His chest, his shoulders, his face, his hair. When they eventually pulled back they were both gasping for breath a little.
"Wow," Seth breathed, not caring how dumb it sounded.
"I wasn't planning on doing that," she said. "It just... yeah, 'wow' is the right word."
He ran a hand gently down her arm. "When do I see you again?"
"Soon." She leaned forward and explored his mouth again. They were both smiling when they pulled apart.
"Very soon," Seth decided.
___________
The next afternoon Summer sat on her bed, examining the phone numbers from the day before. She picked up one with 'Parker' scrawled across it and tried to put a face with the name. The shaggy brown hair and gray eyes suddenly came to her. He had seemed suitable enough.
He would do.
___________
*Alright, expect the next chapter pretty soon, because I'm on a roll here. And don't get too mad at me, there's still a lot that's going to happen. Edge of your seat excitement, huh?
___________
Summer buried her face into the pillow, trying to ignore the hard ache in her head and the bitter taste in her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could sleep forever.
"Summer," Marissa said softly. She rolled over, groaning at the bright light that filled the room. "Here, drink up." Marissa handed her a glass and she obliged. Water was the best cure for a hangover.
"Thanks."
She rolled out of the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. The water for her shower was scorching hot, almost scalding, and she let it run over her for a long time. She could barely remember anything from the night before, so she asked Marissa for a recap at the kitchen table.
"Well, you were drinking like a sailor for a while," she began.
"So I gathered," she said bitterly, raised a fingertip to her throbbing temple.
"And some guy was getting a little friendly...."
"Friendly?"
"Friendly, grabby, sleazy," Marissa supplied.
"Ew. Who?"
"I'm not sure- you'll have to ask Seth."
Summer studied her orange juice. "Why Seth?" She finally gave in.
"He told the guy to back off, then found me."
"Oh." She let this new information sink in.
"And then," Marissa added, "He drove us here and carried you to my room."
"Show off," she rolled her eyes, but her heart wasn't in it.
"If you think that's showing off, how about the fact that he took off your shoes and tucked you in?"
"Damn."
"Yeah, that's major brownie points."
"No," Summer argued. "I don't owe him anything. He made his own choice to help me out. It's like he's trying to prove that he's the bigger person." She paused. "I don't need him acting the saint."
Marissa didn't think that Seth had any mixed motives, but this wasn't her battle.
"Hurry up," Summer urged, watching Marissa daintily eat her toast. "After I pop some Advil we're going to the beach."
Sun, sand, and hot guys. Summer needed a distraction.
___________
Seth saw the rail and tried for a frontside flip. He pulled it off, and the adrenaline pounded in his head. On a roll, he ollied up onto a cement wall for a boardslide. Upon success he slowed down and rolled to the edge of the indoor skate park, pleased with himself. He gulped some bottled water from his backpack and planned his next move, eyeing the half pipe.
"I think you're the only guy here who has top grade mineral water over Gatorade," said a voice behind him. He turned around and saw a cute girl in capris sitting on a bench, her sandy hair up in a ponytail. She was smiling at him.
He felt his cheeks turn red. "I just grabbed something out of the fridge," he explained. He joined her on the bench; she had an easygoing, approachable look about her.
"Don't sound so apologetic. I'm Dawn Michaels," she held out a hand, and he shook it.
"Seth Cohen."
"I've heard that name before," her face turned thoughtful.
"You're kidding."
"Cohen... Cohen. I think my dad does business with that name."
"It's likely," he shrugged.
She seemed to lose interest in his surname and changed the subject. "So have you been skating for a long time?"
"Almost as long as I can remember," he nodded. "I love it. What about you, do you..." She wasn't dressed for skating, he noticed, trailing off.
"My little brother," she laughed, seeing his confusion. "I end up driving him here a lot. He's ten."
"Oh, okay. Does that, uh, get boring for you?"
"Sometimes," she admitted. "But I like to watch."
"And today you're just lucky enough to have met me," he said, immediately wondering where the heck that came from.
"I know we just met, but can I be honest with you Seth?"
"Sure. Honesty is good, I can deal with honesty," he babbled.
"I've been watching you skate all morning."
Seth bottom lip was between his teeth. What was the deal with him and particularly forthright girls lately? First Elizabeth was all over him, then Summer was planting a few on him, and now this girl was studying him with her blue eyes.
"Oh..." Suave, Cohen.
She found his slightly confused and certainly nervous expression cute, so she continued. "Good form, and you're consistent."
"Thanks," he shot her a smile, not used to receiving compliments.
"Not to mention you make this adorable face when you try to stick a rail," she grinned. "Like you're concentrating really hard."
"Adorable?" He pretended to wince. "Don't you mean masculine, sexy, tough?"
"No, but it was sexy when you pulled off that frontside nosebone."
After the encounters with the last two girls in his life, the last thing Seth was looking for was to jump into a relationship of any kind. On the other hand, he did need to move on, sitting in his room and reading comics wasn't going to get him anywhere.
"Do you want to have dinner with me?" He asked, no warning. She raised an eyebrow a little and gave a half smile.
"Sorry," he apologized." I don't know where that came from... just... yeah."
"Sure. But only if you can impress me on that half pipe," she joked.
"So... where do you want to go?" He was suddenly shy.
She suggested a restaurant near the water and he agreed, jotting down directions to her house.
"Now go skate," she shoved him playfully. "I want to be entertained."
Seth rolled away, feeling slightly dazed. Where had that come from? They had barely spoken before he had asked her on a date... but she had been flirting with him. And it couldn't hurt. It would give him something to look forward to, something to focus on.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to concentrate, he picked up his board and headed home.
___________
"So are you going to call any of them?" Marissa laughed that night, examining the collection of numbers that Summer had gotten at the beach that day.
"Nah," she waved one hand. "Entertainment value, that's all Coop."
"Of course."
Her phone rang, and she picked it up, hearing Ryan's voice on the other end. Summer watched curiously as Marissa's face lit up. She was still beaming when she clicked off the phone.
"Ryan wants us to come over," she explained.
"Um, hello? I don't want to run into Seth," Summer sighed.
"Ryan said he just left."
Summer wondered for a moment where he had gone to, then shrugged. "Sure, let's go."
They were sitting in the living room, debating on what movie to watch, when they heard Seth's voice from another room.
"Atwood, have you seen my wallet? I was halfway there when I had to turn around, I can't go on a date without my stupid wallet..." He trailed off as he entered the room, seeing Summer.
He stood there for a moment, everyone feeling ill at ease. The tension was ridiculous.
Summer stared, her mind in overdrive. A date? She would have given anything to know who with.
"Um, check the recliner, man. Maybe it fell out of your pocket," Ryan suggested.
Seth walked past them awkwardly, cursing his absentmindedness. He wondered if she was watching him as he poked around the chair, searching. When he turned back around, wallet in hand, she was looking right at him. This caught him a little off guard... he had half expected her to be studying her nails casually or rolling her eyes.
"Who's the lucky girl?" The facetious tone was in her voice, full force. Marissa shifted and seemed to look at Ryan for help, but he was as dumbfounded as she was.
"Um, her name is Dawn."
"When it rains, it pours," she said tartly. "Right?"
She could tell that he wasn't sure how to respond, and that pleased her. She watched him work the wallet nervously in his hands.
"I'd better get going," he said, stuffing it into his back pocket. He slipped out of the room and Summer tensed up even more.
"Summer?" Marissa said her name carefully.
"Oh please," she sighed. "I'm just shocked that he managed to find a date. Poor girl must be desperate."
___________
Seth spent a pleasant meal with Dawn, having recomposed himself during the drive to her house. Before the meal was through he knew her dog's name, her favorite place to shop, her favorite subject, her worst fears, her shoe size, her middle name, and then some.
She was fun and sweet, he decided. He liked her freckles and how she sincerely complimented him on his striped green collared shirt and cologne. He also liked how she would naturally touch his arm or his hand when she was talking to him or laughing at something he said.
He was closing the passenger door for her in her driveway, wondering if he should kiss her when bam, there she was. Her hand was on his cheek and she kissed him, lightly biting his bottom lip and pulling back. She seemed to take full control and he rested his back against the car, Dawn leaning into him. His hands were at the small of her back, and hers were everywhere. His chest, his shoulders, his face, his hair. When they eventually pulled back they were both gasping for breath a little.
"Wow," Seth breathed, not caring how dumb it sounded.
"I wasn't planning on doing that," she said. "It just... yeah, 'wow' is the right word."
He ran a hand gently down her arm. "When do I see you again?"
"Soon." She leaned forward and explored his mouth again. They were both smiling when they pulled apart.
"Very soon," Seth decided.
___________
The next afternoon Summer sat on her bed, examining the phone numbers from the day before. She picked up one with 'Parker' scrawled across it and tried to put a face with the name. The shaggy brown hair and gray eyes suddenly came to her. He had seemed suitable enough.
He would do.
___________
*Alright, expect the next chapter pretty soon, because I'm on a roll here. And don't get too mad at me, there's still a lot that's going to happen. Edge of your seat excitement, huh?