Chapter 3 – First Kisses

Newport – present day – the day after seeing Theresa – 12:30 PM

"Hello sunshine." Seth strode into the pool house.

A sleepy Ryan squinted as the sun pierced through the open door. He had slept with the shades down, so it was pitch black. He didn't even realize it was morning. Seth began walking around the room.

"Morbid much?" he said as he pulled up a shade. Ryan rubbed his eyes awake and sat up.

Seth watched him sit just like that for about a minute. It began to weird him out, so he broke the silence.

"...Move much?" He walked over to his friend. "What's with the brooding?"

No response.

"Marissa?"

Ryan slowly shook his head. Confused, Seth searched his mind. "Then why are you so...oh, wait...OH!" he paused. "...Theresa?"

Nothing.

"Ah..." Seth began pacing. "Anything...happen between you two?"

Ryan jumped up, "We're just friends!" he snapped.

A little startled, Seth followed him as he made his way to the house.

"Whoa...touchy," he said as they entered the kitchen. "Well something had to have happened then." He grabbed a cup of coffee and headed for the newspaper on the table.

"Nothing happened." Ryan said as he poured some Cap'n Crunch in a bowl. The look on Seth's face said he didn't buy it. "Well...I mean nothing happened, but...I don't think I would've minded...if something did happen."

Seth looked at him.

"...Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm betraying Marissa."

"I'm not," Seth said as he unfolded the Arts & Leisure, "She's just...well you know she's Summer's best friend so..." Ryan glared at him. "Ah, but you're MY best friend, so...whatever works for you, buddy."

Ryan sat down and took a bite of his cereal. "...You liked her, right?"

Seth took a sip from his cup. "I did, I did. She's cool. Look man, I'm not trying to discourage you from maybe starting things up again with Theresa, but speaking as someone quite experienced with the, uh, juggling of the women folk," he cleared his throat, "The best advice I can give you, is DON'T JUGGLE THE WOMEN FOLK."

"...Well," Ryan said between bites. "You do have a point there."

"Good...But then again," he reconsidered, "You are a bit more suave than me...get both the girls in a room, a little wine, a little 'No, we shouldn't', a little 'Yes, we should'...you'd be like a friggin Burchell's Zebra!"

Ryan raised his eyebrows.

"...The Nature channel, I don't—"he shrugged and left the room.

Surprisingly, a lot of what Seth said had made sense. He tried processing his thoughts.

Just pick one, he thought. Just pick one. That can't be too difficult.

His mind went blank.

Chino – the day after the dance – 7:15 AM

All was quiet. Ryan was lying in his bed, warm and comfortable. Surprisingly comfortable. It was usually a bit chilly in the mornings at the Atwood household. Did mom turn on the heat this morning, he wondered. With a yawn he opened his eyes to a mess of brown curls.

Why...is Theresa in my bed?

Ever since the pair had started dating, they had decided to take things slow. He'd never even kissed her yet, let alone ended up in the same bed with her. They would flirt, they would wrestle, they would hug or cuddle, but never once had he tried to kiss her. He wasn't that anxious to find out how lousy he'd be, either. He'd never had that much experience with

girls...

Theresa moved on her side and snuggled against him. Her hair was down now. The dress was still on, but her make up had been washed clean off. He smiled as he held her hand close to his heart. She was now lying on top of his left arm. Though a tad uncomfortable, he barely noticed watching her sleep.

She'll never remember this anyway...

Leaning over, he gently placed a kiss on her forehead before falling back into the silence.

She smiled.

Chino – present day – 3 days after seeing Ryan – 3:50 PM

"Ma! Have you seen my work clothes?" Theresa frantically dug through her drawers. "Ma?" No answer.

Great, she thought. I'm gonna be super late... She had gotten another catering job in Newport, this time it was a Wedding Anniversary.

"MA!" With an exasperated sigh, she ran out into the kitchen. Her brother was sitting on a stool eating a bowl of cereal.

"Turo, have you seen my clothes?" He didn't even look up. She definitely wasn't in the mood for his bullshit. "Ai, estúpido!"

Arturo looked up at his sister. He shrugged. "You mean those?" he pointed to a pile of clothes on the couch. Theresa ran over and dug through them before she found her uniform, still dirty from her last catering job.

"What the hell," she sniffed her shirt and gagged. "These aren't even clean!" she threw the stained clothes back on top of the pile. "Where's mom, I told her I needed them today." Her brother dropped his bowl into the sink and walked past her.

"Don't ask me." Just then her mother came barging through the door with an armload of groceries. Theresa ran up to her.

"Ma, why didn't you wash my clothes? I have to be at work!" She watched her mother unload the bags and shake her head.

"Teresa, what can I do? My car broke down again. I was going to do a load when I got back, I'm sorry." Her mother shrugged and continued putting cans of food on the shelf. Theresa's face fell. "You'll just have to wear something else. If you can't do that...just don't go today." She put a hand on her daughter's face and walked back out the door.

Theresa trudged back into the livingroom and slumped down in a chair. She was beyond frustrated. She glanced at the clock on the wall. 4:00 PM.

Shit. She sighed. Well, what's the point now...

Just then, the phone interrupted her thoughts.

She leaned over and grabbed the handle.

"Hello?" she paused. Suddenly she sat upright.

"...Ryan?" She got up and began pacing. "Wha—hey! Why are you call—Uh huh. Well, I didn't even think you remebered my number..really, still? ...No, no of course I would...sure. Yeah...okay I'll see you in awhile...me too...bye." she set the phone down gently. Sitting back in the chair, she began organizing her thoughts. Ryan had just asked her to visit him again. She drummed her fingers on the table.

Where was that shirt Ryan bought her freshman year? She ran back to her room.

"MA!"

Chino – the day after the dance – 10:25 AM

"RYAN!" he jolted upward. Theresa was frantically shaking him. "We gotta get outta here, my brother's coming!"

He yawned as she grabbed her purse off his desk.

"But Trey's not here," he said as she wrapped an elastic band around her curls.

"And WHO do you think he's going to go to when he can't find him?" she said pulling her shoes on.

Ryan thought a moment.

"Oh, shit." He ran to open the window. He knew that Theresa and him hadn't done anything, but he sure as hell didn't want Arturo to find her in his room, still wearing what she had on the night before. He'd have to work very hard to gain Arturo's respect again after that.

"Trey!" they heard her brother's voice in the hall. Quickly Ryan helped Theresa up and out the window.

"Go, get outta here!" Ryan urged. Theresa began to go, but hesitated. She turned back.

"You kissed me."

Ryan stared at her.

"TREY?" her brother's voice was in the next room.

She ignored it. "This morning, you kissed me." Ryan opened his mouth to explain, but he had no breath. Theresa's lips were pressed against his. From outside the window, with her brother only a few feet away and a pair of uncomfortable stilettos digging into her heel, Theresa had kissed him.

Theresa was still kissing him.

Arturo's voice melted away and the sounds of the neighborhood deteriorated. Ryan forgot he was in a cramped house with an alcoholic mother and an absent father. He forgot he was in Chino. It was just he and Theresa, alone in their world.

And as quickly as it came, it was over. Before either of them could say anything, reality interrupted.

"RYAN?" The door flew open.

"OW!" Theresa fell from sight. Ryan turned to the window and back to Arturo again.

He stared at Ryan. "Uh...man, you seen Trey"

"No," Ryan blurted, trying not to look guilty. "He left—he's not here, I haven't seen him."

Arturo nodded slowly. "Okay...you all right?" Ryan shook his head yes. "Tell your brother I came by." Then he turned and shut the door.

Ryan jumped back towards the window, but Theresa was gone.