"Seth Gets Lucky" – 2 Rated R – for sexual situation
Thanks to BlueStarGirl and Storymom for their input on the rest of this story. I was a bit blocked until I heard what they had to say.
Someone asked what Aurelia looked like and I realized that I don't tend to describe new characters in great detail, but I will try to drop a few broad strokes in this chapter. Picture Salma Hayak if you wish, only younger, a little plumper and more average looking. Or picture a latina version of Summer because that's kind of what is attracting Seth to the girl.
Quick reminder: This AU Ryan/Summer 'verse splits off early in the Oliver debacle and Summer and Seth haven't had any more physical contact than what took place in the Thanksgiving episode.
Dance? Now? Here? Seth didn't know if he could stand up without falling over let alone dance. Besides, the song had a salsa flavored beat that required a lot of twirling your partner and passing her under your arm and adding a little cha-cha step in the middle somewhere. It was definitely too intricate for him. He was barely able to handle the box step at Cotillion.
"I, uh, don't really d-dance," he protested as Aurelia grabbed his hand and began to pull him up.
"Then I'll show you how," she overrode him. "Come on."
Seth wondered if it was his fate to attract only bossy women – or maybe it was just that all women are bossy. He rose unsteadily to his feet and shambled after her onto the dance floor.
Despite being a head shorter than he, Aurelia was an imposing partner. She counted out the beat as she guided him through the steps. "One-and, Two- and, Three-and, Four-and. One-and, Two-and, Three-and.... No. Wait. You're missing an 'and' or something. Here. Quit counting and just feel it." She moved her hands to his hips and swayed him side to side. "You see?"
Seth didn't have the heart to tell her that she was wasting her time, that he had no natural rhythm. Besides, her hands on his hips burned right through the material of his pants and he kind of didn't want her to remove them. He stepped, stepped, double-stepped in a clumsy shuffle.
Aurelia shook her head, laughing, and resumed the formal dance stance; one hand on Seth's shoulder and the other placed in his. She moved him back and forth across the floor then used his hand to spin herself around, her black hair tumbling from its artfully arranged up-do. With the warmth of alcohol suffusing Seth's system, he began to feel that maybe he was graceful after all. He quit worrying that he looked like an idiot and threw himself into spirit of the dance.
"You got it!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, a dimpled smile lighting her face.
Seth was so excited he executed a dip, but Aurelia was a bit heavier than he'd expected and his balance was already shaky so he almost dropped her on the floor.
"Whoops. Sorry."
"'S all right," she assured, righting herself and slipping her foot back into the high heel that had tumbled off.
Just then the song ended and a slow number began. Aurelia stepped back into the circle of Seth's arms, pressing firmly against him and resting her head on his chest as they began to sway. The sweet smell of her shampoo wafted up to his nose and her hair tickled his chin. This kind of dancing Seth could easily handle. He felt delightfully buzzed and content to have a pretty girl clinging to him, warm and solid and ... grabbing his ass! His eyes flew open.
She was definitely groping his buns, no doubt about it. Seth swallowed hard. Then he decided two could play at this game and he let his hands, which had been resting politely at the small of her back, start to roam. He moved them up her back, feeling the bumpy ridge of the zipper and the slippery material of the dress, then ever so casually, he moved them down past the smooth waistline of the bodice and over the gathers that camouflaged her butt beneath. As copping a feel goes it wasn't much, the dress was too obstructive, but Seth still felt hot and horny from the contact.
He felt the girl pull away from his chest and he glanced down into a pair of bright, inquisitive eyes and at a smiling full-lipped mouth with just a hint of shiny white teeth behind it. "You want to ... go somewhere?" she asked and Seth's heart rate bumped up a notch, hammering in his ears.
"Go? Somewhere?" he echoed dimly. "Uh, sure."
Aurelia's smile expanded to a saucy grin as she grabbed his hand and led him from the dance floor. Seth followed like an obedient dog, thinking inanely, 'I'm going somewhere! I'm going somewhere! ... Where am I going?'
Seth stole one last glance over his shoulder to see what Ryan and Summer were up to. Ryan was finally introducing Summer to Theresa, and Seth would've loved to hear that conversation. Instead he docilely followed Aurelia to the coatroom near the entrance of the building. It being the hottest part of summer, there were no coats, only rows of metal hangers and another couple making out in the corner. Seth was distracted, staring at the length of bare female leg wrapped around the guy's hip, until Aurelia tugged his hand.
"Come on," she urged, pulling him to a different corner. "Just ignore them." She cupped his chin in her hand and turned his face down toward her. Seth stared into her eyes and they seemed to get bigger and bigger until they filled his whole vision, while the background sounds of music and talking from the other room faded to a distant whine. He was suddenly queasy and prayed to God he wouldn't throw up in her mouth or something.
Aurelia's long black eyelashes drifted closed and her mouth opened slightly as she tilted her face up for a kiss. Seth had a sudden irrational fear that she was going to bite him but he suppressed it and leaned down to place his parted lips on hers. They were warm and soft, just like her body in his arms when they danced. She tasted of alcohol and breath mints. He wanted to smile at the breath mints part because it let him know she had planned on this all along. But smiling and kissing didn't really mix, so he concentrated on controlling his tequila-numbed lips and tongue and making them perform properly. He must have been doing okay, because Aurelia made a little moaning noise in her throat.
He ran his hands down her back and to the top of her butt and again was frustrated in his groping by the stupid bridesmaid dress. He grabbed handfuls of material when what he wanted was to be touching her skin.
Aurelia's hands were entwined in his hair; one at the back of his neck, pulling him down to her, and the other sifting through his hair and cradling his skull. Her tongue teased between his lips and explored his mouth. She kissed him so long and thoroughly that he was breathless when she pulled away.
"Oh, baby, you're such a good kisser," she praised, rubbing her body against him like a cat and looking up from beneath half lowered eyelids.
"Really?" he said in surprise.
"Oh, yeah." She looked around the room, eyeing the other couple a moment. They were making out with abandon, oblivious to anything around them. "Hey, I got an idea," she said. "I know somewhere more ... private we can go. Want to?" She stroked her palms slowly down his shirtfront from chest to groin.
Seth simply nodded. Of course. He was without will at this point and would do anything she told him to. Happily.
She took his hand and led him out of the coatroom and down a hall, which connected the Parish Life Center with the church. Seth was still cockeyed from all the tequila and beer, and he had the surreal sensation of wandering down a funhouse corridor that might lead to a roomful of warped mirrors or a really scary clown with an ax. He had to fight the urge to giggle ... or pass out.
Aurelia took him to a room behind the church sanctuary, which had crucifixes and pictures of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and various saints on the walls. As she closed the door behind him, he looked curiously around the small, windowless cubicle.
"It's the vestry," she explained, and at his blank look, added, "Where the priest dresses for Mass."
"Oh," he nodded. "Why doesn't he get dressed at home?"
"I don't know. It's just the way it's done. All the vestments are kept in that closet." She pointed. "But nobody is gonna come here tonight," she smiled lasciviously as she backed Seth against a wall, "except maybe YOU."
Seth had time to gulp either in excitement or dismay, he wasn't sure which, and then Aurelia was kissing him again. The sane, sensible part of him, which was very tiny right now, wondered why they were doing this, why she had chosen Seth Cohen of all people to hit on tonight, but the rest of him responded appropriately without question. He kissed her with enthusiasm moving from mouth to jaw to neck to the hollow of her throat. She tilted her chin back to allow him better access and let out another quiet 'Mmm,' which drove him crazy. He allowed his hand to steal its way up to her breast and knead gently, his fingertips brushing warm skin at the top of her bodice.
"Unzip me," she whispered. Seth detached his hand from her breast and his mouth from her neck and straightened up. She turned around, offering him her back and he pulled the zipper down. As the material parted like the Red Sea, unblemished brown skin and white camisole were revealed. Seth ran his hand over the gentle curve of neck to shoulder then leaned in to kiss the nape of her neck.
Aurelia squealed and twisted away. "That tickles!" She faced him again and pulled the dress down her arms, over her hips and let it drop in a pool of crimson on the floor at her feet. She wasn't wearing a slip, only the camisole and a tiny pair of underwear that showed off a long expanse of smoothly shaven leg. Seth began feeling dizzy again. This was happening ... really happening, and he was beginning to feel more scared than excited.
"Is it hot in here? I feel like it's really hot in here," Seth said, fanning his face. "Do you think there's, like, a water fountain in the hall or something? I think I really need a drink of water."
"Why're you so nervous?" she asked, cozying up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her ample chest against his. She guessed at the answer. "You're a virgin, aren't you?"
"Um, well, kinda," he answered.
"Kinda?" she teased. "God, that's so cute! You're, like, shy or something." She grinned and kissed his chin, which was all she could reach. "Well listen, hijo, we're just messing around a little. I'm not a slut - nothing's going to happen, okay? So just relax and try to enjoy yourself."
"Oh. Okay," he answered quickly, still feeling extremely dry-mouthed. "I can do that."
"Okay," she repeated and nuzzled her lips against his throat.
Seth's eyes closed and the world spun in the blackness behind his eyelids. He was aware of her fingers unbuttoning his shirtfront, stopping when they encountered his undershirt, and then pulling both shirts out of the waistband of his pants. She slid her hands up his naked skin from stomach to chest and he shivered at the contact.
He ran his hands down her back; her skin was hot as a summer sidewalk under the thin material of her camisole, and this time when he reached her waist there was no bulky skirt to stop him gliding right past it and firmly gripping her ass. It was a fine handful, nothing like Anna's slender flanks.
Seth opened his eyes and looked down at the sleek black top of Aurelia's head. She was still kissing his throat and the top of his chest as far as his T-shirt would permit and her hands were busily stroking his torso underneath his shirt. He removed his hands from her butt and moved them up to cup her face and tilt it toward him. He kissed her soft, full lips very tenderly and gently, as if he really liked her and this was more than just two kids messing around for the hell of it. Aurelia responded enthusiastically, her mouth pliant under his and her tongue languidly teasing him.
Seth forgot to be nervous and began to unwind, kissing her confidently now and letting his hands roam over her body as if they had every right to be there. He decided he could definitely become very good at this given enough time and practice. Maybe even make a career out of it.
He pulled away from Aurelia and looked around then gestured toward a small sofa in the corner. "Do you want to...?" he asked, and she nodded.
He took her hand and she stepped out of the crumpled circle of her gown and followed him to the lone piece of furniture in the room. Seth sat down and she straddled his lap, unbuttoning his cuffs and helping him shed his dress shirt then pulling his undershirt off over his upraised arms and head in one quick move. Seth shuddered as the air touched his skin. It was actually stiflingly hot in the small, enclosed room, but for a second he felt as coldly exposed as if he were naked on the tundra.
Aurelia's lips and hands soon relaxed him, skating everywhere that she could reach as he sprawled against the back of the couch and enjoyed her touch. He held her waist for a while then dared to let his hands creep up under her top and fondle her breasts. She didn't stop him. In fact she paused to grab her camisole and shed it like a second skin. Now they were both topless and Seth couldn't drag his eyes from her chest. He wondered how the flimsy little undergarment had harnessed the heavy globes of flesh.
He glanced up at Aurelia's snort of amusement and met her laughing eyes. He blushed as he realized he'd been gaping like a fish. "Sorry. It's just...." he explained. "I mean, you're so beautiful."
"And you're so adorable." She grinned. "I could just eat you up!"
"I wish you would," he managed to quip despite his blushing, and Aurelia laughed.
"The night's young. We'll see," she teased.
Seth leaned in to place a careful kiss on the swelling curve of the top of her breast and then he tilted his head to look up at her quizzically.
"You don't suppose we're going to get struck by lightning or something." He nodded at the room in general. "For screwing around in, like, a holy place."
She glanced at the pictures of devout saints and the Sacred Heart. "Well, technically, it's not the church is it? Just a dressing room. And besides," she added. "I think God gave us bodies for a reason and we ought to use them. He'd want us to, really. Or we wouldn't have mouths..." she leaned in and kissed Seth's lips, "or hands..." she entwined her fingers with his, "or skin that feels so good when you touch it." She took his hand and placed it on her breast.
Seth could see the logic. He brushed the pad of his thumb over her nipple and felt a rush when Aurelia squirmed on his lap. Yes, this was definitely what God wanted them to do. He was sure of it.
He wrapped his arms around her back and hauled her to him with a manly grunt. Their bodies crushed together and they began kissing again. The feel of her breasts pressed against his chest and her crotch grinding against his gave him such a boner that he felt his dick might rip right through the zipper of his pants and then through her tiny underwear to find its target like a heat seeking missile. Seth suddenly realized that things were exponentially escalating and if they didn't slow down soon he might have a nuclear meltdown in his pants.
He opened his mouth to tell Aurelia this, but her tongue stopped his words and then her hand snaked down to the front of his pants, unbuttoned, unzipped, slipped inside and grasped him firmly. Seth almost choked. She was handling what no one's hands but his had ever handled, not even Anna's hands! Well, all right, maybe his parents when they had changed his diapers but.... What the hell was he thinking of his parents for at a time like this?
Aurelia gave him a few long, slow strokes and just like that it was over. Seth shuddered, cried out into her mouth and released.
"Oh!" she pulled away and looked down with surprised eyes.
Seth could feel his face flushing even as waves of orgasm continued to ripple away at the edge of his senses. His eyes rolled back to their regular position – face forward in his head – and he took stock of the damage. He glanced up at Aurelia's face and mumbled an embarrassed, "Sorry."
She smiled ruefully. "It's all right," she assured. "It happens."
"No. I'm really sorry," he apologized again, his face afire.
"And it's really okay," she returned. "Don't worry about it." She got off his lap and went to find something to clean up with. Seth hung his head and stared in humiliation at the mess.
Aurelia returned in a moment with a box of tissues, which she tossed at him before sinking down on the sofa next to him. "Seriously," she said. "It's not a big deal. Getting you off was the plan after all. It just happened a little sooner than I expected." She touched his arm. "But we're not done yet."
"We're not?"
She shook her head. "Nu-uh. What about me?"
"Oh. You want.... You mean, I should...." Seth paused to puzzle it out, shooting Aurelia a sideways glance. "How should I.... What do you want me to do?"
"Well, let me show you," she said, taking his hand.
Later, when they both were satisfied, sweaty and snuggled together on the sofa, Seth felt much better about his performance overall. Despite his rocky start, he had managed to rally and bring the good ship Aurelia into port without a hitch. He thought he could safely say that he'd brought her as much pleasure as she'd given him.
Seth removed a strand of her long, black hair from his moist cheek. Their skin was glued together at every point of contact, and Seth would have given his best Sandman graphic novel for a tall, cold, icy Sprite and some air conditioning.
"That was good," Aurelia murmured against his chest and Seth nodded. "Want to go outside for a while and cool off?" she asked.
"I don't know. That involves moving."
They peeled apart, rose from the couch and then struggled back into their formalwear.
"Let's go to the reception and get something to drink first," Seth said as he zipped Aurelia's dress.
"Okay," she agreed, finger combing her hair into a semblance of order. She looked up at Seth. "Oh, you've a got a little...." She stood on tiptoe and wiped traces of red lipstick from around his mouth with a tissue. "There. That's better."
"You're missing an earring," Seth noticed, and they both searched for the sparkly silver hoop, which turned out to be wedged in between the cushions of the sofa.
Once they were presentable, they left the vestry and made their way down the hall to the chaos of the party. It seemed to have grown much louder during the time they had been away. Dancers jostled for space on the floor, and the crowd around the bar was thick. They joined the queue of thirsty people waiting for beverages.
Across the room, Seth caught sight of Ryan talking to Theresa's mother with Summer by his side trying to appear politely interested but only managing bored. Her eyes wandered and Seth was able to catch her attention, raising one hand in an awkward little wave. She nodded in return, rolling her eyes and tapping the diamond and gold watch on her wrist. Seth shrugged and with a big, happy grin on his face, pointed to Aurelia. Summer's eyes widened and one perfectly sculpted brow arched. She gave him a smirk and a nod, which signaled, "Way to go, Cohen" then added a thumbs up for good measure. Seth smiled and turned his attention back to his 'date.'
"So, you enjoying Chino?" she was asking.
"Better than I ever expected," he answered truthfully.
When they finally got their drinks, sodas instead of tequila this time, they headed outside. It was early dusk already, which surprised Seth. He hadn't realized how much time had passed. Waves of heat rose from the black asphalt parking lot and although there was a slight breeze, it was barely cooler out here than in the crowded reception hall. Seth downed his Sprite in a few gulps and then began sucking ice cubes.
Aurelia leaned against a parked car. Placing her plastic cup on the hood, she beckoned Seth to her. He moved in close and she put her hands on his chest, looking up at him with velvety brown eyes. Seth was such a sucker for the brown eyes.
He was leaning down to kiss her when an angry shout arrested his descent.
"'Relia?" a husky voice called out. Seth saw a guy stalking across the parking lot, approaching them at an alarming speed. "What the hell is going on?"
Aurelia hissed, "Shit! Luis!" as she pushed Seth away and twisted to face the newcomer.
Seth had a horrible, kicked-in-the-gut feeling that Luis was not another cousin or a brother.
"What the HELL are you doing?" the young man rephrased the question as he drew closer. He was no taller than Seth, but he was as stocky and well muscled as Ryan and as angry as a charging bull. "Who is this guy?" he shouted, glaring at Seth.
"Nobody!" Aurelia yelled back. "We were just dancing. It's a wedding, Luis. People dance together. Jesus, you're always so suspicious. Why won't you trust me?"
"Dancing. In the parking lot? Do you think I'm an idiot?" Luis roared. He turned his attention to Seth, pushing him in the chest, knocking him back into the car behind him. "And you, asshole, what do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?"
"I wasn't..... I mean, I didn't know she was...." Seth turned to Aurelia, "You didn't say you...."
"We didn't do anything," Aurelia cut across Seth's babble before he could do any further damage. She stepped forward, obviously not intimidated by her boyfriend's rage, crossing her arms over her chest and staring up at him.
"That's right. We did nothing," Seth chimed in, helpfully. "Absolutely nothing!"
"And if you don't believe me ... if you don't trust me better than this," the girl continued, "well then, I guess we're through."
Luis froze for a second. His gaze swung from Aurelia to Seth and back again. Aurelia stood calmly before him, her eyes widely innocent. "I mean it, Luis. You have some serious trust issues."
Luis frowned as though considering before he stated flatly, "I don't believe you, and we're NOT through. Not by a long shot." He turned and without telegraphing the move, drove his fist into Seth's face.
Seth howled as pain bloomed from the point of contact and blood spurted from his nose in a red shower. He clapped his hands to his face and doubled over in pain and to avoid a second blow.
"I can't believe you did that!" he heard Aurelia cry, but she sounded distant, hidden behind the clamoring alarm bells of pain in his brain.
"How could you do this to me, you slut?" Luis was bellowing. "It's not bad enough you fuck around but then you have to lie right to my face!"
Seth had fallen to his knees now, still grabbing his screaming nose. It suddenly occurred to him that the punch to his face might not be the end of it. The guy might decide to start kicking him in the ribs next. Fighting pain, he took his hands from his injured nose, dropped down to all fours and began to crawl away behind the back of the parked car, as the quarrelling couple carried on somewhere above him.
He caught scraps of Jerry Springer-like dialogue in between the pounding of his pulse in his ears. "You never listen to me." "You're a lying, cheating bitch!" "What about the time you slept with...." "If you weren't drunk all the time..." "You're such a loser." "I hate you!" "Everyone in Riverside knows what a slut you are!"
The tirade went on and on at hurricane decibels, but Seth was too busy crawling slowly and steadily around the back bumper of the car to care. A random thought occurred to him that the knees of his suit were probably going to be ruined by the sticky black asphalt. He didn't think it would come out with dry cleaning. Not to mention the bright red bloodstains on the front of his white shirt. Well, actually, maybe the blood would come out. Rosa was a wiz with bloodstains, but then she'd had all that practice on Ryan's clothes.
"What the hell is going on?" Seth heard a familiar angry voice interrupt the screaming couple. He recognized Ryan in aggressive mode and thought, 'Oh boy, here we go. Another fight.' He grabbed the car's bumper and hauled himself to his feet, ready to intervene before things spiraled any more out of control than they already were.
"None of your business. Keep out of it," Luis snarled.
"Jesus! Seth, what happened?" Seth caught a glimpse of Ryan's shocked face, as his friend noticed him, which meant he must look as bad as he felt.
Seth spit a gob of clotted blood on the pavement. "Jus' a misunderstanding," he hastened to explain, but Ryan was already pulling back his fist to strike Luis. "Ryan, stob! No fighting," Seth begged, holding out a blood-stained, restraining hand. "I can handle it."
Ryan paused, jaw knotted and nostrils flared. His eyes flicked from Luis to Seth and back again, before he imperceptibly nodded and lowered his arm. Simultaneously, Luis registered Ryan's move and raised his own hands defensively but, instead of hitting, turned to face Seth when he spoke. Seth was vaguely aware of Summer coming up behind Ryan and Aurelia at Luis' right, still rattling off obscenities. The whole thing took place in seconds but seemed dramatically stretched into slow motion in Seth's mind.
He had to think of something to say to diffuse this situation – and fast.
"Luis, is it?" he asked the enraged, bull-necked boyfriend. "Listen, man, it's all a misunderstanding. I know what it looked like but, trust me, you didn't see what you thought you saw."
"Really," Luis drawled, but he dropped his aggressive stance slightly, signaling an interest in at least hearing Seth's spin.
"Seriously, dude," Seth continued. His nose and mouth ached so much it was hard to form words and he wondered if blood was still dripping from his nose. If it was he couldn't feel it. He held up both hands in a placating gesture. "The truth is," he said, "I'm not even into girls."
Luis looked skeptical but Seth warmed to his story. "You see, Ryan here is my – my boyfriend." He gestured to Ryan, who managed to maintain a stone face. "But he hates to dance, so I was dancing with Aurelia just like she said ... and we went out to the parking lot because it's so much cooler out here. But when you saw us I was.... Well, what I was doing was fixing Aurelia's necklace, because she, uh, had ... the clasp all twisted up in her hair and it was pulling and...." Seth's hand movements illustrating the story became wilder as he rambled on. "So I can see where you might think it looked like we were, uh, hugging or something, but it really wasn't anything like that." He motioned to Aurelia. "Show him the ... the ... um, necklace."
Aurelia took her cue and struggled to lift her hair from her neck. "You see," she said. "It's still stuck. Seth was just about to get the clasp undone when you got here."
Luis' eyes narrowed and he leaned forward to examine Aurelia's silver cross necklace, the clasp of which actually was snarled in the tendrils of hair at the back of her neck.
Then Ryan spoke up with a voice as deadly cold as a villain in a movie. "You want to explain to me why you punched my boyfriend in the face?" He took a menacing step toward Luis, and Seth was proud of him for only hesitating a moment before saying, 'boyfriend.' Ryan could be quite the little actor when desperate times called for it.
Luis locked eyes with Ryan, searching for the truth, clearly not ready to accept this far-fetched yarn. He looked at Summer, standing wide-eyed a few yards behind Ryan. "Who is this then?" he asked.
"My sister," Seth answered without hesitation or thought.
Summer didn't bat an eye but jumped right into the tale. She faced Luis with an indignant frown and her classic hands on hips stance. "Seth just got his braces off and if you've messed up thousands of dollars worth of orthodontia, our parents are so going to sue your ass."
"Sis, calm down," Seth cautioned. "It was an honest mistake."
Ryan was still staring down Luis, who actually seemed to be looking hesitant and doubtful now. Finally breaking his gaze, Ryan looked toward Seth. "Are you going to be all right?"
"I think so." Seth felt his nose gingerly then started to walk toward Ryan and Summer. "But I'm ready to go home now."
As he passed between Luis and the parked car, Seth held his breath. If their ridiculous story wasn't accepted he could very well find himself knocked into the side of the vehicle again, but surprisingly Luis let him go by.
To complete the deception Seth took Ryan's arm when he reached him, linking hands and patting Ryan's forearm with his other hand. "It's all right, sweetheart, I'm okay."
His friend impaled him with an intense sideways look and said dryly, "Good to know."
"You haven't heard the end of this," Summer began again, getting into her role. "I wouldn't be surprised if our mom and dad file assault charges."
"That's enough, Summer," Seth cut across whatever fabrication she was about to spew next. "What happens in Chino stays in Chino. Let's just go home." He dared a glance at Aurelia but she didn't see it.
She was now in conciliatory mode, approaching Luis and looking beseechingly up at him. "You see? Now, do I get an apology or what?"
Luis still seemed extremely unsure, but another look at Ryan and Seth's joined hands and Summer's angry face seemed to marginally convince him. He frowned and shrugged, meeting Aurelia's gaze with a sheepish one. "Sorry, baby."
"It's okay, but you have got to learn to trust me better than this," she adjured, putting a hand to his cheek. "I love you. You know that."
"I do," he answered with heartfelt tenderness and embraced her. "I just get kinda crazy sometimes."
Aurelia stole a quick, mischievous look at Seth over Luis' shoulder and he felt like Satan. He returned a half-hearted smile and a little farewell wave.
"Come on ... honey," Ryan muttered, pulling at Seth's hand and leading him across the parking lot, Summer in tow.
"Now THAT was exciting," Summer said, bouncing in her seat next to Ryan. "Way to bring on the drama, Cohen."
"My pleasure," he replied. "Glad I could amuse you with my smashed face and near escape from death." He shook his head and then wished he hadn't as it made his nose throb worse than ever. "I feel terrible about the poor guy even if he did probably deviate my septum. I mean, he's going to go right on believing that ... that psycho!" Seth smacked Ryan in the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me your friend Aurelia was a nympho?"
"I thought that's what you wanted," Ryan responded calmly, steering the Explorer onto the highway ramp.
Seth opened his mouth to retort. Closed it. Opened it again. "Actually, the parts right up until the end were.... Come to think of it, this evening wasn't all bad," he reminisced. "She was sooo hot, and oh, Ryan, you wouldn't believe the way she...."
"Ew! TMI!" Summer said, pressing her hands to her ears. "Save that talk for guy time. I don't need to know."
Seth smiled as he subsided back into his seat. He could see from the bit of Ryan's profile within his view that he was amused as well.
Summer slid across the front seat, closer to Ryan and rested her hand on his thigh. Seth waited for the expected painful twinge in his chest but it didn't come.
"Hey, Summer," he teased. "What do you think our mom and dad will have to say about me and Ryan being a couple?"
"I don't know. They may ban you from the pool house to keep you boys apart." She sighed. "But young love will not be denied, bro."
"Don't I know it," Seth replied.
"Not funny," Ryan deadpanned. "I'm not amused." He glanced in the rearview mirror at Seth. "Don't ever cast me as the boyfriend again. I'd rather have punched the guy out."
Seth just grinned and settled himself more comfortably, spreading a cool, wet napkin, dipped in the slushy water of the ice chest, on his face.
"So you had a good time in Chino?" Ryan ventured to ask after a minute's break, during which Summer punched her way through all the preprogrammed stations on the radio before turning it back off.
"Unequivocally," Seth answered, "Broken nose and all. Although how I'm going to explain this to mom and dad, I don't know."
"Good," Ryan answered. "Um, not the nose thing. The other. I'm glad you, uh...."
"Got lucky?" Summer supplied, dryly.
"Had fun," Ryan corrected.
"Me too," Seth said. And he was surprised to find that it was true. He had spent an evening living outside of his own mind for a change, not feeling jealous or guilty for being jealous, and had discovered that the 'other fish in the sea' expression was absolutely correct. There was a whole, huge, fantastic sea full of beautiful fishes out there and at least some of them were marked for Seth Cohen. All he had to do was start fishing.
He was ready to cast his line now.
The End
I know, "Is Luis dumb as a doorpost or what?" I guess he chose to believe because he wanted it to be true. The way that goofy story came about is this: I originally planned a fistfight between Ryan and Luis that would turn into a full out brawl including everyone at the wedding – just because I thought it would be funny. But BlueStarGirl pointed out that it would be a tremendous boost for Seth's ego for him to get himself out of a jam instead of relying on Ryan and he could only do that by using his verbal skills. So, the "something was in her eye" motive was all I could think of and I just tweaked it a little to make it even more fun. Hope everyone enjoyed Seth's experience at Theresa 'n' Eddie's wedding.