Hey there, you lovely folks, wherever you are. Thank you for keeping up with my now slightly humorous story. It was the easiest way to go. And beyond that, the dropping of the towel was definitely the most enticing way, if I do say so, myself! But, aside from me and my ego, I hope you like it. Please send in your comments, it's basically the only email I get (pity me!).
"You know," Seth said, jabbing at the buttons on his PlayStation control, "I'm kinda liking this whole 'no girls for two weeks' thing. Allows for some…male bonding."
Ryan grunted. "That doesn't include you hugging me, does it? And no towels."
"Better than towel-less. And I can't believe my parents grounded us. Can you?" He looked at Ryan.
"Grounded?" Ryan kept his eye on the TV.
"Yeah. Ya know, it's when they take away our girls, our freedom, our entertainment," he said in his usual sarcastic tone. "Actually, they're doing a terrible job of it." Seth won the game; Ryan was spaced out.
"They did ground us, didn't they?" He looked at Seth. "I'm grounded. This is new," Ryan said dryly. "And it doesn't suck that bad."
"Are you kidding me?" Seth got up, to ramble properly. "All that stuff about not needing women, male bonding- crap! All crap. I need her. Of course I need her! Without my woman, I'm just a guy…talkin' to you."
"Huh. Hope Summer doesn't hear you call her 'your woman,' or you'll be crap. Crap warmed over."
"Yeah, but what kind of crap? Is it human crap or dog crap, because it makes a big difference and…"
"Seth, shut up." Ryan got up and went into the kitchen, calling after him. "Besides, we can still see the girls."
"Yeah, apparently you missed it when my mom said we couldn't see them for two weeks." Seth followed Ryan and got a coke from the fridge. "You were probably just distracted; she was in a silk nightgown."
"Actually, you weren't paying attention," Ryan leaned on the island. "Kirsten said 'no girls in the house for two weeks.' Anywhere else is fair game. And, that last comment was definitely uncalled for," Ryan said, sipping his coke and walking back to the couch. "Kirsten's a mother figure to me. So, for me to think about that is just…gross."
"What's gross?" Kirsten said, walking into the kitchen and pouring a cup of coffee.
"Uh…comparing dog crap and human crap," Seth said, sitting next to Ryan. "Dog crap wins, hands down."
"Hmm." Kirsten said, pretending to listen. "Well, I'm off to work, guys, so be good." She walked to the door and shouted, "and remember the rules!" Then she left.
"I don't know why I can't have Marissa over," Ryan grumbled, "I didn't break my bed sleeping with her."
"Hey, we weren't actually having sex at the time…"
"So after all that, you still didn't get any?" Ryan chuckled. He actually chuckled.
"Hey, man, I didn't say that! Let me tell you- I got some! Man, did I get some!" Seth paused, cooling down a bit. "And besides, if you're wondering why you can't have Marissa over, may I remind you how this all started?" He raised his eyebrows.
"So your parents aren't letting me have girls over for fear that I'll knock 'em up?"
"Well, no, not exactly. More like a fear that you'll get blamed for it…again. Either that or they don't want to subject their poor son to watching you and the girl formerly from next-door roll around on the couch all day. Take your pick."
Ryan sighed. "It's not all we do. We do other stuff, too."
Seth snorted with laughter. "Ryan, have you ever even been on a date with the girl?" Ryan paused in thought. "Tell you what. You go on a date… with Marissa…and I'll give you fifty bucks. But, you can't sleep with her. Or I get the money."
"You want to bet me that I'll go on a date…with my girlfriend…and sleep with her. You're on." He shook Seth's hand. "I'll have you know, we didn't even have sex the night I came back," Ryan said, almost bragging, getting up. He surprised himself sometimes.
"Hmm. And who's not gettin' any?!" Seth yelled after him.
"Coop, are you done yet?" Summer shouted from a lounge chair outside of the dressing room.
"Yeah," Marissa said quietly, opening the door slightly and slipping out. "I don't know," she said, looking at the clothing draped over her. "It…it's a little..."
"Overdone," Summer said with a look of disgust. "You're too...clean cut, for this. It makes you look so…"
"Trashy?" Marissa finished, fooling with the metallic fabric around her shoulders.
"Yeah. Take it off, we'll go somewhere else." Marissa nodded and walked back into the dressing room. Summer stood up and walked to the door.
"So," she said casually, "what's with you and Ryan?" Silence. "Are you…together? Apart? 'Friends with benefits?'" She heard Marissa sigh from inside the room. "Because if you are, it wouldn't be one of your better ideas."
"What?" Marissa stepped out. "Friends with benefits?" Summer's eyes shifted nervously. "Don't worry, Sum," she laughed, putting her hand on Summer's shoulder, " we're not."
"So you're…?"
"Together," Marissa nodded, reassuring herself more than Summer.
"Great." Summer smiled genuinely. "The gang is back!" She giggled, hugging Marissa.
"Yeah. One problem." Summer looked at her, perplexed. "The boys are grounded, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. The Cohen's really need to work on soundproofing their house. And the walls." She giggled. "We could hear everything you two were doing the other night!"
"What? We…we weren't doing anything, I swear."
"Yeah, sure," Summer said, elbowing Marissa lightly and walking away, leaving her to follow.
"So, what's going on tonight?" Seth asked from his float, sipping lemonade.
"How would I know?" Ryan replied, trying to sleep in his own float.
"Well, your girlfriend is 'the' Marissa Cooper, so it just seemed natural." He splashed a bit of water onto Ryan's face.
"Natural, huh? Not for long," Ryan said, satisfied.
"And why's that, my brooding buddy?" Seth rolled off the float and into the water, then breaststroked to the side of the pool, folding his arms on the concrete.
"She promised she wouldn't drink anymore," Ryan said coolly, his eyes still closed.
"So? You believed her?" Seth rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I did." Ryan smiled slightly, his mind on Marissa. "And I do."
"Somebody's a bit naïve."
Ryan rolled his eyes then jumped off his float and swam to Seth. "Hearing that from you, I can only laugh," he said distantly.
"Huh." They heard the familiar ring of Ryan's cell phone, as Seth had insisted in using 'Play That Funky Music' for the ring tone.
"I'll get it," Ryan said. He pulled himself up and out of the pool with his arms. Seth shook his head, mocking Ryan and his only-slightly-above-normal strength.
"Hey Marissa," Seth heard as Ryan started to walk away. "At the beach? Okay. It's a date." He closed the phone and grinned at Seth, knowing a fresh fifty would soon be in his wallet.
"Ah," Seth said, using the ladder to get out. "So the bet is on. When's the date?"
"Now." Ryan walked into the pool house, Seth trailing after him.
"Wait, now? You can't go out now! What about the 'grounding'?"
"They didn't say we couldn't go out. Now, if you don't mind, I've got to get ready." Ryan grabbed a towel and a tee shirt, then started to leave.
"What am I gonna do?"
Ryan sighed. "I don't know, man. Entertain yourself. Call Summer."
"And how will I know it's not just going to turn into a midday booty call?" Seth said matter-of-factly, his hands on his hips.
"I don't know. Not my problem." He walked out the door and towards the house.
"How are you gonna get there?" Seth called after him. "Huh? Slight setback!"
"She's coming to pick me up," Ryan said, irritated.
Seth sighed. "Oh." He caught up with Ryan and shrugged, looking a little glum. It worked.
"Fine. Come with us. But… you have to bring Summer."
"Like a double-date?"
"No, like I don't want to have to watch you myself."
"Whatever," Seth said, no longer semi-hurt.
Marissa pulled up to the driveway at the Cohen's house. She turned her head after seeing Ryan walk down the path, looking at her old house. She actually missed it.
"Hey," Ryan said as he got in, giving her a quick kiss. He looked out the window, seeing Seth making distorted faces from the lawn. "Would you mind if…" he started.
"Seth comes," Marissa finished, laughing. "Already called."
"Hey Ry," Summer said from the backseat, ruffling his hair.
"Hey," he replied, loosening up a bit. He motioned for Seth to get in.
"Oh, thank God," Seth said, climbing in the back and practically mauling Summer.
"Cohen," Summer pushed Seth away. "We have an audience," she whispered, then kissed his cheek. "Later."
Marissa and Ryan snickered in the front seats. "So, what's going on at the beach?" Ryan said after composing himself.
"Oh. Um, well, there's this party. It's kind of…"
"A keg party." Summer piped in from the backseat. Ryan nodded, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.
"Well, not really." Marissa pulled out and turned onto the road. "Okay, so there might be some drinking, but it's a Newport party, there always is."
"Yeah," Summer said between kisses, "you remember what they're like, don't ya Chin?" She joked.
"I'm sure I will in time," Ryan said sarcastically as they pulled onto the edge of the beach. They got out and walked towards the drunken crowd. "And it's all coming back to me," he said dryly.
Couldn't let it get too long. Don't worry, though, drama will ensue. Or comedy. Actually, I'm more of a 'dramady' kind of person, if you know what I mean. But I've always thought of the show as that, all thanks to the lovable Adam Brody. God bless ya. But anyways, keep sending in your ideas and I'll try to incorporate them. Ya'll come back now, ya hear!
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