And here we are. Again. Well, no prolonging the inevitable, which happens to be a little iffy to me, partly because there wasn't much input last time! So, don't let it happen again, folks, and maybe my writing will come out of its present level of mediocrity. Or at least I think it's now mediocre. Tell me it's not, if you wish.

"We'll leave you two alone," Seth winked, elbowing Ryan in the side as he led Summer away.

"I guess everything's back to normal," Marissa laughed. "At least, as normal as it ever was."

Yeah." Ryan said, casually wrapping an arm around her waist. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"Well…I…" Marissa was lost for words. She was actually nervous. Around Ryan, no less.

"Let's just sit down," Ryan said soothingly, leading Marissa to the soft sand. He set a towel down and sat on it, pulling Marissa between his knees and leaning back onto his arms. "I'm sorry, Marissa," he whispered in her ear, then kissed it.

"Why?" Marissa turned slightly so Ryan's chin rested on her shoulder, their heads touching. "I mean, you did what you had to do."

"No, I didn't." Ryan looked away. "I didn't have to do it. I just…did." Ryan sighed at his inability to say anything the way he wanted to.

Marissa put her hand on Ryan's cheek and turned his head back, to focus on her. "Ryan. That's over. This isn't like you." She brushed her other hand through his hair, then placed it on his other cheek. "No regrets. That's the real you." Marissa smoothed her fingers over Ryan's soft cheekbones, as if wiping away invisible tears, then kissed him lightly. "And that's why I love the real you. Okay?" Ryan nodded and nuzzled his nose into Marissa's neck, just to hear her giggle. Just to hear her happy.

"I wonder what they're doing," Summer said, licking her newly-purchased ice cream cone and walking along the pier with Seth.

"I don't," he replied confidently.

Summer was quiet, then registered what he was saying. "Cohen, it's a public beach! They wouldn't do that! Not here, anyway." She slowly stopped believing herself.

"Yeah, they would, Sum. And that's why I'm gonna be fifty bucks richer," Seth grinned.

"What do you mean?" Summer leaned against the wooden pier, almost spilling the ice cream over the ledge.

"I mean," he turned to her, "I bet Ryan fifty bucks that he couldn't go out with Marissa and not sleep with her. It was a sure thing."

"I can't believe you did that!" Summer exploded. "That…that's just insane!" Summer paused for dramatic effect. "You only bet fifty? What kind of a moron are you-could've at least gone for a c-note!" Seth let out a sigh of relief as Summer lightly punched him on the arm. They laughed for a good ten minutes before Summer spoke again. "Ah," she sighed, wiping her eyes, "they're gonna be really pissed, Cohen."

"Yeah. We better go get a hotel room before they kill me," Seth joked, wrapping his arm around Summer's waist as they walked away.

"It's kind of hot," Marissa said, almost Summer-like.

"Yeah," Ryan replied distantly, Marissa still leaning against his chest, sitting between his knees.

"Wanna go for a swim?" Marissa asked, getting up and holding out a hand for him.

"Sure." Ryan got up, a little spaced out. He watched Marissa take off her tank top and wrap-around skirt, wearing only a bikini underneath. It was light green, and brought out her subtle, peachy skin. Ryan wanted to touch that bright, beautiful skin. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to make love to her, right then and there. But he couldn't. Fifty bucks- and proof that he engaged in things other than sex with Marissa- would soon be his.

"Ryan," Marissa called after him, already halfway to the water, "come on." Ryan smiled and ran to her, grabbing Marissa by her waist and spinning her in the air.

"What's with the whole 'knight in shining armor' bit?" Marissa giggled as Ryan cradled her, walking as the cool Pacific drifted to his knees.

"Nothin' wrong with a little romance," he smiled, a little mischievously.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Marissa said, her arms draped around his shoulders. She played with the hair at the back of his neck and kissed him sweetly. "So, now what?" Marissa raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Well, we could…" Ryan began, grinning in an equally provocative way.

"What?"

"We could…swim to Tahiti!" He laughed, tossing Marissa into the frigid water. She emerged a few seconds later and screamed, shivering.

"Oh…my god. Now, you die!" She said half-seriously, then gave him a shove into the shallow water.

Ryan winced slightly, then pulled out a conk shell from under him. "Always a thorn in my side," he said, inspecting it. "Or something gettin' me in the ass."

"At least it doesn't bite back," Marissa grinned, kneeling next to him. He nodded, staring at her. "You want to go back now, I think my lips are turning purple," she said, trembling.

Ryan kissed her softly. "That better?" he whispered. Marissa nodded and smiled, then kissed him again. It was a different kind of kiss, though. That special kind of kiss- eyes closed, mouths open- the kind of kiss that they had both wanted all day. "Let's go," he said, getting up and holding her shivering body close to his as they walked back to the shore.

Ryan shook the sand out of the towel and draped it over Marissa's shoulders, rubbing her petite arms from behind her. "What do you want to do now?" Ryan asked, kissing the top of Marissa's wet head.

Marissa turned to face him. "Oh, I don't know," she said, batting her eyelashes. She looked at the car nearby, then back at Ryan. "We could…"

Ryan laughed nervously. "How about…lunch. On the pier."

"It'll do." Marissa grinned and gave him a quick kiss. "I'm gonna change. Wait here." Marissa walked to the car and got in the backseat, closing the door.

'Just stay cool,' Ryan thought. 'Doin' good. I can do this.' He kept repeating it silently until he couldn't pretend to believe himself anymore. This was going to be very difficult.

Okay, so it's short. Only because I officially have major writer's block now. And there were some...minor distractions. God, I love 'The Little Rascals'! But seriously, HELP ME! I need professional help at this point. Well, not professional, but you people are close enough. I imagine, if some of you spend as much time as I do reading these things, you should be a professional. But, if you don't review (which would be very mean, in my personal opinion) I might still have some ideas up my sleeve. But at this point, I got nothin'. And I think I need some scenes with the parents in them, so maybe I'll watch How To Deal, cause Peter Gallagher is in it. He's actually pretty good looking for an older man. Has lips of a god, too. Actually, they're more like Steven Tyler's lips, without his face attached. Because, 'eww'. Ya'll come 'round again, though, pretty please!

Love ya

tvj

PS: I thought I could get away with that catchy line last time, ding-dangit!