Sorry it took so long. I actually did something to today (it's one in the morning now). Goody's and Barnes and Nobles. Wowee. I got a good cd, though, in case you were wondering, which you probably weren't. you might have heard of him though- Jeff Buckley. So far, I'm impressed. It's got a little bit of everything. Definitely music for all emotions. But anyways, I heard about him because his song, 'hallelujah,' was on the season finale of the OC. Beautiful song, made me cry. Or maybe that was because it was when Ryan was leaving. A little of both, I think. Anyways, there you go, an actual reason for my rambling. But of course, anyone who really loves Jeff Buckley now thinks I have no credibility, as I only found out about the guy by watching a tv show. Oh well. On with the show.

"So, do you think he lost the bet yet?" Summer asked between kisses. The only hotel around was that skanky one Julie Cooper and Luke did the nasty in. Of course, Seth and Summer were planning to do the nasty, themselves, but not in that dump. They settled for Summer's house, which was actually a brilliant plan, considering that no one was ever there. And it only took them an hour to walk there. Of course, Summer was on Seth's back, complaining the entire way. But Seth just told her that she should have brought her own damn car, and that shut Summer up. For about five minutes. Now, on the vacant couch, Summer was as chatty as ever as she ripped off Seth's shirt. "Maybe he held out- we'll never know." Summer was straddling Seth's waist while he lay helplessly on the leather couch. She liked to dominate this part of the relationship. Well, every part, really.

"Summer," Seth started to say as she began sucking behind his ear, but he let it go, because…Summer was sucking behind his ear.

"Cohen, what are you doing?" Summer sat up, still on his hips.

"Nothing," Seth replied, confused.

"Exactly. Do something." She paused, but Seth didn't say anything. She leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear, "I'm now permitting foreplay."

Seth cocked an eyebrow. "Foreplay? I thought you hated the foreplay."

"Well, I did…and I do," Summer mumbled, rubbing circles on Seth's chest with her fingers and laying her head on his shoulder. "But maybe I'm…starting to like it," she said in a questioning tone.

"Really?" Seth asked, a little too interested in his own abilities.

"Maybe," Summer sighed, defeated. "Like when you…blow in my ear. Makes my whole body tingle," she giggled into Seth's hair. "Or when you…give me those little…love bites, all the way down my side. Makes me feel…needed." Seth felt something wet trickle down the back of his neck, but only pulled Summer closer to him.

"Come here," he soothed, pulling Summer's legs up to his stomach, so she was curled up in his arms. "Summer, I need you. I need you in my life, and I…I need you around me, all the time. But I don't want you to think that I only need you for sex. Because, truly, baby, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Sex or no sex."

"Really?" Seth nodded and smoothed her dark hair back, then kissed her nose lightly. "You never call me 'baby,'" she smiled.

"Well, do you mind?" Seth furrowed his eyebrows, thinking he had said something wrong.

"Not at all," Summer breathed sweetly, resting her head back in the curve of his neck.

"So," Seth said abruptly, "now what do we do?"

"Well, we could do what we came her for," Summer shrugged.

"Nope." Seth rubbed her back. "We can do other things, besides have sex. I need you, not 'you,'" he gestured to her body close to his.

"Huh." She agreed, sort of. "Then, let's just lie here," Summer murmured, grabbing a blanket from the top of the couch and pulling it over them. She forgot that she had removed her shirt earlier, and had only her bra and skirt on. The blanket fell halfway over Seth's bare chest, and Summer pulled it up, then drummed on his chest with her nails lightly. "I wonder if 'The Valley' is on," she said, but showed no intentions of finding out. Seth could only smile and hold her tighter.

"Ryan?" He heard that oh-so-familiar voice. He felt Marissa's breath on his neck as he opened his eyes.

"Yeah?" He cleared his throat.

"Why are we just lying here?" Marissa asked. She put her face closer to his, her nose barely brushing Ryan's neck. It wasn't an accident.

"Because," Ryan sighed, "you wanted to, Marissa." He sounded a little irritated. It was the lack of sex lately, he had decided; it had made him a little grouchy.

"I know, Ry. But…we just lied here. We didn't, you know, do anything else."

"I didn't think you wanted to," Ryan lied, reaching out into the soft sand beside him.

Marissa sat up slightly, leaning on one arm, very close to Ryan's face now. "Well, I did. And I do." Marissa kissed Ryan heavily, hoping he wouldn't resist.

But he did. "Okay, okay," Ryan said calmly after a few moments, sitting up. "You know, this isn't exactly the best place for... this." He had to get out of this. He just had to.

"Nobody's here," Marissa laughed. And she was right. The beach was deserted, for some unknown reason. Unless Seth had told everyone about the bet; told them to leave so Ryan wouldn't have any reason to resist. God, he was paranoid. Or was he? It did seem rather Seth-like.

"Yeah, but I don't know, Marissa," he brushed at her cheek lightly. "After this whole 'Teresa' deal, I'm still a little…"

"Shook up?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess you have a right to be," Marissa said, looking a little hurt. She started to get up, but Ryan grabbed her wrist.

"Hey," he started, "I didn't mean it that way."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Marissa snapped, yanking her arm away. Ryan scrambled to his feet as she began to walk away.

"Wait. I…I didn't mean it the way you thought," Ryan soothed, his callused hands touching her shoulders, the words from before slowly beginning to erase in Marissa's mind.

She turned around, her face cold. "Then what did you mean," she said, more of an open-ended statement than a question. Marissa's face showed a slight smirk, but not a 'happy' smirk. Definitely not a 'happy' smirk.

"I…I didn't mean…that you would do that to me." Ryan smoothed his hands over his face, searching for the right words. "I didn't mean…that you would do what Teresa did to me," he breathed. "You would never do that."

"And how do you know?" Marissa glared, chewing on her cheek in anger. "How do you know that I won't stand here, and do the same thing? How do you know that I won't lie to you, or that I…that I won't take advantage of you?" Marissa cried, throwing her arms around for emphasis. "I mean, I've done it before, haven't I? Haven't I?" She sobbed.

Ryan put his hands on her shoulders again and looked into her eyes, then pulled Marissa into a deep hug. "No, Marissa, no," he murmured into her hair, "you haven't. You haven't at all." He held onto Marissa tightly as she cried on his shoulder, then pulled back to look at her again. "Loving some one," he choked out, a tear barely escaping from his eye, "isn't taking advantage of them."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's a three-parter! But this time, I really need your help. You see, I've decided to make it reader's choice. I have this one idea that will shy away from the expected, but I'll leave it up to you. Should Ryan win, lose, or a little bit of both in my version of…my story? Speak honestly; it's up to you. And give me your opinions on the softer side of Ryan- not that he never had one. Actually, that's my favorite part of the character, and Benjamin McKenzie's portrayal of it. One twitch of the jaw can say so much. How long until Season two again? Hehehe. Until next time, hopefully with many reviews.

tvj