(Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all. So don't sue me. Please.)

A Note from the Author: Hey, just want to thank all of you for your encouraging reviews. It means a lot to me! I'm just churning these chapters out like there's no tomorrow for some reason, but I'm getting scared of inevitable writer's block. It's hard to get inspiration, since there's going to be a three (!) week break for the show. Augh! And also, if you guys are liking the Ryan/Summer thing, you should totally go check out "The Unexpected" by tiffany82 (if you haven't already, it's pretty good). And… onwards to the bat cave – er, story.

Chapter Four

Eventually they felt guilty.

It was the day that Summer dragged Ryan to the mall, telling him that she would die if she didn't get new sandals, and since Ryan was alone and Summer was alone, well, it was only logical, right?

Only, it wasn't very logical for Summer to decide to browse every single store on the way, especially stopping at the swimsuit store to model some looks for Ryan.

Oh yeah. He really needed those images of hot Summer in a hot bikini, especially since he always had a lot of time to think about it before he went to sleep at night.

And it didn't really help that now he knew exactly what flavour of lip gloss she bought (passion fruit) and what brand of sunscreen she used (Neutrogena).

Summer could see Ryan was starting to look distressed, and although she didn't know why, she wanted to cheer him up. Of course, her idea of doing so was to drag him to every other store, those being the men's clothing stores. Summer ended up getting so enthusiastic at the prospect of Ryan and a new wardrobe, she went a bit overboard. But Ryan held her in check. Summer particularly enjoyed it when he tried on the skin-tight blue shirt and leather pants, but Ryan would have none of that.

In the end, Ryan walked away with only a new leather wrist cuff, and Summer ended up not buying those sandals after all. It was a funny thing, being distracted.

They got in the car to go home, and Summer contentedly stretched out her legs and admired her new purchases. Ryan tried to make a joke about how she practically bought out the mall, but his mind wasn't really on financial exploits, if you know what I mean.

Summer scoffed, and reached over to take his hand. She admired the wrist cuff, saying it suited him and whatnot, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she really didn't grab him to coo at her shopping skills.

But then Summer's cell rang, and it was Marissa. Summer had no idea how, since Marissa was still in Europe, and how much it was costing, but well. Marissa was calling.

Summer dropped Ryan's hand, and turned away, talking quietly into the phone while Ryan started the car and drove off.

He chauffeured Summer to her house. She was too tired from her mind-blowing shopping trip, she said. Ryan thought that she was a seasoned veteran, and that maybe there was something that she wasn't telling him, but he let it go because sometimes, Summer just didn't make sense. She was like Seth, in a way.

"Speaking of Seth," Kirsten and Sandy commented, as they discussed their firstborn's sailing exploits at the dinner table that night, "what about Summer?"

"What about Summer?" Ryan said casually.

"Well." Sandy looked at Kirsten. "She's been hanging around here an awful lot lately."

"That's because she's got nowhere else to go."

There was an awkward pause as the two expected further explanation.

"It's not a big deal, I don't mind," he dismissed.

Sandy spoke slowly, and Ryan could tell he was choosing his words wisely. "Seth might mind."

He said it with a hint of fatherly admonishment, a bit of a threat, and a smidgen of curiosity. You could say that Sandy was good with words like Ryan was good with looks. Maybe it was because he was a lawyer.

At the mention of Seth's name, Ryan grew a little uncomfortable.

Ah well, just the heartburn acting up again. Yeah. Damn heartburn.