Welcome back everyone! So here goes nuthin! Old Habits was meant to be a one shot deal, but at the request of several, Ive added a second chapter. The peeing joke is still alive and well in my inner circle and they got a kick out of this one! Hope you will too! This one brings humor instead of angst. And yall know I like ANY opportunity to torment Seth! Please remember to drop me a review...they make my day!!! ENJOY! : D
Old Habits – Chapter 2
Ryan slouched in his seat, staring out the car window. His MP3 player pounded out tunes, masking the melodrama going on between Seth and his Grandfather. It was a four-hour ride to Caleb's cabin. There was certainly plenty of time to think and reflect. He had come a long way in only a month. While he still felt he couldn't completely let his guard down, he also realized this was a safe place. Kirsten told him no one would hurt him here, and she was telling the truth. No one touched him. That alone was a little unnerving. Sure he was thrilled that he wasn't getting slapped around anymore, but in exchange for that relief, he was expected to be a part of the family. This was unknown territory to him. Practically his entire life was spent looking out for himself. He wasn't sure he could meet the Cohen's expectations of being normal. Being a family. He watched the cliffs blur past him outside the car window. Closing his eyes he decided he was going to make a conscious effort to enjoy the trip. After all, this was his first vacation. Ever.
"Ryan. Ryan wake up man. We're here," Seth informed him. He couldn't believe he fell asleep. Squinting his eyes against the setting sun he grabbed his backpack and jacket, and slowly rolled out of the car. Desperately trying to get his eyes to focus, he gaped in astonishment at the structure in front of him.
"This is a cabin? There are grocery stores in Chino that aren't this big."
"It's a cabin if you're Caleb Nichol, Ryan. I guess that makes it a McCabin."
Gawking at Seth for a moment, Ryan looked back at the monstrosity before him. Indeed. It was a McCabin. It bordered on ridiculous. Ryan couldn't even count how many windows there were on the front of the house. As far as he was concerned, this was no cabin. This was a small resort.
"Ah Ryan. I see you're just as happy to be here as I am," Sandy mocked, throwing his arm around Ryan's shoulder. Ryan offered him a half smile.
"It's....it's...."
"It's big Ryan. Just like Caleb's ego. But don't let that ruin your stay. Once you get inside I think you'll like it. There's a lot to do here."
"Keep talking like that Sanford and you'll find yourself sleeping on the docks," Caleb warned. Ryan looked down at the ground. Sandy slapped his back offering him some reassurance, "He has to say that because even he knows how over the top this is. Come on. Let's get your stuff inside."
Ryan and Seth decided, actually Seth decided, that it would be more fun for them to share a room. "It'll be like we're away at camp Ryan. We can sneak food up here and go wandering around at night looking for trouble. Use my Mom's make-up to paint a face on my Dad while he's sleeping."
"I think I'll actually be sleeping Seth."
"Ah you better be careful then. You might wake up with a glamorous face."
Without speaking a word, Ryan shot Seth a warning look.
"Maybe you're right," Seth agreed. "You might not look good in blush and lip gloss."
Morning came quickly and Seth talked Ryan into going out exploring. After a late breakfast they stocked their backpacks with snacks and drinks and headed out.
"Be sure to be back by dinner time boys. We're cooking out tonight." Kirsten watched the two of them head towards the hiking path. She hoped Ryan would enjoy the trip. On one hand he was easy to please. Little things made him happy. And on the other hand he kept his emotions so guarded, at times he was impossible to read. He seemed to enjoy Seth. Lord knows Seth was enjoying him! She smiled to herself as the boys disappeared around the bend.
The view was amazing. The cliffs, pierced with hearty green trees, gave way to the royal blue lake below. Ryan had only noticed such scenery on postcards. He didn't think such places truly existed. Picking up a good size rock, he chucked it straight out and watched it sail through the air until it splashed into the water below.
The boys walked for almost two hours before they found a bluff overlooking the lake and they stopped to enjoy the snacks and drinks they brought. Seth filled Ryan in about how the area had changed since he was younger. Which of the homes hidden among the cliffs were new and which had the best architecture, since he knew that was an interest for Ryan. They easily spent an hour on the bluff before realizing it was probably a good idea to start heading back in order to be back to the cabin by dinner.
About an hour into their trek back home, Ryan noticed that Seth had gotten very quiet.
"You're awful quiet. I guess there's nothing to see on the way back huh? You must have shown me all the good stuff on the hike out."
Seth stopped walking and tucked his lips into his mouth like he was going to hum a song to Ryan. Popping them open and throwing his arms out to his sides, Ryan waited for an explanation. Ryan had been part of the Cohen household long enough to know that Seth's explanations didn't always mean something. To Seth, maybe they meant something. But that was about it. Ryan thought for sure this was going to be one of those times. He expected Seth to mention how he should have taken Ryan five minutes further to see this one house. Or how they shouldn't have walked so far because now his shoes were hurting.
"Nothing. It's nothing."
"Seth."
Putting his hands on his hips, Seth walked over to Ryan and whispered to him, "Did you finish all your water that you brought?"
"Yeah. Why? Thirsty? And why are you whispering?"
Seth shook his head in an uneasy fashion. "Shhhhhh!" Ryan recognized that look. It was embarrassment and dread. He didn't want to have to explain anything further to Ryan.
A reluctant look took over Ryan's face, "You mean you need to..."
"Yes. Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."
Ryan wanted to laugh at how nervous Seth was just talking about it. "Seth its no big deal. Just...." His voice trailed off as he motioned to all the "opportunities" Seth could pick from.
"What? You mean right here? In front of God and everyone?"
"You're kidding me right? You've never done this before?"
"No. No Ryan I haven't. Not exactly a lot of call for it back in Newport especially considering I pretty much stayed in my room all my life until you showed up. Not to mention my Mom would totally flat line if I did something so disrespectful to nature."
Tipping his head back a bit, Ryan looked away from Seth and bit his lower lip. He couldn't exactly tell Seth his Mom would get over it without Seth asking how he knew that and he wasn't about to share that experience. Kirsten really did keep that little event secret. At least Seth didn't know. He certainly wasn't going to bring it up now. Seth was still staring at Ryan.
"Seth, your secret is safe with me. Just do it and get it over with." With that Ryan turned his back to Seth and took a several steps away from him in an attempt to offer him some privacy.
It didn't take long for Seth to show up at Ryan's side overlooking the lake, "I can't do this," he whispered again.
Ryan looked sideways at Seth, "Stop whispering. We're the only ones up here. No one will see you. No one will know."
"Ryan, I'm a trained Newport rat. They don't teach this at the rat school."
Ryan could sense Seth's desperation. Against his will and better judgement, for Seth's sake, Ryan gave in. Sighing loudly he made Seth swear to secrecy, "All right. Lucky for you, they do teach this in Chino." Ryan walked over to a bush and put his hands on his jeans. In a flash Seth appeared right beside him again.
"Ryan, Ryan...not on living things. The Kirsten wouldn't be happy. What about that boulder?" Never in Ryan's life, ever, did he waste time thinking about where he was pissing, nor did he care what he was pissing on. If he had to go, he just did it. Where ever he was at the time and on what ever was in his way.
Throwing Seth a dirty look and a reminder, "Seth, you're mom is never gonna know about this or I'll kill you. Besides the boulder is a bad choice. There are rules Seth and the boulder falls under the 'Bad Idea' clause."
"Dude, seriously, there are rules?!"
Throwing his head all the way back, "Yes! I can't believe I'm actually explaining this to someone. And the most important rule you're breaking is the fact that you are entirely too close to me!"
"Right. Right. I'm infringing on your area. Got it." Taking two large steps away from Ryan, Seth found himself in front of his own bush. Seth looked unwillingly at the bush, then back at the boulder and then over at Ryan again who was quickly reaching his boiling point on this little dilemma. If Seth would have just listened to Ryan in the first place and took care of business, they would have been almost home by now.
"Seth. You're a smart kid. You don't want your mom to find out about this right?"
"Noooooo. No. The Kirsten can NEVER find out about this."
"Okay. So you don't want to give her any evidence of what you did, right?"
"Right."
"If I let you piss on that rock, you're going to find your shoes and the low part of your jeans a bit on the wet side. Bushes, Seth, have a very low splash factor."
"You mean the rules actually make sense?"
Ryan grimaced a smile and raised his eyebrows in a rather "I told you so" fashion. Once again he turned to the bush and opened his jeans.
"But what if...."
"SETH!"
"Right. Chock full of quiet now!"
Ryan got started, hoping it would move Seth along when he saw Ryan didn't drop dead on the spot or burst into flames from doing such a thing. It took a moment but Seth was finally on board. Ryan finished and backed away in an attempt to give Seth some privacy. He looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Seth from the back. He was standing completely frozen as if one false move would mean doom. Looking back out over the lake, Ryan had a good chuckle to himself. Seth could be quiet a character. Of all the things Ryan had taught other people, this was definitely a first. He heard footsteps and turned around to find Seth grabbing his backpack all ready to go.
"Feel better?" Ryan jestered.
"I almost feel....naughty." There went Seth, again with the melodrama.
"You were naughty. You just killed that plant."
Defeated, Seth dropped his backpack to the ground and his arms started flailing, "Dude! I asked about the rock and you said NO!"
Not able to contain himself any longer, Ryan laughed out loud, "I'm kidding Seth."
"Oh ha ha ha! I think I like it better when you don't have a sense of humor."
Dinner turned out better than Ryan expected. Apparently Kirsten didn't acquire her lack of cooking skills from Caleb. Conversation around the picnic table turned light-hearted. Many jokes about Kirsten and Caleb's cooking abilities flooded the table. Seth must have put one too many jokes out there because Caleb came back with a retort. "It's easy to complain and mock the dinner when you didn't do the cooking. Not all of us had the opportunity to run through the trails full of piss and vim all day long."
Seth's mouth was moving but nothing was coming out. Finally he clamped it shut. Ryan had just put his glass to his mouth to take a sip when Caleb threw that out onto the table. He had to be careful not to choke on his drink in front of everyone. He tried to sneak a peek at Kirsten out of the corner of his eyes only to find her looking directly at him with her eyebrows up. She knew.
"I think that's enough for this game, don't you think Ryan? Cards. I'm just going to go get a deck of cards." Before Ryan could protest Seth's exit, he bolted into the house and out of site.
"And we're out of wine." Caleb announced, frowning at his cup. "Ki Ki? More wine?" Taking Kirsten's glass from her, Caleb also disappeared into the cabin.
The hair on the back of Ryan's neck stood straight up. He was now alone with Kirsten and he could hear the wheels turning. He couldn't even look at her. His mind raced through his options. What was the right thing to say? He didn't want to disappoint her, again. Although, she did say he needed to "try" to change his little habit. That left the door open for a slip up like this in Ryan's opinion.
"Ryan." Here it comes he thought. Barely twenty-four hours had gone by since they arrived at the cabin and already he was in trouble. He kept his head tipped down towards the table and very slowly raised only his eyes to meet Kirsten's. The task turned out to be more trying then he thought and very slowly he lowered his eyes right back to the table.
Kirsten reached forward and put her hand on his arm, "Ryan, we're supposed to be at a cabin. Roughing it for a few days. As you can see, my Father's idea of roughing it is learning he's run out of Merlot." Her voice was soft with a hint of sarcastic humor behind it. Ryan was still unsure of exactly where this conversation was heading but he mustered the courage to look back at her face.
"If you did....something....while you guys were out on the trails today...it's okay. That doesn't count towards our deal."
Ryan tipped his head up to meet Kirsten's gaze. He didn't say a word but he was beyond relieved to know she wasn't angry or disappointed with him.
"I think just about everyone has peed on a bush during a 'roughing it' trip at some point in their life."
Nodding at Kirsten, "I think that's an over-share," Ryan confirmed, wrinkling his face.
"Sorry. I was drunk at the time and......" Catching herself in mid-sentence she looked at Ryan.
"Yeah. Also an over-share." Ryan was losing the battle of trying to hide a smile that was trying to break out across his face.
"Hopefully Seth gave you a minute to yourself. I can only imagine how paranoid that would make him. He'd have to put his two cents in about not here...not there. He doesn't understand there are rules.
Ryan chuckled out loud at that one. He decided to bury his face in his glass just as Seth, Caleb and Sandy came out of the house. Sandy and Caleb were deep in conversation about God knows what.
"Sandy you just can't run around pissing up everyone's flagpoles. There are rules for these sort of things." Caleb reprimanded. The comment turned out to be too much for Seth who spit his drink out. Everywhere. Stopping all conversation dead in it's tracks.
"Sorry. Sorry. I was just choking, um, choking on an ice cube." It was a lame cover but no one seemed the wiser. Ryan and Kirsten shared a hidden smirk and Seth managed to throw Ryan a panicked look, assuming his Mom would figure out the entire afternoon just because he spit out his drink.
Shaking his head, Ryan's mood took a quick upswing. This was okay. Everything was going to be okay after all.
Old Habits – Chapter 2
Ryan slouched in his seat, staring out the car window. His MP3 player pounded out tunes, masking the melodrama going on between Seth and his Grandfather. It was a four-hour ride to Caleb's cabin. There was certainly plenty of time to think and reflect. He had come a long way in only a month. While he still felt he couldn't completely let his guard down, he also realized this was a safe place. Kirsten told him no one would hurt him here, and she was telling the truth. No one touched him. That alone was a little unnerving. Sure he was thrilled that he wasn't getting slapped around anymore, but in exchange for that relief, he was expected to be a part of the family. This was unknown territory to him. Practically his entire life was spent looking out for himself. He wasn't sure he could meet the Cohen's expectations of being normal. Being a family. He watched the cliffs blur past him outside the car window. Closing his eyes he decided he was going to make a conscious effort to enjoy the trip. After all, this was his first vacation. Ever.
"Ryan. Ryan wake up man. We're here," Seth informed him. He couldn't believe he fell asleep. Squinting his eyes against the setting sun he grabbed his backpack and jacket, and slowly rolled out of the car. Desperately trying to get his eyes to focus, he gaped in astonishment at the structure in front of him.
"This is a cabin? There are grocery stores in Chino that aren't this big."
"It's a cabin if you're Caleb Nichol, Ryan. I guess that makes it a McCabin."
Gawking at Seth for a moment, Ryan looked back at the monstrosity before him. Indeed. It was a McCabin. It bordered on ridiculous. Ryan couldn't even count how many windows there were on the front of the house. As far as he was concerned, this was no cabin. This was a small resort.
"Ah Ryan. I see you're just as happy to be here as I am," Sandy mocked, throwing his arm around Ryan's shoulder. Ryan offered him a half smile.
"It's....it's...."
"It's big Ryan. Just like Caleb's ego. But don't let that ruin your stay. Once you get inside I think you'll like it. There's a lot to do here."
"Keep talking like that Sanford and you'll find yourself sleeping on the docks," Caleb warned. Ryan looked down at the ground. Sandy slapped his back offering him some reassurance, "He has to say that because even he knows how over the top this is. Come on. Let's get your stuff inside."
Ryan and Seth decided, actually Seth decided, that it would be more fun for them to share a room. "It'll be like we're away at camp Ryan. We can sneak food up here and go wandering around at night looking for trouble. Use my Mom's make-up to paint a face on my Dad while he's sleeping."
"I think I'll actually be sleeping Seth."
"Ah you better be careful then. You might wake up with a glamorous face."
Without speaking a word, Ryan shot Seth a warning look.
"Maybe you're right," Seth agreed. "You might not look good in blush and lip gloss."
Morning came quickly and Seth talked Ryan into going out exploring. After a late breakfast they stocked their backpacks with snacks and drinks and headed out.
"Be sure to be back by dinner time boys. We're cooking out tonight." Kirsten watched the two of them head towards the hiking path. She hoped Ryan would enjoy the trip. On one hand he was easy to please. Little things made him happy. And on the other hand he kept his emotions so guarded, at times he was impossible to read. He seemed to enjoy Seth. Lord knows Seth was enjoying him! She smiled to herself as the boys disappeared around the bend.
The view was amazing. The cliffs, pierced with hearty green trees, gave way to the royal blue lake below. Ryan had only noticed such scenery on postcards. He didn't think such places truly existed. Picking up a good size rock, he chucked it straight out and watched it sail through the air until it splashed into the water below.
The boys walked for almost two hours before they found a bluff overlooking the lake and they stopped to enjoy the snacks and drinks they brought. Seth filled Ryan in about how the area had changed since he was younger. Which of the homes hidden among the cliffs were new and which had the best architecture, since he knew that was an interest for Ryan. They easily spent an hour on the bluff before realizing it was probably a good idea to start heading back in order to be back to the cabin by dinner.
About an hour into their trek back home, Ryan noticed that Seth had gotten very quiet.
"You're awful quiet. I guess there's nothing to see on the way back huh? You must have shown me all the good stuff on the hike out."
Seth stopped walking and tucked his lips into his mouth like he was going to hum a song to Ryan. Popping them open and throwing his arms out to his sides, Ryan waited for an explanation. Ryan had been part of the Cohen household long enough to know that Seth's explanations didn't always mean something. To Seth, maybe they meant something. But that was about it. Ryan thought for sure this was going to be one of those times. He expected Seth to mention how he should have taken Ryan five minutes further to see this one house. Or how they shouldn't have walked so far because now his shoes were hurting.
"Nothing. It's nothing."
"Seth."
Putting his hands on his hips, Seth walked over to Ryan and whispered to him, "Did you finish all your water that you brought?"
"Yeah. Why? Thirsty? And why are you whispering?"
Seth shook his head in an uneasy fashion. "Shhhhhh!" Ryan recognized that look. It was embarrassment and dread. He didn't want to have to explain anything further to Ryan.
A reluctant look took over Ryan's face, "You mean you need to..."
"Yes. Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."
Ryan wanted to laugh at how nervous Seth was just talking about it. "Seth its no big deal. Just...." His voice trailed off as he motioned to all the "opportunities" Seth could pick from.
"What? You mean right here? In front of God and everyone?"
"You're kidding me right? You've never done this before?"
"No. No Ryan I haven't. Not exactly a lot of call for it back in Newport especially considering I pretty much stayed in my room all my life until you showed up. Not to mention my Mom would totally flat line if I did something so disrespectful to nature."
Tipping his head back a bit, Ryan looked away from Seth and bit his lower lip. He couldn't exactly tell Seth his Mom would get over it without Seth asking how he knew that and he wasn't about to share that experience. Kirsten really did keep that little event secret. At least Seth didn't know. He certainly wasn't going to bring it up now. Seth was still staring at Ryan.
"Seth, your secret is safe with me. Just do it and get it over with." With that Ryan turned his back to Seth and took a several steps away from him in an attempt to offer him some privacy.
It didn't take long for Seth to show up at Ryan's side overlooking the lake, "I can't do this," he whispered again.
Ryan looked sideways at Seth, "Stop whispering. We're the only ones up here. No one will see you. No one will know."
"Ryan, I'm a trained Newport rat. They don't teach this at the rat school."
Ryan could sense Seth's desperation. Against his will and better judgement, for Seth's sake, Ryan gave in. Sighing loudly he made Seth swear to secrecy, "All right. Lucky for you, they do teach this in Chino." Ryan walked over to a bush and put his hands on his jeans. In a flash Seth appeared right beside him again.
"Ryan, Ryan...not on living things. The Kirsten wouldn't be happy. What about that boulder?" Never in Ryan's life, ever, did he waste time thinking about where he was pissing, nor did he care what he was pissing on. If he had to go, he just did it. Where ever he was at the time and on what ever was in his way.
Throwing Seth a dirty look and a reminder, "Seth, you're mom is never gonna know about this or I'll kill you. Besides the boulder is a bad choice. There are rules Seth and the boulder falls under the 'Bad Idea' clause."
"Dude, seriously, there are rules?!"
Throwing his head all the way back, "Yes! I can't believe I'm actually explaining this to someone. And the most important rule you're breaking is the fact that you are entirely too close to me!"
"Right. Right. I'm infringing on your area. Got it." Taking two large steps away from Ryan, Seth found himself in front of his own bush. Seth looked unwillingly at the bush, then back at the boulder and then over at Ryan again who was quickly reaching his boiling point on this little dilemma. If Seth would have just listened to Ryan in the first place and took care of business, they would have been almost home by now.
"Seth. You're a smart kid. You don't want your mom to find out about this right?"
"Noooooo. No. The Kirsten can NEVER find out about this."
"Okay. So you don't want to give her any evidence of what you did, right?"
"Right."
"If I let you piss on that rock, you're going to find your shoes and the low part of your jeans a bit on the wet side. Bushes, Seth, have a very low splash factor."
"You mean the rules actually make sense?"
Ryan grimaced a smile and raised his eyebrows in a rather "I told you so" fashion. Once again he turned to the bush and opened his jeans.
"But what if...."
"SETH!"
"Right. Chock full of quiet now!"
Ryan got started, hoping it would move Seth along when he saw Ryan didn't drop dead on the spot or burst into flames from doing such a thing. It took a moment but Seth was finally on board. Ryan finished and backed away in an attempt to give Seth some privacy. He looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of Seth from the back. He was standing completely frozen as if one false move would mean doom. Looking back out over the lake, Ryan had a good chuckle to himself. Seth could be quiet a character. Of all the things Ryan had taught other people, this was definitely a first. He heard footsteps and turned around to find Seth grabbing his backpack all ready to go.
"Feel better?" Ryan jestered.
"I almost feel....naughty." There went Seth, again with the melodrama.
"You were naughty. You just killed that plant."
Defeated, Seth dropped his backpack to the ground and his arms started flailing, "Dude! I asked about the rock and you said NO!"
Not able to contain himself any longer, Ryan laughed out loud, "I'm kidding Seth."
"Oh ha ha ha! I think I like it better when you don't have a sense of humor."
Dinner turned out better than Ryan expected. Apparently Kirsten didn't acquire her lack of cooking skills from Caleb. Conversation around the picnic table turned light-hearted. Many jokes about Kirsten and Caleb's cooking abilities flooded the table. Seth must have put one too many jokes out there because Caleb came back with a retort. "It's easy to complain and mock the dinner when you didn't do the cooking. Not all of us had the opportunity to run through the trails full of piss and vim all day long."
Seth's mouth was moving but nothing was coming out. Finally he clamped it shut. Ryan had just put his glass to his mouth to take a sip when Caleb threw that out onto the table. He had to be careful not to choke on his drink in front of everyone. He tried to sneak a peek at Kirsten out of the corner of his eyes only to find her looking directly at him with her eyebrows up. She knew.
"I think that's enough for this game, don't you think Ryan? Cards. I'm just going to go get a deck of cards." Before Ryan could protest Seth's exit, he bolted into the house and out of site.
"And we're out of wine." Caleb announced, frowning at his cup. "Ki Ki? More wine?" Taking Kirsten's glass from her, Caleb also disappeared into the cabin.
The hair on the back of Ryan's neck stood straight up. He was now alone with Kirsten and he could hear the wheels turning. He couldn't even look at her. His mind raced through his options. What was the right thing to say? He didn't want to disappoint her, again. Although, she did say he needed to "try" to change his little habit. That left the door open for a slip up like this in Ryan's opinion.
"Ryan." Here it comes he thought. Barely twenty-four hours had gone by since they arrived at the cabin and already he was in trouble. He kept his head tipped down towards the table and very slowly raised only his eyes to meet Kirsten's. The task turned out to be more trying then he thought and very slowly he lowered his eyes right back to the table.
Kirsten reached forward and put her hand on his arm, "Ryan, we're supposed to be at a cabin. Roughing it for a few days. As you can see, my Father's idea of roughing it is learning he's run out of Merlot." Her voice was soft with a hint of sarcastic humor behind it. Ryan was still unsure of exactly where this conversation was heading but he mustered the courage to look back at her face.
"If you did....something....while you guys were out on the trails today...it's okay. That doesn't count towards our deal."
Ryan tipped his head up to meet Kirsten's gaze. He didn't say a word but he was beyond relieved to know she wasn't angry or disappointed with him.
"I think just about everyone has peed on a bush during a 'roughing it' trip at some point in their life."
Nodding at Kirsten, "I think that's an over-share," Ryan confirmed, wrinkling his face.
"Sorry. I was drunk at the time and......" Catching herself in mid-sentence she looked at Ryan.
"Yeah. Also an over-share." Ryan was losing the battle of trying to hide a smile that was trying to break out across his face.
"Hopefully Seth gave you a minute to yourself. I can only imagine how paranoid that would make him. He'd have to put his two cents in about not here...not there. He doesn't understand there are rules.
Ryan chuckled out loud at that one. He decided to bury his face in his glass just as Seth, Caleb and Sandy came out of the house. Sandy and Caleb were deep in conversation about God knows what.
"Sandy you just can't run around pissing up everyone's flagpoles. There are rules for these sort of things." Caleb reprimanded. The comment turned out to be too much for Seth who spit his drink out. Everywhere. Stopping all conversation dead in it's tracks.
"Sorry. Sorry. I was just choking, um, choking on an ice cube." It was a lame cover but no one seemed the wiser. Ryan and Kirsten shared a hidden smirk and Seth managed to throw Ryan a panicked look, assuming his Mom would figure out the entire afternoon just because he spit out his drink.
Shaking his head, Ryan's mood took a quick upswing. This was okay. Everything was going to be okay after all.