Impressed, Seth watched as Summer polished off the very last french fry with gusto. The portions at the Crab Shack were not shabby by any means. The heap of fries alone could probably feed several children of a starving nation. Ditto for the oversized burger. She emitted an unladylike burp, giggled, and primly excused herself.

He chuckled, pushing away his own plate. The burger had been devoured but there were scatterings of a few stray fries. He'd been amused to discover she could match him bite for bite in any meal and sometimes, as she had tonight, even surpass him. She wasn't one to pick at her food, as other girls seemed to do. It was just one of the fascinating things that he'd been discovering about her for more than a month now.

He'd admired Summer from afar since elementary school and liked to think he knew her better than anyone else. While he had never gathered the nerve to actually talk to her, he'd kept himself busy studying her every move. Even then, she'd been a bundle of contradictions. Loud and obnoxious in a group, but shy and unsure of herself when speaking in front of the class. She'd spent most of her free time gossiping with her little clique but he'd often found her alone too, reading a book or on the swing, flying higher and higher. When boys had teased her, pulling her shiny hair or snatching her book away, she'd never ran tattling to the teacher. Instead, she'd chased after the culprit and made him sorry and afraid for his life, often pummelling him into the ground. Seth had sometimes considered charging in and saving the day but she'd never needed to be saved.

He had numerous memories of her and though he'd once tried to pinpoint the last thing he could remember her doing or saying, nothing concrete had come to him. The memories seemed to blend into each other and he simply couldn't distinguish any timeframes. So fast-forward to present day. She still intrigued him and as they spent more time together, new facets of her personality were revealed to him. While she was very frank and outspoken about most things, he sensed that she kept some things hidden and private. Whether it was a deliberate choice or an unconscious one, he wasn't sure. But he supposed everyone was entitled to their secrets. It certainly added to her air of mystery and made him that much more determined to know her. All of her.

"So what next?" he asked, taking a brief glance at his watch. "It's still early."

"It's Friday night. I'm sure there's some party we can crash," Summer suggested. "Or we could go to my place. My dad's away at a conference. And my step mom's at some spa retreat with her friends."

"You mean we'd be all alone in your big house?" Seth asked.

She smiled, arching an eyebrow at him. "That's what I'm saying."

He put up his hand, waving at their waitress. "Excuse me? Could we get the cheque?"

Fifteen minutes later, after having trailed Summer's car, he was pulling into her driveway. As the house came into view, he realized that this was the first time he'd been here. At least since the accident, anyway. He wondered why she hadn't invited him over until now but then put the thought aside, deciding to concentrate on the present. She led the way and he followed, through the front door, the foyer, and up the staircase to the second floor. He took a cursory look at his surroundings but it didn't interest him much. Neither did she offer to give him the grand tour.

Once in her bedroom, she switched on a lamp and kicked aside her shoes, dropping her purse to the floor. She sat down on the bed and he took a moment to absorb the vibe from her room. Now this was more interesting than the expensive, pristine furniture and décor he'd seen downstairs. He could see a lot of Summer in the room. Pinks and frills and lace. Teddy bears and God, was that a purple pony? Nuzzling up to one Captain Oats, no less.

With a pointed index finger, Seth asked, "Is that what I think it is?"

Summer glanced at her bedside table. When she answered, her tone was defensive. "Yeah, I took him. You were going to throw him out, right? You didn't want him so he's staying with me. You have a problem with that?"

"No. No problem. He's probably been lonely for some female company anyway." He changed topics with haste. "So this is your room. Nice. Kind of girly."

She tossed her hair and leaned back, the movement thrusting her chest out ever so slightly. "I am a girl, in case you haven't noticed."

Was it his imagination or was she coming on to him? His nerve impulses starting zinging madly, as he forced his gaze up from the enticing area below her neck to look into her come-hither eyes. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly so dry he had to unglue his tongue. "I noticed. Definitely noticed," he finally said, somewhat hoarsely.

She patted the bed. "Sit down. And stop looking so nervous."

"Who's nervous?" His attempt to sound flip was failing miserably. But he gingerly sat beside her and eyed the pink bedspread. "Summer, have we...uh, you know, done the deed? Danced the horizontal mambo?"

"Had sex?" she translated bluntly.

"Yeah, that," he acknowledged in a faint voice.

"Yup."

"More than once?"

"I've lost count."

"Oh my God." He almost started laughing but realized that probably wouldn't go over so well. There were two things that he tended to do when nervous – ramble and laugh. It was against his very nature but he managed to curb both impulses. "That's very...interesting."

She frowned at that under whelming statement. "Interesting? That's the best you can come up with?"

"I'm trying to play it cool," he said honestly. "But actually, there are better words like staggering, mind-blowing, and hot damn."

"Damn straight," she agreed, reaching up with one hand to guide his head down for a staggeringly hot, mind-blowing kiss.

As their lips met and melded, Seth stopped thinking and focused on feeling. She felt wonderful in his arms. Warm and sensuous. All curves and satiny skin. He realized they were now lying on the bed or rather, he was lying on top of Summer. But she didn't seem to mind, continuing to kiss him as her fingers began tugging at his shirt. There was a lot of yanking but no progress in the shirt removal. She wrenched her lips from his with a sound of frustration, looking down to work at his buttons. "What is it with you and these freaking shirts?" she muttered.

He had no clue what she meant by that but at the moment, also couldn't care less. Since his mouth was currently idle, he started kissing her forehead, pausing to inhale the scent of her hair. It smelled clean with a hint of citrus, like a refreshing sip of lemonade. He trailed more kisses down the side of her face and zeroed in on her ear lobe, nibbling on the tantalizing pink shell.

She froze, suddenly stiff in his arms. Whoops, guess that move wasn't appreciated. He backed off but she placed a hand on his cheek. "No, don't stop," she murmured. "You remembered, didn't you?"

"What?"

She was practically purring. "One of my hot spots, Cohen. Bonus points for you if you remember the other one."

He could win bonus points? Wondering what his prize would be, he felt the coolness of the air against his bare chest. It seemed she had figured out the complexities of unbuttoning his shirt. "Have you been working out?" she asked abruptly.

He coughed, almost choked, and tried to recover gracefully. "No. Why?"

"You look a little more buff than I remember. I mean, not all freakish muscles that are kind of ew, but there's definitely something more."

He had been continuing his lessons with Ryan for the past couple of weeks and they'd even graduated to a punching bag. But he couldn't believe that had made a difference in such a short time. Still, he looked down at his own chest and arms with curiosity. Well, he wasn't scrawny but he wouldn't exactly describe himself as buff either.

"Unzip me. Quick," Summer demanded. She had turned around, presenting him with the back of her dress.

"Your wish is my command." As he guided the zipper downwards, he leaned forward and tasted her ear lobe again, adding a whisper of hot breath just for fun. This time, she melted against him with a sigh of pleasure.

As they fell back on the bed, he prayed for guidance in finding hot spot number two.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They lay side-by-side, shoulders brushing against each other. The glow was starting to fade and Summer tried to hang onto its warmth for as long as possible.

"So that was sex." Seth spoke in a slightly dazed voice.

She gave him a sidelong glance, almost positive that's exactly what he had said the first time. Of course, this time seemed like the first time to him. Except this had been a hundred times better. "Not that I have anything to compare it to that I remember," he continued. "But that was pretty good. Wasn't it?"

"Yeah," she stated shortly. She wasn't about to start gushing over it. She could only imagine what that would do to bloat his ego. It would probably end up as dinner conversation at the Cohen household's next meal. "It was better than the first time," she conceded.

He gave her a concerned look. "Why? Was it that bad?"

"It totally sucked. For both of us."

"Really? Even with all your experience?"

Glowering at him, she punched his arm. "Ow! What did I say?" he protested.

"You can be such an ass."

She knew it was the amnesia talking but sometimes she found it frustrating to have to explain things that were over and done with. She hadn't wanted to tell him about Anna but she'd done it, reasoning that he had a right to know what had happened. But she hadn't enjoyed reliving the insecurities that she'd been plagued with during that time. And now she would have to talk about the excruciatingly embarrassing moment of first time sex. She gritted her teeth and plunged ahead. "Why would you assume I have experience?" she asked.

"Well, you're popular and gorgeous and I...I don't know," he stammered, looking like he wanted to hide under a rock. "I guess I just figured you've gone out with a lot of guys."

"Gone out with, yes. Had sex with, no." She softened her tone a little with her next words. "You were my first one too."

He looked thunderstruck with that revelation. "God. Summer. Wow."

Other than that string of words, he seemed speechless. As she tugged the sheet up a little higher, feeling stupidly self-conscious, she was caught off-guard by his sudden kiss. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it, lids fluttering upwards when he finally pulled back.

"What was that for?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound as breathless as she felt.

"I love you."

She wasn't sure if it was humanly possible but she was sure her heart skipped a beat. Just like those dumb old love songs with the syrupy lyrics.

"Cohen," she murmured.

"You don't have to say anything," he said hastily. "I mean, I've loved you forever so it's nothing new to me. I just wanted to say it out loud." He forced a shaky laugh. "Who knows, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Or in Newport's case, a speeding Porsche. But anyway, you've been honest with me so it just felt right for me to say it. Don't freak out or anything, okay?"

"I'm not freaked out," she tried to assure him. But truthfully, she was. A little. She thought she loved him to but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Once the words were verbalized, they would be out there for good, leaving her vulnerable. And that was a position she never put herself in. She'd never said those three little words to anyone before. Except her father.

She found herself wracked by a wave of guilt. She still hadn't told her father that she was seeing Seth again.

"I have freaked you out, haven't I," he stated, sounding stressed. "Man, I knew I shouldn't have said anything! I'm sorry."

This was going all wrong. The lovely glow had definitely faded and turned to a dull shade of grey. "Don't apologize, for God's sakes," she told him, almost snappishly. "For the last time, I'm not freaked out. But I haven't been honest." She couldn't believe what was coming out of her mouth but Seth's openness had touched her and she felt she had to give something back. Perhaps she couldn't return his declaration of love just yet but she could try to live up to his perception of her honesty.

He was giving her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you think it was weird that I never invited you over until now?"

"Actually, I never thought about it until tonight. But yeah, the thought crossed my mind," he admitted.

She'd come this far so she saw no point in beating around the bush. "I haven't told my father about us. When you took off sailing, I told him it was over between us. He doesn't know that we're back together."

"Oh."

She waited for him to expand on that singular sound but nothing seemed forthcoming.

"That's all you have to say? 'Oh'?"

"Well, I assume you're going to tell him sometime soon. Right?"

Now it was her turn to become silent as he waited for her answer. "Right, Summer?" he asked again.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"That's what I said."

She could plainly see him struggling to make sense of what she was saying.

"I don't get it," he said at last. "What's the big secret? Are you ashamed of me or something?"

"No, not ashamed, exactly. But..." She chewed on her lip for a second. "You kind of made a bad impression on him the last time you met him. Basically he hates you."

Seth's eyes widened and he looked totally distressed. "Hates me? Hate is a pretty strong word. Extremely strong, actually. Are you sure you wouldn't classify it as a mild dislike?"

"Would that make you feel better?"

"Yeah, I think it would."

"Fine. But I would put it in the category of a strong dislike."

He blew out a dejected breath. "Great. So tell me what happened."

Summer relayed the basics of what had occurred during that fateful lunch, including Seth's nonsensical, non-stop babbling and her father's stony silence. When she finished the sorry tale, he gave her a pleading look. "Give me another chance. I don't even read comics anymore."

"Yeah, but you'll just ramble about something else. It's what you do when you're nervous."

"I know but I can control myself when I put my mind to it. Honest."

She sighed, not sure what to do. "I don't know."

He suddenly switched tactics on her. "So, what, you're just going to pretend I don't exist? You and me, that's what's important, right? Maybe you shouldn't care so much what Daddy thinks," he challenged.

Glaring and pouting, she clammed up and turned on her side, with her back to him. She didn't want to acknowledge that he was right. "Hey, would you talk to me?" he called out from behind her shoulder. When he touched her arm, she slid off the bed and began getting dressed. After a belated moment, she heard Seth start to do the same, slowly slipping back into his clothes. "So that's it?" he asked, breaking the tense silence.

"Guess so," she replied dully.

Finished dressing, they stood in the room facing each other. But while she felt his gaze on her, she studied the fascinating collection of reading material on her bookshelf.

"I don't want to end the night this way," Seth said softly. "We may have done this countless times, like you said, but for me, it was the first time. That makes it special. So it can't end like this, with both of us being upset. Just help me understand. Why is your dad's opinion so important to you?"

"Because he's the only guy I've ever known who hasn't let me down," she burst out, both sorry and relieved that the truth was finally emerging. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she turned around and sat down heavily on the bed. She began to speak in a more controlled voice. "If he makes me a promise, I know he's going to keep it. It's that simple. Unlike any other man I've ever met. And yeah, I've gone out with a lot of guys. Not many of them made it as far as meeting my father but out of all the ones that did, do you know how many he actually liked? Zero. He thought they were all losers. And he was right. I have a knack for picking out prime jerks. So imagine how I felt when surprise, surprise, Daddy thought you were a loser too." She looked up from the floor to meet Seth's gaze. "I know you're different, Cohen. Or at least I thought you were until you took off. Then I started thinking that maybe he was right about you. That you were just another jerk in the long line of jerks I've known."

Seth slowly shuffled over to the bed and sat down beside her. "Okay, that definitely helps me understand. I don't exactly know all these other guys you've been with but if they're anything like the asses I've had the pleasure of meeting at Harbor, I'm pretty sure we shouldn't be lumped into the same jerk subheading. As for me leaving the way I did, I can't even offer a defense because I don't remember what I was thinking. I mean, sure, my parents showed me the letter I wrote and the fact that I was all boo hoo over Ryan going back to Chino, but that's just what they're telling me. I can't tell you how I really felt. So, what am I really trying to say here? I guess I'm saying that you have to put some faith in me and in us. And part of that means telling your dad about us." He paused to glance at her. "What do you think?"

Seth was right. She knew he was right. But she dreaded her father's reaction to the news. He would not be pleased. "I know you're right," she said at last. "But it's just not going to be easy."

"Nothing's ever easy."

She nodded. They sat for a while in a semi-truce until Seth placed an arm around her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You know, I never did find that second hot spot, did I?"

Summer couldn't help cracking a smile. "Nope. Better luck next time."

He shrugged and returned her smile. "The thrill is in the chase anyway."

While they hadn't managed to resolve all their issues in one night, they'd at least made a start. And when Summer thought back to Seth's utterance of those three little words, she was able to regain a small portion of that warm, inner glow.

A/N: I'm afraid Real Life has reared its ugly head. Sorry for the slow update. But I am determined to see this story through to the end as long as you keep reading :-) Thanks one and all for the reviews. They truly make my day!

I'm not sure if I need to give credit for this, but what the hey. The title of this chapter is from a line from the lyrics of John Mayer's "Your Body Is A Wonderland".