told you i'd update soon! i plan on finishing before the new year.. let's hope i make it. review please!

sadly, still don't own anything.

Summer's meetings thoroughly sucked. No one wanted to hire a Newpsie. Especially not one straight out of college. No one.

What a miserable day.

She'd be home by now in her fleecy pink pajamas with a bowl full of Chunky Monkey if it weren't for her upcoming date with Ryan. That was basically the one thought that got her through the day of rejections and insults.

But apparently, Ryan's thesis advisor had shown up two hours late. And they were still in God knows where talking about how to build the next Coliseum. Or whatever.

So Summer was stuck at the Barnes and Noble of Beverly Center, just killing time. She couldn't really complain that much though. She had been the one to offer Ryan the ride to LA, and well, she really was looking forward to their dinner together.

But now she was stuck waiting for his stupid meeting to end, and she was at the lame book store. Poor Los Angelenos, how did they survive without a West Coast Plaza of their own? Ok, Summer, you like books. Maybe you can find an interesting novel to pass the time. Yeah right. She'd have more chance being entertained by the children's books.

Children's books, that reminded Summer of Ella. Maybe she could find something for Ella. Or Ryan, even. It could be her little gift to him on their date.

Great, now even shopping related to him. Damn him for being such a great listener, such a gentleman, such a hottie. Ooh, Mediterranean Villas: The Best by the Beach. Ryan had mentioned something about Mediterranean styl houses when they were at the beach the other day. This seemed cool. Summer adored the Mediterranean. She could so see herself there. With Ryan.

XXX

"Sum, I'm home!" Summer blinked twice before shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun. Clad in her favorite pink bikini, she leapt of the lounge chair she had been tanning on to go greet her husband.

Ryan stood on the far end of the patio and smiled as she hurried towards him. She wrapped both arms around his neck, greeting him welcome home. In return, he placed a soft kiss on her mouth and held her close.

"Daddy!" a voice squealed out of nowhere. "Mom, Daddy's home!" Ella appeared from inside the house and attacked the couple, hugging their legs tightly.

"Ah, this is the life," Ryan sighed. "The Mediterranean Sea, our house, my baby and you, Summer…"

XXX

"Summer?" Ryan's voice seemed closer now. "Summer!"

"Huh? What?" she mumbled against the cover of the hardbound book she'd been asleep against. Oh, that was a dream. That bites. "Hey Chino," she greeted unenthusiastically.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. Tired." She half-said, half-yawned. It was an obvious statement.

"Bad day?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You have no idea." She gave him a look. Their eyes met, his darkened blue and hers a waking brown. "Let's get out of here."

XXX

Summer drove around for a while, as Ryan named kinds of restaurants they could eat at. Actually, Summer named kinds of restaurants they could eat at and Ryan rejected her ideas.

"Chino, I swear, if you don't pick a restaurant…" she threatened, giving him a harsh glance from the driver's seat. Ryan had definitely heard enough about Summer's rage blackouts to know that he didn't want to fall victim to one.

"Italian?" he blurted out. Where had that come from? Ryan didn't even like Italian food that much. In truth, he was actually in the mood for Chinese. Orange chicken and fried rice sounded really good. But he had already given Summer a decision, he'd feel stupid to change his mind.

"Okay, there we go," Summer smiled. She had a really great smile. "I know a place."

Within minutes, they were seated at one of Beverly Hills' finest Italian bistros. Ryan looked around and admired the place. It was nice. Really nice. The kind of nice that Ryan wasn't used to since moving out of the Cohens. The kind of nice that Ryan couldn't afford since moving out of the Cohens and supporting a four year old. Dammit. Chinese wouldn't have been this expensive.

They stared at the menus for a while and ended up ordering simple dishes. Had Summer sensed Ryan's financial crisis? Maybe she just had simple tastes? Yeah right, not this Summer.

The quiet between them grew.

"So, how'd your interviews go?" he asked when the silence became unbearable.

"Terrible. These stupid elite asses!" Summer spat out. Ah, so that's why she was so quiet.

"What happened?"

"Nothing! They just looked over my resume and note that I'm from Newport. And that I just graduated. And then they ignore the Magna Cum Laude stuff and decide, like, hey, you're hot and all, but we totally don't like you. So, buh-bye."

"Magna Cum Laude?!" Wow, who knew Summer was that smart? Not that he ever thought she was stupid, but she just seemed like a girl that was very street smart and not very, uh, school smart.

"Yeah, school was way more competitive than I thought it would be." She made a face and continued with her salad.

"Uh, Sum, Magna Cum Laude is amazing."

"I could have gotten Summa Cum Laude if I focused more on Marketing than I did on those stupid Pre-Med requirements." Again, a face before continuing with her salad.

"Pre-Med?" Okay, Ryan was impressed with the Magna Cum Laude. But Pre-Med at the same time? And he thought he knew her. She was downright intimidating. Not that her sex appeal wasn't already intimidating, but damn.

"Yeah, Daddy made me." She rolled her eyes. "Don't ever make Ella follow in your footsteps. It's just not a great way for her to start out life."

"Ella, undergrad architecture student with a kid." Ryan smirked. "Definitely not."

Summer turned slightly pink. "That's not what I meant. Just that Daddy wants me to be. And you'd want Ella to do. Uh, like proffesion." Her sentences were short and unfinished, but Ryan got the point.

"I know what you meant," he said. "Ella can be whatever she wants to be. I just want her to have a better life than me and Theresa did. As long as she doesn't have to worry about all the stuff that we did, I know she'll be fine." He looked at Summer and gave her a half-smile.

"Aww," she cooed. "That's so sweet. You're like the best dad." Ugh, definitely not something Ryan wanted to hear on a date. Sigh, that's what you get for being twenty two and a dad.

XXX

The rest of the dinner was spent discussing Ryan's economics thesis. He was an architecture major, but decided to minor in economics to make sure he understood the business angle of it all. Especially when he started his own firm, his current dream.

They left the restaurant, full and happy, and decided to continue the evening by heading towards a bar.

It was a pretty decent place, the music could have been better but asides from that the atmosphere was nice and so was the bartender. The bartender was really nice, actually. Especially to Summer. An unfamiliar feeling crept into Ryan's stomach as he watched the bartender chuckle as he handed Summer her fourth (fifth?) drink of the evening.

Was that jealousy?

No, why would Ryan be jealous if some guy was flirting with Summer. They were on a date as friends. It's not like she was his girlfriend. Well, she was his friend. And she was a girl. A really pretty girl and sexy, too.

Ryan had not been able to stop staring at her since dinner. Her smoky eyes had just a tinge of sadness in them, probably due to the day's interviews, but they were sad nonetheless. And Ryan just wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her til she felt better. Or just kiss her. And keep kissing her.

"Chino!" she screeched into his ear.

"Hey Sum," he rubbed his ear as he watched her get comfortable in the seat next to him.

"Mai Tai?"

"Yeah!" she giggled. "The bartender added extra shots for me." Her word's started to slur together. She was definitely well on her way to getting drunk.

Ryan was much more sober, he'd been nursing the same Corona since they got there. And to tell the truth, he was slightly taken aback by Summer's intoxication. He never figured her as a drinker. She wasn't Marissa.

"Summer, is this your fourth drink?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I know. No tolerance. I don't drink! That was always Coop's department!" She giggled some more. Oh boy.

"So what's with the Mai Tai?" he gestured towards the pink drink with the yellow umbrella in it.

"Isn't it totally cute?' she held it up to eye level. "It's helping me forget those asses who interviewed me today. Like I want to work for them anyway!" Her eyes flashed with pain and she looked genuinely sad for a moment. Her bottom lip quivered and Ryan fought the urge to kiss her right then. Instead, he watched as she gulped down the contents of her glass.

"Ryan," she whispered, leaning into him. He could smell the fruity drink off her lips. Any closer and he'd be able to taste it. Not that he wanted to, he'd rather just taste Summer.

"You okay?" he asked, placing a hand on her arm. She smiled, taking his hand in her own.

"I'm great," she smiled. "You're great too. That's why I like you." She began to giggle again. "I totally like you." Ryan's eyes flashed with surprise hearing her say that. Trying to stand up, Summer collapsed against his chest and he held her close before steadying her.

Okay, forget what she just said. Ryan told himself. She's drunk.

"Sum, give me your keys. I'm taking you home." He told her, placing an arm around her waist. A few years ago, this would have been Ryan's idea of a good opportunity. A woman with amazing legs and great cleavage, too drunk to stand on her own.

But he was responsible now. Hell, he was a parent now.

He was taking Summer home and putting her to bed – the bed with the Barbie bed sheets.