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I still own no part of The O.C., although I wouldn't mind owning Summer...hehe.. Sorry the update took so long, but I'm back in the writing mood, so there should be a new chapter up shortly.
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You build me up
You bring me down
You found me out
I'm lost inside
Your river.
--- Your River by Jibe
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Summer stared at herself in the mirror. Her makeup looked perfect. She hadn't been able to find anything out of place. Her hair looked good too, but she couldn't resist the urge to pull the clip out and let it down. Then she decided it would look better in a ponytail. Then down. Then some pulled back with a barette. Then back to the style she'd had originally. She sighed and settled down onto her bed. At least she wasn't worried about her dress. The sleek, black dress clung to her in all the right places. It wasn't too short and slutty, but it wasn't down to her ankles either. She fiddled with the spaghetti straps for a minute, then stood and looked in the mirror again. "What is up with my hair?" she said to herself. "I look like Howard Stern again."
With a sigh she pulled out a brush and started to pull it through her hair. Why was she so worried about this? She was going to look great. She always did. And it wasn't like she needed to impress Cohen. She could show up with her sweats on and no makeup and he would still think she was the most beautiful girl in the room. Summer bit her lip and sat the brush down. She was actually nervous for this date. Summer Roberts was never nervous for anything. Dates were just things that she did. It was part of the job of being 'cool'. She had never really put that much thought into it. The way she saw it, whoever was her date this week was lucky to have her.
Then it hit her: she wanted to look good so Cohen would realize that she was serious about this. If she showed up looking too casual he might think she didn't care. That was kind of stupid, but it was increasingly clear that it was true. If she didn't care so much about what he might think, she would already have been downstairs watching tv and wondering where he was. Instead, she was standing in her room and putting her hair into it's millionth different configuration.
Summer ran her fingers through her hair and then shook her head. She stared at the raven locks cascading down to her shoulders and decided to leave it like it was. She now realized that she had been trying to put her hair into Seth's favorite 'do, but she didn't know what that was. Instead, she was going to go with her favorite and hope that Seth liked it.
The ringing of the doorbell pulled her from her neurotic stupor. A quick look at the clock revealed that it was 7:00 on the dot. "Prompt. I like that," she thought as she grabbed her purse. She walked quickly down the stairs, stopping to take one last look in the mirror in the hallway. Seth kept ringing the doorbell over and over the whole time, which was getting increasingly annoying. "I'm coming Cohen! Give it a rest!"
The ringing ceased, and Summer gave herself one last once over. She took a deep breath and walked over to the door. "Here we go," she said under her breath as she opened the door. To Seth she said, "God, Cohen. What in the hell? Why were you ringing the doorbell so much?" Seth didn't say a word. His eyes were traveling up and down her body. His mouth began to mouth words, but no sound was coming out. "What? What's the matter? Is something wrong?"
Seth made a strangling noise then finally spoke. "No no no no no. It's just...you look...you are..." He stopped and took a deep breath. "You look amazing. Really. You are beautiful." He realized that his eyes had come to rest on her chest, and he guiltily looked her in the eyes. "Beautiful," he repeated.
Summer grinned. "Really? Thanks, Cohen." She looked down at her dress. "I was wondering though. Were you talking to me or my boobs?"
Seth shifted nervously like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I was hoping you hadn't noticed that. Of course I meant you." He grinned. "Don't get me wrong though. The boobs look amazing too."
Summer tried to look annoyed but ended up giggling. "Of course they do. Everything about me is amazing."
Seth took her hand. "Yeah, I know." Before Summer could say anything, he turned. "Well, come m'lady. Your carriage awaits." He led her to the limosuine parked in her driveway. Summer's mouth fell open. "You rented a limo? I don't think I've ever gone on a date in a limo."
Seth nodded. "Only the best for my princess."
"Seth, what did I tell you about nicknames?"
"Check. Princess doesn't work for you either. I see." He put his arm around her. "Don't worry, I've got a million of them."
Summer rolled her eyes as Seth opened the door. "That's what I was afraid of."
Seth pulled open the door and motioned her inside. He scooted in beside her and pulled the door closed. "Actually, this is my grandfather's limo. He was so happy to hear I had a date that he told me I could use it."
Summer looked at Seth, only now realizing that he was pretty dressed up himself. He looked nice with his suit and tie on. Funny how she'd never noticed how cute it made him look. She leaned over and pushed the button to open the roof. "Can we stand up and stick our heads through there?" she asked. "I always love doing that."
Seth grinned at her. "I think that can be arranged." The car started moving down the driveway as he stood up and poked his head out of the car. "You coming?"
Summer was beginning to wonder where Seth was taking her. They had been in the car for nearly 45 minutes, and they didn't show any sign of nearing any good restaurants. Seth was on the phone, but he was talking so low that she couldn't hear what he was saying. Every time she tried to lean in to hear him, he narrowed his eyes and leaned away. Finally he hung up and slipped the phone into his pocket. Summer grabbed his arm. "Who was that, and what were you talking about? And where in the heck are we going?"
Seth shook his finger at her. "Now now, my darling, that would ruin the surprise. Just believe me when I say you will be sufficiently wowed when we get there. At least I hope." He looked out the window as the car began to slow. "What do you know? Here we are."
Summer looked out the window. The limo was pulling into what looked like a shopping center. "I don't even see any restaurants here, Cohen." The car pulled to a stop in front of a building with store called 'Golden Planet Comics'. "You are taking me to the comic book store? That was your big surprise?" She turned and punched him in the arm. "I don't read comics, assface."
Seth jerked away from her and rubbed his arm. "Oooow. Be patient. All will be revealed." The chaffeur opened the door, and Seth stepped out. He turned and offered Summer his hand. "You coming?"
Summer considered a moment, then sighed. "This better be good, Cohen." She stepped out into the waning sunlight and looked around. "Where are we, anyway?"
Seth laughed. "Somewhere that I'm sure you'll never come to again." He grabbed her hand and began leading her to the store. He pulled a key from his pocket and stuck it in the lock.
"You have a key to the comic book store, Cohen. Oh. My. God. Ew...."
Seth rolled his eyes. "I don't HAVE a key to the shop, Summer. Carl just let me borrow them for tonight." He opened the door and pulled her into the darkened interior. "You have to cover your eyes though. I want this to be a surprise."
Summer considered the racks of comics for a minute. "Are you gonna have your clothes on when I open them?"
"You should be so lucky." He put his hands over her eyes. "Besides, of the two of us, I'd rather you be the one with no clothes."
Summer smiled in spite of herself. "Okay. I'm gonna do this. But you better not just be showing me off to your comic geek friends."
Seth laughed. "That will come later." Summer spun around, a stern look on her face. Seth threw his hands up. "I'm kidding. I would never want you to meet my geek friends." He stepped up behind her and put his hands over her eyes. His lips brushed her earlobe as he whispered. "Straight ahead."
Summer shuddered involuntarily, then started walking. They had only gone a few feet when Seth stopped her. He walked off, and she heard another door open. His hands returned to her eyes, and he urged her forward again. After a moment they stopped. "You ready?" Seth asked.
"I better not see a single nerd when my eyes open."
"The only nerd here is me, sugar." He pulled his hands from her eyes and said, "What do you think?"
Summer's breath caught in her throat as she looked around the room. There were candles everywhere. Every available surface held one, from the random stacks of comics to the empty shelves along the wall. There were hundreds of them. They formed a twinkling blanked of light that softly lit the entire room. She turned to look at Seth, her mouth still hanging open in shock. "This...this is beautiful. I love it."
Seth grinned. "Really? You don't think it is too cheesy?" Summer slowly took in the room. "Cheesy? Why would I call this cheesy?"
Seth shifted from foot to foot. "You know...the guy taking the lady out for a candlelit dinner."
Summer laughed. "Usually there are just a two or three candles and a table table." She gestured towards the candles with a sweeping motion. "I think that starting a two alarm fire goes above and beyond."
Seth grinned. "There is a table...and there are candles there too." He indicated a table in the middle of the room. The candles had so entranced her that she had failed to notice the table set up. Three long candles twinkled in the center, and there were place settings for two. Seth walked over and pulled out a chair. "Would you like to sit down?"
Summer walked over and sat down. She quietly stared around the room as Seth scurried over to take his seat. "Did you do all this?" She asked.
Seth nodded. "Yes. Yes I did." He pulled his napkin from the table and snapped it open. "Well, Ryan may have helped a little bit. Oh yeah...and maybe my mom picked out the tablecloth and the menu."
Summer turned towards him, a skeptical look on her face. "Ryan? Your mom I can believe, but Chino helped out too?"
Seth nodded again. "Yes, that he did. I acquired all the candles, but it was actually his idea. He lit them all too."
Summer's eyes narrowed. "Chino? The candles where his idea? Who knew that he could be all romantic?" Summer opened her napkin and placed it in her lap. "So, was that who you were talking to on the phone?"
"Yes. My accomplice was lighting these candles while we were driving down the freeway with our heads out the roof." Seth plucked a bottle from an ice bucket sitting beside the table. "A little Dom with your dinner?" He popped the cork free and poured Summer a glass. "This was my grandpa's idea. My mom would kill me if she knew I was drinking this."
Summer shook her head then took a sip. "So, is Ryan gonna be serving our food too?" Seth shook his head. "Sadly, no. Our good friend Ryan is long gone. It's just you, and me, and an intimate dinner." Seth jumped as a door opened behind him. He turned in time to see a woman carrying a covered tray. "Oh yes, and Rosa too."