She is everything to me
The unrequited dream
A song that no one sings
The unattainable
She's a myth that I have to believe in
All I need to make it real is one more reason
I don't know what to do.
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Vermillion, Pt. 2 by Slipknot
Summer sat quietly and watched Seth.He seemed completely confident in what he was doing. She could tell that he was in his element for once by the smooth way that he went from rope to rope, expertly manipulating things to keep the boat sailing along. After a few minutes he seemed satisfied, and he made his way over to her and sat down. "Having fun?"
Summer nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "Lots." She slid her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. "You look all confident and manly on the boat."
Seth cocked his head to the side and looked down at her. "Really?"
"Oh yeah. I can really tell you know what you're doing. It was kind of sexy."
"Really?" Seth grinned. "Well then, from now on we will have all our dates on the boat." He put his free arm around her shoulders. "I should know what I'm doing though. I've been doing this for several years."
"I can tell."
Seth leaned in and kissed her forehead. "So you said." He turned and focused his gaze at the barely visible coastline. After a moment, he slid his hand from her grasp and stood up. "Excuse me a minute. I've got to go look sexy again." He scrambled over and began working to turn the boat. "How am I doing?" he called back over his shoulder. "You ready to jump me yet?"
Summer looked around for something to throw at Seth but couldn't find anything. "Keep it up, buddy. Any more comments like that and the only place I'll be jumping is off this boat."
Seth laughed and finished tying the line in his hand. He scuttled back over to Summer, but his hands slipped just as he reached her, and he fell face first into her lap.
Summer squealed and smacked him on top of the head. "Watch the goods, Cohen! Moving a little fast aren't you?"
Seth turned over, letting his head rest on her lap as he looked up at her. "If you didn't notice, I slipped. Besides, if I was going to just shove my face somewhere, I'd probably go a bit higher." His eyes flitted to her chest and then back to her face as he grinned.
Summer gasped and crossed her arms over her chest. "Cohen! You little perv."
Seth laughed. "What can I say? I've always been a breast man." He reached up and stroked her hair. "You look beautiful when you are mad."
Summer smirked and playfully batted his hand away. "Don't try to change the subject, mister." She let her hand rest on his head, fingers twisting into his unruly Jew fro. "Even if I am cute when I'm mad."
Seth leaned up and kissed her on the lips. "You are cute all the time. You are even cuter when you are mad." He laid his head back on her lap. "Like now."
"But I'm not mad now. Not really."
Seth nodded. "I know." He looked into her eyes for a long moment. "You know, I think I was wrong. You are cute when you are angry, but I don't think I've ever seen you more beautiful than you are right now with the moonlight shining down on you." He sat up and turned to face her. "How did this happen? How...why...what are you doing with me? Are you sure I'm not dreaming or something?"
Summer shook her head slightly. She leaned in and touched her forehead to his. "If you're dreaming, then so am I." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "And if I'm dreaming I don't want to wake up."
Summer almost didn't notice that the boat had reached the beach. It was sailing along smoothly for a moment, and then it came to a rest. Seth bounded out of the boat, a length of rope trailing behind him. He searched the beach for a moment, then ran over to a large rock and began to secure the rope to it.
In the meantime, Summer picked up her heels and slid off into the water. She gasped as the cold water hit her legs. "This water is ice cold!"
Seth looked up from tying the rope. "What did you expect? It is the ocean."
Summer shot a venomous look atSeth as she made her way out of the water. "It isn't this cold when Marissa and I go swimming."
"Maybe the sun warms it up. It is nighttime you know."
Summer had reached dry land, so she hurled a shoe at Seth. He ducked, and the shoe flew off into the darkness. "Cohen!" Summer yelped. "Why'd you lose my shoe?"
Seth looked back over his shoulder, then turned to Summer. "Me?" He gestured at the shoe remaining in Summer's hand. "If you hadn't thrown it at me, it wouldn't be out there."
Summer tossed her remaining shoe in the sand. "And, if you hadn't ducked, it would still be here."
"Yes, but I might be knocked out or dead."
Summer sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Cohen. I didn't throw it that hard. It would have just hurt for a second." She walked past him into the gloom. "Come on. Help me find my shoe."
Seth saluted her and then fell into step behind her. "Aye aye, Cap'n." His eyes roamed the sand, but the moon had gone behind a cloud. It was much to dark to see a black shoe in the sand. "I think this is hopeless."
Summer spun around and poked him in the chest. "This is not hopeless. We are finding this shoe. Do you have any idea how expensive this pair of shoes was?"
"Maybe you should have thought of that before you flung it at my head."
"And maybe you shouldn't be so aggravating. Then I wouldn't have to throw things at you." Summer spun in a circle, watching out for a 6-inch heel. "I completely blame you for this."
Seth grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "You blame me? You take no responsibility at all?"
"You ducked!"
"So, I should have taken a heel to the face, so you wouldn't lose one of your precious shoes?"
"YES!"
"Good to know." Seth turned to walk away, and his foot caught on Summer's shoe, causing him to sprawl out on the sand. "Ouch." He turned over and sat up. "I think I found your missing shoe."
Summer dropped to the sand, scooping up her shoe. "You didn't break it, did you?"
"I'm okay, by the way. Thanks for all the concern."
Summer looked up from examining her shoe. "Shut it, Cohen. All you did was trip in the sand. It's not like you fell off a cliff."
Seth stood and brushed the sand from his pants. "Well, now that you have your shoes, do you want to go home?"
"Trying to get rid of me, Cohen?"
Seth shook his head. "No. Never. I just thought that you would be getting tired of me by now."
Summer shook her head. "You'd think I would, but I'm not. Is there anything to do at your house?"
"We could play Jenga with Captain Oats. Or Playstation. I'm sure you are good at the Ninja game."
"I could kick your ass." Summer walked over and retrieved her other shoe. "Let's go up to your house at least. I'm dying of thirst."
Seth grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs that led from the beach to his house. The light was off in Ryan's pool house, so he was either in the big house playing games, or he was asleep. Seth led Summer by his front door and into the house. They raided the fridge for some munchies before retiring to the game room.
Summer threw a Cheetoh at Seth as his fighter pulled the head off of hers. "You know, I was kicking your ass at the ninja game."
Seth took a long swig of cola and nodded. "Yes, I do know. That's why we're playing the fighting game now." He grabbed a handful of popcorn from a large bowl beside him and stuffed it into his mouth. "You ready for another game, or are you tired of getting your butt kicked?"
Summer reached out and turned the Playstation off. "Actually, I'm tired of playing all of these games." She tossed the controller to the ground. "Isn't there anything else to do around here?"
"Well, it is nearly 12 o'clock. There's probably some cheesy movie on somewhere." He scooped up the satellite controller and turned the receiver on. Within moments he was surfing the channels. "Oooh. The Comedy Channel is showing a Daily Show marathon. You wanna watch that?"
"Is it really funny?"
"Of course it's funny. John Stewart is a genius." Some random celebrity walked onscreen and John Stewart started to interview them. "Oh yeah, and he talks to celebrities too."
Summer snuggled up against Seth. "Oooh. I love her. We can watch this."
Seth smiled and put his arm around her. "Okay then. Prepare yourself for some excellent comedy."
A couple hours later, Seth woke up. Summer was still leaning against him, fast asleep. He searched for a moment, finally locating the controller between the cushions. He took one last look at the tv before switching it off and tossing the controller down on the couch. Summer stirred slightly when the television went off, but she didn't wake completely. Seth shook her lightly. "It's pretty late, Summer. I think it's time to take you home."
Summer groaned and turned away from Seth. She crossed her arms over her head. "Leave me alone, Cohen. All I want to do is sleep."
Seth stood up and stretched. "Come on, lazy bones." He shook her again. "Come on. Time to go. Your dad is probably worried."
"My dad's not home. No one is." Summer turned over and looked at him plaintively. "You have a bed don't you? Can't I just sleep here?"
"Curiously enough, we don't have much guest space."
"I didn't mean a guest room. I meant your room. Can't I sleep in there with you?"
Seth was taken aback. He didn't know what to say. "I...I don't know. The bed is kind of small."
"I don't take up much room."
"I don't know what my mom and dad would say."
"So, go ask them."
Seth checked the clock. "Summer, it's after 2 a.m. They've been asleep for a while."
Summer sat up and began to sulk. "Fine then. If you just want to get rid of me, then I'll go home." She stood up. "Where are my shoes?"
Seth regarded her for a moment, and then reached out to grab her arm. "You know what? Why don't you just sleep here? It's not like we're going to be doing anything."
Summer shook her head. "God no. I'm too tired to do anything but sleep." She shuffled past Seth. "Okay....I'm still half asleep. Where is your room."
Seth watched Summer walking off. He still couldn't believe that Summer even wanted to stay in the same room as him, much less sleep in the same bed. All sorts of things he'd never dreamed had been happening lately, and this seemed to be just one more of them. He walked forward and grabbed her arm, guiding her gently down the hall. "Come on, Summer. I'll show you the way." He put his arm around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I just hope you're still here in the morning, so I know that I didn't dream this entire day."