By the time Ryan and Marissa exited the movie theater, it was nearly eleven and the Newport air was still thick with humidity, and a touch of electricity that shot through each of them whenever their shoulders touched. "Do you wanna go get pizza at the pier?" Ryan asked suddenly after walking toward the car in silence.

Marissa nodded, shuddering as his arm brushed hers. "That sounds good," she agreed.

He watched her shivering and quickly slid out of his light-weight jacket and draped it over her shoulders. The smile she gave him said that it had been the right thing to do. Everything about the night had seemed right, from the song on the radio when they got into his car, to the perfect crab cakes at dinner, to the way their fingers felt around each other during the movie. And now, switching directions and walking toward the pier felt right, too. Right in a way that Ryan couldn't explain.

"So, that was interesting," Marissa commented, for no other reason than to fill the silence. Not that it was awkward or uncomfortable, but Ryan's voice soothed her and she wanted to hear it as much as possible.

"You hated it," he stated, knowing that bloody action movies were not her thing.

But she shook her ponytail vigorously and stuffed her hands into the pocket of his coat. "No, I didn't. I mean, it didn't have singing or dancing cartoon animals, so," she let the sentence dangle and smiled at him weakly.

Ryan sucked in a breath. "Ah, yes. The joys of spending an entire day with a five-year-old," he nodded in understanding. "Did she drive you nuts?"

Jada had done nothing short of astound Marissa all day long, from the way she obeyed everything Summer asked her to do, to the way she had followed Marissa around and asked her a hundred questions about what she liked and why she wasn't going to be in anymore magazines. "No," she answered honestly. "She helped me keep Summer and her wedding planning at bay." Ryan laughed into the still air. "I swear to God, Ryan, she's neurotic about this whole thing – did you know that googling for wedding planners in Southern California will give you 105,000 hits?"

"I did not know that."

"Neither did I, until we did it today. And I think we looked at every damn site," she sighed and leaned closer to him without thinking. "I mean, Jada was fine. Summer? She could drive a girl to drink." As soon as she said the words, and saw the look on his face, she wished she could take them back. "It was a figure of speech," she whispered.

"I know," Ryan responded, twisting his fingers together as they continued to walk.

His uncomfortable silence made her insides crave a strong, dark drink. And just as she had been taught, she started to fill her mind with the consequences of fulfilling her urges. She wouldn't be able to stop, she would have to have more, she would start the cycle over again. She wouldn't ever have another date with Ryan. "I just want you to know that I'm gonna be okay," she reached out a hand to rest on his arm.

"I hope so," he sighed as they reached the pier and rested against the railing. Vivid images of the first time he had kissed her there filled his head. "I want to believe you, Marissa."

She bit her lip. "But you don't?"

He shrugged and turned away from her, watching the evening tides roll in and out again. "I don't know. I mean, my mom went to rehab, more than once. And Trey? My dad – he's in jail now. I mean, I don't exactly have a lot of faith in the whole concept, ya know?"

She didn't know what to say, so she shut her brain down and let her heart take over. Sliding a hand into his, she waited until he met her eyes. "I want you to have faith in me," she whispered, watching his eyes cloud with something indefinable. "I know it's not gonna happen right away – it can't, and it shouldn't. I mean, I should earn it, but I really want you to believe in me again, Ryan. More than anyone else."

Kissing her seemed like the only thought he could process, but something was holding him back. He couldn't – not yet. He didn't know what was going to happen. When she was more than two days out of treatment, and faced with something totally stressful, and feeling like the whole world was against her? When she got through that without a drink or a drug of some sort, when the only thing she needed to feel better was him, then he would kiss her. And then he would know that it was right.

There was a prolonged silence as they stood, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, watching the ocean and concentrating on the rhythm of each other's breathing. And it felt right. It felt like the perfect place for their relationship at the perfect moment. "I wanna give you a chance to prove it, Marissa," he finally spoke into the darkness.

Hesitation filled his voice, and she heard it clearly. "But?"

He turned and took her other hand, holding them both tightly against his chest. "But I have Jada to think about. And she gets really attached, really easily. She already lost her mom, and the only thing she wants is another one, who's gonna love her for more than a couple of years. I just can't do it to her again," he sighed and dropped her hands. "I don't know if I can do it again."

She had to understand. It wasn't like she had given him any reason to trust her in the last five years. She couldn't throw a fit or blame him for not wanting to be with her. But everything inside her body wanted to – her first instinct was to turn the finger to someone else, anyone but herself. "I can wait," she smiled, her hand against his heart. To feel it beating so rapidly under her palm gave her some shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, he was going to be willing to give it another try. That hope was the only thing keeping her from running all the way back to Seth and Summer's house.

When he spoke, the words were thoughtful and deliberate. "So, why don't we just keep doing what we're doing for now? See where that takes us?"

"Friends?" Marissa asked, a little bit of disappointment taking root.

"I was thinking more like dating? Nothing serious, no commitment, but regular dating – like we never did in high school," he gave her a crooked grin.

And she returned the gesture. "Dating is good," she agreed with a nod. For now it was good enough. For now, it felt right.