Hello everybody!

Thanks to everyone for your sweet reviews, I'm glad you liked the last chapter! And I hope you'll like this one, as well! There's some Seth/Ryan-time ;)

So please review if you read it!

Thanks so much!

Steffi

Chapter 11

The following week things between Seth and his women was really tense. Madison didn't look at him when he was at home and she didn't return the calls he gave "The Coop". And Summer tried to avoid him at work the best she could, and when they were talking, it was just professional stuff.

One night before Christmas Eve, on the last working day before the holidays began, Seth decided it was time to escape the ladydrama and talk about things that were actually fun. So he called Ryan and they both decided to grab a bite at the Diner at the Pier, just for old time's sake.

When Seth entered the diner and saw Ryan sitting on the group's favorite table, he felt like being transferred back to High School all over again.
The two young men greeted each other with a handshake, and Seth sat himself across of Ryan.

"You look incredibly good, man," Seth noticed and nodded respectfully.
Ryan smiled. "Thanks man. Wish I could say the same 'bout you." He said, his gaze examining Seth. "You seem stressed."
Seth laughed. "Well, yeah, ladydrama," he said. "But let's talk about something different, something delighting, something that doesn't make me think about Madison and Summer all the time", he suggested. "How's work?"
"Good. Can't complain."
Seth nodded. "Good. Good." He nervously drummed with his fingers on the table. "How's Marissa?"
"Even better."
Seth nodded again, his gaze becoming more and more stressed by every second. The years may have gone by, but Ryan hadn't changed at all. He still didn't have a way with words when he didn't feel the need for talking.

When Seth couldn't stand the silence anymore, he said, "I know we write each other eMails and stuff and there's probably nothing new to talk about, and since your life seems so perfectly… perfect, I guess I could talk a little about myself."
Ryan laughed. "I knew you couldn't stand more than five minutes." He said triumphantly. "So I guess Marissa owes me five bucks."
Seth raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What, you guys bet? On how long I don't talk about myself?"

All Seth got was a grin. He raised his forefinger in Ryan's direction and shook it in front of his face. "I'm just gonna be ignoring the fact that I serve as public entertainment and go on," he said, now totally in his element. "So, none of the ladies is currently talking to me."

Ryan just nodded and stared at the glass in front of him. "So?" he finally asked.
"So, I don't know what I did wrong… " he paused for a moment, recalling the conversation he had with Summer the evening she had moved out. "Well, at least I don't know what I did wrong with Madison."
"Yeah, Marissa told me you called Summer a cheater," Ryan said.
Seth was shocked. "This is so not true! I only said that I wasn't a cheater! So it's my fault now that Summer refers this to her?"
"Well, you have a talent to find the wrong moments to say the wrong things."
Seth nodded and pressed his lips together. This meant he was thinking. "So what can I do that she'll forgive me?"

Ryan sighed. "Don't you think it's strange that you sit here and ask me what you can do to make Summer forgive you? What about Madison?"
Seth shrugged. "What do you mean?"
"Well, she is your girlfriend whereas Summer's just your friend. I think your priorities aren't in order. Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Unless they are, and you are with the wrong woman."
Suddenly, Seth's eyes wandered up and down the table. He was confused. "Why do people keep telling me this?", he asked, looking confused. "So are you trying to tell me that I'm still in love with Summer?"
Ryan let out a laugh. "In love? Obsessed is the better word, I think."

Seth gave the words some time to sink in. Could that be? Okay, there was still much affection for her, but love? But on the other hand, did he love Madison? Had he ever loved her? He had to figure out what feelings he had for which woman, and then, he needed to make a decision.

Without looking at Ryan, but still staring concentrated on the table, Seth stood up. He paused next to Ryan and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, man," he said. "See you tomorrow at the Chrismukkah dance? I need to figure something out."
And even before Ryan could give his ok, Seth was gone.

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Two knocks on the door – that had to be Marissa. Summer grabbed her purse and gave her image a final check in the mirror. Even if it had been her decision to move out of Seth's, she was still afraid when she heard sounds she didn't know or sounds that came unexpectedly. So she and Marissa had invented a secret knock, just that Summer knew who was in front of the door. Summer put on a jacket and opened the door with a smile. "Hi Coop…"

Summer's smile faded from friendly into irritated when she saw Seth standing in front of her.
"What do you want from me, Cohen? You know, there's a reason why I avoided you all week." she said.
"I wanna make it up to you. About what I said the night when you were moving out." Seth answered, and put his you-can't-resist-me-so-don't-even-try-look on. "I wanna apologize."
Summer rolled her eyes and waved with her hand to show him to go on. "So?"
"So I wanna invite you to the big Chrismukkah dance at my Mum's office tomorrow. And maybe we can start from the beginning?"

Summer looked away and tried to figure out if she should go. From what she had heard from Marissa, things with Seth and Madison weren't so great either. "I don't think I'll come. You know, I might be getting in the way, and…"
"No cancels accepted. Everyone's gonna be happy to see you looking so good after the rough couple of weeks you had this year. Besides, it's Chrismukkah, and if something goes wrong, we're gonna need you to save the feast. I hear you're a specialist for that."

Now Summer couldn't help but smile. Seth could be really persuasive if he wanted to. And she could imagine better things than sitting alone in her apartment on Christmas Eve – or Chrismukkah, or whatever this day was called. "Okay." She plainly answered, letting Seth enjoy his little victory.
Seth grinned. "So, it starts at eight. I'll see you then. Say hi to Marissa for me."
"I will", Summer answered, still an unnerved look on her face.

Seth waved goodbye and went off. Summer closed the door behind her and leant onto it, smiling happily to herself. Maybe things were going to turn out better than she thought.

TBC...