Summary: Marissa does her best to hold up her role as Julie's daughter at a Newport Charity Event. Before she cracks under the pressure Seth swoops in for the rescue. A telling, romantic, night ensues.

Story Notes: This is the third part of the three-part act. -- Anyway this continues right where the second part left off. They have left the park and our heading down the brick road again, and it's leading them to an office park. Don't fret or let the office park scare you. This may be the most romantic portion yet. Aw, hell. It is the most romantic I've written thus far.

Story title comes from the song "Love Explosion" by Weezer. You can Google for the lyrics if you want to. -- I also make mention and or quote from two Ray LaMontange songs. "Shelter" and "Hold You In My Arms". I really recommend them and would advise seeking them out.

Rating: Ok, so I bet you're wondering why I rated this T and yet have had little in the series to warrant the rating. Well it's because of an upcoming act. And no, it doesn't involve Seth/Marissa having hot sex. Sorry guys.

Feedback Notes: You're all so sweet. I love the most recent reviews, especially the ones that went into detail about my style. I have a side note. I am not a paid beta reader. This is a general statement and a warning for the future. I do go through most everyone's profile when they post a review. If I see a story of yours I might like to read I will. As a wife and person who has other things to tend to I don't have time to read everyone's fic, especially when it doesn't even connect with my interests. So don't expect that went you put out word of your other stories that I will read them or beta them. I'm just being upfront so I don't let you down.

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The air wasn't at all harsh. As it hit both their faces it soothed them. Marissa shifted her eyes towards Seth as they walked down the short remainder of the brick pathway. Every so often Seth would look out to his surroundings beside him or even look up to the night's sky. As his face wandered Marissa would move to catch a glance. It was the same for him as well. When she would wander to catch a glimpse of stars or the unfamiliar surroundings around her, Seth would nonchalantly move his head in her direction and fix his eyes of the beauty of her face.

It was becoming less hard and more natural for both of them to be themselves and out pour their visible emotions. If Seth's hand was to drift towards Marissa's he wasn't going to retreat it away putting it back into his pocket. He was just going to let the motions flow and hope for one of two best scenarios. One, that she would casually brush it off and take it in stride as though it was random, but normal behavior. Second, that she would smile, not out of politeness, but, out of pure joy and then clench his hand harder as to give a sign that she needed his touch. He was willing to except either of these options.

And even if she gave a bitter retreat of her hand as his came in for the touch he was willing to sweep it off and try again. That's just the kind of confidence he was building as the night wore on. His mind paused and he thought to himself, 'I would wait till kingdom come just for her to crave my hand being interlocked with hers'.

He didn't have to wait that long. Marissa peered down at her empty cup and threw it over to her side as she passed a garbage can. The moment after she tossed the trash, and Seth took slight notice by mere sound, she nonchalantly brought her hand over to Seth's. Her fingers touched the tips of his. She, without once looking in Seth's direction, fumbled to interlock her fingers. Seth felt her warm fingers trace against his knowing she longed to be interlocked. His mind raced as she lightly mishandled his hand. His heart almost felt as though it came to a stop. At the moment he presumed it did he loosened his hand and allowed her fingers to meet with his.

It was not until that moment that Marissa reallocated her head. Her eyes fixed on Seth's face and then moved down to see the two hands firmly intact, together. Just as her head moved away, and back to the settings before her, Seth brought his head down and caught a glance of their hands interlocked. He never smiled. He never sighed. He left the moment as it was. He didn't want to disturb the peaceful and content mature of what was happening. Neither did Marissa and this is why she remained silent. But inside them both was a resounding joy.

The contentment and silence continued on for a few more minutes until they had come to the end of the trail and saw the office park in their front view. In the center was a large concrete square. It was bleak, ambiguous, and lacking personality. It was on all accounts a piece of depressing art. It lacked function and purpose. They wondered why it was even there.

But it was void of people and distractions. It could be argued, for that reason alone, it was the perfect place for them.

Seth walked ahead of Marissa and stepped onto the gray mass. Marissa followed in toe and wondered what could come of this. Seth showcased a half smile and moved back further. His hand stretched out waiting for her to take hold and allow him to drag her in whichever direction he desired.

She ignored his hand and looked around taking in the various buildings and occasional lit office window. Seth accepted defeat and brought his hand to his side. When Marissa took notice that she had rejected his hand she came around him and put her arms around his neck lifting herself up.

"Give me a piggyback ride," Marissa asked.

"Face the truth. I would crack under the weight."

"But you're a strong, burly, man."

Seth shrugged and sighed.

"Strong willed maybe."

"I'll give you a piggy back ride then."

"Ok," Seth said in perplexed tone.

"Seriously. Jump on my back."

Marissa readied herself for Seth to strap himself to her back, but he hesitated.

"That's what I thought," Marissa said slightly disappointed.

"I'm protecting you. You're so fragile…. And lovely."

"And you wouldn't want to break my loveliness?"

"I could never break that," Seth replied.

Marissa smiled and released her hands that entrapped Seth's neck. Although he could now properly breath again, he missed her body so close to his.

"So if I make this my permanent space, you have to promise me something."

"What's that," Marissa asked.

"You will stay in Newport too. Together we can make this our home and be each other's sounding boards."

"Hmm, ok," Marissa said as though she was unsure she could ever hold such a promise or even that he was being serious.

"Wait, I'm such an idiot. I should never ask you to make a promise like that. I mean, you'll probably be sun-bathing in the French Riviera or working your multimillion dollar modeling contract by then."

"You still think you have me pegged don't you Seth? I'm full of surprises. You'll see."

Seth smiled knowing she was telling the truth.

The dimmed lights followed around the defined square. It was the one highlight this area provided. It added an eloquent glow that softened the mood and added a light complexity to the surroundings.

Marissa eyes traveled towards Seth and noticed his eyes were fixed on the random, glowing, office windows.

"What are you doing," Marissa asked as she paused and then cocked her eyebrows.

"Just counting the lit windows. You know, I wonder what there up too, ya know? Working, sleeping with their secretary. Or are they escaping Newport by hanging out in the pleasant confines of their office?"

"Pleasant confines?"

"Well it sure the hell beats a day at Harbor, or a night at one of those newpsie functions. And hell it's probably better than what they have for them at home."

"Oh my, Seth, did you just say newpsie?"

"I think I did. God am I becoming one of them? One of those who claim to not be one with the Newport socialites, but yet is in almost every way but blatant ego."

"Well you thought for a good quarter of your life that you were better than me. I'd say ego is fully intact, which, can only mean one thing. You are a newpsie."

Seth gave a repulsed look.

"God, Marissa don't even."

"I'm only kidding. You're one of a kind Seth. No one in Newport is quite like you. That's just the way I like you. That's why I like you."

"Yeah?"

"Of course."

Both of them smiled back to each other and then went back to normality. Seth walked around in a formation of a few steps here and a few steps there. His hands swayed and he thought to himself how he could advance the evening. Marissa stood in her standard position wondering what should happen next.

Before either of them could come up with something to occupy their time with a short burst of air came up from the ground and traveled up and under Marissa's dress.

"Must be a air vent," Marissa said in a questioning manner.

"What," Seth said unsure of what she was talking about.

"Oh my God, did you not just feel…. That!"

Just then trickles and splashes of water hit against Marissa's bare ankle. Seth too felt a little wetness and peered his eyes down to see what was happening. Before his eyes could fully meet with the ground a substantial gust of water came up and over them. It was like an unexplained phenomenon of Newport. Here, these great geysers had burst forth from the grounds of a boring and quite dull office park. It was unpredicted that this mass of a concrete square could offer any surprises. But indeed it did.

She shrieked prompting Seth to look out to a wet Marissa. He maneuvered through the showers springing from the ground and came to her rescue. She attempted to shield herself, by finding a spot where she could stand still between two water holes. Seth came from behind her and lifted his jacket over her head.

"It's not raining."

"I was just trying to protect," Seth responded.

And so he was and she knew his intentions were always good, so she smiled, and then stood out the strange water showers with him.

The position of where the water came up from the ground was exactly where Seth was standing. He had no choice as he wanted to keep Marissa as dry as possible. So he, in turn, became the wet rat. But Marissa wasn't exactly dry. She got splashed just enough to have her sequenced dress drip and cling to her body. Seth eyes peered to his side and made his way down. He first noticed the wet strands of hair that fell off her face. He thought for a second that he should, perhaps, move them out of the way, but instead stood still. Then his eyes came down to the upper part of her chest. The exposed area of skin had droplets of water that were trickling down into the crevices of her cleavage. Seth followed intensely each drop of water as it traveled down. Then his eyes moved to the seeping upper part of her dress, the part that covered the area best revealed to a select few. He stopped, fixing on the bare skin that was coming through the wet fabric. Realizing he was becoming too turned on he quickly turned away.

Looking out they had now seen the water had subsided. There seemed to be a calm after the storm. But how long would it last? They didn't really know because they didn't expect it to happen again. They took comfort in the false security.

Not a single word was uttered other than "I think the water has stopped". Seth brought down his jacket and started to slip away. But before he could fully release himself Marissa moved in. Her whole body slid in closer to Seth. She eased in inch-by-inch and then slowly laid down her head on his upper body. As she came to him, Seth had no choice but to follow along. He moved back in and put his arm around Marissa's shoulder.

There her head rested for what felt like hours. Seth eased his face down and took in the view of her head on his upper chest. He sighed in his mind. He watched her as though she was a baby sleeping. He never spoke. He never shuttered a movement. He looked on contently as little flashes of his future flashed through his mind. He began to wonder what it would be like to have a woman like Marissa by his side in the coming years. And of course on the day he came to the inevitable truth, he was never leaving Newport.

His eyes slowly moved, but it was hardly noticeable unless one was purposely looking. In between his flashes he did wonder what all of this really meant and just how far he should allow this evening to progress. Sure he was confident and maybe even proud of himself for being able to have the strength to embrace everything that happened thus far, but he knew they would still have to return back to the real world, a world that included ex's and best friends.

It only flickered in and out compared to his other thoughts. The contentment Marissa was giving him was front and center. This is why his head gradually moved towards Marissa's, and, why he found his lips gently pressing against her forehead.

Just as she felt the tingle of his lips pressing against the soft skin her head inched in a half inch closer. She then closed her eyes to keep herself focused on the tranquility of the moment.

Lighting could of came down and struck them both. But looking in, it was clear it would take something greater than lighting to break these two apart. God was in their favor anyway and no lighting struck down.

For another minute or so they stayed still and silent. But the minute passed and Marissa opened her mouth. Seth lifted up off her forehead slightly and shifted his eyes to face her as she spoke.

"I sense a full moon," Marissa said.

Seth paused as he looked at her intently. He eyes then moved to the sky looking for assurance that this evening was because of another force.

"It's a half moon," Seth replied a little taken aback.

Just before Marissa could reply to the oddity of there being no full moon to explain this evening she once again felt the burst of air come up from the ground. But her reaction skills were slow to the take and the water was already bursting up from the ground again before she could make a run for it.

As a quick reaction they each separated and brought their arms over their heads.

"I guess this is not an on the hour kind of thing," Seth said.

Marissa laughed. Seth couldn't help but shed a few laughs himself. He looked over at Marissa who had dropped her hands and who was suddenly embracing the water showers. He watched on, not moving and unintentionally letting the water fall over him. She caught his wayward eyes and then smiled. Seth smiled back.

Just after they met each other with gleaming facial expressions, Marissa started to run through the upward showers.

Seth had looked down as he felt a spring of water coming right up his left pant leg. This took him out of his trance and he quickly moved away. Just then his eyes came up and noticed Marissa was far ahead of him. She was so beautiful and carefree and it made his heart race.

"Seth, come on, over here," Marissa called out. "We might as well embrace the rain," she added in just before spinning.

As the water continued to rise Seth strolled over to Marissa.

"Got any suggestions?"

"Hun," Seth asked not sure what to say.

"To peak this moment."

His eyes elevated to the sky and he fixed on the bright stars and glowing moonlight. Not thinking of anything better to do short of stripping naked and running through the water he offered up a dance.

"We could dance under the stars," Seth replied as his eyes wandered back down.

"I'd like that."

Seth's head moved in her direction and his eyes fixed on her face as she started to walk over to meet him. As she came in closer she grabbed his tie, which some how managed to stay mostly dry, and wiped away the water that was dripping down his face.

"There," Marissa said in a hushed tone.

Seth smiled, but didn't move. Marissa took his motionless moment and used it to take lead. She took a hold of both hands and interlocked them with hers. She then brought her head down and rested it on his shoulder. Seth never smiled or said a word. He simply allowed the motions to carry out in a natural manner.

"I wish we had some music," Marissa said.

"I just make up songs in my head. It occupies my time and keeps me grounded."

"Me too," Marissa said with a smile.

Seth cocked a eyebrow as he was a little surprised there was another common ground between them, even if it was so irrelevant. He then smiled.

It was presumed the rushing waters had been halted. It was around this time, in the last hour, that they had just arrived on the grounds. And the water never came till later that evening.

They each took the water's calm and relished in it. But more prominently, they devoted their attentions to each other. Seth followed with Marissa in a patterned formation that could be passed off as a dance. For minutes the music played in their heads. They desperately tried to make up some defining song. But instead they just pulled something out from their recent catalog.

Marissa's mind wandered to a light little melody. It was the song "Shelter" by Ray LaMontange.

Seth's mind was focused on the mix tape Marissa had made him. It just happened to have a few tracks by Ray LaMontange. But he fixed his thoughts on the song "Hold You in My Arms". The song's tender melody carried him through the dance. The words etched on his heart.

When you came to me with your bad dreams and your fears

It was easy to see that you'd been crying

Seems like everywhere you turn catastrophe it reigns

But who really profits from the dying

Between mind created melodies and words they looked down and up, respectively, into each other's eyes, sometimes getting lost for minutes at a time. Seth once again pondered on the lyrics.

Don't let your eyes refuse to see

Don't let your ears refuse to hear

Or you ain't never going to shake this sense of sadness

Seth closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift away.

I could hold you in my arms

I could hold on forever

And I could hold you in my arms

I could hold forever

Marissa broke free from the spell she was under and started to smile and playfully laugh. This broke Seth's concentration, but he didn't mind. Marissa released slightly allowing Seth to pull her out and back in again.

It felt like a lifetime between the moment where she released and returned into his body. She felt as though she was moving in milliseconds. As her body came another inch closer to Seth she saw his eyes shine and noticed his face was plastered with a half grin. A part of her wanted to cut the spin short and run her body up close to him bringing herself face to face, their foreheads only inches away or just barely touching.

And then. And then. And then she would go in for a. With each attempted thought of kissing Seth she stopped herself short from actually envisioning it in her mind. She could touch him intimately. She could take hold of this dance. She could stare longingly into his eyes. But could she kiss him? Lord knows she wanted too. But the impact of a kiss, she truly believed, would far out weigh the impact of everything else that happened tonight. She also knew they still had friends and ex's to return to who might not react so kindly to the fact that her and Seth had shared such a sacred and intimate embrace.

But then again, who was she kidding? Just the electric shock of his hand grazing against hers made her more alive then she had ever felt before. That was possibly more intimate than if she had danced naked right in front of him.

She was drawing in closer and the spin was coming to a close. Her heart nervously raced and Seth sensed the anticipation. His gleaming eyes fixed on her on coming face.

Just as she settled her feet his hand came up and traced the wet strands of hair that fell from her face. This time he brushed them aside and then looked deeply into her eyes. Her body made its last motions and then she stood fixed and still as his fingers grazed under her eyes and wiped away the water that still remained. She shuttered and then gave a half smile.

Seth took in her smile and presumed it to be a sign that he should move in further. His balls, metaphorically speaking, were fully intact. He barely hesitated as his face came in closer and his lips slowly moved towards hers. But just before they could meet and press against each other's she jilted and whispered out a word.

"Ryan," she hushed.

Seth couldn't make heads or tales of her words and moved in other quarter of an inch. She froze and then spoke the name of her ex again, this time louder.

"Ryan"

This startled Seth and shook him out of his daze and intended course. He eyes sulked and they began to glaze over with a light watering. He sighed as he saw Marissa's face change right before him. She started to look as though the cat she never knew she had, had just died. She quickly pulled away and stared down to the ground.

Seth was left speechless as he watched her stand still and at a distance from her. To him, it felt like a indestructible wall was just put up between them. But he tried to call out to her anyway,

"What have I done?"

"I really should get back to my mother's party."

"Looking like that," Seth replied.

He wasn't trying to be rude. But he knew if this was under other circumstances she wouldn't even dream of showing up at a Newport event looking as disheveled and distressed as she did.

"Well, I'm a wet rat. I really should go back and change."

And with her last words the night had ended. Without even giving Seth a quick glance she turned herself around and ran back to the brick pathway.

Seth looked out and stood there still and silent. The only thoughts coming in his head, 'what have I done?' and 'what just happened here?'. Seth sighed and then brought his head half down. His eyes peered out to the trail, as slowly, she vanished from his site.