"The Most Eligible Bachelor"
Summary: Summer and Seth are leading separate lives now, but what happens when Summer's story for a leading magazine forces them together?
Disclaimer: I'd like to stake a claim on Adam Brody's dimples, but really, I don't own any of the O.C. characters or story lines.
Chapter Three: The Interview, Part 1
Summer woke up at 7 the next morning to begin to physically and mentally prepare for her meeting with Seth. After hitting up the nearest Starbucks, she headed down to the beach and walked for a while, occasionally taking stops to admire the ocean and reflect on how much she had missed California.
After an hour and a half on the beach, she headed up to her suite and began getting ready. She tried on at least 10 outfits before finally resting on a clean white blouse, some black gauchos, and of course, her never-fails knee-high Manolos. She took her time on her hair, making sure that every wave was in place and convincing herself that she wasn't wearing it down just because Seth liked it best that way.
Taking a final look at her interview notes and packing them into her red leather briefcase, Summer phoned the driver to let him know that she was ready to leave.
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Meanwhile, at the O.S. Comics building, Seth sat in his office looking over some final pages of the latest issue of Atomic County, which was set to be released the following Wednesday. He glanced up as his secretary, Beverly, entered his office.
"Good morning, Bev. And to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, grinning widely at her in greeting.
"Good morning, Mr. Cohen. I was just reminding you of your 11 o'clock appointment with the reporter from Cosmopolitan magazine. Would you like me to send her in here, or in another conference room?" his secretary asked.
"I think here should be fine. What did you say they were coming for again?"
"The editor said that you have been selected as one of the most eligible bachelors on the west coast, and they want to run a profile about you and the company in their 'All About Men' issue."
Seth smirked. "Never in my life could I have fathomed being selected as one of the most eligible bachelors by a leading women's magazine. I've kind of always just been the geeky emo comic book guy."
Bev giggled at this. "Mr. Cohen, I think it's safe to say that you still are. You just happen to make a lot of money doing it now." The two shared a laugh as Beverly walked out of the office.
Seth stood and looked out his window and at the ocean. Although he had outwardly joked about it, he didn't know how he felt about being named an eligible bachelor. Though he was technically single, his heart did still belong to a certain brown-haired brown-eyed girl that had left him 6 years earlier.
At that thought Seth walked over to a shelf that housed several of his favorite photos. There was one of the "Fantastic Four" eating at their favorite diner during Senior Year that their favorite waitress, Debbie, had taken. There was one of him and Ryan opening Christmukkah presents last year, taken by his mom. There was Summer's senior picture, a black and white photo of her with the ocean in the background and her long hair being blown back by the wind.
And then there was his favorite one. It had been taken by his mom at the surprise birthday party he had thrown for Summer the summer before they had left for college. It was a close up of him and her feeding each other cake, or pushing it in each other's face, with ear-to-ear grins on their faces, dimples fully exposed. Seth sighed as he remembered all the good times that they shared and how bad his heart had been broken when she had left him on their anniversary.
Captivated by the photos and the memories, Seth didn't notice Bev enter the office, followed closely behind by the very object of his thoughts and affections. Bev cleared her throat to get his attention, and as he turned around he could hardly believe his eyes.
"Cohen," Summer greeted, barely above a whisper, as her eyes locked with his, unable to move. Seth stood slack-jawed, unable to speak. The two stared at each other for what seemed like forever, until Beverly spoke.
"Mr. Cohen, this is-" Bev began.
"Summer Roberts. I know. Bev, I think I can manage from here," Seth said, throwing a brief smile in her direction and dismissing her. Seth and Summer both watched as the secretary left, and then turned back to one another. After a long silence, Seth finally spoke. OR rambled.
"So Summer, uh, uh, it's, it's good to see you. So you're working for Cosmo now, huh? Who would've thought?" Laugh. "So uh, would you like to sit down? Let's see, we have uh, uh a couch over there, yeah. Or you could, you know sit over by the desk, and I could sit behind it, I don't know what degree of professionalism you'd like to maintain." Breath. "So how've you been anyway? I mean, you look great. Not that I'm surprised by any means, but yeah. So NYU. I'm assuming you stayed there and-" Seth stopped as Summer was no longer able to contain her giggles.
"Whoa there, buddy. You might own your own company now, and be a big bad business man, but you still have quite the ability to dish out a long-winded ramble," Summer said between laughs, causing Seth to join in with her. Summer moved towards the leather couch on the other side of Seth's office and motioned for him to join her.
"Hi Summer," Seth said, really taking her in for the first time. No matter how long he'd known her or how much older they got, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Though she dressed more conservatively these days, it was not hard to see that she kept her body in the same shape she had been in during their days at Harbor. Her beautiful coffee-colored locks fell in loose waves down her back, the same style that Seth had always loved, and though she lived in a cooler climate, her skin still had the same perfect complexion and tan glow that had always given him butterflies.
"Hi Cohen," Summer smiled, causing him to flash his gorgeous dimples. She couldn't believe the effect that they still had on her, even after all the time that had passed. She took a moment to observe his appearance.
Though he, too, dressed more conservatively now, he was still her Cohen. He wore a black pin-striped suit with classic black Chucks and a Death Cab shirt underneath. His Jew-fro was grown out to the perfect length in her eyes- long enough to see the curls, but short enough that it stayed off of his forehead. Summer, lost in soaking in the man before her, was taken away from her thoughts by the sound of Seth's voice.
"So, I'm one of the most eligible bachelors on the west coast, huh?" Seth laughed.
"That's what my boss told me," Summer said, humor in her voice. "And you're in some interesting company. Two people that you might have heard of? Zach Stevens and Ryan Atwood?"
Seth looked at Summer amusement evident in his eyes. "You can't be serious?"
"It's funny, that's what I thought when my boss pitched this assignment to me, but sure enough."
"So, I assume you have some questions prepared for me, Ms. Roberts?"
"I do, I do. First of all, you have a pretty nice set up for yourself here, Mr. Cohen," Summer mocked, glancing around the office. Her eyes fell on some pictures across the office on a shelf, and she rose to move around the office, clicking her tape recorder on in the process. Seth, seeing where she was headed, ran ahead of her and flipped down his pictures.
"Yes, actually. I'm really proud of this place. My brother and I worked together to design it, and then his company, Atwood and Associates, built it for me. I wanted to make sure I had an ocean view and a corner office with lots of windows. Staring at the ocean gets me through a lot of days and a lot of writer's block," Seth said as he crossed to stare out the window.
"Ok, so as I know, you started the idea for your comic book in high school. How did you come up with the idea initially, and what has kept the project fresh and current for modern teens, seeing as you came up with the idea almost 10 years ago?" Summer questioned.
"Well, my inspiration for the comic book was the real Little Miss Vixen. A girl that I've been in love with since I was ten," Seth paused for a second and looked at Summer, making sure that she caught tense in which he said that. "Anyway, I'm obviously the Ironist, and the book just kind of highlights some of the things I went through growing up in high school, both before, during and after I dated Little Miss Vixen. The main focus, of course, is the trials and tribulations faced by the Ironist and Little Miss Vixen, in addition to some friend drama, which comes into play with the addition of Kid Chino and Cosmo Girl." Seth took another pause.
"As for keeping the material fresh, I think there are just issues that teens face that always have and always will transcend time. We all can relate to the first time we fell in love," Seth caught Summer's eyes and held them as he continued, "or the first time we had sex. Or the first time we got wasted, or the first time we lost a loved one, and we've all encountered bullies like the Demon Water Polo Players. So I think that the reason it is so big to kids in modern times is, because they can relate to my experiences." Seth paused and smiled. "And whenever I run out of good ideas, I always have a lot of 90210 and Valley episodes in my DVD collection to give me inspiration."
Summer smiled at his answer. "You're telling me that you, Seth Cohen, emo geek extraordinaire, bought the Valley?"
Seth grinned, sheepishly. "What can I say? That stuff is deep, Summer." The two shared a laugh.
"Anyway, next question. Why has a guy like you, I mean, someone who's an attractive, artist, writer and entrepreneur, remained single for so long?"
"Well, as I said I've been in love with the real Little Miss Vixen since I was ten, and I guess I've never really looked for anyone else," Seth looked up trying to gage Summer's reaction. She was looking down, so he continued. "Upon urging from my family and friends, I have met for drinks or dinners occasionally over the last few years, but nothing has ever gone passed date number one. Yes, I, Seth Cohen, one of Cosmo's most eligible bachelors, have not been kissed for 6 years since you, Summer Roberts, walked out of my life."
As Seth finished, Summer looked up and their eyes locked. Seth crossed the room and put his hand on Summer's cheek. She looked up at him with wide brown eyes, unsure of what to do. She unconsciously clicked the stop button on the recorder and set it down on the end table next to her. As she drew her arm back to her side where she stood in front of Seth, he caught her hand and brought it up between their faces.
"I have to say, I was surprised, but don't think I didn't notice it when you first walked in," he said, referring to the ring that Summer bore on her left ring finger. The one she had forgotten to take off the night before.