"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 2
"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.
Summer, unsure of what to do, pulled back from Seth and picked up her recorder again. "Mr. Cohen, we're not finished with our interview yet. I still have some more questions for you." Knowing that she couldn't avoid the topic forever and that he could make her return to it later, Seth accepted Summer's denial and absently nodded his head. "So, O.S. Comics. Interesting name. Would you like to tell our readers the story behind it?"
"Sure. It actually stands for Oats Sparkles Comics, which might sound pretty random, but it reminds me of the way that Little Miss Vixen and the Ironist are fated to be together. You see, when I was young, my parents gave me a toy plastic horse. I named him Captain Oats. He became my best friend, as I was kind of a loner when I was young, and I still have him to this day," Seth said, crossing the room to his desk and picking up the Captain. "So, anyway, the first time that Little Miss Vixen and I started dating, I went into her room and found a purple My Little Pony on her dresser. It turns out that she also had a best friend in a toy plastic horse that she called Princess Sparkles. So, being the matchmakers that we are, we introduced the two horses, and Oats and Sparkles really hit it off. The rest, as they say, is history."
Summer couldn't help but smile at Seth after that answer. To be honest, she had already made that conjecture when she first heard the company name, but was satisfied to find out she was right. "That's pretty cute, Cohen. I'm not gonna lie."
She crossed back towards him and took the Captain from his hands, saying hi. She then went to where her briefcase sat and pulled out Princess Sparkles. Seth looked on, smiling, as Summer positioned the two on the coffee table facing one another. Looking back at Seth, she spoke. "I had a feeling that I'd see the Captain today, and I know that they haven't seen each other in a long time, so I thought they might have some catching up to do." Seth looked deeply into Summer's eyes, but she looked down to her notes and shook her head. "Ok, so back to the interview. What things make a woman attractive to you?"
"Well," Seth began, unsure of what to say. "Ok, they have to be this perfect combination of sweet and sassy. I like women that are very witty. I like to consider myself a pretty witty and sarcastic guy, but I like a girl that challenges my sarcasm, and dishes back what I'm giving out. I like women that are intelligent and passionate. Ones that know how to have fun but how to be serious. They need to have a perfect balance of vim and vigor," Seth looked up trying to catch Summer's distant gaze. "But so far, I've only met one woman that's had all of these qualities, and she's too far into denial about how bad she wants to me to take our relationship to the next level."
"Cohen, you are seriously delusional. Just because I'm wearing the ring that you happened to give me on our third anniversary and the night that we broke up, doesn't mean that I want you," Summer raged. Seth just smirked, infuriating her more. "I suggest you wipe that smug ass grin off your face before I go into full rage blackout mode!"
Seth raised his hands in surrender and his smile softened. "That's exactly the girl that I'm talking about." Summer's eyes softened at this, and she felt her heart melting. She clicked her recorder off for the second time.
"Cohen, I will say this. I really have missed you," She said softly. She crossed the room to where he stood with his hands in his pockets and reached her arms out to give him a hug. Seth was too shocked at Summer's instant shift from rage blackout mode to sweetheart mode to react. After a second, he let his arms fall into a natural position around her waist.
"I've missed you, too, Summer. Not a day goes by that I don't miss you. I still can't help but to wonder how we went from being in a happy cohabiting relationship to zero contact in six years in what seemed like a day," Seth said, voice full of emotion. He took her tiny hand in his, running his thumb over the ring. "That night- I still have nightmares about it, and I always wake up hoping that it didn't really happen like that. But it did." Seth took Summer's hand and continued the conversation over on the couch.
"Summer, I know things were really hard right before the pitch. I was really stressed out about everything that was going on with the comic and the toll it was taking on our relationship, but to this day, I can still assure you that nothing EVER happened with Meredith. Actually, I haven't been in contact with her since the night we broke up accept to tell her that I was throwing away the comic book pitch." Seth looked up and saw what he thought was trust in Summer's eyes. It seemed that she was actually believing what he was saying. "Summer, you were never second string. You have to know that."
"Seth, I don't think I ever really doubted you," Summer stated softly, admitting it for the first time to Seth as well as herself. Summer stared at the floor for a moment, seemingly deep in concentration. After opening her mouth and closing it again several times, Seth spoke.
"If you have something to tell me Summer, you can say it. No matter what it is," he said, trying to figuring out what she was thinking.
After a moment's hesitation, she finally started. "It's just, ever since that night, I've always been wondering something. I mean, I left before I really gave you a chance to explain, so it's kind of been up in the air since then." She paused. "What were your intentions when you gave me this?" She asked, raising the ring in the air.
Seth was now the one searching for the right words. Summer had asked him the question that he had never really answered himself. "I guess I just wanted to give you something to assure you that there was not going to be another Tahiti or Anna or Reid. When I bought it, I thought about making it a promise ring or an engagement ring, but more than anything, I just wanted to assure you of my commitment to you." Seth sighed. "The funny part is, even though we haven't seen each other or spoken to each other in 6 years, I haven't broken the commitment that I wanted to give you with the ring." Seth looked up and caught Summer's eyes.
As Summer looked into Seth's eyes and thought about the passed six years without him, her eyes welled up with tears. She was finally acknowledging and coming to terms with the magnitude of the error she had made years earlier. She was at a loss for words, but she communicated her regret to Seth with her eyes.
"Listen," Seth said after a few minutes, "I know that we've already completed our interview and everything, but I think that it's needless to say we have a lot of catching up to do. Do you have any plans for tonight?"
Summer closed her eyes for a moment, blinking away all of the emotions that had just come up and reopened them with a smile on her face. "Well, I do have a pretty badass hotel room, and I was just planning on ordering a bottle of wine tonight and watching cheesy movies. Why do you ask?"
"I was just thinking that we could hang out, you know. I mean, I don't want to put any pressure on you or anything, but it could just be fun. I mean, there's so many things to see and do in LA and know you haven't been out to California in a really long time, but if you just want to hang out in your 'badass' room, then I completely understand, but I just thought-"
"Cohen!" Summer said, cutting him off before his ramble went too much farther. "I would love to hang out. Really."
"Great. Then I'll pick you up at say, 7?" Seth proposed, flashing her his dimples.
"Sounds like a d..plan," Summer replied, awkwardly. She quickly gathered her things and said goodbye as she walked out of the office, grinning ear-to-ear.
She walked passed the secretary, giving her thanks, and to the elevator, still unable to wipe the smile off of her face. As the elevator doors opened, she walked in, not noticing a woman coming out and bumping into her, dropping her things all over the floor.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying any attention and-"
"Summer Roberts!" The voice said. Summer looked up and was met with a face she hadn't seen since Sophomore year at Harbor.
"Anna?"
A/N Sorry that this wasn't the best chapter. Oh, and thank you, everyone for the fabulous reviews so far. I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the story so much. I will take your comments and criticisms into careful consideration. For all of you Sethummers, don't worry, it won't be sad forever. But there has to be some drama, right? Peace.