"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 Seven: The Date
Though Seth had driven to the hotel, Summer insisted that the two make use of the driver that Cosmo was paying for, so the two rode the fifteen minutes to the restaurant in a pretty comfortable silence. Summer quickly walked to the front of the limo and told the driver a basic time frame for their date before joining Seth on the curb.
They strode arm in arm into the restaurant, where Seth asked the hosted he called Sammi for "his table in the back." After being led through the restaurant to a secluded patio, Seth and Summer sat down at the table facing each other.
"So, I take it you come here a lot?" Summer asked Seth, meeting his gaze for the first time since their greeting.
"You could say that. Ryan, Riss, and I tend to come out here at least once a week, and I've been on other separate occasions. It's a nice restaurant, the people are friendly, and some of the servers read Atomic County," Seth said with a smile.
Summer looked at Seth with curiosity. "By other separate occasions do you mean those dates that your family seems so adamant on setting you up with?"
"Uh, well, um, I guess you could say that, but uh, I mean, this is a special place for me, and I wanted to bring you, more than anyone else here, so I don't want you to think that it's just-"
"Cohen. It's cool, really. No explanation necessary," she said reassuringly. They sat for a moment in a semi-awkward silence before the waiter came over to take their drink orders.
"I think I'll start off with a Cosmopolitan," Summer said, given the waiter a small smile.
"Ha, Cosmopolitan," Seth laughed. Summer and the waiter looked at him expectantly. "Right, I'll just have a Boulevard Wheat, please." The waiter left, giving them a few more minutes to look over their menus. The both decided on the Shrimp scampi, and the waiter walked away, leaving them to sip their drinks.
"So how has New York been? I've only been back once since I moved away for a Comic Book Convention," Seth asked Summer, as their second round of drinks were brought out.
"It's been good. I work at the magazine which does take up a lot of my time. I occasionally go out with some college friends and some colleagues at the magazine for drinks, but with the rest of my time, I kind of just hang out with Blanche at my apartment." At Seth's raised eyebrows, Summer went on. "She's my baby, my dog. She's kind of my best friend, well, besides Coop and Sparkles of course."
Seth just gave Summer a smile. After a moment's thought, he spoke. "So, do you have any relentless colleagues in your life trying to set you up on date's every week?"
Summer rolled her eyes. "I think everyone that's out of college and single has those kinds of people in their life, but still, I've never really had a boyfriend since, well, you," she said quietly.
The rest of dinner was pretty quiet. Summer and Seth talked about their jobs and shared funny stories about their friends and coworkers, really seeming to enjoy each other's company. When dinner was over, the two, each having about 6 drinks in their systems, headed down to the dock where Seth's boat rested.
"Wow, Cohen. She's quite a step up from the Summer Breeze," Summer giggled, as she laid eyes on Seth's massive yacht.
"She is. I can't say that she has quite the sentimental value, but she is pretty special in her own right."
Summer tilted her head in question at Seth. "What's her name anyway?"
"Um, well, uh, Summer Dream," Seth coughed, his face reddening. Summer felt her own cheeks blushing, as she took Seth's hand and starting helping herself on board.
"Hey! You're supposed to ask the captain for permission before you board his boat," Seth joked.
Summer stopped where she was and placed her foot back on the dock. She turned around so that she was face to face with Seth, and slowly inched herself closer, until they were feeling each other's breath on their faces. Seth felt a lump form in his throat and quickly swallowed it. They stood for what seemed like ages before Summer finally whispered in a husky voice, "Well, do I have your permission, Captain?"
Seth stood and stared at her, trying to keep his thoughts pure as he smelled a mixture of her perfume and shampoo with every breath he took in through his nose. Unable to speak, he simply nodded his head, and Summer released her hand and climbed on board. When she finally stood firmly on the Summer Dream, she reached her hand out to Seth who was still in the same position that she had left him. "Are you going to come on board or what!" She questioned.
Realizing she was waiting for him, Seth attempted to breathe in deep and clear his head before nodding again. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I just need to untie this, and…Ok. I think we're good to go," he said, stepping on board. He walked past Summer and towards the steering wheel, catching another whiff of her irresistible fragrance on his way.
Seth started up the boat and began their course out into the Pacific Ocean, while Summer sat at the bow, staring out at the vastness that lay ahead of her. As the wind blew her hair back and she sat, beautifully perched with her back slightly arched as if she were laying into the wind, Seth thought that he had never seen her look so beautiful.
Bringing the boat to a halt and letting it sway to the natural rhythm of the ocean, Seth walked up behind Summer, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Have I told you tonight how beautiful you look?"
Summer, momentarily taken aback, let herself revel in his touch, but quickly shook herself out of the trance he had her under and turned to look at him. "Cohen, is that the booze talking again?" She joked as she let herself sit back on one of the leather seats that lined the inside of the boat.
Taking this as a hint to be less serious, Seth rose and grabbed bottle of wine from the cooler he had put on board earlier. "Oh, don't worry, Summer. I think after we finish one of these," Seth said motioning to the bottle, "you'll be more susceptible to my charms."
Summer stood to cross to where Seth was and put her hands on her hips, jutting one out while cocking her eyebrows. "Oh really, Cohen?" She said, playfulness evident in her tone and in her eyes. Seth couldn't help but chuckle as he poured himself and Summer a glass of Pinot. The two settled back down on one of the benches at the front of the boat downing their glasses of wine.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Summer spoke. "Isn't it sometimes mind-boggling when you think about how much are lives have transformed since we first met one another?"
Seth, for once, said nothing and simply nodded. Though they kept up this quiet and calm atmosphere for a good 20 minutes, their silence disintegrated along with the bottle of wine. They quickly became more open again as at dinner, telling each other funny stories of the past few years.
"What's been the best story to write so far, Sum?" Seth asked, genuinely curious.
Summer took a moment to ponder his question before finally opening her mouth to answer. "Well, in light of the release of some interesting figures, stating that members of US society were, on average, donating an extra $300 per year towards charitable organizations, Cosmo wanted to run some pieces on different charities and such, and which causes need the most money, volunteering, et cetera. So the editors wanted to assign someone to do something on all of the organizations relating to fair trade, and I said I'd take it."
Summer paused. "A lot of it was kind of boring, like profiling the different organizations, explaining the importance of fair trade, yadda, yadda, but when Chris Martin-yes, that Chris Martin-heard that the magazine was interested, he invited me on this two week excursion in Africa, where we actually met with a lot of the farmers that are effected by fair trade laws." Summer looked down. "I guess I loved how challenging it was to write the piece, and how important I felt the information that I would be giving the reader's was. I mean, I guess it sounds stupid, but for once, I didn't feel like what I was writing was too shallow, ya know?"
Seth looked on, amazed as ever at the person speaking before him. "I understand, Summer. You shouldn't feel stupid about that at all. Seriously. I'm really proud of everything you've done with your life." Seth sat back for a moment, allowing air for silence. "So was Chris Martin hot?"
Summer laughed and blushed a little. "You wouldn't believe it. I mean, none of the pictures from the magazines could even do him justice. He brought this guitar along, too, and at nights, we would sit around these fires, just listening to him sing. It was pretty amazing."
"Man," Seth smiled, feigning jealousy, "I've only seen Coldplay in concert once, and it was with 50,000 other people there. You saw them for two weeks straight for private concerts!"
"Cohen! You just told me earlier that you occasionally hang out with Quentin Tarantino. I think that we're playing a pretty even game. Oh, except that your secretary makes what I do, you OWN your own business, and you're an AMAZING artist!" The two shared a laugh at Summer's mini rage blackout.
Summer laid back on the blanket that Seth laid out on the floor for them and patted the empty space next to her. "Man, sometimes I really miss this." Seth looked at her sideways unsure of her meaning. "The stars. They're beautiful. And there's so many. The city is not exactly the best place for stargazing. But here, I just feel so small underneath the sky."
"Well, you are pretty small," Seth quipped, followed closely by a wince as Summer smacked him. "But I guess I know what you mean. Sometimes I'll get the weather report and just ride out and sleep out here, instead of in my apartment. I like getting away from the madness of the office and the city just to clear my head. It's amazing."
After a long pause, Seth exhaled and pulled himself to a sitting position. "Going somewhere?" Summer asked, lazily, feeling some of the effects of the alcohol she had consumed throughout the course of the evening.
"I was actually wondering, if you would, uh, well, if you would dance with me?" Seth asked, looking hopefully in Summer's direction. Summer let out a small giggle and bit her lip, nodding at Seth. This caused a full-dimple grin to form on Seth's face as he got up to cross to the CD player to put some music on.
As the opening strains of Fix You came on, Seth walked over to Summer and offered her a hand to stand up. Seth pulled Summer's body close to his, letting his hands fall to the small of her back as her hands encircled his neck. While listening to the lyrics of the song, Summer felt herself being bombarded by a hoard of memories and emotions. Though she refused to look up into Seth's eyes, she could feel him staring at her.
When she could no longer stand it, she looked up into his big brown eyes and was shocked at the amount of love and passion she found in them. A single tear slipped down her cheek, and before it could make it to the bottom, Seth bent down to kiss it a way. A small gasp escaped Summer's lips, and Seth pulled away just enough so that there noses were still touching.
The two stood for what seemed like an eternity, breathing in time to the music and each other. After several moments' hesitation and a difficult internal battle, Seth separated the distance between their mouths, resting his lips softly on Summer's. They kissed each other slowly and softly for awhile, showing each other care and tenderness, but as the desperation in the kisses grew, they quickly found themselves lying down again.
Seth trailed kisses down Summer's neck and on her décolletage, taking his time to cover every inch of her with the fire from his kiss. Summer let out soft moans and felt herself being completely overcome with passion. There mouths and limbs and hips crashed together as they rolled around on the blanket, completely oblivious to the stopping of the music or the rocking of the boat.
Summer straddled Seth on the ground, grinding her hips against his while hungrily kissing a trail from his neck down to his belt as she carefully unbuttoned his shirt. Just as Seth reached around to return the favor by unzipping her dress, Summer sat completely still. Seth sat up, her legs still straddling his hips, attempting to find out what happened.
"Seth, everything in my mind and body is telling me right now that we should do this, but I still don't think I can tonight," Summer said quietly, trying to answer the confusion that crinkled his forehead. Seth's hand surrounded her shoulders, and he rubbed her back, urging her to continue. "I mean, I'm not saying that I only want this because I'm drunk, because frankly, I would have just as easily had you back at your office today," Seth smirked at this, "But I don't want our first night together in 6 years to take place while under the influence. And I don't want our first night together to take place period until we resolve all of our past demons." Summer looked up as she finished, searching Seth's eyes.
Seth sighed and took a deep breath, running his hands over his face. "You're right, Summer. I've waited far too long for you to rush into anything right now." He looked at his watched and noticed it was 1 a.m. He took Summer's face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead. "It's 1. I should really get you back home." Seth moved to rise, but Summer pushed her weight down on his legs, forcing him to stay.
"Cohen, just because I don't think we should SLEEP together tonight doesn't mean we can't sleep together," Summer said, causing a grin to creep onto his face.
"You mean, you want to sleep with me? I mean, not SLEEP with me but sleep with me!" Seth could hardly contain his giddiness. Summer nodded. "I think that could definitely be arranged.
So it was decided that the two would spend the night on the boat. Summer borrowed Seth's dress shirt as pajamas, and Seth slept in his boxers. As the two lay down, Seth stayed towards one side of the pallet, unsure of how close Summer wanted to get. He was quickly relieved when Summer scooted her back towards him, grabbed his arm, and pulled it around her.
Just as Summer was about to doze off, Seth let out a little chuckle. "Hey Summer?"
"Hmm," she mumbled.
"For the record, the boat's named after you."
"Shut up, Cohen," she grunted back into the pillow, though a huge smile spread across her face.
A/N I hope you guys aren't too disappointed with this one. I didn't want it to be too cheesy, but it might've been. Next chapter, Summer has the day off, so we'll wait and see what she does with it. Keep reviewing. I love it. Peace.