"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 Twenty: A Vacation
Flash Forward: It is now Wednesday of the following week, and Summer is officially on vacation.
After spending Monday writing and polishing her story, Summer submitted it to the editor at the west coast office and was relieved to finally be on vacation for the first time in the two years that she worked at Cosmo.
She spent Tuesday the way any Cosmo reporter on vacation would, hitting up the spa and doing a little light shopping. It was now Wednesday, and she was getting ready to bring lunch to a very stressed out Seth, who had spent the last few days interviewing prospects for the VP position at O.S. Comics.
Seth sat at his desk, reviewing the notes he had taken during the interviews, and had narrowed the list down to three possibilities. The stressed look on his face turned quickly into a smile when he saw Summer stride into his office, a pizza box in one hand and a two-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper in the other.
"You are the best, Summer," Seth said, crossing the room to take the food from her hands and giving her a quick, yet meaningful peck on the lips.
"Don't mention it, Cohen. I was hungry, too," she said, offering him a smile before joining him on the couch. "So, do you have a new VP yet?"
Seth let out a deep sigh. "Well, I've narrowed it down, but the last three are leaving me with a pretty hard decision."
"Is there anyway I could help you?" she asked, trying in any way to relieve the stress that he was feeling.
"If you'd like to rifle through that mess," he said motioning to the mounds of papers on his desk, "And help me pick the person, then be my guest."
Summer rose from the couch, pizza slice in hand, and went over to Seth's desk. She sat in his chair and looked at the three resumes that seemed to be the ones that he was debating over.
"So, what are you looking for, Cohen? Because it looks like we have Jan, who graduated top of her class from USC with a degree in business management. Michael, an avid follower of Atomic County with a degree in fine art from Berkeley. And then there's Owen, who boasts that he was founder of the first Comic Book Club at Stanford and earned a degree there in, let's see, print media." Summer looked up and could see the wheels turning in Seth's head.
Seth rose from the couch and crossed to stand behind Summer at the desk, resting his head on her shoulder and looking at the resumes that she held. "I just don't know, Sum. They're all overly qualified, and seem like they would be great for the position. It's just hard to choose I guess."
"Which one did you identify with most?" Summer asked thoughtfully, turning to look into Seth's eyes.
Seth thought for a moment before answering. "I guess it would be Owen. I mean, not just because he founded a Comic Book Club," Summer laughed, "But I guess he just reminded me of myself when I was right out of college. He was kind of a dork, but he did have a great deal of wit and spunk He was a cool guy."
"You identifying with a cool guy, Cohen? That's a pretty far stretch," Summer joked, giving him a playful smile.
"Hey, I'm kind of cool, right?" Seth bent down until his face was level with Summer's. "I got you, didn't I?" he whispered before giving her an adoring kiss.
"Fair enough," Summer said, breaking away with flushed cheeks. "But now that you've picked you're guy, Cohen, I say we find another place for this paperwork," she finished huskily, before clearing the paper off of the desk and jumping on top of it, posing sexily towards Seth.
"There is a god," Seth said, dumbfounded, before moving to stand between Summer's legs and ravishing her with his mouth.
After Summer left Seth's office that afternoon, she went to the beach to layout and swim for awhile, but made sure that she left the beach in enough time to stop at the grocery store and make it home before Seth.
Seth arrived home from work to the aroma of food being cooked in his house. He set his briefcase down next to the door and left his keys and wallet on the small table. "Summer? Where are you?" he called out.
"In here, Cohen!" she yelled back from the kitchen. Seth entered the kitchen to one of the hottest sights he had ever seen. Summer stood in the kitchen in only her bikini top and a jean miniskirt, stirring some food on the stove and offering him a sexy grin. When he walked in, she stopped what she was doing and walked over to him, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a steamy kiss.
"How was your day at work, baby?" she said in a teasing tone.
"Ah, well, I, it," Seth stuttered back, still taken aback from the kiss. He quickly attempted to clear his head and formulate semi-coherent sentences. "What do you mean, Summer? It was possibly the best day of work, well, ever. I found a replacement for Anna, which I thought would never happen, and I actually LIVED one of my biggest fantasies ever when we, ya know, did that thing? On the desk? All and all, pretty great day," he said, tightening his grip around her face and pulling her in for a hungry kiss.
Several moments of kissing passed before Summer broke away and remembered what she had been doing before Seth came home. "Cohen, whoa. As much as I'd love to continue doing this, I have to make sure dinner doesn't burn," she said, moving back towards the stove.
Seth took a seat at the kitchen table and just watched Summer cook. He was absolutely in love with how she looked when she was concentrating on a task. She got the cutest little wrinkle lines in her forehead, and her eyes had the most intense gaze. Sometimes she would kind of bite her lip, too, which was enough to make Seth want to—
"Cohen? Earth to Cohen," Summer said, waving her hand in front of his face to break him out of his trance.
"What, Summer? Did you say something?" he asked, slightly embarrassed that he had been caught during a moment of naughty thought about Summer.
"Yeah, I asked you what we were going to do this weekend?" she repeated, grabbing plates and utensils from the cabinets and walking over to set the table.
"I was actually going to talk to you about something tonight, but I guess now works, too. Seeing as the next issue of A.C. doesn't come out for two weeks, and I'll need some time to work out the sketches anyway, I was wondering how you would feel about leaving on a small trip to Catalina tomorrow. I thought we could take the Summer Dream, dock it, rent a hotel, or just stay on the boat," he paused, "I hope that's not too forwards," he finished, looking down, afraid of what Summer would say.
A sweet smile covered Summer's face, and she went to Seth and sat on his lap. "Cohen, that is the best idea I've heard in a long time. I would LOVE to go to Catalina with you," she said, kissing him firmly on the cheek.
"That's awesome," Seth said, instantly brightening up. "We can leave tomorrow when we wake up, I'll get online and make some reservations tonight, and then we can come back sometime on Sunday. I'm so happy you said yes!" he exclaimed, pulling Summer into a tight hug and kissing her all over her face.
"Geez, Cohen. Did you actually think I could say no?" Summer said, curiosity in her voice.
"Well, I didn't know what you would say. With everything going on with the job and all—"
"Say no more," she cut in, raising her hand to silence him. "I am on vacation, Seth. Which means no, and I mean, absolutely NO talking about my job. Got it?"
"Yes, Summer. I'm sorry for—"
"Cohen, zip it!" Summer said, a smile on her face, as she rose to bring dinner over to the table.
"Yes, Summer."
That night, Seth and Summer lay in bed, cuddling in the afterglow of the sensual love they had just made. They lay in silence, Seth softly rubbing Summer's back, and Summer running her fingers lazily over Seth's naked chest.
"Do you ever wish that things had ended differently between us in college?" Summer whispered softly against his chest, breaking the comfortable silence.
Seth, a bit taken aback by the question, paused for a moment to think about it before answering. "You know, for the past six years I've thought about that question, and my answer has always been yes. But lying here now, thinking about all that we've both accomplished and how much we've both grown, I don't think I would change a thing," he said softly.
Summer looked up from the spot her head had been resting on his chest and met his gaze, tears in her eyes. She reached up and kissed him softly, before laying down on his chest again. "That answer was perfect, Seth," she whispered softly, closing her eyes. After a moment, she felt sleep overtaking her body. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Can't wait," Seth replied, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
A/N I hope that wasn't too cheesy for anyone. I know that people wanted to see more with Summer/Kirsten, but I needed the story to progress a little quicker, so I took a few liberties. Keep the reviews coming. The more you guys review, the more anxious I get to write the next chapter. Peace.