A/N: blah, I'm so sorry for the VERY VERY LONG wait! As I said before, my brother came home, and so we have to share the stupid computer (He came back with none)! So, I haven't been able to be on as much as I like and every time I am on it's for my email. Also, school started up again! Araggh! Still though, I'm trying my best to update:D Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I've decided not to continue with Seth explaining everything to Michael Ann because that would just be repeats, I wanted to move on. Also, you'll notice, Michael Ann and Seth get along, but she hasn't really accepted him as her father. Well, that's all! I hope you enjoy this!
It was going to be a long, long, night.
"So, um… I, uh, loved… what you said in History class the other day," Jeremy Boles whispered in a nervous voice. "It was… thoughtful, you know?"
Michael Ann blushed.
"And way smarter than what most girls think of," Jeremy paused, his face growing red, "and um, well… I dig smart chicks."
Michael Ann let out a little giggled and opened her mouth to say something. However, Jeremy continued.
"And… um, well, I just thought I'd—"
He leaned over towards Michael Ann. It was like slow motion. She watched every millisecond, every single time interval of his movement. He leaned in, hesitated, thought, retaliated, and then got in closer.
She sucked in her breath and closed her eyes, anxious to feel him touch her.
BRIIIIIIIIING. There goes that annoying bell again.
Michael Ann's head jerked out of her palm and was broken away from her daydream. She turned her head towards the subject she was thinking of and blushed instantly. She could only see his head, but his hair looked really nice. She saw he was turning around and she quickly looked ahead to see Seth chatting away in a hurried manner.
"Okay?" Seth said to the class, "So! What I want you guys to do tonight is read chapters three and four for homework. Be prepared and sharp for a potential quiz tomorrow! Class dismissed!"
The students began to file out.
"And don't forget to eat cereal!" Seth yelled at the passing kids who where urging to get out of the door. He said it as a joke, of course.
Michael Ann waited after the kids to pass her. She saw Jeremy walking and took her chance to be near him, even if it's just for a little bit.
"Michael Ann? Can I see you for a second?"
Michael Ann spun around, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Does Seth know?
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah sure…" she saw her friend gesturing wildly towards her by the door. "Hey Nat," she said, turning towards her friend, "meet me at lunch, 'kay?"
Natalie narrowed her eyes and sighed loudly. She nodded and walked off, but not before giggling at and waving at Seth.
Michael Ann walked over to Seth's desk, and tried to seem cool. He didn't know anything.
"What's up?"
Seth cleared his throat.
"I, um, just wanted to know if your mom told you about—"
Oh. So that's what he wanted to talking about. Michael Ann smiled; the ball was back in her court.
"Your 'date?'" she interrupted with air quotes. She smirked. "Yeah, she told me."
Seth opened his mouth in protest.
"No!" he said quickly, "not date, per say. Just… a meeting, if you will. Or… you know, something along those lines," Seth made a disgusted face. That was the best he could do?
"A meeting," Michael Ann repeated.
"Yup."
"Um, okay. And, er, what will this 'meeting' be about?"
"Well you know," Seth stated as if it was obvious.
Michael Ann gave him a blank look.
"Okay, well, I don't really know myself. But I'm pretty sure it's about you? Yeah. Arrangements and stuff…"
Michael Ann raised an eyebrow.
"Um, okay, well… have fun?"
Why did Seth need to talk to her about this?
He noticed her impatience and saw her sneak a peek at the door.
"Sorry to keep you back, but um, uh, so… what are you going to do? Stay home? Or…?"
"I'm not sure, yet," Michael Ann replied. "Probably not. Maybe I'll hang out with Nat. I think she's coming over. See, we have an important soccer game tomorrow. And it's mom's turn to take us and be our supporter."
"Oh, that's right. You're in soccer," he thought of the first day they met. "What time do the games usually start?"
"Hm, not sure. Normally we have games around four in the afternoon, sometimes earlier. But since tomorrow is Saturday, I think—"
"Oh wow. Is it Friday already?" Seth suddenly interrupted, "I need to pick some groceries up," he muttered.
Michael Ann shot him a sarcastic look.
Seth realized he interrupted and quickly apologized.
She laughed a little. "It's alright. Just, have her home by twelve, 'kay?"
This time Seth laughed, "I promise," he said.
Michael Ann returned his smile.
"Good. Because if you don't, then I'll know," she said, narrowing her eyes and sending him a mysterious look.
Seth raised an eyebrow in oblivion. "What?"
"You know what I'm talking about," she replied with a smirk.
Seth just stared at her.
Michael Ann sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Sex, you idiot."
Seth's expression became alarmed. "Uh, no!" he defended. "Where did you learn that from?!"
How does she know about sex? What has Summer been teaching their child?
Michael Ann gave him a half smile in return.
"Seth," she said, "you're going to have to learn that by now, everyone my age knows about sex. In fact, I think half the seventh grade population has had sex already."
Seth's eyes widened and he grimaced. He began to say something but thought better of it.
"Nothing is going to happen," he affirmed while he gagged. "And I have no idea why I'm discussing this with you. Doesn't it gross you out?" he paused for a moment, "You know what? Never mind. Don't answer that. I don't want to know. Anyway, this is not a date, just a—"
"Meeting," Michael Ann finished, "Right. Gotcha."
With that, Michael Ann turned around and sped out of class before Seth could say anything else.
He stared at the empty spot that was just recently vacated by his twelve year old daughter.
She was something.
"Summer, my darling," Seth greeted once he opened his apartment door, "what a pleasant surprise!"
Summer rolled her eyes and smiled as he pulled her in and ushered her into the living room. He helped her with her jacket and hung it onto a nearby coat rack.
"Cohen," Summer said in acknowledgement. She began looking around his apartment, getting a quick overview. It was quite small, and a little dim. She saw a living room, kitchen, and three other doors; probably two rooms and the bathroom.
"I'm making tea right now," Seth said, interrupting Summer's thoughts. "Basically because I have nothing else… I forgot to go grocery shopping… So why don't you have a seat on the couch or something?"
"Nah," she replied, "I'll help you."
Summer followed Seth into the kitchen and drew a chair away from the table.
"Nice place you got here," she commented.
Seth slightly smiled. "Thanks," he replied, applying water into the pot.
The sound of the faucet drained the silence — for now.
"So," Summer said once she saw Seth put the pot onto the stove, "where's the crappy band posters and comic books?"
She gave him a teasing smile.
Seth scoffed. "What makes you think I don't have them?"
Summer dropped her smile. "You're kidding, right?"
This time Seth smiled. More of a smirk, actually. He tapped his chin mysteriously and moved in closer towards Summer. "Why don't you follow me and find out?"
Summer took in a sharp breath by his closeness and accepted his challenge.
She let Seth lead her by the hand and into one of the doors she saw earlier — his bedroom.
He paused when he reached for the knob and gave Summer an excited look. When he opened up his room, Summer found what she was expecting—no, wait, wait, scratch that— not expecting to see. His room was completely normal. He had one bookshelf in there filled with books. Real books; novels. His room was colored coded with a tropical teal and a dark shade of green. Basically, brown and green was the trend. He had a television and a dresser. All pretty normal.
Summer looked at Seth and smiled. She was impressed.
"Not what I was suspecting, Cohen."
"I'm full of surprises," he replied, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "But," he continued, his voice getting smaller, "don't underestimate me."
Summer gave him a perplexed look and he grabbed her hand again.
Bzzpt.
This time, leading her towards the other bedroom. The guestroom?
When he opened it, she laughed.
"I should have guessed," she said dryly.
"Yeah, you should have."
In the guestroom there was a bed, a nightstand, and another television. However, connected to the said television was what appeared to be a game console. Next to that, there was a case full of many different games. Band posters, Japanese posters, and movie posters were plastered all over the walls. And to top it all off, there were two huge bookshelves in there devoted to numerous amounts of comic books.
"C'mon, Summer," Seth reasoned, "It's me. You'd have to expect it."
Summer rolled her eyes good-naturedly and nodded her head in agreement.
"I guess I should have. And! You know, I did earlier!"
"Yeah, but you doubted yourself."
"Still doesn't mean I didn't think of it."
Seth chuckled and grabbed her hand again.
It tingled.
"Let's go into the kitchen," he suggested, leading her out of the guestroom.
He untangled his hands from her as he pulled out a chair for her, adjacent to the one she was sitting in earlier.
There was a moment of silence.
Seth, being one to hate silences, broke it.
"Okay, so," he looked straight at her, "shall we begin… talking?" he finished lamely.
Summer smiled, "sure."
She didn't really want to talk now. She was busy thinking about what just happened. There was the constant grabbing of the hand, and how it felt. She shivered. And then the totally unsuspecting and yet, suspecting room thing.
"It's me. You'd have to expect it," echoed through her mind.
She missed him and his crazy antics.
A long silence loomed over the two as she was lost in thought.
Seth cleared his throat. "What? You want me to start?" He asked after she didn't continue from her 'sure.'
Summer smirked slightly.
"That was my intention."
Seth thought for a second and nodded his head.
"Make sense."
Another minute of silence passed.
This time it was Summer to break it, since she was paying attention.
"Alright, then. Let's officially begin; knowing now that you will start it."
Seth nodded.
"Okay, I'll begin. So," he said, pausing dramatically, "what is the plan?"
Summer thought for a moment.
"For Michael Ann, right?"
Seth raised an eyebrow.
"Um, yeah. Who else is there?" he asked curiously.
Not being able to control herself, she brought up the subject both adults wanted to avoid.
"Well," she paused, "us?" she replied in a small voice.
"Us," Seth repeated firmly. Summer broke the unwritten rule. Fix it! Fix it! "How about we begin with Michael Ann?" he quickly amended.
Phew.
"Okay. Michael Ann."
Summer and Seth began to think of a plan.
Where should she go to every day? Who should she stay with? How should they do this?
"How about I have her for the weekends and you can have her on the weekdays," Summer suggested.
"What? But I'm working on the weekdays!" Seth protested.
"Yeah, I know," Summer replied, thinking hard, "me too. But you get to see her everyday at school anyways, so I figured maybe you can just… take her here, you know? Like, right after school. Can't you?"
Seth considered this. "I guess I could, but what if I want to spend a whole entire day with her? I can't on a weekend because then she'll be with you."
"Okay, fine. Different plan… Uh…"
Summer bit her lip and concentrated.
Seth, on the other hand, watched her openly and admiringly.
'God, she's beautiful.'
He loved how she looked when she thought real hard. And he especially loved it when she came up with 'the best plans ever.'
Suddenly a light shined through her, and her face lit up. She looked up at Seth who turned away.
She already knew he was watching her, but she didn't say anything.
"I got an idea!"
Seth looked at her.
"How about you have her over next week, and then I have her over the next week after that. Then she goes back to you for a week, and once she gets the feel of that, she can decide what she wants to do. You know, like, have options. How does that sound?" she finished eagerly.
Seth broke into a smile. She was brilliant, like always.
"Sounds perfect. "
Summer beamed.
"And," she added, "to make things easier, you and I should still interact, you know? Keep in contact — whether it's meetings like these or even simple phone calls. So it's not weird with you, me, and Michael Ann, you know?"
"Yeah," Seth said, nodding his head, "that makes sense. Oh! And how about we—"
He was cut off by a sudden burst of energy that erupted from the stove. The pot was screaming for Seth to turn the heat off.
"I'll go get that," he quickly said and went over to the stove.
Summer waited quietly as she watched Seth place the tea bags into two coffee cups. She mused as he added hot water and giggled when he flinched from his clumsiness. He accidentally spilled some water on himself. Same ol' Cohen, she thought. Then she frowned. I should probably go soon, before something happens.
She thought of the sparks.
"Here you go," Seth said, interrupting her thoughts. He placed a cup in front of Summer, and she lazily watched steam swirl up into the air and disappear.
After a moment or so, and a couple of background sips here and there, Seth put his cup down.
"You okay?" he asked with concern in his voice.
Summer was silent, playing with the brim of her cup.
"Huh?" she asked, returning from her lost concentration. "Oh, uh, yeah."
She gave him a firm, tightlipped smile.
Reassuring? Yeah, right.
Not satisfied with her answer, Seth lifted his cup up and brought it to the middle.
"Nothing better than a nice cup of tea, eh?" he asked with a big cheesy smile, trying so desperately to break the silence.
Summer gave him half a smile at his attempt. "Sure," she replied.
Seth nodded his head. At least she was responding.
Why the sudden mood change, though.
He looked back up at Summer, who looked deep into thought.
Remember how Seth feels when he sees Summer is thinking hard.
He smiled.
A couple of minutes passed and Seth let out a huge sigh. He looked over at the clock.
It was only seven, and already, it seemed like an eternity.
After Summer finished off her tea, Seth quickly picked her cup up from her before she even got to lick her lips. He needed something to do.
He took the two cups to the sink and lay them there.
He stared at them, and collected himself. He had to be ready to endure a couple of more hours of silence.
As he turned around, he was surprised to see Summer right in front of him, mere inches away. He sucked in a deep breath.
"I've… been considering this for long time," he heard her started slowly. He wasn't sure, his mind wasn't really working. "I don't know what's wrong with me… I can't explain it," he thought she said, "I just…"
And then, she kissed him.
Seth felt her lips collide with his and before his brain could realize what was happening, his body was already responding back. Body over brain. Smart.
He deepened the kiss and put his free arm around Summer, as his other arm was glued to the sink (he was tense, after all). She responded positively, touching him in places he made him tingle. He moved his hand into her hair, and ran his fingers against the side. Nothing felt real to him except that she was melting into him, falling.
When they finally broke apart, the two were out of breath.
"Seriously," Summer said in between breathes, "considering," breath, "is," huff, "this," puff, "a mistake? I— "
Seth didn't let her finish. He didn't want her to finish.
He kissed her again, this time more urgently. As the time went by, the kisses became more reckless. As if he didn't care what they were doing, except that they were doing it together. Seth took his gripping hand off the sink and onto Summer's waist. He began to move from her lips down to her neck.
He pulled away just long enough to look into her eyes and breathe, "Baby, we're humans. We were born to make mistakes."
That was all it took for Summer to jump onto Seth and wrap her legs around his waist.
So that's why they call them pick up lines.
Seth took initiative and moved from the sink to the wall of the refrigerator. Her back hit against the door with a jerk, emphasizing that he was being rough.
Summer pulled away from his face and gave him her sexiest smile.
"Wow Cohen," she breathed, "taking charge? I like it."
Seth returned her stare and grinned.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she confirmed. "It's so hot that, it's, it's—"
She never got to finish her sentence as Seth kissed her again. Her response jerked him backwards and he was banged against the table. He turned around and propped her up on said object. Crossed her legs and watched as Seth began unbuckling his belt.
He did it quickly and in a swift movement.
Maybe he's had a lot of practice. Who knows?
He climbed on top of her, tugged at her blouse, and starting kissing her again.
A/N: And THAT was the thing you have been waiting for. It sucked, I know. But that was all I could do. I'll update with the next chapter tomorrow. ENJOY!
