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A Kiss Is Just A Kiss
From the next morning on, things couldn't have been going weirder between Seth and Summer. Had they stuck together for almost all weekend, they were now living through the exact opposite. At breakfast the next day, they didn't talk, and they barely looked at each other.
Summer had been cursing herself almost all night for letting a situation like the night before happen, and Seth was afraid that Summer might think that he didn't respect that she was living in a relationship – and that he was ignoring that he lived in one, too. He knew that he hadn't exactly been thinking the night before, he had just gotten caught in the magic of the moment, and now every magic Seth and Summer had been going on between them was ruined.
Their journey back to Chicago happened in an embarrassing silence, and both of them tried to make their ways to their apartments as fast as they could once the plane had arrived back in Illinois.
And none of them wanted to admit it, but there was an inevitable attraction they felt for one another.
And both of them knew that they couldn't let this attraction happen.
Two weeks after the funeral it was Seth's birthday which was planned to be celebrated in one of the gang's most favorite club in Chicago, the "Windbreaker". Amy had prepared a party with hundreds of guests Seth didn't even know, but for her it was important that the club was full – it wasn't important how many people Seth acutally knew.
Summer had intented to help Amy with the preparations, but as usual, Amy shoved her away and told her that she could manage all of the organisations by herself. Summer didn't really want to interfere in Amy's business, so she stayed out of the preparations – just like she tried to avoid any closeness to Seth for the past two weeks.
She was still feeling highly embarrassed for the almost kiss Seth and her had shared at his grandfather's funeral, and she figured if her and Seth didn't see each other every day anymore, the weirdness would somehow go away.
Even if it was kind of stupid, Seth thought the same things. And it wasn't like they were ignoring each other, they spoke and had fun and everything – they just didn't spend as much time together as usual. They had even taken a break from their report, which they had still more than enough time to finish for.
So the two weeks until Seth's birthday pracitcally flew by, and the sooner Seth wanted it to happen, the evening of his 23rd birthday was there, and he found himself and Amy walking arm in arm through the entrance of the "Windbreaker" where all the hundreds of people Amy had somehow hired for the party were waiting to shout their "surprise".
The "windbreaker" was full of people, as usual. Of course not everyone was there to celebrate Seth's birthday, even if loads of them got their special invitations from Amy, but lots of his friends and co-students from his different classes were gathered. That was one thing Seth loved about college – he had had the chance to make a brand new start concerning friends and buddies. He wasn't bullied and nobody called him geek anymore – well, nobody except Summer, and she was allowed to do so.
When Amy and Seth entered the club everyone jumped up and shouted their oligatory "surprise", even though Seth already knew everything about the party. They just shouted for the effect.
Amy was holding Seth's hand as her gaze wandered through the room, scanning the people that had come to attend the party. In one corner near the bar, Jenny, Summer and Chris stood, already some drinks in their hands. Summer was alone and Amy guessed that Craig was away once again. She really felt sorry for that girl – what use did a boyfriend have if he wasn't around?
Seth seemed to have spotted this group as well and pulled Amy over to them.
"Happy birthday honey!"
Chris was the first to hug Seth and place a kiss on his cheek. Amy would have given everything for a camera to take a picture of the disgusted look on Seth's face at that moment. The group giggled as Seth wiped his cheek and smiled innocently at Chris who stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Jenny was the next to congratulate Seth by hugging him tightly and kissing him on the cheek just like Chris had. This time, Seth just smiled but didn't wipe his
cheek, and Amy nudged him playfully in the ribs.
"So Chris isn't allowed to kiss you but Jenny is?" she asked and smirked, trying to sound offended. Of course she knew that Seth was only making fun with his friends there.
Seth turned around and smiled as innocently at her as he had smiled at Chris before. "Yeah, but no one except you's allowed to kiss me here." He said and pointed to his lips, pulling Amy closer so she could kiss him.
Amy suppressed a grin and leant over, gently caressing Seth's lips with hers when Summer, who was clearing her throat, interrupted them.
"I don't want to disturb you guys, but I want to wish you a happy birthday." She said and tilted her head, a sweet smile on her face.
Amy rolled her eyes a little but eventually moved away from Seth who, seconds later, was embraced by Summer in a very tight hug.
"Happy birthday, Seth." Summer whispered and closed her eyes as Seth hugged her tightly. "I really wish you all the best."
Seth smiled and nodded, his head resting on Summer's shoulder. "Thanks." He said. "I wish you all the best too."
Summer giggled but didn't let go of him. "It's not my birthday."
Seth pulled back a little to face her and shook his head. "No it's not. But you deserve the best."
Summer felt herself blushing a little and wondered if Seth had been drinking before Amy and he had been coming to the club, and as she noticed the dreamy look on his face she knew that her assumption was right. Seth had this special "drunk Cohen" stare on his face, his cheeks glowing and his eyes all dreamy. Plus, if he hadn't been drinking, he probably wouldn't have let her hug him as tight as she just had.
It was good that she was slightly drunk as well.
An awkward silence fell among the small group and everyone stared into the crowd, trying desperately to find a topic to talk about. Summer concentrated on stirring in her cocktail with her straw instead of looking at anybody else and Chris and Jenny found their fingernails more interesting than the rest of the club.
Amy, who had taken Seth's hand in hers again sighed and finally cleared her throat, looking up to Seth who scanned the crowd in the club.
"Honey, do you wanna get some drinks?" she asked and plastered a sweet smile on her lips that made Summer feel like vomiting right on Amy's shoes.
Seth grinned and nodded and looked at the others in excuse. "We'll be back in a sec." He said and pulled Amy with him to the other side of the bar where the barkeeper was mixing some beverages.
Summer was still slurping her drink as she watched Seth and Amy walking away, highly concentrated on not looking into either Chris' or Jenny's eyes. But that was a useless attempt since Chris was already next to her, his arms around her shoulders. "It's hard watching them, huh?" he asked kindly and pulled Summer only closer to him.
Summer shot him an angry glare and took another sip of her cocktail. "Save it Chris." She mumbled, her eyes never leaving Seth and Amy who were definitely more interested in making out than in getting cocktails.
Jenny jumped to Summer's other side and nudged her in the ribs, winking at her best friend. "Don't deny that you're jealous, we know you way too much." She said.
Summer rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically loud, putting her straw back into her cocktail. She narrowed her eyes and looked from Jenny to Chris and back again. If looks could kill Chris and Jenny definitely would have been laying dead at her feet, but unfortunately, they just kept staring at Summer instead.
"Guys, you're totally freaking me out." Summer said and shoved Chris' arm away from her shoulders. "I'm not jealous of them, why would I be?"
"Be-cause you're obviously still in love with Seth?" Chris asked and tilted his head.
Summer rolled her eyes once again. "Nuh-uh, I'm so not in love with him!" she exclaimed and emptied her cocktail with one huge last sip. She put the glass on the bar behind her and turned around to face her very annoying friends again.
"And could you please finally stop telling me that I am? I'm getting sick of this."
Jenny and Chris shot each other two questioning glares but shrugged. Jenny put a hand on Summer's shoulder and smiled gently. "You're right, we're sorry. This is none of our business."
Summer pouted and nodded, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I miss Craig." She whined all of a sudden, the effects of the alcohol setting in.
Chris raised his eyebrows and reached in his pocket for a tissue that he handed Summer, even though she wasn't crying. And she definitely wasn't planning on it. Not on a night like this where she was supposed to celebrate the birthday of the person that meant the most to her.
When Summer caught herself with that thought, she brought a hand to her chest as if being in shock and cleared her throat, looking at Jenny. "I gotta pee." She stated and her face brightened again. "You gotta pee?"
Jenny grinned but shook her head. "No, you need to go alone." She joked and giggled. "Chris and I are gonna get us some new drinks while you're gone."
At the word "drinks" Summer's face lightened up even more and she nodded enthusiastically. "I'll be back in a sec!" she yelled and bounced away in the direction of the bathrooms, ignoring Seth and Amy who were still making out instead of getting drinks as they had announced a few minutes before.
When Summer was gone, Chris looked at Jenny with a quite amused look on his face. "This is gonna be some party." He said and turned around to the bar to order more drinks.
Jenny nodded and smiled contently to herself. Chris was right. This was gonna be some party.
"Vomiting is so not the way to party."
"Yeah, how gross is it to throw up in a place where everyone else can see?"
Seth frowned as he overheard this more or minder interesting discussion between two girls who had just passed him on their way out of the bathrooms.
He had been waiting for Amy for more than ten minutes now and she still hadn't come back from the bathroom.
She had been really drunk when she went there and Seth was afraid that the throwing up person in the bathrooms was her. He could have gone and checked on his girlfriend himself, but the "Windbreaker" was one of those few fancy discos in Chicago that had guarded bathroom entrances. As he thought about it, Seth realized how stupid it sounded to have a club with guarded bathroom doors but that was the way things went in the state of Illinois – strange.
So he needed to find some female person who could easily get access to the toilets – and of course the first person on Seth's mind was Summer. He almost stumbled over his feet as he tried to stand up from the bar stool he had been sitting on and winced when he felt a sharp pain in his knee. Getting drunk with a still not completely healthy knee might not have been the best idea, he thought. But firstly, it was too late to make it undone since he already was heavily drunk, and secondly, it was his birthday, so it was legitimate to get drunk.
The club had emptied a little and it was easier for Seth to find Summer laying half on top of Jenny one of the brown leather couches in one of the club's alcove, laughing her lungs out. She was obviously pretty drunk herself. Seth stumbled once again and bit his lip from another flash of pain that went through his leg, falling on the couch right next to Summer just before he might have stumbled once again.
Summer patted Seth's shoulder and wiped away some laughing tears. "Your birthday rocks!" she yelled and clapped with her hands to the rhythm of the music that was playing.
Seth nodded happily and rubbed his knee.
Summer noticed that and pointed out to Seth's hand. "Does it hurt?" she asked and crawled off from Jenny who stood up and went over to the bar with a stupid grin on her face that Summer fortunately didn't notice.
Seth pouted and nodded, still rubbing. "Turns out that getting drunk with a knee that's been in a cast for weeks is not a good idea." He stated and shook his head for emphasize.
Summer sniffed and pouted as well. Seth wasn't sure if she felt sorry for him or if she found the situation he was in amusing, but he didn't care.
Summer laid a hand on Seth's and tilted her head. "Wanna see a doc?" she asked worriedly.
Seth raised his eyebrows and grinned broadly. Summer using the word "doc" was a good indicator that she was really drunk. He shook his head. "Nah, not necessary. I have good pain killers around here." He said and pointed out to the bar and its dozens of bottles.
Summer shrugged and leant back. "Well, if you say so. It's your day, birthday boy." She said and wiggled her eyebrows.
Seth laughed and threw his head back, feeling a little dizzy. Suddenly the reason for him coming to Summer came back to his mind and he sat up straight, holding his forefinger in the air. "I need your help." He stated.
"Sure, what for?"
"You need to go to the bathroom." Seth said and nodded.
Summer frowned and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't get that."
Seth sighed and laughed. "Amy's been gone for ages now."
Summer shook her head. "Cohen, can you give me like, information that's actually related to the one you gave me before?"
Seth nodded and held up his forefinger right in front of Summer's nose. "I need you to check if she's throwing up."
Summer didn't know why, but this comment sealed the deal for her. She started to laugh uncontrollably, burying her head on Seth's shoulder during the process.
Seth couldn't help himself but to laugh along with her while Summer screamed from amusement on his shoulder. "God Cohen-" she yelled, but before she could say anything more another wave of laughter caught her and the spiral started all over again.
Seth giggled and looked down on the small head on his shoulder that was shaking from laughter. "Summer, you can't handle any alcohol." He stated. This comment made Summer stop laughing all of a sudden, and she shot Seth a serious glare.
Seth's eyes met Summer's and all of a sudden, both of them burst into hysterical laughter again.
Summer held her stomach and wiped away some tears as everyone around them stared at them.
"Co-cohen!" Summer stammered and suppressed some more laughter. "You can't handle any alcohol! Remember that night when you got all drunk and made a somersault over the hood of your Mom's Range Rover?"
Seth seemed to remember and laughed even harder now. "How do you know that? You've been with Zach, that arrogant bitch of-"
A tiny and very familiar hand on his mouth kept Seth from talking any further. "You don't know anything about Zach!" she shouted and pouted a little, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"I know he likes Superman." Seth said and hiccuped, holding his forefinger high in the air again.
Summer didn't know what was so funny about that comment, but she burst into another roll of laughter all over again, leaning back against the couch pillows and gasping for air. "Stop that Cohen!" she whimpered and held her stomach. "You make me need to pee."
Seth shook his head and looked around. "Speaking of peeing-" he said and stood up, still holding on to his knee, to look around the club for any sign of his girlfriend. "When are you gonna check on Amy?"
Summer emptied a bear bottle that was standing on a table in front of her and leant forward a little, her head feeling very dizzy all of a sudden. She inhaled deeply and looked up to Seth whose gaze was still wandering around the club. "Cohen, I think I need to get some fresh air." She said and stood up to make her way out of the club when she stumbled over her feet and almost lost her balance.
Just before she fell completely, Seth grabbed Summer under her arms and pulled her back up. Summer closed her eyes and smiled, stroking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Whoa, that was... thanks Cohen." She said and shook her head.
Seth smiled broadly and adjusted Summer on her feet so she was able to stand alone again. For a long moment, their eyes locked and they didn't do anything than staring at each other.
He had seen these beautiful bambi-brown eyes so many times before, but Seth had never seemed to realize how deep and warm they really were. He felt like diving into Summer's eyes right here and now, and he blinked twice to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. But it was reality. The most wonderful pair of eyes was really staring at him with so much intensity that it sent multiple shivers down his spine.
To Summer, looking into Seth's eyes felt like most wonderful thing on earth right at that moment. The only way she could describe how comfortable she felt whenever she looked into his chocolate-eyes that were surrounded by those long and thick lashes, was to say that looking into Seth's eyes almost felt like coming home.
The tension between them rose with every second, their glares intensifying more and more, the longing for each other almost overwhelming them.
And they couldn't help but to give in to the magnetic feeling that seemed to pull them towards each other, and the world around them faded out completely when their faces neared, and when their lips brushed, it felt like sparks were flying all around them. A shiver of long forgotten comfort went down Summer's spine as their lips fully met and Seth's tongue started to explore her mouth, setting free a million butterflies in both of their stomachs.
It was incredible how right this felt – and how obvious it was that both of them missed each other like hell. Seth's hands wandered up and down Summer's back until they finally reached her neck where they started to crawl it, just like they always used to when they had still been a couple. Seth knew that Summer loved it.
And Summer knew how much Seth loved her hands in his hair, playing with his curls while they were kissing, and that was exactly where her hands had been ending up, softly twisting some of Seth's hair around her fingers.
This felt so good, so damn good. Like the missing piece of a puzzle you've been searching for weeks was finally found. This was meant to be, they were meant to be. Seth was sure about that now. And from the way Summer kissed him back, returning his kiss with so much intensity Seth knew that she felt the same.
After a little while, when both of them felt like suffocating, the broke apart, an awkward silence settling between them. Just like before the kiss their gazes didn't leave the others, but this time, the tension between them had increased – and not in a positive way.
Blinking twice, Summer cleared her throat and massaged her neck. "So..." she began and waited for Seth's reaction. The same folded his hands in front of his body and twiddled his thumbs. "So..." he replied, looking around the club insecurily.
"I need to check on Amy!" Summer exclaimed and jumped a little, remembering the reason why Seth had been visiting her in her little alcove.
Seth nodded enthusiastically and raised his forefinger once again. "Right!" he yelled and pointed to the bathroom entrance with his head. "It's this way."
Summer raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "I know that, Cohen." She snapped and made her way through the crowd in the direction of the bathroom doors, not looking back once while she was constantly cursing herself for letting a thing like this kiss happen. What devil had taken possession of her when she had allowed Seth to come so close to her?
Shaking her head to get rid of the memories of the kiss, Summer made her way through the club to the bathroom doors, giving the man who guarded the door a huge grin, and stepped inside. Finding Amy would hopefully take her mind off of things now.
As he watched Summer walking away, Seth took his head in his hands and cursed to himself through gritted teeth. "You... JACKASS!" he mumbled, shaking his head over and over again.
He slumped back onto the couch and leant his head back, still shocked by what had happened a few seconds ago. Why in all world had he permitted himself to get THAT close to Summer? She had just fallen, and he had grabbed her, two things that didn't normally require a kiss as a reward, but OF COURSE he had been stupid enough to let a thing like that happen.
It was ok that he didn't feel as happy with Amy as he had felt with Summer, but that didn't give him the right to ruin Summer's and Craig's relationship by a thoughtless thing like this goddamn kiss.
And just as he started another round of cursing due to his stupidity from a few moments before, Seth felt a familiar hand on his shoulder, and when he looked up he saw a very sick looking Amy in standing in front of him, her eyes all teary and her hair messed up.
She tilted her head and frowned, obviously from a headache that was coming up. "Come on, we go home." She mumbled and took Seth's hand, pulling him up to his feet.
Seth shook his head to get the situation with Summer from before out of his system and concentrated on finding any hints on Amy that she had been throwing up in the bathrooms, but he failed. His mind went back to Summer, no matter what he was trying to think about.
When Amy had almost pulled him to the exit, Seth spotted Summer sitting on the bar, her head propped in both her hands, and he twisted his hand to break free from Amy's grip.
Amy spun around and shot Seth an angry look. "What now?" she gnarled and narrowed her eyes. Seth sighed and shook his head. A drunken Amy was never fun, and a drunken Amy that had obviously been throwing up was even less entertaining.
He pointed with his head to the bar. "I just wanna say bye to Summer." He explained and put his hands on Amy's shoulders. "Stay here, I'll be back in a sec."
Amy rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically, but she didn't protest. "Make it quick." She said and leant against the wall.
Seth gave her a nervous smile and ran over to the bar where Summer still was, her position from before unchanged. He gently laid a hand on Summer's shoulder and she spun around, shooting him the same angry glare he had just received from Amy.
"What Cohen?"
Seth shifted from one foot to the other and bit his lip. "Iiii wanna apologize." He said.
Summer closed her eyes and sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. "Cohen-"
"No, I really need to apologize. I shouldn't have let this happened, I shouldn't..." he paused and his gaze softened. "... have kissed you."
Summer nodded and pouted, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I shouldn't have kissed you back. This is all wrong." She said and hiccuped.
Seth nodded and looked down on his hands. "Can we talk tomorrow? Meet at the library or somewhere?" he asked nervously.
Summer sighed again and slowly nodded, her eyes closed. "Let's talk about that in class." She said and stood up, pointing to a corner of the club. "I need to find Jen..." she shyly looked into Seth's eyes as she made her way past him.
Seth held out his hand to try to stop Summer from leaving with this discussion still unfinished. "Summer..."
Summer turned around and suppressed a yawn, running a hand through her hair. "Happy Birthday, Cohen." She said and without waiting for a reaction she turned around again.
Before Seth could start chasing after her, he felt Amy's hand on his shoulder, spinning him around.
"We go now." Amy ordered in a tone that didn't allow any protest, and Seth didn't have any other choice than to follow his girlfriend, leaving the club with his feelings highly mixed up.
All the way home he cursed himself for what had happened earlier that night. And the last words that echoed in his mind when he closed his eyes to sleep were "Happy Birthday, Cohen."
And what a happy birthday it was.
Next chapter: Be My Baby