Thanks for the reviews. They really do help to keep me motivated.

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Marissa grabbed her phone and called Summer.

"Hey there girlfriend. How long until you're ready to go?" Summer asked.

"Um…yeah about that…..I was wondering …. Would it be a big deal if I didn't come?"

"What do you mean not come? Everyone's going. It's sort of expected. You know, so that we all get to know one another and work as a 'team'….Why?... What's the problem?"

"No problem…It's just…... I've had a better offer." Marissa said shyly.

"It's not with Jake is it? I forgot to tell you that he suggested yesterday that we might like to have a three way with him tonight. I sort of forgot to mention it to you because the mere thought of it sent me running to the bathroom and I've tried to block it out of my mind ever since."

"Ugh…I wish you'd never told me. No offence to you but that will never happen."

"I'm with you. Hang on…This better offer…..it's not with Ryan is it?" Summer asked.

"Maybe." Marissa smiled to herself imagining the look on Summer's face.

"Whoa….Seth said he saw him before, but we figured he had left…You know I'm sure you could just bring him along… if you wanted to?"

"Well… I sort of thought it might be good if we just caught up alone…you know without the audience."

"Yeah okay….So what are you two doing?"

"I don't know really but he suggested we start with a drink and then who knows, maybe we'll get something to eat."

"Yeah. Well we both know that you'd like to eat Chino…." Summer replied suggestively.

"Summer! We've barely said two words to each other in years. Nothing like that is going to happen."

"Maybe… I just think I know how you feel about him and there is no doubt that he has never gotten over you completely, so….. just go for it and see if you can work out what feelings he has left for you. And don't worry about cast drinks, I'll cover for you. I'll tell them grandmother died or something. You just go and have a good time."

"Thanks, Summer. I'll talk to you later."

"You'd better. I want to know everything that happens."

---

A short time later Marissa emerged from her dressing room and went to find him. She couldn't believe how nervous she was. He was waiting near the coffee machine and when he looked up she felt her heart in her mouth. How could he still do that to her after all these years she wondered.

"Ready?" he smiled as he looked at her.

"Um...If this'll do?" she replied indicating she wasn't sure if what she was wearing was appropriate for what he had in mind.

He looked her up and down. "You're perfect…Um I mean you look perfect…Ah...I mean what your wearing is perfect." He stammered thinking to himself – great - he now sounds like an 8 year old.

Marissa smiled at his comment. It made her feel more at ease knowing he was obviously nervous too. "So where are we off to?" she asked.

"Well there is a wine bar just across the road from the studio that a lot of the actors drink at. I thought if we went there, then we won't stand out. It's sure to be packed on a Friday night so maybe we will just blend in with the crowd. If that's okay with you?"

"Sure." Marissa shrugged "..lead the way."

---

A short time later they entered the bar which was indeed crowded. Ryan placed his hand on Marissa's back to guide her through the crowd and to an empty booth at the back. He couldn't help but smile as he realised that even with this small touch he could still feel the sparks fly and from her reaction so could she.

"You just sit there and I'll go and get us some drinks. What would you like?"

"What ever you're having is fine with me." She smiled wondering whether her shirt was singed in the back from where his hand had rested.

Ryan made his way to the crowded bar and had just placed his order when he recognised the owner of the studio coming towards him.

"Ryan. I don't believe I have ever seen you drinking here before. Great to see you. Come and join me."

"Thanks J.B. but I'm here with a friend."

"Bring them too. The drinks are on me. I'm sure the studio owe you a few, for the pickles you've got us out of." J.B. chuckled.

"That's very nice of you to offer but maybe some other time."

"Nonsense. Why would you want to knock back free drinks?" J.B. asked as he watched Ryan glance over at a table behind him. J.B. turned and saw Marissa smiling, obviously waiting for Ryan.

"Oh...I see...I'd knock back free drinks to if I could get Marissa Cooper to look at me like that." He laughed.

"It's nothing like that J.B. She's an old school friend and we are just catching up." Ryan explained.

"Sure…I believe you….And I also know you are not stupid, quite the opposite in fact, but if you don't go after that one then I will have to re-evaluate my estimation of you. She is quite some looker."

"Yeah…she is … and thanks for the offer, but maybe some other time" Ryan replied as he paid for his drinks.

He made his way back to the booth and sat down.

"Wasn't that J.B. Connell you were talking to?" she asked.

"Yeah. He asked us to join him…if you want?"

"What did you say?"

"I told him some other time. I didn't think we'd get a chance to talk at all if we were with him. He's a nice guy and all … but used to getting his own way and he sort of takes over any conversation. But if you'd like to meet him that's fine. I hadn't thought about it, but he is probably a very important contact for you as an actor."

"No I'm fine. I'm happy here … with you. If I'm any good as an actor then I'm sure I'll get to meet him eventually. Tonight is for us." She smiled as she sipped her wine and looked at Ryan over the top of the glass.

"Hope you like it?" he asked. "I guess you are used to lots of French wines now?"

"No. I don't drink very much. Mum wouldn't let me. Bad for the complexion you know. She wouldn't have been very happy with me after Wednesday night."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I hope the hangover wasn't too bad?"

"Nuh. But I don't think I want to do that again in a hurry."

Just then the band started up and they could barely hear one another. They attempted to talk and continue the conversation but after about 10 minutes Ryan leant over to Marissa's ear and said "What about we get out of here?"

"Great idea." She mouthed and they got up and worked their way back through the crowd and out the front door.

"Whoa. Sorry about that. Not exactly conducive to conversation in there." He smiled.

"No. It was a little difficult to hear. Actually I think my ears are still ringing" she replied.

"So what now? Are you hungry?" Ryan asked.

"Sure. When have you ever known me not to be hungry?"

Ryan smiled. "True. So are you up for dinner or would you just like me to drop you off at the hotel?"

"Well I have to eat and I have had a few dinners on my own this week and they're not much fun so if you wouldn't mind the company I'd love to have dinner with you."

They crossed the road and stopped in front of a black Mercedes convertible. Ryan opened the door for Marissa to get in. "Okay. Well how about I drop you off at your hotel to get changed and I'll go and do the same and pick you up in about an hour. Think you can be ready by then?"

"I can be ready in half that. One of the things I have learnt in the last 7 years is how to get ready quickly. You have no idea how fast you need to change when you are working a catwalk."

"Yeah...I don't have much experience with catwalk walking or working or whatever it is" he laughed as Marissa lent over and gave him a playful whack.

"Don't make fun of me Mr. I Can Design Anything."

"Oh... cheeky hey?" he laughed.

---

They made their way to Marissa's hotel but as Ryan slowed to turn into the drop off area he noticed the hoard of photographers waiting at the door. He changed his mind and drove on.

"Are they usually there?" he asked as he started to drive around the block, thinking maybe he was just over-reacting. Maybe they were waiting for someone else.

"Well. There's is often one or two but nothing like that…. You don't think they were after photos of us do you?"

"I'm not sure but I do know if we go back there it will be good bye to any thought of a quiet night plus we will definitely end up on the front page of the paper tomorrow – baring natural disasters, or terrorist attacks of course. But I don't know, maybe the publicity is good for you? I mean do you want to go back?" he asked thinking maybe she liked all the attention that followed from being famous.

"No. I just want to spend the night with you." She replied and then realised how that sounded "I mean not with you…well with you but just not with lots of other people around, you know spend quality time with you, without all the attention of other people." She looked over at him feeling her cheeks flush. "Am I making sense?" she laughed. For some reason she felt that he was testing her and she couldn't help wonder if she had passed or not.

"Sure." he smiled and gave her his trademark half grin. Luckily she was sitting down because it still made her go weak at the knees.

He couldn't help but be pleased that she didn't seem to be an attention grabbing female. A few of the girls he had attempted to date a while ago all seemed to want to use him to get their photos on the Who's Who type pages and that was definitely not him. "Okay. So it looks like a restaurant is out. How do you feel about pizza at my place? … Unless you know of a back way into the hotel?"

"I don't think there is one or at least I haven't been able to find it, but pizza at your place sounds great."

Ryan turned the car around and started to make his way back to his penthouse.

"You must live near Seth and Summer, they are just near here aren't they?" Marissa asked as she noticed where they were headed.

"Yeah. We're actually in the same building. I just have the top floor. It's good and bad. It makes it easy if I run out of milk to have someone to borrow from but it also means Seth can still occasionally wake me up much too early in the morning looking for Seth/Ryan time." He laughed. "Although it doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to."

"I guess he's got Summer to keep him amused now." She suggested.

"Yeah. They really seem to have something special." He added, wondering if that would ever happen to him.

They drove on to Ryan's building only to find the paparazzi camped out there as well. So Ryan just kept on driving.

"Someone at the bar must have tipped them off. They usually leave me alone at home now. I've become too boring for them, so it's very unusual for them to be waiting here."

"So what now? We starve to death?"

"Well just how hungry are you?" Ryan asked as an idea came into his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well if you can last an hour, we could drive down to Newport. At least my house is in a gated community so they can't follow us in but you'll have to make do with either take away or my cooking?"

"That sounds great. I'd love to see Newport again and I'm sure I can last that long for food. Your cooking is edible isn't it?" Marissa asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see….." He smiled as he merged onto the freeway.

---

Meanwhile at another bar near the studio, Jake was getting tied waiting for Marissa. He made his way to Summer and Seth.

"Hey Summer. Where's your friend?"

"Seth's right here Jake. Do you need him for something?" she asked innocently knowing full well who he was looking for.

"Not him. Marissa." He demanded not seeing the humour in her playing dumb.

"I don't know. Maybe she had a better offer." Summer raised her eyebrows at him enjoying the fact that Marissa was obviously not fitting in with Jake's plans.

"Don't be ridiculous. From who? She doesn't know anybody here. She's been living in Europe for years." he demanded getting angry.

"You forget she actually lived near here for quite a while before she moved to Europe. Perhaps she has met up with a long lost love." Summer smiled knowing just the thought of this would upset Jake.

"Well if she doesn't hurry up, I can't promise that I'll be waiting for her. I've spent too much time this week chasing after her." Jake turned and walked off in a huff. Things just weren't going his way. He decided he'd give her 15 minutes more and if she didn't turn up he'd just have to find some other random to give his little man a work out tonight. He frowned. Marissa Cooper would keep.

---

As Ryan cruised along the freeway he couldn't help but think back, wondering what had ever gone wrong between them. It would be so easy to fall in love with her again. Hell if he was truthful with himself, a part of him had never stopped. But he also knew that he wasn't the same person any more. She had broken his heart once and he was no masochist, he wasn't going to let that happen again. There was no denying that he was still attracted to her but it was as if he felt he needed to keep his heart locked away. She was the only woman he had ever met that could get to him on that level, but he also knew that another wounding from her could be fatal. He wasn't going to let that happen. He would enjoy her company while she was here and then just say good-bye when she left in a couple of month's time. Or at least that was what he was telling himself. Still he couldn't stop himself smiling and when he glanced over at her he noticed she was smiling too.

"What?" he asked as he noticed the look on her face.

"Nothing, I'm just enjoying the ride…It's a beautiful car."

"Yeah I like it. I don't do a lot of miles in it, but for times like this - driving to Newport up and down the freeway, it is hard to beat."

"Promise you won't laugh if I tell you something."

"Sure?"

"I haven't driven since I left Newport."

"What. How can that be?"

"Well when we were in New York, we didn't have a car and by the time I could afford one I was living and working in Europe and it's almost impossible to find parking spots or places to garage them plus there were always cars and drivers supplied with the jobs so I just didn't need one. But being back in LA I realise just how much a part of life they are here. It's hard to manage living without one."

"Well you're welcome to use this if you'd like while you're here. I've got a Range Rover as well that I use for work, if I have to go to site, so I can just drive it."

"No. Thanks for the offer. But if I need one I can always hire one and anyhow right now I'm just enjoying being driven and admiring the scenery." She smiled looking at him shyly.

"Okay. But keep it in mind. It would be no problem."

"Thanks." She looked out the window at the passing scenery thinking about how perfect he was. She wished the night would never end…..

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