Getting re-acquainted

They emerged from the shower a short time later and Ryan pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and started to make his way into the kitchen to start on dinner.

"I'll come and give you a hand in a minute. I'll just rinse out my clothes again so I can use them tomorrow. Do you mind if I borrow one of you sweatshirts to wear?" she asked as he made his way out of the bedroom.

"No go right ahead. There's plenty of clean one's in my wardrobe" he replied over his shoulder.

Marissa grabbed the sweatshirt he had been wearing last night and pulled it on over her head. She rinsed out her clothes and hung them to dry and then made her way to the kitchen.

"Wow!" Ryan exclaimed as she joined him in the kitchen. She had put on his sweatshirt and pulled it to one side so that it dropped off leaving one shoulder bare and making it obvious that she didn't have a bra on. The bottom of the sweatshirt ended at the top of her thighs and she looked like she had legs that went forever. Hell he thought to himself, she does have legs that go forever. "Wouldn't you prefer a clean one?" he asked as he tried to rearrange the stiffening he could feel in his pants.

"No. I like this one. It smells of you" she smiled sexily.

She walked up beside him and put her arms around his neck to bring him in for a kiss and he reciprocated by putting his arms around her waist and leaning in. As her tongue entered his mouth and the kiss got more intense he reached down to put his hands on her rear to pull her closer to him so he could rub his hardness against her and he realised that she didn't have anything on underneath." I think you have forgotten something" he said as he tried to hide the smile on his face.

"I had to wash out my underwear and I didn't think I would be needing it anyway… are you complaining?" she taunted as she reached her hands inside the waistband of his sweatpants and discovered he was going commando.

"No complaints here." He replied. He lifted her up on to the kitchen counter and she wrapped her legs around him pulling him in close. As their kisses increased in intensity, he ran his hands up under the sweatshirt and began to massage her breasts with one hand while fingering her with the other.

"You know… dinner… might… have…. to… wait." He suggested kissing her in between each word. "I seem to have something else to attend to."

"Yes you do." She panted as she pushed his sweatpants down and guided him into her. He cupped his hands under her bum to stop her from sliding off the counter, pulled her towards him and began thrusting into her.

"God Ryan..." Marissa moaned as she pushed her hips further into him, allowing him to penetrate her deeper. Harder and harder he went, until he felt her tightening around him. He watched as she arched her back in pleasure and then he let himself go. He held on to her tightly as he shuddered his release.

He held on to her, never wanting to let her go. "I think we just had dessert first." He panted.

---

They cooked dinner together and chatted about anything and everything,

He knew that they still needed to get to know one another again. Not physically, they seemed to have covered that bit first.

But they had both changed over the years and he still had some reservations after what had happened before. He knew that he needed to know a lot more about her before there was any chance of him letting her near his heart again. It had hurt too much when she had left him last time. He knew that she was only supposed to be here for a couple of months, so what would he do when she went away this time. He couldn't allow himself to get too close. Although maybe he already was.

"So acting hey?" Ryan queried.

"Sorry?"

"Just wondering what made you want to try acting. I mean you were already a successful model. Why the need to change?"

"Don't know really. Lots of little things, I guess."

"Like?"

"Um. Well, I really am sick of living out of a suitcase. I wanted to spend some time in one place. I'm not really a nomad."

"Aw. I think you'd look good in some flowing robes. Actually without the robes you'd look good too." He smiled.

"And I thought you were being serious." She laughed.

"I was. Sorry. And?" he asked.

"And what?" she replied.

"What else? You said there were a lot of little things."

"Well, I guess I was a bit lonely. Moving round all the time. I mean I had plenty of 'friends' to party with, but when you are constantly on the move it is difficult to make any real friends, you just don't spend enough time with them. I guess that sounds a bit lame?"

"No. I know how much Summer has missed you, so I guess it makes sense."

"Thanks" she replied thinking Summer wasn't the only 'friend' she'd missed.

"So why acting?"

"Well there didn't seem to be too many choices. I don't have a college education. I just never got there, even though I had the best of intentions. I was always too busy. So I have no other skills. And I am used to not having to worry about money, so working at McDonald's was out for me. So when the offer of this job came up I jumped at it."

"Are you enjoying it?"

"It's okay. I'm enjoying doing something different and I do actually need to engage my brain for this, just to memorise the lines, even though I haven't got too many….. So that's a change…..What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?"

"Do you enjoy what you do?"

"Yeah……..I love it. I sometimes need to pinch myself in case it's all a dream. Who would have ever thought that I'd amount to anything?"

"I did." She said softly.

"Yeah well. Maybe you were biased." He looked at her amazed at how much her words meant to him.

They continued to talk trying to get to know one another again.

After dinner, they relaxed in front of the fire with their glasses of wine, content in one another's company. Marissa snuggled up to Ryan and asked "Just wondering, where do we go from here? I mean when we get back to LA what's going to happen? Are things going to be different?"

"Full of questions hey" he smiled while intertwining his fingers with hers."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Well I don't know for sure…. I mean the only thing I'm positive about is that we should both have a lot less sexual tension. Thanks to you." he smiled and leant away from her waiting for the whack in the arm that he was sure would follow.

Marissa didn't disappoint and hit him and laughed "I don't believe it was all one sided …..as I remember it".

"Umm. Maybe not but who started it?" he teased.

"I think my memory may have been affected by this sea air, it all seems to be a little vague." She returned.

"Very convenient…. But getting back to your questions…. Where do YOU see this going?" Ryan asked turning her question back on her.

"Um I'm not sure...I mean are we…um…you know……..are we an 'US' now?" she used her fingers to indicate the quotation marks.

He could see that she was really unsure and he wanted to put her mind at ease, or at least as much as he could. He wanted to continue to be with her until they worked out just what was going on between them. "Well I'm not sure but I have a vacancy for a girlfriend if you know of anyone that would be interested in the position" he smiled.

"That's sounds like a position I would like to fill……of course that was not the only position that I had in mind" she smiled and raised her eyebrows making sure he got her meaning.

"Okay…You don't need to ask twice. Let's go and try out some of those other positions you have on your mind. But then sleep, or we will both get back to work exhausted." He stood up and took her hand and led her into the bedroom.

---

When he woke in the morning, he was spooned around her naked body and all he could think of was that it was something that he could get used to. He was amazed that she could constantly surprise him…. even though he had known her for so long, he realised he didn't really know her at all.

As he moved to get out of bed and go to the bathroom, she rolled over and stretched.

"No! Don't go!" she exclaimed when she realised he was getting out of bed.

"Don't worry. I'll only be minute – nature calls" he replied as he dropped a quick kiss on her nose on his way to the bathroom.

"But I need you back here beside me." she called out from the bed.

"Okay. Back already" he exclaimed as he got back under the covers putting his arm around her and pulling her close.

"You do realise that it's nearly lunch time." Ryan said.

"What? How could we have slept so long? Normally my stomach wakes me up by 10…. It's better than an alarm clock."

"Well maybe you were just exhausted?" he said raising his eyebrows "…and then there was that rather late night… or probably early morning dessert you organised for us" he added smiling as he thought about it.

"Yes. We'll have to leave a note for Rosa to especially thank her. Those strawberries and cream, they were delicious." she stated innocently.

"Hm. But I doubt that Rosa thought they would be eaten in bed …at least certainly not served the way you chose to."

"You didn't seem to mind as I remember… and it saved on the washing up" she commented smiling as she said it.

"True. But then I definitely won't look at strawberries and cream the same way ever again" Ryan replied.

"I wonder what it is about you that seems to bring out this wanton side of me?" she asked implying that it was all his fault.

"What you are inferring that I make you this way?"

"Well I've never been like this before….so it must be you."

"Hmmm. I'm not sure if I should be offended… or whether that is actually a compliment. But I'm pleased you're only like this with me." He replied as he leaned over and kissed her tenderly. Lying back down beside her he asked "So what are the plans for the day?"

"I'm easy." Marissa replied.

"I know." He smiled as she hit him playfully on the arm. "Ow…Just joking…So how do you feel about coming to lunch at the Cohen's? " Ryan asked.

Marissa stopped hitting him. She was surprised. "What Kirsten and Sandy's?"

"Yeah. I…. Well, we all, usually go there for Sunday lunch if we don't have anything else on. It just gives us a chance to get together. But I can always just call them and get out of it, if you'd rather not."

"No I'd love to see them…. I rinsed my clothes out again last night but that's all I've got to wear. Do you think that would be okay?"

Typical woman…thinking of clothes first. He ducked knowing she would give him another playful hit."

"No… I just don't want to embarrass you. I mean, I am your girlfriend." She smiled.

"Yes you are." He laughed. "I should warn you though. Seth and Summer will be there so we can expect to get some questions.

"Well I guess we have to face them sometime."

"Yep….. So it's nearly 11. How about a shower and a quick bite…. you need to keep your appetite up because Kirsten loves cooking now and there is always too much food."

"Kirsten cooking? Things really have changed."

"Yeah... she's actually really good. But we need to get moving. So you go and jump in the shower and I'll go and put the coffee on then I'll come and join you."

"Sounds good."

While Ryan was in the kitchen he picked up the phone and called the Cohen's.

"Hey Ryan. Are you on your way?" Kirsten smiled looking forward to seeing him.

"No, I will be soon but I just wanted to ask if it's okay if I bring someone with me?"

"Sure honey. You know us, the more the merrier."

"Thanks. I just thought I should check. I'll see you soon." He hung up quickly before she could ask who … then he went and joined Marissa.