A/N A big thank you to those of you who are taking the time to read this and let me know. I hope that you are all enjoying it. I must admit that I'm having fun with it. I just thought that I should warn you that there are only a few more chapters to go. I never intended for this to become a saga like "A Girl for Ryan" did.

Chapter 7

Marissa couldn't believe that the evening could be going so badly. Nothing in her plan had prepared her for this.

Firstly, she'd arrived at Greg's place only to be greeted by him at the door in a suit. Certainly, you could have called it a casual suit … because it was all crumpled and it didn't fit him properly. But it was a suit nonetheless. She tried to tell him kindly that he was a little over dressed and he had taken it reasonably well, informing her that he didn't get out much and that he hadn't know what to wear.

He'd looked at her in her black mini skirt with the red halter top that she'd borrowed from Molly's wardrobe and it was obvious that he was stunned. She knew that it did little to cover her assets. The skirt was uncomfortably short and the soft fabric of what there was of the top, clung to the outline of her breasts and left little to the imagination. But then that had been her plan. She had to try to seduce this guy and she really had no experience on how to go about it. She just hoped that if she showed enough flesh then he might get the hint.

But then noticing the effect that it was having on him only made her feel even more guilty about what she was doing. He seemed so uncomfortable. It looked like this guy was even more of a social outcast than she was.

She'd convinced him to lose the tie and jacket and they'd headed off to the party. Little had she known that things were only going to get worse?

---

Marissa tried to rub away the frown that she knew had become a permanent fixture on her brow. Why oh why, she thought to herself, hadn't she realised that Greg was sitting in the IT section of the library? It was all her own fault. She couldn't blame him because SHE was unobservant.

But it seemed that Greg was the proverbial computer nerd. He had no social skills what so ever.

And they were at a party full of active sport freaks. She realised that she couldn't have found a worse place to take him if she had tried. The only reason that she fitted in was because she was used to being around Molly and her friends.

He had nothing in common with anyone, including her. She had tried to introduce him to people but every time he opened his mouth, it just became even more obvious that he didn't fit in. And so he'd taken to not opening his mouth at all, unless of course it was to pour alcohol down it. And in his misery, he had been doing plenty of that.

It had only taken about 10 minutes to realise that bringing him along was like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. And every time that thought ran through Marissa's mind she cringed. She couldn't help but wonder if it could be literal and if at the end of the night she might find that he had a square penis when they got down to business? If so then she didn't think that it would fit in to her round hole. She realised she was being ridiculous but nothing was going to plan, so why should she imagine that the end of the night would be any better.

She'd taken a few minutes rest from 'babysitting Greg duty' to head to the bathroom. She'd left him outside talking tennis to Steve. She knew that it wouldn't be long before one of them realised that they were talking about totally different things.

Greg was talking about the Nintendo Wii version, Steve was talking about the type you played on a court with rackets and balls. But it was as close as he was going to find all night to having something in common with someone.

As Marissa was leaving the bathroom she ran into Shannon in the hallway.

"I see you decided to bring friend?" Shannon asked.

"I hope that was okay?" Marissa asked feeling like she should apologise for her choice in guys. "Steve suggested it."

"No. It's fine. I just think that Steve was expecting you to bring Ryan along with you?" Shannon explained.

"Oh." Marissa blushed remembering Steve catching her as she'd watched Ryan last night. It's no wonder that he may have gotten that impression. "I think that Ryan's a little out of my league." Marissa said in explanation.

"Nonsense." Shannon replied. "Don't underestimate yourself girl. If he could see you in that get up then I'm sure that he'd be after you in a flash."

Marissa smiled as she felt her body respond to just the thought of Ryan wanting her. She realised that her nipples had peaked from just thinking about him and she felt embarrassed.

"… As if he isn't already. I can assure you that he's never had me ringing around trying to find out any girl's identity before." Shannon added.

"Oh." Marissa said as she realised where Ryan had found out her name from. If she was honest with herself then she knew she shouldn't be surprised. Ryan wouldn't have asked her to coffee last night if he wasn't at least a little interested. And she was too. But she just needed to sort herself out first. And that meant Greg.

"The guy your with, Greg is it?" Shannon asked. "Is he your boyfriend?" Shannon had been wondering ever since they'd arrived. They didn't seem like they had anything in common but then Shannon knew the old story that opposites attract.

"Oh no." Marissa said. She didn't want people getting the wrong idea about her … or more importantly THEM. "I barely know him. I just asked him to come with me tonight." Marissa explained thinking that she could add, 'after I have sex with him tonight then I don't expect to see him ever again', but she thought that Shannon might find that a little strange. It sounded strange even to her and it was HER plan.

Shannon frowned. She didn't know Marissa all that well but she seemed to be a complete contradiction in terms. She'd never seen her dressed like this and it was a complete come on and yet she admitted that she barely knew the guy. Shannon was about to say more when they were interrupted.

---

Ryan wondered if he was wasting his time. The party at Jake's had been good. Fun. And yet he couldn't get his mind off Marissa and so he'd made his apologies to his friends and taken the short drive to Steve and Shannon's house just on the chance that she would be there.

But as soon as he noticed Marissa's car out in front, he wished that he had never even bothered going to Jake's in the first place. He'd wasted time. Time that he could have spent with Marissa.

Making his way inside he moved through the lounge room stopping only momentarily to greet people. But he wasn't interested in getting into any conversations he wanted to find Marissa. He spotted her on the other side of the room, near the kitchen. She was talking to Shannon and he was completely blown away … freezing on the spot. She looked like sex on legs. He had never imagined that she would dress that way. Whenever she was with him she always seemed somewhat shy and yet here she was looking the complete opposite. Her skirt was so short that he knew that if she were to bend over then she would be advertising … and the top … the soft fabric barely covered her perfect breasts; the peaked nipples were obvious as they stood to attention. Not surprising he thought, she must be cold, she barely had anything on.

He really hoped that she'd dressed that way hoping to attract him. But she hadn't needed to bother. She already had him … hook, line and sinker.

He realised that she still hadn't seen him and so he took a few moments to stare. He had this sudden urge to take her nipples into his mouth. In truth, she looked like she wanted to be fucked … and he knew just the guy to help her with that. He shook his head for a moment confused. He couldn't help but get his hopes up that he'd do just that before the end of the night and yet … he realised that he was a little disappointed. This was the girl that he'd been dreaming about making love to, not just fucking. Obviously he'd read her all wrong. But, at this point, he'd take anything that he could get. She really was a complete mystery to him.

As the shock of seeing her receded, and the need to actually be with her took over, he went to move towards her when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. "Looking for me?" Mia asked wrapping her arms around him and leaning in for a kiss.

Ryan turned his head away quickly, so that the kiss glanced off his cheek. "No. I told you, I'm not interested." He said as he pulled her arms from around his neck and placed them by her side.

"But you're here on you own." Mia replied. "And so am I. So why don't we …"

Ryan cut her off before she got any further. "I'm looking for Marissa." He explained.

Mia smiled. She'd checked Marissa out when she'd arrived wanting to size up the competition and was delighted to find that she was with someone. "Marissa already has a date." Mia replied cattily. "So that leaves just you … and me." she tried to add sexily.

Ryan's head shot up as he looked towards Marissa, the jealousy spearing through him. Steve had now joined the two girls and whatever was being said between them, there were concerned looks all around. Marissa and Steve moved to make their way out the back door, from where Steve had come and Ryan instantly followed, making his way across the room as quickly as possible.

When he reached where Shannon was still standing, she looked at him surprised. She didn't really know what was going on with Ryan and Marissa but she was pretty sure that Ryan had a thing for this girl and that being the case then she knew that Ryan going outside right now could NOT be a good thing.

Plus the fact that he was wearing the face of a jealous boyfriend only made her all that more positive that she needed to delay him.

"Ryan. I didn't see you arrive." She said hoping that he'd stop and talk and give Marissa time to deal with Greg.

"Hi Shannon. I'll be back in a minute." He explained. "I just want to catch up with Marissa."

"I think that Marissa might be leaving, so maybe you should just catch up with her some other time." Shannon suggested, her hand on his arm obviously trying to stop him.

Ryan was confused. He hesitated. He could tell that Shannon was trying to impede his progress and get him to leave Marissa alone and he couldn't help but wonder why? Had Marissa asked her to run interference?

But he didn't think that Marissa had even seen him, so she wouldn't even know that he was there. And what had they been talking about earlier? Part of him wanted to know if his name had entered the conversation. But if Marissa was about to leave then he wanted to at least see her before she went. "I just want to say hello." He explained and pushed past Shannon on his way outside.

---

Marissa had never planned for this. Steve had come to tell her that it appeared that her 'friend' was becoming a problem. After it became obvious that the tennis's they were talking about were two completely different things, a difference of opinion had been formed about which was the best. However, Greg hadn't been prepared to let it go. The Dutch courage that the alcohol he'd been steadily consuming had given him had made him become loud and argumentative and he was trying to pick fights with everyone. Marissa knew that she had to get him out of there and home as quickly as possible, before she ended up with even more regrets about the evening.

Ryan made his was outside only to get a glimpse of Marissa with a guy draped over her as she made her way around the side of the house. She was obviously making a getaway. He hesitated, wondering if he should just give up and retire gracefully but something inside him wouldn't let him do that.

He wanted to see the competition, even if it hurt.

So he quickly made his way through the crowd, which at least was a little more sparse here than inside and he followed her, catching up just as she was at the top of the few stairs that would take her down to the kerbside and her car.

He softly reached for her arm. "Marissa?"

She turned, startled, as the sound of his voice made her insides melt and her knees give way. She could feel herself start to fall and the guy draped over her went with her. They ended up in a pile at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you all right?" Ryan asked as he quickly moved to help Marissa up but as she went to stand before him, the front of her top fell completely open, her breasts falling free.

Ryan was completely transfixed. The sight of her perfect breasts on display brought all of his pent up lust for her to the fore. He knew that he was devouring them with his eyes.

She gasped as she followed his line of sight and realised that the few buttons that held the top together had been ripped off. Obviously Greg had held onto it as he was falling and it had given way under his weight.

She quickly crossed her arms in front of her trying to cover herself and that was when Ryan noticed the nasty graze on her elbow, his concern for her quickly over taking everything else.

"You're hurt." He said the concern clearly evident in his voice.

"I'll be fine, I just … I didn't know you were here. " Marissa explained still with her arms crossed over her chest and trying to maintain some kind of dignity.

"Come back inside and we'll get something to fix you up." Ryan said still ignoring the obviously drunk guy on the ground beside her.

"I can't. I'd be too embarrassed. Plus, I have to get Greg home." she explained.

"I gather this is Greg?" Ryan asked rhetorically, looking at the barely conscious guy on the ground.

Marissa nodded still holding her arms firmly across her chest.

Ryan realised her discomfit and quickly stripped off the t-shirt he was wearing and offered it to her.

She didn't move for a minute because she couldn't take her eyes off him. He was left in just a wife beater and she could feel her heart race as she looked at the perfectly proportioned arms and chest that she remembered watching last night. She was glad that the light from the porch didn't quite reach this far because she could feel herself blush at the thought of being caught last night when she was ogling him. And she knew that she was doing it again.

Ryan wondered why she was hesitating. Was something of his so abhorrent that she would rather walk around half naked? "I know it's not much but it's better than nothing." He said still holding it out to her.

Startled out of her trance, Marissa took the t-shirt from him, making sure not to touch him in the process. The memory of the sparks from last night was still too vivid in her mind. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm sure." He assured her.

"But you can't go back inside dressed like that." She explained.

"I'd suspect that most of them have seen me in less." Ryan replied thinking about his gym attire.

But Marissa cringed. She didn't like the thought of anyone else but her, lusting after Ryan. And she was sure that every other female inside would enjoy Ryan's lack of attire much too much. And then she thought of his reputation as a player. How many of the women inside would have seen him in less? Much much less. She felt sick just thinking about it.

She turned her back to him and pulled the shirt on over her head instantly feeling her nipples harden at the thought, smell and touch of something of Ryan's against her bare skin and then she quickly removed what was left of the strip of fabric that had been Molly's top, using it to mop up the bleeding from her elbow.

Ryan couldn't help but look at her breasts falling free under his t-shirt and he could feel the tug in his pants as he thought about the fact that from now on he would always think of it as his 'lucky' shirt … lucky that it got to feel Marissa's nipples rub against it. He'd give anything to be in the same position right now.

Greg moaned as he tried to get up and Marissa went to help him.

"I have to get him home." she explained, looking at Ryan.

Ryan had no idea what was happening. He was sure that he could still sense a connection between them and yet here she was taking some other guy home.

"Is he your boyfriend?" he asked.

Marissa shook her head. "No."

"Well then … couldn't we just call him a cab?" he asked.

There was a part of her that wanted nothing more than getting rid of Greg and spending some time with Ryan but she knew that she couldn't. Sure things weren't going to plan. But she owed it to Greg to get him home. She was sure that he'd had an even worse night than she had.

Plus if she could manage to get a few cups of coffee into him then maybe the night wouldn't be a complete waste after all. Maybe they'd still be able to do the deed. And then, when she returned Ryan's shirt, then maybe things could be different. Maybe they'd be able to start something.

"I can't. I invited him." She explained. "I feel obliged to take him home."

Ryan recoiled as if she'd slapped him. When Mia had said that Marissa was with someone, he'd at first thought that she may have had a boyfriend, that the reason that it had been 'too soon' for them was because she needed to break up with the guy. But then, when Marissa had confirmed that the guy wasn't her boyfriend, Ryan had assumed that they must have just hooked up casually at the party.

But it was worse than that. Much worse.

She had invited 'Greg'. She had chosen 'Greg'.

She hadn't wanted Ryan.

He felt gutted.

He quickly moved to hoist Greg off the ground and put him unceremoniously in Marissa's car. Closing the door as quickly as possible but not before Greg managed to mumble in his half conscious daze. "I'm going home with the hot chick."

It turned the knife already in Ryan.

---

Marissa could sense that Ryan was hurt. But that had never been part of the plan.

She hadn't expected to see him at the party. But looking back she realised that he was probably more likely to attend than her. He did move in these circles.

But she never wanted to hurt him. And yet she knew that she had. She turned to him before she hopped into her car. "When do you need the shirt back?" she asked hoping that she'd be able to make some sort of apology to him at that time. She knew that now wasn't the time. He was shutting down.

Ryan just shrugged. He didn't care about shirts right now. He didn't care about anything but the fact that he was turning himself inside out over this girl that didn't seem to care for him at all. Maybe he should go back inside and see what Mia was up to? After all, he'd promised himself no girl drama this year.

Marissa could sense that she was losing him. The look on his face was gut wrenching. But she couldn't tell him that she was doing all this for him. She knew that he wouldn't understand. At least, not yet. "Ryan. Please? Everything will be different soon. I promise. I just have something that I need to take care of."

Ryan had no idea what she was getting at. He was completely perplexed.

"Please just … wait for me?" She pleaded but didn't wait for an answer, just started her car and drove off.

--

Ryan watched her tail lights fade off into the night. Was it really only last night that she'd done the same thing to him?

What the hell did she mean by that? He wondered. He'd just been about to go fuck some other girl and she asks him to wait for her while she takes another guy home. And not just any guy. A guy that she'd invited.

She really was screwing with his mind and he liked to do his screwing in a totally different way.

He sat on the top step for a while trying to make sense of everything and getting absolutely no where.

Eventually, he made his way back inside. There was a part of him that wanted nothing more than to just hop in his car and go straight home but he thought that he'd go and have a chat with Shannon. She seemed to know Marissa a little. Maybe she could shed some light on what was going on with her?

---

As Marissa drove back to Greg's place, she couldn't get the thought of Ryan out of her mind. The look on his face when she'd driven off was …

When she had first said that she'd invited Greg, Ryan had seemed so hurt and then he almost seemed to get angry and that was when she'd tried to apologise and then when she'd left he seemed … confused.

And how could she blame him because that's how she felt right now. Confused. Here she was driving some strange guy home, hoping to sleep with him just because she wanted to be with Ryan. How did she ever get to this point? She knew that she couldn't sleep with Greg. And yet she wasn't ready to sleep with Ryan either.

She dropped Greg off at home and left as quickly as she could and headed home to her empty bed.

After a quick shower she pulled on her flannel PJ pants and then, as she reached for the matching top she hesitated, and picked up Ryan's t-shirt instead, pulling it over her head.

She curled into her bed with the scent of him filling her senses and wishing that it was the real thing that she had with her instead.