Chapter 20

On the ride back to Berkeley, Ryan took the opportunity to quiz Marissa about her birthday.

"So … a week today and you'll be officially an adult." He said.

"Yeah. But will I still be officially a virgin?" she asked him, looking for some sign of what he was intending. Ever since his rejection of her advances at the fateful dinner on Wednesday night, she'd decided to leave it all up to him. She'd resigned herself to the fact that he was going to make her wait until her birthday and she was trying to come to terms with that. She wasn't about to try to instigate things again, only to end up being rejected again.

Ryan smiled. "Is that all you want for your birthday?" he asked hoping that he might get some ideas.

"All I want for my birthday is you, nicely gift wrapped … with a bow." She suggested smiling.

"I'm assuming that you want that tied around my neck?" he asked. Having something tied around his neck only made him start to think about collars and leashes and that was doing him no good when he knew that they still had a few days before things would be clear.

Marissa shook her head slowly, taunting him, a smile across her face. "I was thinking of another part of your body." She said, slowly running her hand up his thigh.

They weren't on the same page but it seemed that she had ideas of her own. Ryan placed his hand on top of hers clamping it in place. "You tease. You know that you have to be at work soon and so that's going to lead no where."

"I do know where it leads." She teased trying to get her hand free again to let it continue on its trail towards his crotch.

"I'm sure that you do." Ryan replied. "Just as you know just what sort of affect you can have on it." He said feeling his dick start to stiffen at her touch. Between his bondage thoughts and her attentions it seemed to have jumped to attention, which it did a lot of, whenever she was near. "But not right now." He said holding on even more firmly to her hand. "What time do you finish tonight? Maybe we could do something?" he asked. Even the thought of spending the next few hours without her was depressing.

"I don't finish until 6. But then I really need to go home and spend some time with Molly. I promised her on Friday that we'd get together sometime over the weekend and talk about her plans for next weekend." Marissa informed him. "She wants to throw me a birthday party on Sunday night. And what she wants and what I'm prepared to be a part of, are totally different things."

Ryan wasn't surprised.

"But someone seems to have taken up all of my free time and the weekend has basically disappeared without us even having crossed paths. She was still in bed when I left yesterday morning." She explained.

"So you didn't have a good time this weekend?" Ryan asked, knowing that besides work, she'd spent basically all of her time with him.

She leant over and kissed him sweetly. "You know that I've had a great time. But I still think that's it's in my best interests to make sure that I catch up with her tonight. Otherwise she'll make all the plans herself and that's not something that I even want to contemplate. If I'm going to be the guest of honour then I'd like to have a little control over what's going to happen."

Ryan smiled. It meant so much to him that she'd enjoyed herself at his home but it didn't surprise him that Marissa and Molly would have quite different tastes when it came to parties. "So what sort of party is this going to be?"

"Well Molly would like it to be at the sports bar with everyone she knows." Marissa laughed. "No doubt with lots of drunken debauchery."

Ryan smiled. "Sounds like fun." He teased.

Marissa frowned playfully. "However, I've convinced her that I'd rather just have something a little more dignified at our place."

"So it's going to be small?" Ryan asked.

Marissa nodded. "You've seen our place. If we get 10 people in there then that will pretty much fill it up. It has to be small."

"So what's my chances of getting an invite?" he asked.

"If you play your cards right, you could be at the top of the list." Marissa replied.

Ryan tried to look surprised at her words but failed miserably and she burst out laughing.

"You might even get a special invite." Marissa suggested.

"Tell me more?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe …" Marissa hesitated. They'd come so far and yet she still felt that she was on shaky ground. She started again. "I was thinking that … if you had no other plans that … you might like to sleep over after it?" she glanced up to see his reaction. They hadn't actually spoken about where or when 'IT' was finally going to happen but she figured that this would be as good an opportunity as any. "I thought that you'd be able to maybe give me my present after everyone else has left." She suggested.

"You want a present too?" Ryan asked smiling. "I thought that my 'presence' would be enough." he teased.

"It depends on where you're making your 'presence' felt?" Marissa retorted.

Ryan laughed. "You'll feel it all right. I promise." He could hardly wait; his semi-hard dick thickening, at just the thought of what was to come. It remained to be seen how he would manage to last another week.

"I must admit that that doesn't surprise me. I'm more concerned that it won't fit." Marissa replied truthfully. Now that she'd seen it up close and personal, she did have to wonder.

Ryan could sense the uncertainty behind her playful banter and replied softly. "We'll take it really slowly. I won't do anything until you feel that you're ready." Now he was the one that was feeling uncertain. The last thing that he wanted to do was to hurt her. He'd never forgive himself. He tried to sound upbeat and confident. "I'm sure that it will be just the right size." He replied softly trying to reassure her. He closed his eyes briefly as his mind contemplated what it would feel like to finally be inside her. He quickly opened them again knowing that he couldn't allow himself to get lost in those thoughts. Not now. Not yet.

Marissa nodded, taken again by his thoughtfulness in trying to make her feel at ease.

"So I need to get in to your good books to wangle a special invite to the party hey? How about I cook you dinner at my place tomorrow night? With a bit of luck, Luke will go to the gym and annoy Molly so we should have the place to ourselves for at least a little while?" he asked as they pulled up in front of the library.

"Dinner tomorrow sounds great." Marissa replied thinking that it may give her the chance to talk to him as Kirsten had suggested and find out why he had been so reluctant to make things happen at the beginning. She hadn't wanted to ask him while he was driving, preferring to wait until she could have his full attention. Tomorrow night would be the perfect opportunity. She started to get out of the car, only to be held back by Ryan as he placed a hand on her arm.

"You're not getting away that quickly." He replied pulling her into his arms as his lips found hers.

Their tongues met and for a moment everything else in the world faded into insignificance. The promise of things to come hung in the air. Finally Marissa pulled back. "I really had better go." She said regretfully.

Ryan nodded his acceptance reluctantly. "I'll drop your bag off at your place on the way home if you like? That way you don't have to carry it." He suggested, knowing that he needed to see Molly anyhow. He wanted to quiz her about some ideas he had for Marissa's birthday and see what she had planned. They needed to make sure that they were in sync. Plus he was going to need Molly's help anyway if he was going to achieve what he had in mind.

"Okay. Thanks. Molly should be there to let you in. She never gets out of bed before noon on a Sunday." Marissa explained.

Ryan nodded. That news didn't surprise him given Molly's partying ways. She probably hadn't been in bed for long.

"So I'll see you tomorrow at lunch and we'll sort out about tomorrow night?" She asked.

"Sounds good." He replied as he watched her close the door and walk off, turning as she went to wave to him.

He didn't move until she was completely out of sight, wanting to drink in the sight of her for as long as possible. Once she was finally gone, he started the car and drove off.

---

After finishing his discussions with Molly, Ryan decided to go straight home. It had taken him a little while to calm her down and talk her around but he thought that by the time that he'd left, that she was supportive of what he had planned, even volunteering to help where she could. He wished that he'd remembered before he went to visit her, that Marissa had mentioned on Friday that he wasn't in Molly's good books. She had quite a head of stem up as she accused him of messing with Marissa's feelings and not carrying through with the task that she'd originally sent him to do. But once he had assured her that he fully intended to make things right then she seemed to settle down. He now knew that he could count on her for her support. But he still hadn't told her everything. He didn't know her that well and he'd grown up with Seth who found it impossible to keep a secret. And so Ryan figured that the less people that knew exactly what he had planned the better. That way there would be very little chance of Marissa's surprise being spoiled.

He was attempting to finish an assignment on Sunday evening, which was no small task, given that he didn't seem to be able to go for more than a few minutes at a time, without having thoughts of Marissa flood his brain. He'd been at it ever since he'd returned home, reasoning that he needed to get as much work as possible out of the way early in the week because he wouldn't have any spare time at the end of the week. He wanted to be able to dedicate all his efforts to making Marissa's first time and her birthday as special as possible. Luke had been MIA all day so Ryan hadn't been able to run his ideas by him which was causing him a few concerns because unless he could get Luke to agree then he would be back to square one with his planning.

Losing his concentration in thoughts of Marissa yet again, he decided to take a break and get something to eat, when he was startled by the ring of his phone. Pausing to look at the id, he smiled and answered. "Hey."

"Hey." Seth answered. "How's it hanging?"

"None of your business." Ryan replied good-humouredly.

"But I hear that it's someone's business." Seth taunted.

"Yes. It's mine." Ryan stated flatly.

"And ….." Seth started. "What's her name again?"

"Who's name?" Ryan asked trying to sound totally clueless.

"Don't give me that. It's bad enough that you've got a new girl friend that you haven't even bothered to tell me about. Is she there with you now?" Seth asked.

"Who?" Ryan asked again starting to enjoy the game. "And who said that I have a new girl friend?" Ryan asked knowing exactly where Seth's information would have come from. The Cohen telegraph worked very well indeed. It was just a question of whether it was Sandy or Kirsten who spilled the beans … Probably both.

"Ryan." Seth said trying to sound exasperated. "I've been talking to the 'rents." He said as if that explained all. "Who, I might add, were very impressed. So it's a bit late to try to play coy with me." Seth informed him.

"Okay. So …" Ryan waited, wondering what was going to come next. He could almost bet that Seth would interrogate him about Marissa.

"So what's with holding out on us?" Seth asked.

"It's still fairly new." Ryan explained.

Seth took the information in and debated whether to continue on or not. It all sounded fairly tame. Much as he would expect. Maybe his parents got it all wrong. No doubt there'd be someone new next week. Although Ryan had taken her home. That was unusual. Should he just leave it at that or should he push on in his quest for more details?

"So you're not sleeping with her yet because it's still new? Is that what you're telling me?" Seth asked.

"Who said I'm not sleeping with her?" Ryan asked. "I slept with her last night." He corrected Seth.

"But did you 'sleep' with her?" Seth asked again.

Ryan wondered where all this was coming from. Sure Seth had always seemed to have an unhealthy interest in Ryan's sex life. But ever since he had moved to the other side of the country he seemed to have accepted that as long as Ryan was 'getting some' then that was all he cared about. Fortunately for Ryan, the 'details' seemed to have become less of a concern. That being said, why was Seth now giving him the third degree?

"Sort of." Ryan replied starting to feel uncomfortable about the line of questioning. He hated lying. Let's rephrase that. He couldn't lie. And if Seth kept on and eventually hit on the right questions then Ryan would be in a lot of trouble. He had no intention of revealing Marissa's secret to anyone and that included Seth, so he was going to have to find some way to distract him and get him on to other topics. "As I said … it's still fairly new."

"I hate to remind you but that's never stopped you before. In fact I seem to remember the record being 12 minutes from the first time you laid eyes on a girl you fancied until you got into her pants. Or have you and Luke managed to break that one since I last saw you?" Seth asked.

Ryan blushed. "No. The record still stands." Maybe not one of his proudest moments he thought, although he had beaten Luke by over an hour. And in truth, he had a feeling that the girl involved was on a mission of her own. Maybe he was helping her set her own record.

"So really … how well you know her has nothing to do with the time that it takes for you to get her to drop her drawers?" Seth asked.

Ryan didn't reply. He just felt that saying anything would only get him into even more trouble.

"Do you like her?" Seth asked. He hoped that maybe his parents had misinterpreted Ryan's interest in the girl just because he had actually taken her home. It had been so long since he'd done that, that maybe they'd mistakenly assumed that she was something special just because he had brought her to meet them. Maybe he didn't really like her that much and was just feeling sorry for her because she was some sort of social outcast that he was taking pity on? Maybe that's why he hadn't slept with her yet? Although if she looked even half as good as his father had described then he couldn't imagine Ryan not partaking of the pleasures of the flesh anyhow even if he wasn't that interested.

"A lot." Ryan replied simply, knowing that he couldn't lie about that. Marissa was too special to him, for him to even try.

Now Seth was really scared. He'd ruled out the only other reasons that he could come up with for Ryan holding out on the girl; except of course the one that his parents were primarily concerned about. He knew that he was about to over step a line here, even for him, but his parents had asked him to find out what was going on. They were worried about Ryan.

"So … what's with holding out on her?" he asked simply.

"What?" Ryan asked startled.

"Mom said that you're playing hard to get. Since when have you been hard to get?" Seth questioned.

"Why would she think that?" Ryan asked feeling sick suddenly.

"I gather something that Marissa said." Seth explained.

Now Ryan felt completely nauseous. "Oh." Any appetite that he'd previously had, had now completely disappeared.

Seth continued. "At this point in time Mom is convinced that you have some sort of STD."

"She what?" Ryan exclaimed stunned. Now all Kirsten's questions about how he was feeling and the concerned looks when they were leaving were starting to make sense.

"She reckons that it's the only reason she can think of that would make you be able to keep your hands off her." Seth said and then clarified "Marissa not Mom."

"Very funny. And I can assure you that I don't have an STD." Ryan assured him still shocked at where this conversation was going.

"Are you sure? Have you been tested lately?" Seth pressed the point.

"Seth. I'm sure." Ryan wondered how his parents had ever come up with such a fanciful idea. "But who said I was keeping my hands off her?" Ryan asked.

"But I thought that you weren't …" Seth asked now confused. He needed a rewind button on the conversation because he was sure …

Ryan butted in "I may not have had my dick inside her yet but that doesn't mean that other parts of me…" Ryan explained.

"Ooooh. I think that the 'rents could do without that much detail." Seth reasoned. It certainly sounded like this was merely a temporary situation. "So is there an intention for this state of play to alter in the near future?"

"Well … she does have a birthday next week." Ryan explained. That was as close as he intended to get to telling Seth anything.

"Aw and she wants you as her present – how sweet." Seth teased.

"Well what can I say? You taught me all that I know." Ryan suggested, hoping to get Seth on to his favourite subject … himself. Then he would leave Ryan alone.

"If only that were true. I'm still trying to get you to give me some pointers. Although Summer informs me that my pointer is working just fine." Seth informed him.

"I'm pleased to hear it. For you and for her. Now can we get off this topic? If you want to be helpful you could come up with some suggestions for what I can get Marissa for her birthday?" Ryan asked.

"I thought that we'd already established that. You jumping out of a cake naked might do the trick." Seth suggested.

"Thanks for the suggestion but I think not. Maybe Summer would have a better idea?" Ryan said.

"I doubt it. She'd think that was a great idea. With me naked of course – not you – that's just too …. Ewwww." Seth returned quaking at the thought.

Ryan smiled. Now that Seth and Summer were living together, they seemed to be becoming more and more alike every day. "If you can't come up with anything better then I think that I'd better go back to what I was doing." Ryan replied.

"Okay – But just call the 'rents and tell them something to put their minds at ease. I swear that Mom thinks that your Willy's either about to shrivel up and drop off through over use or that it's so covered in genital warts that you're not prepared to show it in public."

Ryan shook his head. How was it that Seth managed to over step every boundary, every phone call?

"Ryan? Are you still there?" Seth asked.

"Yeah. I'm here." Ryan replied.

"Just let them know that there is nothing wrong with you. Tell them that you're holding out so that by her birthday, she'll be begging for it and then you intend to fuck her crazy as her gift. I'm sure that will put Mom's mind at ease." Seth laughed finding his own comment hilarious. When he composed himself he added. "Seriously … call them. Tell them something to reassure them. They're just worried about you."

Ryan sighed. How did he get into these positions? And what was he supposed to say to them? "Okay I'll call them." He said resignedly, not knowing how he would ever find the words to clear things up.

---