A/N Again, sorry for the delay. My cousins came in from California and my friend is going through a lot of family drama, so I've been trying to help her with that. Here's a nice, long chapter to make up for it. Thank you for my lovely reviews, you know how much I love them. Uh, just a warning, things get a little steamy at the end. Less than 10 chapters left! I'll try to post again this week. R/R, enjoy!

Ch. 7: Don't take things that aren't yours

The next day Marissa decided she would surprise Ryan by taking him out to breakfast. After he dropped her off last night, she'd laid in bed thinking about how great he was for attending the party and being nice to everyone, including Sarah. What she thought was really great was the way he opened up to her afterwards. He had rarely told her anything about his past since his revelation on their first date, so the fact that he did meant the world to her.

She walked the short distance to the pool house making sure she didn't get seen by Seth or the Cohens in the main house, and then gave a quick knock on the pool house door before opening it and walking in. To her surprise he was already awake and getting dressed. She looked down at his six pack and then slowly up his perfectly muscled body into his eyes, smiling the whole time. He was watching her and smirked. "Like what you see?"

She nodded and walked further into the pool house, meeting Ryan in the middle. He wrapped his arms around her waist while she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Definitely."

He leaned in and softly kissed her softly, making her body feel warm and fuzzy. He led her to the bed without breaking the kiss and gently laid her down, climbing on top of her. She moved her hands from around his neck to his shoulders and then down his body, loving the feeling of his warm, bare skin against her nervous fingers. She decided to be bold and moved her fingers to the buttons on his jeans, nervously fumbling with them as she tried to get it undone. He reached out and pulled her hand away, pulling away from her a little to look into her eyes. "What are you doing?"

She did her best at giving him a seductive smile. "Just trying to repay you for going to the party last night."

He looked into her eyes for a moment and she thought she saw a torn expression on his face. Then he got off her and softly said, "I'm going to Chino today."

She looked at him confusedly. "Why?"

He got off the bed and walked over to one of the baskets that held his clothes and grabbed a wife beater and red button up shirt. He put on the wife beater and said, "I go every month to see Theresa. I promised her I would when I left. She used to visit me in..." He stopped himself and looked away from her as he put on his shirt. "Well, she used to visit me before the Cohens took me in. I promised her I'd do the same thing for her."

She stood and walked over to him, turning his face so he would look at her. His eyes were clouded and she wondered how she could move past those walls he'd carefully placed around his heart. She leaned in and tenderly kissed him, trying to get him out of his memories. When he started kissing her back, she pulled away and softly said, "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?" His eyes were still slightly cloudy, but the boy she'd come to care for was starting to come through.

"Push me away," she said, her voice slightly hurt.

"I never..."

"Yes, you do, all the time." She looked into his eyes for a long moment, letting the information sink in. He still seemed baffled by her words. "Whenever you think about Chino, your eyes get all weird and you completely shut me out." She pecked his lips, then quietly said, "It hurts."

He sighed and gently placed a hand on the side of her face. "I don't mean to...it just hurts to think about it."

She nodded and softly said, "I get that, but you don't have to push me away. Let me in every now and then."

He nodded and gave her a small, apologetic smile. "I'll try."

She smiled back and leaned in to peck his lips. "Good. With that said, I'm coming with you to Chino."

He pulled back abruptly and shook his head. "No you're not."

She nodded. "Yes I am. I want to see where you come from."

"Believe me, you don't," he said, walking back over to his bed. He sat down and reached for his shoes so he could put them on. "Besides, this isn't open for discussion. You're not going."

She walked over to him and pulled the shoes from his hands. He looked up at her and gave her an annoyed look but she just crossed her arms across her chest and gave him a defiant look. "I'm going whether you like it or not, so save yourself a lot of time and energy by agreeing now."

He stared at her for a long time and then sighed in acceptance. "Fine, but you have to promise you won't push me to talk unless I want to."

She nodded and smiled, handing him his shoes back. "Sounds like a plan."

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As soon as they left Orange County, Ryan knew he'd made a mistake. Every time he glanced over at Marissa she was staring at the changing scenery with what appeared to be shocked interest. As the sky seemed to change from orange to gray, the buildings from McMansions to graffiti-covered dreary buildings, and the scenery from sand and endless waves to sad, broken down slides on abandoned parks, he became increasingly embarrassed. Before he knew it they passed the Chino sign.

"So this is Chino," she observed, staring at a mural on a wall that spoke of stopping violence.

He nodded and solemnly said, "Yeah."

She looked over at him and must have sensed his uneasiness because she reached out and held his hand, lacing their fingers together. He relaxed a little at her touch and she offered him a small smile. "It seems nice," she offered.

He snorted. "Right."

She looked out the window again. "I'm serious. I can just see it now: you shopping at this grocery store or walking down this street. So you had a bad memory or two, I'm sure you had at least a few good ones. And maybe it looks a little rough around the edges, but that doesn't mean it's all bad."

He stopped at the red light and looked over at her, kind of amazed at how she was handling this. Was he wrong in doubting her? "So you don't think it's scary and weird and completely ugly?"

She shook her head and gave him a soft smile. "Nope. As far as I'm concerned, it played a big part in who you are today, so it can't be nearly as bad as people make it out to be."

He smiled a little and looked back at the road, driving forward once more. "You never cease to amaze me, you know that?"

She went back to looking out the window. "I would hope so."

He rolled his eyes but the smile stayed on his face. He relaxed some more and decided to tell her a story. "So you see that DVD rental store over there?"

She looked and nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"My mom used to take me and my brother over there all the time," he informed her. "I would always rent, 'It's a Wonderful Life' no matter what time of year, and Trey always had a soft spot for 'The Breakfast Club.' We would go home and watch the movies like we'd never seen them before and make popcorn and drink Dr. Pepper until we fell asleep." He smiled at the memory. "It was always so much fun. It's one of the only times I remember my mom allowing us to feel like kids."

She was quiet for a moment and then said, "I didn't know you had a brother."

He thought about it and said, "Huh, I thought I told you."

She shook her head. "You told me the only sibling you had was Seth."

He shook his head. "Trey is my biological older brother. He's four years older than I am."

She didn't know what to do about this new piece of information. Finally she said, "Why did you lie?"

He shrugged. "I don't talk about him much. He got arrested a few years before I came to Newport for armed robbery, assault, possession of illegal drugs, among other things." He rolled his eyes. "I've seen him maybe twice since then."

"Were you two close before that happened?" She asked quietly.

He sighed. "We used to be, but then something tore us apart."

"What?"

He pulled to a stop in front of a house and looked over at her. "Come on, I'll show you." He got out before going around and taking her hand. He led her to the front door and knocked, then waited.

The door was opened by a dark haired girl that she assumed was Theresa. She smiled at Ryan and gave him a big hug. "Ryan! We've missed you! I'm so glad you came today, Anthony kept asking all kinds of questions...." She suddenly seemed to notice Marissa's presence and gave her a polite smile. "Who's this?"

Before she could speak for herself Ryan took one of her hands to hold and said, "This is Marissa. I told you about her."

It made her smile knowing he spoke about her to what could possibly be his best friend. "It's nice to meet you," Marissa said, reaching out her right hand for Theresa to shake.

Theresa smiled warmly and shook her hand. "So this is the infamous Marissa Cooper?" She said, looking over at Ryan with mischievous eyes. "Tall, amazing eyes, very beautiful...."

Marissa raised her eyebrows and looked over at Ryan, who was giving Theresa a death glare. "You said that?" she asked softly.

He looked over at her sheepishly and shrugged. "Not those exact words..."

Theresa nodded and mouthed, "Word for word." Marissa giggled and squeezed Ryan's hand. They were interrupted by a little boy that was around two or three appearing by Theresa. "Mama, who hewe?" His eyes brightened up when they saw Ryan and he shouted, "Wyan! Wyan!"

Ryan grinned and crouched down with his arms held open. The boy ran into them and Ryan lifted him up high into the air. "How've you been little guy? Not getting into anymore trouble I hope?"

Theresa rolled her eyes. "Of course he's been getting into trouble. They don't call it the terrible twos for nothing. This little boy over here called the cops twice in the last two weeks. He's kept me busy for sure, isn't that right Anthony?"

Anthony just giggled and looked at Ryan. "Inside?"

Theresa nodded and agreed. "Yeah, come on in guys." She stepped aside and let Ryan and Marissa enter the small house. Marissa looked around and saw pictures of a bunch of people, Theresa, Ryan, and Anthony included. Theresa picked up a few toys from the floor and said, "Sorry the house is a mess, this little boy over here didn't listen when I told him to clean up his mess."

Ryan gave Anthony a stern look. "What did we talk about the last time I was here?"

Anthony gave a sheepish smile. "Be good fo momma."

"So why aren't you listening to her?"

The boy's eyes grew large and watery. "Sowwy, Wyan." He stuck out his bottom lip and it quivered, signaling he was about to cry.

Ryan's face softened and he cuddled the boy to his chest. "It's alright, but you need to start listening, okay?"

Anthony had buried his head in Ryan's chest so when he spoke it came out muffled. "Kay."

Ryan smiled and went to sit on the couch, and waved Marissa over to sit beside him. Marissa was completely confused and slightly worried. So Theresa had a two year old? Ryan nudged Anthony a little and said, "Hey, buddy. I have someone I want you to meet."

Anthony pulled away from Ryan's chest and looked around. "Who?"

Ryan pointed to Marissa. "You see her?" Anthony looked over at her and nodded. Ryan smiled and winked at Marissa. "That's my girlfriend, Marissa."

"Riss?"

Ryan grinned and said, "Yeah, you can call her that." He put the boy down. "Go say hi to her."

Anthony shyly made his way over to her and then waved. "Hi..."

Marissa smiled and said, "Hi, Anthony. How old are you?"

Anthony lifted two fingers and said, "Two!"

She smiled and said, "Two? You're a big boy!"

He smiled widely at her and made a motion with his hands. "Carry?" She picked him up and set him in her lap. He held out his hand and said, "Five?"

"He wants you to give him a high five," Ryan informed her with a smile on his face.

"Oh, okay." She gave him a high five and he started laughing. Hearing him laugh made her start to giggle a little herself.

"He only gives people he really likes high fives," Ryan said, looking at her with thoughtful eyes. She stared into those eyes of his for a minute, completely losing herself in them. Ryan looked at her with a newfound trust, one that was much greater than what he'd shown before, she could tell. He seemed to see her with a new set of eyes while he was away from Newport in this house that once meant so much to him.

She pulled her eyes from his, and then looked at Anthony. She found the same pair of blue eyes staring up at her and it startled her. She studied the boy a little and found that he looked almost identical to Ryan. "He looks just like you," she murmured, looking back over at her boyfriend. Her eyes held the question she wasn't willing to speak.

He shook his head and gave her a sad smile. "I'm his uncle."

Marissa stared at him confusedly. "So Trey is..."

Theresa entered again from her mysterious absence and said, "Yeah, Trey's the dad." She rolled her eyes and plopped down on a chair across from the couch. "Anthony, come here so I can feed you."

Anthony begrudgingly climbed off of Marissa's lap and over to his mother. Ryan scooted closer to Marissa and she looked over at him. "After my brother got arrested, I started taking responsibility for the little guy. Theresa's dad took of a long time ago, so I'm basically the only father figure in his life."

Theresa nodded as she watched Anthony eat. "Yeah, I don't know what I would do without Ryan. Boys here in Chino need some kind of guy in their life if they're going to make it. I would soften him up too much. He needs someone to teach him to be tough."

Ryan shrugged. "My dad wasn't around for a while and I got on just fine."

Theresa gave him a look. "You had Trey. Granted, he's not the best guy in the world, but he did okay with you."

Ryan thought about it and then nodded. "I guess so."

Marissa's head was spinning. She had just expected a simple visit to Chino, not everything else. "When was the last time you visited?"

"Remember that weekend your family flew in?" She nodded and he said, "Then." He saw that she was kind of overwhelmed and reached for her hand, holding it in his lap as he turned back to Theresa. "So what have you two been up to while I was gone?"

As Theresa told the humorous and sometimes stressful stories of having a two year old, Marissa listened attentively and tried to absorb every word. Being here with Theresa was the first time she felt like she could truly understand what Ryan used to be like. He was relaxed when talking to the dark haired girl, and when he smiled at Anthony she saw a certain pride in his eyes shine through. Sitting there in the cozy house she felt like for the first time, she was seeing the true Ryan Atwood.

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Ryan waved goodbye to Theresa and then him and Marissa started the drive back home. "I called Sandy not too long ago and said we'll eat something on the way home since it's starting to get a little late." He looked over at her and said, "I hope you didn't have a lot of homework..."

She shook her head. "I did it yesterday morning." She looked out the window, still thinking about everything she'd learned today.

"So, I was thinking we could get McDonalds or something...something easy," He suggested.

She nodded. "Sounds good."

He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. "What are you thinking about?" he asked softly.

She shrugged and said, "Everything I guess. It's just so hard to believe that Theresa has a son from your brother..."

He sighed. "It wasn't voluntary."

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

Ryan was quiet for a little while and then said, "Trey raped Theresa when she was fifteen."

Marissa's eyes widened. "Why would he.."

"He was stoned," he said, cutting her off. "He went over to her house when her mom was out and said he was looking for me, and when she let him in, he attacked her." He sighed angrily and shook his head. "She refused to press charges."

"Why?"

"Because he's my brother," he informed her bitterly. "She didn't want to do something to split us apart. She knew how much I looked up to him, so she kept her mouth shut about it for a while. Two months later she came to me crying and said she was pregnant, then told me what happened. I confronted Trey about it and he said he was sorry and stuff, but I didn't listen to him. I was so angry, you know? I refused to speak to him. He said he would be involved in the baby's life, but a month later he got arrested for robbing a bank, or at least attempting to. He told Theresa he'd been trying to get fast money for the baby, but it all blew up in his face." Ryan rolled his eyes.

"So what happened then?" she asked quietly, trying to keep him talking to her.

"Hold on," he said since they were at McDonalds. He ordered them their food and then continued with his story. "I told Theresa I was going to be there for her no matter what. If my dead beat brother wasn't going to take responsibility for his actions, then I would." He laughed a little and said, "So I rode my bike to the arcade and spent fifty cents on one of those cheap rings you get in the little machines. I rode to her house and got down on one knee and proposed." He laughed a little more. "She told me to get back up and stop trying to be the hero cause she didn't want or need me to marry her. We agreed that I could play a role in the baby's life as the cool uncle." He glanced over at her and smiled. "Six months later Anthony was born and I've been in love with the kid every since."

Marissa smiled and said, "That's actually kind of funny."

He nodded and said, "I know." His face turned serious and he thoughtfully said, "It made me think a lot about what I really want, you know? I learned that I wanted a kid of my own someday. The look that Theresa gets when she looks at him...that love...I want that with some little kid of my own. I want to be looked up to. I want to be the one to teach them how to walk and talk and how to ride a bike." He shrugged and looked at her with an embarrassed smile. "I've never told anyone that..."

She grinned and said, "I can keep a secret."

He smiled back. "Glad to know."

They ate some of their food in silence for a while as he drove, and then she said, "Kids scare me."

"Really?"

She nodded and shrugged. "You have to feed them and clean them and make sure they're happy. It's not like you ever really get a break either. Not only that, but there's also a million and one things that could go wrong. They could get stolen, lost, hit by a car, drown..."

"Marissa," he interrupted with a laugh. "They're kids, not accident magnets."

She shrugged. "Same thing."

He laughed and said, "When you do have kids someday, you'll be a great mom. The father, whoever the guy may be...he'll be a lucky guy."

She smiled. "You really think so?"

He nodded and gave her a serious look. "I know so."

Her stomach felt all fluttery as she softly said, "Thanks."

Before they knew it, they arrived back at the Cohen house. Ryan grabbed the trash from their dinner and then asked, "Are you coming back to the pool house, or are you going to..."

"I'm coming with you," she announced with a small smile.

He smiled back and then said, "Meet me there. I'm just going to go throw this away and let the Cohens know we made it home okay." He leaned in and pecked her lips, the first kiss they'd had in hours. Soon the quick peck turned into a more passionate kiss before he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "See you in a few." He kissed her quickly a few more times before finally pulling himself away from her and heading towards the main house.

As she made her way to the pool house, she remembered the conversation she'd had with Summer about Ryan.

"So your boyfriend really likes you," Summer announced while the two fixed their makeup.

Marissa smiled. "I know, he's so great."

"Have you two done anything yet?"

"You mean, like, have sex?" Marissa asked, looking over at her friend. When she nodded, Marissa said, "No."

"Well, you know they say the quickest way to a guy's heart is through his pants...."

Marissa frowned. "You really think so?"

Summer shrugged. "He's your boyfriend, Coop; you know him better than I do."

Marissa bit her lip. "Do you think I should?"

Summer raised her eyebrows. "Are you ready for something like that?"

Marissa shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but what could it hurt? If it wins me the bet..."

Summer rolled her eyes. "And here I thought you were doing this because you liked the guy."


"I do!" Marissa protested.

"It doesn't always seem that way," Summer retorted. She finished up her makeup and then said, "Whatever, Coop, it's your life." She walked out of the bathroom, leaving Marissa alone to debate things.

Marissa knew she really liked Ryan, that he was the sweetest and most caring boy she'd ever been around, much less dated. He could always make her smile and he treated her really nice. Not only did she like him, but she also knew that he seemed to really like her. Her parents approved of him... what could having sex with him hurt? Especially if it helped her win that bet...

She took of her shirt and then laid back against his pillows, waiting for him to enter the pool house. After a few moments he entered, but didn't really look at her as he closed and locked the door. "So the Cohens decided we should all have dinner together....what are you doing?" His eyes went wide as he stared at her.

She smiled and patted the bed. "I'm just giving you your reward for going to the party last night..." she said seductively. He walked over to the bed and quickly got on, hovering over her. "You like?"

He took off his own shirt and wife beater, then leaned in to kiss her. "Oh yeah.."

She giggled a little and wrapped her arms around his neck, ignoring her rapidly beating heart. He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her open mouth. She moaned a little and massaged it with her own, letting herself get lost in the kiss. After a few minutes of kissing her this way, Ryan pulls his mouth away and leaves a trail of kisses down to her neck, earning a few giggles from her as he hit her ticklish spots. The giggles soon turned to moans as he found her sensitive spot right where her shoulder and neck met, and she gently pulled his hair in pleasure as he paid particular attention to this spot.

Before long he pulled his lips from that spot and continued a trail down to her chest. Her breathing grew heavier as he kissed all around her bra, and then finally left kisses above the cloth. She reached back and unclasped it for him and allowed him to pull it off her and throw it to the floor. His eyes turned back to her now bare chest and he leaned down, letting his mouth come over her breasts. She arched her back, giving him better access, and moaned loudly as he did wondrous things with his experienced tongue.

After giving each breast an ample amount of time, he continued trailing kisses down her flat stomach. Her breathing was now erratic as his lips neared her jeans. He unbuttoned them and started to pull them off of her, his kisses continuing to trail down each inch of exposed skin. She writhed under his scorching hot kisses and when he finally got off her jeans, she flipped them over so she was on top and decided to do the same thing to him. She connected their lips again, sliding her tongue into his mouth quickly as they both let their hands explore the other's body. Both moaned and groaned in pleasure as their lover's hands caressed their most sensitive areas.

Finally, Marissa pulled down Ryan's pants as he pulled down her panties, leaving her completely naked for him to stare at and him in just boxers. He flipped them over so he was on top again and kissed her hard on the mouth. She let her hands trail down his chest, stomach, and then finally to his boxers where she slid her cold hands in, causing him to groan out her name. "Someone's happy," she commented with a smirk.

He shook his head and in a husky voice said, "Happy is an understatement."

She continued sliding her fingers in and out of his boxers, eliciting more outbursts from Ryan. Finally she asked, "Do you have a condom?"

He nodded and reached for the drawer on the nightstand, pulling a condom out. He kissed her quickly and then pulled back and handed her the package. "Do you want to put it on...or do you want me to?"

Suddenly this all caught up to Marissa. She'd never gone this far with a guy before, and here she was talking condoms with Ryan. She looked into his eyes, completely terrified. "Um.."

He smiled down at her and kissed her quickly. "It's okay, I can do it." He reached down to pull his boxers down, then caught her expression. "What's wrong? I'm not going to hurt you..."

She thought of all the things she'd heard about the pain a girl experiences her first time. "Um..."

He pulled his hands away from his boxers and set the condom back on the nightstand. "What's wrong? You want to do this right?"

She nodded and let out a weak, "Of course." But she wasn't so sure anymore. Was she really ready to lose her virginity to someone she didn't completely love yet?

He looked into her eyes and softly said, "Then why are you so scared? I mean, it's not like it's your first..." He caught the flicker in her eyes and then his own widened. "Wait, it'll be your first?"

She nodded and stared into his eyes, measuring his reaction to this bit of information. He leaned down and tenderly kissed her lips, making her feel completely safe and at ease with him. Maybe she could do this. As he continued to kiss her, she became more confident in this thought. Of course she could do this, it was Ryan and Ryan wouldn't hurt her, right? Suddenly he pulled away and climbed off of her and the bed. She stared at him confusedly. "What are you doing?"

"We can't do this," he said softly, refusing to look at her. He sat down on the chair by the bed and looked down at his hands. "I won't do this."

"Why not?" she asked, pulling the sheets up to cover her. Now she felt completely stupid and foolish.

"Because I'm not going to take your virginity, not like this..." He sighed and looked up at her for the first time since getting off the bed. "It's not mine to take, it's yours to give, and you're not ready."

"But I am ready," she protested weakly, though the doubts in the back of her mind were starting to come out again.

He shook his head and softly said, "No, you're not. Even if you were, you deserve something more special than this..." He gestured around the pool house. "Two horny teenagers. You deserve something special."

She looked at him and her entire face softened. Only he would say something like that. All the other guys she'd made out with tried to make her go too far too fast, and here he was refusing to do that. She nodded and softly said, "Okay."

He looked around on the floor and found his shirt right by the chair. "Here, put this on for now..." He threw the shirt at her and turned his head as she put it on and buttoned it, knowing he didn't have enough self control to watch and not go attack her.

When she was done, he turned back to her and she gave him a soft smile. Then she frowned and looked down at the tent in his boxers. "What are we going to do about that?"

He looked down at his arousal and sighed. "Think of Seth..." He thought of Seth and it immediately went down. She laughed a little and he smiled. "It's the miracle cure."

She patted the spot on the bed next to her and softly whispered, "Hold me?"

He nodded and got back onto the bed, fitting the front of his body against her back, burying his face into her neck. He played with her hands, making small circles on her palms. Laying there in his arms seemed like the safest place on the planet to her. Laying there she realized she was no longer in danger of it; she was falling dor Ryan Atwood, hard.

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Individual Replies:

Juzzy88: Thanks!

Bwunnies: Why thank ya.

Sara: I'm glad you love the story!

Snowwygirl4: Oh, well when you do read the book you have to tell me how you like it! I love that book and I'm so excited for the movie.

Kellybby: Thank you.

G: Yes, I agree, that would've made things complicated.

Elly: sorry to keep you waiting.

Marissa Davis: They actually didn't steal the car. You'll come to see how Ryan came to live with the Cohens soon enough. It's gonna be pretty intense.

Hpfangurl12993: Hey Lauren! How do you think it's gonna turn out?