A/N I wasn't really motivated to write because I didn't have as many reviews as usual. I'm sorry if you guys didn't like the last chapter. I can't say this chapter is much better, it's pretty much fluff. I don't know if you guys like that. Ryan finds out about the bet next chapter though, so we'll all get to see what happens with them. Thank you for my reviews because I really, truly appreciate them. R/R, enjoy!
Ch. 11: Be aware of wonder
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
-Robert Fulghum
On New Years Eve Marissa decided she wanted to throw a party to celebrate the new year. Her parents were on vacation and would be gone until the day school started again and Ryan had told her the Cohens were going out of town for the night to celebrate the new year in a nice bed and breakfast somewhere, leaving her, Ryan, and Seth all alone to do whatever they wanted. Considering this was her senior year and Marissa wanted to have some fun, she really wanted to throw a party everyone would remember.
The first problem Marissa encountered in her quest to have a party was convincing Ryan to help her. She entered the pool house at eight in the morning, realizing she needed to immediately get started on the plans if she was going to pull it off by that night. She walked towards his bed quietly and slipped into bed beside him, allowing herself to just watch him for a few minutes. He looked so adorable when he slept, his hair all messy and tousled, his face buried in the pillow. She smiled at the sight before him and briefly entertained the thought of blowing off the party idea and just laying in bed with Ryan all day, but then quickly shook the thought from her head and decided to wake him. "Ryan, it's time to get up," she said gently, rubbing his back a little.
He groaned and buried his face further into the pillow before rolling over and tiredly looking at her. "What time is it?"
"Only eight..." she started, but was interrupted by his groan.
"What are you doing getting me up at eight on a holiday?" He asked, slightly glaring at her.
"I need your help," she admitted, standing up from the bed. She grabbed his arm and pulled her hardest, trying to get him off the bed. He eventually complied and let her pull him off the bed, staring at her with a bewildered look. "Now go brush your teeth, comb your hair, get dressed, and then we'll go to the diner and get some pancakes while I explain my plan to you." He raised his eyebrows at her but didn't move. "Chop, chop!" She said, shoving him in the direction of the bathroom. She giggled a little when she heard him mumbling under his breath about it being 'too damn early' and 'having a crazy girlfriend.'
An hour and a few short stacks of pancakes later, Ryan stared at Marissa and shook his head. "I don't like parties."
She sighed and gave him the puppy dog look. "Come on, Ryan...it won't be all that bad."
He shook his head. "Yeah, it will. I really, really don't like parties."
She stuck out her bottom lip, watching his resolve beginning to vanish at her pleading. "It'll mean a lot to me."
He looked at her and took in a deep breath, then let it out in a long sigh. "Fine."
She grinned widely and leaned in to give him a grateful kiss. "You're the best boyfriend ever!"
He rolled his eyes but gave her a small smile. "Okay, what do we have to do?"
"Well first we need to get supplies...you know, food and drinks." She thought about it. "So I was thinking we could go get a bunch of chips, and I could get Summer to get our friends to bring some other stuff. It could be a group planned party by the social committee...or at least I can make them think it is so I don't have to do everything on my own..."
Ryan laughed a little. "Way to use your friends."
She waved him off with her hand. "I guess you haven't noticed that the only real 'friend' I have is Summer." She saw his hurt look and added, "Other than you, of course...though you mean more to me than any friend could."
"You too," he replied softly, his eyes looking deep into hers.
She reached over and placed her hand in his, letting him lace their fingers together. She smiled and felt her stomach flutter as his warm hand enveloped hers. "But anyways, back to the party. I'm not into fake IDs and getting kegs, so I'll let Sarah handle that. Her older brother supplies all the liquor for our parties."
"So we're all set then?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I'll call Summer and let her rally the social committee, and then we can go shopping for food."
Ryan put down the money for their breakfast. "Alright, let's get started then."
She stood, grinning, and pulled him up with her. He smiled back at her and together they walked out of the diner, hand in hand.
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Ryan was tired from all the running around and decorating that day. Marissa had completely transformed her house to be the perfect party location. The furniture was pushed aside for so they could have plenty of room to dance, one of the rooms was changed to be an area where people could play Guitar Hero or Rock Band, and the backyard had the stereo system hooked up so they could get music back there too and lounge by the pool. The weather was warm, not at all cold so that going into and out of the heated pool could be done without any freezing.
Ryan had helped Marissa prepare all day long and now he just wanted to sleep, even though it was only eight. They had gone out to have a nice dinner, just the two of them, since the snacks being served at the party were anything but a decent meal. Marissa was waiting for her friends to arrive and they were going to hang out for a bit before the party started that night at ten. Ryan had no idea why she would want to hang out with people that she didn't really consider friends for two hours, but that was her decision. Besides, it have him a good excuse to just kick back and relax in the pool house.
Unfortunately for him, Seth had other plans. "Hey man, what's up?"
Ryan sighed and looked at his adoptive brother. "What do you want, Seth? I'm tired."
"Right, but not tired enough to spend time with Marissa, right?" Seth said bitterly, sitting down on the chair next to Ryan's bed.
"Seth, you know it's not like that."
"Actually, I don't." Seth looked at Ryan, upset. "Look, ever since you started dating her, things between us have been rocky to say the least."
"Maybe they wouldn't be if you'd actually accept she's my girlfriend and stop trying to make us break up," Ryan retorted.
Ignoring his comment, Seth continued. "Don't you think it's wrong to let a girl come between us?" Seth sighed. "Bros before hos, remember?"
Ryan glared at Seth. "Marissa is not a ho."
Seth rolled his eyes. "But you get what I'm saying, right?"
Ryan sighed. "Look, Seth, I'm not giving up Marissa because you feel abandoned. You're the one making yourself so miserable and alone. We could all hang out if you would just give her a chance." Ryan gave Seth a defeated look. "Please? For me?"
Seth just eyed Ryan. "Why should I?"
Ryan remained silent for a long time, looking down at his hands. Then, after what felt like an eternity of silence, he looked up and vulnerable, said, "Because I love her."
Seth raised his eyebrows. "I think you should stop and think about this before..."
Ryan shook his head and interrupted Seth. "No, I know I love her. I realized it at Christmas, though I've been feeling this way for longer than that."
Seth stared at Ryan and shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you could be stupid enough to fall for Marissa Cooper."
Ryan shrugged. "Stupid or not, it happened and I can't take it back. So I'm sorry, but you need to get over whatever issues you have with her if you want to hang out with me."
Seth glared at Ryan and stood from his chair. "Have fun at your party tonight," he spat out, then stormed out of the pool house.
Ryan sighed and leaned his head back on the pillow, just thinking. Why was Seth so against Marissa? He just lay there for a long time, brooding as he always did after an argument with Seth about Marissa. What he had said was true: he did love Marissa. He was in love for the first time in his life and he loved the feeling. It's why he would do anything with Marissa, and why he would do anything she wanted him to. It really bothered him that Seth couldn't put aside his past feeling for Marissa and get to know her as the incredible, smart, funny, amazing, beautiful girl she really was.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the girl he was thinking about enter. "Penny for your thoughts?" Marissa softly said, laying down beside him and resting her head on his chest.
He looked at her and immediately felt better. He wrapped an arm around her and then looked back at the ceiling. "I got into another argument with Seth." Her head was turned on its side so she could see his face. He leaned his face towards her and pressed his lips against hers gently before pulling back and saying, "But it doesn't matter now."
"You sure?" she asked softly, gazing at him intently.
He nodded. "I have you with me now." He glanced at his clock and sighed. "Party time?"
She nodded and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. He knew she felt bad for making him argue with Seth so much, but it wasn't her fault, it was Seth's for not giving her a second chance. "Yeah, actually why I'm here. I can't throw a party without my boyfriend there by my side." When she said the word 'boyfriend' she genuinely smiled. It made him wonder if she loved him too.
"Do I really have to go?" he groaned.
She nodded. "Yes, you have to go. It looks bad for you not to go, especially since you live right next door."
He sighed and said, "Fine, I suppose I'll get up now..." She saw the humor in his eyes, signaling he wasn't really upset, just being dramatic.
She giggled a little and rolled over so she was no longer on his chest, even though she preferred their previous position much better. They both stood and headed for the door. Before she could walk out, Ryan pulled Marissa back and pulled her to him, crashing his lips against hers. She giggled again but kissed him back, subconsciously wrapping her arms around his neck. When he pulled back, she looked at him through half open eyes, still getting over their breathtaking kiss. "What was that for?"
He smiled and pecked her lips again. "Just getting ready for the party. I can't go unless I have a few good kisses."
She rolled her eyes but leaned in and kissed him again. As the kiss progressed, she soon found herself pressed against the glass of the pool house door with Ryan's tongue tickling her own. She moaned and ran her hands through his thick blond hair, hear heart beating a million miles a minute. After a kiss that seemed to go on for hours but at the same time only a few minutes, Ryan pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers. He gazed into her eyes lovingly and it made her feel lighter than air. "Come on, let's go," she said, lightly shoving him away from her with a small, breathless giggle.
He gave her a lazy smile and took her hand, pulling her out of the pool house. "Fine, let's go party."
After a short walk they were met with a bunch of people already in full swing party mood. Ryan rolled his eye at the crazy people, earning a stern look from Marissa. He gave her a sweet smile and she laughed. "I think all my friends are in the kitchen." She pulled him after her, never letting him go even though everyone seemed to be bumping into them. Finally they reached the kitchen and Marissa spotted Summer. "Hey, Sum."
"Hey Coop...Atwood, always a pleasure," Summer joked.
Ryan smiled and wrapped his arms around Marissa, resting his chin on her shoulder. She ignored the shivers and warmth that flowed through her body, or at least tried to as she faced all of her friends. "So you guys are pretty good and getting last minute parties together," Ryan commented, quickly glancing out at the crowd of dancing people. "Even for a house party, it's really nice."
Marissa beamed, obviously pleased to have Ryan's approval. Her smile quickly turned to a frown when she saw Sarah watching the two of them with a smirk. "Yeah, Marissa's really great, isn't she Ryan?" Sarah remarked, a fake smile on her face.
Ryan nodded and lightly kissed Marissa's cheek. "Yeah, she is."
Marissa closed her eyes and let herself lean back against Ryan, knowing that he would be her support. His arms tightened around her and it made her feel as if everything would be okay. "So school is starting again pretty soon. Are you looking forward to it, Ryan?" Sarah asked, casting an evil smirk in Marissa's direction.
Ryan shrugged. "Not really. School is pretty boring."
Sarah's eyes sparkled. "Oh don't worry, I have this feeling things will get very interesting."
Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Really? What makes you think that?"
Sarah smiled at Marissa, which made Ryan look at his girlfriend questioningly. "I don't know, it's just this feeling I have. What do you think, Marissa?"
Marissa gave her a fake smile but inside she was afraid that Sarah would reveal the bet to Ryan. Sure he would find out in a few days regardless, but she wasn't ready for the truth to come out until then. "I don't really know what you're talking about, Sarah. Maybe you should go get your head checked out or something, if you're getting all these 'feelings.' Are you hearing voices again?"
Sarah's eyes narrowed at Marissa. "Enjoy it while you can, Cooper." Her eyes darted from the confused Ryan to the annoyed Marissa. "Because the honeymoon always ends." With that Sarah walked away, starting to dance with some random jock.
Ryan softly whispered, "What was that about?"
Marissa shook her head and turned to look into his eyes. "Nothing. Sarah just has some issues." She smiled at him and pecked his lips. "Nothing you need to be worried about."
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Seth Cohen despised Marissa and her annoying party and the fact that she seemed to have Ryan under her spell. He'd seen movies and read books about this sort of thing; the witches putting the vulnerable men under spells, therefore making their attack worse than it would have initially been. He didn't know exactly what Ryan saw in Marissa, but it couldn't be the truth. The true Marissa Cooper that everyone at Harbor had become accustomed to was a snobby, stuck-up bitch that only cared about getting a new purse or five thousand dollar dress. She wasn't anything but trouble, and she had Ryan under her tight grasp.
Regardless of his feelings toward the witch of Ryan's life, Ryan was head over heels for her, so Seth had to at least make an attempt to get along with her. That's why he found himself fighting through the crowd of sweaty, dancing teenagers looking for Ms. Witch herself. He bumped into a couple who seemed to be more making out than dancing and mumbled a quick sorry before continuing through the endless sea of dancers. Finally he saw some chick he saw Marissa hanging out with at school...Sarah something or another. She was standing in the corner acting bored, probably looking for some guy to make a move on her or something. He walked up to her and asked, "Have you seen Marissa?"
Sarah eyed him up and down. "What's it to you, geek?"
Seth sighed and rolled his eyes. "Right, sorry, I forgot that everyone within a mile's radius gets corrupted by Princess Marissa. Sorry I wasted your time."
He was about to turn when he felt her hand on his not-so-buff bicep. "Wait." He turned to give her a blank look and she eyed him for a second before saying, "You're Seth Cohen, right? Ryan's brother?"
Wow, how pathetic is it that he was referred to as 'Ryan's brother' when he was the one from Newport! He nodded. "Yeah, so?"
Sarah's face brightened up. "And you don't like Marissa?"
Seth looked down at his feet and mumbled, "That's not really up for discussion..."
"What if I told you I can help Ryan see the Marissa Cooper we're all used to?"
Seth's eyes quickly flew up to meet hers. "What do you mean?"
Sarah grabbed his arm and started to pull him towards the stairs. "Well, you see, there's this bet..."
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It was half an hour to midnight and Marissa was sick and tired of everyone around her. Ryan had gone out to get her some nonalcoholic drinks since they had run out of those. He'd been gone for a while and in his absence she discovered she didn't really want to be around any of these people, only him; only the boy she loved.
She wandered away from everyone and walked down her parent's property to a deserted spot far enough away from everyone that she didn't have to listen to the obnoxious yelling the extremely drunk idiots were doing. She sat there and stared out at the dark waters off in the distance, pulling her knees to her chest. It was beginning to get cool out for the first time since Christmas. She wondered if the people in the pool noticed.
As she stared out at the water, she let her mind wander. Of course, this meant she was thinking of Ryan, the only thing that she ever really thought about. She thought back to when they first met at registration and before she knew it there was a smile playing out on her face. Her thoughts drifted to when they first kissed up there on that ferris wheel at kick-off and eventually to when he finally opened up to her with everything from his past. When Ryan first left to go get the drinks, Sarah had cornered her and asked if she really thought Ryan loved her.
"I hope so," she had replied.
"Why?" Sarah had asked with a smirk. "You afraid of losing?"
She had merely nodded. She was afraid of losing – afraid of losing him, not the bet.
Marissa thought about Ryan and a smile tugged at her lips. How come she didn't listen to Summer all those months ago when she said not to do this bet, or to tell Ryan. Now she couldn't tell him because she was too afraid he would get mad and leave her, which would tear her in two. She couldn't lose Ryan, not when she loved him this much. Not when the only thing she cared about was him.
Did he love her? That was the question she had asked herself over and over since her run-in with Sarah. Did she win the bet; would Monday bring him heartache? She let out a long sigh as she stared out at the water, too lost in thought to hear the approaching footsteps. "Hey."
She turned and saw Ryan standing there, the cool breeze going through his hair. She gave him a weak smile and then looked back out in front of her, pulling her knees even tighter to her chest, resting her chin on them. "Hey."
He sat down next to her and crossed his legs. "I bought a bunch of Coke, Hawaiian Punch, and other stuff from the gas station. Traffic was unbelievable." He held up a bottle and handed it to her. "I figured you'd like your own bottle, not just something poured from the bit bottle...so I got you a coke."
She grabbed it and smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks."
He observed her for a minute before asking, "Are you okay? You're being really quiet."
She nodded. "Yeah, just thinking."
"About?" he prodded, encouraging her to open up to him just like he'd opened up to her so many times.
"Stuff." Upon seeing his disappointed face, she added, "Us."
He raised his eyebrows. "What about us?"
She shrugged. "How we got to be where we are today. It all went by so fast."
He smiled and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Yeah, I know." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of plain M&Ms. He opened it and offered her some. She took a few and then he poured some into his hand, popping them into his mouth. "I used to always eat M&Ms with Trey on New Years. He always refused to eat the blue ones for some reason."
Marissa smiled at the revelation. "Sounds fun."
He nodded but his eyes were glazed, letting her know he was stuck in his memories. "It was. We would go and sit on the broken Merry-Go-Round at the abandoned park and watch the fireworks." He suddenly let out a sad sigh. "Before he went to jail, anyways."
She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, letting him wrap his around her and hold her close. Breaking the comfortable silence, she asked, "What time is it?"
He looked at his watch. "11:50."
She abruptly stood and grabbed his hand, pulling him with her. "Follow me," she said, leading him away from her house. "And don't make any noise."
When they reached his backyard he finally asked, "What are you doing?"
She pulled him into the pool house and said, "I can't deal with the party right now. I thought I wanted it this morning, but now I know I just want to spend the night with you and only you." She walked over to his bed and flopped down on it, turning on the TV. She turned and looked at him, watching him take off his jacket and shoes. He finally walked over to the bed and when he got down on it and wrapped his arms around her with his attention turned to the TV, she knew that she was ready.
She turned so that she was looking into his eyes, then leaned in and kissed him hard on the mouth, immediately prying it open with her tongue. As her hands moved to his shirt he pulled back and breathlessly asked, "What are you..."
"I'm ready," she replied, just as breathlessly. She kissed him tenderly before saying, "I want this...I want you."
"Are you sure?" He asked, trying to pull back from her so that he could really judge if she was ready or not.
She nodded and looked into his eyes. "Summer's always saying how you spend New Years Eve is how you're going to spend the rest of the year. I want to spend the rest of the year with you." She paused and when he was about to protest she cut him off once again. "And you can't say it isn't special because what's more special than doing it as the new year rolls in?"
The fight was leaving him. "I don't want to make you do something you don't want to."
She laughed and leaned in to kiss him again. "Ryan, I'm the one that attacked you."
"True," he mumbled, kissing her back heatedly. When she ran her hands under his shirt and pulled it over his head, he asked, "So we're really doing this?"
She nodded and reconnected their lips. "Oh yeah."
His pent up lust seemed to take control then because he flipped her over and started kissing her with all the passion he had in him, making her moan into his mouth and fumble with getting the button on his jeans undone. When she finally got it undone, she pulled down the zipper and then quickly pushed them down. She sat up a little and he pulled her shirt over her head, then pulled her jeans off. She kicked them off and he started kissing down her neck, sucking on her extremely sensitive spot, causing her to buck her hips and moan loudly in pleasure.
He smiled and unclasped her bra, moving his lips down to her breasts. She moaned and ran her slender fingers through his thick, blond hair, tugging at it a little as he pleasured her. Eventually he trailed his lips down to her stomach, kissing just above the cloth of her panties. She was writhing under him now, needing him to take her where she'd never been before. He pulled her panties down and then kissed up her leg to her inner thigh, teasing her as he slowly inched higher and higher. "Ryan," she softly whimpered, not able to take it anymore. "Please." She tugged on his hair again so that he was looking at her and gave him a pleading look. She wanted him. She needed him.
He kissed back up her body and then gave her a short, passionate kiss before reaching for his nightstand drawer and pulling out a condom. As he did that, she pulled down his boxers. He leaned down to kiss her again but saw the look on her face and stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked, concern clouding his face.
She shook her head and stared down at the newly exposed part of his body. "It's just...wow.."
He tried to keep the smug expression off his face. "Good wow?"
She reached out and let her warm fingers run down his length, making him shiver and moan. "Definitely a good wow."
He quickly rolled on the condom and positioned himself over her. On the TV they were counting down the last minute. "You ready?" he murmured, looking deep into her eyes to make sure this was really okay with her. "We can stop right now if you want to."
She nodded. "I'm ready."
He never took his eyes off her as he slowly entered her, not wanting to hurt her. At the sharp intake of breath, he paused and looked at her with worry. "Are you okay?"
She bit her lip and nodded, getting adjusted to him. "Yeah, it just hurt for a second there." She moved her hips to bring him further into her and softly moaned.
"Happy New Year!" They heard from the TV and loud teenagers at the party next door.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked, not wanting to hurt her even though being inside of her was a euphoric feeling to him.
She moved her hips more so that he was completely inside of her and he let out a low moan. "Not really...it feels..." She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him deeply. "It feels good." That was all he needed; he let his body take over and gently thrust in and out of her, causing both teenagers to moan and groan at the great feelings they were evoking in each other. They came together, Marissa digging her nails into his back as her eyes rolled back in her head from the intense euphoric feeling washing over her.
Ryan collapsed on the spot next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and he rested her head on his sweaty chest. It took a few minutes for their breathing to get normal again, and in that time she enjoyed listening to his rapidly beating heart. After a few minutes he couldn't take it anymore. "Was that okay? For your first time?" He let out a deep breath. "I mean, was it everything you wanted it to be?"
"No," she said softly. "It wasn't."
His heart stood still, she swore it did. "Oh," he said, sounding defeated.
She grinned wickedly and softly pecked his lips. "It wasn't because it was better than I ever imagined."
He let out a relieved laugh and flipped her over so he could hover over her, making her squeal in surprise. "That so wasn't fair. You had me worried."
She lifted her hands and rested them on the sides of his face, smiling up at him. "I know, I'm evil."
He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Very, very evil." He leaned in and kissed her gently. She moved her hands up and let them run through his hair, further messing it up.
After a long, thorough kiss, he pulled back and leaned back onto the bed, pulling her to his body. After cuddling for a while, Marissa suddenly sat up and said, "Oh god, what about the party?"
He sat up and kissed her neck and shoulders. "What about it?"
"We've been in here for over an hour. I hope they haven't broken anything..." She stood and started looking around for her clothes.
Ryan watched as she got dressed, completely fascinated by his naked girlfriend. How did he get this lucky? "Let the party take care of itself and come back to bed."
She shook her head. "There's a ton of cleaning to do and we shouldn't leave it to everyone else to do it, we need to help. It is my house, after all."
"Why don't we do it tomorrow, or actually, later on today when it's not dark?" he suggested.
She pulled her shirt over her head and looked over at him, completely clothed. "Because I'd rather do this tonight and get it over with so I can spend all day tomorrow with you relaxing...preferably in bed."
He grinned and threw the blankets off him. "I like the way you think."
She laughed and said, "Get dressed." He got off the bed and looked around for his boxers. As he was putting them on, she grabbed him a button up shirt.
When she handed it to him, he looked at her confusedly. "I had a shirt before..."
She nodded and smirked. "I know, but I want you to wear this one so that you can leave it open and I can see your chest and abs." She pecked his lips before sitting on the bed. "It will keep me super motivated to hurry so we can come back to the pool house."
He laughed and put on the black button up, leaving it open as she requested. "There, happy?"
She smiled. "Very." As he was getting his shoes on, she stood and looked at the bed that they had occupied not too long ago. At the sight of the red spot she immediately blushed.
He looked up and saw her looking embarrassed. "What's wrong?" She glanced at the sheets and his eyes followed hers. "Oh." He shrugged. "I'll change the sheets when we get back and wash them tomorrow before the Cohens get home." He stood and tenderly kissed her forehead. "It's no problem. Now let's go break up that party and clean so we can come back to bed."
She smiled, relieved that he didn't make a big deal about it, and together they headed back towards her house.
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An hour later they were nearly finished cleaning. It was late and a lot of people were tired, but they had done it. Ryan was busy taking out the trash bags filled with plastic cups and trash while Marissa and Sarah were putting things back where they belonged. "Alright, I think that's about it," Marissa told Sarah. "Thanks for staying, you were a great help."
Sarah shrugged. "No problem." She looked at Marissa's messy hair and glowing face, and realization dawned on her face. "You had sex!"
Marissa looked at her like she was crazy, but there was no mistaking the deep blush on her face. "I don't know what you..."
"Explain to me then how come you have sex hair, are glowing, and have a hickey! You totally just had sex!" Sarah accused.
Marissa sighed. This was a very embarrassing situation. "It's none of your business."
Sarah was very jealous at the thought of Marissa getting to have Ryan, especially after she'd seen those abs of his while he was cleaning. "I told Ryan's brother....Sid or whatever."
"Seth?" Marissa questioned. "Told him what?"
"About our little bet." Sarah smirked when she saw all the color drain from Marissa's face. "He said he wouldn't tell your boyfriend anything, but he'll be there to make things easier for Ryan when we break the news to him on Monday."
Marissa sighed. "Look, I don't want to do this anymore. You win, okay?"
Sarah shook her head. "See, a couple of months ago I would have agree with you and this whole thing would be over." She flashed an evil smirk at Marissa. "But you continued, and now I really want to know the answer, don't you?"
"I can find out without continuing the bet." Marissa gave her a pleading look. "Please, Sarah, if you have one ounce of compassion you'll let us end this right now."
Sarah saw Ryan entering the house again out of the corner of her eyes. "My mom always told me I lacked compassion." She smiled at Ryan as he walked up to Marissa. "I'll leave you two alone. See you at school." With that, she walked away, smiling the entire time.
Ryan was oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place. "Are you ready?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her.
She shook her head. "No, I will be in just a second. Why don't you go to the pool house and I'll be there in a minute?"
Ryan nodded. He leaned in and pecked her lips quickly. "Okay, don't take long."
She smiled at the desire written in his eyes. "Don't worry, I won't." She watched him walk away and walked around her house, surveying the area to make sure they hadn't missed anything. The furniture was in place, the liquor gone, the trash picked up...they had cleaned everything.
As she made her way to the pool house, she thought about what school on Monday would bring for her and Ryan's relationship. Would he find it in his heart to forgive her? When she entered the pool house, she saw Ryan putting on fresh sheets. He looked up and his face brightened when he saw her.
She could only hope that he would find in his heart to continue wanting to be with her.
Ryan wanted to tell Marissa so much. He wanted to tell her that she was the most amazing, incredible, funny, smart, beautiful girl he'd ever met. He wanted to tell her that he trusted her completely and knew she would never hurt him. He wanted to tell her he wanted them to go to college together and live together and be with each other much longer than this new year they were in. He wanted to tell her that he loved her.
But since he didn't know how to even begin to find the words to tell her what he was thinking, he patted the newly made bed and waited for her to come lay on it with him. He took her into his arms and kissed her with all the passion he could muster. He couldn't find the words to tell her he loved her, so he would settle with showing her instead.
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I'm pretty sure I can finish this story this month, but we'll see. How fast I write depends on how fast I get my reviews.
Oh, and this chapter is longer than all the others, so I hope you enjoy it!
Individual replies:
Juzzy88: Yes, I agree, it is cute.
Hpfangurl12993: Seriously, you have no idea how big a grin I got on my face when I saw your review. : )
G: love ya, G!
oc_bunney: Only one more chapter until we find out!
Kellybby: I think they have already fallen.
Sailaway: I thought you were gone for good! It's good to see you again! And, yes, lol, I know you still like Lollypops. Did you see my reply to a review about what I plan on doing my next story on? I plan on making it set in college.
Bwunnies: Why thank you.
Elly: I posted, lol, here you go.