Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
- Coldplay
Summer was lying in her bed with the bedcovers tightly wrapped around her, soundly asleep. It was a Friday morning and she was free from work for once and able to sleep for as long as she wanted. The alarm that stood on her floor showed 08:30. But that wasn't something that Summer was aware of since she was sleeping and planned to continue doing that the whole day.
Work could be such a pain in the ass. Late evenings, annoying costumers and little money. But what was she supposed to do? She had to work just like everybody else and it wasn't anybody else's fault that Summer was a waitress. She had chosen it herself.
But that was nothing to think about or worry about today. Today she would sleep, finally.
Too bad though that she had to wake up because of the phone, that suddenly started to ring. She had it next to the alarm on the floor and tiredly threw down her arm to search for it while remaining slumbering on her pillow. She hated to be awake this early but since she had a guess of who it might be, she had to answer. And a call this early could be important.
"Hello," she sleepily said into the phone, rolling onto her side.
Seth's joyful voice was heard on the other line. "Good morning, Summer!"
"Cohen…it's early," she slurred, keeping her eyes shut and her body under the warm covers.
"I know and sorry to wake you up. I promise to keep this short and let you get back to sleep soon."
"Let's hear it then," Summer yawned.
She could hear how he took a deep breath, almost as if he was preparing for something very important. She therefore tried to be patient even if she would rather talk to him later. "Okay, so I am actually going away to San Francisco later today. It's a job thing but I doubt that I'll be very busy so I was kind of wondering if-you-wanted-to-come."
"Huh? You lost me in the end." Summer wasn't sure that she'd heard him correct and didn't want to assume anything.
"I was wondering if you wanted to come," Seth said, this time a lot slower and clearer. "But you don't have to. It's just a suggestion."
Summer thought about it for a moment. What did this mean? Maybe he thought that she was ready to share a bed with him and maybe he saw her as a girlfriend. No. He had agreed on taking things slow with her; he knew that she had to go slow. And he was nervous, a fact that made her want to go so badly. Seth wouldn't hurt her; never. "Okay. Well, when would we leave?" she finally said.
Seth smiled, hoping this meant that she would come. "You and I would go around four and then come back Saturday night or Sunday morning. If you'll come that will say."
"I'll come if you take me to dinner." Summer said, trying not to giggle into the phone. How was it possible that he always made her forget about her insecurities and just want to be with him? He'd bring sunshine to her day.
"Dinner as in a date?" Seth hopefully asked.
Summer nodded and kept thinking of how cute he was.
"Summer?"
Summer laughed. "Oh, I nodded but I guess you didn't see that."
"I didn't." Seth said in a duh-tone.
"I say yes; a date. If you want to." She suddenly became a little embarrassed for being so forward. Maybe he liked her better as an insecure person who didn't say very much. She had come to grew comfortable around him and feel like she could speak her mind. Therefore Seth's answer made her relax, calm down.
"Of course I want to! I'm already thinking of where to take you and what to wear."
Summer smiled. "Good."
He cleared his throat. "So, I'll call you a little later."
"Sure."
"Go back to sleep. Sorry that I woke you up."
"Night," Summer mumbled and laid back down in the nest of sheets.
vvvvvvvvv
"Seth!" a blonde woman came rushing toward him where he stood by the newsstand. It was his mother.
"Mom, hi!" he said while giving her a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I was just doing some shopping when I thought I saw you. I was actually hoping to get to talk to you."
"Yeah?"
Kirsten nodded. "You know that your father's birthday is coming up and I was wondering if you wanted to come over this weekend to talk some about it."
"Dad's birthday. Right."
She gave him a dangerous look. "Don't tell me you'd forgotten about it,"
"No, of course not. He's my father." Seth smiled.
"Good. So will you come?"
"I can't. I'm going to San Francisco."
"Work?"
"Yeah."
"Then it won't take all weekend, right?"
"No, but I've invited someone with me and I think we're gonna stay."
"Someone? As in Summer?"
"Well, yeah."
"Then I understand. We can talk about Sandy's birthday another time."
"You sure?"
"Of course. You go have a great time with Summer."
"I will."
"So, Seth. Are you like a couple now?"
"No. We're just spending time together."
"I'm glad that you've found a nice woman like Summer. I'd like to meet her again. Maybe you should bring her over sometime again."
"I'll ask her."
vvvvvvvvv
Summer glanced over to Seth, who was sitting beside her. His eyes were focused on the road but she thought seeing him look at her from time to time. And the whole time he had a small smile plastered on his lips. Summer herself couldn't stop with the smiling either, she didn't want to.
Since she'd met Seth her weekends had been pretty fun and she'd look forward to them all the time. And that was great. This though, was more than great. They were taking a trip. At least it was a trip in her eyes; she always stayed around L.A. And she certainly didn't stay in any hotels. Now though, she would.
Had he got a room with two beds by the way? Or did he expect her to share one with him? Maybe that wouldn't be too bad but Summer had never before spent the night with someone, not even in the same room. But the good news was that he didn't snore and he looked so cute while sleeping.
"What are you thinking about?" Seth asked.
"Um, just about this weekend. It's gonna be fun."
vvvvvvvvv
"Hey, you're back," Summer quietly said from where she sat on the balcony in a chair, a blanket wrapped around her. She'd spent the hour Seth had to work outside, looking out over the town doing some thinking. It had been good but she was happy that he was back.
Seth sat down in the chair next to hers. "Yeah. Have you been okay?"
Summer nodded. "It's nice out here,"
"Listen, I'm sorry that I had to go work like, immediately. Now I'm free though." Seth apologized, feeling a little bad even if he'd only left her by herself for a little over an hour and a half.
"Don't worry about it. I like being alone sometimes; and besides, I'm used to it." Seth only nodded, unsure of what to respond to that. He decided to go with the silence. "You know, this is my first visit to another town for a long time. I've only been in New York where I used to live." She paused but as Seth encouraged her with his facial expression, she continued. "My parents never brought me to places, not even when they were together."
"Was it hard? Not having your dad with you I mean." Seth carefully asked.
"Yeah. I used to miss him a lot. And I always blamed my mom for him leaving. But I'm also pissed that he just left me with mom; she never cared about me. I always went alone to school, made myself dinner and tried the best I could with my homework. She only signed the necessary things," Summer finished with a shrug, not wanting him to feel weird about this. It was a long time ago.
"I'm sorry,"
"Please, don't be. It's not your fault and it's in the past." Summer sadly said, taking his hand in hers. "And, besides I don't want to ruin our evening."
"You can't possibly do that." Seth quickly said.
She shrugged his comment off and forced a smile. "How was work?"
"Summer,"
"Seth, I don't want to talk about it now." She gently explained. "Let's do something."
He seemed to understand that he wouldn't get anything more out of her so he finally gave up. "Alright, what do you have in mind?"
She frowned and let go of his hand. "You forgot?"
"Forgot what?"
"Nothing," Summer quickly said and looked down, terribly disappointed. He'd forgotten about their date, their first real date. She'd really looked forward to it.
Suddenly Seth started laughing. "Oh, come on. Did you honestly believe that I would forget a date? With you." He smiled and Summer was about to punch him when his lips captured hers in a sweet kiss. She immediately relaxed and forgot about everything else.
"But I thought we could hang out here tonight, maybe watch a movie or something. The date is tomorrow night." Seth smirked as they pulled apart.
"Thank you," Summer whispered, not caring about the huge grin on his face. As he noticed her seriousness Seth pulled her into his lap, caressing her face. He drew lines from the tip of her little nose up to where her gorgeous hair began, down the side of her face and stopping by her chin. Summer had her eyes closed, leaning into his touch.
Coming closer to her face, his lips just inches from hers, Seth whispered a 'thank you' before kissing her.
"Why are you thanking me?" Summer asked and lay her head down on his shoulder, her arms around his neck and fingers lightly stroking his soft curls.
"Because you gave me a chance and you treat me with respect. For making me happy I guess." Summer frowned and moved her head up to look at him. She didn't understand what he was talking about. "Don't look so surprised, Summer."
"What are you talking about, Seth? You're scaring me,"
Seth gently pushed her head back onto his shoulder and began to unconsciously play with her hair. "My history with girls is not the best," he confessed and she frowned again. "No one's ever wanted to be with me before."
"I can't understand that. You're the sweetest man I've ever met." Summer told him sincerely. What girls had he met before?
Seth grabbed her hand again and squeezed it, glad to be able to have someone to hold hands with. "And you're the sweetest woman I've ever met, Summer."
She smiled but quickly turned serious again. With an almost inaudible voice she carefully asked him, "Did something happen?"
He knew what she meant and unfortunately he knew the answer to it far too well. "It was a few years ago. I was dating this girl who I really liked. She cheated on me. And so did my next girlfriend."
Filling with anger toward those people Summer tightened her arms around him. "Seth, I'm sorry."
"They weren't good for me anyway; they didn't care about me. Only about what family I came from." He fumbled with her fingers, observing how little her hand was in his.
Summer smiled sympathetically and pulled him into a hug, sensing that this was hard for him. And she knew how difficult it could be with people letting you down. "I'd never cheat on you, Seth."
"I know," he whispered into her hair.
"And I really care about you. I'm glad that you trust me and told me this. Because I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone before."
He nodded, happy that she could be honest with her. "I'm over it though. It hurt but I've moved on."
Still in a tight embrace she softly spoke, "I hope I won't hurt you."
"You won't. Just don't disappear from my life." Summer nodded against his neck and closed her eyes. "You tired?" she nodded again and tightened her grip around his neck just a little bit, telling him that she wanted to stay in his arms. "I'll take you to bed."
"Where are you gonna sleep?" Summer anxiously asked.
"On the other bed, don't worry." he lifted her up in his arms and carried her inside, placing her lightly on one of the beds. "Maybe you'd like to change. I'll go outside for a little while."
Summer didn't get the chance to respond since he simply walked out to the balcony again, leaving her sitting on the bed. She was really tired, from doing absolutely nothing, so she quickly put her pyjamas on, brushed her teeth and crawled under the covers.
A few moments later Seth walked back in, closing the French doors behind him. He smiled as he saw that Summer was already asleep, taking up as little space on the bed a person possible could it seemed. "Goodnight, Summer."
I know this took longer than usual but school's just been too much. Thanks for the wonderful reviews! Honestly, you're amazing.
Tell me your thoughts of next chapter. The date?
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