The New Beginning
Chapter Two: The Gaslamp
"Ew, is he drooling?"
"Cohen, you just said ew!"
"Oh great. You're rubbing off on me Summer."
"Well, don't expect me to be rubbing on you."
"As if you could resist my suave charm and devilish good looks."
"Gag me."
"Should we wake them?"
"Well, unless you plan on carrying them into the hotel, I guess we have to."
Even as they argued, Ryan was coming around. He opened one eye and, seeing that the sun was on its way down the horizon and that the car had stopped, realized they must be at their destination. He and Marissa had slept the entire ride.
Shaking his head to dispel the sleep from his eyes, he sat up a little, squeezing Marissa's arm to rouse her. She groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes drearily. A yawn escaped her lips as she looked out the window.
"Are we in San Diego?" She asked quietly.
"Yeah, just got here. We're at the hotel." Seth said, still sitting in his seat.
The door on Marissa's side opened to show Summer standing impatiently, one hand on her hip.
"C'mon Coop, let's get in there. Ryan and Seth will get the bags."
Summer practically dragged her friend out of the vehicle, though Marissa paused long enough to glance back at Ryan, smile, and squeeze his hand tightly. Then they were gone, and both boyfriends we alone in the SUV.
"So… Mr. Brawn."
"I'll get the bags."
"Sweet."
The Paradise Point Resort and Spa was situated in Mission Bay, near the coast and only minutes away from Downtown San Diego. It was a 44 acre island resort, with miniature golf, spa services, (For Summer) tennis, (For Marissa), and sailing (For Seth). As it was, the only one without a hobby that the resort catered to was Ryan. Maybe if he could find a game of poker, he could do a little card counting and make some money.
The four teenagers had gathered in Seth and Summer's room, which was connected by an adjoining door to Ryan and Marissa's. Ryan still wasn't sure how he felt about that. He and Marissa were a couple again, yes. It had been his own doing, yes. But still he was a little wary. The gap created from Oliver was wide, and Ryan wouldn't delude himself into believing that it had been completely closed. He took a long time to heal sometimes.
Seth and Summer sat on the California king sized bed in their room, looking through a list of activities to be done at the hotel. Marissa and Ryan sat on the sofa in their room, close enough to feel each others heat.
"Maybe I can drag you all out in a sailboat." Seth said, rubbing his chin deviously.
"Um, yeah, sailboats are pushed by the wind." Summer said, making a face. "I don't rely on nature for travel."
"Ryan went out with me once, it was a blast, wasn't it buddy?" Seth asked, looking to Ryan for support.
"Yeah, it was fun." He said, and Seth grinned triumphantly at his girlfriend. "But I'd like to just take it easy. Relax, you know?"
Summer stuck her tongue out at Seth, and he almost pushed her off the bed. When it came to a battle of wills and strength, however, Summer had the upper hand, so Seth quickly conceded defeat. It wasn't that he was physically weaker, just less inclined to apply himself to it.
"Why don't we go out and get something to eat? Visit the downtown?" Marissa suggested with a shrug. "I mean, I've never been down to San Diego."
"Yeah, me either." Summer and Ryan replied in unison.
"I came down here last year with my mom." Seth said, sitting up on the bed. "I know my way around well enough."
Three sets of eyes were locked onto Seth, inquisitive all around. He rocked his head back and forth for a moment before finally responding.
"Comic book convention." He said as an explanation, none of them were surprised. "Look, I just know how to get around. So where we going?"
"I dunno." Marissa said. "Just downtown?"
"The Gaslamp District then."
"They got any good malls around here?" Summer asked, rolling off the bed and onto her feet.
"Leave it to you to think of shopping."
"Trouser it Cohen."
"No Summer, my trousers are your gig."
"Actually." Marissa interjected. "I wouldn't mind swinging by the mall, if that's okay?"
She glanced sideways at Ryan, smiling warmly. He nodded his approval. Seth threw both hands up in defeat, having clambered up off the bed.
"Fine. Horton Plaza is downtown. That should do."
Ryan and Marissa got up as well, unconsciously interlocking their hands.
"So," Ryan said. "We're off?"
Two hours and two Newport boys with armloads of shopping bags later, the foursome arrived at the Bella Luna. It was a small Italian restaurant in the Gaslamp, that they happened to stumble across. It looked adequate for Summer, and that was good enough for the rest of them. Trying to enjoy a meal in a place she didn't approve would be more trouble than it was worth.
The meal was mostly uneventful. Conversation was made, and Seth and Summer got into another mini-argument that was essentially the basis for their relationship. Ryan and Marissa walked a different path, remaining mostly silent throughout. Ryan noticed that his girlfriend had scarcely taken her eyes off of him the entire time, and more often than once her hand had sought his.
It wasn't something that had happened often between them. When they had dated before it was a lot of physical contact of a different caliber, and Ryan didn't really know how to react to this new development. He wasn't as openly affectionate as most, and hand-holding wasn't something he was accustomed to.
As the left the restaurant, Marissa even took two of the bags he was carrying so she could have his hand. Unlike Seth, Ryan had played the White Knight and carried them without Marissa offering or asking. Summer had forced her man to follow suit. The two couples ambled down the downtown streets of San Diego, with no real destination in mind.
"Well, where to now?" Ryan asked, his question directed mostly at Marissa.
"What are the beaches like down here Cohen?" Summer asked, flipping her purse from one shoulder to another as he struggled with her bags.
"They're probably dark Summer, seeing as it's night and all. And I'll bet they're covered in sand."
His response elicited a glare from Summer and a laugh from Marissa. Taking his cue from his girlfriend, Seth contemplated the question momentarily.
"Well, Pacific Beach is kind-of nice." He said. "We could head over there for a bit."
"Sounds like a plan." Ryan attended, giving finality to the idea.
"I think both of my shoulders came out of their sockets." Seth said, stretching his arms as they walked away from the car.
"Don't be such a sissy, Cohen." Summer piped in.
"Quiet woman. It's not my fault you bought enough clothes to last one of those poor South African kids a lifetime."
"I like to match, you should try it sometime."
"Well, the Christian Children's fund will be pushing the Roberts family extra hard for donations this year, should they see your spending habits."
They had reached a concrete wall separating the pavement from the beach, which Seth tried to nimbly vault with his mad skateboarding skills. It would have been flawless, had Summer not chosen at that very moment to push him. He ended up getting a face full of sand instead. Ryan and Marissa laughed, still attached at the hand.
"Down in the dirt where you belong." Summer said, having stepped around the barricade to stand over him.
"Correction." He said, grasping both of Summer's legs. "Where we belong."
He then pulled the girl off of her feet. She landed on her butt in the sand, mouth agape at the idea that he dared to attempt such a thing. Seth was already springing to his feet in anticipation of her response, which was short behind.
"You're a dead man, Cohen!"
"You've gotta catch me first princess."
As Summer jumped up and chased Seth toward the surf, Ryan and Marissa settled down on the three foot high barricade. She traded his hand for his arm, and wrapped both of her slender arms around his more muscular right bicep. For a long moment the two just stared at their friends, smiling, as Summer threatened to push Seth into the ocean.
"How you doing?" Ryan asked finally, breaking the silence.
"Actually, I'm having fun." She said, locking her eyes onto his. "Like L.A."
"We haven't gotten thrown out of anything yet, but give me time." Ryan replied.
Marissa smiled, leaning over to kiss him gently. She leaned back, her eyes searching his as she clung to him.
"Thank you for this." She said quietly.
"It's Seth you should be thanking. The San Diego was his idea."
"No, I mean… this." She said, indicating their closeness with a nod of the head. "Giving me a second chance."
"My life is all about second chances. New beginnings. I decided you were worth it."
"Keep talking like that, and sharing a room might not be so awkward."
Ryan stared at her for a moment, his face a calm mystery. Then he leaned over and kissed her, much deeper and more forcefully than she had moments before. She met him in determination and passion, letting go of his arm with one hand to wrap an arm around his back. After several long moments they broke contact, each catching up on the breath they had missed.
Upon surveying Summer's progress in drowning her boyfriend, they found that Seth had managed to stay mostly dry beneath the mostly full moon, and at the same time soak the entire front of Summer's jeans. They couldn't help but laugh as she hurled a handful of sand his direction, and at the sputtering cough he let out in response.
"What about your mom and Caleb?" Ryan asked, staring out at the sea.
"I really don't want to think about it." She said, pausing. "I guess, whatever happens, everything will work out, right?"
"Right. We can worry about the Coophen Factor when we get back."
Marissa tilted her head, her expression mildly confused.
"Cohen, I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been born!" Summer shouted from down by the surf.
"Been wishing that for weeks, sweetheart."
"The Coopwhatnow?"
"Exactly."
The fabulous four got back to the hotel some time later, Marissa and Summer in front with Ryan and Seth, and shopping bags, in tow. The expression on Seth's face made it seem as though he were carrying bags full of bowling balls as opposed to clothes, though Ryan didn't seem to mind in the least. His eyes were downcast, so it seemed that he was once more in a "brooding" mood.
"C'mon Coop, you're lagging behind."
Ryan glanced up to see Marissa staring back at him, having slowed to do so. Ryan smiled reassuringly at her, and she returned it with the most radiant smile he'd seen from her in ages. Then she turned and caught up with Summer, as the two girls stepped into a lounge just past the lobby. Summer had changed into an outfit she bought that day, as she had been liberally covered with sand and saltwater by the time the left the beach.
"Marissa seems happy."
"I think she is." Ryan said with a nod. "Maybe San Diego wasn't such a bad idea after all."
"I told you man." He said, shuffling ahead. "That's why I'm The Brains."
"Yeah yeah, don't get a big head."
They followed the girls into the lounge, tossing the shopping bags on the floor near a pool table. Summer was already racking the balls, with Marissa leaning on the table.
"You guys up for a doubles match?" Marissa said, motioning to the table. "Me and Summ against you two."
"I don't really do pool." Seth said, making an exaggerated mimic of shooting pool with his arms.
Ryan sidled up next to his friend, a small smile touching his lips.
"You think I'm good at poker?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, you got that card counting trick from your mom, right?"
"I'm better at this."
Seth glanced at Ryan, who raised his eyebrows and nodded. Seth then turned his attention to the girls, clapping his hands together loudly and striding to the pool table.
"Let's do this then. A little eight ball? Get my eight ball on."
It quickly became clear that Ryan was being modest about his skill. He ran the table, even after Seth managed to put away two of the girl's balls. In the same pocket. Their victory was assured, quick, and full of bragging on Seth's part. As soon as Ryan had sank the eight ball, leaning back to smile at the girls, Marissa sauntered over to him.
"I want a rematch." She said, slipping both arms around his waist.
"Sure, I wouldn't mind winning again."
"A little overconfident, are we?"
"Maybe a little." Ryan said, smiling. "Did you notice we're gonna be spending another night in Paradise?"
Marissa smiled, catching on immediately. He meant the Paradise Motel; The run down place they had stayed on the way to Tijuana. The night that she had ended up in his arms without meaning to. Hooking two fingers on each hand into his belt loops, she kissed him, and one kiss turned into several. They exchanged a series of small, meaningful pecks while Seth and Summer argued and re-racked the balls. Ryan was just about to pull away when a voice from behind him stopped him cold.
"Hey guys."
He hadn't expected to hear that inflection ever again, and it immediately raised the hair on the back of his neck. He felt Marissa's lips purse beneath his, as she recognized it as well. Ryan spun away from her, his eyes narrowing.
"Oliver." He snarled unintentionally. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Author's Note: Expecting that, by chance? I figured not. His presence in San Diego will be explained in later chapters, and I'm still debating whether I want him to be a villain again, or a changed man. It's still up in the air at this point. Tell me what you think? I believe I stayed in character pretty well.