4 replies? I think I'm a little hurt. Was my last chapter that bad? Well here's fifteen. I hope it's better.
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If you ever need somebody, you can count on me...
Taylor groaned.
"What is that?"
"My cell phone," Taylor answered. "What time is it?"
"Early."
"Hate early," Taylor mumbled. "Must kill early," she rolled over.
"Must kill whoever is on the other end of that phone," Ryan said in return.
"Oh that's my ringer for Seth," Taylor said dismissively as she sat up just enough to look at the door of the pool house, "and those are his feet by the door."
"What do you wanna bet he didn't get any sleep last night," Ryan grinned.
Taylor giggled. "We should let him in."
"No, we shouldn't. You should turn your phone off and we should go back to sleep."
I fought the law and the law won...
"We can't. That's Sandy and I'm betting if you turn your phone on and checked missed calls, Kirsten will have called it at some point."
"Give it a minute and I'm betting she'll call you. I can't believe Seth ratted us out."
"I don't think he did. I think the fact that my car was in the driveway all night and the fact that I didn't come downstairs with Seth this morning took care of ratting us out."
"Great," Ryan turn to lie on his stomach.
Taylor smiled down at him, "Ryan, c'mon. It's not like we did anything x-rated. Hell, we didn't even do anything that could get us a PG-13 rating. All we did was kiss a little and sleep."
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"What's your ring for Kirsten?"
"Nine to Five by Dolly Parton," Taylor smiled as she sat all the way up.
"Nice. So," he asked as he pushed himself up to sit up next to her, "when do I get one of your special rings?"
"When I make up my mind about the song."
"You're having trouble deciding?"
"Well, I have it narrowed down. It's kind of a tossup between Kung-fu Fighting by Carl Douglas and Here Comes a Regular by the Replacements."
"Kung-fu Fighting I know but I don't think I've ever heard Here Comes a Regular."
"Most people in Newport haven't, don't worry. I'll lend you my CD and you can give me your vote."
"Fair enough."
"Good. Mean time, we better put some clothes on before Seth either breaks the door down or hurts himself trying."
"Good idea," Ryan swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants before he tossed Taylor a pair of his boxer shorts from the pile of laundry he'd done yesterday.
"Thanks," Taylor nodded.
"Sure. Ready?"
"Let him in."
Ryan unlocked the door and opened it up to see a frustrated Seth standing before him. "Morning. Is breakfast ready," he asked casually.
"Funny. Dad wants to talk to you and me in the den and," Seth looked over Ryan's shoulder, "Mom wants a word with you, Taylor. She and Anna are waiting in the kitchen."
"Seth you didn't," Taylor's mouth dropped open.
"What?"
"Did you have sex with Anna?"
"What? No! We made out, we had dinner, we watched a movie, we talked, we made out some more, and then we kind of fell asleep."
"You fell asleep while you were making out," Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"No, the falling asleep thing came about during the talking thing. But the over shirt that Anna was wearing when she got here last night just before Mom and Dad left was missing as was the T-shirt I was wearing when they found us this morning in my bed."
"Smooth," Ryan nodded.
"You think you two are in any less trouble? Anna's only been on the scene a few months. Taylor's been around for almost nine years. Mom and Dad see her as the daughter they never had. You're in for a very long talk about appropriate behavior, especially when you add in the fact that she's currently wearing your clothes."
"Maybe I should change," Taylor looked down at herself.
"Into what? The clothes you wore last night," Seth pointed out.
"We didn't do anything," Ryan said. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about."
"And even if we did do something, I wouldn't be embarrassed," Taylor told him.
Ryan looked at her and then back at Seth, "Neither would I."
"Good," Taylor said. Then she smiled as she walked over his bed and across the pool house to stand with the boys. She put her hands on Ryan's shoulders and kissed him with a, "By the way, good morning," before she pushed past Seth and walked across the terrace to the house.
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Ryan trained his gaze on the floor by his feet only to look up as Sandy sat in front of Seth and him with a stern and vaguely uncomfortable look on his face.
"Okay, look, I know one of you hasn't been a virgin in a long time," Sandy began. "I just want to know if the other one of you recently gave up his membership."
"Nothing happened, Dad," Seth swore. "Nothing. Just some kissing and over the clothes action."
"Okay," Sandy nodded. "But you know how to protect yourself if something missing clothes does happen?"
"Yes, I promise. You and Mom had this talk with me a long time ago and as I recall I was as uncomfortable then as I am now."
"You being comfortable isn't my concern," Sandy raised a bushy eyebrow at him. "However, you giving your grandfather, grandmother, and mother simultaneous heart attacks by getting Anna pregnant is my concern."
Ryan fought a grin.
"And as for you," Sandy turned to Ryan. "That's a nice shirt Taylor's wearing this morning. I believe it's the one Seth brought back for you from his trip to Tree Hill on Thanksgiving."
Ryan nodded, "Yeah it is. It's what Taylor wore to bed last night. It's what she wore all night. We didn't do anything. We didn't even make out. We played video games and we talked and yes we kissed but that's as far as it went, I promise."
"And the reason she didn't go home?"
"Well, when we got back last night, Anna was still here and that told her that sleeping in Seth's room was not an option. We didn't even think of the guest room to tell you the truth. As for the reason she didn't go home, Veronica's making her monthly visit."
"Ah, I see," Sandy nodded. "Seth, you're free to go but don't go far. I have a feeling Anna's parents may be calling to yell at you sometime today."
"Right, Dad. Thank you," Seth said making a fast exit.
Ryan shot the back of his departing friend a dark look, Traitor.
"Ryan, I know you probably haven't been a virgin in a very long time but-"
"Sandy, I know."
"Good. I trust you, kid. We all do."
"Thanks," Ryan nodded. "I know Taylor's family to you guys and I wouldn't do anything to wreck that."
"I should have seen this coming," Sandy smiled.
"What?"
"You and Taylor," he clarified. "In the back of my mind, I think I did see it, but at the time you were with Marissa."
"Marissa's history," Ryan said, "and she's staying that way."
"You sure about that?"
"Yes," Ryan nodded.
"Okay," Sandy nodded. "Um, you are aware that Taylor's a-"
"Yes," Ryan said quickly. For some reason he did not want to hear that word come out of Sandy's mouth. It would be too weird.
"Okay. Good. We should stay in here. I don't think Kirsten's done talking to the girls yet."
"Okay," Ryan agreed.
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Anna was turning red and Taylor was having a really hard time not laughing because all Kirsten was doing was looking at them. Even after Seth had scampered through the kitchen, obviously free from the lecture Sandy was giving the boys, she hadn't said a word.
"Kir-Mrs. Cohen," Anna began after taking a deep breath, "I just want to apologize. My staying here last night was very disrespectful and completely unplanned. Seth and I were talking and the next thing I knew, you two were standing next to the bed and it's morning."
Kirsten nodded, "Okay Anna. I believe you. You should probably head on home. If your parents want to call and yell at Seth they have my blessing."
"Thanks Mrs. Cohen," Anna said as she all but ran out of the room, heading for the exit.
Even though Taylor didn't blame Anna for taking her exit, she couldn't help but think, deserter, as the other girl left.
Kirsten waited until the front door shut before she looked at Taylor.
Right. Okay. Her turn.
"Kirsten, I did sleep in Ryan's room but all we did was sleep. Veronica's home and I wasn't in the mood to go back to the house and be berated for some reason she dreamed up. I'm sorry we didn't clear the sleeping arrangements with you but it was innocent I promise." Taylor took a breath before she continued. "I know we don't talk about this a lot but you raised me. Yes, Veronica is the woman who gave birth to me and she is financially responsible for me but you're the woman who has been there every time I needed a mom and you and Sandy were the ones who taught me right from wrong. Have a little faith in the job you did with me. I wouldn't do something as huge as lose my virginity to a guy I've had four dates with, no matter how great I think he is. I also wouldn't do it without talking to you first."
Kirsten nodded again before she looked at Taylor and sighed. "I believe you. You just have to understand the panic I felt when I realized that both of my boys were in bed with the girls they were dating and that the door to one of their rooms was locked and his cell phone was off."
"Right," Taylor blushed a little. "We did that to make Seth crazy. He's been pulling this overprotective trip with me lately in regards to Ryan so we wanted to torture him a little. We didn't have any intention of making you or Sandy worry. I am really sorry about that. We'll think out torture plans a little more fully in the future."
"I'd appreciate that," Kirsten smiled. "Now about sleeping arrangements, I know that nothing happened last night because I know you and I believe you wouldn't do something that big without talking to me first. Just make sure that the next time you spend the night, it's either in Seth's room or with our permission if it's in Ryan's room."
"I promise," Taylor nodded.
"Good. Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"Not yet," Taylor shook her head. "It's a little too soon for that."
"Okay."
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"I don't think I have been that embarrassed in my life," Taylor said, lying back as she bent her legs so that they didn't hang over the edge of the sleeping bag. This way just her toes rested in the sand.
"Think back, T. We were twelve and Mom and Dad decided to have that talk with us," Seth said from the left of her.
"At least back then Kirsten mixed it up a little. We went shopping and had the talk. We weren't staring at each other across the kitchen table with Anna sitting next to me and you, Sandy, and Ryan in the next room. By the way, how did your talk go," she looked to the right to see Ryan looking back at her.
"It was fine once Sandy understood that I hadn't corrupted you."
Taylor giggled insanely and Seth snorted.
"Hey, by the way," Ryan lifted his head to look at Seth, "thanks for bailing on me back there."
"You only had to go through the 'please tell me you didn't corrupt our little girl' speech once. Me? I had to go through it twice. First Anna's mother got on the phone and then when she was done, Anna's father got on the phone. He threatened me with bodily harm if I ever touched his daughter in any way, shape, or form that she didn't invite or give written permission for."
"Just be glad it wasn't Summer who got caught in your bed. Neil knows how to use a scalpel, remember," Taylor teased.
"Speaking of, have you been home at all today," Ryan asked.
"Went home to change this morning after my talk with Kirsten," Taylor said. "Then I came back over, why?"
"Just wondering if Summer or your mother said anything about you not coming home last night."
"I haven't been coming home at night for a long time, Ryan. Trust me, the only way they'd say anything was if I did come home last night and even then, it would be Summer who'd notice and all she'd ask was what my fight with Seth was about."
"So, Sandy and Kirsten aren't going to tell Veronica where you slept last night?"
"No. They handled it and I just have to ask the next time I sleep over and it's in your room. Ryan, they trust us. Stop worrying, okay? Everything's fine."
"Okay," Ryan nodded.
"Yeah, now all you two have to worry about is Marissa finding out about you two."
"Shut up, Seth," Taylor and Ryan said in unison.
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Anyone have any other ideas for a ringtone for Ryan? I'm open to suggestions.