Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 21:07:20 PST
From: Justin's Boy <justins_boy@hotmail.com>
Subject: Ryan's Love 17

****This story is completely fictional. It is not meant to imply
anything about the sexuality of the real Ryan Phillippe or about any
of the other people mentioned. Nor is it meant to be representative
of the relationship of the real Ryan and Reese.

     "I am going to miss you so much, Seth," AJ sniffed, the tears that
she'd been holding back for most of the day finally welling up in her eyes.
     "Don't cry, please! If you do, then I'll start in. Believe me, I'm not
a pretty sight when I cry," I laughed, even though I didn't feel the
slightest bit of amusement. The only feeling I had, in fact, was intense
sadness.
     AJ shook her head and met my lukewarm laugh with her own half hearted
chuckle. "Okay, I know. I promised not to get overly emotional," she sighed.
     "It's not like we'll never see each other again. We just won't be
working together, that's all," I reminded her. Despite my attempt at
calmness, though, I could feel my own eyes begin to sting with unshed tears
and a sudden tightness gripping my throat.
      It was over. I'd had plenty of time to get used to the idea, but
somehow all those weeks of thinking it through before I made the decision
and all the weeks since I'd let the producers know that I was leaving
'Felicity' hadn't prepared me for this final departure.
     "It's just going to be so different around here! Who am I going to talk
to all day? It's going to be so strange without you," AJ said.
     "It's going to be really weird for me, too. I loved working here. I
loved working with you, and the Scotts, and Tangi. Even with Kerri!" I
smiled.
     AJ laughed a little at my attempt at humor and then wrapped her arms
around me tightly. I hugged her back and smiled at the thought of what the
two of us must look like, standing there in the middle of the soundstage
gripping each other like we never wanted to let go.
     "Good luck, Seth. Call me tomorrow, okay?" AJ whispered in my ear. I
had no doubt, though I couldn't see her face, that her tears had finally
managed to escape.
     "I will. Just remember, AJ, you're not just someone I worked with.
You're my best friend." I felt AJ nod her head against my shoulder. Giving
her one last tight squeeze, I let go and pulled back.
     "I'll talk to you soon," I said, tears rolling down my own cheeks to
match AJ's. She nodded again and turned away slowly. I made my way off the
soundstage and back to the writers office, where I took one last final look
at what had been my desk.
     It was over. Somehow, it still seemed like yesterday that the phone
call had come. The phone call that had brought the news that I was now
employed as a writer on a television series, the phone call that had changed
my life.
     Now I was leaving that television show behind. I was moving on to other
things, bigger and better things. That was the Hollywood way, after all. But
no matter what I did, no matter where I worked, nothing would ever be as
wonderful as my time on 'Felicity' had been.
     A pang of doubt hit me full force in the face. Was I doing the right
thing? Or was I acting like a total idiot to leave such a secure job on a
hit series?
     The doubt slowly subsided. I'd been over this in my head so many times,
and I knew that I was doing the right thing. Not that it made it any easier,
of course.
     "Good bye." The word escaped my mouth as I switched off the light in
the office and closed the door behind me.
     "Seth? I'm glad I caught you!" Scott Speedman's voice rang out behind
me as I made my way towards the exit.
     "Me, too. I was hoping we'd get to say good bye. It's been really
wonderful working with you Scott," I smiled, sticking out my hand for him to
shake it.
     "You're the best writer this show had, man. And the nicest person, too.
Good luck with the movie," Scott ignored my extended hand and pulled me into
a quick hug.
     "Thank you, Scott. I'm really going to miss all of you."
     "We'll miss you, too, man. Hey, I've actually got something for you in
my dressing room. A sort of going away gift. Do you have time?"
     "Sure. But you really didn't have to get me anything," I protested as
we walked the short distance to his dressing room.
     "Yes I did. You've been a great friend, Seth. I know things didn't work
out with AJ and me, but I never would have asked her out at all if it wasn't
for you, remember?" Scott smiled at me.
     "How could I forget? I thought you were hitting on me! Some ego, huh?"
I laughed, remembering that night.
     Scott laughed too and punched me lightly on the arm. "You know if I was
gay, I'd be all over you."
     "You'd be hard to resist," I smiled. Scott blushed a little, but before
anything else could be said we reached our destination.
     "Surprise!" A chorus of voices sounded instantaneously with the opening
of the door. I stared in shock at the mass of people crammed into Scott's
dressing room- the entire cast, most of the crew, the other writers, the
Executive Producers, and several others.
     "Oh, my God," I gasped, shaking my head.
     "Well, there's no doubt that he was really surprised!" Tangi laughed.
Several others joined in as I shook my head in amazement.
     "Seth, we couldn't let you go without a little send off. You've worked
damn hard for this show and we're all going to miss you," Matt Reeves, one
of the Producers said.
     "I'm speechless," I replied honestly.
     "That's a first!" one of my fellow writers called out, causing general
laughter.
     "We've got a cake and some refreshments waiting on the soundstage, so
let's move this little soiree out there, shall we?" one of the women from
make up announced.
     "You knew about this?" I asked AJ as we all moved en mass back to the
soundstage.
     "Hey, get that accusatory tone out of your voice! It's not like I was
in on planning your assassination! It's a party," AJ grinned.
     "So we went through that whole Good bye scene and all the time you
knew!" I laughed, shaking my head.
     "You should be thanking me. Now I'm going to have to go through all of
that a second time! The sacrifices I make for my friends," AJ sighed, her
eyes twinkling.
     "Seth, I'm really going to miss you. I hope everything goes well for
you, of course. Let's be sure and keep in touch," Kerri said warmly, taking
my arm between hers.
     "Yes, of course. It's been a privilege writing for you, Kerri," I
smiled. Somehow, the air of formality around Kerri had never allowed any of
us on the show to form a real friendship with her. She had always been
pleasant and friendly, but in a very aloof way.
     "Ryan is very lucky to have someone like you writing movies for him,"
Kerri smiled. I felt a little unnerved at her mention of Ryan, since only
our closest friends were supposed to know about us, but I returned the smile
and thanked her.
     "Okay, Seth, let's get some pictures with you and your cake before we
cut it," someone called out. I made my way to the cake, which was in the
shape of a giant script with the words 'Best of Luck and Success from the
cast & crew of Felicity', printed as the title.
     After the pictures had been taken and the cake had been cut and passed
around, Scott Foley got the room's attention by tapping lightly on his
champagne glass.
     "Seth, we all put our heads together and came up with a little
something for you. A farewell gift from the whole lot of us," he said.
     "This is too much, everyone. Really!" I shook my head.
     "Now, don't worry. We're a WB show, so we don't have the budget to get
you anything really expensive," Scott laughed. "But this is just a little
something to remember us by."
     I moved forward and accepted the small gift wrapped package from Scott.
I looked around at all the faces surrounding me and felt my throat begin to
tighten once again. I was going to miss them all so much!
     I tore the paper off and found myself looking down at a photograph in
an expensive silver frame. My breath caught as I realized it was the group
photo that we'd taken on the night of the Golden Globe awards when Kerri had
won for the show. Almost everyone involved with the show had been present at
the after party where the photo had been taken.
     "Thank you so much. I couldn't have asked for a better gift," I said,
my voice catching in my throat.
     I moved about the room for the next hour, personally saying good byes
to each and every person once again. It still didn't seem real, somehow, but
I figured reality would set in once it was time to go to work again and I
wasn't at the studio.
     "Listen, if your movie is successful, you'll have to write me a part
for your next one. Even if it's like, a hot dog vender with one line, okay?"
Greg Grunberg, who played Sean on the show, joked.
     "You've got it," I smiled.
     "Hey, what about me? If you ever need anyone really freaky, think of
me, okay?" Amanda Foreman laughed. Her character, Meghan, had certainly been
the craziest on the show and therefor the most fun to write for.
     "Sure thing," I promised, meaning every word of it. I'd gladly work
with any one the people from the show again.
     Finally, though, the party began to die down and I was faced once again
with making my final departure from a place where I'd be so happy.
     Clutching my gift under one arm, I walked out into the parking lot with
Scott Foley and AJ. We were all moving very slowly, drawing the final
moments out as long as we possibly could.
     "Well, this is it, huh?" Scott sighed.
     "Yeah. I guess it is," I replied.
     "Will you still remember us when you're accepting the Oscar?" AJ
grinned and I could have kissed her for creating a much needed moment of
levity.
     "Of course! When I say 'And I'd like to thank all the little people',
that will be you guys," I laughed.
     "You Hollywood big shots are all the same. Too good for us lowly
Television people," Scott grinned.
     "We should have seen it coming when he got involved with a movie star,"
AJ sighed dramatically.
     "Okay, okay. I'll mention you by name," I said. There was a sudden
silence between the three of us and the levity evaporated.
     "I'm really going to miss seeing you both every day. But we're still
going to see each other all the time, right? That's not going to change," I
said.
     "No, it won't," AJ agreed softly.
     "Okay, then. So this isn't a good bye in any sense. It's a see you
later," I pointed out.
     "See you later," Scott's voice was a little strained.
     "Okay, give me a see you later hug, then," I tried to smile, tears in
my eyes. The three of us came together in a final hug in the warm air of a
November evening in California.
                  ********************

     I sat in the semi-darkness of our bedroom, the only light coming from
the small bedside lamp. I stared down at the silver framed photograph on my
lap, my eyes focused on my own face in the photo.
     It seemed like years had passed since that day. At the time, I'd
thought it the happiest day of my life. There I was, a college drop out,
sitting in the audience at the Golden Globe awards, watching an actress from
the series I wrote for win. I'd made it, as far as I was concerned.
     The guy in the photo now seemed so young and naive. He also seemed so
lonely. At the time, Ryan had just been another actor, someone I'd never
met. So much had changed since then. I truly was a different person.
     "Seth? Are you here?" Reese's voice startled me out of my reverie. I
hadn't even heard the front door open.
     "Yeah, I'm in the bedroom," I called out as I put the photograph down
on the bed next to me and got up.
     "Could you give me a quick hand?"
     "Sure thing," I said, going down the hallway and across the living room
to where Reese was standing just inside the front door, holding the car seat
in her arms. I took it from her gently, smiling down at Ava's sleeping face.
     Ryan and Reese's daughter had been born at the beginning of September
and was now nearly two and a half months old. The experience had been a life
altering thing for all three of us. Ryan had been present in the delivery
room when his daughter was born and as I'd expected had loved her with all
his heart from that very first instant.
     The change in our day to day lives had of course been extreme. A little
baby needs a lot of attention, even one as well mannered as little Ava
seemed to be. But we'd managed quite well so far.
     "How did it go today?" Reese asked as I took the baby and she turned
around to get the shopping bags she'd dropped just inside the door, filled
no doubt with things for her daughter.
     "It was hard," I sighed. "They had a party for me and I thought I was
really going to lose it there for awhile."
     "I can imagine. Don't worry, though. Once things get under way on the
movie, it won't be as bad. The end of one project always leaves you feeling
kind of empty. It's just a part of this business, though, never staying in
one place long," Reese said as we went into the living room.
     "Yeah, I know. Still, you never forget your first, right?" I smiled.
     "No, you don't. But at least you'll be working with Ryan for the next
few months. You two will have so much more time together now," Reese pointed
out.
     Which, of course, was why I'd made the decision I had. After a few
months in total limbo, we'd finally got the financing put together to go
ahead with the script I'd written for Ryan. It hadn't been easy working out
the deal, either. The production company that Ryan co-owned with Breckin
Meyer and Seth Green was going in on half of the picture and they'd manage
to negotiate a deal with Universal for the rest that included distribution
of the picture once it was finished.
     Against all odds, they'd even managed to secure the agreement that I be
hired as the only writer to make any and all changes needed on the script
throughout shooting and I was even getting a Producer credit out of the
deal. The financial success of Cruel Intentions, the last picture of Ryan's
to have been released, had played a large part in the studio's decision to
agree to most of our conditions, though the budget we'd been given was
painfully small.
     The problem, of course, had been that the movie was set to start
shooting right in the midst of Felicity's second season and I'd be needed on
the movie full time.
     "That will be nice. It seems like I haven't seen him since he stated
this picture," I sighed. The movie Ryan had been working on for months was
still under way, logged down in post production reshoots that were taking
forever. Ryan had planned on a month long break between the end of that
movie and the beginning of ours, but now our start date was only two weeks
away and he still hadn't finished.
     "Trust me, Ryan will never work with that director again. I've never
seen him so upset over a movie," Reese shook her head. It was a totally new
experience for me, of course. This was only the second movie Ryan had made
since we'd been together, and he'd been in New York for the filming of the
first one.
     "He's been so tense lately. He could really have used that month off,"
I sighed.
     "Hopefully he'll at least get the next two weeks," Reese said as little
Ava suddenly began to cry. Reese smiled and gently picked the baby up. "I
think it's time to change her diaper."
     "Do you want anything special for dinner?" I called after her as she
went down the hall with Ava.
     "Uh, no. I'll just throw something together," Reese called back.
     "Are you sure? I was just about to order some takeout."
     "Are you kidding me? I'm trying to get back in shape, remember?" Reese
laughed.
     "Okay, okay. If you change your mind you can have some of mine," I
said, knowing she would. I went across to the phone and dialed the number.
Before I could finish my order, though, I felt a strong pair of arms wrap
around me and the phone was taken from my hand and replaced on the receiver.
     "It seems like I'm just in time," Ryan whispered in my ear. His warm
breath on the side of my neck sent a shiver of delight down my spine and I
leaned back against him and sighed.
     "This is a nice surprise," I smiled. Ryan rested his head on my
shoulder and pulled me against him more tightly.
     "I aim to please. What are you doing?"
     "I'm having impure thoughts about this incredibly sexy movie star who
also happens to be the man I love. What about you?" I asked.
     "You're so cute," Ryan laughed. "I meant, what were you doing on the
phone?"
     "Ordering some dinner. I didn't expect you to be home for a few more
hours," I said.
     Ryan stepped back and turned me around to face him before pulling me
close again.
     "Well, forget it. I'm taking you out to eat. We're going to celebrate."
     "Oh, really? And what exactly are we celebrating?" I smiled. Ryan's
eyes began to sparkle with that mischievous look that always made me go weak
in the back of the knees no matter how many times I saw it.
     "Is this worth celebrating?" Ryan asked softly, bringing his lips to
mine. I felt a sudden rush of desire, coupled with a feeling of warmth and
security. It was the feeling that I always had in Ryan's arms.
     "That's worthy of a celebration in Times Square!" I moaned softly when
we'd pulled apart for air.
     "Come on. It's all arranged. We're going out," Ryan smiled.
     "Where are we going?"
     "I'd tell you-"
     "But you'd have to kill me," I finished Ryan's sentence for him with a
laugh. "All right. At least tell me how I should dress. Casual? Formal?
What?"
     "Just wear whatever you want. But hurry up. I turn into a pumpkin at
midnight," Ryan grinned.
     "You'd be the sexiest pumpkin known to man," I smiled. "But what about
Reese?"
     "Reese? I don't know. I see her as more of a squash than a pumpkin,"
Ryan said with a straight face.
     "There's that future stand up comedian I love so much!" I said. "You
know what I mean. She's had Ava all day, shouldn't we give her a break
tonight?"
     "Reese knows all about this. Besides, I'm going to be spending plenty
of time with my daughter for the next few weeks. Reese will be lucky if she
gets anywhere near her with all the attention I'll be lavishing on her!"
Ryan declared.
     "The next few weeks? Did you finish the movie? Is that why we're
celebrating??" I asked, excited at the prospect of having Ryan home for two
weeks with no commitments.
     "No questions! Just get ready!" Ryan smiled, refusing to say another
word.
                      *******************

     "What are we doing here?" I asked in surprise. I'd expected to be taken
to a restaurant or a club, but instead Ryan had driven to an impressive
looking house not far from our own.
     "This, Seth, is where our celebration begins," Ryan smiled as he turned
off the ignition and gave my knee a quick squeeze. "Come on!"
     I followed him up the front steps and watched in surprise as he opened
the door without bothering to ring the bell. "Ryan, who's house is this?"
     "For tonight, it's ours," Ryan smiled.
     "Ours?" I asked, surprised. Ryan's response was to take my hand and
lead me inside.
     "I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Ryan smiled as he led the
way into a formal dining room that was glowing with candle light. The table
was set for two and we both sat down.
     "So, are you going to tell me what we're celebrating?" I asked after
we'd begun to eat.
     "Do you want some wine?" Ryan responded, raising his eyebrows
inquiringly as he held up the bottle.
     "Sure. But don't try and change the subject," I smiled as Ryan filled
both our glasses.
     "Was that what I was doing? Oh, all right. We're celebrating our
freedom and our future," Ryan raised his glass for a toast.
     "That sounds good to me," I said, gently clinking my glass against his.
"So I was right? You finished the reshoots?"
     "Yes. I'm done. It's over. It couldn't have come on a better day,
either, because you're done with the show and we've got two weeks to just be
together. I don't plan on letting you out of my sight," Ryan smiled.
     "You're amazing. I love you so much," I smiled. "I'd kiss you, but this
table is too big to lean across. Who's house is this, anyway?"
     "One of the producers, actually. He knew I was not happy with all the
extra work we had to put in on a movie that was essentially finished a month
ago anyway. He only uses this place when his wife's in town and they've got
entertaining to do, so he lent it to me for the night," Ryan explained.
     "I didn't bring my pajamas," I said.
     "Don't worry. You can sleep naked. I won't take advantage of you," Ryan
grinned.
     "Where's the fun in sleeping naked if you're not going to have your way
with me?" I smiled.
     "Well, if you insist, I guess a little nookie might be fun," Ryan
sighed.
     "Ah! So you did it all for the nookie, huh?" I laughed. Ryan groaned
and shook his head at my lame joke and then stopped to stare at me
thoughtfully.
     "What?"
     "I was just thinking. Look at the two of us, sitting here so politely
eating a meal when we're all alone in this place. No Reese, no baby. We
really must be losing our touch. If this was six months ago I'd have been
all over you the minute we walked through the door!" Ryan said.
     "Becoming a father has matured you," I smiled.
     "Oh no! Does that mean I can't be a teen idol any more?" Ryan winced
and looked playfully horrified before he broke out laughing.
     "Do you think your producer friend would mind if a former teen idol
made love with an up and coming writer in his dining room?" I asked.
     "In the dining room? When did you become so kinky?" Ryan laughed.
     "I want to make love to you in every single room in this house," I
said, meaning it.
     "Seth, this house has about thirty rooms! I'm not super man!" Ryan
laughed.
     "Okay, okay. Let's start in the bedroom and work our way around, see
how many we can get," I said.
     "I like this side of you," Ryan said softly, standing up and taking my
hand. We jogged quickly up the staircase, stopping at the top to kiss and
press ourselves together before Ryan opened a door and led me inside.
     "Oh, Ryan!" I froze in genuine amazement at the scene awaiting me. The
room was very large, but everything was in deep shadow except for the large
bed in the center with a canopy over the top. The bed was backlit by two
candelabras, one on each nightstand, and almost seemed to have an inner
glow.
     Ryan's mouth met mine and his hands slowly made their way down to the
bottom of my shirt. We pulled apart only long enough for him to pull it over
my head and toss it aside before resuming our kiss.
     Slowly, I began to sink to my knees, not breaking away from Ryan's
mouth until the last possible second. Smiling up at him, I ran my hand along
the inside of his thigh and then leaned slowly forward, wrapping my lips
around the bulge that was standing out in the front of his khaki pants.
     Ryan moaned softly and moved his hand to the back of my head, where his
fingers began to gently run through my hair. I continued to suck and kiss
him through his pants for a short time, and then reached up to unbutton
them. They dropped swiftly to the ground, exposing Ryan's incredible legs
and leaving an even more impressive bulge tenting the front of his silk
boxers.
     "Oh, Seth," Ryan groaned, throwing his head back and bringing his other
hand to the back of my head as my mouth once again found him, this time
through the silk.
     I inhaled deeply, revelling in the clean, warm smell of Ryan's body. I
slowly stroked his bare legs with one hand and slipped the other up inside
of his shirt to play with his nipples.
     Finally, when neither of us could stand it any longer, I pulled down
his boxers in one swift movement and hungrily began to suck and lick his
balls while gently stroking his cock.
     "Be careful....i'm getting too close....slow down," Ryan moaned.
     "Ryan, I just want to taste you everywhere," I whispered. I slowly
reached up to his waist and turned him around. He gasped in surprise as I
brought my mouth to his ass and began to gently lick his hole.
     I began to move my tongue more quickly, enjoying the sensation and the
moans of complete ecstasy that Ryan was releasing.
     "Oh my God! I can't stand it! It feels so good," Ryan yelped after a
few minutes. "I'm going to die from pleasure!"
     Stopping abruptly, I sat back and smiled. "What a way to go, huh?"
     "Oh, you tease!" Ryan laughed. He quickly removed his shirt and kicked
off the pants and boxers that were still bunched around his ankles, followed
by his shoes.
     "Leave your socks on! You look cute wearing nothing but socks," I
smiled up at him.
     "You do get more and more kinky every time we do this!" Ryan laughed.
     "Shut up and kiss me," I grinned. Ryan sank to his knees and our mouths
met again. This kiss was hungry, full of passion. Ryan's chest felt like
fire against my own and I could feel his cock pressing against my knee.
     "Make love to me, Ryan. I need you so much," I moaned. The need to feel
him inside me was so intense that it was almost painful.
     "I love you Seth," Ryan whispered as we slowly stood up. He made short
work of removing my pants and shoes, smiling playfully at me as he left my
socks on, too.
     We fell backwards together onto the bed, Ryan's warm body pressed down
against my own. I looked up into his eyes and felt my heart skip a beat.
Each time that I saw the love in them and realized it was meant only for me,
it was like falling in love with him all over again.
     "Make love to me," I said again, a shade of desperation creeping into
my voice. I needed Ryan so much at that moment, needed to feel him, needed
him to be a part of me in every conceivable way.
     Ryan kissed my lips softly and then moved quickly to the side of the
bed, returning in a heart beat with the lubrication.
     "Ohh, Ryan!" I gasped, an explosion of pleasure overwhelming me as he
slowly eased himself inside of me. He silenced me with another kiss as he
began to build a nice, steady rhythm that lasted for several minutes.
     Finally, though, neither of us could stand it any more and Ryan began
to move faster, sliding in and out of me with passion. As his climax built
he pulled his mouth from mine and looked down into my eyes. The love I'd
seen earlier was now joined by intense passion. Just looking into those blue
eyes as Ryan reached his climax and began to cum was too much for me and I
felt my cock exploding.
     "Ryan.." I was breathing far too hard to say anything else, but one
word seemed to be enough to sum up everything we were both feeling because
Ryan smiled down at me and returned his lips to mine again.
     After a few minutes he rolled slowly over on his side and I moved into
the cradle of his arm, resting my head on his chest. We remained like that
for several minutes, breathing softly in unison.
     "Well, that's one room. Should we try for another?" Ryan asked softly,
kissing the top of my head.
     "Bite your tongue," I groaned. "You've just depleted my energy reserves
for the next month!"
     "The next month?? I don't think so! We're going to be setting some new
world records now that we're both free," Ryan laughed.
     "Ambitious, aren't you? Remember, we've only got two weeks off," I
smiled.
     "Yeah, but even when we go back to work, we go back together! It's
going to be great. I can see it now, we'll meet in my trailer between scenes
for quickies," Ryan said.
     "That's so romantic!" I laughed.
     "Okay, if you want romance, I'll make sure to bring strawberries and
whipped cream," Ryan laughed.
     "Funny," I smiled in the darkness. The candles had burned their way
down and the only thing filling the room now was our quiet breathing.
     "This is so nice. Just being with you, no distractions," Ryan said,
pulling me a little closer to him.
     "Yeah. I love Reese and Ava is the most wonderful child ever born, but
it's nice just to have some time alone together," I smiled.
     "We'll have plenty from now on," Ryan sighed sleepily. I felt a soft
cloud of sleep descending on me too and was soon lulled into it by the soft
rise and fall of Ryan's chest against my cheek.
                        ****************

     "How's everything going? Are you going to begin shooting on schedule?"
Scott Foley asked. We'd just been seated at a moderately well placed table
in one of L.A.'s trendier restaurants, thanks entirely to Scott's television
stardom.
     "So far so good. We start next week. Everything's seemed like a picnic
since the nightmare of casting. We were very lucky to get Tobey and Sara.
Tobey's hot right now and Sara's career has really been picking up lately in
indies," I explained.
     "It's nice to know that there is hope after TV," Scott smiled.
     "After tv? Right now there's hope during TV. Especially if your show's
on the WB," I smiled. "But Sara's a great actress. I think she's had a
frustrating time with being typecast as her character from 'Roseanne', but
she's amazing. Like I said, we were really lucky."
     "Sounds like it. How did you manage to land Tobey?"
     "Pure luck. We'd sent him and just about every other actor in town of
the same age the script, and he liked it and happened to be between
pictures. I think he'll contrast nicely with Ryan," I said.
     "Wow. It really is all coming together for you," Scott smiled.
     "Well, it has very little to do with me now, really. I'm just on hand
for rewrites and stuff like that. It's the director's show from now on.
Hopefully she and I won't clash too much. We've had one meeting and she
seems to agree with my vision pretty closely," I said.
     "That's great. I'm so happy for you!" Scott said.
     "Thanks. So, how are things with you? Are you seeing anyone yet?"
     "It's only been a week since I saw you," Scott pointed out.
     "So? How long does it take to meet someone?" I asked, smiling.
     "I don't know. No one has really caught my attention since Simon. I'll
just have to wait until someone comes along who does," Scott said.
     "Okay, I won't push. I just want you to be happy," I said.
     "I know you do," Scott smiled. We both watched as Gwyneth Paltrow
strolled into the room like she owned the place, which she may as well have.
She was seated at the best table and had the Maitre'd and several waiters
hovering around her, ready to satisfy her every whim.
     "How's the baby?" Scott asked after we'd finally turned our attention
back to each other.
     "Adorable as ever. Ryan was putting her to sleep when I left," I
smiled.
     "And Reese?"
     "She's fine. Getting back into things slowly. I think she'll probably
be back at work before too long," I said.
     "Excuse me. Mr. Barnes?" The Maitre'd was standing at my elbow. He said
my name with an uncertainty that made it obvious that I was not known to him
and therefore, not worth knowing.
     "Yes?" I asked, surprised.
     "You have an urgent message. Would you follow me?" I felt a ring of ice
form around my heart as all sorts of horrible possibilities entered my head.
Something had happened to Ryan. To Ava. To Reese. Something awful. I
followed him quickly, completely forgetting Scott in my haste to find out
what was wrong.
     Coughing gently to get my attention, the Maitre'd indicated a door just
off the lobby. I quickly went through it, expecting to find a phone with
someone - Ryan? Reese?- waiting on the other end of the line.
     Instead, I discovered only a dark haired man standing across from the
door in the small room, staring intently at a painting on the wall.
     "Hello?" I called out, mystified as to what was going on. My
mystification was soon turned into utter astonishment, though, when the man
turned around.
     "Jordan?" I gasped after several stunned seconds of silence.
     "You're a hard man to track down, Seth," Jordan smiled. I felt the same
flutter of my heart that I always had whenever Jordan had smiled at me.
"Don't I even get a hello kiss? I haven't seen you since you left school."
     "Jordan, what are you doing here?" I asked, still in a state of shock
at seeing the man I'd once considered my soulmate standing before me after
so long a time.
     "I came to be with you, Seth. I miss you," Jordan smiled.

  *******Well, I've decided to cease the apologies for the long delays
between each chapter. It's just the way it works out. But, I will make this
solemn vow- part 18 will be out before the Millennium! I hope you all
enjoyed this. I hope I got the right name for Baby Phillippe! The press
didn't ever really release it, but I heard from a semi-reliable source that
it's Ava. Let me know what you think at justins_boy@hotmail.com or
justinsboy@yahoo.com.