Ryan didn't have a good feeling about it right from the beginning. Kirsten just HAPPENED to decide they needed to go shopping when Seth just HAPPENED to be giving a sailing lesson. Ryan definitely got the feeling she had planned this and it unnerved him.
He'd insisted that she really didn't need to buy him new clothes, what he had was fine.

"I'm sure Rosa will appreciate not having to do laundry for you every other day," Kirsten had said.

Ryan had to admit his meager wardrobe certainly could stand to be added to. Still, he wasn't comfortable with the Cohens yet again paying for him. This was starting to really bother him. When he'd said something to this effect Kirsten had cut him off with a wave of her hand as though he was being silly. Ryan decided it would probably be better if he just went along with what Kirsten wanted. He didn't want to irritate her. As it was he was always treading very carefully around her. It was obvious who held the power in the Cohen family and, while Sandy had been eager to let Ryan stay, Kirsten hadn't been as keen on the idea. Seth had welcomed Ryan with open arms right from the start but Kirsten had been ... frosty. Ryan found it strangely ironic that burning down her house had lead to her thaw.

As they drove to the store Kirsten pointed out homes and developments of interest, both her company's and others. Ryan had filled in all the blanks and asked all the right questions, managing to both impress her and pick up some new information. It was nice they had a common interest in real estate development because other than living in the same house, Ryan couldn't see anything else they had in common. Well, except for loving Seth. Not that she knew that, and they definitely didn't love him the same way. Brotherly love wasn't a good explanation of Ryan and Seth's feelings toward each other, unless you counted incest in the description but that was just yuck. Even so, Ryan had absolutely no intention of letting Kirsten know about the extent of his relationship with her son.

They went into a store that was WAY more expensive looking than Ryan figured they should be going if they were getting clothes for him.

"You know, Mrs. Cohen-" Ryan began.

"Kirsten," she corrected.

"Right, Kirsten. Uh, we don't need to go somewhere this fancy. I mean I don't need anything this nice."

"Actually, we do. I know you probably didn't have to dress up too often before, but you'd be surprised how many events you're going to end up at. We need to get you some casual clothes."

"Casual?" Ryan asked as they passed a rack of designer suits.

"Think business casual." Seeing his confused look Kirsten explained, "Fancy, but not black tie."

"Okay," Ryan said. He fingered a black velvet short sleeved shirt on one of the racks. Kirsten snatched it up and held it up to Ryan's chest.

Looking at the shirt then at Ryan's face she asked, "You like it? It's nice."

"Oh, it's um, not exactly my style," Ryan said noticing the price tag had three digits.

"Ryan, it's exactly your style. It's just like the one you're wearing," she said pointing to the faded black shirt he'd thrown on over his wife beater.

"Not exactly," he said running a finger over the soft fabric.

"Well, bring it along. We'll get it," Kirsten said almost flippantly.

Ryan trailed after her obediently. No one had taken him close shopping since he was about 8 and he felt a little strange as Kirsten held various articles of clothing up to him. Not all the clothes were fancy but they weren't exactly his brother's hand me downs either. In fact they were all really nice and very expensive.

Kirsten had a real eye for his style and, other than a couple sweaters she had looked at, all the clothes were ones Ryan liked, though not necessarily things he would have picked out for himself. Of course, if he'd been shopping alone he wouldn't have been in a store like this to begin with.

She picked up a grey, slightly shiny shirt and held it up for his approval.

"It looks a little small," Ryan noted.

"Stretchy," Kirsten said pulling on the fabric to show him.

"Right. Um, isn't it a little ... loud?"

"Parties," Kirsten said by way of explanation before tossing it onto the giant pile Ryan was just barely managing to hang onto. When he gave her a slightly surprised look she added, "I was your age once too you know." As they headed down another aisle Kirsten warned, "And this would be a good time to refrain from making age comments."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ryan said, the grin on his face proof that he'd been thinking the joke but knew better than to say it aloud.

And so Ryan had been lulled into a false sense of security, which was a difficult thing to get him to do, when Kirsten suddenly changed the direction of their conversation.

"When I was your age my parents used to have a rule. They said if I had a boy in my room I had to leave the door open."

Ryan felt his heart almost stop. He really hoped this was going to lead up to a rule about him and Marissa. The alternative was just way too scary to even consider.

"Uh, that sounds like a fair rule," Ryan said trying to figure out what she wanted to hear.

"I thought so, and Jim-" Kirsten cut herself off. "The boys agreed too. My parents were always considerate enough to make plenty of noise when they came down the hall so we knew they were coming. Of course we were never doing anything TOO bad. It was just a polite thing they did since they trusted us."

"I see."

"Of course there's no hallway to a pool house is there? Leaving the door open all the time wouldn't make much sense either, would it?"

"No," Ryan agreed.

"So, I guess then if someone were staying in a pool house they'd just have to shut the door. Of course as warning parents would have to knock, that's just fair if they trust them right?"

"I guess."

"These parents really don't want to see anything, but they know if they did come in unannounced that there wouldn't be anything that wasn't age appropriate going on in there."

"Oh, no, of course not," Ryan said immediately.

"Good, just wanted to make that clear," said Kirsten sounding like she was finished and dropping several pairs of pants onto the ever-growing pile in Ryan's arms.

When she turned down the next aisle Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment he'd been sure she was talking about him and Seth. He hadn't felt panic like that since he and his brother had been chased by the police. He thought it was funny that getting caught stealing a car and talking with Kirsten had made him feel the same way. She really WAS that intimidating sometimes.

When Ryan rounded the corner Kirsten asked him point blank, "So, I can trust you with Seth?"

Ryan nearly dropped the pile of clothes but recovered quickly.

"You two won't do anything that's not appropriate for 16 year-olds?" Kirsten asked.

"I'll tell Seth not to do anything with Summer in the pool house," Ryan said praying that was what she meant.

"That's not what I meant and, judging by that deer-in-the-headlights look, you already know that," Kirsten said sounding serious.

"I, uh ... we," Ryan stammered out. This was just about the worst case scenario he could imagine.

"I'm not telling you to stay away from my son. I know he loves you and I think you love him too. But you'd be wrong if you thought I'd let you do whatever you wanted. There is no way you two are having sex at your age, got it?"

"Uh, yeah. So ... you knew? I mean, about us?"

"Yes," Kirsten replied, her tone even.

"So, why didn't you say anything?"

"What was I going to say, Ryan? It's not like I could tell him to stop, not like it would do any good."

"Is that what you want? You want me to stop it?" Ryan asked, afraid where she was headed with this.

"No. I saw this coming probably before either of you did. It's not like I didn't know what Seth's reaction would be to you. I knew the minute you walked into the house."

"And I'm probably the last person you wanted to see him with," Ryan said looking longingly at the store exit.

"At first." Kirsten moved into his line of sight. "I'm not telling you to stay away from him. I'm telling you to act your age ... or don't, come to think of it. Just, don't take things too far, alright?"

Looking her right in the eyes Ryan solemnly said, "I won't. I respect both of you too much."

"Good answer," Kirsten said smiling at him.

"I'd just go back to being friends if you though that was best," Ryan offered. He meant it but didn't know if he could, knew he certainly didn't want to.

"No, you're what he needs," Kirsten said sincerely. "You're everything that Summer's not."

"You mean like I'm not popular, beautiful and a girl?" Ryan said. He didn't mean to let his insecurities show like that but it was true. He certainly wasn't popular, wouldn't call himself beautiful and definitely wasn't a girl.

"I meant that you care about him. Look, it's not like I dreamed my baby boy would grow up and fall for guys. But I figured it out a long time ago, even though Sandy is completely oblivious."

"So, it's a mom thing?"

"Maybe. The point is, I always pictured Seth with a stunning young girl who loved him. So no, you're not at all what I pictured, but I'd still rather see him with you than that girl who obviously doesn't care about him."

"So, you're okay with us then?"

"Sandy believes in you. Seth loves you. You hurt my son and I'll kill you," Kirsten said. Her tone was even and Ryan couldn't tell if she was serious or not. She smiled after saying it like it was a joke but he was sure there was some truth to the comment.

"I'll try to do right by all of you," Ryan said seriously.

"Good. I meant what I said before about wanting Sandy to be right about you. I want you to be worthy of Seth. Maybe you already are but I'm going to need more convincing. You've done a good job so far today," she said giving Ryan a small smile. "Bring that stuff up to the counter. I think that will do. Now, we need to buy curtains."

"Curtains?"

"Well, you boys need some privacy, you've earned it, earned my trust, and there's no curtains in the pool house. The door might be closed and the curtains down but I know if I walked in I wouldn't catch you two ... going too far. Besides, Sandy really doesn't need to find out by seeing anything."

"Right. Well, maybe you should warn him about the knocking before coming in thing."

"I'll tell him the new rule. Now, what color do you want? I was thinking beige would suit the room but what do you think?"

Ryan just nodded, surprised they were discussing this as though it were just another shirt or a pair of pants. He knew it was a lot more. It was a big symbol of trust and maybe even acceptance. Those were two things he really wanted from Kirsten but never thought he'd get when it came to his relationship with Seth. Somehow the Cohens kept surprising him.

End

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