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ryan and seth arrived at the mermaid inn, a familiar stop in their tangled web of newport drama. they parked near the entrance, and ryan glanced around before walking up to the front desk. he had left his watch here during the chaos of his last visit—a small oversight, but one he needed to correct.
seth followed close behind, his typical smirk already in place. "so, did you take your watch off during the deed, or...what exactly?" he asked, his voice laced with playful curiosity.
ryan shot him a look, unamused. "you want to wait in the car?" he offered, already feeling the headache coming on. "i can pick it up at the front desk myself."
"nah, it's cool. i've got more questions," seth continued, undeterred. "i mean, did you take it off during foreplay? was it before foreplay? that would seem kind of presumptuous, don't you think?"
ryan groaned, trying to block out seth's endless banter. "no, seriously, you can stay in the car," he muttered. "turn on the radio, leave the windows up."
seth grinned, not missing a beat. "see, i like to leave the watch on, ryan," he mused. "helps me keep track, know how i'm doing...if i'm beating my old time." as they reached the desk, ryan turned back with a groan, visibly annoyed. "the thing is," seth continued, "it's more of a sex marathon, not a sex sprint."
ryan ignored him, addressing the desk clerk with a polite smile. "excuse me, hi," he began. "i'm the guy who called earlier about the watch that was left here."
the clerk, a man in his early thirties with a bored expression, perked up. "oh, yeah. room 204, right?" he nodded, reaching under the counter. "such a nice girl was staying there. beautiful, too. your girlfriend?" He handed over the watch, eyes twinkling as if he were sharing a secret.
ryan hesitated for a moment, feeling the weight of the question. "no," he said quickly, shaking his head. "no, she's not, but thank you."
seth stepped in, giving a tight smile. "okay, that's a little awkward," he muttered. he grabbed the watch from the clerk's hand. "thank you for your time. or, well, his time. the timepiece. thanks a lot." he pulled ryan away, clearly eager to escape the conversation.
as they headed back toward the exit, seth couldn't resist another quip. "one day," he said, shaking his head, "we're gonna look back on that, and we're just gonna laugh. we'll laugh some more, and it'll be a good laugh—not at my timepiece joke, but at the whole...situation."
ryan nodded absently, still lost in thought. "i'm fine, really," he said after a moment. "theresa's back with eddie. it's where she should be, right?"
seth clapped him on the shoulder. "yes, absolutely. listen, man, this is a good time for you," he said. "ryan atwood: clean slate. finally, you have no women to protect from violent, goateed factory workers or pill-popping manic depressives."
