He was yanked and plopped down onto the deck. Curling himself up into a ball to defend against the onslaught of tickles that were about to commence. He was already laughing out loud and protesting very mildly. "But... but... givin' yourself.... more fun.... with a hot... " and that was all he could take before he uncoiled and began to tickle back!

Heather let out a laughing shriek and scrambled back from him on her rear end, bare feet poking at his hands to keep him back as she retreated toward the steps down to the patio and pool. "We could trash the house," she suggested, hoping to distract him. "Set up an orgy and just screw on everything. Not together," was added very hastily.

"Just like old times," he grinned and finally relented with the attempted tickle fest. "But we need to do it soon," he was actually considering one of their infamous house parties! "I need to head back in a few weeks to start rehearsals at the theater and get the music lined up for the kids again. Work, work, work, you know how it is." He regained his feet and walked to the edge of the pool. "Oh wait, no you don't!" he teased and then dove into the cool water.

Soon was no challenge - this was the girl who had arranged the surprise party for his twenty-first the day it happened, after all. A couple of days just meant there would be a little more prep involved. His jab about her working made her snort with laughter, flinching back from the splash of water as he dived into the pool. "Like I need to know," she called back. "I go to uni, I sell a few pictures, I marry a rich guy, and after I pop out a coupla babies, he lets me do my own thing. Now that's a life plan." She flashed her brother a grin, tossed her hat back onto the veranda, and dove in after him, not bothering to take off her shirt and shorts first.

Ryan popped up just in time to hear his sister's words as he pushed the sodden hair from his face. Definitely time to get it cut. He frowned slightly, not wanting to imagine a life for Heather without some kind of love in it. But, what she had planned didn't sound half bad, either. When she resurfaced, he grinned and began to swim towards her. "Just don't forget the pre-nup," he chuckled. He shot up out of the water to grab her shoulders to give her a good dunking.

She barely got above the water before he dunked her again, hands grabbing his pants to yank them down since he was so determined to have her below him anyway. Never let it be said that Ryan's little sister couldn't hold her own against him from time to time. Up she popped like a cork from a bottle, spluttering and pushing her hair back out of her eyes, and grinned over at him. "Tell you what, find me a rich guy who's handsome and sexy and doesn't mind me, and I'll behave myself and be faithful to him for a whole decade," she teased her brother, knowing he didn't like the idea of her marrying just so secure her income.

But hell, it was what their mother had done, and she seemed pretty happy with their dad.

"Hey!" Ryan hadn't expected to be stripped to his bare nothings! He quickly recovered, diving under to tug his shorts back into place. Thank goodness he'd been wearing his shoes still or his shorts wouldn't have gotten caught on his feet. When he popped back up, he looked at her with a grin. "Well we should hit the scene and see what's what and who's who. It's been a while, need to find the eligible bachelors for us both." And, with that, he swam to the side of the pool and pulled himself up and out in a single, fluid motion. "C'mon Otter. We have things to do!"

"What, no come back?" she teased after him, swimming after her brother to pull herself out just as fluidly as he did. "Which scene didja wanna hit? I've only been back a coupla weeks, I guess I'm out of touch." She pouted a little, but it was obvious she was teasing. There was no way in hell that Heather Garabedian was out of touch.

"I'm saving it, for just the right moment," he teased her affectionately. "And right. You out of touch. You rule the scenes, all of them." He grabbed a soft, fluffy towel to dry himself off with and pitched one towards her as well. "So, who do you have your eye on this time? Do a security check and make sure he's not a whack job, find out his interests and we're in like Flynn." He raised his brow to his sister. Did she think he'd forgotten all of their little tricks?

She smirked, catching the towel to wipe off the worst drips as they cascaded from her skin and clothes. "He's got better security than we do," she laughed at her brother. "Can't find out a damned thing about him, 'cept that he's George Moretz's son, so all the money's in property. Oh, and he went to college with you." She winked at her brother cheerfully, tossing the towel to dry on the lounger as she reclaimed her hat from the veranda. "And man ... I saw him first, so no makin' the moves on him."

The name sounded familiar and it took Ryan a few minutes to run through his mental Rolodex to find the name Moretz and then put a face to the name he'd been searching for. Pulling the towel from his face, he tossed it onto a chair. "You mean Chris Moretz?" he chuckled and turned to face her, full on. "I already did and he very politely declined. So he's all yours. But, I will tell you what I do know. He's a tough nut to crack. Very quiet, a loner kind of guy. Has a temper like a matchstick. So be careful where you tread. Any idea if he goes out to the bars?" And, immediately, they're back into the plotting and scheming as if they had never been apart at all.

"Saw him at the Met my first night back in Atlanta," Heather chuckled, amused by his warning about the guy's temper. She figured if he was interested in her, he'd hold the temper in until they'd screwed anyway, and after that, it wouldn't be a great loss to part ways. "He's been in Athens, too - after the finals were done, he was out every night we were, and he wasn't even celebrating anything. Pissed off Jackson Daily, though -" and this was added with a wide grin "- the dude thought Moretz was looking too pretty to be allowed to sit near Lori anymore, and tried to get him to move on. Christian Moretz has one sweet right hook, I'll give him that."


Ryan couldn't help but snicker. What Christian Moretz wanted, he got, and it didn't matter what or who was in the way. "Well then, what're we waiting here for? We've got a certain multimillionaire to track down, don't we Otter?" This was going to be fun, and a very nice distraction from the gloom and doom that was waiting for him back in Rhy'din. And, perhaps, just maybe, he might find somebody to take back with him to keep the blues away. The day promised to be very exciting, indeed.

Atlanta had its share of bars and clubs for the discerning consumer, and being a Garabedian tended to get you into all of them. As the twilight fell, the siblings had already ghosted through a couple of them, and were heading for somewhere more exclusive. Heather had insisted on walking from club to club and bar to bar, since they'd picked up a few friends on the trawl back and forth thus far. It was almost a pub crawl by this point, a group of loud, laughing young people who all knew each other - friends of Ryan's and Heather's - and despite the doubtful look the bouncer at the Met gave them, they were all allowed into the pulsing atmosphere at VIP rates.

Ryan's room was just as he'd left it, so his clubbing clothes were all lined up and ready to go. He'd chosen black jeans, a turquoise button down shirt and lightweight jacket with Italian leather shoes. As they went from place to place, gathering old friends together for a reunion, Ryan's initial nervousness had easily slipped away until they reached the Met. And, by that time, he was just as loud and raucous as the rest of the group. It was good to see them all again, even his ex-boyfriend, Greg. It was obvious that the smaller man still carried a torch for Ryan, but there was no way that history was going to be repeating himself. Once inside, Ryan tossed his jacket into a booth, claiming it for the entire group. The music was loud, a techno beat that seduced the young group onto the floor. Ryan was definitely in the mood and didn't even stop to put his rear on the leather seat, much less order a drink. "C'mon!" he yelled over the music and trotted out to the dance floor. The bar, itself, was one of the larger and more successful ones in Atlanta. The highly polished brass and mahogany were evident of it's higher class clientele. The peanut shells on the floor of the entrance way told another story, all together. This wasn't just the place for the rich and famous. It was close enough to the campus that it was a serious hang out spot for students and faculty, alike. There must have been a hundred people packed inside and the air was hot and humid. Clothing will be shed, it was almost always a guarantee.

Heather had apparently grown up a little since the last time Ryan had gone out with her. Gone were the dayglo colors and way too much skin on show - tonight she'd floored her brother with a little black dress and rather chic accessories, proving that she was maturing at least in some areas. Her ability to hold her drink, however, was undiminished, the envy of several of her girl friends who had found their way into the group. Despite knowing Ryan's preferences, he'd been flirted with relentlessly all night so far, by male and female alike, and Heather was genuinely enjoying seeing her big brother cut loose for a while. Like him, she was more inclined to dance than to sit and drink, leaving her clutch on top of his coat as their party split up, some to sit and some to dance. The heavy beat was perfect to get her groove on with, shaking her *ss a little too enthusiastically for her brother's comfort, perhaps, but thoroughly enjoying herself.

(Many thanks to Heather's player for indulging me!)