The Strip

The Strip
April 28, 2004
You asleep?
Seth can't sleep, so he's making damn sure Ryan, who's sharing the room while Theresa bums the poolhouse, can't sleep either. Seth bemoans his dying relationship with Summer, then makes Ryan paranoid about how long Theresa is staying and how that looks to Marissa. The boys head down to the poolhouse to quiz a jittery Theresa. She says she's leaving soon but doesn't mention the pregnancy test in her grocery bag.

Caleb on the spot
Caleb has been dodging both Julie, who's planning the wedding, and Kirsten, who's trying to get work done. He finally gets caught. Sandy enjoys it immensely (and calls him "Cay-cay." Hee!). Caleb admits he'll be out of town for one night. On business. In, um, Nevada. Julie assumes it's a bachelor party. Sandy, Ryan and Seth invite themselves along.

Follow the money
Jimmy is planning on buying a new house with his share of Caleb's money from the restaurant. He wants a place Marissa can live with him and be proud of. The realtor quizzes Sandy on what he's doing with the huge share of cash he's getting from Robert Campbell, who's planning on turning the area into an outdoor mall. Meanwhile, Theresa announces that she's heading to Atlanta to move in with a cousin as soon as she scrapes up the cash. Seth convinces Ryan to try to win the money in Vegas, using the "freakish card-counting skills" his mother taught him.

Strippers!
Everyone is convinced Caleb will be showered with strippers in Vegas, and Julie wants some action of her own. She browbeats Kirsten into throwing her a bachelorette party with strippers. Seth gets passive-aggressive to Summer, mentioning the bachelor party in Vegas "anything could happen!" then storms off when it becomes clear Summer cares more about her dad's opinion than about him. Kirsten asks Hailey for stripper recommendations. Hailey says she knows just the thing.

Vegas, baby!
The boys are staying in the penthouse at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (courtesy of Caleb's credit card.) Caleb is unimpressed, but everyone else is thrilled. Seth and Ryan repair to the beach, where Seth gets chatted up by a "co-ed" who needs to smooch him to stay on property. Summer chooses that moment to call, and hears lips smacking, She's furious. Caleb is unwilling to tell Sandy where the bachelor party is, but does reveal that Marissa is planning to move in with him and Julie after the wedding. And speaking of revelations Theresa's dietary restrictions lead Marissa to jokingly guess she's pregnant. Theresa begs Marissa not to tell anyone. Marissa agrees, but is shocked to figure out that the baby could be Ryan's.

Follow the money, party 2
Seth and Ryan go to a high-stakes poker game with Jen the co-ed. Ryan wins enough money to help out Theresa and wants to quit while they're ahead. Seth wants to stay, so he can spend more time with Jen, but Ryan convinces him to just invite her back to the hotel. Seth tells her to bring some friends.

Strippers, part 2
Kirsten is throwing a nice, dignified cocktail party for Julie until the quartet of "firemen" arrive. Julie is dancing on the tables. Seth is confronted with a near-naked Jen in the hotel room and then by Summer, ready to kill. Summer is shocked Seth is with a prostitute. She's not a prostitute, Seth protests but his case is undercut by the arrival of Jen's "friends" and her pimps. Seems the boys owe the killer pimps $5000.

Fists fly
Jimmy corners Ryan and asks him about Marissa moving in with Caleb. Ryan assumes Marissa told him, so he confirms it. He's surprised Caleb was the one who told they had a deal. Jimmy is appalled. Sandy finds Caleb's meeting with the potential buyer, and obliquely threatens all sorts of lawsuits, rendering the land worthless. Caleb is furious. Before Sandy can punch Caleb's lights out, Jimmy gets there and does it for him. Back at Julie's party, a hunky firefighter propositions her. She's about to give into temptation when she sees the stripper talking to Hailey, and thinks it must be a trap. She and Hailey engage in a full-on catfight that ends with much flailing in the pool.

The aftermath
Ryan goes back to the high-stakes game and, after faking out Angry Trucker Hat guy, wins enough to pay off the killer pimps but not enough to help Theresa. Seth reveals that he only tried so hard and screwed up so disasterously with Summer's dad because he knew how important it was to Summer. Summer forgives him, and it looks like they're dating again. A livid Marissa angrily confronts Ryan for telling her dad about Caleb, then tells him Theresa is pregnant maybe with his child.