A few days later and Darien stood again in front of the block of marble. He had stayed away from his studio since the day he had seen the woman on the beach, hoping she would call, but as he had thought, she hadn't. He held his hammer in one hand and his chisel in the other, and slowly, reverently, lifted them. Closing his eyes, he summoned up a mental picture of the woman. Placing the chisel against the stone, he gave the end a sharp whack with the hammer, hearing the satisfying noise of it biting into the marble. He began starting the general shape of the project, he would find someone to model it later he had decided. Maybe he would even take Lita up on her offer. All he needed was the general shape, although it was always much easier with the right form in front of him.

As engrossed as he was in his thoughts and chipping away pieces of stone, he jumped when his cell phone began to ring. Placing his tools on the ground, he shook his head, clearing it of lingering thoughts. He made his way to where he had tossed his cell in the corner with the radio. Turning the volume down, he frowned at his caller display as it showed a number he didn't recognize. He shrugged and flipped it open.

"Hello, Darien Shields speaking," he answered.

"Hi Mr. Shields, this is Serena Moore, we met on the beach the other day," the voice on the other end of the line said. Darien could feel his jaw slacken in surprise.

"Y-yes?" he quickly stammered out.

"Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I've been busy the past few days, but I finally got the time to look you up online," she sounded hesitant.

"It's alright, I didn't think you would call at all to be honest," Darien replied, walking back to his stool and plopping down.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that. You can understand that I get a lot of strange men coming up to me with odd offers," he could hear the embarassment in her voice. "In any case, I'd like to discuss with you the offer you made. Do you have time to meet with me?" she asked. Darien could hardly believe his ears. She had called and... she wanted to meet with him!

"Yes, I do," he could barely keep the excitement out of his voice. "When do you have time?"

"Umm, right now actually, if you have the time. Do you know of someplace to meet?" she asked.

"I always have time," Darien chuckled, then thought a bit. Of course! "There's a cafe across the street from my studio, if you'd like to meet me there?" She agreed, and he gave her the address, with assurances that she would be there in 15 minutes to meet him. Darien chucked his cell phone in his pocket and bounded down the stairs, feeling as nervous as he had the day he had asked Rei to marry him. Crossing the street he checked his appearance in the front window before he opened the door of the cafe and strode in. He plopped himself down on his usual stool and waved Lita over.

"Having your usual," she stated rather then asked.

"Of course," he answered with a grin. He watched as the lanky amazonian woman moved away from him to the back wall. He closed his eyes as the sounds of the coffee grinding mixed with the milk frother and he recalled the face of the pretty woman he was about to meet.

"Are you thinking about something or do you usually fall asleep in cafes?" Darien opened his eyes and jerked around on his stool, surprised by the familiar voice.

"You got here sooner then planned," he smiled and as she returned it, he felt his heart leap in his chest as her entire face lit up. Taking a breath to calm himself, he patted the stool next to him. "Have a seat," as she seated herself, Lita returned with his coffee.

"Here ya go, boss," she said, sliding his coffee onto the bartop. "And who's this?" she asked, looking to Serena.

"I'm Serena Moore. Mr. Shields has asked me to model for him," she answered.

"Ahh, so you're the lady he's been talking about," she said as she removed another customers cup from the counter. Darien smiled sheepishly as Serena blushed. "You should do it you know. I've been up to his studio and he's an amazing artist. But now, is there anything I can get for you?" she asked, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Ummm, I'll have a hot chocolate, and I'll keep that in mind, thank you...?"

"Lita," she replied as she walked away to prepare Serena's drink.

"Hot chocolate?" Darien asked with an eyebrow raised. "How ever do you keep your figure?" he laughed.

"Genetics," Serena shrugged. "Sooo, about this sculpture of yours? Once I saw your work online, I figured it was worth talking to you about it at the least."

"Ah yes, well, I was approached by a private institute last year to complete a sculpture. Its a marine clinic, specializing in dolphins and small whales, so obviously they'd like something along the theme of the sea. I was thinking of doing a sea nymph, although to be honest, until I saw you, I didn't even know where to start," he smiled again, and to his surprise, felt some heat creeping up his neck. 'Odd,' he thought, 'it's not like it's the first time I talk with a beautiful woman.' Serena was nodding at him, and sipping at her hot chocolate that Lita had dropped off, so he took her cue and continued on. "There would probably be some nudity involved, tastefully, I promise you. However, if you're uncomfortable with that, I'm sure we could come up with something."

"Well... generally I don't get naked for a man on the first date," she laughed, "but as long as it's done tastefully, I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem with it."

"Oh, well, of course if you agree to this, I'll take you out for dinner," Darien offered galantly, then smiled as she once again laughed. He had been right about it being tinkling, but it was also contagious. "Would you like to come up to my studio to see my work?" he asked. She nodded and he stood up, pulling a bill from his wallet and putting it on the bartop. "Lita, we'll be leaving now. Keep the change," he called out, then took Serena by the elbow and led her outside and across the street.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was across the street, were you?" she asked, amused. He shook his head and led her up the elevator that had once been the service elevator. Reaching the third floor, they stepped out and down the hall, where he opened a door and ushered her in. This was his first good look at her that day, and he reveled in it. Her hair was loose and flowing around her shoulders, held away from her face by a thick black headband dotted with white polka-dots. Her shoulders were bared in a bright red tank top, showing their creamy complexion. Darien had a sudden urge to kiss them, but shook it off. Her bottom was encased in a denim mini-skirt leaving her long shapely legs peaking out from underneath. They seemed a mile long before her sandal clad feet. He looked up to realize that she had stopped and looked over her shoulder at him with a eyebrow arched in question. "Do I fit the bill?" she asked.

"Uh... yeah. I wouldn't have given you my card if you didn't," he replied quickly, and when she nodded and turned back around, he mentally chided himself and checked for drool flowing from the sides of his mouth.

"Wow... this place is amazing! I didn't see any of these things online in the articles about your shows," she gasped as she stepped in and the room opened up. Darien smiled as she looked around, and stepped over to the marble, leaning down to pick up his tools where he had left them on a piece of leather on his stool. Turning his head this way and that as Serena oohed and ahhed over his paintings, he stepped around the stone to find a place. Placing his chisel near to the hip on the rear side of the sculpture, he lifted his hammer and 'Whack!' Serena turned, surprised, to stare at him with large sky blue eyes. "Is this is?" she asked. Darien nodded. She came over to stand beside him and placed her small hand on the cool stone, she closed her eyes and caressed it. "There's a lot to be done, isn't there? How much time do you have?"

"I have some of the directors coming in a little over six weeks. I would have started earlier, but you know how things tend to get in the way..." he replied. Serena looked up at him and nodded, and then looked back at the stone.

"I guess we'd better get started then," she smiled up at the beginning of a head two feet above her.

A/N: Yes, I did finally get one out for all of you who put my story on alert. Just FYI, I really only write when the mood strikes, and sometimes it only strikes once every few weeks (take, for instance, Sugar Binds...). Anyways, enjoy this chapter and maybe I'll have another one up sooner rather then later.