Author's Note: Yeah – I always write these annoying little notes to you guys – I apologize. Anyway the usual disclaimer about not owning Sailor Moon…I hope that you really like this story (and that you weren't cursing me for leaving you with that cliffhanger), once again if you have any questions or comments or suggestions please feel free to pm me or submit a review. Today seems to be update day or something – plus I started a new story as well – since I couldn't help myself. My first story is almost over anyway so why not. I haven't posted it yet – but the first chapter should be up sometime this week. Summer school has been keeping me busy this week – and I've been working on this story in pieces, here and there when I have the time to – it's unfortunate because I love writing this story and I always come up with new ideas – but sometimes I don't have the time to write them down. Thanks once again to my first two reviewers – serenity11287 and fantasyluv; I really appreciate the kind words, they inspire me to keep on writing. Of course as you probably remember Serena's thoughts are in italics. Now to the part that you actually want to read (at least I hope) – the story:

Chapter Four: The Dinner Date and Back to Polaris

How the hell could Mina possibly stoop so low. Raye was probably involved in this. Wait a minute – screw that idea - she probably did this! I stared at Darien, dumbfounded, he simply looked at me from where he was standing and smiled gently. Despite the fact that I was not happy to see him – he did look nice. He had donned a tuxedo for the night; I guess you could say that he cleans up nicely.

"Sorry if you were expecting someone else Serena. But I'm actually kind of happy about the outcome of this so-called 'blind date.'"

I cringed inwardly, the thoughts that were going through my mind ranged from mildly angry to absolutely furious. This can't be happening. Raye and Mina set me up, with Darien of all people! How dare they do this to me! Wait until I get a hold of those two bitches! I was glad that I was sitting down because the shock of Darien being my date was finally starting to absorb into my brain. I could have killed someone at this point, and if anyone was going to die it was going to be either Raye or Mina. I didn't know whether to run away, scream, or what but I had to get out of this one way or another. Darien pulled out the chair across from me.

"Don't be so surprised Serena, you act like you're not happy to see me." Darien teased, flashing that horribly attractive smile of his.

"Well right now I'm looking for the cameras and production crew, because there's no way in hell that this is real. Either that or I fell asleep when I was watching television and I'm living in one of my worst nightmares." Darien reached over and gave my skin a little pinch. "Ouch! Listen mister – although I realize that I'm awake now, don't you ever touch me again – got it?"

"Yeah, I've got it – I was just pinching you to show you that you weren't dreaming." Darien replied unhappily. "So did you get the flowers that I sent you?" He said – desperately trying to change the subject.

"Flowers?"

"The five dozen pink roses that I set on your doorstep? Mina told me that pink roses were your favorite."

"Did she also tell you what time I usually take a shower – stalker-boy?"

"I wasn't stalking you I swear Serena. Mina gave me your address in case I had to come and pick you up today for our date. Maybe I should be happier that you drove. I was only trying to be nice, please just give me a little chance Serena, let's just make the best of this date tonight?"

Hmmm cunning and quick wit. He probably uses that smooth talk of his to get women to take their tops off. Well two can play at that game Mr. Shields, I might be blonde – but I'm not dumb.

"Fine. I'll go along with this date tonight, since I promised myself yesterday that I would at least try to be civil with you."

"Fair enough Serena." Darien replied as our waiter came to take our order.

"Hello. My name is Andrew and I will be your waiter. I'm also a trained sommelier. Could I offer you any drinks to start off the night?" He said while handing us two menus.

"I'd rather n-" I started but then Darien rudely interrupted me.

"A little Champaign for myself and the lady."

"Excellent choice sir, I will be right back with your Champaign." Andrew said as he left.

As we looked at the menus, Darien decided that it was time to attempt at making small talk. "Serena, I have this feeling that you never believed me when I said that you were cute. Well I really think that you are. I've been interested in getting to know you ever since I bumped into you at Mina's office."

"The unisex bathroom – what a lovely place to meet, you know that's where I met every single person that I've dated." I replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious though Serena. You seem a lot different from other girls."

"Tell me honestly Darien – how many women have you said that to before?"

"None."

"Liar."

"I mean it, I have yet to say it to anyone. No one has really captured my interest in a long time." Darien finished as Andrew returned with the glasses of Champaign. "Thank you."

"Are you ready to order? Or would you like to hear about tonight's specials?" Darien looked over at me, silently making sure that I was ready to order.

"I believe that we are ready to order. There's no need for the list of tonight's specials."

"As always ladies first, what would you like tonight mademoiselle?" Andrew asked me, with his professional-looking notebook and pen at the ready to take my order.

As soon as I had gotten the menu, I decided to be a complete and total bitch and order the most expensive things on the menu. It was my way of getting revenge on not only Darien – but Mina and Raye as well. I could just hear them now, criticizing me for how poorly I treated Darien on the date. He-he-he. I knew that I could eat it all, but making Darien squirm would be something quite enjoyable for me. "Let's see, to start off I will have a caesar salad, followed by some whole fresh lobster, then the 12oz Kobe Beef Sirloin Strip Steak, ending with some of your homemade caramel and pecan covered cheesecake." Andrew took it all down, grimacing as he wrote. I guess that maybe he felt bad for Darien because he was adding up all of this in his head. I looked over at Darien, hoping to see him frowning in a deep state of depression – or trying to warn me that he couldn't pay for all of that. But I got no such satisfaction; all he did was continue to smile at me as if I had only ordered a small salad and a glass of water.

"I've always loved a woman who likes to eat. Anorexic girls are not my type." He purred at me – in front of Andrew, which made me blush. Damn it he got me – but I'm going to have to be more on my toes, he's a cleverer opponent than I originally thought.

"For you tonight sir?" Andrew asked in bewilderment.

"I will have a New York Strip steak, and I think that I will have something that Serena's having – the fresh lobster, only make mine some lobster tails. For dessert I think that a slice of that sinful chocolate cake, it sounds wonderful. Thank you." We handed our menus back to Andrew – and then he left, probably trying to figure out how we were going to pay for all of this. Which was exactly what I was wondering. "As I was saying before Andrew left, I know what you're thinking Serena. I'm a playboy; I go out with a new woman every night and have sex with her. I know the drill; I've heard it before. Why do you think that I was in Mina's office that day when we first met? Is it really hard for you to believe that, and I don't like admitting this but – it's almost impossible for me to get a date?"

"Yes it is Darien. Who knows – you might go see my sister because you're trying to get a date with her. Of course that will never happen since…"

"Spare me Serena" Darien interrupted me for the second time tonight. "I know that Mina's a lesbian and that she's in a committed relationship with Raye. Listen, I don't go and see your sister because I have women lined up at my doorstep waiting for me to ravish them. Most women say that I'm too nice – not to mention with my insecurities about the way that I look, the fact that I can even be a stripper surprises me myself."

"It's not that I don't want to believe you Darien. I just find it hard to believe that someone like you would have trouble getting a date."

"What do you mean someone like me?" Darien asked – a smirk coming across his handsome features.

"I'm not going to indulge your stupid little fantasy Darien. I'll just lay out some facts for you. You're a decent-looking man, you obviously know how to turn on the charm, as well as turn on a lot of women. Who wouldn't like that? I'm also starting to think that stripping is not your only job, based on the fact that I ordered all of that food and yet you didn't even flinch. A stripper can't possibly make that much money. So now it's time to answer my question – do you have some other job that I don't know about?" I asked – ready to get to the dirty details. Who knew what Darien could be doing as a side job – prostituting himself? I wouldn't doubt it with the moves that he displayed on the dance floor.

"You caught me Serena, I don't just strip. You could say that stripping is more of an extra-curricular activity." Darien had seemed to loosen up a bit, his happy disposition was still there, it was as if nothing I said could phase him.

"So what do you really do, and why do you strip if stripping is not the main source of your income?" I'm finally getting to the inner core of the real Darien and – he better not bullshit me or else his time is up and I'm leaving without the food. I could always go somewhere else for food.

"Do these questions mean that you might actually be a tiny bit interested Serena?"

"Just answer the questions – I don't have time for your games."

"All right, all right." Darien chuckled. "I'm actually a real estate agent. I'm also somewhat of a whiz at the stock market – not to brag or anything. As for why I strip – it's a bit more complicated than that, and you're right – I don't strip for money. I'm sure that you've noticed that I'm the only stripper that no one throws money at or anything like that, because everyone is informed at the start of the show that I don't take tips. But let me start out by saying that I'm one of the original owners of Polaris, I still co-own the club with Raye. I just don't want anyone else to know about it because they might think that it's weird. When I first got out of college, most people told me that I was too uptight and that I didn't have any fun. I was unattractive, anti-social, the most nerdy person that you can ever imagine."

"Like I could ever believe that" I scoffed at Darien.

"I knew that you would say that, that's part of the reason why I always carry pictures around with me." Darien said, pulling out his wallet, which was expensive-looking and filled with credit cards, pictures, and a nice wad of cash. He pulled out a picture of him from within the wallet – which was obviously from his last year of college. Darien was in the middle, standing next to Michelle who looked like she was still in college. She was smiling happily, with her arm around her brother's shoulders. Next to her were a man and a woman who looked older; my initial guess would be that they were their parents. After looking at it, I just stared in shock. I could tell that in the picture he had gotten his bachelor's degree due to the look of the graduation gown complete with a hood. His name was embroidered into the gown, which was a bit much for me – we all wore the same generic gowns at my graduation. It was clear to me that Darien had graduated with top honors from his University, magna cum laude – which means that his GPA was at least a 3.9 when he graduated. That however, was not the part that I was shocked about. The college graduate in the picture was overweight and his face was covered in so many pimples that it looked swollen. He had bottle cap glasses, and his hair looked like it was composed of more grease than actual hair – the most startling part of the picture was that he was frowning in his own graduation picture. His parents had the looks of professional models – and I wouldn't doubt it if his mother had been one. They were both skinny and tall – much like Darien is now, and they seemed to have very happy dispositions. The college grad in the picture was Darien's polar opposite, but there it was, right in front of my face, and as far as I could tell no computer editing had altered the picture.

"You're not kidding are you?"

"No, I'm not." Darien said as he returned the picture to his wallet. "When I graduated college I was 20 years old, a man who barely ever left his room and ate the most greasy foods possible. After I graduated, I wanted to change my image after realizing that I might be alone for the rest of my life. Despite my anti-socialness, I was one of the nerds that was waiting for Miss Right to come along. I worked hard as soon as I graduated, not only in money matters – such as building my real estate business, but also to better my appearance. I guess now you understand why they call me 'the businessman' when I strip." Darien teased as Andrew placed my first dish – the caesar salad in front of me. I started eating while Darien continued to chat. Then I thought about it and decided that maybe I could at least be polite towards Darien in terms of my dinner manners.

"Excuse me Darien, you don't mind if I eat my first dish while you continue do you?"

"No – go ahead Serena, I can wait until my food gets here."

"All right, continue – this is actually a pretty fascinating life story." I said as I once again picked up my salad fork and resumed eating.

"I'm glad that you're interested Serena." I blushed as he resumed his story. Damn it he got me again. "Anyway, my parents hired a personal trainer for me, they had been trying to get me to use one for years but I had always refused in the past. I went to a dermatologist and was prescribed with Acutane since I had such a severe case of acne. Then finally, I went to get laser eye surgery in order to see with 20/20 vision for the first time in my life. Once I had finished all the procedures and lost the weight, I became happier – and more social, which was great because when I first started out my business, I was the one talking to people trying to sell them a house. Now that I look back on it I laugh because I wouldn't even bother to dress nice in order to show my clients the houses. I would wear my favorite old t-shirt that was riddled with holes, torn-up jeans, and sneakers that I had worn so much that there was barely anything left of them. No dress shirt and tie for me – I refused to wear them. Often I would be rude to my clients whenever they asked a question – I had been so anti-social the majority of my life because of my looks that I had forgotten how to be nice to people. Mother would often nag me about that – telling me that I won't sell houses without a 'people person' type personality or at least semi-decent attire for that matter. I'm sure that you could tell the situation with my love life. The younger man in the photo was not really appealing to anyone who wanted to buy a house – much less a girl. However, even though I changed my looks and a bit of my personality for the better – still to this day I lack the confidence to really pursue a relationship with anyone. So stripping you could say – is really my way of building my self-esteem, I know that it sounds crazy, but that's the way I feel. When I strip I feel great about myself, and even though I've been doing it for a few years – I'm still astonished to this day concerning the number of women who are screaming my name because they think that I'm good looking." Darien finished as the main course arrived.

I did not know what to say. Obviously Darien could not have just pulled all of that out of his ass, because it does not seem like an act, but wow. This was one of those rare moments in life where I had been rendered speechless. What could I possibly say after that? I can't tell him that I don't believe him – because I do. He seems so much more charming than he did before; when I just thought that he was a womanizer.

"That's enough about me and my boring life Serena. Tell me more about yourself." He said as he cut his New York Strip steak.

"Well let's see I'm 24 – but you probably already knew that since Mina might have told you. Unlike you, I only work at Polaris, it's my only source of income and I love working there. As for my love life – well it hasn't been fun. That's partially why I don't trust men who are in the public eye like singers, actors, or strippers," I said nervously as Darien stared at me intently, completely forgetting about his food in order to listen to me. His gaze was so intense that I forgot what I was saying; I was too busy looking at those blue eyes of his. It felt like my emotions had gone haywire. I was really starting to enjoy Darien's company, but at the same time I could not let go of my biased opinion against him. Serena – what the hell is wrong with you? This is Darien that you are sitting across from. But I guess you can let your guard down a little for today – he doesn't seem too bad. Try to enjoy yourself for today – it is a date after all, even though you weren't particularly thrilled with the company at first. "Honestly Darien, I really don't know what to say – I'm at a loss for words. I'm just so captivated by your story. I had you pegged for an asshole and a womanizer – but you seem to be the complete opposite of every single guy that I've ever dated. Which is nice and I like it. However, you realize that I'm not just about to give you my heart in a package complete with wrapping paper and a bow on top just because you told me a nice life story and gave me flowers right?"

"Of course not Serena" Darien chuckled lightheartedly and gave me another dazzling smile. "I wouldn't expect you to do that. Mina told me that you've been hurt before – she didn't give me any details. But that's when I realized that maybe I've been coming off a little too strong on you. That's one of the reasons why I wanted Mina and Raye to help set me up on this date. To make it up to you for what I did the other day – sometimes I come off a little strong when it comes to my emotions. Plus, like I said before, I'm really attracted to you and I think that we should give this a try." He said cautiously, examining my face as I ate more of my Kobe beef stake. "If it doesn't work – then we could say that it's a start of a nice friendship."

His proposition isn't too bad. Darien seems to be an honest and caring man, but – how do I know that this isn't a trick? Men can be so hard to figure out – so tricky. "I'll make a deal with you for now Darien. Let's see how the rest of tonight goes and then I can tell you if I think that you and I should go out on a second date. One step at a time." I gave him a friendly smile and once again continued to eat.

Darien was grinning from ear to ear, he seemed like he could not have been happier. "That's completely fair Serena."

"Great." I replied. "So what are your interests – besides real estate and clubbing?"

Darien let out a chuckle, "getting the bureaucratic stuff out of the way I see?"

"You could say that" I said with a smile.

"Well let's see. I like movies. Pretty much every genre of movie – except for the romantic ones, but if a pretty woman like the one across from me happened to want to go to one. I wouldn't say no."

"Thank you. I like movies too – the romantic ones are okay, but comedies are my favorite." I was really starting to loosen up now, and I noticed that I was doing more talking than eating, which is completely unusual for me.

"I do love a great comedy." Darien said with a smile. "I also really like to read. I spend a lot of my free-time reading science fiction novels; I guess you can never completely take the geek out of me. It's somewhat embarrassing."

"Well I'm twenty-four and I still like cartoons. It's no big deal, don't worry about it." I giggled. Could it be that I'm actually starting to enjoy this date – with Darien of all people?

"Great to know that you don't think that I'm weird. Let's see I like to cook – I've been a bachelor for so long, and I learned to cook at an early age. That's why I hang out in the kitchen at Polaris with Lita sometimes – I can't stay away from the allure of the kitchen."

"Neither can I – but not to cook. I'm not that great of a cook, but I do love to eat." I said with a bit of embarrassment.

"Speaking of eating, our food is getting cold." Darien remarked.

"You're right, and I don't want this great food to go to waste!" I said as I grabbed my knife and fork and started cutting, biting, chewing, and swallowing quickly – but as elegantly as I possibly could.

"You're absolutely adorable Serena." Darien told me as I continued to eat.

"Oh, well thank you." I said, once again a bit embarrassed. After about fifteen minutes I had finished almost all the rest of the food.

"I didn't doubt you when you said that you liked to eat Serena – but wow." Darien said as he signaled for Andrew to bring us the bill, as well as two carry out bags. Andrew returned quickly with the bill as well as our take out boxes and a couple of bags. He quickly placed all of the food into the boxes and then put the boxes into the bags while Darien looked at the check. He pulled out six hundred dollar bills, and gave them to Andrew who stared at us in shock. "Keep the change Andrew. I hope that the next time that we visit this restaurant we will have you as our server." Darien said as he got up from his chair and pulled out my chair, enabling me to get up as well. He grabbed the leftovers with his left hand.

"Thank you" Andrew said in shock to Darien – who offered me his right arm, which I accepted.

As we walked out, Darien opened the door for me. What a gentleman, maybe Darien really isn't too bad after all. I guess that I've gotten to the point where I'm too quick to judge people.

"I insist on walking you to your car Serena."

"Fine by me Darien, thank you for the nice night, and please excuse my rudeness from earlier. I'm just…"

"On your guard? I understand Serena, once you get hurt it's only natural right?" I nodded; we walked to my car – which I had parked very far in the back of the parking lot. As we approached the car, I found my hand drifting from Darien's elbow – to Darien's hand. Darien seemed a little surprised at first that I was willingly holding his hand, but he smiled and gave my hand a squeeze.

"Well there's my ride." I told him, somewhat awkwardly – letting go of Darien's hand. I don't want to kiss Darien – because I still have not completely given him my trust. Somehow he seemed to understand that and gave me a small smile. Darien handed me the leftovers, I unlocked my car and put them in the passenger side and prepared myself to say goodnight to Darien.

"Goodnight Serena, I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow. But if you need anything or get into any trouble on your way home – here's my number, give me a call." Darien pulled a business card out of his tuxedo pocket and gave it to me. I glanced at the card – it was incredibly elegant. The card had a black background and Darien's name was written in golden calligraphy at the top of the card. Underneath that there was more gold writing that told me about his profession – the real estate business that he owned and operated, as well as his office and cell phone number. He stared at me for a few minutes, unsure of what to do.

I decided that I could take a risk – just this once. "How about a hug Darien?"

"That's just what I was thinking." Darien replied and he opened his arms a bit, just enough for me to come into them. Once I did, he embraced me with his strong arms. It was a gentle and kind embrace – something that I had not ever experienced before. When I was there in Darien's arms, I never wanted to leave. This feels so nice; he's so warm, soft, and huggable. Kind of like a teddy bear. It seemed like ten minutes had passed by as I stayed in Darien's arms, when finally he broke off the hug. "I guess it's time to go now. See you at work?"

"Yes I'll see you at work tomorrow Darien. Thank you once again for the nice night."

"All right then." Darien said, still standing in front of me. I could tell that he really didn't want to leave – and something in me didn't really want him to leave either. "Bye" he said, as he turned a bit to go to his car.

"Bye." I said, as I stood next to the driver's side door, watching him as he finally turned and walked towards his car. As soon as I turned on my car, the first thing I noticed was the time – it was 9:00pm, we had been at the restaurant for three hours. I guess I did enjoy the date more than I thought. Time flies when you're having fun. There was no traffic as I drove home to find that Trista's car was finally gone, and that Raye and Mina were home. As soon as I turned the key in the lock, I heard footsteps running toward the door. I opened it to find Raye and Mina looking at me with huge smiles on their faces.

"So how did the date go Serena?" Mina asked with a grin as I shoved them out of the way to get into the house and put the leftovers into the refrigerator. They followed me like two puppies who could not bear to leave their mother for a second. Sure I was happy and had had a nice time – but I wasn't exactly ready to spill the beans after they had done this to me. "I called Darien already and he said that it seemed like you guys really connected." I walked to the living room while Mina followed me and babbled about how Darien really enjoyed the date with Raye tailing right behind her. I planted myself firmly on the couch and crossed my arms while Mina and Raye decided to sit together on the love seat.

"Maybe we did Mina…but before I even begin to tell you what occurred on the date, I would like to know what exactly possessed you to think that it would be okay to go behind my back and set me up on a date with Darien."

"Well I didn't see anything wrong with it – I mean he's a real estate agent, a nice guy, gentleman…"

"Don't play dumb with me Mina, I know that Raye must have told you that he's a stripper at Polaris. She must have also told you about all the problems that I've had with Darien so far. That's why you didn't tell me what his profession was! Worst of all, you know how I feel about men who constantly have women surrounding them – men who have jobs like Darien's…hobby. They are just born cheaters as far as I'm concerned."

"Well actually Raye said that you two would make a really nice couple, and how perfect you seem for one another. She really noticed the chemistry when he was giving you that lap dance on Saturday night…" Mina stopped talking as soon as Raye smacked her in the arm. "Damn it Raye – that hurt."

"Mina! I told you not to mention anything about the lap dance to her. Besides why did you have to bring me into this? I thought that we had an agreement that I wouldn't be dragged into this – that Serena would never know that I was involved in this matter at all!" I decided to let the lap dance comment go…because secretly I had enjoyed Darien's lap dance on Saturday night–well, at first anyway.

"It wouldn't have mattered because I figured it out the moment that I saw Darien enter the room." Raye looked at me, guilt written all over her face.

"You weren't mad were you Serena?" Mina asked me with a bit of concern.

"Mad doesn't even begin to cover how furious I was Mina. At that point during the date I was coming up with ways to murder the both of you without getting caught."

"We're sorry Serena, please forgive us!" Raye and Mina said simultaneously.

"Don't worry about it – I forgave both of you a while ago. But I guess in a way I should be thanking the both of you because Darien and I kind of hit it off once I got to know him better. I guess first personality impressions in terms of looks won't really get you anywhere. I should be more careful about the way that I judge people."

"So did you get a juicy kiss?" Mina asked me, which I had been anticipating.

"No Mina I didn't. I think that Darien wanted to, but I normally don't like kissing on the first date."

"Why do I have a feeling that you're lying Serena?" Raye asked me, wanting to tease me now that she knew that I was all right.

"Because you're a damned pervert – not to mention the fact that you gave Mina oral sex on your first date." Mina and Raye both turned a shade of bright red. Serena one and Raye zero, tonight was a pretty great night after all. Now it's time to make my exit before Raye recovers from the shock of my statement. "Anyway, I'm kind of tired, I've had a busy day and I'd like to get a nice rest. I have to go to work tomorrow after all. But just so the both of you know…" Raye and Mina looked at me - the expressions on their faces completely neutral, "we are going to go on a second date, so don't try to set Darien up with anyone else Mina." I said as I ran up the stairs and into my bedroom, where I closed the door. It had been a very nice night, so I decided to end it early before it somehow took a turn for the worse. I changed into my favorite bunny pjs, brushed my teeth, and went to bed – excited to see Darien once again.

The next day I woke up happy and refreshed. I performed my usual morning rituals and silently went downstairs. No one was around, I guess that Mina had to leave early because of a client and Raye went with her. That's when I heard Mina's loud screaming consisting of "yes Raye! That's my spot!" I guess they figured that I would still be sleeping…I did wake up a little bit earlier than usual, but damn it! Can't you both wait until you see that my car is gone or some little sign that I've left the house. Which was followed by more sexual exclamations. I decided to leave early because even turning on the tv in the living room wouldn't drown out their loud sexcapades. I got my keys and purse and walked to my car, since it will be a while before Raye or Mina makes me breakfast – and I can't cook for shit, it's time to go get some brunch. I might have leftovers in the fridge, but I have a feeling that Mina and Raye got to them first last night anyway. I roamed around my neighborhood until I reached a place that had nice breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. It was one of those 24-hour places where you get semi-decent food – but for great prices. I walked into the small restaurant, about to ask the hostess to give me a seat, when I saw Michelle and Amara sitting down at a booth – both of them facing me. Michelle noticed me first and waved, inviting me to come over. I accepted her invitation and went over to their booth, quickly telling the hostess that I had seen some friends and that I would sit with them. Luckily enough for me, Amara and Michelle had just gotten there too – and had yet to order their food.

"Hello again kitten, how are you doing today?" Amara said a smirk playing up her tomboyish features.

"Really well actually."

Michelle smiled at me, "Darien told me that you guys went out last night. How was it? He seemed to be on cloud nine when he got home."

"You live with him?" I asked her puzzled.

"Yes we've lived together for a while actually. He moved out of the house when he graduated from college – I was 18 at the time, and we have always been really close to one another. So I asked my parents if it was all right if I moved in with him. I've been living with him ever since then. Technically you could say that I have two roommates – since Amara lives with us now too." Seems like Darien and I are in the same boat when it comes to running out of the house trying to get away from the loud sounds of two women being sexually pleasured by one another. Maybe I'll ask him for some tips or something for getting out of the house before the eruption starts; judging by the way that I met Amara – she and Michelle must have sex a lot, so Darien must be a pro by now.

The waitress passed by just then, and I asked her for a menu, which she gave to me and went back to her business.

"See anything that you like?" Amara asked and gave me a wink before she started to busy herself by playing with Michelle's hair; my guess was that she already knew what she wanted to eat.

"Yeah, I think that I'm ready to go." I quickly checked my purse to see if I had enough money for my food, after confirming that I did, "yes. I'm definitely ready to order I'm starving. How about you Michelle?"

Michelle giggled, "you are certainly adorable Serena. As a matter of fact I think that I'm ready to order too. Let's see if we can get the waitress' attention." Michelle turned around and looked in the direction of a different waitress. Within two seconds flat, the new waitress seemed to be over at our table, her high heels clicking on the tile floor – ready to take our orders. The power of a glance - Michelle is so beautiful, no wonder she can attract attention so quickly.

"Hello, I see that my favorite couple is back. And who's the new blonde in town?" The red-haired waitress asked with a New York accent. She seemed to be really friendly.

"I'm Serena – nice to meet you."

"The name's Molly. These two come in here all the time and order the same thing, I don't know why they even bother getting menus anymore."

"Old habits die hard Molly, we just can't help it." Amara said with a sly smirk.

Molly chuckled, "So Serena, are you a friend of theirs? How come I've never seen you here before?"

I looked at Michelle and Amara, I couldn't figure out how to answer that question. I'd like to consider Michelle and Amara as friends – eventually, but I don't know how they feel about me.

"Yes we're friends – not to mention that she's dating my brother." Michelle said with a small smirk on her face. My face suddenly felt hot and flushed. I can't believe that Michelle said that. Wait - why am I suddenly embarrassed at the mere mention of Darien? I can't go from hating him one day to falling head over heels for him the next. We're not even officially a couple yet!

"Well goodness Serena, you got yourself a catch! You shouldn't be embarrassed about that doll– if I was going out with Darien I would shout it out to the world. He's such a sweet guy. He comes in here every so often with Michelle when Amara's working since Darien has the night shift so to speak. I would definitely date him – or jump on the opportunity to date him if I could."

"Darien and I went out last night – for just one little date. I guess you could say that he's technically he's still single…" I trailed off, not sure how much I wanted to tell her; luckily for me it seems like she had just remembered something important, and quickly interrupted me.

"Oh, you can tell me all the details later – I want to know straight from the source. But first I've got to get your order in. So what would you like Serena?"

"Hmm, I'll have three pancakes with strawberries and whipped topping. I'll also have four sausages, two scrambled eggs, and a large cup of orange juice."

"My, my, someone's hungry. I'll go and put your orders in right now." Molly said and walked away from the table, high heels clicking once again on the tile floor.

"I have to go to the bathroom – I'll be back soon love." Amara said as she gave Michelle an innocent kiss on the lips.

Once Amara left, 'the interrogation' that I had not expected from Michelle started. "So Serena – maybe this is a bit rude of me to ask, but how do you think that the date with my brother went? I promise that I won't tell him – I'm pretty good at keeping secrets." Michelle said, staring at me with an unreadable look on her face.

"It's no problem Michelle, I trust you." I said, with a bit of hesitation. "The date with Darien, well at first I was a bit disappointed, because I'm sure that Darien has told you that we've had our…bad starts." I had to be a bit more careful when talking about Darien with Michelle – he is her darling older brother after all. Michelle nodded in understanding, although she's only two years older than me – she seems so much wiser than me.

"My brother does tend to come off a little strong, especially with women that he really likes. You should have heard him the first day that he met you at Mina's office. Darien kept on talking about how he met this wonderful girl, and how he was so stunned by her beauty that he couldn't ask her out. He's a real romantic at heart, despite some of the things that he says and does at times – I can assure you that his intentions are for good. Darien was really upset on Saturday after he hurt you, it took me a few hours to get it out of him – and we are usually pretty open with one another concerning our feelings. You must be pretty special to him." Michelle told me.

"Wow…I never knew that…." I looked up to see that Amara had returned from the bathroom, and was quickly making her way back to the table. Wow she walks pretty fast – seems like I was just getting to the good part too.

"So what did I miss?"

"Oh nothing Amara – just a bit of girl chatter, I know how you hate that."

"Yeah you're right. Doesn't matter to me anyway though since the food should be getting here soon." Amara said awkwardly as she sat down next to Michelle once again.

"Well enough about my love life, how did you two meet anyway?" I don't like being the center of attention all the time, so I decided to divert the attention away from me. Amara and Michelle looked at each other, and shared a secret smile.

"Amara and I went to the same college. She was on the track team, and I was on the swim team. We both would practice outside, since our college had an outdoor pool and track. Often our practices would get out at the same time, and I'd see Amara in the locker room when I went to go take a shower and change – she would always be staring at me as if I was some kind of rare jewel or something."

"I couldn't help but stare at her whenever she came from the pool – that swimsuit of hers clung so tight to every curve of her body. Not to mention the amount of cleavage that came out from the top of her suit."

Michelle playfully hit her partner, "oh stop it you pervert, Serena doesn't want to hear about all of that."

"I was just teasing, Serena. Actually for me it was love at first site, I just knew that she had to be mine – but Michelle didn't feel the same way." Amara said looking at Michelle.

"No, I didn't. I guess you could say that my relationship with Amara at first was one of un-requited love on Amara's behalf anyway. It's not that I wasn't attracted to girls or anything, I have always been attracted to women – and at the time I knew that Amara was attracted to women as well. There was one thing about her that really ticked me off though, every single person that I met – starting the second semester of our freshman year of college told me that Amara was a player. They said that Amara would often date girls, and what is that phrase – 'love them and leave them.' I was not into that kind of relationship at all. So when Amara came up to me and confessed her feelings at first, I didn't want any part of it. As you probably would have figured out by now, I was not exactly keen on the idea of becoming another one of her conquests. The thing about Amara is that even though I rejected her, she kept on persistently pursuing me. She told me that I couldn't do that to her – just because I had heard some silly little rumors about her. Later, I found out that all the girls who told me about Amara and her loveless ways were just jealous girls who had been rejected by her in the past. After I found that out, I eventually admitted that I had been attracted to her all along. From there we really just hit it off." Michelle said, smiling at her partner.

As Michelle finished their story, I couldn't help but think. Wow- she had the same opinion of Amara that I had of Darien. Although Darien's a nice guy and all, I don't think that he's anything like Amara. Not to mention that I don't think I could ever be as in love as Amara and Michelle are. They might not show it all the time, but it's really obvious that they're deeply in love.

Once again I heard the click of high heels resounding against the tile floor. "All right, I'm back now ladies!" Molly had returned with our food. "For the tall and lovely Amara we have the usual ham and salad."

"Thank you Molly, I was just about to storm into the kitchen and demand to have my food."

Molly laughed, "you're so funny Amara – did you really think that I was going to bring you a late, cold plate of food? I think not." Molly grabbed another dish off of her tray, "for the elegant and gorgeous Michelle we have the usual blueberry crepes with one egg – sunny side up."

"You have such a great memory Molly."

"Well I'd like to think so – especially since the two of you are here practically every day." Molly then pulled my plate off of her tray, "last but not least we have the new and let's not forget beautiful Serena."

"Thanks Molly, I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all, it's my pleasure. Any good friend of Amara and Michelle's is a friend of mine. I hope that you come back with Amara and Michelle sometime, maybe you could even bring Darien with you next time." Molly said, her eyes glazing over dreamily.

"We'll see about Darien." I said a bit tensely – but still trying to be nice. Did my voice just have a hint of jealousy? Nah. "But I'll definitely be back sometime."

"Cool." Molly was apparently unaware of the harshness in my voice when I mentioned Darien. "It's starting to get really busy around here – lunch hour is here, you know the drill. I would love to stay and chat, but I've got to get back to work. I guess that I'll see you later Amara and Michelle. Give me a call sometime and we'll hang out." She smiled at the two lovers, then looked at me, "it was nice meeting you Serena. I guess I'll see you around here sometime in the near future." With that she turned on her heel and left, the clicking of the shoes against the tile floor echoing in my ears even after she had departed from the table.

The three of us started to eat our food quietly, enjoying the serenity of the moment as well as the present company. A half an hour passed by as we ate our food and chatted. That's when I realized that the more I got to know Amara and Michelle – the more I liked them. It was almost as if I was idolizing the two older women sitting in front of me, either that or I could just be envious of what they have. Their lives seem so perfect; they found the ideal love in one another – that's the most important thing of all, well at least to me. I really wish that I could find that someone special, the one who I knew was the one. After my last morsel of food had been devoured and Molly had come back with our bill, I decided that it was time to take my leave – and let the two lovers enjoy their alone time. "Thank you for letting me eat with you Amara and Michelle, you both were perfect company. I think that I should go now though, and let you two have your alone time."

"We're glad that you wanted to come over and eat with us. It's nice to get to know new people." Amara said with her usual smirk. Michelle looked at me and gave me a graceful smile.

"We really like you Serena, so don't think that you intruded on our date or anything like that. Amara and I are pretty much always together – so I don't want you to feel uncomfortable when you're around us."

"Oh I don't feel uncomfortable or anything, I just think that everyone needs their alone time with their special someone – and I think that I might have invaded one of your favorite personal spots. It's hard to get away from everyone and have a little bit of romantic time with your lover – not that I would know of course. But it's something that I dream of. Some place where my one and only go – just the two of us, and enjoy the company of one another. I know that you two spend a lot of time together – and you rightfully should. I can tell that both of you deeply love one another, and I feel as if I'm intruding in a private moment now. So I'm going to leave you two if that's all right. I also feel as if I owe you both something, so the check is on me." I took out my wallet and got out some money to pay for what all of us had eaten.

"You don't have to do that Serena – and don't worry you're welcome anytime to hang out with us. In fact – if you ever need someone to talk to, especially concerning matters of the heart – I'm always open. You're such a sweetheart that I would feel awful telling you that I wanted you to leave, and believe me when I say that I would never do anything of the sort." Michelle reached over and lightly touched me on the shoulder.

"We enjoy your company little kitten." Amara said, giving me a flirtatious wink.

"That's right – you're so bubbly and cheery, you seem to light up any room that you're in. Don't worry about the money though – I've got it…" Michelle said, pushing the money back towards me.

"I couldn't possibly let you guys pay for my large meal, especially after your brother paid for the tab last night, it's the least I can do. Besides, I feel like I owe you for your help." I said – mostly to Michelle for what she had told me earlier concerning the rocky beginning of her relationship with Amara.

"Serena, Michelle and I don't want you spending your hard earned money on food. Let's just say that it was our treat today – you can get the check next time. Deal?" Amara asked me, extending her hand for a handshake.

"It's a deal then." I replied, grabbing her hand and giving her a nice – firm handshake. "I better get going now though – it's 1:00 and I have to go back home. Mina and Raye are probably worried about me. Thanks again though!" I said as I got up and walked away from the booth.

Michelle and Amara waved goodbye to me, smiles spread across both of their faces. I'm glad that I made some new friends – even though I had to meet Amara in such an awkward and embarrassing manner. Despite the fact that I knew that the two of them were in love – I couldn't help but think about the first night that I had met Amara, when she and Michelle were getting frisky. I drove back home, hoping that Mina and Raye were done with their daily romp – that and they wouldn't be naked when I got home. The last thing I need is to see two naked people on the couch who have just finished many passionate hours of lovemaking – when I haven't gotten laid since - Seiya! The last time that we had a romp in the sac was over a year ago. I got out of the car, to find Raye coming out of the house charging at me full-speed. Well at least I know that they're not fucking right now.

"Serena – glad that you're back. Listen I really need your help today early at Polaris, so get in my car and let's go. You don't have to drive – since I see you've been driving already today."

"Do I have to?

"Yes!" Raye exclaimed at me from where she was standing. She looked dangerously close to dragging me to her car.

I decided to test the waters one last time before I even made a step towards the car. "Don't I even get an explanation first?"

"No explanations necessary, get your ass in the car now and let's go. Now!"

Apparently Raye was either stressed out or mad or both. I grumbled and mumbled my way to Raye's car – which was a red Mustang, and closed the door. I frantically hurried to buckle my seat belt as Raye got in the car. If there's one thing in life that I must say that I hate – besides men like Seiya, it's Raye's driving. Raye is a fucking speed demond, every single time I'm in the car with her I feel like we're either going to fly off the road and into a ditch or crash into someone's car at full speed. When Raye's mad her driving is about three times as worse as it is when she's happy, so I said a little prayer as Raye put her key in the ignition. As soon as that key had turned, that's when the ride began as I kept on re-assuring myself that I was going to be all right. Raye pulled out of our driveway at full speed – not even caring that someone was only a few feet behind her when she had gotten the tail of her car out of the driveway.

"Watch where you're going asshole, I'm doing something important!" Raye yelled out the window at the man behind us. He honked at us, as Raye slammed her foot on the accelerator. Raye had gone crazy. "Who does that little girl think that she is anyway? I'm going to show her whose boss."

I knew at that point that asking questions would be even more detrimental to my health than sitting in the passenger seat of Raye's car. I silently sat there as Raye continued to rant and rave about some woman that I had yet to meet. I wondered why she made Raye so angry – but it would be stupid to ask at this point. I guess I'll have to wait and see when I get there. Raye took a sharp right turn going 60 in a 35mph zone; while I clung onto the car door for dear life. That's when Raye's phone started ringing loudly in the glove compartment; for the most part she ignored it. Eleven minutes later we reached Polaris without getting a ticket – but running through a couple of red lights. As soon as the car stopped, I burst out of the car door – at that point I really wanted to get down on my knees and start kissing the ground.

"Come on Serena, stop goofing around! I have an appointment to keep – and you're needed." Raye said to me as she looked around her key ring for the Polaris key; Raye has an insane amount of keys on her key ring – and to me they all look the same. She grabbed the Polaris key in what I thought was record time, considering all the keys on the key ring – and jammed it in the door with such force that I thought it would break. Then she shoved the door open and it hit against the wall on the inside with a loud bang. Raye walked inside, noticed that she didn't hear footsteps right behind her, and turned around to glare at me.

"Get in here!" Raye yelled at me – sheesh you would think that they had just released Raye from the mental institution by the way that she was acting. I walked in behind her, and she immediately grabbed my arm and led me to the bar area. Already sitting at the table were three people: Darien, and a man with long brown hair were sitting at the table facing me – they both looked very serious. Although Darien smiled and waved at me when I entered the room. The other person sitting at the table looked kind of petit, but his or her back was turned to me. Judging by the body type I would think that it was a girl; and this girl had the most interesting hair color. It was as if her dye job had gone wrong or something because her hair was a shade of cotton candy pink.

"Sorry I'm late everyone – let's blame this on Serena." Raye said as she let go of me, after pushing me into a chair. Then she sat down next to me and proceeded to glare at the young woman with the cotton candy colored hair.

"I see that her royal ass-kisser has arrived." The pink haired girl said – I'm guessing that she was talking about Raye. "Who'd you bring with you – your girlfriend?"

"Talk to me like that again and see where it gets you!" Raye told the girl through gritted teeth. "I will have your ass in a car back home to your mother in no time – got it Rini?"

The girl – whose name apparently was Rini ignored Raye's comment and looked over at Darien. "Thank you for calling this meeting for me sir, it was very nice of you." She said with extra sweetness in her voice, while batting her eyelashes at Darien.

"You're welcome Rini – although I wish you wouldn't act so hostile towards Raye, she is your aunt after all, not to mention one of the owners of this club." Darien replied, ignoring Rini's flirtatious eyes.

"I really appreciate the opportunity to work here – and I just want to make it clear to Raye that I'm here to work. I'm just here to play my songs, mix some up – then leave. The only reason that you guys aren't hiring me on the spot is because you think that I'm too young to do this – admit it."

"Well" the brown haired man said, "I do think that you being only 17 is worrisome to us. But we hear that you're one of the best up and coming DJs – and this is a wonderful job opportunity for you. Not to mention aren't you turning 18 very soon?"

"At the end of the week sir." Rini replied. "I think that you guys should give me a chance and let me have the job."

"And what I'm saying is that your mother would never allow you to step foot in a club like this until you're over 18. It would be even better if you're over 21 – come to think about it, if I see you take one sip of alcohol missy, you will regret the day that you ever stepped foot in my club." Raye growled at Rini, "if you think that you can even imagine what your mother will do to you – think about what will happen if I catch you. Your mother is a lot nicer than I am. My sister has always been too nice for her own good."

"I promise you that I won't do any of those things. Like I said auntie Raye – I'm here to work, that's all. But…" Rini said as her eyes drifted to Darien, "meeting cute guys is an option too."

Raye's face turned a firey red, she was incredibly angry. She raised a hand up as if she was about to smack the kid – and that's when I realized what I was here for. I quickly grabbed her arm. "Raye! Calm down! Hitting her is going to get you nowhere. I know that you want to protect your niece but she's going to be 18 at the end of the week – she won't be a child anymore, and she's got to learn to make her own decisions." I yelled at her – and she quickly snapped out of it.

"Thanks Serena…I'm sorry everyone – I really don't know what got into me. I just want what's best for my niece."

"And I want what's best for me too auntie Raye. That's why I want to work here because only the best DJs can get a job at club Polaris. Not to mention this is one of the few clubs that is 18 and up around here, so it's a wonderful start for my career." Rini said as she looked at her aunt in a state of shock, then she turned to me. "Thank you by the way – Serena was it?"

I nodded a yes. "Everyone knows that Raye isn't a violent person, her temper just seems to get the best of her sometimes. That's why I'm here – to really keep an eye on her, since her girlfriend – my sister Mina is at work right now. It's really no problem Raye, I'm always here to help." I'm usually the peacemaker when Raye is around since I know her so well – and at times her firey personality can get the best of her. That's probably why she urgently dragged me here in the first place – her niece seems a bit like a spoiled brat, and I know that that kind of thing gets on Raye's nerves.

"How about we hear a demo of your work before we come to our final decision then Rini." Raye said – deciding that this was the best way to make up with her niece.

"Sure!" Rini said excitedly as she jumped out of her chair and ran to the turntables. Then she started playing some music and mixing it up – I must admit that I had my doubts that a 17 year old would be able to be a great DJ, since the majority of the DJs at Polaris had lots of experience- most of them were at least five years older than me, and had been working hard for years to try to get where they are today. Polaris only hires the best DJs – but I could tell by the way that Rini was spinning those turn tables that she was a great DJ.

Next she picked up the microphone, "this is DJ Sugar Candy coming to you live at club Polaris. Let's welcome our next act shall we…" she said as she turned another track and started to fire up some of the stripper music. Wow she's got a lot of talent. After two minutes of mixing a few tracks, it was obvious to everyone sitting at the table that Rini was a talented DJ.

I stood up and applauded along with the whole table, "bravo Rini! Bravo!" I called out to her, as she took a bow from behind the turntables.

"So?" Rini asked as she came back to the table.

Darien, the brown-haired man, and Raye all looked at each other. "I say that she's in." Darien said, smiling at Rini – then looking over at me and giving me a wink. A small blush crept onto my face – which I unsuccessfully tried to hide.

"Agreed" said the brown haired man.

"I think that…" Raye said as she stared at her niece – almost like a mother looking at a child "you've got the job Rini."

"Score! You won't regret this you guys, I promise! So when do I start?" Rini asked the trio, she was jumping up and down because she was so giddy with excitement.

"I'll call you and let you know." Darien replied, giving her another one of his handsome smiles. "Congrats and welcome to Polaris Rini. Taiki here will walk you out and give you a uniform." Darien said, motioning to the brown-haired man sitting next to him.

"Thank you so much everyone." Rini said, and shyly gave Raye a hug, "I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble auntie Raye – and for making you mad. Mom always told me that making you mad was a bad idea."

"Its fine sweetie, don't worry about it – welcome aboard. But don't think that I'm going to go easy on you because you're my niece. I don't go easy on Serena here and she's my girlfriend's sister! I'll see you around then Rini."

"Okay." Then Rini looked at me as she was heading out, "thanks Serena it was nice meeting you."

"Oh. Nice meeting you too Rini – I guess I'll see you soon. Bye-bye!" I told her as she headed out with Taiki.

"I'm so sorry for dragging you into this without any explanation Serena – but I really didn't want my temper to get the best of me in front of my niece. Mina had already gone to work – so I didn't have anyone to help me out. Since you know me so well, I thought that you would be able to stand up to me and make me realize that I'm not dealing with a five year old anymore – she's grown up."

"Don't worry about it Raye – you're making yourself sound so old Raye the way you talk about your niece – you're only 26."

"I know, but I guess you could say that I'm like a protective older sister when it comes to Rini – I've helped my sister raise her, and I'll do anything and everything to protect her – just like I would Mina." Raye said, "so thank you once again. Well I guess I'd better start setting up – Polaris isn't going to open for a while but I might as well get some things prepared. If you want to go and change Serena – I already brought your clothes and makeup bag here, they're in the trunk. Lita will be here soon – she'll probably fix you something before it's time to get to work."

"Thanks Raye," I said as my raven-haired friend left, leaving just me – and Darien in the room. Before I would have considered this something out of one of my worst nightmares – but now I don't know what to think. Darien got up from the table; and his eyes were completely fixated on me.

"Thanks for coming Serena. Normally we don't let anyone else in on board meetings – but you're always welcome anytime you want." Darien said to me with a goofy grin. "I'm really happy to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too," I told him honestly.

"Michelle told me that you joined her and Amara for breakfast?"

"Yes I did – it was lovely, they're great company." I said, looking nervously into his blue eyes, "and you're wonderful company as well Darien."

"Thank you. So – I was going to discuss this with you when you got here for work today when there was hardly anyone around. But I don't know what time you usually come in – and I wouldn't want to seem like a stalker." He said with a chuckle. I laughed at his remark as well.

"I don't think that you're a stalker anymore." I replied.

"That's great to know." Darien said, and then lightly cleared his throat – he seemed as if he was a bit nervous. "Anyway, I know that we said that we were going to wait to talk about our second date. But I couldn't wait any longer."

I looked at him – a bit intrigued, "and what's your idea for a second date?"

"Well, I was wondering what you would think about this. It might be a bit soon for a second date – but I would love to spend the day with you on Sunday."

"I'm listening" I replied flirtatiously.

"How about we start off the day with a bit of wine tasting? There's a cheap bus service from my place to the nearest winery – that way we don't have to drive there. Next we visit the brand new aquarium, which is also included on the bus trip. To end the date, we could have a moonlit picnic dinner, made by yours truly, on a small private beach – which happens to be a part of my backyard."

"Sounds – lovely" I replied. I was a bit shocked that he would invite me to his house so soon.

"Well would you like me to pick you up at say around noon on Sunday?" Darien asked, staring deeply into my eyes with those deep blue eyes of his.

"I would like that Darien. You already know the address; I think that you planned out a lovely date." Darien extended his hand out – in a manner like he would for a handshake with another guy. I gave him my hand – but instead of shaking it, he took it and gave me a light kiss on the back of my hand. I had no time to protest – but I must admit it was a really sweet gesture. Maybe he is nicer than I thought – Seiya never did things like this, no romantic picnics – nor did he ever take me to places that I actually liked. We always did what he wanted to do, we never went anywhere cultured like a winery, nor did we ever go to an aquarium – another place that I love. Those penguins are so cute. I guess I can open my heart a bit more to Darien. I'll let him get away with that little kiss on my hand – for now.

"I can't wait for Sunday." Darien said as he let go of my hand, and walked away – I'm guessing that he was leaving, going home or something.

I was somewhat excited for Sunday as well – despite the fact that I probably would try to keep this as a low key secret, and not let any of my friends in on it – except maybe for Michelle. I wonder if Michelle and Amara will be at Darien's house on Sunday? Something tells me that they'll make a quick exit the moment that Darien tells Michelle that I accepted a second date with him.

After I accepted the date with Darien, I went to Raye's car to get my clothes and then to the women's dressing room to change. I noticed that Yaten was already there – putting on his feminine attire for the night.

"Hello Serena – I didn't know that anyone else was already here. On Mondays I usually get here early since it's my feature night. Usually there's no one here – but I guess there's a first time for everything." He said to me while he put on a padded bra and stuffed it.

"I can leave if you want."

"Oh no, sit down Serena – I don't mind the company at all. This dressing room is a bit lonely and creepy when no one's here anyway." I stared at Yaten while he stuffed the bra – constantly checking in the mirror to see if his 'boobs' looked all right.

"So I guess you never take it all off do you Yaten?" The question popped out of my mouth before I could think of how he might take it, but Yaten just laughed once again.

"Oh Serena – you're so cute. But you're right – I don't take it all off. You could say that it's more of a bra and panty show for me. I've gotten so good at stuffing my bra though – you'd think that I actually had breasts, especially once I add some latex on the top – put it all over my bra – attach some to my chest as well. It's almost as if I was born with boobs." He said as he continued to stuff his bra, moving the stuffing around so it looked just right – like a real woman's breasts. Then he moved on to the latex, which was relatively easy for him to handle. He used makeup to enhance the life-likeness of his breasts.

"If had taught some of my friends from high school how to do that, they would have worshipped you." Yaten laughed again at my remark, and then put on a sexy green dress.

"What do you think Serena? Does it bring out my eyes?" Yaten asked, as he let his hair down.

"Yes." I said as I moved towards the women's bathroom. "Sorry Yaten – but I feel a bit uncomfortable changing in front of a man – so if you don't mind, I'm going to make a short trip to the bathroom."

"Oh I completely understand Serena, don't worry about it. Take your time, I'll be here – it takes a lot of makeup to make this face look feminine." Yaten joked with me as I went into the bathroom to change into my bartender attire. When I came out, Yaten had already finished putting on his foundation and concealer– and already he was starting to look more woman-like.

"So Serena – I hate to intrude into your personal life, but how are you feeling now? I hope that you're better since the Darien escapade." Yaten remarked as he debated with himself on which eye shadow he should wear tonight.

"I am actually. In fact, if you want to know, Darien and I were set up on a date yesterday." I told Yaten, who temporarily stopped what he was doing to stare at me; completely dumbfounded.

"Really?"

"Really Yaten I kid you not."

"Well how did it go? Was he a complete and total asshole once again?"

"Actually no – he was a nice gentleman."

"That's good to hear Serena. I'm glad that someone around here is finding true love. Believe me my girl problems are high in the sky. No one wants to date a drag queen – but I've got to eat and pay the bills, so I'm going to be a drag queen for a lot longer than I originally thought." Yaten said as he went back to his makeup kit; apparently he had decided to give himself a smoky eye mixed with a bit of dark green. It looked really nice on him; I definitely would have to ask him for some makeup tips. "Anyway, remember what I said – don't let an asshole treat you badly." Yaten continued as I reached for my eye shadow.

That's when Lita came in with a huge smile on her face, she was already dressed in her Polaris attire, and it looked like she already had makeup on. She probably came in here for gossip.

"Hi Lita! Raye told me that you get here early, I'm glad that you're here." I told her with a smile on her face. Yaten looked up and waved at her, then went back to applying his makeup.

"Hi Serena, hi Yaten." She said cheerfully as she took a quick glance at herself in the mirror, then she pulled up a chair next to me. "I heard from a little birdie that you went out on a date with Darien, how was it?"

Shit – well I shouldn't be surprised that the whole world seems to know about my date with Darien.

"It went well actually Lita – Darien's a pretty charming guy. But we don't have to talk about me – you seemed to hit it off pretty well with Trista last night." I remarked, thankful for my quick wit in terms of changing the subject.

Lita's face turned tomato red. "Well she sure is something – we're going out on Saturday before work. I really like her. She might even stop by the club tonight, because I'm going to be working the bar with you tonight."

"That's awesome Lita! Congrats. I'm glad that you two really hit it off."

"But what about you and Darien though Serena?"

Damn it- she's going to just bring it back to Darien isn't she? "Like I said before, he was a nice gentleman and I enjoyed my night with him."

"What about the possibility of oh, I don't know – a second date?" Lita asked me mischievously – it was like she already knew.

"There could be a second date-" I told her hesitantly as I finished applying my eye shadow. Just then, my stomach growled loudly. Perfect distraction!

"What the hell was that?" Yaten asked, looking around for the source of the sound.

"Just my stomach telling me that it's time to eat. Lita could you make me a little something? I've already got my money ready." I said, handing her fifteen dollars and telling her "make me whatever you think that I would like."

"Sure – let's go to the kitchen and feed that stomach of yours." Lita replied as I packed up my makeup. I would put my lipstick on after I ate something.

In the kitchen, Lita whipped me up a large bowl of pasta with marinara sauce and meatballs, which I ate heartily with a medium-sized glass of coke.

"This is absolutely delicious Lita." I told her as I rolled the pasta around my fork, ready to inhale more of my dinner.

"I'm glad that you like it Serena. Well it's about time for me to start getting things ready in the kitchen. Just come back there and give me the plate and glass once you're finished eating okay?"

"All right. Thanks again Lita" Sweet, my stomach made her forget all about Darien! Way to go stomach.

"One more thing though Serena…" Lita said as she opened the door to the kitchen a little.

"Yes?" I asked in mid bite.

"You're not off the hook about Darien – I want to know all the juicy details at the bar tonight." Lita told me as she walked into the kitchen.

Damn it! Oh well, I guess I can't win every battle. I finished the last of my pasta, downed the small bit of coke that I had left and went to the kitchen to give Lita my bowl and glass. The kitchen staff had already started getting to work under the supervision of Lita, who saw me and quickly took my bowl and plate away with a smile. She waved to me as I went back into the dressing room to apply my lipstick.

There were tons of people there – much more than I had ever seen in the dressing room, as I moved through the crowd to get to my bag, which Yaten had guarded all the while that I was gone. He was fully dressed up now – and I must admit looked like a very attractive 20-something woman.

"Don't stare too hard." Yaten joked with me as he looked at himself in the mirror. "Well I'm ready for tonight. I'm going to go and hang out backstage for a little while. I will talk to you later Serena – and by the way, if you do go out on a second date with Darien and it doesn't work out, I'm always available." Yaten said to me with a smile as he left the room – seemingly floating past people as they hurriedly put on their costumes and uniforms. I wonder what that's supposed to mean. Oh well I'm not going to look too deeply into it. It's almost time to get to work. I quickly took out my lipstick and applied it, making sure that it was shut tight before I placed it back in my bag. I put the bag underneath the table, and pushed myself out of the dressing room. Raye was already outside of the dressing room – telling everyone that it was almost time to open the club.

"All right people – you know the drill, let's get this show on the road! Have a great night everyone, Polaris is about to open in a minute!" She called out to everyone as she made her rounds. When she reached me she came very close to my ear and whispered, "thanks again with your help today – don't stress yourself out too much tonight, and have fun. You're the best bartender out there, so flaunt your stuff tonight all right Serena." Raye gave me a wink and left, yelling out more orders to everyone around her.

The night was going by pretty quickly, and nothing too interesting had happened. I served customers with a cheery smile – I was on top of my game tonight. Nothing could really put an end to my good mood. About two hours into the night, Lita arrived at the bar station next to mine. We had a bit of time to chitchat when Yaten appeared on stage, and less people were at the bar.

"Hey Serena – how's it going tonight? Seems like you've been doing pretty well – I was watching you while I was in the kitchen."

"It's going pretty well – I really have nothing to complain about."

"I'm so happy to hear that, especially considering past events…" Lita started – but was cut off, and I have no idea by what. She seemed to be staring into space, it was almost as if she had been completely frozen. I tried to follow the direction in which she was looking with my eyes, but it was too hard because of the changing lights.

"What is it that you see, Lita?"

"Whatever you do, don't point – we don't want him to notice us and come over here."

"Him? Who's he? Where is he?"

"Shit, he saw me! Oh please don't let him come down here. Help me Serena, please help me."

"Lita I can't do a damned thing if I don't know who he is and what he wants from you – so spill the beans and let me see what I can do."

Lita's eyes widened, "I'll be back later Serena – I've gotta go to the bathroom."

"But you just got here Lita!" She completely ignored me as she sprinted away from her station, which temporarily left me with a customer who had just came in – and had originally went to Lita's station. Great now I have an extra customer – and maybe even more after he leaves. Whatever the trouble is, I hope that Lita comes back soon – and that she tells me so I can know what's going on.

"Hey tootse, hurry up with those pitchers of beer, we're thirsty!" The new customer, a heavy-set balding man about twice my age with rotting teeth called out to me.

"I'm coming, hold on a minute sir, I have to serve this gentleman here first since he was here before you if that's all right." I replied, looking up at him and smiling – that was a big mistake.

The man grinned cheesily up at me, "actually I kind of like being here – I don't mind the wait now that I see you. What's your name cutie?"

"It's Serena," I said after I had given the gentleman his drink, and then started to busy myself by filling the pitchers full of beer.

"Well Serena, how would you like to hang out with a high roller? I'm quite a nice man."

"No thank you – I'm not really looking for love right now" of course that was a lie, but what would I tell him that I'm technically single and available, since Darien and I aren't an official couple yet?

"That's all right – I'm not either, I like fuck buddies a lot better. Maybe you could be mine."

I cringed as I continued to fill the pitchers. Just when my day was going fine…

"You know Serena, you're such a beautiful girl. Plus you have such a nice rack. Why don't we get to know each other better? I'm sure that you could take a few minutes off of work to come and hang out for a while with me in my private room?"

"No sorry, I can't, and would you please refrain from using such vulgarity around me sir?" Wow he sounds like an older version of Seiya, only he's even more persistent and disgusting. The only difference is that he doesn't seem to be as into himself as Seiya is. I started filling another pitcher, finished it, and picked up all of the pitchers – two by two with my hands. I was ready to hand them off to the man so he could get away from me.

"Aaww come on baby, let's at least have a feel" he said as he thrust out a hand – which was quickly coming towards my breast. I grimaced and realized that there was nothing I could do – I didn't have the time to drop the pitchers and move his hand. Plus there was nowhere to go, the bar was crowded with people. Everyone was completely oblivious to my predicament. I closed my eyes, ready to start screaming for help.

"That's very inappropriate sir." A different man's voice rang into my ears. I opened my eyes, and there in front of me was the man from earlier today – Taiki. He was firmly grasping the man's wrist. "I believe that you owe the lady an apology." He said as he tightened his grip on the man's wrist.

"S-s-s-orry Serena." The man said following the tall man's instructions.

"Great, now pay for your pitchers and leave."

"Here's your money ma'am." The elder man said, handing me the money as I pushed the pitchers towards him. "Thank you." With that he got off the barstool and left.

"Wow."

"You're welcome." Taiki said, smiling at me.

"You're Taiki right? I think that we met this evening."

"Yes. I remember you – you're Serena, Raye's girlfriend's sister."

"That's right. So can I offer you a drink? It's on the house for patrons of Polaris, and also for saving me from a horrible predicament."

"Sure why not."

"What would you like?"

"Whatever you want to make me is fine – and make it cheap too, I wouldn't want you to spend too much of your paycheck on me."

"That's so nice of you – but I insist on using our finest ingredients just for you. Come on – it's not like you don't have a favorite or anything." I coaxed him. That's' when I realized that Lita had came back. She was a bit more relaxed, and was looking down at her feet when she walked. I waved and smiled at her "hey Lita, glad that you're back. Taiki here, I'm sure that you know him – since he's one of the owners of Polaris, saved me from a disgusting pervert." Lita looked up and stared at Taiki in horror.

She calmly walked over towards me, and it was apparent to me that she didn't really know what to do with herself. She seemed really frightened. "I'm going to go back to the kitchen now. That's what I came to tell you, bye Serena." She didn't even acknowledge Taiki's presence when she left. What the hell is wrong with her?

Author's endnote: Why is Lita afraid of Taiki? I guess we'll have to wait until chapter five. Until then, please review. Thanks all.