I would have posted this yesterday but as you all are aware was having issues and I couldn't. I appologize for that but enjoy!
Fess Up
"Hey girls!" Serena bubbled and sat at the booth her friends were congregated at. "How's it going?" She looked from one girl to the other and noticed the same look on each of their faces: curiosity. "Um… what?"
"We heard you had a date meatball head." Raye smirked and leaned into her hand as the other girls nodded in agreement. Serena sighed and looked at her friends wondering if she should relay the whole date to them. The part where she tipped over the canoe was rather embarrassing but it lead to the better part of the night. After they had shared the kiss Darien had stayed some distance from her and was eager to take her home.
"Would you just spill the beans so I don't have to keep eavesdropping?" Sapphire's head suddenly popped up from the booth behind them. She smiled and shook her head.
"I don't have to tell any of you anything." She laughed and happily accepted the milkshake Andrew brought her. Sapphire moved from his booth into theirs and stared at her with a blank face. "I'm not saying one word."
"You totally kissed him!" Lita punched her blonde friend's arm in a boyish way. "Was it totally awesome? I bet kissing him would be so…" Lita paused for a moment then shrugged. "I don't even have a word to describe the way I know I'd feel."
"Serena, you had better tell me what happened on that date or I'll go and interrogate him. Is that what you want?" Sapphire pointed his finger at her and shook it a little.
"Interrogate who?" Darien suddenly appeared and pulled a chair up to the table. The group fell quiet and Serena was thankful for that. "Ah, must be me. My ears were burning." Sapphire looked at him then to Serena. "Interrogate me on what?"
"Your date." Sapphire grinned. Darien smirked and leaned back in his chair then looked at Serena with curious eyes. The simple action refreshed the group's curiosity.
"Well Serena… why don't you tell your friends how our date went. You're so very good at telling stories." She glared at him then gulped down her milkshake. "Or should I tell them?" Her eyes shifted to the ever so mischievous grin on his face then she slammed the shake onto the table.
"Shut up all of you! Dear lord can't anyone around here just live their lives?" She sighed. "Okay okay, it was a terrible date. Mainly my fault. I was just looking to pick a fight and managed to tip a canoe over almost killing myself. Thank God Darien didn't let me continue down river. Then we talked and he took me home. End of story." She spewed it all out with one breath making Darien grin.
"That's it? That's all?" Mina asked, her face registering disappointment. "That sucks. You two are the most boring people to ever walk the earth." Sapphire looked from Serena to Darien then back again with a twinkle in his eye. He could tell by the look on Darien's face that Serena had left out part of the story. Darien then leaned forward and looked at Serena, still smirking as he began to talk.
"Serena. If you're going to tell your friends about your date with me I'm going to have to ask that you tell it in full and with the accuracy it deserves." The girls turned their eyes on him then back to Serena with glee.
"There's more? Spill it missy!" Lita demanded and pointed at her friend. "Thank heavens he's here otherwise we would have believed that." She laughed. "Maybe you should tell us Darien. Obviously Serena has something to hide."
"No, Darien, I think you should just leave us alone and go talk with your own friends." Serena gave him a look of warning making him hold up his hands. "Well… what are you waiting for Darien? Go away."
"He's not going anywhere sweetie." Sapphire looked at Darien pointedly. Serena sighed and looked down at the table. "Now, spill it."
"I don't know what you all think you're going to learn. I mean, that was the date. Enough said." Everyone let out an exasperated sigh then quieted as Darien began to talk.
"Fine. I'll tell the story. So, I picked her up at her house at exactly six, because I like to be punctual. Anyway, she was wearing this pink milkmaid outfit that looked like you helped her with that one saph…"
"Oh… you went for sexy did you?" Sapphire laughed and winked at the blushing blonde. "Well, did it work?"
"Can I tell the story Saph?" Darien looked at him then went back to the story. "Anyway, I took her to my favorite canoeing spot and we went out on the water to a little island I like to go to. It's mine and I have a small cottage there. She didn't know that at the time and so we ate dinner. I brought chicken alfredo on bowtie pasta, green beans, and dried cranberries. It was quite good if I must say so myself. Normally I would have had a red wine with that but Serena's not yet old enough to drink so I brought water. When I said that she got pissed at me and started to get snappy. She then stormed off and got in the canoe, wound up tipping over and so I had to pull her from the river, soaking wet. The canoe kept going but I got it back and we walked upriver of the island then canoed over to it. That's when I took her to the cottage. She called her house and reported to her parents that she wasn't sure when she'd be home. While I stepped out to fire up the boiler Serena hung her soaked clothes in the bathroom and put on the robe I keep there. I changed into fresh clothes and put the clothes by the fire to dry. She took a bath and got freaked out by a beetle stuck in her hair, there's no power at the cabin so she was in the complete dark when I went in there. Guess what I found?" He smiled and leaned back in the chair again making everyone gasp at the realization that Serena was completely nude in the bathtub when Darien found her. "Yeah, but, we got her all wrapped up in a towel and took care of the beetle before going back out to the living room by the fire. I told her not to worry about the fact that I had seen her nude because I am a doctor and that's sort of something you see a lot. Of course, you know Serena, she wouldn't stop talking and I found it so adorable that I just had to kiss the poor girl. She surprised me though and kissed me right after. It was then that I decided to take her home. So I did. That's the end of the story." Serena was thankful that he left out the part where she dropped the towel and was pressed to him rather intimately as his hands roamed over her.
"Now that's a date." Raye laughed and looked around at the nodding girls. "So are you two going out again?"
"We didn't make plans to but I don't see why not." Darien shrugged and smiled at her. "What do you think Serena?" She blushed and nodded slightly. "Good… how about this Friday? That way it's not a school night in case you decide to do something else to lengthen the date."
"Whatever." Serena looked down at the table. She could hardly believe Darien was telling her friends about their date. She looked up at Sapphire who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Great. I'll see you then meatball head." Darien smiled and stood up. As his form retreated her friends gathered closer to her again with a fresh look in their eyes. She knew they were about to ask more questions. They knew her well enough to see the embarrassment on her face.
"Soo… he saw you naked." Lita teased and winked. "You think he liked what he saw?" Sapphire laughed at that making all the girls look at him with curiosity. "What's so funny blue?" He only looked at her then smiled.
"He asked her on another date didn't he?" The girls' eyes widened as they looked at Serena. "My guess is that something more happened on that date… he said you two kissed… were you naked when you did?" Serena glared at Sapphire but didn't respond. "I knew it. His hands were all over you weren't they?"
"No Sapphire! They weren't. Surprising… yes but no. They weren't all over me. In fact the moment that he did touch me he pulled away as if I was made of hot lava. Then he took me home." She sighed. "That's not normal is it? I mean… if you have a naked woman in your arms why not feel her up… you know?"
"Are you saying you wanted him to touch you intimately?" Amy asked, her tone stoic as usual. The girls looked at her and laughed.
"Why the hell not? I'd let him do whatever the hell he wanted to do." Raye exclaimed and looked at Serena. "So, you're telling me, you were naked and kissing him, yet the man didn't want to totally go to town? I don't get it." She shook her head. "Oh my God! What if he's afraid of having sex with you?" Everyone looked at Raye sharply.
"Who said anything about sex?" Serena's eyes widened and looked at her close friend. She was talking about a make out session not about going all the way with someone. That WAS something that needed a little consideration; contrary to Sapphire's preaching.
"Oh please Serena don't be so Naïve." Mina waved her hand and looked at Raye. "So… you think Darien might not want to feel Serena up because he's afraid of having sex with her? Why would you think that?" Sapphire looked from one girl to the other as they all pondered the question.
"Maybe he's never had a virgin." A masculine voice Serena recognized as Diamonds chimed in. He slid into the booth next to his brother and smiled at all the girls. "It's a pretty intimidating thing really. At least for me it was." Diamond looked at Serena. "I'm sure he's scared as all hell."
"I don't get it… what's the big deal? That was hardly an issue for my first." Mina chewed on the inside of her cheek and leaned back in the booth as the girls looked at her in disbelief. "What? It wasn't. Maybe that's because it wasn't really a big deal to me." She shrugged.
"Of course it is." Diamond looked at her. "That guy was an asshole if he didn't think it was a big deal." Mina blushed and looked down. "You girls don't get it do you? Other than miss blondie there how many of you have experienced that right of passage?" The girls looked at one another until they shook their heads in denial. Amy was so red everyone thought she might pass out. "None of you? Great… Since it wasn't a big deal to her I need another victim to illustrate my point." As if she had been listening Emerald walked into the arcade. "There we go. Emmy!" He called to her as she turned and smiled.
"Yes?" She rushed over to the table and looked at Diamond. "What do you need?" The girls noticed how eager she was to talk to him.
"Sit down and let me ask you a few questions." She nodded and sat in the chair Darien had left there earlier. "Do you remember your first time?" She blinked. "The first time you had sex."
"Of course! That's something a girl never forgets!" She laughed like a hyena to hide her embarrassment. "Besides… how could I not? I mean… that was the defining moment of my life! He was my first love and he took me from being a girl and made me into a woman." She was talking as if it were all a dream. "Why are you asking me this?" She turned her eyes on him, now completely intrigued.
"I'm trying to teach a lesson here. Just cooperate." He sighed. "Do you see this guy anymore?" She looked at him as if he were foreign as he steadily stared at her, willing her to keep talking.
"Diamond… you know I do… what's going on here?" She looked around the table at the girls staring at her then at Sapphire who was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Diamond… you do know you were my first right?" The girls all gasp and looked at him as he shook his head at the table then looked at her with a smile.
"I'm fully aware of that but will you just humor me here. Please, no more questions just testimony?" She bit her lip and nodded realizing that he was trying to illustrate a point not tell everyone about his sex life. "Okay… so, you see him often. Have you been with anyone since him?" She looked at him sharply then shrugged.
"Oh… a few here and there… of course… none of them compare to you." She blushed as the girls' eyes widened and looked at Diamond.
"Why is that Emmy?" He asked softly and looked at Serena purposefully before turning back to Emerald. "Go ahead you can tell the truth."
"Well… I'm not just saying that Diamond. No one compares to you because… just because. You were my first and I compare everyone else to you. I mean… when you lose your virginity that's like… I don't know… it's hard to describe but it's the defining moment of your life as a woman. You girls know what I mean right." She smiled at the five girls sitting in the booth.
"I disagree. It's just another experience." Mina shrugged. "Really I think there's a lot of hype about it. Everyone chalks it up to be this wonderful, magical experience but you know… it's not." Emerald looked at Mina with pity in her eyes.
"You must not have had a very good experience… were you raped or he just wasn't any good?" Mina glared angrily and bit her cheek again. "Never mind. You don't need to answer that. It's okay." Emerald smiled. "What about the rest of you?"
"That's why we're having this lesson." Diamond said softly and watched as Emerald looked at each girl with shock on her face. Her eyes immediately turned to Serena then back to Diamond. "I'm sorry… I just assumed… Look girls. Your first time is… going to be that moment in your life that you become women. I picked a great guy and we're still friends. If you pick the wrong guy and he turns out to be a jerk you might not want to be intimate with a man again. You'll always compare others to your first so… yeah. It's a big deal. I was worried about Diamond here for a minute because he had this whole speech thing ready for me just before. I mean… numerous times he asked me if I was sure and if I needed more time. I think you're just a worry wart." She pushed him a little.
"That was a big deal though Emmy. I mean, that was your moment and if I messed up then what? I didn't want to mess it up. Not only for me but for others. You know? If I had been crappy and awkward… then what? What would you have thought of me? Would you be sitting here right now talking of your experience fondly? I think not." She nodded in agreement then stood and looked at Sapphire.
"Well, I need to get to work. Bye girls. God luck!" She rushed off leaving the table full of girls to stare at Diamond.
"So yeah, see what I mean? Darien's probably scared silly about the prospect of being your first." Diamond looked at Serena then shrugged. "Like I said. Maybe he's never had a virgin and has no idea how to go about it. Or maybe he's innocent himself… I seriously doubt that though. He does not have the attitude of a man who hasn't gotten any." Sapphire looked at his brother with warning in his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. She was dating me and she knows I've been around the block a few times. Didn't really bother her!" Serena looked at the table.
"So… what do I do? I mean… I don't really just want to hop in bed with him but… you know?" Everyone nodded at the same time when she quieted.
"Look angel, just because he pulled away from you once doesn't mean it'll happen again. It was your first date and I'm sure he was trying to be gentile. I think my brother's making way too many assumptions about him. You know how men are in the face of competition." Sapphire smiled and looked at Diamond as he shrugged.
"Diamond was the one who told me to give Darien a chance though! I mean, I was standing in his living room telling him he could have me if he wanted me." Sapphire glared at Diamond and let out a low growl.
"You what?" Diamond looked at Sapphire then Serena and back to Sapphire. "How could you let it get that far?" The girls all looked at Serena with shock written on their face. The idea that Serena was willing to be with Diamond was almost a betrayal.
"I never even touched her Sapphire, don't worry yourself so much. Anyways I have to go. Let me know how this pans out okay Serena?" He patted her on the head and walked calmly out of the arcade despite his building anger. He wanted to find Darien and kill him. By pulling away from Serena so suddenly he had her second-guessing herself when there was nothing wrong with her. "That idiot." He growled and began to walk to his apartment. He hoped Darien would screw up but not so badly that Serena wasn't confident in herself. Any issue between them was Darien's fault, not hers.
Three months passed and Serena had finally graduated from school. She and Darien had been going out every Friday and each one ended the same way. They'd be kissing one another, and she'd get as close to him as possible but the moment she pressed herself to him or he let his hands begin to wander he'd end it and say he had to get up early the next morning. She knew he was lying. She'd even gone to the hospital the next day and found out that Darien doesn't work Saturdays. He was on call but he didn't have to work.
She didn't bother telling the girls or Sapphire. Any of them would have told Diamond and she knew that despite his cool demeanor that day he had been furious with Darien. She knew there'd be blood if she told Diamond that Darien was still doing it.
It was truly frustrating. She wanted to talk to Darien about it but couldn't seem to broach the question. She'd gotten him to talk a little about a few past girlfriends but he hadn't talked much. He said he didn't want to bring up the past when she was with him in the present.
Sighing she walked downstairs and sat at the table where her father was sitting on the phone talking to a potential employer. She waited as he walked and smiled when he got off the phone and looked at her with a large grin. "I got the job!"
"That's awesome Daddy!" She jumped up and hugged him. He swung her around and set her back down. "Finally… and I got a raise from before. Your mother can stop working and I can pay Darien back… that young man… how are things with you two? You don't talk about him as much as I'd expect." She smiled and looked at him.
Her eyes looked conflicted which made his face fall a little. "I don't know Daddy… I really don't know how things are between us." He knitted his brow and stared deep into her eyes. "Daddy… was mom the first girl you… you um…"
"I'll kill him." Ken turned on his heels and went to grab his keys. "I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. They're all the same! I swear to you…"
"No! Daddy! Stop! It's not what you think." Ken stopped in his tracks and looked at her with concerned eyes. "I'm still the innocent girl you brought home from the hospital. Just with exotic dancing skills." She laughed to hide the embarrassment she felt beginning to show on her cheeks.
"Then what is the problem sweetheart?" He sat down and looked at her expectantly. What sort of issue could Darien, the gentile rich doctor, and Serena be having? "You know you can tell me anything."
"I just… I don't know… but, was mom the first girl you um… you know?" He took his wire frame glasses off and set them on the table so he could rub his eyes in contemplation. The answer he should tell her wasn't the truth but he didn't want to lie.
"No. No she wasn't but I wasn't your mother's first either." He defended himself. "I don't understand… why are we talking about this?" He was suddenly uncomfortable. He'd always feared the day he had to have "the talk" with Serena but he didn't expect to do it alone. He thought Ilene would tell her the facts then he'd follow up with the typical "all men are pigs" comment.
"I just wanted to know." She felt herself moving away from her questions. She could have this conversation with her mother when she got home. "I guess there's nothing wrong."
Ken's mind was spinning. What had just happened? What was happening? Then a thought occurred to him. "Is he pressuring you in some way? I set him straight if he is! I'll do it right now even!" Ken went to stand up again confident that he'd found the reason she was upset. That had to be it. Darien was an older therefore more experienced man and was probably pressuring his little girl. He couldn't allow that.
"No! Dad! The problem is he's not!" She blurted out then shut her mouth tightly as her father froze in his footsteps. Some time passed and neither of them dared to speak a word. She knew she had to say something before her father's mind went reeling again. "I mean… he just… I don't know if Darien really likes me or not. He'll kiss me and hug me but that's it. He won't really touch me at all… is there something wrong with me?" Ken slowly turned to her, his eyes scanning her as if she was in a new light. How could he have missed it? How could he have overlooked the way she'd become more that his little girl? He'd been with her at the interview when Sapphire had asked her to dance but he'd never seen her perform. His daughter, his little angel was well on her way to becoming a woman and somehow, he had been looking at her as if she were still five. "I mean… is there something about me that…"
"Sweetie… there's nothing wrong with you. I'm sure he's trying to be a gentleman. Like he should be. I know I didn't exactly treat your mother with respect when we were dating… we were at it all the time then she told me she was expecting and we got married. I'm glad we wound up together but I wish it wasn't like that. I mean… your mother and I… please don't think less of her for this… but the first time we were together we were in my car. I was such a jackass." He shook his head. "But she loved me anyway and gave me two beautiful children. Maybe Darien's just trying to take things slow honey. You are considerably younger." She frowned and looked down.
"But dad… on our first date, when I tipped that canoe over we wound up drying our clothes. I was completely nude in front of him and the second he touched me it was like… like he was a vampire and I was made of garlic." Ken's face was slightly red as he thought about the potentially compromising situation. "I mean… why would he do that?"
"Serena. I don't know but… I just don't know. If that would have happened to your mother and I… I would not have been as considerate. I would have mauled her." He chuckled making Serena laugh. "Why don't you just ask him? Maybe he's waiting…" Ken swallowed the lump in his throat as he realized what he was about to say. "Waiting for you to make the first move."
"No he's not. I've tried." His jaw dropped. His little girl had tried to seduce an older man? He'd definitely missed the part where she matured into a young woman. "He distances himself from me immediately. I can't believe I'm telling you this but… I want him to treat me like a real woman." Ken slammed himself back into the chair and closed his eyes as he processed Serena's words. He had always said she could tell him anything but he was not ready for that! Not at all!
"Honey… I can see why you're upset… but… I can't say I empathize with you. You're my little girl and… no father wants his little girl to have sex with a guy… even when you're married I'll probably have an issue with it." She smiled. Talking to her dad about it had made her feel better. "I mean… I'll accept it since that's what you want. I certainly know it's not really a want, it's a need but still…" He trailed off and immediately stood and poured himself some coffee.
"Thank you Daddy… I feel better now that I've talked to you. It still doesn't solve anything but… I feel better. I'm going to the arcade. Darien's going to pick me up there so let mom know. Bye!" She kissed him on the cheek and rushed out of the house. Walking down the road she looked around and enjoyed the full summer sun. It was beautiful out really and she almost regretted wanting to go to the arcade when she reached the doors. Reluctantly she walked in and back to the booth where her friends were waiting including Diamond and Sapphire. "Hey guys… what's up?" She sat down and looked at them.
"We want updates." Raye said flatly. She was never one to be subtle. "We want full updates and we want them now. You've been sort of sulky lately and we want to know. Has Darien completely gropped you yet?" All the girls leaned towards Serena hopefully.
She sat there quietly not wanting to have this conversation again. It was sort of a moot point for them. What could they do about it? Nothing, that's what. "I don't want to talk about this right now okay? We're going to go out tonight and I really don't want to…"
"That's a no." Diamond answered for her and stood up, walking out of the arcade with purpose. He couldn't believe this. It had been three months and Darien hadn't even touched her. True, Diamond had dated her for a while and not laid a finger on her but he did it because he knew she loved Darien. He waited for the black haired man he knew was coming to collect Serena. When Darien showed up he grabbed the younger man forcefully and pushed him into the alley next to the arcade.
Darien was surprised but knew Diamond and didn't feel like he was in any danger. He still didn't appreciate the rough actions though. "What are you doing Diamond?" Darien growled as Diamond shoved him against the wall.
"What's your problem asshole?" Darien blinked a few times and looked at Diamond with confused eyes. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to her?"
"What are you talking about? Doing to who?" Diamond released Darien and sighed. "Diamond… what are you talking about?"
"Serena. Do you know what you're doing to her? You do realize that the song she sung as the club was for you right?" Darien looked at Diamond as if the white haired man was insane. "She thinks there's something wrong with her because of you."
"Why? What did I do to make her think there was something wrong with her?" Darien couldn't think of anything. He'd treated her with so much respect it was almost painful for him.
"Nothing, that's the issue… Darien, why aren't you treating her the way she deserves to be treated?" Darien stared at him blankly. "Are you really that daft? Darien she wants you! She a Goddamned woman and you're treating her like she's a child! Is it that you've never had a virgin before? Or are you one yourself?"
"Get off of me will you?" Darien pushed Diamond away and growled. "I don't see how it's any of your business." Darien began to walk towards the arcade doors again when Diamond grabbed him.
"Look, If you don't start treating her like the sensual woman she is I will." Darien stared at Diamond in disbelief. "She will leave you."
"Are you threatening me?" Darien stepped into Diamond. "You're telling me… what? That if I don't have sex with my girlfriend you're going to steal her away from me?"
"I'm telling you that if you don't at least hit second or third base you're not going to have a girlfriend anymore." Darien's face turned red with anger as he tried to calm himself.
"What has Serena been saying? Did she tell you that I'm reluctant to touch her?" Diamond realized the mistake he'd made. It wasn't his place to talk to Darien the way he was. "I didn't realize every detail of our relationship was under scrutiny!"
"Understand okay… she doesn't want to say anything to us but we sort of force her to. We're concerned… that's all. You are going to lose her if you don't treat her like a woman." Darien stood there considering Diamond's words and sighed. He'd been wondering what Serena thought about his actions. He didn't want to rush into anything. He loved her and wanted her first time to be perfect. He knew how he wanted it to happen but not when. Diamond was right. There really wasn't an excuse for him not, at least touching her.
Darien stepped into the arcade and over to Serena who smiled wholly at him. "Let's go… I think we need to talk." The girls all gasp and looked at their blonde friend who simply stood and walked out of the arcade with her hand in his. He lead her to the park and sat down on a bench near the rose garden. "Serena… are you unhappy with us?"
"What?" She gasp and looked at him worriedly. "Why would you ask me that? I'm happy with you." She then went quiet and looked down. "Well… there is one thing… why won't you touch me when we're kissing?" He sighed and took her hands in his.
"I don't allow my hands to roam because… I know where that will lead us. I know that if I touch you… we're going to wind up in bed together and I really don't want to rush anything. I love you and I don't want to ruin this." She stared at him and looked at the ground.
"So… it's not that you're worried about the fact that I'm a virgin?" She asked softly making him chuckle.
"No, I'm not concerned about that. Even if you weren't I'd still act the way I have. I have to admit… I've been reckless in the past. There have been a few women who only wanted me for sex and it's frustrating. I never want you to feel like that with me." He smiled and stood. "Let's go and get dinner then go back to the cottage. We can hang out there for a while and just listen to nature and ponder our relationship." She smiled and nodded her head.
"Okay, let's do that." She took his hand and wondered what had brought on that conversation. Whatever it was, she was grateful.
