How About a Cup of Coffee?

Chapter 12 B

(This chapter is rated R, kiddies. It contains some material that may not be suitable for children under 14. Please use discretion when reading… there is a sex scene, people. It's not too graphic—but it's there. If you're underage—don't read this, and don't say I didn't warn you.)

*

Serena awoke to the feeling of golden warmth all around her. She opened her eyes and attributed the goldenness to the fact that the sun was on her, and the warmth to… wait a second. What was the warmth from? She had barely enough room to turn over when she discovered what the warmth was.

Darien Shields, sleeping like a baby, right next to her.

She didn't need a mirror to know she was blushing profusely. Stealthily, she crept out of his bed, located a thick robe in the closet and ambled out the door.

***

It was a stroke of luck—pure luck—that housekeeping was about to work on her room. As soon as they saw her, they shouted surprised exclamations in Italian, so she couldn't understand, and fled the hallway quickly. She had just enough time to sprint and catch the door from closing without her inside.

Once there, she took refuge on her soft, enormous bed; it wasn't that she was scared, she just wasn't sure how much longer her legs would hold her. Instinct made her curl up and draw the covers around her; she fell into an easy sleep, and that was why she never saw the pale violet glow that surrounded her body and healed every bruised inch on her.

***

When she woke up again, some one was playing with her hair. She turned over to see soft purple eyes looking at her, framed by long black hair.

"Hey, sleepyhead. How ya feeling? Darien asked me to check on you."

Her tongue lay thick in her mouth and before she asked, Rei handed her a glass of water. Gratefully, she swallowed it, nearly all of it, and was able to answer her as she placed the glass on the nightstand. "I'm okay. Thanks for the water. What time is it?"

"Nearly 7." Serena frowned. "PM. It's nearly 7 at night—you slept for a looooong time. I thought it was only fair not to wake you this time."

As she said this, the frown reached Serena's eyes and the blonde wondered why she was talking about sleep when Mina ordinarily woke at dawn. At a lack for anything else to say, she reached for the water again, and downed the rest of it.

"Serena, it's—"

The water spewed straight out of her mouth and nearly drenched Rei. Serena's blue eyes were wide as Rei feebly finished what she had been saying.

"…okay to be upset about what happened." (AN: Poor Rei-chan. She just keeps getting wet with these beverages.)

Her heart was pounding in her chest when she attempted to play off as Mina, "What are you talking about, Rei? Serena went home."

The darker woman reached for a towel and started to dry herself off, rolling her eyes. "Serena, I know it's you. Darien told me himself."

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'." Rei mocked. "You don't sound to thrilled to be yourself right about now. If it were me, I'd be glad that someone else knew what the heck I was hiding. That's one hell of a secret, girlfriend."

She sank back onto the pyramid of pillows. "It is. I am. I mean, it is a big secret to keep quiet and I'm glad you know—but what if someone else finds out? The company's rep could be trashed, not to mention Mina's. I have to get back out there and fix what I've done wrong—if I don't she can kiss modeling goodbye."

Rei's eyebrows rose to a maximum skeptical height. "You just passed out on the catwalk and now you want to get right back out there? This does not sound like the Serena I used to know."

Serena smiled bitterly. "Well, that Serena wailed and complained just to get attention. This Serena—the Americanized Serena—is a totally competent woman, one who can clean up her messes by herself. And with a bit of panache."

It was useless to fight her, Rei recognize determination when she saw it, and flopped back on the bed next to Serena. "Well, if you're sure that's what you want to do…"

"It is."

"Then… I'll help you anyway I can."

Serena's muffled voice floated over to her. "Thanks. And Rei?"

"Yeah?"

"Be quiet. I have to sleep. Big day tomorrow."

The bed shook slightly as Rei silently laughed into her pillow.

***

Shields Modeling and Co. had no comment for Serena's fall, only to justify that it was from poor health and that the show would be resuming in a day.

No one questioned this motion to continue the show, just as no one questioned their lack of attention to a story that the Pappa Razzi would just love to pick apart. Without a statement, however, there really wasn't much to say, and since the show was going to start up again, the buzz died unexpectedly quick.

Rei, Darien and Mr. Dior were the only ones who knew Serena's true identity. A few people were wary, but had no idea to the extent of the deception. While the convention center was closed for the two days that she spent recuperating, and Serena set up a catwalk of glass coffee tables to practice on in her suite, a gutsy blonde model started to do some of her own investigating.

***

The company fully stood behind her in her move to keep modeling and backed her in every way that they could. That, however, did not ease the butterflies in Serena's stomach.

For once again, she was sitting in the high stool, surrounded by makeup artists and hairdressers. Déjà vu stuck her like a quick blow to the gut, so fiercely she almost doubled over.

The artist working on her eyes gently forced them closed and started brushing powder on them. She heard someone sit down in front of her and they began working on her cheeks ever so gently.

Ravenna, the man who was blowing out her spun-gold hair, stepped back and clapped. "Magnifique. She iz all yurrs, Mistaire Shields."

Her green-accented eyelids flew open. Sure enough, Darien was sitting in front of her, calmly brushing color on her cheeks.

"Re-lax." He put the brush away and began on some loose powder. The dust got into her nose and she was about to sneeze when he put his finger under it, effectively canceling it. That struck her as an incredibly intimate moment and she tried to scoot back in the stool.

He shook his head, stood up, and braced his arms on either side of her body. "Would you calm down? It was just powder. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Her makeup-darkened eyebrow rose. "Then why are you here?"

"To wish you good luck. Except you don't need it. You'll do fine."

"I'm so glad at least one of us has such faith in me." Serena retorted sarcastically.

Darien turned around and grabbed something on a cart behind him. "Here," he said, thrusting the warm cardboard cup into her hands. "Thought you might need it."

Her sleepy smile warmed his heart. "Oooh, Starbucks. No imitation stuff either—this is the real deal." She sipped and groaned appreciatively. "Thanks. Let's just hope I don't faint today."

"You won't." He said with conviction—so firm that she knew she didn't dare.

"ALL MODELS REPORT TO THE WINGS FOR COUNTDOWN TO THE SHOW. ALL MODELS, PLEASE REPORT FOR A HEADCHECK AT THIS TIME. AND MISS FUENTES… MAKE SURE YOU GO EASY ON THAT FIRST TIME OUT."

Serena blushed and the entire cast and crew in the area laughed. The clothing designers came over and Darien took that as his cue.

"I'm going to go… but I'll be watching. Don't mess up, okay?"

"Okay," she laughed, and automatically stuck every appendage on her body out so that the designers could reach it more easily.

***

They say that third time's the charm. Well, we never made it to the third time…

… Because the second time went off without a single hitch!

Serena worked that catwalk like no one's ever seen—and a completely different side of her—and Mina—was revealed that day. She was more personable, reacting better to smaller groups of people than an overall crowd.

And successfully modeling 17 outfits without a solitary mistake was quite a boost to her ego. Though unexpected, she called for the rest of the models at the end of the show and they all stood on the catwalk and waved goodnight. Lita took her place at Serena's side and they were the last two exiting the stage.

A beaming grin could be seen on Darien's face as he watched her; a grin that was about to get even bigger at the after-party later that night.

Madison noticed that grin the entire show. At first, she had been watching to see if he noticed her. He hadn't. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off Mina Fuentes. Now, there was something about her today—something different than usual—and she just seemed to soak up every inch of space in the entire area. But the days for Darien and Mina were long gone. Now that Mina was dating Mr. Tel, of course. And Darien would never go after Mina while Andrew was away.

Which was why she suspected foul play.

There were a few people who didn't question Mina's strange habits over the past few days, and one of them was Darien. He was out of the question to ask. Mr. Dior; no, he was loyal to Darien. Rei, lately, had seemed to cater more to Mina's needs—but she was close to Darien, Mina, and Andrew, so that was a moot point.

Which left the convention manager, Mr. Cornell.

He'd definitely noticed something.

***

(This is the scene—skim or don't read. You can read the very last scene, but other than that, you're not missing anything.)

Jack Cornell sat in the leather-backed chair of his meager office and sighed. Mr. Shields had promised to deliver… and he had—but only after a near mishap that had nearly cost them the entire show. The cash was still flowing, so he supposed that there was no real reason to be obsessing about it… but he was an obsesser and that's what he did.

A light knock on his door pulled him away from these thoughts and without turning around, he said, "Come in," and continued working. The calendar was nearly filled for the rest of the month—when people had heard that the famous modeling company was here; they wanted to book their events here, too, and—whoa.

Soft hands landed on his neck and started to massage his shoulders sensuously. With a weak smile, he turned his desk chair around and saw a blonde woman standing there, squeezed in a dark blue mini-dress that wasn't too hard on the eyes. Not to hard on the legs, either, he thought as he gave her more than the necessary once over.

"Can I help you, Miss…"

"Madison. And yes, I think you can. But first, let me help you." She immediately plopped down into his lap and started removing his tie. "Mr. Cornell… I need some information. Some information I think you…" she licked her lips and then teasingly kissed him on the cheeks. "… have."

"Uh… uh, I would love to help you in any way I can, but," he stuttered, simply entranced by this woman and what she was doing to him.

She ripped off his shirt with a growl. "I know it's confidential… but just think of all the people who deserve to know…" Madison lowed her head and, hidden by a curtain of blonde hair, kissed him nearly senseless. Then, reaching back, removed her own jacket and shirt so that she was straddling him in her bra—which really didn't need any further prompting.

"To—to know…" He threw his head back to allow her easier access.

For the clincher line, she needed to have his full attention. Making sure his eyes were following her every move, she took his hand in hers and used his two fingers to unclasp her bra. Now, completely sure that he was totally occupied, she dug her butt into his lap even further and said, "That Mina… is a fake. That wasn't Mina up there today, was it? Who was it? Come on. Tell me. Please?" Her full red lips pouted.

He was caught. Honestly, he was. "It… it was…" she moved his hand so he could cup one of her breasts, and watched as he nearly groaned in satisfaction. The words suddenly came pouring out. "—It was Serena Cohen, her cousin. Mina isn't even in Europe; she's back in America with her Mr. Tel. They lied to me the first night they were here, but after she fainted, Darien came and told me and now—"

Madison closed her bra deftly, sat up and disengaged herself from his grasp. She slung her jacket on quickly and smoothed down her clothes while Jack sat, eyes closed, hands stretched out reaching for her.

"It's been nice, Mr. Cornell… but somehow, I just don't think my boss would appreciate this. Time to go. And you were a real hero today. More than you know."

Hips swinging provocatively, she opened the door, and waltzed out, leaving him staring after where she'd exited… and wondering what the hell had just happened. For some reason, he had a sinking feeling that he gave away some very important information.

***

(This scene closely mirrors a cliffhanger from the Hell's Huntress' "Got Milk." I would just like to say that I'm not plagiarizing, and that she gets properly recognized.)

Madison closed the door to her hotel room with a slam and flung herself on the bed. "I knew it—I just knew it! I knew that skank wasn't Mina! Mina Fuentes would never, ever faint on the catwalk. She'd jump into the crowds, completely naked first." She leaned over to grab a day-planner off the nightstand, while reaching for the phone in her other hand.

It was open to the 'N's when someone on the other line finally picked up.

"Hello, New York Times? Alicia Kraft, please." There was a pause as she was reconnected. "Hey 'Licia. It's Maddy. Have I got the story for you."

***

DUN DUN DUN!!!!

And now, the clincher—

We are having another break from school, and as a result, I won't be writing. I won't even be near a computer for the first 2 weeks in May, as a matter of fact, but that's an entirely different story. This is why I've posted such crucial updates now, instead of making you wait until May 15th. (kind of like April 15th, but… yeah.)

If you really do care, fill up my inbox with emails and web pages with reviews and the message board (http://pub64.ezboard.com/bseaofserenity/) with posts.