A.N: A had a comment about my Chinatown description on my last chapter. Chinatown is an area that has a combination of different Asian ethnicities. It's not just "China" per say, so that's why I described the kimono's and paper lanterns. Chinatown in New York City really does have paper lanterns strung across buildings. I wasn't trying to actually say it was like China. I'm sorry if I made it seem like that! I'll go through and make it more clear later. Thank you for the comment!
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Chapter 47: Temptation
Darien lay in the guest bedroom with thoughts of Christmas flooding into his mind. He had driven himself insane with Serena's locket necklace, so he went back to the jewelry store, several days before he left to New York, to see if anything else caught his eye; and something else did. As he scanned the display of necklaces, his eyes fell on a gorgeous white-gold necklace that had a crescent pendant hanging delicately from the string. That, he thought, seemed more like Serena. He returned the locket he had previously bought for her, and traded it for the crescent necklace instead. He also had the letters "D&S" engraved in the back of the crescent pendant. There were three diamonds in a straight line down the center of the crescent, symbolizing: The past, the present, and the future. Now this was perfect.
Darien had a habit of wearing nothing but boxers to bed, even in cold weather, so he did. He flipped around uncomfortably in bed, not able to fall asleep. His mind wandered to the conversation he had earlier with Serena that day. He wondered why she suddenly just asked him if he was a virgin out of nowhere. It had made him feel a bit discomfited, but he answered her honestly anyways. She was going to have to find out eventually.
As his mind went back and forth between thoughts, Serena quietly crept into the room without Darien noticing. It was very dark, but the reassuring light of the moon shined through the window. She could make out his figure as she saw him toss in bed frivolously, paying no heed towards her at all.
She smiled as she whispered," Darien.."
Darien was still for a moment, and then he sat straight-up in bed, stiffening. "Se… Serena?" He whispered back, sounding a little alarmed.
She walked over to his bed and sat down next to him, looking up at him innocently, grinning.
"Why are you doing this? You just want to get caught, don't you?" Darien whispered sternly.
Serena rolled her eyes in the dark. "We're not going to get caught," she said a little louder, knowingly.
Darien slowly inched away from her, just in case her dad came barreling through the door. "Your parents are down the hallway, Serena," he reminded. Then forcibly added," Get out."
Serena crawled closer to him as she noticed the gradual distance Darien had placed between them. Even in the darkness, Darien could see her indisputable beauty, and her blaring blue eyes.
"Serena… I'm serious," his tone seemed aggravated now.
She finally stopped when she noticed the irritation in his voice. "We're not going to get caught, Darien," she repeated. "My parents are out. They waited until they thought we were asleep."
"Where'd they go?" Darien asked, still not convinced.
"Every year they go and have a pre-Christmas celebration with their close friends at a Karaoke bar," she said, sounding a little embarrassed by her parents. "It's been tradition for years now. They have odd friends."
Darien smiled as he pictured Ken singing to a song from Michael Jackson, swinging and thrashing his arms violently around. Darien loosened up after that, but he was still cautious.
Serena was now sitting cross-legged in his bed, looking extremely adorable. Her hair was all down and a bit curly. She had on pajamas with stars and moons splattered about. Darien had the urge to reach over and touch her, but he resisted.
Serena, on the other hand, was trying very hard not to stare at Darien's chiseled body, or completely jump on him in that case. He looks so cute! She thought as she stared at his dark face. She could tell his hair was sticking wildly about, due to him laying on the pillowing and turning about. She suddenly felt herself crawling towards him again, wanting to feel his touch.
Darien's eyes widened, and he got out of the bed quickly. "Serena, don't," he said as he stood by the window.
Darien was standing in the light of the moon now and she could see him more clearly. He ran a frustrating hand through his disheveled hair, giving a heavy sigh. "You make things so difficult," he almost yelled.
Serena felt stung by his words and tone… and by the way he was acting. "Darien… I'm-"
"Why are you doing this?" he asked her again, his anger obvious now.
Darien saw her eyes go big, having never seen him act or yell at her like this before. "I just wanted to be near you," she said quietly, almost sounding as if she were afraid.
His eyes softened at her mousy response and stiffened form. He yelled at himself internally for getting frustrated so easily. He gave another sigh and walked over to the bed. "You can't keep doing this," his voice was gentler now. "For one, we might get caught, and for two, the temptation is too high," he told her as he walked over and sat back down on the bed. He ran a hand across her cheek and explained further. "It gets harder and harder for me to stop each time we kiss, and now you're placing me in this situation and it's not making it any easier. I'm a guy, Serena. For us, temptation is the hardest thing to ignore."
Serena closed her eyes as she felt Darien's hand graze her cheek, but opened her eyes again when his hands dropped in his lap. "I don't want you to ignore it," Serena murmured.
Darien was quiet for awhile, registering what she just said. "What?" he said breathlessly.
"I said I don't want you to ignore temptation," Serena repeated herself, blushing slightly in the dark. "I've been thinking a lot about… 'it' lately," she confessed. Serena thanked God that it was dark; otherwise Darien would have seen how nervous and bright red she looked. "That's why I asked you about your virginity today."
Darien lowered his voice," You've been thinking about having sex?" he sounded completely flabbergasted.
Serena blushed even harder. "Well yeah… guys aren't the only people who think about it."
"But… you said you wanted to wait," he reminded her, still awestruck by her sudden boldness.
Serena bent her head down in modesty. "I know," she said quietly," But I changed my mind."
Darien stared at her and shook his head slowly," You made a promise to your parents and yourself, remember? I'm not going to let you break the promise, Serena."
"Some promises are meant to be broken," Serena said, sounding a little dismal.
Darien smiled at her response, she is a stubborn one. "Then you shouldn't make promises you don't intend to keep," he lectured lightly.
Serena's eyes fell as he said this. When she made the promise to her parents and herself, she had every intention in keeping it, but then Darien came into the picture and everything changed. As Serena thought this, Darien came close to her, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her gently down to the pillow. Serena found herself stiffening up, confused by his actions. He was just lecturing her about promises, and now this is actually going to happen? Her breathing began to quicken as she watched him.
He climbed on top of her, his eyes looking completely engrossed. His hands slid under her pajama top just a bit. She shivered as she felt her body go aflame. He lowered his face to hers and kissed her intensely, his tongue ravishing hers. His mouth left hers and made its way to her neck where he began suckling on it tenderly. His hands traveled up her shirt just a bit further, but not touching her breasts. Serena ran her hand over his bare back and into his hair as she lost herself in his touch and kisses. Darien lifted his head away from her now, and he took his hand away from under her shirt, and looked at her meaningfully. Then he got off of her.
Serena's eyes were full of lust, but then she sat up, dazed. "Why'd you stop?" she asked.
"That felt good, right?" he asked, his tone gentle.
Serena nodded, still perplexed.
"Then don't you want to wait for all that until you're married? Wouldn't it mean more to give yourself away to your husband?" he asked persuasively. "I love you, Serena… and trust me when I say I want this more then you'll ever know. But I'm not going to let you do this," he explained.
He made his point. All those feelings he conjured up in her was unexplainable, and she knew she wanted to do it… but she wanted to do it at the right time, with the right man; which she knew was Darien. But she wanted to save the best part for her husband. She smiled at him understandingly and nodded.
She got out of his bed gradually, heading back to her own room. "I love you, Darien. And thank you, for not taking advantage of me when you could have," she said.
Darien chuckled and got out of bed to join her. "I would never take advantage of you, Meatball head." He grabbed her hand and walked her to her room.
She turned to face him at her door, and looked up at him. He's so perfect… she thought as she watched him standing in front of her.
He leaned down and kissed her heartily, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her to him. When he parted, he whispered," Good night, my princess," and headed back to his room.
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In the morning, everyone was downstairs for breakfast early… except Ken and Irene.
Darien poked his head in the kitchen, looking baffled. Where was Irene? And where were the tasteful pancakes?
Serena pranced down the stairs, looking livid and enthusiastic, but then frowned once she realized her father wasn't where he usually was; at the end of the table, reading a newspaper article.
Next came Sam, bounding down the stairs, still looking sleepy. "Morning Dad," he mumbled out of habit before he realized Ken wasn't there.
The three of them stood in the nook, confused and a little worried.
"Where'd dad?" Sam asked, his turquoise eyes looking concerned.
Serena shrugged," I have no idea. Mom isn't down here either… maybe they came home late."
Right as she said this, she heard snoring. Everyone turned their heads and looked towards the living room. There was Ken and Irene, splayed across the living-room couch, still wearing what they had been wearing the day before. Ken's mouth was open wide as he snored loudly, his glasses slightly out of line. Irene was lying on top of Ken, looking peaceful as she snoozed quietly. Even in her sleep she looked kind and gentle.
Sam's eyebrows raised up, a smile now plastered on his face. "Mom and dad got wasted," he almost yelled, looking proud.
Serena frowned at her little brother. "They did not! They just came home late," she argued, turning her attention back to the sleeping parents.
Darien laughed lightly as he watched them. "They must have came home extremely late if they're not even stirring," he pointed out.
Serena watched her parents a bit longer, wondering whether or not she should wake them up, before deciding not too. "Let's go to the Waffle House," she suggested.
"Yeah!" Sam pitched in, looking fully awake now. "We haven't been there in awhile."
Serena nodded as she went to go put on her coat, the other two following her. The three of them quietly snuck out of the house, treaded through the snow, and trampled into the mini-van.
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The Waffle House had a familiar scent of syrup and pancake batter. Booths with sticky tables lined up along the perimeter of the inside of the building. Elderly people with life stories were found here, eating a stack of unhealthy pancakes and waffles.
Serena, Darien, and Sam all slid in a booth; Serena and Darien on side, Sam on the other. As they talked in hushed tones, a stereotypical waitress in a pink uniform came striding up to them holding a yellow notepad. Her hair was bleached and she wore excessive makeup. As she took their order, she smacked on her gum habitually.
Once she left, Serena turned to look at Sam. He was fiddling with the many displays of syrup set on the table off to the side. She hadn't noticed how much he'd changed since she'd left for college. He seemed different… and she wasn't talking about just his height.
As Serena watched him, Darien asked," So Sam…. Do you have a girlfriend?"
Sam looked up expectantly at Darien," No," he answered quickly.
Serena smiled, now curious. "Do you like someone at least?"
"Yeah," Sam mumbled.
"Who is it?" Serena pressed, her eyes lighting up.
Sam's eyebrow went up as he asked," Why do you want to know?"
Serena shrugged," I don't know. We haven't really talked and I'm just trying to catch-up with you," she said, cocking her head to the side.
Sam gave a heavy sigh," Her name is Remy Benson. She's one of my best friends," he said.
"So what's the problem?" Darien asked, looking interested as he rested an arm on the table.
Sam shrugged as he looked down. "I don't think she likes me like that. She doesn't even hint to me that she 'might' like me as more then a friend," he answered, sounding a little sad.
Serena frowned at this. Why wouldn't a girl like my brother? He's adorable, she thought.
At sixteen, Samuel Tsukino was extremely handsome. He was taller then most teenage boys his age. His dirty blonde hair and mesmerizing turquoise eyes dazzled girls all around him. He was respectful and friendly to everyone he met. He was more mature then most boys his age also. He never seemed to notice that girls would stare and ogle him when he walked down the hallways at school. He was sixteen and he'd never had a girlfriend, so him being unattainable made him more appealing to the teenage girls. Sam was also very lean and built, due to sports he was in at school. He had many secret admirers but he never seemed to notice.
"You shouldn't think like that," Darien said very seriously. "Serena liked me for awhile and I didn't know."
Serena nodded, agreeing with Darien. "You should just put yourself out there," Serena added.
"Maybe tell her on Christmas Eve. Take her on a date or something and tell her," Darien told Sam, smiling.
As they discussed this further, the waitress came back handing everyone their drinks and breakfast.
"I dunno," Sam said, looking shy. "I'm not really good at talking to girls, especially to Remy. I mean I tell her everything 'cause she's my best friend… but I get this weird feeling when I'm around her and I get all clumsy and stuff," he noted as he poured some syrup onto his waffles.
"That's because you like her," Serena said with twinkling eyes. "What does this Remy look like?" she asked further as she cut into her waffles.
Sam swallowed and answered," Well she's really pretty and smart. She's actually at the top of our class. She has dark brown hair that almost looks black. Her hair comes to about her chin. Her eyes are amazing too! They're kind of hazel, but it looks almost yellow on the outside. She comes up to my shoulder. Oh, and she's funny. She makes me laugh a lot," he finished off as he stuck some more food in his mouth.
Darien smiled as he set down his glass of orange juice. "Sounds like a winner," he reassured.
"She must be something if you like her this much," Serena teased.
Once everyone was finished, they headed back home… only to find out that not much as changed since they've left. Irene and Ken were still heavily asleep on the couch so Darien suggested they go to the mall to help Sam pick out a present for Remy. So, they hit the mall!
