HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!
And now, I need to gush. But, it's gushing for a reason.
You guys, your reviews are truly amazing. Not just because it lets me know someone actually reads this, but when you question something, it makes me think "hmmmm." Many of you inquired about from the last chapter about Darien's anger and then suddenly showing up. After thinking more about it, I feel like I left out a conversation in the last chapter that would have answered the thought process behind that decision. As I wrote the original chapter, I thought about how sometimes, people just do things to make their partner happy. But I guess when I made it a big deal in the beginning of the chapter of why he couldn't make it to him suddenly showing up, more needed to be said.
So, because of those questions and that thought process now rolling, it allowed me to punch out an introduction to this chapter that should clear some of that up. So, thank you all for your questioning, and my apologies for not giving you a chapter last round that was 100% complete. I hope this one makes up for it :)
Love,
MU
Serena stretched out greedily, her floral duvet twisted around her body like a vine after a slumber that was one for the books. Darien had never spent the night before; burrowing into him in her bed certainly made sleeping so much better. He, on the other hand, didn't look quite as well-rested as she did. Propping her head on top of her elevated fist, she lazily smiled at Darien, despite his grumble.
"I took the comforter last night, didn't I?" she questioned, even though she already knew the answer.
He snorted in confirmation. "We both know the answer to that one."
"Hmm," she sluggishly replied, not in the least bit apologetic. "Next time I'll make sure to put an extra blanket on."
He 'hmphed' in reply before they fell into post-wake up mutual silence, allowing their bodies and minds to finally catch up. Darien was the first to move out of the bed, slipping his briefs on to cover his nudity. He shuffled out of the bedroom and what she presumed was the bathroom by the door shutting, before she decided to fall back into her pillow.
She closed her eyes and thought back to the evening prior, mainly how after the reunion ended he actually apologized to her.
He.
Apologized to her.
Her.
It still blew her mind; usually she was the one saying sorry for her verbal vomit.
"I owe you an apology," he said as they walked down the sidewalk, the warm, early summer breeze evident in the rustle of the trees.
"Huh?" she responded, started by the admission.
"Cutting you off like that yesterday. You're right – you did have every right to be disappointed."
"Oh," she replied, still surprised. "I mean, I was, but, I didn't need to drop that snarky 'sorry' line."
He continued. "I've always struggled in this area. Work. Relationships. Honestly, it has been a big problem with women. Hearing how dejected you were, it just brought me back to that place."
Serena stopped walking, her body stiffening. "Are you," she paused, "are you ending things with me?"
Darien shook his head immediately. "No, quite the opposite, actually," he chuckled. "Hearing your disappointment, it brought me to that place, and that's why I just ended the call the way I did. I'm so used to yelling and arguing, I didn't want to do that in front of my colleagues. But when I thought about it further, you were right to feel down."
Serena let out a deep breath and smiled. "Well, I appreciate the apology. I'm starting to realize that if this is going to work, I have to understand that your job is going to cancel some of our plans on occasion."
Darien nodded in agreement. They walked a little bit more before they stopped again when he suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her into him. She looked up at him, startled from the sudden jerk into his arms, but instantly felt herself flush under him with the intensity he was looking at her with.
"I just wanted to let you know, I'm not seeing anyone else," he said huskily. "If you can handle that my job has a lot of travel and that there are times I really have to focus on my work, I want to be with you. Just you."
Serena blinked a couple of times, her heart pounding from his confession. "You mean, we're not already serious?" she asked, causing him to falter ever so slightly before regaining his composure.
"I'll take that as a yes," he stated before capturing her lips, heated moments of passion building between the couple before separating and clasping hands down the sidewalk and back to her building.
Her mental recap was startled as she watched Darien walk back through the room in just his skin clad, gloriously enhancing black boxer briefs. Her mouth must have been hanging open as she ogled at him, because she suddenly heard him clear his throat.
"Gawking, are we?" he said with a lazy smirk as he began to shuffle on his slacks. She tossed him back a half-smile.
"Yep," she replied as she stretched her arms idly behind her head. A comfortable silence fell between them as she watched him slip his pants up, the cloth gliding up his muscular, tanned legs in a tantalizingly slow fashion. She hummed as she watched him continue to clothe himself, such an innocent act feeling borderline erotic in that moment.
"Are you sure you have to leave?" she asked as she watched him slip his shirt on, his fingers fumbling with the buttons as he continued to cover up his toned chest.
"Unfortunately, yes," he responded as he fixed his collar. "I have a meeting at the office today."
"But it's Sunday!" she whimpered. "Sunday's mean no work."
He chuckled. "Not in my world, babe."
She sighed. "I know."
"Trust me, there's no where else I'd rather be than back in that bed with you," he mused. He leaned over the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Can I come back in it later?"
She nodded. "Text or call me whenever." Her heart melted as he nodded and flashed her his perfect, downright arousing smile before exiting the bedroom. After hearing a brief shuffle of footwear, she heard the door close. She snuggled deeper into her pillow, recalling the conversation about his work and its demands.
After all, her job was pretty sporadic in its hours as well; surely, this would work out no problem.
#
"Ok, Sere, so, here's the plan," Mina eagerly said after a lengthy sip of her bubble tea. "Tier. 10:00. VIP Booth. Tequila. Tube Tops."
"What's with all the 't's'?" Lita asked with an eyebrow raise.
"Come on, just go with it!"
"Mina, if I wear a tube top, I'm going to be popping out all over the dance floor," Lita said as she intentionally rounded her back, her well-endowed chest easily the envy of the three women at the table as they sighed.
"Hrmph," Mina grumbled as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders. "So wear a tanktop. Still a 't.'"
"It would work better if she was turning twenty-two, not twenty-eight," Raye commented with a shrug. "Sorry, Min."
"You guys suck," Mina replied with a sulk. "I thought it was clever!"
"It was!" Serena said with her hands up. "Besides, I don't really know if I want to go clubbing this year." A shudder went up Serena's arms as the three girls at the table stared wildly at her.
"But, you love to go clubbing!" Mina exclaimed with a slam of her hands on the table, the ice in the drinks rattling against the glass from the vibrations.
"I know," Serena said with a shrug, "I dunno."
"Not Darien's scene, huh," Raye knowingly said. Serena shrugged.
"I don't really know. I mean, I did see him that one time we went to Vertex. But, I was thinking maybe more of a big, group dinner somewhere and going out to a lounge or something after? Maybe a big hibachi table?"
The three girls nodded in thought. "Hey, what about Darien's restaurant?" Lita suggested, sparking agreement amongst the other two friends.
"I like that idea," Serena nodded. "Let me see if Darien can reserve us a big table. Can you guys let me if your guys can come?"
The three girls chimed in with head nods and yes's. Smiling, Serena sipped at her tea, a feeling of maturity washing over her. While clubbing and tight clothes were fun, for some reason the idea of grinding and rocking her hips on the dance floor just was not as appealing this year. A part of her knew it was because she wanted to be more a mature woman for herself, but she also knew deep down that a part of it was because she wanted to be more like the women in Darien's societal circle. After attending the ball, she couldn't get out of her mind the way that many of the women carried themselves at the event, so polished and confident.
Surely, they did dinner parties and not clubs for their birthdays, right?
"Chad's in," Raye announced.
"So is Nate," Lita added.
"Damn it, Mally, answer meeeee!" Mina whined.
"Yay!" Serena clapped as she grinned, ignoring Mina's complaining. "This is going to be fun, guys!"
#
"I need to ask you something," Serena said as she plopped herself into Darien's open lap, his newspaper crinkling as her body occupied the vacant space. Darien glared at her over the tops of his glasses, causing her to stifle a giggle.
"Hmm?"
"Can you possibly save a table of 8 at your restaurant on Friday?"
He nodded. "Sure. What's the occasion?"
She grinned widely. "It's my birthday!"
"Ahhh," he replied with a nod. "Well in that case, definitely. What time do you want it for?"
"7:00?" she asked with a shrug. "Obviously that means you'll be there, right?"
He nodded. "Of course." She squealed and gave him a hug, allowing it to linger briefly before slipping off of his lap.
"I'll leave you to your paper," she said with a wink as she shimmied back over to her computer. Her iMessaging window was up, the group chat in full force as she added: "We're good to go! 7:00, Zwei Towers, 8 people."
Dings of confirmations and emoji's filled the screen. She grinned; this was going to be an amazing night out!
#
Friday Evening
Standing in front of her mirror, Serena carefully slipped in the posts of the ombre earrings Darien had given her from the ball. They matched her outfit perfectly, comprising of peach, slim fit dress pants, a silky white blouse with bell sleeves, and her hair pulled back into a neat braided bun with a slight voluminous bump at her crown. Her makeup was subtle and complementing, her eyelids dusted in a shimmering pink, along with her cheeks and lips. Just staring at herself she felt more composed and poised, a total opposite from her usual birthday night attire of sexy dresses.
Just as she clasped the second earring's post, the melody of her phone filled the small space of the bedroom. Turning around, she grasped the phone and smiled when she saw that it was Darien calling her. Sliding her finger against the screen, she answered the call.
"Hey! Are you here?"
"Hey," a hushed tone replied. "I need to meet you there."
"Huh?"
"My meeting has run over. I'll meet you there, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," she replied. She could feel her heart start to fall, but quickly recovered as she inhaled a steady breath. "Do you know how much longer you'll be?"
"Not sure," he quickly replied. "See you there." The call disconnected before she could say anything further. She sighed; she had barely heard from him all day, and now he was going to be late?
Letting out a deep, meditated breath, she calmed herself before she could even begin to get herself worked up. "He'll be there," she said to herself. After a reassuring swallow to calm the lump she felt forming in her throat, she grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulders and made her way out of the apartment. As the door clicked behind her, she did a spastic head shake as she realized she now had no way to get downtown. Leaning against her door, she pulled her phone out her purse and dialed up Mina.
"Hey, are you Ubering or driving?"
"Mal's driving. Need a ride?"
"Please, if you haven't already passed by me?"
"Nah, we can swing by. Hey – Mal – turn here, we need to grab Sere," she heard Mina instruct to Mal, who she heard okay the direction change. "We will be there in 5."
"Thank you so much," Serena expressed. "I'll head to the lobby now so I'll see you guys as you pull up."
"Perfect. Hey, wasn't Darien supposed to pick you up?"
"Yeah," she sighed, "but he got held up in a meeting. He should be at the restaurant soon, though."
"Okay, sounds good. See you in a min. Ciao, doll!"
Just as Serena made her way to the main doors of the apartment lobby, she immediately saw Malachite's sleek silver car pull up to the doorway. Grinning, she passed through both apartment and car doors and slipped into the back seat of the sedan.
"Thanks again, guys!" Serena expressed graciously as they merged onto the main road.
"Anytime," Malachite said as he flipped on his turn signal.
Mina turned her head over her shoulder. "So, he's in a meeting you said?"
"Yeah," Serena shrugged. "He said it ran over, but he'll be there as soon as possible."
"I hope so, I'm hungry!" Mina whined, which elicited a disapproving glare from Malachite. "What?" she defensively questioned as she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Don't worry, Mal, I know how Mina's mind operates when she's got food on the brain," Serena interjected quickly. "She's almost worse than me!"
"Hey! I am not!"
"I said almost!"
Malachite laughed. "Nice save, Sere."
"Facts are facts," Serena slyly added, causing Mina to 'hmph' with a mock-pout and Serena to chuckle. "None of that. Come on, it's my birthday!"
"Yes!" Mina cheered, quickly bouncing back. "And we're hitting up where after this dinner party?"
Serena rolled her eyes; Mina clearly still was disappointed about the lack of boozing tonight. "Well, if anyone's up for it-"
"I am."
"-I'm thinking maybe we could just scooch over into the bar area and have a nightcap or something." She was greeted with a brief silence before Malachite replied with a breath of acknowledgement. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just so, adult, I guess?" Mina said with a hint of surprise in her voice. "I'm just so used to you cutting loose on your birthday. I guess we're really all getting older, aren't we?"
Serena shrugged. "Well, in my brand new era of 28, I've decided to move on from those super short pleather shorts and start acting my age."
"Can Min have them, then?" Malachite chimed in, resulting in a smack from both girls. "What'd I say?!" They all laughed as Malachite pulled into the parking garage and parked in the first available spot. As the parties exited the car, Serena let out a soft breath of envy when she looked at Mina's gorgeous outfit. She was rocking one hell of a little black dress, its neckline featuring beautiful scallops as it dipped onto her shoulders, the dress ending mid-thigh and paired with a pair of strappy silk heels. Suddenly, Serena felt very plain, but she quickly shook it off, embracing the mature attitude she had cloaked herself in.
"Shall we?"
#
Ami had outdone herself. Not only did she save them a table, but she had selected a large table that sat in front of the windows. The table was decorated with chrome chargers nestled underneath the china, black and silver cloth, and for extra flare, was adorned with pops of hot pink flowers. A pear and gorgonzola salad was nestled on top of each person's plate and laced with a vinaigrette that simply from inhaling made her mouth water. Raye and Chad were the next couple to arrive, followed by Lita and Nate. The group chatted amongst themselves for about 25 to 30 minutes before Serena started to fumble with her napkin.
"Guys, go ahead and start, really," she insisted again, receiving yet again another round of sympathetic looks. "See, I'll go first." In an overly animated fashion, she picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of arugula, then slowly brought it up to her mouth and popped it in. Her features immediately changed as she began to savor the tarragon vinaigrette, bursting with hints of lemon and a fine malt vinegar. She ignored the chuckles as she completely masticated the small piece of green in her mouth, but, damn, Ami could make one hell of a dressing.
"That good, Sere?"
"Seriously, pretty sure I heard some moaning even from down there."
"Guys, it's. Damn. You got to try it," she insisted as she took a larger portion, grabbing a pear and a piece of cheese in the mix as well.
Sounds of agreement and clanking of cutlery replaced the chatter as everyone began to eat. As Serena munched, she frequently looked over to the doorway anytime she saw a silhouette, but so far no sign of Darien.
"Everything okay?" Ami's gentle voice interrupted her as she stared at a young man in a suit at the podium by the entryway. She turned her head to acknowledge Ami, her warm smile present as she looked knowingly at her. "Darien's held over, isn't he?"
"Ah, yeah," she responded.
Ami nodded. "Yeah, that tends to happen quite a bit, unfortunately. Such terrible circumstances though that it was on your birthday. I do hope he makes it sooner than later."
Serena smiled sadly at the kind words. "Thank you. I hope so, too. Unfortunately, I haven't heard from him in the last hour or so, so I'm sure he's not done yet."
"Do you want me to get you guys something else to hold you over until he arrives?" she asked compassionately. Serena shook her head.
"No, I think we'll just go ahead and order, right guys?" Serena said to the table. She watched as their faces morphed into quizzical, unsure ones.
"You sure?" Raye asked sympathetically.
"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Chad interjected as his finger quickly tapped at his phone. "I've been trying to get a hold of him."
"I'm positive. He can always order something when he gets here. He's the one who is running late after all."
"Okay," everyone agreed softly. Ami waved her hands as one of her staff came by and began to take everyone's orders, Serena being the first party to place hers. As he nodded and moved on, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sure he'll be here," Ami said with a smile, warming Serena's heart. She nodded her head in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm sure he will be, too."
#
He never came.
At almost 9:30, he never showed. Never text, never called.
Ami went as far as to comp her meal. "I am so sorry," she had said as she told her about the free dinner, but it didn't settle the disappointment. She understood him being late. She understood that he may have had to miss dinner.
What she could not comprehend, however, was the total lack of respect that he couldn't even send a notice that he couldn't even come at all.
The girls huddled around Serena outside of the restaurant, prodding her with questions and comments of concern.
Frankly, all Serena wanted them to do was just—"STOP."
Hushed voices and wide eyes greeted her, which were slowly starting to get blurry as her eyes watered. She immediately wiped any form of teardrops away.
No, she wouldn't cry for him tonight.
"Just go home," Serena said, "Go home and change. Ladies, we're going to Mints."
"AWWWWW YEAH."
"I had a feeling you were going to say that."
"Yes! That's more like it, Sere!"
"What's Mints?" Serena heard Chad ask one of the guys.
"You don't want to know," Mal groaned as Mina shimmied around him, singing about going to the nightclub.
"Serena, you sure?" Raye asked her as she stepped in front of Mina's happy dance.
"Yeah. Fuck these dress pants and this stupid old lady bullshit bun. I'm busting out those fucking pleather booty shorts. It's my birthday and damn it, I want to have fun!"
"Okay, but, please, not the pleather shorts."
"PLEATHER?! YES! MAL, WHERE'S MY MATCHING CLUB DRESS?!"
"In the trash."
"BUT WHY?!"
"Because that thing ended at your vag!"
"SO?"
"What do you mean, 'so'?!"
"I LOOKED AMAZING IN IT!"
"You looked like you were wearing a garbage bag."
"NO I DIDN'T!"
"All it needed was to say HEFTY across your boobs and you'd really be a walking advertisement."
"HEY!"
"Hefty hefty hefty, whimpy whimpy whimpyyyy!"
"YOU SUCK!"
Everyone chuckled as Mina swatted at Malachite, but Serena's mind and night were officially ready for a 180. As the girls began to discuss changing and meeting up at the male striptease nightclub, Serena felt her heart constrict in an all-too-familiar way.
This is why you never start to fall in love, Serena.
They always just let you down at the end.
GUYZZZ DONT HATE MEEEEEE.
In every story comes a turning point. And we have officially taken a right hand turn.
Stay tuned!