Author's note: Usual disclaimer – I don't own Sailor Moon. Sorry that this is a little late but I'm back (done with summer school and of course…) – I finished Harry Potter before lunchtime last Sunday (the 22nd) (I got it at around noon on Saturday since I had it delivered by Amazon)…I'm sad that it's over – but what can I do about it? Besides that means that I can write more fanfiction right? I do love writing, and I also love everyone that sent me a review. Thank you so much – I wholeheartedly appreciate every word. I'm always excited when I get a review (you could just ask my fiancé he's always like "babe did you get another review or something?" Lol.) I have this story set in the U.S. – I don't think that I ever mentioned that before. Hopefully that doesn't ruin it's appeal. That's it this time – let's get it on with it. Read and review please!
Chapter Five: Hidden FeelingsTaiki stared at the place where Lita had been standing seconds ago. He looked very sad – to the point where he was crushed even. "She still won't let me apologize." Taiki looked at me, "you know what – never mind about that drink Serena. I shouldn't be drinking anyway." He was about to get up and leave, when I grabbed his arm.
"Taiki, sir – maybe I can help you out. That is if you don't mind. I don't want to intrude or anything."
"You would want to do that for me?" Taiki looked at me with a sad smile. I released my grip on his arm. He decided to sit down and listen to what I had to say.
"Well why not? It's not just because you're my employer, it's also because – you could say that I really like helping people; talking to them about their problems and coming up with solutions."
"You're very sweet Serena."
"Thanks – I guess I get that a lot actually."
"It's no surprise. You seem like such a nice and trustworthy girl, that I guess I can confide in you."
I pulled up my "station is closed sign" off from behind the bar, and leaned in close to Taiki over the bar. "I'm all ears Taiki – go ahead."
The bar was crowded enough where our conversation would be private – despite the number of people surrounding us, if you can believe that. I know it sounds weird – but that happens in a club when everyone around you is so pre-occupied with other things besides listening to your conversation. Besides – since Lita was in the backroom, I wouldn't want to take Taiki there to talk. I have to get to the root of the problem before I approach Lita.
"Well, it happened three years ago Serena – when we were just about to open up Polaris. We needed a head chef, so we searched the entire city, that's when we got a recommendation from one of the nearby culinary schools. Lita had just graduated there with high honors, and we were all really impressed by her skills. Darien and Raye, who showed interest in joining on the bandwagon eventually – really wanted her to be on the team. Lita had just turned 22 then – so I decided to take her out for her birthday, you know have a few drinks, as well as give her an interview; even though we knew by the recommendation that she was essentially perfect for the job, I was sent to make sure that we were correct in choosing her. That was mistake number one. When Lita entered the room, I was stunned to see such a beautiful woman. I didn't know what to say, I was speechless – she had to say my name about four times before I realized that she was calling me. That was so embarrassing. So I decided that I had to get some courage in order to talk to this gorgeous lady; I started drinking a lot – thinking that it would help me get more talkative and loosen up a bit. I discovered later that this was mistake number two. I started getting loud and obnoxious, which bothered Lita a lot – but I didn't realize that, so I drank a little bit more. Then out of a fit of drunken anxiety – I started acting completely unlike myself. I reached over and started grabbing Lita's breasts, I didn't want to do it – but I couldn't control my hands. She ran out in a fit – telling me that she would never work for a pervert like me as long as she lived. I don't know how Raye and Darien convinced her to join our team. Ever since then she's never talked to me – avoided me like the plague. Plus I've heard from Raye that she's not interested in men anyway – so I hurt her and made an ass of myself. I've wanted to apologize for that incident for a long time, but she refuses to talk to me." Taiki finished, tears starting to form in his eyes.
In a way it's kind of ironic that he saved me from a drunken pervert – yet he was accused of being a drunken pervert himself. "Taiki – I'll find a way for you to apologize to Lita." I said, patting and rubbing his right shoulder in a comforting manner.
"You'd do that for me Serena?"
"Well I don't see why not? Lita and I are friends – it was just an error in judgment on your part. I'm sure that she'll forgive you once she finds out that you made some mistakes. We're all human here, we all make mistakes – it's a natural process in life."
"You're right Serena."
"How about this Taiki…" Taiki looked up at me – trying to figure out what I was about to tell him. "I'm going to go and get Lita out of the backroom – and that way you can apologize to her. You wait right here." I said as I hurried away from my station.
I could have sworn that I heard a soft "Serena wait…" but I ignored it. If I didn't help fix this now, who knew when things would be made right? We can't have animosity in the work place anyway – it's unhealthy. I went to the dressing room – Lita was there, sobbing her heart out towards the back of the room near the women's bathroom.
I ran over to her and gave her a hug. I cradled her head in my arms, and petted her hair. "Shhh, it's all right Lita."
"T-t-tha-thank you. Serena." Lita said in between heaves and sobbing.
"I know what he did to you Lita – it was terrible. But, there is one thing that I want you to know." She looked up at me, tears still in her bloodshot red eyes. "He didn't mean to do what he did – he doesn't want you to think of him as a pervert for the rest of the time that you work here. He wants to apologize to you for what he did – but he's so shy around you, and you were so unwilling to hear anything that he has to say, that he hasn't been able to apologize for three years. The only reason that he drank that much in the first place was so that he would be more comfortable around you – since he had a thing for you. He might still have a thing for you, but I'm not sure. I think that you should give him a chance and listen to what he has to say Lita – at least let him apologize to you. Maybe you'll both feel better about this situation if you do. He just saved me from a drunken idiot – so I don't think that he could be that bad, even if he has a bit of a staring problem." I told her, to which she smiled and dried her tears.
"Maybe you're right Serena. I guess I never thought of it that way; I just thought of him as another perverted boss. But, I think that there's room to give him another chance – everyone deserves a second chance."
"That's right Lita – he's waiting at the bar to give you his apology if you're up for it?"
"I guess it's better late than never." Lita said and got up, "thanks Serena for helping me out with this. Everyone needs a friend once in a while."
"You're welcome."
"Will you come with me though Serena?"
"Of course I will Lita. Let's go right now." I said, grabbing her arm and walking with her to the bar where Taiki was still sitting on my barstool, playing with a few napkins, trying to fold them into a flower. My guess is that it was for Lita. I removed my sign from the bar counter, as well as Lita's since the head bartender had put Lita's sign up on the counter as well. When he heard the approaching footsteps, he looked up, quickly finished his flower, and gave Lita an uneasy smile.
He cleared his throat and stared into her green eyes with the intensity of a man who is about to ask a woman to marry him. "Will you ever forgive me Miss Lita for the horribly disgusting thing that I did to you? I assure you that I am a gentleman and would never intentionally do that to a woman. I was just so nervous to be in the presence of such a spectacular woman that I drank too much and could not control my hands. The truth is that I started to have feelings for you that day that we had our interview – and once again I'm terribly sorry for the embarrassment that I caused you. I beg of you that you will accept my apology and grant me your forgiveness. Then if you would like – I will leave you alone." He offered her the flower made of napkins, a hopeful smile on his face.
Lita stared at him – her green eyes were wide with an unreadable expression. She looked at me, I gave her a nudge, and she sighed heavily as she grabbed his rose. "I will accept your apology Taiki. But you don't have to never see me again – we can be friends." I smiled at the two of them – they were getting off to a great start.
Then I noticed the long line of people waiting for drinks – since I had failed to notice earlier that many people had decided to take their usual 10-minute breaks simultaneously. "Well I've got to get back to work, seeing as how there's this long line of people waiting to get wasted – so to speak. I'm glad that the two of you made up."
Lita gave me a smile, and Taiki mouthed the words "thanks Serena" – and I went on with my work. Despite the fact that Taiki would probably soon learn that Lita was already in a relationship with Trista – or at least in the process of becoming an official couple, I think that now that the mistake has been forgiven, they will be pretty great friends. A few more of the bartenders started returning to work – before I almost died from the overflow of customers that I had. Eventually a young looking girl came up to the bar and ordered a dirty Shirley. She had large purple eyes, and short hair that was so dark black that it almost looked purple as well. The girl was wearing the red band that they give to everyone who's 21 and over – but Raye told all of us to double check on the day that we got hired. You never know who the bouncers let sneak in, like younger brothers or cousins or something like that. Damn she looks really young…well here comes the carding policy, I hate doing it but I don't want Polaris to close down for giving alcohol to a minor.
"ID please?" I asked the young girl, "sorry you know the drill…"
"Of course." She said, a pleasant smile crossing her face, "it's no problem, I get it all the time – people say that I still look like I'm 16." I was thinking the same thing myself. She pulled out her wallet – which displayed her ID and showed it to me. There on the card was her birth date – January 6th 1986, she had been 21 for a while then. But after I took note of her birthday – and made sure that the ID wasn't a fake, I took note of one thing that really stuck out on her ID card.
"Your name is Hotaru Tomoe?"
"Yep. That's me."
"What a pretty name" I said as I started making her drink, "that means firefly in Japanese right?"
"You're pretty clever ma'am." She said with a kindhearted smile.
"Oh please don't call me ma'am, that makes me feel so old. Call me Serena." I said with a nervous chuckle as I poured her a drink. I really want to see if she went out with Amy yet – if this is the same Hotaru that she was talking about. I hate to spy, but I really want Amy to find a nice person to fall in love with – she really deserves it. If I can't have the love of my life then someone must be happy. I might be bitter about it later – but I have to know. Time to make small talk and figure this all out.
"So Hotaru, what do you do for a living?" I asked her – while I slowly got the ingredients for her drink, I wanted to prolong this conversation with her for as long as I could so that way I could get as much information about the date – or lack thereof.
"I'm a nurse." She said matter-o-factly as she watched me make her drink in fascination. "Sorry for the staring – I don't go to bars much, I still can't believe that I'm 21 now to tell you the truth. Plus I've never been to Polaris before – it's a pretty nice club. But …" She paused, staring at the bar counter, a light blush creeping up her face. Hotaru looked around – almost as if she was about to share a deep secret with me and she was making sure that nobody was around.
I stared at her intently, maybe she's going to tell me something…get ready Serena. I was giddy – but tried not to show my excitement.
"I'm kind of shy so that's why I don't really go to places like this. I don't get out much – I mostly just work. I guess I'm not really a bar scene type of person." I almost dropped her drink, my hopes had been crushed - that's not what I wanted to hear! Oh well. I gave her the finished drink, and she paid me for it. She took one sip and seemed to start relaxing a bit. Surprisingly though, and much to my delight, she decided to stay in the seat.
"Anyway, Serena. You know one of my friends told me that it's easy to confide in bartenders – they have this friendly aura to them most of the time."
"Yeah I guess we do." I said – somewhat disappointed. Maybe this isn't the same Hotaru. She started looking around again, a large red blush creeping up in her cheeks – I wasn't sure if it was from the drinking or if it was because she was embarrassed that she was talking to a bartender. She's probably never done this kind of thing before – I guess I understand.
"Enough of my babbling Serena. I'll get to the point. I'm here to meet someone...I've been set up on a date tonight."
Jackpot!
"My matchmaker Mina Love told me to meet someone here. I'm very anxious about the whole thing. She's a doctor – her name is Amy, she's 25. I just need help to calm my nerves really Serena. You see, and I know that this is kind of pathetic but….I'm 21 years old and I've never been on a date in my entire life. I'm way too shy, plus I like women, and I'm so scared of rejection. I'm sorry that I'm spilling all of this information on you and using you as some kind of psychiatrist – or someone else who doesn't really care about my problems." It was amazing, Hotaru had about a shot of vodka in her and she was already telling me all about her personal life. I would have never expected this.
"Hotaru! It's not like that at all! You shouldn't be ashamed to talk to me." I said."I'm perfectly willing to help you out. You're nervous – and that's perfectly okay for a first date."
"You think so?"
"I know so…plus Hotaru, can I let you in on a little secret of my own?"
"What's that Serena?" Hotaru asked – I think that she was hoping that I would give her dating tips.
"I think that the person that you're about to go on the date with is just as nervous as you are. Plus you were set up with her by one of the best matchmakers here in the U.S – what more could you possibly ask for?"
"You're right Serena. I think that I can get through this."
"You can, I know that you can – you seem pretty sweet Hotaru. Don't worry so much about it. Just stay calm and look forward to the date, and most importantly of all enjoy it! This might be your first date – and you're a little nervous, but so is everyone that goes on a date – like I said before. You'll be fine Hotaru, I believe in you." I can't believe that I'm giving someone else dating advice. I guess Mina really is my sister. In personality – in some ways and in looks.
"Thank you so much Serena." Hotaru said with a bright smile as a familiar face popped up right behind hers.
"Hi Serena!" Amy called out to me from behind Hotaru.
"Hello Amy." I replied to her with a grin and a light wave. At the sound of the name, Hotaru spun around and looked at Amy whose name I had just called.
"Are you Amy Mizuno?" Hotaru asked with a shy smile on her face. Amy turned bright red, smiled politely and nodded. "I'm Hotaru. It's nice to finally meet you Amy." Hotaru held out her hand for Amy to shake.
Amy's smile grew as she shook Hotaru's hand. "I'm glad to meet you too – I've been looking forward to this date for a while."
"You have?" Hotaru's eyes brightened up, and a blush crept onto her face once she realized what she had said aloud.
You could tell that they had an immediate attraction to one another by their body language. They were leaning into each other, looking directly into each other's eyes. It was almost as if I – in fact – no one at Polaris was there anymore. They were in their own little world. Looks like a great start to me. Hotaru made a bold move and dragged Amy straight to the dance floor. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that they didn't want to stay and chat with me, but I knew that they were on a date and I should leave them alone and not interfere. Interesting locale choice though Mina – they both really seem to open up here. I just removed Hotaru's glass – that still had some of her drink in it, which is usually one of my pet peeves – but I let it go tonight.
Time seemed to roll by very quickly, and it was almost time for the part of the night, which I used to dread the most. I looked at the clock. Darien should be on the stage very soon. Tonight I did not really know how to feel about Darien getting on that stage and thrusting his manhood in front of people's faces. Before I could've cared less if someone tried to jump him and fuck him right there on the stage – but now that I was slightly more "involved" with Darien so to speak, I was not about to miss the events going on the stage. I was glad that the number of customers at the bar had died down considerably by the time that Darien's act was approaching. That's when I noticed – the memorable cotton candy pink hair color – bobbing up and down with the music. Rini was at the DJ booth, mixing the turntables and putting out some nice beats. I guess they decided that her first day on the job was going to be tonight. Geez they're quick with the DJs.
The time had finally come, and Rini turned off the music temporarily for the introduction. "This is DJ Sugar Candy on the mike right now. I hope that everyone's having fun tonight?" The crowd roared their approval and Rini laughed into the microphone.
Is it just me or is her laugh too sweet – sickeningly so? It sounds – almost evil. I shook off the idea like a bad memory and listened to her first introduction.
"All right let's get ready for the next show, and let me tell you something – this man is too hott! He oozes sexiness with every step that he takes, and let's not forget the clothes that he's wearing – the way that the dress shirt looks on his abs. Oooh. I'd love to take off that suit and explore his body if you know what I mean. I know that more than a few of you agree with me right?" If I hadn't noticed her before – I would have right now. The audience roared with approval, a few wolf-whistles and calls of "bring him out!" Erupted from the crowd that had gathered around the stripper stage. I decided to attempt to completely ignore Rini's introduction of Darien – and the sexy dances that Darien was doing. The idea of Rini talking about Darien in such a sexual way bothered me in more ways than one. I have to complain about this – this – inappropriate statement that had come out of Rini's mouth to someone. How could she say such things? What a dirty mind for someone so young. Plus she's underage! I looked over and saw that Lita had stopped talking to Taiki and was also lacking customers, so I decided that she would be the ideal person to listen to my frustrations.
I leaned over to her and said, "What in the hell is a seventeen-year-old girl doing talking about taking off MY Darien's pants?" Wait – did I just say 'my Darien?'
"Getting a little possessive are we Serena?" Lita.
"I didn't mean…my Darien or anything. That's not what I meant to say…"
"Sure it was." Then she winked at me.
"I just meant that she shouldn't be talking like that – she's only seventeen."
"Well she's going to be eighteen at the end of the week Serena."
"That doesn't matter – she's still seventeen and she's still underage!" I said to her.
"I don't think that it matters much what Rini says about Darien. It's not like he's going to suddenly fall in love with her or anything. You're paranoid Serena." Lita said, giving me a smile, and patting me on the shoulder.
"Maybe you're right," I said – as I turned and looked toward the DJ booth and stripper stage area. Rini had stopped mixing the tracks. She was standing there, with a dreamy look on her face – greedily watching as Darien started to take off his clothes. Darien had torn and then taken off his shirt, and threw it at the audience. A mob was already starting to break out for the shirt and Rini looked as if she wanted to get into the action. Without a moment's more hesitation I saw Rini run from behind the DJ booth to get it at before anyone else. After successfully grabbing the shirt from the mob and giving it a huge hug, she ran back to her booth to continue to do her job. She put the shirt in a small space behind the turntables to make sure that it was safe from getting snatched up by anyone else. "Or maybe I should keep an eye on her just in case." I muttered mostly to myself.
"What did you say Serena?" Lita asked – a bit concerned.
"Nothing at all. You must be hearing things."
"Uh-huh." Lita said, eyeing me suspiciously as she started to clean a few cups.
The night was starting to dwindle down and I couldn't keep my thoughts off of Rini and her obsession with Darien. Eventually it was time to go home, and I was a bit thankful – work today has been stressful in more ways than one. I went to the women's dressing room to go and get changed then go home. The day had been pretty stressful, and I was looking forward to some comfort snacks and television before bed. I got my makeup-remover out of my makeup bag, looked up and there was Rini – standing over me, with Darien's torn shirt casually draped over her shoulder.
"Can I talk to you in private for a second Serena?"
"Sure," more out of curiosity than anything else I decided to talk to Rini. What in the hell does she want from me? "Where would you like to go?"
"Back to the front of the club – I already noticed that they cleaned out the front of the club since everyone cleared out pretty quickly tonight."
"All right" I said as she led me to the front of the club and decided to sit at one of the back booths. I guessed that it was just in case the cleaning crew had missed a spot. We sat down and she stared at me, her red eyes (my guess was that they were contacts) were reading me - trying to figure out how to phrase what she was going to say.
"Serena – you were so nice to me earlier, and I have a problem that I need to talk to someone about. I think that you would be the best person – since Raye wouldn't understand, nor could I ever tell her how I feel."
"I'm all ears…" I said with hesitation in my voice – luckily Rini didn't notice it.
"Polaris is a great place to work, and I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to strut my stuff." Rini started, trying not to look at me. "But there's another reason why I really wanted this job ." My eyes widened. Why in the hell would she want to be here besides to DJ – I had my suspicions but I didn't want to voice them aloud. "You see my friends are all older than me – and they go to Polaris all the time. Well, one day they told me about this man who works here - the most gorgeous guy that they've ever seen in the lives. They told me that this man's voice was deep and smooth like silk – that he had the body of an Adonis. I was determined to meet him somehow. But I wondered how I was going to get in and meet this man since I'm still underage?"
I don't know – wait until your 18th or 21st birthday if this man worked at the bar. It's really sad that she'll go to these lengths to meet a man.
"I couldn't wait any longer – and once I heard that they needed someone to be a DJ – I jumped at the opportunity. I started turning tables at a young age – so I knew that it would be easy for me to get the job – but to approach the man once I got the job would be something completely different."
"I see." I said.
"That's why I need your help Serena!" Rini said to me, her eyes pleading with me.
"What can I do to help you Rini? I don't even know who you're talking about."
Rini stared at me in shock, "You know who I'm talking about – you know him – you have to know him, I mean you work with him and all."
"Just because I work here doesn't mean that I know him." I didn't want to give it away that I already knew who she was talking about – in fact I had known ever since she gave him an introduction before his performance.
Rini leaned closer to me over the table and whispered, "Well…Darien of course." She turned bright red after she said his name, and pulled the torn shirt from its original resting place and hugged it like a teddy bear.
Anger was surging through me – but I tried not to show it. Who does she think that she is – prancing in here like a pink fuzzball thinking that she can just come and swoop up and take Darien? Who the hell is that damned cocky?
"Will you help me get him to notice me Serena?"
What the fuck? I almost wanted to pretend as if I didn't hear it. I tried to calm myself down, "well it's not like I know him very well or anything Rini…" I lied, trying to see if that will get her to leave me alone.
"Don't lie Serena – it's obvious that you know him somehow – especially after seeing the two of you together earlier today. You two were talking pretty intimately by yourselves. So I guess you must know each other well. What's he like Serena? Can you please give me tips as to how to approach him?"
I cannot believe that a seventeen-year-old is trying to get me to give her advice on how to become Darien's girlfriend. Before I got to know Darien I would've told her that he's not worth her time, especially not for a young girl. Then again I would've loved to get him off of my case – but now…the tables have turned. Darien the man that had caused me so much grief in the past – the one that I originally dreaded to even see his face. Now he's really starting to grow on me, and I'm not about to give him up so easily.
That's when I realized something – I could lie about Darien's personality – but I felt that no matter what I told Rini she would still be attracted to him. But I had a few tricks up my sleeves. "Well Rini – Darien's a nice guy, he's funny, charming, and a real gentleman."
"Really? Plus he's gorgeous too? He's like the perfect guy." Rini said, blushing a bit as she held her head in her hands and stared up at me.
"As for how to approach him Rini – I think that it would be best if you wait for him to approach you."
"Oh. I see." Rini said – looking at me a bit crestfallen. "But if I wait for him to approach me – how will he ever notice me?"
With that pink hair – I don't think that anyone could not notice you. "It's not like Darien doesn't know that you exist Rini."
She practically leaped across the table at me after I said that, "did he say anything about me to you earlier today?" Hope seemed to be dancing in her eyes as she pleaded with me to tell her things.
"Well…actually no." I started thinking about the romantic second date that Darien had promised me earlier.
"So – what did you guys talk about then this afternoon? I want to know every word that came out of his mouth! I want to know everything about him."
Fuck. Why the hell is she so pushy? "I can't tell you that information it was a private conversation Rini." I might be actually fighting for Darien's heart at the moment – which if you had told me that on Saturday I probably would've scoffed at you first, then told you not to insult me.
"Fine. I understand – adult conversation and all of that."
"You've got that right." I said. She looked at me sadly…why do I have a feeling that she's going to try to use the puppy dog eyes on me? Although she never did use that trick – I couldn't help but give her some advice – and I couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth. "Rini – you're a nice and very pretty girl. I'm sure that if you just be yourself around Darien that maybe something will come of it. Although maybe you better wait to put the charms on him until you're eighteen, I don't think that any guy around here would be comfortable dating an underage girl."
"Thanks Serena! If I can have Darien on my eighteenth birthday this Sunday – then it will be the best birthday present ever!" At that she ran off happily – almost like a little girl with Darien's torn shirt gripped tightly in her hand.
Well I didn't mean that you were going to have a date with him on your birthday or anything. She's really going to get her hopes up – especially since she's turning eighteen on Sunday – that's the day of Darien and my date, but she doesn't have to know that or anything.
I got up from the table and went back to the backroom to change and get ready to go home. As soon as I opened the door to the women's changing room – I noticed that barely anyone was there. Geez everyone wanted to get out tonight I guess. Lita was still there and completely still in her work clothing and makeup; she once told me that normally she gets to work earlier and leaves later than the other employees. As soon as I entered the room Lita noticed me – and we both started getting into our civilian attire.
"So I saw that Rini pulled you away for a minute. What did she want?"
"To tell me that she has a thing for Darien." I half-growled.
Lita stared at me in surprise. "Serena don't tell me that you're jealous of a seventeen-year old girl? Especially when you're the one that Darien's taking out for dates."
"Nah that's not what really bothers me." This was somewhat of a lie, but I wouldn't want to tell Lita the truth. "She told me that the main reason why she took the DJ job so she could go out with Darien."
"Seriously?" Lita asked, the shock was very obvious in her voice, "she should take the opportunity more seriously. Polaris is a wonderful starter job – especially for DJs. If going out with Darien is the only reason why she wants to DJ here then she shouldn't be here. If Raye finds out about this – then Rini should consider herself fired."
"I know – that's why I'm not going to tell Raye."
"You're not?"
I shook my head, "she's just got a little crush on him – and I think that being a DJ is really what she wants to do with her life – she just picked Polaris for a somewhat superficial reason. I think that she's so talented that she would've ended up here eventually anyway." That was my way of convincing myself – as well as Lita that Darien was just a fling for Rini, next week she might fall in love with another stripper – or maybe even one of the bartenders, who knows?
"I think that you're right Serena." Lita said as she pulled her blouse over her head. "I'm just glad that you're not bursting out in a jealous rage because she has a crush on Darien. To think though – a couple of days ago you hated Darien's guts."
"Well times change." I chuckled as I pulled on a pair of jeans.
"Speaking of Darien though…"
"Yes Lita?"
"You never told me how the date went – and remember I want every juicy little detail." Lita said to me with a smile and a wink.
I decided to give in, as we finished up changing and taking off our makeup – I told her about the date, and how Darien has planned a romantic second date for the two of us on Sunday.
"Sounds lovely Serena. You two really seemed to hit it off. But I could've told you that you guys would be a nice couple from right off the bat." Lita said with a grin.
"You're just saying that Lita."
"No – I'm not. Despite the fact that you guys were fighting before – I could just smell the sexual tension in the air."
We laughed and grabbed our bags – getting ready to leave. As we walked out the door Raye stopped by since she had to lock up the club tonight.
"Everyone's out of the dressing room?"
"Yes ma'am." I told Raye with a salute.
"Very funny Serena. You two seem to be in a very chipper mood today – especially after what happened earlier." Raye said looking at Lita sympathetically.
Lita nodded and gave her a small smile, "but everything's all right between me and Taiki now so it doesn't matter anymore."
"You're right Lita – I'm sorry to even bring it up." Raye said a bit guiltily.
"It's no problem, I mean you knew about it – Serena knows about it now since she helped us make up. It all turned out fine." Lita said.
"All right then, well goodnight to both of you – I'm going to finish locking up." Raye said with a smile.
Lita started walking ahead of me, when Raye grabbed my shoulder and quickly whispered in my ear, "someone's waiting for you outside. See you tonight at home – maybe." She smiled at me and gave me a wink and a little push. I turned a bright shade of red and followed behind Lita.
I opened the door and noticed that Darien was standing on the other side of it – waiting for me. Lita took this as her cue to go. "Goodnight Serena – see you tomorrow."
Darien waited for Lita to leave – which she did pretty quickly. He stared at me with a small smile on his face. "I hope that my waiting for you – doesn't bother you so much. Maybe I am somewhat of a creepy stalker."
We chuckled at the joke, "no – I'd like to think of you as my not-so-secret admirer." I told him as I stared into his blue eyes. At that very second – I knew what was about to happen, usually I don't let it happen until later – but with Darien I just couldn't resist.
Darien leaned down a little bit, still staring into my eyes, and gave me a kiss – a very light kiss on the lips. It was like a taste of what was to come. His lips were soft and tender against mine, and despite my initial feelings toward Darien – I wanted to kiss him more – but decided that this teasing preview would be great for now. But one thing really perturbed me as I broke free from the kiss with Darien. I could have sworn that I saw a few tendrils of cotton candy pink hair in the moonlight, and the soft sounds of sobbing in the distance. Guilt crept from my stomach all the way to my throat – she must have seen him outside on her way out and wanted to stay to see who he was waiting for. I could not explain why I felt guilty for doing this – I mean technically I wasn't doing it behind Rini's back, and if Darien and I kept on going out our lips would've met each other eventually. There was just something about it that made me feel horrible.
"I-I-I have to go." I murmured to Darien. "Sorry – thanks for waiting for me, I'm really happy that you did."
Darien stared at me with a confused smile as I put my stuff in my Land Rover, and then walked back towards him. I smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek – and an immediate blush crept across his face. I grinned with pleasure, it was so cute that Darien was blushing just from me kissing him on the cheek – but I had other things to worry about at the moment. "I'll see you tomorrow – and I can't wait for Sunday." I told him as I took his hand, gave it a little squeeze, then ran to my car. I had to go home and think about this over some hot tea, cookies, and the television.
Author's endnote: Interesting turn of events I guess? Anyway – hopefully I can get the next chapter to you soon, . I'm getting on a plane to go to my parent's house on Wednesday – so maybe later on in the week.
