Sessediz

Rated M: Language and love scenes

D/S

Just to clarify before someone brings it up, yes the song "Bored to Death" by Blink-182 only came out this year but it just fit too perfectly with what I had already started writing. I understand that certain details like this can urgh some readers (I felt similar when reading a fanfiction where two characters order a Pepsi and Coke at the same restaurant… oye) but I hope you'll forgive me!

This is a story that I've been excited to write and I'm happy for those of you who are enjoying it. Let me know what you think of this new (extra-long) and spicy chapter! Also, Prince Diamond/various spellings is mentioned in here as Damon because the name seems like a good alternate to me.

Darien Shields:

I chuckled to myself before scowling and taking another swig of whiskey. "I've changed, not that I was that bad of a person back in high school," I brought the tip of the bottle to my bottom lip, thought for a moment and chuckled again as I downed half a serving.

Yesterday I found ways to keep myself busy after Serena's departure. I worked out at the gym, went grocery shopping and cooked a feast that I couldn't bring myself to eat. Instead, I opted for a diet of whiskey and round ice cubes.

"Heh, round ice cubes. That doesn't make any sense now does it?" I asked the open air.

I heard a noise at the door and looked up to see Andrew and Ami walking in. They were giggling together but both stopped in their tracks when they saw the condition I was in.

"Darien?" Andrew asked, setting their bags on the ground. "Man, what happened to you?"

"Srinah Caseeno," I muttered, dropping the bottle to the ground in favor of lying down on the couch.

"Shit, Dare," Andrew moved to pick up the bottle before it caused too much damage to the rug that Ami had picked out for us. I watched Ami run to the kitchen to retrieve a towel. "How much have you had to drink?" I didn't answer him. "Darien, you know you have a problem, don't you?"

"Syeeah, it's Srinah Caseeno," I muttered again. She did this to me. It's her fault this time, just like before.

"Oh my goodness!" Ami shouted, "Darien, are planning on having company over?"

"Why? What did he d—," Andrew stopped short. "Dare, did you really have to cook up a Thanksgiving feast and," he paused and I heard the sound of foil moving, "leave it out all night? Com'on, man, this is such a waste of food and money." I didn't respond to him as I continued to sulk. Andrew walked back over to me, "Now, who were you talking about?"

I struggled to get up from my position, having to grab onto the coffee table for support. "Ser-REE-na Tsu-KI-no," I shouted, startling Ami who had returned to clean up my mess. "So-orry, Ami."

She smiled, "What's wrong, Dare? Is it a woman?" I nodded, already starting to feel sick from my Sunday drinking binge. "Who is she?"

I cleared my throat so that I could talk more audibly, "The owner of Moon Rise in Brooklyn."

"That restaurant across the bridge?" Ami stood up and dusted off her pants, "They have the cutest little desserts. So, you know the owner? Think you can get us in?"

"What?"

"Well, it's sometimes really hard to get a seat there. The place is always so packed," she said, then turning to Andrew. "They really should move to a larger location."

I groaned loudly at Ami's ignorance. "That's exactly the problem. She took the building that my company was planning to buy. She's moving the restaurant to Manhattan."

Andrew and Ami sat down on either side of me and Ami pushed my hair out of my eyes. Andrew put his hand on my shoulder, "And? I know you wanted that one but there will be others. It'll all work out."

"You guys don't understand," I shrugged them off and walked to the large window overlooking the city. "I knew Serena back in high school. Andrew, she was that girl that ran away from home my senior year."

"She's here?" Andrew asked. I looked back to see Ami confused and tapping on his shoulder. Andrew tried to whisper but I could still hear him, "You could basically call her the one that got away."

"Oh," Ami seemed to understand. It wasn't quite like that, Drew…

"She's been living in New York for the past few years. It's a big city, I'm not surprised we never crossed paths before but why does she always show up and ruin things just when they are on track?"

"What did she do?" Ami pressed on. It was actually nice to be getting this all off my chest again, given the situation.

"I was going to be a doctor. My parents are both doctors; cardiology and oncology. So it was always a plan that I would be one too. The summer before our senior year Serena and I finally got together after years of banter between us. When things got rocky, Serena told me off and left. Like, left the state." Damn, why does this still hurt? It was six years ago. "I was accepted to a university that wanted me for both their bachelor's and medical program. But after everything that happened, and having to see her empty seat in homeroom every day, I couldn't bring myself to do it anymore."

There was a long pause and I almost thought I had been dreaming that Andrew and Ami were home, "What did she say?"

I sighed and focused on the window in front of me. The glass was dirty on the outside, which sucked because there's no way of controlling how clean the outside of the building is. "She told me that I would screw up, that I would be the one to kill someone's mother, grandfather or child. She told me that I would be the doctor to disappoint his parents, colleagues and patients."

Andrew had walked over to me, "Yeah, some pretty messed up shit, but it worked out for the best, huh?" Of course, Andrew was talking about us meeting at NYU, me starting Atraxis Fiore and everything else that had come from that decision. My parents still don't know why I changed my mind but they were certainly mad at the time.

"Wait, this doesn't make sense," Ami began, "I mean, I've met my own real bitches in life but there has to have been some reason for her to say that. Did something else happen?"

My heart sunk at Ami's perception. Of course not; I didn't do anything. "I'm going to bed, guys. Thanks for listening." They looked like they were going to protest but I shot them a glare. Andrew and Ami backed away as I made my way upstairs. It wasn't like me to be so harsh to them, especially after cleaning up my drunken mess and dealing with my sob story, but I needed to get out of there.

Poor, Darien. You decide not to go to med school and blame it on a little girl; my mind taunted me as I pulled the thick covers over my head. Shut up.

Serena Tsukino:

It had been over two weeks since Darien invited me to his apartment and subsequently kicked me out of said apartment. I gave Lita the bare details but honestly I was too hurt to really get into it.

Oh, what am I kidding? I just don't want to mar his name.

It was something that I had because accustomed to over the last several years. Though, in my mind, I held a personal vendetta to best Darien and prove him and his family wrong about me, I never spoke of it to another person. Part of me still hoped that we could get past it and try again one day but divulging such details to your best friends would make it all the worse when trying to patch things up.

But what's the point in that? If the details were bad enough to hide from my friends then perhaps it was best they knew so that they could keep you from making a mistake.

But I don't want it to be a mistake. I sighed; I guess I'll talk to Lita tonight. I shook my head before grabbing the freshly-packed utensil baskets and bringing them to the hostess counter. "Hey, Mol, I've got more wraps," I said, scooting passed her and switching out the baskets.

"Serena, do you think I could take a quick break? I want to call the nursing home and check in with my grandmother," Molly smiled sweetly.

"Sure thing, take fifteen minutes." Molly nodded and pulled out her phone as she neared the backroom. I picked up a black waist apron and tied it around me, replenishing the straws and sugar packets in the pockets.

In around two months we would be making the move to Manhattan and that meant a lot of extra hours on some of the staff as we advertised the move, prepared the new location, got checked by the health and food departments along with a whole list of other things; even sooner than that I would have to start interviewing people for the new positions of the expanded staff.

The door dinged as two customers filed in. Note, no stupid grocer bell in the new restaurant. "Good evening and welcome to tonight's Moon Rise," I recited. "Table for two?" I asked the couple. The man was tall with shaggy blond hair and the woman who accompanied him had short blue hair. I silently wondered if moving would change our demographic dramatically.

"Yes, please," the man responded. I picked up two menus, a specials menu and two sets of utensils wrapped in a canary-yellow, cloth napkin. We ventured through the crowd until I found them a booth by the window.

"Here you are," I gestured for them to get seated as I placed the items in their spots. "Veronica will be your server and she'll get you started with drinks. Enjoy."

I was about to head back to the hostess counter for more customers when the woman caught my attention, "Excuse me, miss, could we speak with the owner?" Crap. Are they with the health department? We just got checked and weren't due for another visit until the Manhattan location opened up.

"Yes, that would be me, Serena Tsukino." I reached my hand out to her but she was now focused on the man across from her, both of them talking with their eyes. "So, is there something I could help you with?" I hope they don't have a complaint already. They just got here.

"Oh, never mind," she replied. I felt uneasy and stood there for another moment before turning to head back to the counter. "No, wait, um, can we speak with you?"

I rolled my eyes. Before turning around I put a smile back on my face, "Sure thing. Is there a problem?"

The blond man stayed silent and the woman continued to speak for them, "You know of Darien Shields?" I stood there, frozen in place.

"I, uh," Why does she want to know? "Y—yeah, I know him. We used to go to high school together. Is he alright?" I asked, starting to get worried.

"In a matter of speaking," the man finally said but the blue-haired woman shushed him.

"We're throwing a small party for him on Saturday for his birthday; he's turning twenty-four. You should come."

"That's sweet of you, but why am I invited?" How does this woman even know who I am?

"Well, we—."

The blond man interjected, "We found his old yearbook and looked up who might be in the state." It was most obviously a lie but I decided not to push my luck. Perhaps this is fate telling me to fix things with Darien.

"Alright. Well, what time?"

The woman looked to the man and then hesitantly back at me, "Uh, eight?"

I smirked, "Is that your final answer?" The man chuckled at that and the woman blushed. "Where at?"

"His apartment, well, our apartment," she responded. Before she could give the address I waved my hand up.

"I know the address. Consider this my RSVP," I looked to the front entrance and saw customers starting to get backed up. "I have customers to tend to but don't let me forget to give you my number in case anything changes, uh…?"

"Ami," she smiled.

I turned to the man across from her, "Andrew."

I smiled at them both and sauntered off towards the front of the restaurant. I wonder what I should get him.

Darien Shields:

"Com'on, guys. When are we leaving?" I sat on the stool with my elbow on the kitchen counter and my hand in my hair. It had been a long week with trying to find more places to consider for our expansion and my birthday was as good an excuse as any to let loose with a few drinks.

"Just a minute!" Andrew called down the stairs. I dropped my hand down to my left ear and began fidgeting with my small loop earring. Having my own business made me lucky enough to keep it in but, as I thought about it, I was turning twenty-four. Perhaps it's time for it to go?

It was already almost eight when they finally appeared downstairs. I raised an eyebrow when I saw how they were dressed, "I thought we were just going to a bar?" I looked down at my old Reservoir Dogs tee and blue jeans. Ami was wearing a black dress with skinny straps and a nice necklace while Andrew was dressed in a trimmed black suit and blue tie.

"Well, Ami and I are going to a nice restaurant in town to celebrate the birthday of our great friend who, unfortunately, has other plans," Andrew cocked his head to the side as I heard a knock on the door.

"Drew, who is that?" I stood up from my seat and watched as they ventured to the front of the apartment.

"Happy birthday, Darien!" they both recited as Andrew opened the door to reveal Serena in a short white dress and heels. Her tattoo poked out of the bottom of her right dress sleeve and I began thinking about the other two I couldn't see. She smiled at me and I noticed a medium, gold-wrapped box with a dark blue bow.

"Am I too late?" she asked. Andrew shook his head.

"Just in time; we were on our way out," he said. Ami grabbed Serena's hand and pulled her inside. "Have fun, you two!" and then they were out the door, leaving me and Serena stunned. We made eye contact for a second but broke it just as quickly. Why did they do this to me? It's my birthday, for crying out loud!

"Um, so I'm guessing there isn't really a surprise party," she said nervously. She took a few steps towards me and outstretched the hand with the gift. "I got you a present," I reached for the gift and noticed that it was fairly heavy, "Have a great birthday, Darien."

I looked down at the metallic box and then noticed that Serena had turned to start leaving the apartment. "Wait, where are you going?"

She looked back at me, "I don't wish to be a part of this guerilla birthday celebration."

"Well, I won't get any birthday celebration if you leave now." This caught her attention and for a moment she looked like she might stay.

"Do you really want me to stay?" I nodded, "You do understand that I'm not here as the hired help, don't you?"

I furrowed my brow for a moment before realizing what she was saying, "Oh, no. No, Serena. Actually, I wanted to apologize to you for that."

Her eyes suddenly looked hopeful, "You do?"

I gestured for her to join me on the couch, "Yeah, I do. It was completely classless and rude. I only said it out of anger but that still doesn't excuse it." Serena nodded but kept her attention on the fireplace, "So how do you know Andrew and Ami?"

Serena seemed to relax and leaned back on the couch, "They visited me in Brooklyn this week. So I suppose you told them that I stole that property from you, huh?"

"I might have said that; also out of anger."

"Mm."

"Look, I'm sorry for that too. You didn't know that I was one of the buyers and you shouldn't have to feel like you can't get the place you want because your ex-boyfriend also wants it."

"Heh, is that what we are? I mean, were?" she eyed me.

"Well, yeah," the blood rushed from my legs, "W—weren't we?"

"You never actually asked me, Darien. You probably would have if—."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry to assume something," I replied coldly. So that's how she has thought of me for the last six years?

"Would you like to open your present?" My eyes met hers before I looked back down at the metallic box. I picked it up from the coffee table and pulled on the ribbon. Serena giggled when she saw me carefully pulling the tape off to not destroy the paper, "Still saving your girly paper, I see?"

"It's a habit," I grinned. Upstairs I had a Rubbermaid tub full of saved wrapping paper since I was seven. I didn't have any use for them; it was just something I've always done. When I got down to a brown box I pulled out my pocket knife and sliced the seal. Inside the box laid a copy of Gray's Anatomy. I tilted the box to the side so that the book would slide out.

"It's the edition from 1992 so it's as old as you are," she smiled. Why would she get me this? "You may not have become a doctor but I know that you loved studying medical stuff when we were younger and I wanted to get you something that reflected that." I ran my fingers along the edge of the old book without responding; there wasn't really anything I could think of saying. "So, why didn't you go to medical school anyways?"

Don't tell her, don't tell her. Things are just getting good again. "Uh, just decided it wasn't for me."

Serena didn't seem to believe that, "Ah, com'on, you can tell me."

"Really, Serena. It just wasn't for me." She took a second to think about what I said and then decided to drop it. We sat there awkwardly for a few minutes before I spoke up, "Thank you for the gift. It's really nice and must have been hard to find."

She shrugged, "Nothing's too much for my Dare-Bear." Gosh I forgot that nickname. "Sorry about what I said the other week. I shouldn't have called you Jockstrap." Jockstrap was what I was called through seventh and eighth grade after it got around that I was wearing a cup to school every day. You could call it the male equivalent of a girl stuffing her bra with tissues.

"It's cool."

Serena leaned closer to me and I almost shivered at the proximity, "At least now I know it was just a rumor."

"Wh—what?" I whispered. Serena motioned her eyes down and then stared back at me. "Oh, oh?" I smiled. Geez, Darien, keep your cool. "Well, I'll take that compliment any day."

"Hmm, do you want to go out for a bite?"

I looked at the time, "Would you mind if we ate in? I'm a pretty decent cook, if I say so myself."

"Well, that wouldn't be fair. It's your birthday."

"Com'on," I stood up, "you can help me."

We rummaged through the kitchen, pulling out ingredients and washing vegetables. I decided to make spicy chicken stir-fry over basmati rice and Serena took charge of preparing the latter, knowing a few tips from her roommate and chef of her restaurant, Lita. We chatted about our businesses and she updated me on their move. The paperwork was finished and they were starting to convert the property into a restaurant with all the appliances, seating and décor. She then invited me to come to the grand opening event where half the guest list was A-list people and celebrities.

"Sounds like you're becoming quite the success, Bun-Head." I hadn't call Serena 'Bun-Head' since we were in elementary school together. At the time, it was an endearing nickname. Had I said it to her in high school she would have been considered bullying. But, then again, I did much more mean things to her during those years. "So whatever happened to Melvin Butlers?" Melvin was that dorky kid that wouldn't stop following Serena around like a lost puppy dog.

"Why? Wanna know if I lost my virginity to him?" she teased. Shortly before we got together Melvin had orchestrated one of those elaborate 'prom-posals' which, of course, Serena still said no to. The guys and I gave her a hard time about losing 'it' to Melvin on prom night and would made moaning noises when she walked passed us in the hallway.

Instead, Serena went with a guy a year older than us named Damon. He was quite the catch, especially for a junior since it was his senior prom. It had made me jealous to see them there together. When he graduated a few weeks later, I made my move and kissed her.

"I think I heard that Melvin is off the grid now in Eastern Europe, though I guess he's not too off the grid if people know his whereabouts."

"And Damon?" I waited for her to answer that one.

"I'm not sure. We didn't talk much after prom."

"Oh, no?" That's a relief.

"You know, I did end up losing my virginity that night at prom. So I guess you were half right after all."

I almost dropped the bowl of chopped vegetables that I had prepared, "You—you slept with Damon?"

She nodded, "Mm-hm, it wasn't so bad. I do sometimes wish I would have waited a little longer because afterwards he was just wanted to get ready to get to after prom. It hurt a lot."

"He hurt you?" I remembered first reading about the process of sex in one of my parents' old medical books when I was younger to, uh, study and prepare for college. Yeah. It's different for all women, but it can especially hurt if the guy isn't careful when it's her first time, which was something I learned early on to be cautious of. I can't believe that jerk took advantage of her. I walked next to her by the stove to start making the sauce.

She laughed, "No, no. Not like that. He just wanted me for sex; it hurt emotionally." Oh. "I was having a rough time with it when you invited me to go for milkshakes that one day. I was honestly just relieved that you weren't making prom sex jokes anymore."

I chuckled to hide the fact that I was fuming inside. How did I never know that Damon slept with her? "So you're telling me that you would have gone for ice cream with any of the other guys then?"

She turned off her burner and covered the pot, "No. I actually had a pretty big crush on you during high school. I had always secretly hoped your teasing was just your 'macho' way of saying you liked me too."

"And?"

"And… well, you didn't ask me to junior prom. Damon did and I went with him so that I wouldn't have to go alone." My heart sunk. Serena lost her virginity to that fuckhead because I was too chicken to ask her out. "It's all in the past though. No sense dwelling on it," Serena dipped a finger in the saucepan and brought it to her lips, "More rice wine vinegar."

"I don't own rice wine vinegar."

She almost choked on the sampling of sauce, "Who doesn't have rice wine vinegar?"

"Probably most people, Serena. Not all of us board with a world class chef."

Serena giggled, "I'll have to tell Lita you called her that. Have you been to our restaurant before?"

I told her about the anniversary dinner my company had there the year before and we continued working on our meal. I knew I should have been over it by now but the thought of Serena with Damon pissed me off. Imagining her stuck in a dingy motel on our prom night with that sack of shit made me want to punch something.

Serena got the table ready and soon we were eating dinner. I talked with her about meeting Andrew at NYU and how he and Ami met there at a campus Diwali celebration. She told me about her brother's decision to attend school on the other side of the country and how sad her mother was to have both children out of the house.

I scooped up the last bit of my food, "So, what made you decide to come to my 'party?'"

She took a sip of her water, "I felt like there were some misunderstandings that morning and I wanted to patch things up with you," she held the glass in her hand, not making eye contact. "Honestly, Darien, I've missed our jabs over the years. Part of me misses that summer too."

"I know what you mean—."

"But if you don't want to be friends I can accept that," she brought the napkin to her lips, "I just didn't want it to be because of an argument we had." I tried not to show my inward feeling towards her statement of us as 'friends.'

"Well, friend, I've still got a couple hours left of my birthday."

Serena's eyes got wide just like when she would always get an idea, "Oo! There's this art gallery down in Brooklyn. I know the artist and could get us in cheap." Wow, even Serena, who I haven't seen in years, knows that I'd rather walk around looking at artwork than sitting for three hours in a movie theater. That's something that Rita never understood. Before I could ask she already had my next question answered, "It's open till 1:30 a.m. tonight. I've got my car in the garage downstairs but it might take time to get through bridge traffic… I guess we could take the subway. You wanna go?"

I looked down to my rugged clothes and then back to hers. That lace white dress looked stunning on her and I was surprised that she didn't get any of her dinner on it. Guess she's not so clumsy anymore.

"I'll need to change..."

"Nonsense; it's Brooklyn! You'll fit in better than me, the way I figure it."

"Alright," I grinned. "Let's go."

The train slowed to a stop and the doors buzzed open. "Finally," she grinned, pulling on my arm and leading us up the escalators. "It's just two blocks over, basically," she pointed out once we reached street.

"Calm down, Rabbit." I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun, especially with a girl. Well, besides that. Though we were celebrating my twenty-fourth birthday, being with Serena made me feel young again. Seeing her smiling and waving at everyone as we arrived to the art gallery made me think about why it didn't work out before.

"Rubeus, this is my friend Darien. Darien, this is the artist Rubeus!" she beamed. The guy looked a couple years older than us with unnaturally-colored red hair styled up on his head. He wore a dark brown vest with a wife beater underneath. Both of his ears were pierced with matching earrings that dangled almost effeminately.

Serena Tsukino:

"Nice to meet you, Darien. You have quite the catch here," Rubeus tilted his head towards me. I tried to conceal my blush.

"Yeah, she's a great friend," Darien replied almost pointedly. What's that supposed to mean?

"Sere, I heard about your new location for Moon Rise. I'd love to congratulate you but you know how I feel about Manhattan," he smiled. Rubeus always had a soft spot for Brooklyn. His entire family, going back five generations, were born and raised in the large neighborhood. "Well, enjoy the show you two."

"He seems nice," Darien smiled.

"Uh, yeah." We walked around the gallery looking at the artwork as the night grew later. I kept wondering when he was going to mention the time but he never did. I looked at a clock on the wall reading 1:10 a.m. and decided that I was the one who was going to have to bring it up. "Darien?"

"Hm?"

"It's getting awfully late…"

Darien looked at his phone and then looked red, "I'm sorry, Serena, it looks like I need to be getting back to the station so that I can get home tonight."

"No."

"No?" he gave me a particular look. "Ah, I see. Your car is at my place and it's late…" Darien looked to the left and right before leaning in, "Now, exactly how far do you live from here?" The tips of his black hair swayed over his eyes and I could feel the hairs sticking up on my arms.

I winked at him, "Would you believe me if I said upstairs?"

His mouth slowly turned into a handsome, genuine smile, "Lead the way, Princess."

We got off of the elevator and I walked up to my door. "Lemme see if Lita is awake first." I unlocked the door and poked my head in, "Lita?" I whispered. Turning back to Darien, I smiled, "Looks like she's out right now. Could I interest the birthday boy in a drink?"

He chuckled, "It's no longer my birthday, Sere, but sure; whatever you're having."

I instructed Darien to venture to my room as I prepared two glasses and began sauntering down the hallway. "Just where are you going with those?" I heard Lita ask. Hesitantly, I turned around.

"I happen to have a guy over. Don't worry; we'll try to not be too loud," I giggled. Lita shook her head.

"I bet you'll be the loud one, Serena."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're very expressive when you… you know? I never hear the guy making all that much noise," Lita teased.

I almost choked; on what? Maybe air. "I didn't realize how much of an interest you had in my sex life, roomie," I stuck my tongue out.

"Goodnight, Serena," she winked before heading down her hallway. As I continued the journey to my room I thought about what she had said. Do I enjoy it more than my partners do? Does that mean I'm not that good? But no, I—I'm experiencing the same thing as them. To an extent, that statement was true. We'll see who's right.

"Serena? I was beginning to think you were never coming to your room," Darien smiled. I noticed that he had been looking at my photo frames. "I see you kept this one." It was the only photo of just us two together. It was taken at the zoo on half price day the summer after our junior year.

"Yeah, well, my hair looks good in that photo."

"Indeed, it does." I handed him his drink and he eyed me suspiciously, "What is it?"

"I have a proposition." Darien raised an eyebrow in anticipation, "Since you're the birthday boy, I want you to choose what we do tonight."

"Did we not come up here to," he paused, taking a sip of his drink, "play board games?"

I gabbed him in the ribs, "No, you're close though."

"G—games?" I nodded, "Are you giving me dibs?"

"Dibs? How old are you?"

Darien closed the distance between us and used his free hand to pull my body to him, "I feel younger when I'm with you."

I grinned, "Then show me what this young body wants tonight." I took a step back and lowered my hands, "Show me what cha got, Shields."

Darien slowly smiled as he walked towards me again, grabbing both of our glasses and setting them on my dresser, "You're in for a treat." He picked me up, one hand holding my right thigh with the other around my hips, and carried me to the bed, placing small kisses on my neck and shoulders.

I wrapped my legs around him as he started pulling the zipper on my dress down. I tried to help him get it off but he muttered, "Nu-uh… You said I got to show you what I have, Sere." Darien pulled the dress off, dropped it on the ground and went back to kissing my body. Small moans escaped my lips as he picked up the intensity. I was just about to start begging for him to kiss me when he moved up and locked our lips allowing them to glide effortlessly together.

"Darien…" I moaned as he slid my right bra strap down. His mouth left me before nibbling on my shoulder and biting gently at the skin, "Darien!" I cried out. I heard him chuckle to himself as he continued on.

I thought all of the foreplay would have been his experiment with me but Darien had more planned for us that night. Once he was undressed and hovering over me on the bed he ran a finger from my neck to navel, "How flexible are you?"

I smiled, "Yoga." His eyes narrowed as he tested my statement, first plunging into me and meeting our faces together as he softly shushed me.

"Just wait," he whispered. Darien leaned back and, while still resting inside of me, bent my knees and began to push my legs over my head. He leaned forward again, gently, and rested his chest on the back of my thighs with my feet up in the air. "You're gonna love this."

I hadn't been aware that Darien wasn't fully inside of me at that moment until he thrusted deeper. My voice cried out and he grinned. There's no way he got bigger since our last time together.

"New angle," he whispered as he began to move. "I can tell you're wondering why it feels so different."

"Y—yeah, this is—am—amazing," I breathed.

"I have more tricks in my bag if we get to do this again." Darien had returned his focus to the task at hand but my mind was caught on that last line. Who references if there will be a next time in the middle of sex? Do I want a next time with him? Darien must have thought that he was going too soft on me because he began quickening his pace and reached a hand down to where we met. Ohh, how could I not?

I continued to call out his name and began running my fingernails over his back as he drove into me, each thrust feeling as deep as the first one yet new again. I dismissed Lita's earlier statement about me basically being a more vocal lover but silently hoped that Darien would help me in proving her wrong.

With his last few thrusts, his body began to shake, pressing my knees into my shoulders. "S—Sere—rena!" he yelled. My body was still going from my release as Darien collapsed on top of me, his weight almost crushing me, but I didn't care. His cry was louder than any of the ones I had given throughout the evening and I couldn't help but grin widely.

Shortly after, Darien removed himself from me and flipped onto his back. "I trust I received high marks on my grade card?"

Still reeling from his actions, I flirtatiously hopped over on top of him, letting my messed up hair envelope my body. "Standing ovations all around, my good sir."

"Standing, eh?" he grinned. "So what brought that on?"

"What do you mean? I just wanted to see what you could do."

"You have three notches by me from a few weeks ago… so again, what were you trying to do this time?"

"Honestly?" I wondered if I should tell him but relented, "My roommate says that I'm too vocal during sex and it made me wonder if I was good enough. I thought if I could get you to be louder than me, I could prove her wrong."

His ears perked up, "Lita's here?" I watched as his expression went from valiant to nervous.

"What's the matter? You have roommates yourself and the walls in these apartments aren't the thickest things in the world. If you're telling me you're self-conscious, you shouldn't be," I bent down and kissed him, "That was probably the best sex I've ever had."