Sitting here watching a Paul McCartney concert on TV, I decided I had time to edit another chapter.
Now I have "Hey Jude" stuck in my head. -_-
Good song.
Well, here's chapter 4!
I hope you all like it!
From here on out, the story will be progressing a little faster. I have a lot more editing to do (which equals a lot more chapters).
I will be tossing in more Mina, Lita, and Ami-along with maybe some love interests for them too. I can't leave them all alone.
So depressing.
Though sometimes I enjoy depressing. Makes it more real.
Adding to my list of random Russian words I'm learning,
другой!
Rei felt like tossing the wine on him. Ruin his crisp white, clean shirt. Yes, that felt like a great idea. Instead, she turned towards the other portion of her anger.
She leaned forward, her dark eyes blazing.
"How dare you say that to me!" She hissed, "You took my virginity then left for the military, not contacting me once, even after I tried contacting you multiple times. How dare you say that you 'care about me! You made me feel like an idiot! I was 15 Jed! 15 years old!" Her eyes burned, as tears threatened to spill over.
Jed turned his head down, like a dog being scolded; his sky blue eyes seemed sad, remorseful, when he looked back up.
"Rei, I was terrified. I didn't realize how strong my feelings were for you." He glanced towards the servers, his look alone letting them know they were no longer needed. He looked back at Rei as they exited through the back-gate. "I did try contacting you. By the time that I grew up, I realized I needed to talk to you. To set things right again. When I saw you come in the class yesterday, I was beyond happy. I knew that I couldn't talk to you there." He seemed to take a few deep breaths, "Hence why I begged for you to come out with me tonight. I'm no longer a stupid boy of 18. I'm a man. I can own up to what I did. I want to ask for your forgiveness and for a second chance."
Serena stared at Darien with wide, sapphire eyes. "A kiss?" she squeaked.
"mmhmm, just one kiss. Only fair. I mean if you win, I have to sing 'I'm a Barbie girl' dress up in pink and follow dance moves created by you." His sexy grin never fell out of place as he seemed to be challenging her. He held out his hand, "Do we got a deal?"
Serena stared at his hand, then again at his cobalt blue eyes. It almost felt like a deal with the devil was about to be made. She contemplated the chances of her loosing,she grabbed hold of his hand, shaking on it. "Deal."
Serena stared at the billiard table, she bent this way and that, trying to figure out the best way to hit her ball instead of knocking the 8-ball in; Which was conveniently blocking hers. He had already lost two games.
'But won two' she told herself. She glared though. Darien had already cleared the table minus one ball as well.
She eyed it once more, nodding her head.
She felt a breath against her right ear, "Make sure not to hit the 8-ball in—" she turned her head slightly to the right, "Actually, please do. I look forward to it."
Serena only glared and watched the handsome man bust up laughing, "Sere, I've seen puppies scarier then you."
"Yeah, well, let me focus!" She moved away, ignoring the thrill of him using her nickname.
Darien sat back down; grabbing his water he took another sip, watching Serena move around the table, a look of pure concentration on her face.
She leaned forward, setting her stick in position. A few seconds later she tapped the white ball.
Both of them seemed to hold their breath.
Her ball fell into the pocket and not even one second later, so did the 8-ball.
"Might want to close that mouth Serena." A triumph Darien stood up, placing his stick back on the rack that was connected to the wall. "You played well, I'll give you that."
"Can I have a do-over?"
Darien chuckled as he grabbed her pool-stick from her. "Nope. I won, fair and square."
Serena watched him began piling everything back into its holder to take back to the cashier. "How about we play a few more games, just for fun?" She looked hopeful.
Darien smiled as he placed the last ball in the container. "Nope." He grabbed it and Serena's purse that was sitting on the small table beside them. Handing the purse to her, "Gotta go pay." Serena watched him walk to the cashier, a sense of dread feeling her body.
It's not that she feared Darien, no, something about him said 'protector' and not 'villain'-but Serena hadn't kissed a man, well willingly, in over 2 years. 'Was she ready for that?' 'If she asked him to hold off for a bit, would he?' He didn't seem like the kind of man to force something. She knew that. How she knew that, she didn't know.
She felt a hand at the small of her back and looked up, "Ready?" His voice was deep, sensual.
Serena felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Take me home. Now." Rei dropped her napkin on the table and stood up, already walking inside the house.
Jed followed as well.
"Rei, please. I want to make this up to you. I want to make it right." He grabbed hold of her arm, which made her stop and turn towards him.
"You're ten years late Jed. What gives you the right to even ask me this?"
"Because you're here now. You wanted to come tonight. I know you did."
Her eyes burned as she brought her hand up and slapped him across the face. She knew he saw it, but he didn't stop it.
"How dare you!" she screamed.
When tears started falling down her face, she felt strong arms wrap around her.
It started with a soft kiss on the top of her head then on her forehead.
"Rei?" he whispered. He kissed her nose and watched her eyes close.
His lips skimmed over her cheek and chin before landing hungrily on her lips.
Rei responded as if she had been starving and the only thing that could fill her was him.
She had kissed a few guys since her time with Jed, but nothing had ever felt right. With her lips against his, her body felt on fire. She hadn't allowed anyone to touch her; not the way he was now.
They stumbled through his house, him leading her towards his room.
They landed on his bed in a flurry of limbs and lips that refused to unlock.
Serena sat nervously in the passenger seat as Darien made small talk about a question she had asked.
She couldn't recall what she had asked, but he seemed content on answering.
When he seemed to be finishing up she decided to try and change his mind, "What days do you work Darien?'
"I work four off three on, depending. I usually take Monday through Thursday. But if they need another team, then I'm called in. Why?"
"Well," Serena tried to figure out how to word it, "I was thinking. How about you get that kiss on the third date? Actually, you'll get two kisses. How about that?"
Darien's body seemed to relax as he leaned his right elbow against the console, his fingers tapping on his chin. His other arm was stretched out; his wrist seemed to be steering the car, "uh huh. So you're offering two kisses, two dates from now, instead of one now?" They came to a stop at a red light and he turned his head slightly in her direction. His blue eyes were full of laughter.
Serena could only nod.
"I don't think you'd be this giving if you would have won."
Serena's mouth dropped, "I would have too! I swear I would have!"
He grinned again, "Uh huh. If you have a 'rule' about kissing on the first date, you could have backed out of the challenge."
Serena huffed, "I don't have a rule against it—I just—well-I don't know a whole lot about you."
"You probably learned more about me tonight then most people do in weeks of talking to me." His response kind of shocked Serena and the car moving forward from the light turning green had her looking out the window, instead of at him.
They pulled up to her house within a few more minutes and Serena's heart began beating faster as Darien turned off the car.
Serena decided to be honest, "I don't have a lot of practice in this area Darien."
He shifted his body so he was partially leaning against his door.
"I figured that. And it's nothing to be ashamed of either."
Serena glanced up through her lashes, "How did you figure that?"
"You jump from male contact. I noticed that yesterday. You tried to keep your distance today."
Serena nodded at his observation. 'He is a cop. I guess learning body language is a must.'
"But," he moved back in the normal position and opened his car door, closing it, he walked around to her side and opened the door for her.
"But what?" Serena inquired as she stepped out.
"You still lost a bet."
Serena's eyes widen when his hands cupped her face and he brought his lips down to hers.
She didn't know what to do when they moved sensually over hers, though her body seemed to remember better than anything else, as she shyly responded. And just as she was about to either ask him to stop or to press herself closer to him-she hadn't decided- he pulled back slowly.
Sapphire met cobalt.
"Goodnight Serena." His breath tickled her skin, "I'll give you a call tomorrow."
When he stepped out of her way so she could walk to her door he spoke again, "I think I'll make sure you get inside from here. I'm afraid I'll break my own "win" and kiss you again if I walk you to the door."
Serena could only nod, still in a slight daze. When she unlocked the front door, she turned, "Night Darien."
And with that she slipped inside.
Lita kept marching back and forth, stopping only to look at the rod iron clock hanging on the wall. She glared when it read 1:53am. She pulled the curtain back and glanced outside again, looking left then right.
"Did you call and text her again?"
Ami looked up at the irritated question. "I did Lita. I've called five times now. Mina has sent over a dozen texts. No response."
Lita crossed her arms over her chest again.
Serena kept staring at her phone, "Maybe they went to a late night movie?"
Lita shook her head. "Rei said she'd be home no later than 11." She glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time, "It's now almost 2 in the morning. This is not like her. You know her."
Serena only nodded.
Mina came in from the kitchen, a tray of warm beverages balanced carefully in her hands.
"Should we call the cops?"
Ami shook her head while accepting a cup of tea, "No. A missing persons report can only be filed 24-hours after the person has gone missing. Plus, she's with a cop."
Mina handed Lita a warm cup as well before sitting on their bright blue sofa.
"Shouldn't we call them and see if they know where Jed lives? Or if they could call him? What about Darien or Nathan?"
"I already called Darien, "Serena glanced at her silent phone again, "he said Jed planned a special night for Rei and that when he called there was no answer. He'll swing by if Rei isn't home by 3." She paused for a second as a car drove by and watched Lita jump back to the window. "He said Jed usually has late nights and that he wouldn't let anything happen to Rei."
Lita only clenched her fist in furry.
Ami was about to speak when her phone beeped, signaling a new message.
"Its Rei," her brows furrowed, "she said shes on her way home." She looked up catching two pairs of blue eyes and the sharp emerald ones belonging to Lita. "She didn't say anything else."
A huge sigh escaped each of their lips.
"She better have a good excuse! She should have texted us or well something!" Mina slammed her hands on the sofa, irritation clearly shown.
"Well, maybe she was having a good time and simply forgot?" Ami ventured.
Serena shook her head, "It's Rei we're talking about."
They all nodded.
Not even ten minutes later, car lights beamed through their window before shutting off quickly, followed by one door slamming shut, loudly, and then a male's voice calling out. All four got up to peek out the front window to see Rei sprinting to the front door and Jed following closely behind.
Lita pulled the front door open quickly, a tear faced Rei stumbled in, dropping her keys.
"Rei?" Ami questioned. Within moments, Rei was marching down the hallway to her bedroom. A door bring slammed was all they heard.
Four pairs of eyes turned on Jed, none looked pleased.
" . YOU. DO. TO. HER ?" Lita's accentuation of each word had Jed taking a step back off their porch.
"I need to talk to her." His blue eyes seemed fierce, but also red, as if he had been crying or trying to stop himself from crying.
"You don't need to do anything. Get off our property, Mr Bridge. Now." Lita, Serena, and Ami all turned towards Mina, shocked at her unusual display of anger.
"Ladies, please, tell Rei.." He stopped, seeing the look on each of their faces. "Please, tell her I'm very sorry and I'm not going anywhere." He turned and walked back to his car.
"Rei? Open up please. It's Serena."
"AND Mina!" Serena turned towards Mina,
"Yeah, cause that will have her opening up. "Lita's sarcastic remark was followed with, "Rei, I brought your favorite cookies. Chocolate with double chocolate chunks-not chips." She fanned the sweet smell towards Rei's door.
She slapped Serena's hand, "Not for you!" Serena could only pout. "I was up all night baking these."
There was a muffled sound from the other side of the door and all three placed their ears against the door to try and make it out.
"Excuse me ladies." All stepped back as Ami walked forward, holding a tray carrying five cups of tea.
"Please open the door for me."
All three looked at each other, unsure who wanted to take the chance. Mina held out her hands, one fist clenched while it sat on the other one, "Rock, Paper, scissor for it?"
Serena prepared her hands as Lita rolled her eyes and reached for the door handle; surprised when it opened easily for them. Ami walked ahead.
"Rei, I brought you some tea."
Rei's room was dark. Her lavender curtains pulled tightly over each of the windows. All the girls had to stop to adjust their eyes.
"Rei, its 10 in the morning." Mina offered, "Do you want something to eat?"
Her red and white comforter was spread over her bed with a bump forming on just one side.
A small muffled "no" could barely be heard.
Serena stepped to the side of the bed Rei was laying on and kneeled in front of her, "Rei, sweetie, are you okay?"
All she could see was a dark head of hair poking out from the covers.
She looked back over at the other girls. Lita took her turn, grabbing one massive cookie.
"Rei," She brought the cookie up to the comforter, "I really did make chocolate chip cookies with chocolate chunks. See?"
She was about to pull away when the comforter was pulled down a little and one brown eye peeked out, then another.
Her hand reached out, grabbing the cookie. It disappeared under the comforter.
A muffled, "Another" was heard and Lita grinned ear to ear.
"Sure thing. Hey, Ami brought some tea-your favorite- Raspberry. Want a cup?" Lita was handed another cookie by Mina and glared when she saw Mina wipe a few crumbs from her mouth.
It took another minute but Rei finally sat up, her eyes red.
She accepted the cup of tea that Ami handed her.
"Rei, do you," Serena stopped for a moment as she sat at the foot of the bed. "Do you want to talk?"
Rei glanced down, holding her cup lightly in her hands, "I made a mistake."
Four confused faces looked at Rei, Ami took a chance, "What mistake Rei?"
Rei kept her head down, "When I was a young girl, around eleven, I got into a fight with an older boy-he was probably fourteen-on my way home from school. He wanted this necklace my grandpa had given me. This other boy, about fourteen as well, came to my protection and beat the crap out of the other one. From then on, he would walk me home and soon, we started hanging out." She took a deep, shaky breath. "About four years later, he told me that he was joining the military. I was happy for him but also sad because I felt like I was losing my best friend."
She looked up, "The night before he was scheduled to leave we hung out like always. I didn't want him to leave without me telling him what I had been wanting to tell him for over a year. I loved him. Instead, I kissed him." She ran a hand through her dark hair. "He kissed me back and well, one thing led to another." She waved her hand through the air.
"He was in bootcamp for three months. I wrote him letters every day for the first month and dropped them off with his step-mom but he never responded. The first month I became depressed and my eating habits changed-,I started getting sick." Rei chuckled, as if annoyed with herself. "I didn't notice anything. I thought everything was because I was lovesick. That the man I gave my virginity to was ignoring me."
"But?" Mina questioned
Rei glanced back at her comforter again, "My period never came the following month. It had me worried, so I went out of town and bought a pregnancy test."
All four eyes went wide.
"I was pregnant."