Title: All that Glitters - Part 9
By: Miki
E-mail: aya_miki@hotmail.com
Rating: R
Genre: Romance
Standard Disclaimer Apply
"Wow, I hear you really lost it at the party," Molly said when
I saw her Monday morning. As usual she was waiting at my
locker for the weekend update.
"What did you hear?" I asked her, not sure I wanted to
hear what she had to say.
"Well, for one thing, I heard that you were bragging
about your Golden Girl job on Friday night."
"What!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, and they said that you were mad at Allan for not
paying more attention to you, and that you and Allan had an
incredible argument. I can't believe you took your soda and
poured it over Allan's head while you screamed awful names at
him."
"You've got to be kidding!" I gasped, astounded by the
vile rumors that were circulating about me.
Molly solemnly shook her head.
"Oh, that's terrific," I cried. "Just what I need!" I
sighed. "You know something? I would never have thought that
I'd say this, but I'm not sure this Golden Girl job is worth
it. I've never been so miserable! No one ever spread vicious
rumors about me before."
"You mean, the story isn't true?" Molly was surprised.
"Of course not!" I said.
"Well, I didn't think it sounded like the Serena
Montgomery I know," she said. "But then, people do change--"
"If my best friend believed it, I guess everyone else
will too," I said pointedly.
"I'm sorry," Molly said. "I should've known better."
"Well, yes, you should have," I said irritably. "Or at
least, you should have called and asked me about it. Why is
this happening to me!" I cried out in desperation.
"Public figures always get dumped on. Just ask any
celebrity," Molly said.
"Next time I meet a celebrity, I'll do just that," I
said.
The Lincoln High School Sentinel was passed out at the
end of classes on Monday afternoon. It's usually a good paper,
and most of the kids read it cover to cover. One of the most
popular columns, "Tasty Tidbits," usually hints without using
names, about who is dating who in school.
I picked up my copy and ducked into the library to
browse through it before heading home. I sat at one of the
wooden tables behind the card catalog.
I read the first page and opened the paper to "Tasty
Tibits," hoping to escape for a few minutes in the school
gossip. The opening paragraph caught my eye. "We hear that a
certain sophomore girl who's recently made it big turned into
a snob," it read. "Lincoln High School's new TV personality is
aid to think a lot of herself these days and is turning off
friends right and left."
I gasped and threw the paper down on the table in front
of me. "Why are they doing this to me?" I said out loud. "What
have I done to make people so made at me?"
I picked up the paper again and reread the part about
me. It had to be about me--I was the only sophomore "TV
personality" at school.
I got up then and paced around the library, muttering to
myself.
This Golden Girl job isn't glamorous, I thought, not at
all. Then I remembered what Molly had said. I stopped pacing.
Maybe, every girl who'd been the Golden Girl had been talked
and gossiped about. I was just a good target.
I was beginning to feel slightly more in control. I
picked up my coat and books and headed down the hallway. As
luck would have it, Darien Riley was walking in my direction.
I ducked back into the library to avoid him, but after a
moment he appeared in the doorway.
"Hi, Serena," he said.
"Hi."
"Would you mind if I stopped by your house tonight?"
"Would I mind--uh, no, not at all," I said. "What's up?"
"I'd like to talk with you, maybe go for a walk," Darien
said. "At about seven?"
"I'll be ready," I said. "See you then."
Darien turned and disappeared down the hall.
What could Darien possibly want? Wasn't I doing a good
job? Mr. Trent seemed to be pleased when we shot the
commercial. I couldn't imagine any other reason why Darien
would want to come and see me.
My stomach growled just as the doorbell rang. I'd been
so concerned about Darien wanting to see me that I'd told Mom
I didn't want supper. My stomach was hungry, but the rest of
me wasn't in the mood for food.
I opened the door and there stood Darien. He was wearing
a black leather jacket and jeans. As he smiled, his eyes
sparkled, and I realized that I'd almost forgotten how good-
looking he was. How could I have forgotten.
And I was going to give up boys!
"Hi," he said. "Ready to go?"
"Ready," I said as I grabbed my coat from the closet. He
opened the door as I put on my coat.
"Better wear a scarf or hat," he said. "It's pretty cold
outside tonight."
I pulled my woolen hat off the closet shelf and put it
on, and we walked out onto the front porch.
"I'm glad you could come," Darien said as we descended
the front steps.
"Is there anything wrong?" I asked.
"No, why?" Darien said, his dark eyebrows knitted
together, frowning.
"Oh, I mean, I thought maybe you wanted to talk to me
about the Golden Girl job."
Darien stopped and gazed at me. "I asked you to go for a
walk because.well, because I wanted to tell you how angry I
was about the 'Tidbits' column in the paper today. It was so
petty and unfair."
I smiled, relieved--and touched. "Thanks, Darien. I
needed that. And I appreciate your support."
He looked surprised. "You seem to be handling it well."
I laughed. "You should've seen me three hours ago! I
wasn't exactly mellow about it then."
"It's just jealousy," he said, moving closer to me as we
walked along. I could feel his arm swinging gently next to
mine, his shoulder level with my ear.
"I keep telling myself that," I said. "My head
understands, but my heart isn't listening. I guess it still
hurts a little."
"Let's walk in the park," he said. We were passing the
City Park entrance, and he veered to the left and I followed.
Darien was right. It was quite cold out, and tiny flakes
of snow were beginning to fall from the violet sky. The moon
was just barely visible behind the shadow of a cloud. I
shivered.
"Cold?" he asked.
"Just a little," I said. "But it's a pretty night."
Then Darien took my hand and squeeze it gently. "Yes, it
is a pretty night." After a moment, he asked, "You aren't
going with Allan Duncan, are you?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Are you kidding?"
Darien glanced at me, surprised. "No, why?"
I stopped and turned to him, still holding his hand.
"You didn't hear about our argument at the party?"
Darien gazed up into the sky a moment before he
answered. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "I heard something
about your wanting more attention for being the Golden Girl,
but I figured that was just gossip."
I was amazed. "You did? How did you know it wasn't
true?"
Darien grinned, then he touched the tip of my nose with
his finger. "Because I know you, Serena. A lot of other girls
would've let the Golden Girl job go to their heads, but you
would never do something like that."
I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Darien."
"For what?"
"For not believing those rumors--and for believing in
me."
"So you're definitely not going with Allan?"
"Not unless it's out to a boxing ring to punch each
other out."
Darien laughed and leaned closer. "I'm glad," he said
softly.
He gently kissed me then, his lips warm and soft. Then
he was kissing me again, ravishing my mouth with seductive
little nibbles, rubbing his lips against mine until they were
so sensitive to his touch they ached. One large hand slid up
my spine to cradle the back of my head, holding me in position
to accommodate him while his lips and tongue worked their
magic on me. He drew me up on tiptoe and I clung to him, my
fingers digging into the hard strength of his shoulders.
One of his hands descended slowly, cupping and caressing
my small bottom. My bones were melting, my heart was banging
furiously in my chest. Suddenly I became aware that his other
hand was resting on my breast. A shaft of pure awareness
rippled through me.
I pulled back a little. "But what about Raye?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" he said.
"Well, she was at the party with you," I said. "And at
the basketball game she told me that I was supposed to stay
away from you."
Darien looked disgusted. "She did? I thought something
was up when I saw her talking to you."
"Well?" I asked. "Is she or isn't she?"
"Is she or isn't she what?" he asked.
I gave him a playful shove. "Your girlfriend, dummy."
He shoved me back, grinning. "What's it to you,
Montgomery?"
I pushed him back, and we started wrestling there in the
park with the snow coming down all around us, our shrieks of
laughter echoing through the nearby woods. The moon seemed to
smile faintly through the limbs of a huge oak tree.
My foot caught on an exposed tree root and I fell to the
ground, and Darien collapsed on top of me.
"Okay, I give up!" I shouted.
Darien offered me a hand, and pulled me up from the
ground.
"I think you could punch Allan out if you really wanted
to," Darien said, grinning.
"Oh, and you haven't even seen my mean left hook," I
said, laughing. "But you still haven't answered my question."
"Which was--"
"Oh, you're going to make me repeat it, eh?" I looked up
at him seriously. "What about Raye? Is she your girlfriend?"
Darien gazed at me. "Right now, I don't want to talk
about Raye, okay?"
"But, I thought that you and she--"
"Let's not spoil the night," Darien insisted. "I'll talk
to you about her later."
As Darien took my hand, I felt a blush warm my face. I
couldn't seem to stop smiling.
Darien put his arms around me. "Not tonight," he
repeated softly. I stood up on my toes and kissed him. He
kissed me back then, long and hard. Darien kissed me with a
savage hunger that left no room for gentleness, kissed me with
a fierceness that rocked me to my toes and made my inside
quake. Today was my first time ever to kiss the opposite sex
and it reduced me to mindless. I felt my wits melt away,
leaving me confused and disoriented. I felt the torrid of
warmth of his kiss flood my veins with liquid fire and melt my
bones. I tensed when I felt my breasts swell against the
abrasive heat of his palm. When I felt his tongue parting my
lips, my natural instincts were to accept the hard thrust of
his tongue and press closer.
Darien deepened the kiss, thoroughly exploring my mouth
with his tongue as his hands memorized the full contoured of
my sweetly fashioned body. I heard Darien groaned and wondered
if he was feeling the same things I was. Or was he so jaded
that Raye was much like another. The thought of Darien doing
these same things with Raye brought me abruptly to my senses.
When Darien's nimble fingers slipped under my bra to cup a
bare breast, I stiffened and pushed him gently away.
Darien frowned, puzzled by my abrupt withdrawal. "Why
did you stop?" he whispered. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I said, and gazed up at him. "But I don't
want to get too involved until you're ready to tell me more
about your relationship with Raye."
"Let's start back now. We'll talk soon," he promised, as
he took my hand and led me back home.
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