Love's Got A Hold On My Heart

Author: moonflower

Rated: PG13

Rating :

Disclaimer: Do you think that if I really save up my money I can buy the rights to Sailor Moon? ^_^

ANs: Whew! It's sure hard to balance school a website, and writing or typing stories all at the same time! But I manage somehow. As you can see from the above, I have moved my site to angelfire. So go visit my site at the NEW address! Ignore my gurlpages one. Enjoy the rest of the story! ^_~

"If we deny love that is given to us, we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss, then our lives will be empty, our loss greater..."

*~Unknown*~

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Chapter 7

Serena was sitting comfortably on her couch, eating a bowl of cereal as she read the morning's "New York Times". Her feet were tucked underneath her legs, relaxing on this gorgeous Saturday morning.

She flipped to the section that contained all the restaurant reviews and found her article on The Rose Garden Cafe as one of the ones printed in the paper.

She reflected back to the day she came by the restaurant and all the events that occurred after the review was done. Normally in any review she did, male owners would fall all over themselves to get a date with her, making it impossible to come back to a restaurant she actually found decent. She was hoping that Darien wouldn't be another statistic added onto her dull life of reject guys, but sadly it wasn't to be. Like all the other male population, he took a sudden interest in her the moment she walked in. It mortified and annoyed her to have all these guys constantly pursuing her every where she turned. Sure she would have been thrilled with all this attention as a younger girl who had so foolishly clung to the hopes of ever finding a man on a tall white stallion, gallantly galloping in the fields in search of finding his true love, but she was a different person now. She gave up on such frivolous fantasies when she finally learned how to grow up. It was like the only way to keep guys away was to be unattractive!

'Hmm...I still wonder what Darien meant when he said that 'we'll meet again'? After that crazy day, I'm not even going near his restaurant'.

Serena was brought out of her reverie by Lita's entrance into the living room in her pajamas.

"Morning Lita," she greeted.

"Morning," Lita yawned, plopping on the couch beside Serena.

"Want anything to eat?"

"No, coffee will be just fine with me."

"I'll go get it."

Serena walked towards the kitchen where the coffee maker was. She poured some into a ceramic mug and started adding cream and sugar in it.

"Is your review in the paper?" Lita called from the living room.

"Yeah!" she called back while stirring all of the contents in the mug with a teaspoon.

"What page?"

"Page 33."

Serena walked back into the living room. She set the steaming mug down on the coffee table and sat back down on the sofa with Lita who was reading the review.

"You gave the cafe four stars? That good, huh?"

"Yeah. I think you might have some competition, Leets," Serena teased as she nudged her friend's elbows.

"I don't care. Besides, there are very few restaurants that are top notch in this city. Especially with you as their critic for them." Lita carefully folded the paper up and placed it on the coffee table. She then reached for her mug.

"It's not my fault that the food half those restaurants serve is tasteless! Maybe if they learned how to cook properly, I might not be so harsh on them." Serena crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"I'm not saying it's your fault. I simply meant that I wouldn't have to worry about my business going bankrupt. After all, my business is expanding overseas! Places like Paris, London, and Rome want to open my restaurant in their country! How exciting is that?!" She sighed dreamily.

"I'm very happy for you, Lita. You've come a long way to get to where you are now. Ever since we were kids, it was your dream to open up a restaurant that will one day become an international success. Your hard work has really paid off."

"Yep!" She smiled. "I never gave up on my dream."

"That's what I admire about you, Lita. You're a worker and not a quitter."

Serena stood up from the couch, took her empty bowl into the kitchen, and began washing it in the sink. After she dried it off and put it back in the left kitchen cabinet with all the other bowls and cups, Lita sauntered in, mug in hand.

"Serena, you never did tell me about the owner of the Rose Garden Cafe. So spill, girl! What's he like? Is he tall, handsome, a gentleman, etc.?"

Serena shifted uncomfortably next to her tall brunette friend. She didn't really want to get into the topic of Darien Lane, but she knew her friend would have asked her sooner or later.

'Better now than later I suppose', she reasoned to herself as she cleared her throat to begin.

"He's actually quite handsome with a male model sort of physique. He's charming and has good manners towards ladies."

"One word...HOT! What does he look like?" Lita pressed on.

"He's 6'1", has jet black hair, nicely toned and tanned body, and has gorgeous midnight blue eyes I have ever seen."

"Sere, have you fallen for the owner?" she queried, intense emerald eyes staring back at her.

Serena nearly fell over in shock at the insane question.

"Have you lost your mind?! That's the most absurd idea I have ever heard in my life! Just because I say he has beautiful eyes doesn't mean a thing! You're the one who wanted details about him and I'm only trying to give you a clear picture of him."

"Okay, okay. Don't go postal on me! I was just asking a question and here you are ready to bite my head off! Remind me never to ask you anymore questions if that's how you'll react to them." She waved her hands in defense.

Serena calmed down somewhat, but was still a bit disconcerted.

"So what's his name?" asked Lita after the blonde relaxed slightly.

"Darien Lane."

"Sounds sexy already," she mused.

"He lives up to the name, too," Serena simply commented without much interest.

"Too bad there isn't a picture of him in the paper. I'd like to see what he looks like."

"You have a boyfriend, Lita. His name is Ken, remember him? What will he think if finds out that you are swooning over another guy that's not him?"

"I'm not swooning over anyone. I'm just a very curious young woman, that's all. Ken is the only hottie for me anyway." She giggled like a school girl while rinsing her mug under the running water and then drying off the black ceramic with a dish towel.

"Let's talk about something else, shall we, like Amy's baby shower?"

"Um...let's see...I called Mina about tomorrow's shopping trip. Have you told Raye about it yesterday?"

"Yes, she said she can go."

"I guess that's all we can discuss for now. We'll talk more about the party in general when the girls get here tomorrow." Lita stored her mug next to Serena's in the cabinet.

"If that's all you have to say, then I'm going for my morning jog," Serena replied, grabbing her walkman on the counter top.

"Happy running!" Lita bid her friend as she walked towards the bathroom to freshen up.

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Every morning, Serena always started her jogs at the park located just across from her apartment. It was a beautiful morning with the birds chirping a happy melody, the flowers' sweet perfume filling the air, and bright sunshine warming the faces of other people walking by.

She turned up the volume on her walkman, giving her the energy she needed to jog even faster with every beat of the music that was being played. She passed familiar joggers on her route and greeted them with a smile and a wave.

Turning a corner near the tulip gardens, she bumped into a soft warm body ahead of her, causing her and the poor stranger to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Sitting up, Serena began to apologize profusely to the fallen stranger who was in a crouched position, head to the ground as he seemed quite dazed from the impact.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's fine really. It was my fault since I stood in your way. Let me help you up."

The man stood up and turned to extend his hand out for Serena to take. She kindly accepted it and stood up as well. She looked up to see who the stranger was and let out a small startled gasp. The man had the same reaction, only he was grinning unlike Serena who was feeling appalled. If this was fate's way of playing a trick on her, it sure was a cruel trick and she cursed fate for her outrageous pranks.

'What did I ever do to deserve this'? she grumbled to herself.

"D-darien?" she stammered much to her dismay, eyes widened in shock.

"Well, if it isn't the beautiful Serena Lawson. I said we would meet again, didn't I?" he smugly replied.

Serena's knees began to shake and her palms were sweating and becoming clammy. Inside, she was a nervous wreck. She thought she had seen the last of Darien Lane, but she sure thought wrong.

'Out of all the people I could have bumped into, it had to be him! There should have been a one and a million chance of ever seeing him again. Not fair'!

Trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart, Serena firmly and indifferently replied, "It was simply a coincidence, Mr. Lane. You can't possibly believe that fate played a role in our collision because it's absurd."

"Fate always plays a role in people's lives," he confidently and defiantly declared.

"You can believe all you like in that ridiculous rubbish, Mr. Lane, but I won't stand here a moment longer to listen to it."

Serena held her head high as she tried to walk around him, but he stood in her way, not ready to see her go.

"Get out of my way, Mr. Lane!" exclaimed an agitated Serena.

"First of all, it's Darien. Secondly, I will not get out of your way until you hear what I have to say."

Sighing, Serena gave up.

"Fine! What is it?" She crossed her arms over her chest, impatiently waiting for him to speak.

"I saw this morning's paper. I wanted to thank you for giving my restaurant a great review and that four star rating."

"I told you I was pleased with the food and the restaurant itself. I never go back on my word so you deserved the praise."

"Are you sure you didn't write it because you find me so irresistible?" Darien smiled slyly.

"Why you arrogant, jerk!"

Serena, feeling repulsed by the sight of the man that stood before her, roughly pushed him down onto the ground where he swiftly landed on his butt.

"I can't believe I wasted my time listening to you! Ugh! I regret giving you that praise worthy review. Arrogant restaurant owners just get big heads from every good review they get."

"Ouch. I was just kidding, Serena. I didn't mean it." Darien rubbed his now sore bottom.

"And that's MS. Lawson to you, pal! Good day, Mr. Lane!" She angrily and huffily jogged away.

Darien, who was still sitting on the pavement, had a goofy grin on his face. Pedestrians who were witnesses to their little tirade earlier continued their walk as they whispered amongst themselves about the determined restaurant owner's pursuit to get the lovely food critic. He paid no mind to the gossiping pedestrians as he sat there thoughtful for a moment.

'So, you like to play hard to get, eh Serena? You just wait and see. I'll win your heart sooner or later. And when I do, you won't be running away from me, but into my arms'.

To be continued...

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You got to applaud Darien for his determination to get what he wants. If I were Serena, I'd melt into his arms instantly. Hope you liked this chapter! ^_^ Please e-mail me, or sign my guestbook on my web site. Either form of feedback is good enough for me! ^_~

(Written on December 30, 2001)