The Blue Rose

22. Serena

TWENTY-TWO

SERENA

I t’s been a week since the cops showed up at Aster’s, and we have both been too busy to see each other. Me with some commissions for clients, and Aster brainstorming new ideas for next Halloween, so that hasn’t given us much time to talk about Tyler’s disappearance. I didn’t even know he was missing, after Aster threatened him I figured I’d never hear from him again. Aster didn’t seem all that surprised by the cops telling us he was missing, he didn’t show a reaction at all, but I could feel he was nervous.

I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of those two cops, and when Aster kissed me goodbye the next morning. I watched him head not inside, but down a path further from his house. Something told me to run after him, to see where he was going, but the little voice in the back of my head screamed to drive away, so I did.

What he was doing is beyond me. Maybe he was taking a walk on his property to clear his head? Afterall, it was a very stressful night. I got home and took a long hot bath, threw in some bath bombs, and soaked to release the tension.

One day I’m going to ask him to show me more of his property, I still have a gut feeling he’s hiding something from me.

We made plans to meet at a nice Italian restaurant, in a more secluded area of town. A place my mom and I used to frequent, but I haven’t been back since her death, not wanting to relive the memories.

No matter how good they were.

Even after five years, I’m not ready to go anywhere with memories of us. We were regulars there. We got to know the owners pretty well, they even came to her funeral. I know as soon as I see them again, they’ll look at me with eyes of pity. Eyes showing an ounce of condolence that make me want to take a knife and pluck them right out, then the look would be one of horror. That I could deal with . But I don't want to pluck Gene and Betty’s eyes out, so I hope after five years all I get is a ‘we missed you’ and ‘what can we get you’.

Aster suggested it, and with him by my side, I think I could face it. After all, I did go to the flea market again and that went well, who's to say this won’t be the same. Plus, I was happy to break out of my little cocoon, pushing me deeper in my work.

When I’m working, I tend to block out the world. I forget how to be a human. If I have more than three paintings, I sometimes forget to eat, and I definitely don’t have time to shower. Gross, I know, but I can’t help it. When I get in the zone, the rest of the world fades into nothingness.

I wring out my hair as I step out of the shower, fresh and shaven, all ready for my date tonight. Contemplating on what to wear, I sift through the pile of perfume I own and spray a couple in the air, giving them a quick sniff test. I choose the more flowery scent, one that reminds me of my mom, and walk over to my closet to find tonight's look. Immediately overwhelmed and nervous, despite knowing Aster will love anything that ends up on his floor, I grab my phone to text Jessica and ask her opinion, filling her in on everything going on.

Serena

SOS! I’m freaking out!

Aster is taking me to the italian restaurant me and mom used to go to once a month. I haven’t been since she died, but I think I’ll be okay. Deep breaths right?

I’m Serena Fucking Raven!

Like you always tell me. I need help choosing a dress for tonight. I am thinking either the blue, green, or burgundy dress, you know the ones.

Help!

I wait for a text back, but after five minutes of pacing back and forth in front of my closet, without an answer. I throw my phone on my bed, frustrated that she’s ignoring me, I bite my nails and decide it’s up to me to choose.

What does one wear to a place she hasn’t been to in five years while trying to conquer her demons with a hot boyfriend on her arm? Shuffling through dress after dress and laying them out on my bed, I stand with my finger playing with my lip.

Fuck it, let’s go with green. That means growth and new beginnings, and I’m getting both with Aster.

Since meeting him, Aster has shown me who I am. He’s helped bring out the darkness I try so hard to hide, finally giving me permission to accept it. The first time it slipped was when I enjoyed watching him crush Tyler's hand. I saw the look in his eye when he realized I wasn’t going to run scared from a little pain. Then again at the haunted house. I think, no… A smirk lifts my lips curling them into a sinister smile. I know we both enjoyed fucking in each others blood.

We are both starting to open up more about how we feel towards one another, and although it is scary and I'm terrified it could be over in the blink of an eye, I want to see where this leads. I’m diving headfirst into uncharted waters knowing even if I drown, he won’t let me die. He would jump in after me to save me, that is just who he is.

I sit in front of my vanity, applying my red lipstick, smacking my lips together and grabbing my dangle gold leaf earrings.

It’s getting cooler outside, but still warm enough, at least for me to be able to wear a long emerald green dress without a jacket. It has lace at the top, and hugs my waist to accentuate my curves. My black boots give me a few extra inches, bringing me closer to Aster’s height and bringing the look together.

As I’m zipping up my boots, my phone dings, and I already know it’s from Aster, probably telling me he’s almost here.

Aster

I’m here.

I knew it.

Serena

Be right down, don’t bother coming to the door

Aster is standing at his car, arms and legs crossed, staring at the ground. He looks amazing dressed in all black with the sleeves of his button down rolled up. That man is a damn snack, and I can’t wait to savor him later. He looks up, a smile spreading across his face as I saunter towards him.

He lunges for me, grabbing me by the waist and smashes his lips against mine, leaving me breathless.

“I missed you, too.” I giggle, pecking his lips one more time as he opens my door. Before I can step into the car, he spins me around and whistles low, the sound settling deep within me.

“You look ravishing tonight, I can’t wait to rip this dress off of you,” he murmurs while licking his lips.

“If you want to taste your dessert tonight, you better not rip this dress.”

He helps me in the car and leans down, one arm above his head against the frame of the car and looking down with a devilish grin. “Your threats don’t scare me, little vixen, I always get a taste.” He stands up, about to close the door, his eyes sparkling in the waning light. “Besides, you know you can’t resist me.”

He’s right, I can’t.

The place is just as I remember. Right when you walk in the doors, you get an instant smell of garlic and herbs that make your mouth water. We get seated as soon as we walk in, since the reservation is in Aster's name. I haven’t seen Gene or Betty yet, but I know they’re here. They're always here. They love to walk around and get to know their patrons, making sure everything is to their customers' liking.

That’s why Mom and I loved coming here, they make you feel so welcome. Once you enter their doors, you’re family, not just a dollar sign.

The waiter brings over a basket of fresh baked bread and a saucer of olive oil to dip them in. The smells immediately bring me back to the last time I was here with my mom, and I have to blink back the tears. I don’t want Aster to see me cry.

I feel Aster grab my hand and tilt my chin, breaking me of my morose thoughts.

“Is everything okay?” His eyebrows pinch together, concern written all over his face. His thumb slowly rubs my hand, and I smile weakly at him, nodding my head. “Serena, I can tell something is bothering you. If you don’t tell me what it is, I will bend you over my knee, lift your dress, and spank your ass for everyone to see.”

A blush creeps up my neck and I look away. That doesn't sound like a threat to me, sounds exactly like the distraction I need. I know Aster’s words aren’t an empty threat, and as much as that excites me, I don’t need to make my presence known. Not like that. I don’t want my presence to be known in the first place.

I feel Aster's hand tighten around mine, making me look back up to meet his eyes. My lips tighten into a thin line, and I take a deep breath glancing around at the memory filled room.

“This used to be mine and my mom’s place. We’d eat here once a month as an escape. We know the owners really well, and I haven’t been back since her death.”

Looking back up, his eyes soften, silently urging me to continue. My hand tightens around his, my breaths coming easier now he knows. “When you first mentioned this place as a date, I was nervous, but I thought I did so well at the flea market, I could do fine here too. Plus, you’re here with me, so I’m taking this as a sign from my mom that this place will be ours now, like it was mine and hers.”

He lifts my hand to his mouth, pressing his lips against my knuckles, never taking his eyes from mine.

“Thank you for telling me, I had no idea that this place was so special to you. Thank you for allowing me to bring you here and create new memories with you, making this our place now.” He stands up and walks over to me, leaning down to kiss me softly. His lips feel like a promise filled with so much passion and love, I feel a tear slip down my cheek. He catches the tear, never lifting his lips from mine.

We hear someone clear their throat behind us, making his body tense as he reluctantly stands up. I look up seeing two familiar faces beaming down at me. I knew they would come over to us at one point, but I was hoping I would have more time to prepare before seeing them again.

Gene is dressed in his usual attire, black dress pants and a nice dress shirt, with a bow tie. Betty is in a blue polka dot dress, reminiscent of something you would see in the fifties. Her hair is styled like it, too, with tight waves and her bangs clipped back. They both look like they stepped out of a romcom, and I can’t help the smile playing on my lips when I see them.

“Is that our beautiful Serena?” Gene says in his thick Italian accent, taking my hand and kissing it, making Aster tense, I pull my hand away, Aster's eyes still burning a hole through the side of Gene's head. “I thought we’d never get to see you again, what’s it been? Five years, I think?” he says, scratching his scruff and looking down at his wife.

Betty looks at me, a small smile spreading across her lips. She doesn’t say anything, just looks at me, her eyes starting to water.

“I’m sorry-” I start to say, but she lifts me out of my chair and pulls me into her arms, holding me tightly. We both burst into tears, and she rubs my back, reminding me even more of my mom.

“I’m so happy to see you,” she whispers, voice hoarse. “I thought I never would again. You’ve been away a long time. Let me get a look at you.” She pushes me away, looking me up and down. She takes a napkin from the table wiping my eyes then hers. “How have you been, dear? How is the painting coming along?” She looks to Aster. “And who might this strapping young man be?”

I sniff, in an effort to calm myself and walk over to Aster, standing beside him. “I’ve been really good. I’ve been painting a lot, especially lately. I actually just finished three new pieces and got them to my clients.” I take Aster's hand in mine, my thumb rubbing against his knuckles now. “This is Aster. He’s my boyfriend.”

Aster, refusing to let go, shakes the hands of my old friends.”Nice to meet you,” he says, gripping Gene's hand a little too hard.

I squeeze his hand, glaring at him through my lashes, mouthing stop. He releases his hand, but still glares daggers.

Gene clears his throat and motions for all of us to sit. I go to take my seat across from Aster, but he tugs me into his seat, and grabs another chair for himself, sitting right next to me. I chuckle lightly to myself and shake my head. I can’t believe he’s jealous over a sixty-year-old man, it’s not like he’s flirting, that's just how he was raised. Gene pulls out the chair I was sitting in for his wife and grabs himself one. Snapping his fingers and motioning for our waiter, he says, “Get us a bottle of Chardonnay, and everything they order is on the house.” The waiter nods his head and walks away.

“Gene, you don’t have to do that, we can pay.”

He places his hand in the air, and I feel Aster tense beside me, seeing his jaw tighten. I squeeze his leg letting him know it is okay and to calm down. My touch sizzles some of the anger from him, last time a man did that Aster looked like he wanted to kill him. The same look is being given to Gene.

“Nonsense, your money’s no good here. I won’t have you paying a dime. You’re family. No matter how long you’ve been gone. We all grieve in different ways, and I’m simply glad you didn’t stay away forever.”

Feeling the tears start to threaten to spill over again, I grab my tissue, wiping at the corners of my eyes, and whisper, “Thank you.”

He grabs my hands and nods his head. After a moment he releases them and sits back, placing his arm behind Betty’s chair.

“Tell me how you two lovebirds met?” Betty asks, eagerly glancing between us.

Aster and I look at each other and smile, after a moment I break eye contact and look back at Betty. “We met at a book bar, he approached me and we got to talking, exchanged numbers, and after silence from him.” I look over, giving a playful nudge, “he showed up at another date and stole me away. The rest is history.”

Gene huffs and crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes on Aster. “What? Were you stalking her? How’d you know where she’d be?”

Aster is just silent and glares back at Gene.

I laugh nervously and answer, “It was clearly a coincidence, don’t worry, Gene.”

Gene grumbles something, but I can’t quite hear him. “How long have you been seeing one another?” he finally asks loud enough for me to hear him, eyes never leaving Aster’s.

Aster answers this time, not breaking the staring contest the men are having. “Two months.”

“Not much of a talker I see,” Gene grouses.

“If you boys are done with your pissing contest,” Betty says, smacking Gene’s chest, “I think we should leave these two to their meal and give them some alone time.” Betty stands and drags her husband away, turning around, she says, “It was so wonderful seeing you again Serena, and Aster it was wonderful to meet you as well. Please take care of our girl, and don’t be strangers. Enjoy the rest of your night.” They walk away, and I go back to my seat.

“What was that all about?” I glare at him, crossing my arms.

He just crosses his arms and looks away. He’s acting like a child who’s mad about having to share his favorite toy. I know he can be territorial, but there is no reason for his behavior toward Gene. He barely said two words, and now he’s pouting.

The waiter comes over with the bottle of wine, pouring it into my glass first. I pick it up and down it, hardly tasting the kind gift. The waiter's eyes shoot up, and he refills my glass, a look of judgment passing over his face. Aster notices and glares at the waiter. I take one more hearty gulp and place my glass down with a loud clack.

“Are you two ready to order?” the waiter asks, placing the bottle into the bucket of ice in the middle of the table.

I look at Aster, waiting for him to respond, but he doesn’t answer, choosing to glare at the waiter instead. I kick him under the table, which makes his glare turn on me. I roll my eyes, looking up at the waiter, heat flooding my cheeks. “Yes, I’d like to order the seafood pasta please.” Handing my menu to the waiter, he takes it and looks to Aster.

“And for you sir?”

Aster turns his glare back on the waiter. “What’s your name?”

My lips tighten into a thin line, and hand tightening around the wine glass. He keeps up this attitude, and the only thing he will be seeing tonight is my ass, walking out the door.

Taken back by Aster's sudden question, he shakes his head. “I’m sorry?”

“We never got your name,” Aster says with a raised brow.

“I apologize, sir, my name is Pierce.” he responds, sweat dotting his forehead.

Aster breathes in the man's fear and smirks, finally settling back in his chair. “Pierce, I’ll have what she’s having.”

He takes a cloth from his pocket and swipes his face, mumbling “Very good, sir,” then walking away.

I kick Aster again, harder this time.

“If you kick me one more time, I’m going to make your ass raw later, and you won’t like it.” Our eyes narrow at one another and I smirk at him, breaking the standoff. “Go ahead and laugh now, you won’t be later.”

“Stop being an ass and I might stop kicking you.” I sass, tapping my foot on his leg and pushing my luck. “Seriously, what’s gotten into you? Tonight is already hard enough. I thought you being here would make it easier. Clearly, I was wrong.”

His eyes soften, and he tries to take my hand but I pull it away. Son of a bitch’s arms are longer, though, and he manages to grab me, not letting go despite my tugging. “I’m sorry. I just-” He pushes his hand through his hair, making the curls fall into his eyes. I hate seeing him like this, he looks so innocent when he’s upset at himself that I can’t stay mad at him.

I squeeze his hand, and he looks at me. “It’s not okay what you did, but I opened up and talked to you. Now, it’s your turn to do the same.”

“You’re right, I just… don’t like seeing you with any other guys, and when he silenced you like that cop did, I just…” His jaw feathers, his eyes darkening. “I lost my anger. I'm sorry. You mean so much to me, and I got a little jealous.”

“I understand, but I’m still pissed. Thank you for telling me, but you owe Gene an apology. You were glaring at him the whole time and were rude. He’s one of the few connections I have left to my mom, and there is no reason to be jealous of him. He's a sixty-year-old married man who I think of as a fun uncle.” The waiter brings our food over, and I release my hand from his, waiting until the waiter is gone before I continue. “You mean a lot to me, too, and to prove you are special to me. I want to show you something… tonight. After dinner. Something no one has ever seen before.”

I take a bite of my food, Aster’s eyebrows knitting together as his head tilts to the side, curiosity lacing his beautiful green gaze. “I would like that very much,” he says finally, and we enjoy the rest of the meal in comfortable silence.

I’m going to show him my paintings. The secret ones. My nightmares no soul has ever seen. I pick at my food, moving it around my plate, butterflies flying around in my stomach. I wonder how he will react, if he will see me differently. The paintings are gruesome and bloody, not meant for anyone to see, but something has shifted in our relationship. I think it’s time. Maybe if I share this with him, we will grow even closer, and he will finally drop the last bit of his wall he keeps up so strong.

We finish our meal, and I place everything in a pile on the table. “I’ll be right back, I need to use the restroom.” Aster nods his head and I leave the table after kissing his temple.

Heading back down the hall to our table, I hear a voice say my name, startling me and making me clutch at my chest. “Oh, Gene! It’s just you,” I say, seeing him standing there by himself.

He looks behind him and grabs my arm taking me further down the hall. “I didn’t want to say this in front of your man or Betty, but there's something off about Aster.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confusion and anger lacing my voice. How dare he ambush me to talk bad about Aster . I know the two were glaring at each other all night, even after we got our food, but he has no right to do this.

“There’s nothing wrong with Aster,” I say, yanking my arm out of his grip. “And I would appreciate it if you didn’t judge him based on one interaction.”

I walk away, but he grabs my hand, stopping me in my tracks. “I mean no harm, but it’s just a gut feeling. There’s something not right with him, you can see it in his eyes. He’s hiding something, Serena. Something big”

Pulling my hand away once more, I level my glare at him, “Look, I understand your concern, but Aster would never hurt me. So please, mind your business.”

I finally walk away, and he hollers after me, “Just be careful!”

Aster waits near the front, taking my arm in his, and we head back to my house. Nervous energy surrounds us. What's to come entirely up to him.