serena s.

It’s a nasty habit he’s picked up, two fingers gripping the end of a white cancer stick as he exhales smoke into the air. He looks over when he hears a voice sounding into the night - a familiar voice at that. AJ takes another drag of the cigarette before wandering over to her, knowing she won’t mind the smell - hell, she might even ask to bum one off him. “Is this my cue to offer to stir up your world, Miss Silver?” He jests with a smirk. 

The wave of smoke clouding around her previously fresh air had gotten Serena to quickly break out of her thoughts, immediately under the assumption that Sutton was close by. To her surprise, the face was of a male and not her usual blonde companion. “Depends,” she lets out breezily, lowering her attention away from her phone, a smile worthy of an Oscar lacing onto her features. “Did you have something wildly entertaining in mind ?”

“False. Things happen for a reason and we should all just keep it like that.”

                There was an annoying solitude about the pearly-white canvas of the Villa’s Country Club. Nearly everything beamed newness, likely polished to death by the over-paid workers to try and match the waxed Ferrari’s that pulled up every so often. The only substances that didn’t radiate ‘freshness’ were the women. Each ranged in their forties to fifties, flocked together in pairs of two, gossiping in their one-pieces and sunhats–– a virgin drink in their hand only to be upgraded come noon. His ‘Aunt Kristin’ only made the pool pass obtainable in the considerably early A.M. hours of the day when the younger crowd still stirred amongst fresh linens, particularly young girls. It was alienating, realizing no one of your age was around, but nevertheless, the waiters kept the beverages coming and the atmosphere nothing short of enchanted. Connor felt like a prince, and with a boy who came raised in trailer parks and pull-out couches, this was an Eden. So naturally, although knowing he’d presumably come up short, he looked for an Eve amongst the concubines and dames. Through tinted lenses, he spotted a female that looked no more than a few years older than himself, defined features, pouty lips that could be spotted across the pool. An urge struck, a smile rose, and he rose from his chair, making his way over.

               ‘Since when did everything get so dull around here?’–– he caught the words over the broadcasted classical music and the nearby creak of a diving board, “Dull?” He responded, a snigger finding his lips as he moved over to the chair across from her, taking a seat, “Since when did just being young and gorgeous not become enough?” Connor continued, leaning back in his seat, clearly making himself comfortable, “You can do a lot with youth and good looks–”

A barely there scoff rolled from under Serena’s tongue before she could even see who the young man sitting across from her was, ready to list every reason in the book as to why that foolish statement was complete and utter bullshit. Since when did just being young and gorgeous not become enough? Was he serious? Since when did being pretty make up for good entertainment? It wasn’t like she could shoutout at the pool in her barely there Carolina Herrera dress about how gorgeous she was and how everyone should be having fun with her at this very moment, no matter how much that would have pleased her. She wasn’t Julien for God-fucking-sake. Hazel irises lifted from the illuminating screen in front of her to narrow down on the face she wasn’t familiar with. Shaded frames and a slim body comforted the seat that was once vacant and her attention fled to his following words. “You sound like a mock-up character from a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel,” A coral manicured finger made it’s way up to point to his sunglasses. “but you look more like a poster boy for a frat party, so please get to your point before I get even more bored.”

“Definitely false. I wouldn’t want to be anyone but myself, unless I was given the chance to switch lifestyles with Beyonce.” 

“False. I just have a stronger sense of myself compared to others. It’s a blessing and a curse.”

“So, I’m basically a Saint to him, is that what you’re saying Serena?” She mused, picking and choosing which words flitted into her ears and conjuring up her own conclusion. “My boobs are practically the holy spirit… The precious, perky holy faith - the last thing he sees before he departs this cruel, cruel world and ascends into after-life. He’ll die from choking on his dentures with a toothless grin on his face all thanks to me.”

“Okay, now that’s an imagine I could have lived without imagining.” The idea of an old, wrinkly man choking on fake teeth surely was a vision worth forgetting, but Sutton was notorious for her colorful word-play and Serena couldn’t blame her for the vivid imagination. “Did he see you see him? Orrrr did he just play it off like he was actually using his binoculars for bird watching?”

“False. Girls like me don’t bang the help. We tip them crisp $100 bills if they’re cute enough for whatever lame job they’re doing by the beach or the pooland keep it moving for guys with actual jobs. Nice try though.” 

“Don’t be so dramatic, Silver. If you want a quickie, we don’t have to go all the way out to the cabanas. We could do it right here in public and no one would bat an eye.”

“Wow, you’re really on a roll. Did someone put an extra shot of cocaine in your latte this morning or are you just always this happy to see me?” Her bet was on the later, but this was Julien she was talking to and although she wasn’t sure what he dabbled in with his spare time there just had to be reason for someone to be this upbeat today. 

“Why would I joke about my own reflection,” Julien said, finally putting the mirror down. “Come now, mon ange, I’m beautiful. You get distracted too.”

“Maybe if I was young and desperate and wanted a quickie out by the cabanas,” She threw out easily, a smirk finding its way onto her features and nudging the blonde boy at her side. “Other than that, you can continue on wishing I’d distracted by you and your looks.”

“You haven’t seen a little cat run this way, have you?” Cleo asked, her voice quiet and timid as always. “She’s only about yay big, white with black spots all down her back. I think she may have run off again, I just don’t know where…” She trailed off, letting out a soft but distressed sigh.

Serena lowered her hazel eyes to the ground, examining the small vacant space around her and raising a brow. The only thing she could see was a pair of a heeled feet - which were her own. Not a furry little creature in sight. “Maybe check the main office?” She suggested breezily in response, her eyes now meeting the person across from her. “If they haven’t seen it I’m sure someone called animal control on it. Hope it had a collar.”

“I’m pretty sure that old bastard Lowenthal next door was watching me change through a pair of bird watching binoculars. Do people really get off that way? Just watching someone change into a bikini. It’s not like I was fondling my tits the entire time?”

“Maybe he has a thing for blondes and bikinis,” she mused to her friend with a small shrug of her shoulders. “you could be the hottest thing he’s seen in seventy-something years. God only knows how long he’s seen a decent pair of tits that weren’t virtualized through a computer screen or pulled up by a bra from Walmart.” 

“Since when did everything get so d u l l around here,” the girl murmured out to no one in particular, her raspy tone filling into the breezy summer air.

“What’s that? Did you say something? I got distracted by my own reflection,” he said, proceeding to stare. “God, I’m outstanding.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” She looked over her shoulder, raising freshly trimmed brows in the process. 

what’s your astrological sign? I’m a Libra. 

what’s the best piece of advice you ever received?“Never leave the bar first because everyone will talk about you,” - this bartender I met at The Campbell Apartment. 

when’s the last time you followed your instincts? This morning when I decided not to get into the sketchy Uber with a guy who looks like he owns seven cats but not a bar of soap. 

what’s your favorite food? Absolutely trash for Brooklyn style pizza.