Delicate

Love Like A Sunset Part I

"Neri get up!" Serenity said as she shook her. Neri covered her head with a blanket and groaned. "I'm still tired," she murmured. "It's almost noon!" she says to her. "Give me a few minutes," she mumbled as she turned on her side. Serenity rolled her eyes and walked back down to the living room where the rest of the family had gathered. "She's still not up?" Kathy asked. "She said she needs a few more minutes". Serenity sat down on the couch next to Gideon. "She shouldn't have gone out last night. That's what she gets," Aaron says as he sips on his black coffee.

While Neri had been in California, Serenity had given her pointers on how to start out with being a groupie. She already had her social medias curated to attract someone of that caliber so they didn't need to focus on that. Instead, they focused on getting her name out there. Yes, she was still a minor, but these girls start early so by the time they're 18 they have the proper connections. It was a huge plus for Neri that her sister and Leah were dating players, but she needed to be around people in her age group. So to get that going, Neri attended a party with Alexa and Drew. She had met a few people, some of whom planned to declare for the draft, and made what she felt were the beginnings of proper connections. Now she just needed to find a way to base herself in LA.

"Well Gideon and I were going to head down to the little Mexican ice cream store. Did you want anything?" Kathy asked her. Serenity shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks". Gideon stood up from the couch as Kathy grabbed her purse. "Suit yourself," he said. The two of them left the house and Aaron still sat on the bar stool and drank his coffee. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the last piece of turkey bacon on the plate. She took a bite and looked at Aaron. "You enjoying California?" she asked him. "Very much. It's amazing how this place has changed yet remained the same since I last visited". Serenity took another bite and Aaron sipped his coffee again. "The air out here, it helps to heal," he says as looks down at the coffee mug. 

Aaron was always saying weirdly cryptic things so Serenity just smiled and finished eating the bacon. "I took notice of your work badge the first day we had flown in. It fell in my lap when I flipped the sun visor. I took notice of the name used. Just Kaufman," he scoffed. Serenity did a half smile and chuckled. "Then I noticed your Instagram name changed a couple months back. Just Kaufman". He cocked his head forward and Serenity mirrored his actions. They both laughed. "So you finally fucking did it huh?" he said. Serenity gasped in shock. Aaron had never before cursed and she couldn't believe it. 

"I cannot express how much this means to me. I've been your father for so long, but now I really think you've accepted me as your father". Even though the ID badge was a mistake, Serenity never bothered to change it. Then after Kyle had a conversation with Aaron a while ago, he expressed to Serenity how Aaron longed to be accepted by her. He loved her and he knew she loved him, but he felt like holding on to Reed was holding on to something that everyone, including her mother, had abandoned. 

When Serenity's father abandoned his family and sent Kathy divorce papers, she had met Aaron so quickly that she never got to change their name back to Kathy's maiden name. Serenity was holding on to the name that signified hurt and betrayal to Kathy. Both of the women held out hopes that he would reach out to her, but he never did. When Serenity made the move to California she had undergone a series of changes. Once the conversation about Aaron's feelings with Kyle happened, she knew it was time to let go. She embraced that she was a Kaufman and had been for most of her life.

Aaron stood up from the bar stool and hugged Serenity. "The air, it has healed you".

*****

Serenity walked the streets of Paris and took in the sights. The faint smell of bread baking hit her nostrils and she smiled. She followed the smell to a small bakery. "Two baguettes, s'il vous plaît (please)". The man behind the counter grabbed two and wrapped them for her. She handed him the money and went on her way. She entered Kyle's hotel room and he was sitting on the bed, scrolling on his phone. "Look what I have," she said as she placed the bag on a table. "Bread?" he asked as he smelled the air.

"Fresh baked bread," she enthused. She took a baguette out the bag and sat it on the table. She grabbed some butter from the mini-fridge and unwrapped utensils that had been leftover from their breakfast. She ripped off a piece and put it in her mouth. "Oh," she moaned. "It's so good. It doesn't even need butter". She ripped off another piece and walked over to Kyle. "Here, try," she said as she put the bread in his face. He opened his mouth and ate the piece of bread. "Good right?" she asked. "This is damn good bread". 

"I know! I don't know what the French are doing to their bread, but it's wonderful!". She walked back over to the bread and ripped off another piece. "Will you be having anymore?" Serenity asked. He shook his head as she popped the piece of bread into her mouth. She wrapped it and left it in the bag on the table. She cuddled up under Kyle in the bed and he wrapped his arm around her. She stuck out her hand and looked the engagement ring on her finger and smiled. "You'll blind yourself if you keep looking at it," he smirked. "I just can't help it. It's so perfect". She moved her fingers around in a dancing motion and watched the diamond sparkle in the sunlight.

"I would ask how long you had this planned, but I don't think I want to know," she said. "I'll tell you anyway. When I touched down, the first place I went was a jewelry store. I wanted to see what kind of watches they had. When I walked in, there was a case of rings in the back. I just asked to see them not thinking anything about it". Serenity nestled into Kyle's arm and traced her fingers along his defined abs. "Are you saying that buying the ring was a spur of the moment kind of thing?" she chuckled. "Kinda, yeah".

"So then the proposal...?" she trailed off. "Also just kind of happened". She playfully hit his chest and he laughed. "You had me thinking it was something you had ready," she laughed. "But it was nice was it not?" he asked. "It was really nice. And this ring is just absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't have asked for anything better". She slid up and kissed his cheek. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I think this would be the perfect time to show you this". She left his embrace and went over to her purse. She grabbed her wallet and took out a folded piece of paper that had traces of lipstick on it.

She got on the bed and unraveled it and showed it to him. "So remember when we made our New Years wishes? This was mine". He looked down to see what was written on the paper.

Marry Kyle- there's no rush

He smiled at her and said, "Grab my wallet". She hoped off the bed and grabbed his wallet off the table and handed it to him. He sat her note next to him and went digging in his wallet. He pulled out his note and handed it to her. She furrowed her brows in confusion as he unraveled it. Written on his wish side:

Marry Serenity

She dropped her hands in her lap and smiled widely. "A double wish," she giggled. "Wait so then does that mean...?". He nodded his head. "It was all planned out," he grinned. "You liar!" she giggled. "The only time I'll ever lie to you babe". She sat back down next to him on the bed. "So we can start planning as soon as we get home right?" she asked giddily. "Of course we can".