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Serenity

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

I discreetly move away from Otis for the third time. I don't know what's going on with him today. He didn’t touch me in public like this even when we were pretending to be lovers.

I adore him. I've grown to love him as the good friend he's become over the past two years, but right now, I'm praying that time passes quickly and that he returns to Germany soon.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Zeus's wife, Madison, asks.

She, together with Cici, the wife of Dionysus, and Brooklyn, the wife of the doctor, Athanasios, form a very lively team. I laughed a lot with the three of them today, and I couldn't help but notice that with every step they take, they are followed by the watchful eyes of their respective husbands.

"Yes, yes. I didn't want to be rude, but I needed to be alone for a while." If it were anyone else, I would be embarrassed to admit this, but Madison is the type to make me feel very comfortable.

I was kind of sneaking out the back door of Eleanor's huge house when she found me.

Her stepmother got married two months ago to an orthopedist who works at the hospital Athanasios owns with two other doctors. I heard that Brooklyn's husband and his two partners received the modest nickname of “Gods in White,” as they are the foremost experts in the world in their respective fields.

"Is your ex bothering you?" she asks.

I think for a few seconds before responding, but finally I decide to tell the truth. I don't have any friends other than Debra, since JeAnne is more like a mother to me, and I don't want to start a friendship with Madison by telling lies. "We were never lovers."

"What?"

I feel my face heat up. "All those stories of our meetings in Europe that Otis told are true, but they were platonic. He kissed me once, but I didn't feel anything, so I didn't let it happen again."

"Jesus, but why did you two lie?"

"It was my idea," I confess, feeling the heat of shame increase.

"Why? Were you trying to get rid of a stalker?"

"No," I answer, although that's not entirely true, since there really is a madman chasing me. However, it wasn't because of my stalker that I lied. "I did it because I'm crazy. I'll tell you everything, but you have to swear you won't laugh."

"I won’t. You have my word."

"Well, it all started two years ago, when Ares and I met for the first time..."

I tell her the whole story, without forgetting any details, including how my cocky bastard of a guardian said that he didn't go out with girls, only women, so there was no point in falling in love with him.

"It doesn't surprise me," she says, finally, laughing. "The Kostanidou have an unparalleled arrogance. Or maybe it's a problem with Greeks in general, because my sister's husband leaves nothing to be desired in that regard either."

"I was an idiot. I got caught up in a lie, and now I don't know how to get out of it. Otis seems eager to annoy Ares, which doesn't help my situation."

"Ares is jealous of you, Serenity."

"What? No way. He's controlling, bossy, but I doubt it's jealousy. I think he's attracted to me, but that's it." I don't tell her about the kiss he gave me or that he stole my panties, because everything has a limit.

"It's jealousy, and from what I'm reading on your face, the attraction is mutual, so I'm going to give you some unsolicited advice: don't let him be the one to make decisions about the two of you. All Kostanidou are used to commanding and being obeyed. Don't be another face in his long line of conquests.”

"My mentor and best friend said something similar. That I should make him sweat. But I don't even know where to start. He sees me as a child."

"I have an idea."

"What’s that?"

"Relax. Trust me. If it works, we'll drive this bunch of Greeks crazy. I will ask Ares to let us all go to SIN today. Let's dance the night away. I doubt that when the night is over, he will still consider you a little girl."

"What?"

"Trust me. If you want him to no longer see you as a girl but as a woman, SIN is the ideal place."

"He will never agree to that."

"I got it. If I can convince Zeus, we’ll have all the reinforcements we need on our side."

"And why would your husband, a banker, agree to go to what the press calls a place to sin ?"

"Because we have history there," she says enigmatically, without giving further explanation.

We enter the house together, and I almost bump into Otis, who is coming out.

Did he follow me out here?

“Where did you go?” he asks, but he doesn't sound angry. However, when we get to the living room and see Ares coming out of what I know to be the library, since Eleanor took us on a tour of the house, he continues, "I was looking for you to say goodbye, Serenity. Any chance you can take me to the airport?"

I look at him and want to cry. Why is he acting like this? My loyalty does not allow me to embarrass him, however. So I walk over to him and put my arm through his. "I'll walk you to the door."

I wait for him to say goodbye to everyone, and I pretend that I don't notice that Ares follows my movements carefully.

Eleanor, like the sweetheart that she is, offers her driver to take him to the airport.

We go down the stairs arm-in-arm, in silence, but when we get to the car, where the driver is waiting with the door open, I say, "Why are you acting like this?"

"He wants you."

“Even if it's true, it's none of your business, Otis. We are friends. Over the last two years, we pretended to date, but you never stopped going out with your women, even if it was in secret. I never cared, and I still don’t, because that's not the way I love you."

"You could learn to love me like that."

"Don't do that. I don't want to lose your friendship."

"Serenity—"

"Don't think that because I'm young and inexperienced, I'm malleable too, Otis. I only do what I want because I learned to make decisions on my own when I was very little. I may not know much about the world, but I know everything about myself—what I feel and, most importantly, what I don’t feel."

“He's no good for you, Serenity. You two?—"

"There is no ‘us two.’”

" Yet . I am a man. He wants you, but I’ve looked him up. The guy has a reputation for discarding women like clothes he no longer wants."

"I will ask you once again not to interfere. Please don't drive me away. Don't make our friendship impossible."

"I can't see you go into the wolf's den and just stand there and watch. I need some time."

"What? Are you trying to say this is the end of our friendship?"

He stays silent for a few seconds, and for a moment, I'm afraid he's going to say yes, but then he pulls me into his arms and kisses me on the forehead. "If he hurts you, I'll always be waiting."

"Because you are a wonderful friend. And I will always be here for you, too."

"I'm being a selfish asshole, right?"

"Yes, you are. I never felt jealous of your women."

"Never?"

"No. I want you to be happy."

"I feel like shit right now."

"You were a little bit of an asshole, but you are forgiven. Send a message when you arrive in Germany."

"I will. Take care."