WATCHING SERENA WALSH AS EVERY GIRL WANTS HER

By Friday, Serena Walsh had become the biggest problem in my life. Not because she had done anything wrong, but because every time I convinced myself to stop thinking about her, she texted me.

“You are staring at your phone again.” I looked up to find my brother standing in the kitchen doorway.

“I’m not,” I said back to him.

“You absolutely are,” he said. He soon added, “You’ve been thinking every time Serena texts you.”

I nearly dropped my coffee after that word from my brother. “She does not text me that often.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Maya.”

“Okay, fine. She texted me.”

“And what did she say?”

I hesitated to speak while looking at the text. It was:

Serena: My club’s hosting live music tonight. You should come.

Serena: Maybe unless you’ve become too cool for me

I had read those messages a different number of times; in my mind, I was so ready to get to her club, but I refused to admit it.

“Nothing so important.”

“Interesting, Maya.”

“What’s that?”

“Your face does that thing whenever her name comes up.”

I soon narrowed down my eyes. “What thing is that?”

“You absolutely have a face thing.”

I then pointed towards the door. “Leave!”

Ethan laughed as he walked away from the kitchen. “If you don’t go tonight, Serena is coming to drag you there herself.”

The worst part is that that sounded absolutely like what Serena would do to me.

Velvet is at the corner of downtown, its neon sign glowing against the night. The bass from the club pulsed through the walls before I even stepped inside.

“You okay, my love?” I turned to find Serena watching me, and just like that, my thoughts abandoned me, and I clearly focused on her. 

She wore a sleeveless black dress that showed off her tattooed forearms, and looking away suddenly felt impossible.

Her dark hair was pulled to the back, and there was a small silver ring in one of her ears that definitely hadn’t existed four years ago before I left home.

“Oh, that’s new.”

She touched her ear. “The piercing?”

“You got a piercing?”

“Yes, three years ago,” she smiled and soon added, “You disapprove?”

That was cute. “I didn’t say that.”

We discussed for a short moment, and Serena held her club door open for me. “Ladies first,” she said. I smiled, wondering if only she knew that was cute.

The inside of Velvet was exactly what you’d expect from someone like Serena. It was confident, impossible to ignore, and so unapologetic.

Her employees, customers, bartenders, and different people greeted her everywhere she went.

At one point, a man in suit then stopped mid conversation just to shake her hand. “You're kind of a big deal around here, huh?” the man said to her.

She shrugged while we walked away, and she said to me, “I pay people to pretend they like me.”

“Sure.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I think your ego would be significantly larger if that were true.”

“I will take that as a compliment,” she soon added.

I was just about to reply to her when a woman appeared beside us. She was tall, very beautiful, even more than Serena. “Serena,” the woman said.

“Hey, Claire,” Serena said to her.

Claire. The name Mrs. Henderson called? I hated Claire immediately, as I soon said, “I didn’t know you were bringing company tonight.”

“This is Maya,” Serena said to Claire. “She’s practically family.”

Family? That’s right. That made me realize what Serena now sees me as, which might be the biggest barrier to me having her. Claire’s eyes then moved towards me before returning to Serena. “Well, don’t let me interrupt,” Claire said.

“You aren’t.”

“Oh?” Claire smiled. “Then I’ll see you after the show?”

  

“Maybe,” Serena said, looking completely unbothered.

Claire brushed her fingers against Serena’s arm before walking away, and something unpleasant twisted in my stomach. “Are you okay?” Serena asked me.

“Who was that?” I soon asked.

“Oh, that’s Claire.”

“Sure, I heard that.”

She smiled. “We went on a few dates.”

Dates? My soul almost left my body at that point. “Oh.”

“It was a while ago.”

“How long ago?” I asked Serena as she looked amused. “Why?” she soon asked.

“Oh, no reason.”

“Maya.”

“Oh, yes? What?”

“Why are you asking?” she asked, and I then laughed. “Nothing actually.”

“Good. Because that’ll be weird.”

  

Over the next hour, I watched people flirt with Serena like it was a competitive sport. She handled every advance with effortless care.

At an exact moment when Serena and I were discussing club management, the brunette from earlier approached her again. “Hey, Serena, when you get off…”

“No,” the word came out of my mouth before I could even stop it.

There was silence, I mean complete silence. And then soon the brunette blinked. Serena also blinked. “I’m sorry?” the woman asked.

“I…” Serena interrupted me as I was about to speak. “I think what my friend means is that I already have plans tonight.”

Serena maintained a straight face as her eyes never left mine. “Oh,” the brunette said as she soon excused herself and disappeared into the crowd.

“You’re enjoying this,” she said.

“Sorry,” I replied.

“For what though?”

“For…” I had to gesture helplessly. “Whatever that was.”

Serena paused as a smile reached the corner of her mouth, and she said, “Don’t apologize.”

Soon after, someone called Serena’s name from across the club, which turned out to be a familiar voice.

I felt really uncomfortable seeing her coming back, knowing they were up to something.

“I should get back to work,” Serena said to me as Claire was standing beside us.

“Right,” I said.

She took a step backward before stopping. “Oh, how about her?” Claire asked. “She is no longer a kid,” Serena said.

“Oh, and Maya?”

“Yeah?”

That familiar smile showed up on her face. “Try not to threaten any of my customers.”

I rolled my eyes. “No promises.”

Serena laughed and walked away into the crowd as I told myself I wasn’t going to watch her.

I watched her anyway.

  

Serena wasn’t mine and had never been mine. I realized that Claire had since belonged in Serena’s world.

My phone popped up, and it was my brother.

Ethan: “Don’t let Serena trick you into working tonight.”

ME: “Why would she do that?”

Ethan: “Because she loves free labor,” he sent with two laughing emojis.

I smiled and looked up, wandering around the club, and spotted Claire near the bar talking and laughing with Serena. Claire then reached for Serena’s hand.

I felt uncomfortable seeing that, so I looked away immediately.

Something soon made me look back, and when I did, Serena was staring straight at me.

For one long second, none of us looked away.

Claire was leaning on Serena. While we kept staring, I wasn’t pained because they were holding hands, but Claire was leaning tightly on Serena.

It all dawned on me, and I wondered whether it was already too late to get into Serena’s life.