Starr Fated (6 page)

Liam still
maintained that I just wanted what I couldn’t have, and that once
I’d finally managed to get her into bed the novelty would soon wear
off. But as he didn't believe in close relationships anyway, I
didn't take too much notice of his biased opinion, especially as he
had never even met Sera, or shown the slightest interest in knowing
anything about her.

Toby was also
highly amused by my lack of progress, and I knew he was watching
very closely to see if anything developed between Sera and me, no
doubt waiting for his chance to step in should the opportunity
arise. Like I was going to let that happen.
I saw her
first.

I wondered
what she was doing up there – she shut herself away for hours,
endlessly studying. Of course I had to study too, but not the way
she did, I guess because she had so much course work. My economics
degree was largely exam based with only minimal course work. So as
long as I crammed for the exams, I usually got by with only minimal
effort the rest of the time.

But even when
Sera wasn’t studying, she was out working at the restaurant until
all hours, even at the weekends. She didn't seem to have any kind
of a social life, because she claimed she didn't have time, but it
wasn’t normal for a student. It’s part of the whole experience to
get wasted from time to time, and do all sorts of stupid things
that you’ll eventually look back on and laugh about.

So I’d decided
to use the excuse of my birthday to have a house party. If Sera
wouldn’t come out to have fun, the fun would have to come to her.
She’d been living in the house for several months now, but always
keeping herself at a distance. I’d thought maybe there would be an
opportunity for us to get closer at Christmas time, but Sera had
been working at the restaurant right up to the last minute, and
then she’d disappeared off with Abbey to her family home for the
holiday period. Now by whatever means it took, I was going to get
her to join in with us. I was pretty sure that if she would only
let herself chill out with a few glasses of wine, she’d maybe
become a bit more receptive to my efforts to get closer to her. She
seemed to be such an independent loner, I guess because she’d had
to support herself as she had no family around to help her out.

I’d found out
a little more about her background when I went to her room to see
about fixing her radiator. She was listening to what turned out to
be Take That as she worked at her desk, surrounded by large sheets
of illustrations and pictures all over the floor.

“What the hell
is that rubbish you’re listening to?” I asked. Soppy boy bands from
way back? What was that all about? I’d have expected her to have
much better taste.

“Mind where
you tread, I don’t want any of my coursework ruined, thank you very
much Mr. Big Feet. And don't you dare dis Take That. They were my
mum’s favourites,” she told me.

“Really? I
don't know much about them to be honest.” I thought I vaguely
remembered some of the au pairs we’d had when I was younger
listening to their music.

“I grew up
listening to all their tracks, because Mum thought Gary Barlow was
a total hunk. I couldn’t bear to listen to them for ages after she
died, so it’s only recently I’ve started playing them again. My
best friend back then was Emma, and we used to know all the words,
with all the dance routines.”

“I’d have
thought you’d have been more into the Spice Girls. I seem to
remember all the girls were obsessed with them in the nineties.
Girl power, and all that.” I raised my arm in a mock salute.

“Oh, we were
into them as well, trust me,” Sera laughed. “We used to clutch our
hairbrushes as we sang and danced together in front of the mirror
in my bedroom, like everyone did.”

“Let me guess;
with your dark hair, you’d have been Posh Spice,” I suggested.

“Yep, I
certainly was. I spent ages trying to straighten my hair to look
like hers, as well as perfecting my moody stare and sexy pout.” She
gave me a quick demonstration of her best Victoria expression. “And
Emma was blonde and had the same name, so naturally she was Baby
Spice.”

“Sounds like
you had a lot of fun. Do you still see her? Emma, I mean?” I leaned
against the door frame as I watched her, intrigued by this rare
insight into her character.

“No, we lost
touch when she moved away, but at the time we were inseparable – we
lived in the same road, went to the same school. You think you’ll
be friends forever, but circumstances change and people move on,
don't they?”

“I guess so.
It must have been very hard for you all on your own. Don't you have
any family at all?” My parents were also both dead, but at least
I’ve always had my brother looking out for me, even if he is
irritatingly overprotective at times.

A wistful look
passed over Sera’s face as she put down her work to answer me. She
didn't invite me in to sit with her, so I just remained where I was
in the doorway. Sera always seemed to put up barrier that made it
hard to get close to her. And after her warning, I didn't dare risk
messing up any of her precious work that all over the floor.

“I have my
Gran, my Aunt and my cousin over in Ireland, and they wanted me to
go and live over there with them. But although it’s really
beautiful where they live, it’s a quiet little place with very few
jobs and limited opportunities. So I’d have really struggled to
make any kind of a decent living for myself, and I wouldn’t have
wanted to just sponge off them. And all Mum ever dreamed about was
me getting into Central Saint Martin’s to study for some sort of
art degree, I think to compensate for the fact that she never made
it because she got pregnant with me. So when I got my place there,
I decided to take it up and muddle through on my own as best I
could, as a kind of a tribute to Mum, because she worked so hard to
bring me up single handed.”

“She sounds
like quite a woman.”

“She really
was. So I can't let her down, can I? I have to get my degree and
then carve a successful career out for myself, just as she always
wanted me to, to make up for her sacrificing her dreams to bring me
up. And of course I’ll need a decent job to support myself once I
graduate.” Sera put her shoulders back, her eyes glinting with what
looked like determination.

“Have you had
any luck with getting an internship yet? You told Toby it would
help with your exchange program application.”

“No, I think
maybe I’m going to have to admit defeat about that, as time is
running out to get anything now before the cut off for
applications,” she sighed. “All the best places have no doubt gone
to people with connections, those who can get strings pulled, and
I’m just not in that league. In any case, whenever I go for any
kind of an interview, they take one look at me, and all they see is
some silly little girl, not a potential high powered, talented
employee.”

“I’m sure
that’s not the case,” I tried to protest.

“Jamie, let’s
face it. Like it or not, people judge you on your looks. Fact.
Sometimes it can work in your favour, other times not so much.
Would you have offered me this room in your house if you hadn’t
been attracted to me, or rather attracted to my looks?”

I shrugged, as
it was a fair point. If she’d fallen out of the ugly tree and hit
every branch on the way down, in all honesty I don't suppose I
would have made such an effort to persuade her to take the room
here.

“I have no
trouble getting a job in a bar, or as a waitress, because young
girls are considered an asset. But in the male dominated world of
graphic design and commercial art, I know I’m going to struggle to
be taken seriously, however good I am. Which is why, if I had been
able to get an internship, and then a place on the exchange program
in the States, I’d have stood a much better chance of eventually
landing a good job, because I’d have a couple of decent companies
on my CV as proof of my ability.”

“It’s not
really fair, but I suppose I can see what you’re saying,” I was
forced to concede.

“It’s the way
of the world, like it or not,” Sera insisted.

“What if I
could get my brother to help? Maybe he would give you a short term
placement if I asked him. Starr Capitol would certainly be a good
solid company to have on your CV.” I felt it was the least I could
offer, seeing as I had things so much easier than she did.

“That’s what
Toby said too, but I don't think it’s a good idea. From the sound
of it, I really don't think I wouldn’t fit into the kind of company
your brother runs.” Sera shrugged as she turned back to her
desk.

“But if it
were a means to an end, if it got you on this exchange program, and
helped you to launch your career more successfully, surely you’d
consider it?” I persisted.

“There’s no
point in even thinking about it Jamie, because it’s not going to
happen. No disrespect, but from what I’ve heard, your brother
sounds exactly the type who wouldn’t give me the slightest
consideration. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get on with this
piece I’m working on, so can you leave sorting out the radiator for
now? I’m really not worried about it.”

So I’d left
her to her studies, but resolved that the next time I saw Liam, I’d
tackle the subject of a short term internship for her. Maybe if I
managed to wangle it, Sera would be eternally grateful to me, and
I’d finally get somewhere with her.

I felt she
really deserved a helping hand. Seraphina was one of the sweetest
natured girls I’d met in a long time. She cooked a house meal for
us all every Thursday, the one evening we were all usually at home,
because she was horrified that we never cooked proper meals for
ourselves. I think she also suspected - quite rightly - that we
covered some of the bills for her as we all knew how tight money
was for her, and this was her way of paying us back. And she was
very good cook. She had the knack of being able to effortlessly
throw together cheap ingredients to produce a really great meal.
Toby, Adam and myself soon found ourselves making sure that we were
in on a Thursday evening, and it was usually a pretty good night as
we all chilled together with a few beers. Although she hardly ever
drank, Sera seemed to relax and enjoy it too – it was just a shame
that I never managed to get her on her own.

In the cold
weather, I felt really bad that I had not been able to persuade my
landlord brother to get the radiator in Sera’s bedroom fixed to
make it warmer in there for her, but he was sticking to his
decision to stand back and let me deal with any issues that arose
with ‘my’ tenant. I fiddled around unsuccessfully with the radiator
key that I found in the man drawer in the kitchen, as I’d seen
workmen do before, but it had no effect – the radiator remained
disappointingly cold. Unfortunately, I was pretty short of funds
due to travelling around Europe for most of the summer, and of
course there was no question of asking Liam for extra money, so I
couldn’t afford to ask his agent to arrange for the repairs to be
completed. I managed to fix up the broken window with some
cardboard and masking tape, which didn't look very pretty, but at
least it stopped most of the draught. Sera insisted that she wasn’t
bothered, that she’d had far worse rooms in the past, and that she
didn't need an extra heater in her room as it would be too
expensive to run. Instead she sat and worked on her huge art
projects with fingerless mittens on her hands, and a big woolly
scarf round her neck.

“It’s fine,
don’t worry,” she insisted. “I’d only get sleepy if it was too warm
in here.”

Sera also
carried on using the tiny bathroom next to her bedroom, even
thought I was pretty sure the water never got much more than
lukewarm at best. I was pretty disappointed not to have
‘accidently’ walked in on her lying naked in the bath, or seen her
nipping in and out of the main bathroom in her underwear, but I
still hoped to get to see much more of her gorgeous body
eventually.

When I’d been
in her room trying to fix her radiator and window, I’d seen her
underwear drying on the airer in her room, so I knew she usually
wore either tiny lacy thongs or cute little boy shorts with cheeky
designs on. I’d have been more than happy to see her wearing either
sort, before removing them as we fell into bed together and then
had mind blowing sex in every possible position for the rest of the
night. I think my favourite fantasy was having her on top, so I
could watch her lovely tits jiggling as she did all the work. These
were the kind of thoughts that occupied me as I stared up at the
ceiling, thinking of her in the room above.

~*~

The evening of
the party arrived. I’d arranged it for the Thursday nearest to my
birthday in February, as I knew that was the one evening we were
all usually free, and then I invited everyone we knew to come
along. Of course the offer of an open house with some free booze
and food was irresistible, so hoards of mostly male students turned
up. I’d got Sera involved by asking for her help with the catering,
and of course she was too kind natured to turn me down as it was
for my birthday. As she busied herself in the kitchen getting
everything ready, I insisted she have a glass of wine.

“Come on, Sera
let your hair down for once. Just one small glass, to celebrate my
birthday, that’s all. It can't hurt just to be sociable and get in
the party mood, can it?”

“Oh go on
then, just one small glass mind, or it’ll go straight to my head,”
she laughed. I think she was actually looking forward to this
party. It had been a great move on my part to get her involved in
arranging it. Maybe she felt more comfortable as it was in the
house, and she didn't have to go out anywhere, and she was also
very happy that her friend Abbey was coming.