Full Summary:When it comes to love Serena Rexford is the very definition of committed. She's been in love with her childhood friend Andrew all of her life and truly believed that their relationship had been predestined since before they were born. Just when she believes everything is on the right track and Andrew is about to realize his love for her the unthinkable happens. How will Serena commitment survive the ultimate betrayal?

Darien Heyes is New York's finest football player. Earning everything in his life only made him deeply appreciates to the things in life that he has gained. He has an outstanding career, devilishly handsome looks, and the perfect fiancé. When one of his prized possessions is taken from him he's just about ready to do anything for revenge.

Will their mulishness get in the way, as these two embark on a journey of self discovery or will their heart relinquish to a tender surrender of the soul.

She walked clumsily through the never ending crowd of people as they pushed and shoved their way through, attempting to get from point A to point B as fast as humanly possible. Even after spending four years of living the uptown city life; she could still be considered a stranger when compared to the confident strides and brazen attitudes of the New Yorkers whom surrounded her. It's not as if she was clumsily by nature, although she could barely handle her own in the New York crowed on normal days. Today she was, yet again, put in a situation that would eventually lead to clumsiness. Despite having a good pair of legs she was a good deal shorter than everyone else, thus making it even harder to see exactly where she was supposed to go.

She had several errands to run through out the day, and presently she was carrying two arms full of manila folders full of documents that needed to be turned in before the closing hours. In one hand she securely held an over priced soft drink, while in the other, an equally over priced street corner hotdog. She tried her very best to eat, walk, and balance all at the same time without getting her clothes smeared with mustard smudges or coke stains, exactly how she managed such a task will continue to remain one of life's greatest mysteries.

She had a very pressing matter that required her attention at this moment, and she had to finish it on time before completing the rest of her errands for the day. Her boss had recently called her during her lunch break to inform her that she needed to take his place at a meeting in his favorite café. She opted for eating before arriving at the café in order to move things along quicker; also she had learned her lesson from prior experience that in these particular meetings eating beforehand would just make her life easier. After tripping a few more times, and stuffing her hotdog down her throat she arrived to café. She had no free hands or time to straighten her clothes so she didn't bother with the effort. She immediately spotted who she was looking for. They were all the same, always sitting in the back by themselves with a careful eye on the front entrance obviously expecting somebody. She waltz straight up to the woman waiting in the back extending her hand and nervously introduced herself. "Hey, hello, hi my name's Serena Rexford, Andrews's personal assistant. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Good God you're stupid, she thought to herself as she realized what she had just said. Who on earth says hello three different ways in one sentence. She might have well just said 'hey, hello, hi my name's Stupid.' No matter how many times she had done this before the situation would always lead her to the inevitable path of clumsiness.

Serena thanked the lord that the woman either didn't seem to pick up on her sudden spell of dumbness or decided to show mercy on a victim of the socially handicapped. Instead the woman's eyes trailed lightly over Serena's appearance: from her tight and neatly pinned bun that held her hair to the loose fitting T-shirt and jeans, ending with the red flip-flops on her feet, each item a different color and nowhere in the vicinity of matching. Even her southern drawl adding to the number of mismatches that she represented. Southern girls were supposed to be belles, the most haughty and self-righteous women in all of America. She on the other hand was the most awkward.

When the woman before her was done making her internal assessments she gracefully slipped her hand in Serena's giving it a quick and gentle shake. The woman also curtly introduced herself as Mina Weston. Serena also made evaluations of her own. Mina was pretty, albeit they were always top model gorgeous. She had long straight blond hair cascading loosely from her head and past her shoulders ending just below the middle of her back. She had creamy porcelain skin and two deep blue eyes the color of the 

deep sea. She wore just the right amount of make up to bring out the rest of the flawless features that resided on her face. Her clothes, unlike Serena's, accented to her beauty. They hugged her body in all the right places, giving her an hour glass shape. She was a woman for the ages.

Serena flushed and quickly looked away when she noticed Mina giving her an odd look. Apparently Serena had taken a much longer time admiring Mina's attributes than Mina had spent on her. It's funny that after doing this at least fifty times she still managed to find a way to make the situation ten times more awkward than necessary. In an attempt to remedy, she blurted out. "Order anything you want. It's on Andrew."

Mina shifted in her chair in an effort to get comfortable. "So the rumor about him sending his assistant to dump his girlfriends is true?" She inquired.

Shit, Serena thought. Out of all the reactions she had received in the past, this one beat them all for most blunt. Serena tried to regain her composure. All she had to do was to remember to breathe and it would all be over shortly. At least the poor girl held no delusions about her fate like some of the others. As she looked back at all the tantrums of the past she realized that maybe a blunt reaction was better than a hysterical one, albeit now she have to admit she had no idea what to say to the girl. Serena opted to nod her head before speaking, completely terrified of saying the wrong thing. She didn't know whether to offer her condolences or offer her explanations as to why it just couldn't work out between her and Andrew. As she internally debated with herself Mina probably noticed her inner turmoil and decided to save her the effort of choosing. "Hm… well since I am here and he is paying for my lunch. I'm just going to have to make it a big tab, now aren't I?"Serena couldn't help but burst into laughter. Mina was going to be the first of the girlfriends she had to dump, that she liked.

"Yeah, you should also order enough 'to go's' to last you a week." Serena added offering her a warm smile.

"And make sure to give the waitress a big tip."

"Why stop at one when we could just tip them all." This time Mina laughed. It was then that Serena decided that maybe this meeting didn't have to be sped up after all. In fact, she was still hungry. It would take more than some street hotdog to fill her stomach. Serena then looked back at the times when she didn't know any better and decided to eat with them even though it was obvious that company— especially her company— would not be appreciated. There was one incident, when she was dumping Rei, that after the waitress set down her meal on the table it had promptly ended up on her lap. But Mina seemed pretty stable-minded. It seemed like they could carry on a normal conversation and then head their separate ways with no hard feelings. "So, how long have you been living in New York? I can tell you're not from around here." Mina asked.

They chatted idly learning the basics about each others lives, nothing too personal. Serena learned that Mina had lived in Ney York her entire life, and currently her professional career was based on random modeling gigs but that wasn't something she desired to do permanently. She had a dream since she was a child to be an actress, on Broadway. But for now she'd have to depend on her good looks until she had the kind of raw talent that would bedazzle an audience of thousands. Mina learned that Serena was born and raised in Texas. She attended the University of Texas for one year before transferring to 

Cornell University. Serena noticed Mina giving her an inquisitive look after she mentioned Cornell. She knew that the gears in Mina's head were straining to understand how a student from an Ivy League college became some one's personal assistant. And just as she was about to ask the questions Serena had been avoiding, the food arrived, and the subject matter was quickly diverted into small talk about trivial things like foods and music that they liked or disliked.

Before long Serena realized she was running extremely late for the rest of her errands. She needed to pick up his clothes at the drycleaners or else he wouldn't have clean underwear for the rest of the week—which now that she though about it isn't such a bad idea—but she knew he wouldn't be pleased with going commando in extreme cold temperatures. She also needed to pick up his check from work, send out his bills, retrieve Bill from the pet hospital—his pet boxer had just been neutered—and make sure he had his favorite doggie treats for his homecoming. She needed to get all this done before she could head down to his agents office to hand in some paperwork she knew nothing about.

Thank goodness that some kind of supernatural force was looking out for her well being because she managed finish all her errands just in the nick of time. She couldn't help but notice that his agent gave her a sympathetic look as she sprouted through his door panting wildly as he was putting on his jacket. She had just dropped Bill off at the apartment and literally ran her way to the building. "You work harder than any assistant I know Serena. You should really charge him more."

"Nonsense Mr. Barns, from what I hear Madonna's PA's got it pretty bad, and don't even get me started on the kind of jobs Mr. Trump has his assistant do." He laughed, sympathetically. Something she had no use for. She was very content with her life and she didn't need him feeling bad for something that she had perfected since youth. Taking care of Andrew was in fact the only thing that she happened to have a natural talent for and it was the only thing she ever wanted to do for the rest of her life. She bid her leave and took off for the apartment she shared with Andrew and his dog Bill.

Andrew had been her best friend since nursing school—no even before that—since the womb. Leanne Redford the wife of Derek Redford, her mother, had been friends with Amy Parrish, wife to George Parrish and Andrew's father, since high school. They decided it was only right that their children have the same bond they shared. For nine months they were inseparable. When they discovered that Leanne was to have a girl and Amy a boy they fantasized about the wedding their children would have. It was their destiny to fall in love.

Serena hadn't catered to Andrew's ever whim her whole life. It wasn't until she was twelve and her parents died in a plane crash. They were going to some convention for her father's job. She had begged to go with them but they refused to let her miss a day school unless she had to. She didn't stop crying for three days after Amy told her the dreadful news. It was just tears after tears, sobbing her heart out of her tiny body. The endless weeping eventually led the Parrish's to rush her to the hospital due to severe dehydration. When she had finally woken up, she awoke to Andrew sleeping awkwardly in the chair beside her bed. The nurse later informed her that he had been there with her all night, downright refusing to leave because he wanted to be the first person she saw when she woke up… and he was. Since then he was the only person she ever wanted to see when she woke up in the morning. Their mothers' dreams had come true, she had fallen deeply in love with him.

Her close relatives didn't fight over who would become her guardian. None of them were economically stable enough to take on a new mouth to feed. So when Amy and George offered to take little Serena into their home they heard no protest whatsoever. Serena almost couldn't believe her fortune. Albeit it hadn't been easy at first, cooping with a whole new style of living. But she new that she had to make the best of her situation especially since it allowed her to become such a large part of Andrew's life. She enjoyed making him happy, almost as if it were her calling in life. He as well grew attached to her making him meals, helping with homework, and doing his chores. He grew extremely dependant on her and even more so when they separated for college. It shocked the hell out of both of them when they realized they applied to different colleges. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten to ask him about his choices, she just assumed that they would naturally want the same things. But they didn't. Andrew didn't want to stay close to home. He didn't want a normal life. He had big dreams of having a professional hockey career.

Andrew had always been the athletic type. He played roller hockey on the streets with his friends sine they were kids. When he got to high school the football coaches gushed over him. He was the right size to take down anyone in his way and he was fast as hell. Their dreams didn't last long though. As he awkwardly tried out for the team they realized that he had no talent for football. Living down the shame took him a while to get over. Texans are extremist when it comes to football. George decided that instead of moping over his lack of football talent that he should try-out for the ice hockey team. The minute that Andrew stepped onto that ice it was all over. He knew what he was meant to do in life. During one of his games a scout from Cornell saw the talent he possessed and offered him a full scholarship to attend their university, and he accepted without hesitation.

Serena knew that Andrew's well being would be her number one job therefore she had to pick a major that could be translated into a hobby when needed to, photography. She had been part of the yearbook committee during high school. She found that taking pictures was like storing memories of things or people we see everyday, moments that we take for granted, or life's general tragic beauty. Since Andrew never mentioned his plans for after high school she presumed that it was safe to apply to the University of Texas.

It wasn't until after they had received their acceptance letters had they consulted with the other. Andrew was completely furious with her for applying for college without telling him. He thought that since she never said a word about the matter that she was just going to follow him to New York. And Serena was crushed that he would want to leave their home. She wanted her dreams to be his dreams as well—they were best friends—shouldn't his ultimate dream be her, just like he was hers.

The fight had lasted up until the day he left for college. They absolutely refused to talk to one another. They finally spoke at the airport when she could no longer hold in her tears… and her fear. She was terrified of him getting on the plane without her and never coming back, just like her parents. Andrew reassured her that plane crashes were rare incidents and that nothing bad was going to happen. He promised to call the minute the plane touch the ground of New York. Her hysterics almost kept him from stepping on the plane… almost. Serena didn't regain the flush in her cheeks until he called from New York informing her that he had made it safe and sound. Serena knew that their relationship from now on would never be the same.

After he left they didn't see each other again until Christmas vacation when he flew back to Texas. He had changed so much in the little time they had spent apart that she feared that she might lose him forever. Since he got back all he ever talked about was hockey and how great New York was for his career. It seemed like he couldn't last a sentence without uttering Cornell. Vacation went by faster than she thought it would and she was near panic with fear, she didn't think she could continue cooping without him. It wasn't until the week before he was scheduled to leave that he came to talk to her alone. Again it was all about Cornell, except instead of it being about his experience being there it was about her. He talked about how much it suited her personality. It was beautiful and she could take an infinite amount of pictures there. New York was a place that people just had to experience for themselves and it would do her so much good to transfer. He told her that she wouldn't have any problems being accepted given that she had the academic profile that could get her in anywhere she desired.

But Serena could careless about where her academics could take her, or the amount of pretty pictures she could take, or even the New York experience that he believed she had to go through before she died. The only way in which Cornell suited her personality was that Andrew was there. So she let him think that his speech about Cornell actually meant something to her than the ticket to his heart and she agreed that transferring would be for her best interest. She promised to start the transfer the minute she went back to Texas University, and she did. The only thing she refused to do was take a plane to New York. He drove with her the whole way there.

She graduated Cornell with a degree in photography, and Andrew a degree in business management. He was immediately drafted to play with the New York Rangers. She moved to the city with him but was reluctant to find work in the photography world. A job like that would only cut the limited time that she and Andrew shared. So she started running small errands for him at first, just as a kind gesture. As time passed she started doing more and more until she assisted him in almost everything. Although she never complained because doing stuff for him never bothered her. His manager noticed her hard work and was the one that suggested to Andrew that he start paying her like a proper assistant. It had been a running joke for a while until one day Andrew slapped down a check on her desk, and then continued to do so regularly. She never quite understood what had changed but decided not to discuss it since would only make him cranky, and the money did help with her personal needs.

Andrew still hadn't gotten home by the time she arrived. It didn't surprise her since he never got home early anyways. Although the vigorous part of her day was over she still had plenty to do. As she fed Bill his dinner she skimmed through her planner. After Bill was taken care of she walked over to her desk and proceeded to make phone calls. She called to schedule meetings, order groceries to be delivered—today was Friday and they should be running low by now—she also need carefully plan out next weeks agenda for both her and Andrew. When she'd finished it was close to eleven o'clock and he still wasn't home. He was probably out with the boys at some sports bar they loved to attend. Serena decided to take a shower and wait for him to return. She hated falling to sleep before seeing his face. Over the years she made sure to ritually see him before she went to sleep and after she woke up.

As she showered she thought about Mina— but not just Mina—about all the girls she had to dump for him in the past. He had a serious issue with dumping girls. There was something about women crying that made him extremely venerable. She also noticed that he never introduced her to any of them 

before he set her out to do his bidding. In a bizarre way that knowledge always comforted her. The fact that he never introduced them meant they didn't mean much to him. She still ranked number one girl on his list and that gave her hope for a future. All she had to do was patiently wait until he realized that these women could never fill his heart as she did. She had complete faith that soon he would ask her to marry him. He just needed to get his playboy tendencies out of his system and she was prepared to wait until he was ready, because she loved him.

Serena was toweling herself dry when she heard the familiar clicking sounds of the front door being unlocked. He was finally home. She haphazardly dressed herself and rushed to greet him. "Andrew you're home! You wouldn't believe…" her sentence fell short. Who the hell was that leech holding on to Andrew? Serena's voice got caught in her throat and she could feel her knees buckle from under her and she struggled with her body to stand up straight. Her stomach began to painfully twist into a tight knot. Serena knew that she wouldn't be able to stand for long without support, so she sought for a hall way table. What was going on? Andrew then took notice to her presence and graced her with one of his unchanging smile, meant only for her.

"Serena, I am so glad you're here. There is someone really important that I want you to meet."He seemed so childishly giddy. This can't be happening, she thought to herself as he pushed the woman in front of him. "This is Rita." No, please don't say it. "My girlfriend." Everything went black after that. The last thing she remembered hearing was a faint scream and Andrew's voice. As she fainted she tried to convince herself that this was all just a bad dream. When she woke up in the morning she would see Andrew first—like always—and he would confirm that it was just an awful nightmare. That she had nothing to worry about; his heart only belonged to her.

Hello everybody, this is my new story. I haven't submitted it to my editor because I wanted to get it out as fast as I could. I Think my readers desive that. This is a taste of my new story Tender Surrender. I would really like to hear everyones thoughts. I will be adding a new chapter to temptest rose shortly so not to worry. Thanks for your patiences and I hope that you enjoy the first chapter. :)