Chuck tapped his pen impatiently on his desk as he awaited an important phone call. Checking his Rolex watch for the umpteenth time in the last 5 minutes, he decided that time had either slowed down considerably, or it had come to a complete stand still. His impatience was becoming unbearable, so he opened up a game of solitaire on his wide screened computer and played away the dying seconds. He played a total of 4 games, but only managed to properly complete 1...the other three had been going well until he had no moves left and had to reluctantly start a new game. His concentration had become unparallel, so when the phone rang suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He immediately launched for the phone and tried to maintain his voice as he answered,
"Yes?" He spoke, closing the game on his computer.
"Mr Bass, you have a visitor." The secretary spoke coolly into the telephone.
"Send them up, please." He replied, hanging up, his heart rate sped up a little above normal. He fidgeted with his tie and the buttons on his blazer before he stood up to open the door for his guest. He approached the door and opened it wide to welcome his visitor.
"Hey sweetie." She spoke. The sight of her made his heart race even faster. He placed a careful hand on her slender waist and pulled her in for a loving embrace. She put her arms around his neck and pushed herself closer to his body. Her lips were soft like velvet and sweet like strawberries; her hair was long and beautiful and smelt like peaches. She was so perfect, so flawless; he was the luckiest guy on the planet.
"Ok, let's leave the kinky stuff for when we get into your office." Blair Waldorf giggled breaking away, but leaving her hands around Chuck's neck.
"Sounds good to me." And he led her in, closing the door behind them. Blair's heels clicked along the polished floorboards as she headed towards the sofa to free her hands of her handbag and three Barney's shopping bags.
"So what is this marvellous surprise you have for me, Chuck Bass?" She smiled and he actually felt himself turn into goo. He maintained himself before he managed to make a fool of himself and replied, "Well, if I told you now, it would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" He replied, making sure he didn't give anything away.
"You're going to whisk me away to the Bahamas? You know, I've always wanted to go there...and what with summer ending.."
"No, it's not that." Chuck interrupted, suppressing a smile. Blair raised both eyebrows.
"Ok then...hurry up and tell me because I'm getting awfully curious!" She replied, hardly able to contain her excitement. Chuck sighed and switched his computer off; grabbed his keys and coat and then waited for Blair's response.
"What are you doing?" She asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion. Chuck actually laughed this time as he revelled in her cuteness and oblivion to the entire situation.
"I'm taking you to your surprise." Blair beamed, grabbing her Chanel handbag and clicked her way back across the office to the front door; Chuck – taking in her beauty – eyed her the entire way.
They travelled down the elevator, barely able to resist not touching each other; and then stepped out into the warm, summery afternoon. Chuck led Blair towards a parked limousine in front of the building, opening the back door for her like the perfect gentleman he was.
They arrived at the Tiffany & Co. Store on Fifth Avenue.
"You're going to buy me some jewellery?" Blair asked excitedly, and Chuck just smiled, preferring not to say anything in case he let something slip. Chuck stepped out of the limo and offered Blair a hand; leading her inside the store. Blair was enthralled when she walked in – feeling the exact same therapeutic calmness that Audrey Hepburn felt in Breakfast at Tiffany's whenever she walked into the store. Chuck murmured something to the security guard by the front entrance, behind Blair's back; and he immediately nodded, mumbling something into his radio. There was soft jazz-like music playing in the background. Blair had wandered over to the diamond necklaces stand.
"That ones amazing." She spoke in awe, staring into the million facets of the oval shaped diamond that glistened in the light. It was hanging off a platinum chain. There wasn't even a price tag.
"It's ok, I guess." Chuck smirked, but Blair was too deep in admiration to care, let alone notice he said anything.
A round, grey and balding man with rectangular shaped glasses approached them.
"Good afternoon Miss. Is there anything in particular you are looking for?" He asked, the buttons on his blazer threatening to explode. Blair looked over at Chuck, who had brought her here for reasons yet unbeknownst to her; but she assumed it was to be another present – he loved showering her with expensive gifts.
"Pick out anything you want." He smiled, and Blair mirrored his expression; giving him a soft kiss on the cheek in gratitude. Blair turned back around to look at the necklace, while the man glanced at Chuck. Chuck gave an approving nod and the man suggested that Blair looked at the rings; she had such beautiful and slender fingers – a Tiffany ring would look fabulous.
"Ok." Blair smiled and followed the man to a glass case full of sparkling diamond rings. Chuck followed surreptitiously behind them. The man had suggested she look at the larger diamonds.
"But they've got to be at least 10 grand!" She cried, looking back at Chuck who had reached her and stood beside her.
"And I'm pretty sure they look like engagement rings." She added, but Chuck didn't say anything, and neither did the assistant. Blair looked from the man to Chuck; Chuck's eyes were filled with hope and vulnerability. The look on Blair's face was more confusion and disbelief.
"You brought me here..." she began, but Chuck interrupted.
"Blair, this summer has been perfect to say the least," Chuck began, and Blair was speechless. Chuck's brooding, dark eyes settled on her luscious, chocolate brown ones, which always seemed to make him go soft...as if he were melting on the spot. He extended an arm out to hers, and took her fragile, soft hand in his; rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.
"I can honestly say that I've never been this happy before." Blair was still paralysed, but her heart remained very active.
"I wouldn't trade what we shared these last few months for anything in the world."
Oh, my God.
Blair's heart was now palpitating; was Chuck being for real? Her jaw dropped slightly and she was unable to comprehend what he was saying. This was totally a dream.
"Blair Cornelia Waldorf-Rose, will you make me the happiest man alive and honour me with your hand in marriage?" He asked just like she had imagined in all her dreams – in fact, she was now fully convinced this was just another one of them. The assistant seemed to be smiling at her eagerly, his button-like eyes filling with tears. Blair finally was able to swallow but was scared that she had also swallowed her ability to speak. She stared deep into his eyes – perhaps she could find a trace of doubt, a hint of a joke; or at least, she liked to think, she knew his eyes so well that she'd be able to decipher whether they were real or just her imagination. She looked down at her hand which shaking uncontrollably. Chuck Bass, Charles Bartholomew Bass was proposing to her! The womanizer, the boy who never fell in love; was officially pouring his heart out. She could imagine the headlines tomorrow morning, 'He's off the market, ladies.' 'Bass Industries heir gets engaged!' and the names! 'Bass-dorf, Waldass, Blair Waldorf-Rose-Bass, Blair Bass, BB' it had a ring to it; no pun intended. She loved it! But she figured Chuck needed his answer sooner rather than later, and so she smiled and replied,
"Of course! YES!" Her eyes were gleaming and swimming in tears. Blair threw herself onto him, leaping into his arms. He caught her and spun her around. She had said yes! His dream would always end when he got down onto one knee; unbeknownst to her reply, making him increasingly doubtful to what Blair's answer would be when he actually had the chance to ask her. Everyone had been telling him that they were way too young – barely 18 and fresh out of high school; summer hadn't even ended yet. But that didn't matter, the way he felt right now was a feeling he did not want to lose. Why not seal the deal with Blair? There was no other girl he'd love as much as he loved Blair anyway. As far as he knew, he succeeded at life; practically fulfilling it before he even reached 21.
"I love you Blair Waldorf." He said, still holding onto her tight and looking deep into her chocolate eyes. He could feel the pounding of her heart as her held onto her and he couldn't remember a time when things had just felt so perfect.
"I love you Charles Bass." She replied and then placed a small hand on his cheek, bringing him in for a quick peck on the lips.
She broke away and Chuck put her feet on the ground. He wiped her tears away and kissed her forehead.
"Go on, pick one out." He said, gesturing to the case of engagement rings. Blair could not contain her joy. She analysed every single ring before settling on a cushion shaped Tiffany Legacy with Graduated Side Stones.
"Very lovely choice." The man said, taking a small key out of his breast pocked and unlocking the tray. He pulled it; and with a gloved hand, he carefully handled the ring, placing it onto a smaller cushioned tray.
"Would you like to put it on now?" He asked Chuck, who in turn glanced at Blair. Her eyes glistened with hope. Chuck smiled and nodded.
"Yes." He took the ring and Blair held out her hand. Chuck gently took her hand and slid the ring on. It was a perfect fit. Blair was speechless again. The man clapped his hands in happiness and then attended to locking the glass case back up, while Chuck pulled Blair in for another passionate kiss. There was a brand new edge to way Chuck kissed her this time. Of course, they both knew that she was his and he was hers, but the proposal had made it official. Blair Waldorf was Chuck's fiancée, Charles Bass was Blair's. It was blissful.
She didn't want to pull away and neither did he, but they were quite aware of their setting and audience, and that was the only thing keeping their hands of each other.
"We'll need to celebrate later on tonight."Blair whispered and Chuck smiled menacingly. The man turned around, quite obviously waiting for them to finish for he had gone all red.
"Charge it on the company." Chuck said, and the man simply nodded.
"Of course Mr Bass; and congratulations Ms Waldorf!" He bade them good bye. Chuck led her back out the store, a steady and protective hand on her back. Everyone was to know that Blair Waldorf was no longer available. She was his; she was going to be Mrs Chuck Bass – and he couldn't be happier.
"So where did he end up taking you?!" Serena literally cried into the phone. Blair was holding the phone at arms length for fear of going deaf. Serena had taken the news just as well as Blair had; only unlike Blair, Serena couldn't quite mask her excitement as well.
"Tiffany's! He told me to get anything I wanted! I don't even know if he knows what the price was." Blair replied, lovingly staring at her outstretched hand and the stunning diamond that now occupied her left ring finger.
"Blair, as if that's ever stopped him before. Anyways, when's the engagement party? Please, oh, please let me organise it!" Serena cried again, and Blair had to lean away from the phone.
"I don't know; tonight we're staying in. I'll have to talk to him about it."
"Or rather, I do. He's just come in." Blair could hear the distant ring of the elevator arriving at the Van der Woodsen penthouse.
"Talk to you later, alright? Love you!" Serena crooned and hung up. Blair fell back onto her bed and examined the ring again. She was too scared of taking it off for fear of losing it; but at the same time, she feared that by wearing it, she might ruin the beautiful diamonds. She would guard this ring with her life. It was a testament of their love for one another.
"Congratulations, man." Nathaniel Archibald held out an arm to Chuck Bass who shook it businesslike. But then Nate pulled him in for a man hug.
"I still can't believe you're getting married though!" He added shaking his head in disbelief. Chuck and Nate were sitting on a park bench in Central Park; Chuck retelling the whole event from when Blair met him at his office, all the way to the ride home in the limo.
"You didn't..."
"No, we didn't. We're saving it for tonight." Chuck laughed, and Nate cringed.
"Ok, I don't really want to hear all the details; but I can imagine." Chuck exhaled, basking in the warm sun, enjoying what last few days they had of summer.
"So how was Europe, with uh, Vanessa?" Chuck asked Nate, reluctantly. He didn't much care for the Brooklyn girl – albeit a drunken encounter before summer that he had regretted the minute it had happened. But, apparently she meant something to Nate; and Chuck didn't want to seem too self-righteous about his recent engagement.
Nate was silent for a bit but then replied.
"It was ok; for the first week." He began and then stopped again to put his head into his hands.
"What happened?" Chuck asked, intrigued.
"Girls can be a pain in the ass when they want to be. She was still punishing me for Blair, when she was quite certain that we were done – I mean, Blair was with you. But you know how girls can be." Nate explained and Chuck just smirked.
"So what, you guys went your own ways?"
"Yeah. She went to Venice and I thought I'd check out a bit of London. The girls there are way too horny."
"Not that you're complaining."
"Of course not." And they laughed. It was a true, hearty laughter; and it felt so good to be able to joke around with his best friend, without the fear that they might get into another fight over Blair. But of course she was worth it; the problem was, they both knew it – and neither would back down. It damn near tore them apart for good the last time.
Later that evening, Blair was looking through her gigantic closet, desperately searching for a half-decent dress for tonight.
"Dorota! Is mom working on anything new at the moment that I could borrow for tonight?" She asked which unintentionally managed to come out sounding like a whine rather than a plea.
"I go look for you Miss Blair." Dorota obliged, escaping Blair's room and returning mere seconds later with a stunning black dress.
"She leave note on it. I assume Miss Eleanor knew about Mr Chuck's proposal and thought Miss Blair would need an outfit." Dorota held out the dress on the hanger for Blair who eyed the dress in awe. A diamond ring, and an Eleanor Waldorf original – Could you get any luckier? Not to mention Blair would be the first person to ever try on this dress. Even though her mom and Cyrus were off on an around the world trip, she had still managed to create a beautiful cashmere black ensemble for her special night. Her heart swelled with warmth for her mother.
"Can you help me pick out some matching shoes?" Blair smiled, and Dorota all too willingly accepted the order. She handed Blair the dress and immediately began searching for the perfect heels. Blair slipped out of her pencil skirt and Alannah Hill blouse and slipped into the black cocktail dress. When she pulled it on, she had never felt so incredibly naked. The front of the dress had a plunging v neck that ended just above her belly-button. The back of the dress was much the same, only it stopped right above her butt. She'd have to wear this dress without a bra, or risk fashion suicide. She took off her bra and then admired herself in the mirror. The dress had been especially made to accentuate her best assets, her butt and her amazingly slender figure. Her boobs, which she'd always been self-conscious about because they were so small, now actually looked normal; the v neck had made her cleavage all too obvious and she knew Chuck would not be able to resist. This made her smile devilishly to herself as she imagined all the things that would transpire tonight.
"Here Miss Blair. Silver Jimmy Choo heels always goes with black dress." Dorota explained pulling out the 3 inch Jimmy Choo heels. Blair exhaled in appreciation. What would she do without Dorota?
"Thanks Dorota. Chuck's going to be here any minute. We're going out to celebrate our engagement! Don't wait up for me." She exclaimed excitedly as she whipped out some lipstick and began applying it onto her lips. She heard the elevator arrive at her penthouse, and suddenly felt a rush of excitement. Dorota told the male visitor that Blair was in her room, and he quickly fled up the stairs to greet her. She took one last glance at herself before he arrived and then turned around to greet him at her bedroom door.
"Hey Blair." He spoke.
"Nate?"