Blair laid in bed early morning, wrapped around Dan's ever comforting snuggle. She fought the slight tiredness, and wanting of her eyes to shut and stared at him for a while. The tips of their noses millimeters from touching, their breaths colliding with one another, though that didn't seem to wake him up.
She sighs and slowly tucked her head under Dan's chin and breathed down his neck, tightening her grip on him and closing whatever gap there was between them. She closed her eyes.
Everything she wanted was right then and there. Everything, to her surprise, was perfect. It's been the total opposite to those times with Louis and the never ending crap she had with Chuck. Life at Columbia is now going smoothly. Life out of the university is now better than the usual. Gossip Girl, Serena…but one thing above all that, Dan. Behind all the appearances she made at parties, there's always the loft, she and Dan would hide out and cherish each other's company. He'd greet her with a fresh batch of Humphrey waffles, and they'd read classics together in the couch…or sometimes of course, knowing Blair, watch Audrey Hepburn films at night. Nosey and cheesy, I know. But in a way, all of those things define their relationship. Pure, simple love.
Blair heard a door open and shut coming from the bathroom. Must be Serena of course, she thought. She wiggled her head out of her thoughts in a graceful, subtle manner and settled back into position. Though before she could, she felt Dan finally move, and is now maybe out of his sleep.
Dan groaned and roamed his eyes around to find his muse tucked under his head. Blair responded by raising her head to look into his piercing brown eyes. "Good morning", she lazily said.
He kissed her forehead, "'Morning" and smiled a little.
"I'm heading down to eat breakfast, 'kay?" Serena said. Both of them shared the mirror in their shared bathroom at the Waldorf penthouse, like they always do every morning. Blair was fresh out of the shower, her hair wrapped in a towel and her petite body in a bathrobe.
"Uh-huh" she mumbled, brushing her teeth with such focus.
Summer vibes was surely up and running in the city. Blair rode a cab to Williamsburg, casually flipping through the pages of The Rainbow by DH Lawrence. It was the second to the last day of the semester and school year, finally she could start making plans for vacation. Milan? Madrid? Paris again? Maybe she and Dan could visit Harold and Roman while their on it. Speaking of, what does Humphrey have in mind, she wondered. Glaring out the window, showing no expressions, she realizes that the cab will reach its destination quite soon. She shuts the book close and carefully placed it in a spot in her fur Dior bag. "Just right over here" she told the driver.
Dan set up the plate of waffles on the bar table and something else right beside it, wrapped in a red bow. As he heard the tapping footsteps of her pumps making way for the door out in the hallway, he heads for the couch. Blair entered the loft, without knocking first of course…duh. Before she can shut the door, she examined the little package sitting on the counter, and looks at him with a pouting but at the same time questioning face.
"What's this?" she shut the door. Dan stood up and walked towards her, giving her a soft kiss.
"Why don't we find out" he smirked a bit.
Taking no time at all, Blair sets her bag on one of the stools then pulls on one of the ends of the ribbon. She rips out the paper covering what looks like a travel book guide…with a giant 'Rome' across the cover.
"Dan?"
He swallowed and began, "Blair, I just got invited to the Italian Arts and Letters Institute in Rome on their summer artist retreat" the deep, raspy tone of his voice made the matter a little more serious.
She let out a small gasp. "Dan," she held on to both his forearms.
"That's great!"
Dan shook off her touch and grabbed hold of her hands.
"Come to Rome with me this summer."