"Have I told you yet how gorgeous you look?" he inquired again, placing his hand lightly on the small of her back and leading her up the pathway to the Gilbert backyard.
"Hmm," she suppressed a grin, "maybe once or twice." She flipped her curled blonde locks over her shoulder to throw him a flirty, humorous grin. He felt heat rise up at the back of his neck in slight embarrassment, but his affection for her simply overwhelmed him.
Stefan remembered just minutes ago when he was waiting anxiously on her front steps to pick her up and having the awful feeling that perhaps she had changed her mind. Maybe she realized that he wasn't adventurous or funny enough. Maybe she had decided she could do better [because he still firmly believed she could do so much better than him]. He recalled the paranoia settling in like a hard weight in his chest as he shifted his feet, casting his eyes downward to the flowery welcome mat adorning the Forbes' porch.
But all his fears washed away as Caroline opened the door to him with a bright smile and a sway of her hips. He couldn't draw his eyes away from the shimmery red of her halter dress, his eyes only widening further as he caught a glimpse of its backlessness going all the way down toward the small of her waist as she turned to lock the front door.
"I would expect to hear it at least a few more times throughout the evening," he smiled, drawing himself back into the moment. Her light blue eyes sparkled at his words as she placed the lightest of touches to his forearm, sending an electric pulse all the way to his spine [and a thrill of excitement toward his lower half as well]. "I really can't help it with you looking so breath-taking."
"Stefan," her face tilting toward him, her eyes wide and vulnerable, "I'm really glad we're doing this."
"Me too, Caroline," his shoulders relaxed as relief spread through him. With a more confident smile and her hand still placed on the crook of his arm, he swung the back gate open into the impending buzz of their friends.
Loitering by the snack table, she picked up a succulent red strawberry and had it poised at her lips when she suddenly felt a breathe of hot air at the back of her neck. 'Oh,' she murmured, already halfway to aroused as Damon slipped his arm around her stomach, pulling her back into his chest.
"Did you see who my brother brought with him today?" he placed his head on her shoulder, letting his lips brush against the sensitive hollow of her left ear.
She gingerly turned in his arms to face him, not wanting to brush against him too much [that would only lead to them leaving their own party for an indefinite period of time]. She briefly thought about scolding him for his tendency toward public sexual displays, but those weren't the words she found coming out of her mouth. "Not yet, why?"
His grip ever so gently tightening at the ruched waist of her navy strapless dress, he tilted his head to the opposite side of her lawn. Following his gaze, her eyes widened fractionally at the sight of her best friend and the younger Salvatore engaged in close proximity. "Huh. I had no idea," her voice lilting in curiosity as her hand grasped Damon's forearm. "I think they'd be cute together though, don't you think?"
He tilted his head back with a chuckle before bringing his eyes down to meet her questioning gaze. "Are you kidding? Barbie would eat my brother alive!"
"Hey! She's still my friend you know!" she swatted playfully at him.
"Oh believe me," he smirked wolfishly," that was much more of a disrespect to Stefan."
"You know they're talking about us, right?" Stefan glanced peripherally at his brother and Elena. He smiled, his arms crossing as he leaned against the rough trunk of the willow tree at the edge of the Gilbert property.
Neither Salvatore had been at all successful in their past relationships, considering their past habit of falling for controlling, vindictive...bitches. He vividly remembered Damon's tumultuous [at best] relationship with Katherine, and how even though he had loved her, Stefan had never seen him as smitten as he was right now. No, Damon was much more open and genuine with Elena. He hadn't seen his older brother this happy in quite some time.
"More like arguing, really," Caroline corrected flippantly. At Stefan's confused expression, she continued, "It's not, like, bad. But, come on, haven't you noticed? The way they always bicker and banter about the stupidest things only to just end up doing it doggy style right there on the couch or something? It's total foreplay for them."
"Ugh, Caroline," Stefan swiped his hands desperately in front of him, his face scrunching up, "I love my brother, and I'm all for him having a healthy... romantic relationship. But I really don't want to picture all. Ever."
"Well, it looks like we might be the cause of their next tryst," she laughed gleefully as she tilted her head toward the other couple trying to covertly sneak into the house, arm and arm, undetected.
"Oh God. He owes me so big," Stefan's nose wrinkled, only spurring Caroline's wickedly amused laughter even further.
"Come on, let's go sit down," she laced her fingers delicately with his, "Ric's about to light the fireworks."
As they settled down on the grassy uphill, Stefan slowly raised their locked hands and placed the softest of kisses to her wrist. He heard her sharp intake of breath, and it gave him an immense sense of pleasure to know he affected her just as much as she did for him. He brought his gaze up to meet hers, and found the rims of her eyes dark pools of barely concealed need. It was his turn for his breath to catch in his throat, the depth of her radiating emotions nearly tilting him off his axis.
His thumb gently traced the frantic pulse point on her wrist as he gently leaned forward, keeping his gaze locked on hers. Finding no hesitation in her expression, he brought his other hand up to gently cup her cheek.
The electric heat of the moment was suddenly shattered by the loud boom and bright flashes of the celebratory fireworks overhead. Barely suppressing a groan, he leaned back in frustration. Impeccable timing, Ric.
"I've never really liked fireworks," he sighed, breaking the grip on her hand and lying on his back, one arm behind his head.
His eyes briefly fluttered closed until he was sure he heard her breathy murmur, "Well, we'll just have to change that."
His eyes flew open as he felt Caroline's hand press against his chest as she hovered above him. And without a moment of hesitation, their lips were melting together in a heated embrace.
All his senses were on overdrive as his arm curled around her back, his fingers feeling the naked heat of her skin. As she nipped playfully at his bottom lip, he regained control by tilted her head slightly and gaining better access to the cavernous warmth of her mouth. Their tongues equally dueling and caressing, he pulled her curved hips even closer to him in an attempt to fully eliminate all space between them.
He felt her fingertips move up his chest to dig into the exposed skin at his open collar, and he had almost lost all sense of reason as he felt himself drowning in her very essence [consumed by all that she is; all her warmth and light and goodness].
He slowly retracted from her, only to place one more soft kiss at the corner of her mouth. She bit her lip adorably before a beautiful grin spread across her face as she rested her forehead against his own. "So what do you think?"
"Hmm, fireworks aren't half bad after all," he teased, nipping at the soft flesh just below her right ear. His actions eliciting a giggle from the blonde above him, he thought to himself that his life would never [could never really] be the same again. With this beautifully vivacious woman in his arms, his life seemed filled with more color and hope and laughter than he had ever dreamed possible for himself. And he'd be damned if he ever let her go.