I might have to wait
I'll never give up
I guess it's half timing
And the other half's luck
Wherever you are
Whenever it's right
You'll come outta nowhere
And into my life
*Haven't Met You Yet – Michael Bublé*
July 6th
Almost two months. That's how much time had passed since the fire. It still hurt, the loss of my family, but it wasn't as bad now that some time had gone by. A few days after the funeral, I received everything my parents had saved in their bank accounts, and the amount was surprisingly large. That mixed with the money in my own bank account would be enough to last me a lifetime without working.
So, naturally, I had done what any girl without any type of spending limit would do: I went shopping. It was literally a weekend of "shop till you drop" therapy before I ran out of room in my Tahoe to fit anything else. Clothes and accessories from multiple stores were mixed in with lotions, candles, gaming stations and games, CDs, books, and movies.
I wanted to do something different with my hair, so I went to a salon. My once beautiful long curls that ended at my hips were now at chest-length. The chestnut brown was layered and decorated with burgundy and honey blonde highlights and lowlights. Also new to my hairstyle were bangs, a last minute addition to be kept side-swept to the corner of my left eye.
Mr. Daniels, who insisted that I start calling him Ryan, was now officially my legal guardian. Not long after that happened, he decided on purchasing a new house. It wasn't that far away from the old place, but he insisted on an immediate move so that I wouldn't have to deal with seeing the destruction of my old home every day.
Now, about six weeks after my shopping spree, there were only two things left on my to-do list: find a place to live and put my fake ID to use. Which was what led me to a liquor store today.
While looking at a couple bottles of whiskey, I spotted an extremely good-looking guy picking out a bottle a few feet away from me. I couldn't resist glancing at him again as I went to check out the wine selection. When I looked up, he wasn't there. I grabbed a couple bottles of the Roscato in front of me and turned to place them in my cart. And bumped right into Mr. Sexy.
"My apologies, Miss." He said, voice low and a half-smile pulling up the side of his mouth.
"Oh! No. Totally my fault. I'm sorry." I was pretty sure I was blushing, especially when I realized just how close we were. If I took even another half step forward, we'd have been pressed up against each other. I could feel the heat radiating from his body, causing a sensation of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
"Wine, huh? I've always found Bourbon to be my guilty pleasure... among other things."
'Did he just wink at me? Yes. Yes, he did.' I thought, as I watched his smile slide into a smirk as he finished his sentence.
"Um... yeah, wine. It's sweet. And masks the taste of the alcohol amazingly well. Not really a fan of it. Plus, I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, so I wouldn't be able to tell what the really good stuff is." I explained in a ramble, smiling at the dark-haired stranger in front of me.
"No one's a fan of the taste of alcohol, just the effects it has. Makes people... more willing to do things they normally wouldn't." He finished, not bothering to hide the fact that his eyes were looking at my body from head to toe.
The arrogance of this stranger was not going undetected.
"Well, on that note, I really must be going." I placed the wine bottles in my cart and started to walk away, but the man quickly grabbed my arm.
"Where are my manners?" He chuckled. "Damon Salvatore. And you are?"
"Danica." I replied slowly, glancing down at the hand that was still on my elbow. He pulled his hand back, still wearing a smirk on his face.
"Danica. Pretty name. Tell me, Dani, can we just skip the small talk and go straight to the part where I take you back to my hotel room?"
"Danica. Only friends get to call me Dani. And, wow, cocky much?" This guy was seriously getting on my nerves at this point. He may have been the most gorgeous man I had ever seen, but he was also the most egotistical person I'd come across in my 16 years of life.
"Very much." He winked again.
I rolled my eyes. The only thing I wanted to do was wipe that smirk right off his face. Who was he to assume that I would just jump into bed with some guy I'd just met, no matter how good-looking he was?
"What kind of girl do you think I am, exactly?"
"Okay. Let's back up. Ms...?" He paused, obviously waiting for a response.
"Williams." I sighed in annoyance.
"Ms. Williams, would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"
"And why should I say yes?"
"Because I'm irresistible?"
I couldn't contain my laughter at his boldness. However, looking into his striking icy blue eyes, I simply couldn't deny that he was charming.
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to decline. I have a rule about not dating a complete stranger. Especially when that stranger is being a complete ass."
I turned to walk away, but once again, he stopped me. This time, however, he spun me around and lowered his face close, locking his gaze on mine.
"You want to go out to dinner with me." He said, almost forcefully. I pulled back.
"That's not exactly getting you anywhere. If anything, it's making me want to even less. But nice try. Bye." I started to walk away again, but Damon moved to stand in front of my cart.
"Okay. I can take a hint. Sorry for being so pushy. As a peace-offering, let me suggest the Bourbon. It's so much better than what you picked out." He stated, holding a bottle of amber liquid out for me. I grabbed it and put the bottle I'd selected on a shelf next to me.
"Thanks, I think. Now, if you wouldn't mind moving, I really need to get home."
"No problem. See you around, Danica."
With that, I moved as fast as I could to the closest empty check-out lane and left the store, locked my doors as soon as I was in my Tahoe, and drove home.
