ELENA
"Who was that guy last night? Elijah?" Caroline and I sat in a little diner having breakfast.
"Oh he is a friend of mine. I have known him for a few years."
"How did he know my name?"
"You're my best friend, so obviously I talk about you to my other friends. I am sure I probably showed him your picture on my phone or something. Which was how he recognized you last night."
I shrugged. "You never told me about him. I would have thought you would have mentioned someone like him."
"What do you mean someone like him?" Caroline watched me, her face filled with curiosity.
"Gorgeous. You always talk about the gorgeous ones."
She laughed. "You think he is gorgeous?"
"Yeah, don't you?" I tried to hide my smile.
"He is gorgeous but he isn't really my type. However, he invited us to party hosted by his family Wednesday evening. He wants me to arrange for him to escort you." Caroline watched me carefully.
Ever since we got to Whitmore Caroline had been bugging me to go out on dates. She had dragged me to more parties that I can count and tried to set me up with any number of guys. No guy had ever sparked my interest enough to make me want to sit through more than one dinner with them. Until now that is. There was something about Elijah and it wasn't just his looks, although that didn't hurt. There had been a depth in his eyes and I found myself wanting to dive into the depth to find out more about him.
"He wants to be my date?" A jolt of excitement flowed through my body.
"Are you interested?" Caroline's face showed her increasing excitement at my interest.
"It might be fun?"
"Elena Gilbert, are you actually agreeing to go on an actual date? With a guy?" Caroline stared wide eyed at me.
I started to blush. "Yes, I guess I am."
That night Caroline had gotten us invited to a frat party at one of the local colleges. It wasn't as fun as the club had been. Too many clingy frat boys and the alcohol availability wasn't as good. Monday night we went to a club a little further away from our hotel. It was a pretty good night but Tuesday night we decided to go back to the club we had gone to our first night in New Orleans. It wasn't as busy as it was on Saturday but there was still a good crowd.
DAMON
I stayed hidden in the shadows watching Elena move her body to the music. The more drinks she had the more her body willingly moved with the beat. Her inhibitions loosening allowing her to let go and feel the music. Without noticing I was doing it I crept closer to the dance floor, closer to her. I was the moth and she was my flame pulling me towards her.
"Damon!?" I rolled my eyes when the familiar voice called my name.
"Hey Blondie. Fancy meeting you here." I smirked at her.
"What are you doing here?" She glared at me accusingly.
"You made it sound like so much fun that I thought I would come see for myself." I shrugged gulping down the rest of my drink. I started to walk towards Elena but Caroline grabbed my arm.
"Damon you shouldn't be here. We all agreed, for her sake!"
"Relax Caroline. Look at her she is more drunk than I have ever seen her. She won't remember I was even here."
"Damon, you are torturing yourself. It will only make it worse." She looked at me her eyes filled with pity.
"What can I say, I'm a masochist." I walked away from Caroline and pushed my way through the crowded dance floor towards Elena.
I joined Elena allowing my body to sway and bounce in rhythm with hers to the beat of the music. The strobe lights illuminating us in the various colors. She allowed me to get up close. Our bodies bumping and touching as we moved. I grabbed her hands and placed them on my shoulders as our hips were grinding together. She looked up at me and smiled, not just any smile, it was the smile she used to give me when I said something totally ridiculous that would piss most people off but Elena always found humor in. My heart ached, god I missed this girl more than I thought possible.
She turned her body so her ass was pressed against my groin. Her arms were above her head as she moved her body against mine, rubbing me in all the right places. She leaned her head back resting it against my shoulder as my hands grabbed her hips, holding them against mine as we danced. My nose was buried in her hair, she still smelled the same as I remembered. There was also a strong bourbon smell coming off her skin, the mixture was intoxicating. Losing myself in the moment I moved my head down and kissed her neck. She immediately stiffened and moved away from me. I tried to pull her back but she managed to get away and disappear into the sea of bodies.
Sighing I walked over to the bar and ordered another drink. I scanned the dance floor until I spotted Elena. I watched her for a while. Just as Caroline had said Elena would dance with a guy for a while but once he got too intimate or tried to move in for a kiss she would quickly move away from him. I chugged the rest of my drink and headed for the exit. I had tortured myself enough for one night. I got into my car and headed for home.
ELENA
Wednesday morning I was woken up by a knock at the door. Caroline was softly snoring in her bed so I drug myself out of the bed and made my way to the door. The bell man was standing patiently with two large white boxes.
"These were delivered a few minutes ago." He handed me the boxes.
"Thank you. Who are they from?"
"There is a note taped to each box. It will probably explain." He smiled before turning away and walking towards the elevators.
I let the door close and put the boxes on the little dining table. The top box had an envelope with Caroline's name. I slid the other box out from under her's and carried it to my bed. I sat cross legged on the bed and pealed the envelope with my name off the box.
Elena,
Thank you for allowing me to escort you to my family's party tonight. I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of buying you a dress for the occasion. It's a formal affair and I didn't think you or Caroline would have brought a ball gown with you. I will pick you up at your hotel at 7pm. I look forward to see you then.
Always,
Elijah
I carefully opened the lid and sat open mouth staring at the gown as I lifted it out of the box. It was a strapless turquoise dress with a sweetheart neckline. The bodice was covered in multi-colored gems. It kind of reminded me of a mermaid. The bottom of the dress was gathered at the waist and then the turquoise satin and tulle material flowed lightly down to the floor. Inside the box I found a cloth bag with coordinating heels and another bag with a simple necklace and earrings set.
"Elena that is beautiful! Is it from Elijah?"
I nodded. "Yours is on the table." I smiled as Caroline almost fell out of bed in her rush to see her dress.
Caroline's dress was also strapless and floor length, but hers was a dark blue. Around the waist was a silver sequin belt that would accentuate her tiny waistline. She had silver heals and matching jewelry as well.
We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon in our room. We took turns showering and painting each other's nails. The closer it got to the time when Elijah was going to pick us up the more excited I got. Caroline helped curl my hair before she skillfully pinned most of it up in a loose up do, leaving several pieces down to frame my face. While Caroline worked on her own hair I did my make up. At seven we made our way down to the lobby of the hotel. Elijah and a taller blonde man were waiting. I barely noticed the blonde man my attention was fully on Elijah. He had on an expensive looking black tux. His hair was perfectly styled and I didn't think I had ever seen a more handsome man. I smiled shyly at him and he smiled softly back offering his arm. I placed my hand under his arm.
"You look stunning Elena." Elijah looked deeply into my eyes.
I blushed. "Thank you for the dress and well, everything."
"It is my pleasure."
"Well brother, aren't you going to introduce me to your deliciously beautiful date?"
I reluctantly pulled my eyes away from Elijah to look at the blonde man standing in front of me. I involuntarily tightened my grip on Elijah's arm. Something about this man made me nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Elijah watching me.
"Elena this is my brother Niklaus."
I forced a smile. "It is nice to meet you, Niklaus."
"You can call me Klaus, love." He seemed amused by something but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why a simple introduction would be so amusing.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Klaus, something about that name bothered me. I instantly knew this was not a man I could trust or wanted to spend any amount of time alone with. Thankfully, his full attention turned to Caroline.
"Caroline, you look lovely as usual. It's been too long since I have seen you." I watched as Klaus took Caroline's hand in his and raised it to his lips, kissing it soflty all the while keeping his eyes on hers. Caroline smiled seductively at him. I was going to ask her about Klaus later. She obviously knew him but I had never heard of him before and it was unlike Caroline to not spill details about the guys she dated or thought were hot.
Elijah led me out to his waiting car, helping me into the front passenger seat before going around the car to slide into the drivers seat. Klaus and Caroline slipped into the back seat. Thankfully it was a short ride. I wasn't sure what to talk about and I was feeling on edge being in such close proximity to Klaus. I could hear Caroline and Klaus talking quietly in the backseat. I only heard snippets that made no sense to me.
"compulsion… Damon…"
"Didn't recognize… He must have said something about me… Did you see reaction?"
I looked up at Elijah, even though his eyes were on the road I could tell he was watching me out of the corner of his eye. I looked down at my hands. I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I knew him somehow. He felt familiar to me, unlike with his brother I felt comfortable with him and I knew I could trust him.
Once we arrived at Elijah's house, Caroline and Klaus disappeared into the crowd leaving Elijah and I alone. I felt myself relax slightly. Elijah led me inside the massive house. It looked almost medieval with its thick grey stone exterior and wooden doors. Once we stepped inside I was instantly in awe of the decor. There were several large paintings in each room that Elijah led me through. I noticed what looked like expensive antique pieces of furniture.
"You have a beautiful home. I love how it's decorated."
"It's been in our family for many centuries and most of the paintings and more valuable antiques have been passed down through the family."
Elijah grabbed us both a glass of champagne from a tray one of the waiters offered him. He handed me one of the glasses. My fingers lightly brushed his as I took the glass. It felt like a jolt of electricity had shot through my finger into my hand and up my arm. My heart sped up as I brought the glass to my lips trying to sip and not chug down the sweet champagne. Elijah kept his eyes on me as he sipped his drink.
"Would you like to dance?"
I looked over his shoulder at the other couples who were dancing. This wasn't the same kind of crazy let your hair down kind of dancing Caroline and I enjoyed at a club. This was very formal ballroom waltzes. I suddenly felt nervous. "I'd love to. I don't know what kind of dance partner I will be though. I'm not very good at waltzing."
Elijah took my hand. "Lucky for you I am quite skilled and an excellent leader."
Once we were on the dance floor he wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I inhaled sharply as our bodies came together. I put one hand on his shoulder while he firmly held my other hand in his. He hadn't been lying when he said he was a good dancer. He skillfully led me around the dance floor for several songs. While we danced he asked me questions about school and my plans for after graduation.
"Will you go back to Mystic Falls after you finish school?"
"I don't know. Caroline and Bonnie plan to move back but I don't really know if that is home for me anymore. I thought about going to Colorado to see my brother for a while but after that I'm not sure. Maybe I will travel, see a bit of the world. I have barely been out of Virginia."
"You should travel, see more of what the world has to offer. I could even suggest some places for you to visit."
"Have you traveled a lot?" He seemed like the type of guy who had seen a lot of the world.
"Yes, I have been to many places in my life."
"Maybe one day I can say the same." I smiled up at him.
I let him lead me away from the dance floor. He pulled me out a side door onto a quiet veranda. We can still hear the music softly playing from behind the door. I lean against the stone railing staring up at the stars. A cool breeze is gently tickling my neck causing me to shiver slightly.
"I would like to see you again." Elijah stared down at me seriously.
"We are only here a few more days and then we fly back to Whitmore." My voice sounded almost sad.
"I find myself in your area frequently and if you would be interested I would like to take you to dinner next time I am in town."
"I would like that." I smiled softly.
The rest of the evening was like a dream. We danced in-between finding quiet spots to talk about anything and everything. He maked me laugh and smile more than I had in a long time. The part of me that has always felt like something was missing didn't feel quite so empty. At the end of the night Elijah drove me back to my hotel. Caroline was presumably off with Klaus and Elijah assured me he would make sure she got safely back to the hotel eventually. He walked me all the way to my room.
"I had a wonderful time Elijah. It was probably the best night I have had in years. Thank you."
"I had a wonderful time too and I look forward to our dinner date in the future."
He looked down at me for a moment and I could feel myself getting lost in the dark depths of his eyes. Slowly he leaned down bringing his lips to mine. His kiss was soft and hesitant as if he was waiting to see how I responded. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He sucked on my bottom lip and a soft moan escaped from between my lips. He pushed my back against the door to my room as our lips moved together. His hands wrapped around my waist and our bodies were pressed together tightly. His tongue traced the edge of my lower lip and my mouth opened allowing him entrance.
My body was tingling in the most delicious way. Our tongues moved together and I loved the feel of his warm breath against my mouth, I can still taste the sweetness of the champagne on his tongue. My fingers buryed themselves in his hair. I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest it was beating so fast and hard. Elijah slowly pulled away and I sighed sadly when our lips separated. He smiled knowingly down at me. His fingers softly traced the side of my face and jaw.
"I should let you get some sleep." He sounded reluctant to leave.
"You could stay, here, with me." My brain still foggy from the effects of the kiss and my body yearning for more.
"I would love nothing more than to stay with you tonight but I think I will leave you something to look forward to when I visit you at Whitmore." He smiled at me devilishly.
"I will say good night then. Thank you again."
"Good night, Elena." He leaned down and softly kissed my lips once more before turning to leave.
Smiling I let myself into my room and softly closed the door.
The next morning I woke up just in time to see Caroline trying to sneak in.
"Somebody must have had a good time last night." I giggled when Caroline jumped and let out a high pitched squeal.
"Elena! Don't scare me like that!" She grined widely.
"So, Klaus, huh?"
"I know, I know. He is terrible. But I cant help myself. He is just so gorgeous and charming."
"How come this is the first time I have ever heard of him? You guys seemed to know each other and Caroline you aren't one for keeping secrets, especially not about gorgeous charming men."
"I don't know. Maybe I was ashamed to admit I liked someone like him. I didn't want to see the judging looks. Like the one you are wearing right now."
"Sorry." I tried to make my face relax into a more neutral expression. "I just don't know what it was but there was something about him that made me wary. So as your best friend it is my duty to warn you to be careful with this one. But I will do my best to be supportive."
Caroline smiled. "Don't worry Elena. I will be careful and besides it not as if I am marrying the man. We just had a little fun." She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
"Ew! Caroline!" I threw my pillow at her as she ran into the bathroom.
