Stealing Romeo's Line
'I put myself in your place and I felt that you wanted to be kissed.'
'You put yourself in the wrong place. I have no desire to be kissed by you or anyone else.'
'Don't be silly. Everybody wants to be kissed, even philosophers.'
Funny Face (1957) . . .
'What is going on?', I'm wondering as I open my tired eyes. I squint at the sunlight streaming through the large window in my room. I look over at the clock on the nightstand, it's twenty past eight. I can hear Jeremy fighting with Damon outside my door. My eyes widen realizing that Damon stayed the whole nignt. Damn him, he should have left when I feel asleep. I feel my cheeks warming with a blush as I remember last night's conversation.
I lean back in horror against my headboard as I hear how loud Jeremy and Damon are getting in the hallway.
"What the hell? In no way did I ask you to sleep with her!"
"Cool it Jeremy, I nodded off. It was an accident." Damon sounds calm considering the situation.
"This is your last accident with my baby sister." Jeremy says in a voice that isn't open to arguing.
"She's funny. I like spending time with her." Damon thinks I'm funny? Is this a good thing? I guess he's not going to confess about his attempts to go out with me.
"She's a riot, but you're gonna have to get over that." Jer replies not impressed and I can practically see him rolling his eyes.
"I thought you trusted me?" Damon is trying to guilt trip my brother, but it's not going to work. I know it won't since I try it all the time.
"Get with it! I know you, man. My sister isn't a fast girl. You can't do the backseat bingo with her."
I blush hearing my brother talk like that. I forget if backseat bingo is necking in a car or having sex in a car, I'll have to find out later from Caroline.
"She wouldn't let me do that."
"Damn straight, she has a brain." Jeremy pauses and I can hear him pacing in the hallway. "Enough. It's good you're here 'cause I was gonna call you. I can't go to the shop, I need you to open today."
"I wanna say bye to her." Damon tries to make a move for my door knob.
"No! Push off. I mean it." I hear my brother moving him down the hall. Clearly, Jer is exasperated by the situation.
It takes a few minutes before my brother knocks on my door. I tell him to come in and I scan his body for injuries when he walks in. The right side of his face is covered in dry blood. It looks like he lost a lot of blood. "Oh Jer! Are you okay?" I ask, gasping about how bad he looks.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He replies dumbfounded by my question. "Oh. I'm fine. It looks worse than it hurts. It's a shame though that my mug won't look sharp for a while." He says with a cocky smirk, trying to be funny. "What's your deal?"
I look down at my ankle under the covers. "My ankle is sprained. Father says it's going to take three weeks to heal."
My brother's entire body freezes at my words. He cracks his knuckles while staring at me. "Father fixed you? What did you fess up?"
"That I fell down the stairs."
He nods in approval because I know he didn't want me to mention the gang. He stares up at my ceiling letting out a deep breath. "You have every right to hate me, but I am sorry. I really am. I love you." He says sincerely after a moment of silence.
I don't hate my brother, I could never hate him but I am mad. If he wasn't a gangster then I wouldn't be bound to my bed. My eyes searched his looking for answers. "What went down last night? Be straight with me."
Jer takes a seat on the edge of my bed and faces me. "I broke Frederick's jaw with my brass knuckles." He confesses nonchalantly and his expression shows no remorse. Maybe Damon is right, maybe my brother is ruthless and I never saw it in him. I decide that I never want to see my brother in a fight. I wouldn't be able to look at him the same way.
"You're off the wall." I respond with wide eyes, waiting to hear more.
He continues with the story. "Yeah. I also knocked Noah's knees using a metal bat. The other guys ran. Cowards."
"What happened to you?" I scan him better, now that he's closer to me. His shirt has some tears, but he looks alright. He looks more dirty than hurt.
"This is the worst of it." He says pointing to the split eyebrow which needs to be sewn up. It's a serious wound... I can almost see his bone. "Some heat broke us up."
Damn, another mark for Jer on his record, I shake my head at him. "Say what? Did they catch you?"
"Yeah, I was in joint this morning. Tyler posted my bail."
I roll my eyes. "Must be handy having a rich friend."
"He's one of my boys." He says with a shrug.
Jer never seems shaken up about his law problems. He lives a life of absolute confidence. I wish he was less confident, but that might just be the Gilbert way.
We're silent for a few minutes, sitting with our heavy thoughts about the night before. I start back up with a sheepish grin. "I heard what you said to Damon."
Jer groans, he terribly does not want to talk about it. "What was that about? I check on you and he's in your bed."
"I remember talking to him last night." I say with an even voice. I'm surprised I haven't turned tomato red.
"I don't want him around you." He says with a grave expression.
"Why?" I ask annoyed, looking petulant with my arms crossed. I hate it when he tries to control my life. He drives me crazy considering everything he makes me deal with.
"He's not a good guy."
I want to laugh at his reasoning. That's all he could come up with? "Neither are you." I retort quickly.
Jer shoots a scowl at me, but he knows I'm right. "That doesn't rank, sorry. I'm family."
"Damon is a little..." I can't pick a word to describe him. I'm no longer sure what I think of him. "I trust him not to hurt me."
Jer looks at me curiously with narrowed eyes. "Do you have a crush on him?"
My eyes go wide at his words and I feel my body warm up. I do not have a crush on Damon. He's nicer than I thought, that's all. "Don't be ridiculous. We're becoming friends, I guess."
"I don't want him in your bed. It's too close to home."
I've never seen my brother look this uncomfortable. He looks ill.
I nod in understanding. "I get it."
"If he hurts you, I swear to God, I'll kill him. You're my sister."
I don't doubt that he's being literal. He wouldn't think twice about killing Damon. Best friend or not, family always comes first.
"I'm sure you warned him."
"Yeah." He bites his lip and looks away. He's silent again. I think he's depressed; sometimes he has blue days where he won't talk to anyone. I pray silently that he won't spend the day drinking. "I'm gonna roll. I'll get breakfast delivered to you."
My father and brother are rarely home for more than a few hours, so I know that I'll be stuck with delivery for awhile. An idea crosses my mind. "Can you bring a phone up here?"
"Yeah, the kitchen phone." He agrees while walking out my door.
"Cool. Thanks, Jer!" I shout out to him in appreciation and he backhanded waves me off.
After I finished my breakfast, I took the next dose of Morphine pills and nodded off. I didn't wake up until Caroline came to visit. She was wearing Matt's varsity jacket. I guess it happened, she's going steady with him. I bet they're going to win prom court. She threw a fit about last night. Her mom, the sheriff, dished about arresting Jeremy. She claimed her mom doesn't want us to be friends. Caroline fought with her mom over it, but we're okay for now.
I'm glad she visited because I needed to take a bath. It was awkward since she's not strong, but I was able to wash up. I changed into a thin dress and we gossiped for another two hours.
Nearly right after Caroline left, Stefan visited me. He'll be delivering my work for school this week. Father wants me to miss one week, then switch to crutches for the following two weeks. When I return to school, Stefan will carry my books for me, so it won't be a big deal. We have most of the same classes as it is. I assume he won't mind driving me home either. He didn't stay for long, but he'll be back tomorrow after church Mass. We'll continue our weekly breakfast.
Since Caroline and Stefan left, I've died of boredom. I'm in dire need of new books. Even worse, I don't have a television or record player in my room. I'm going to go crazy with just my thoughts as company. I consider getting out of bed, but I know it would be a bad idea. If I injure myself more, no one would hear me scream.
It's close to midnight now yet I'm not remotely tired. I continue doodling and writing in my diary as I sit up against my headboard.
I jump slightly when I hear a loud noise interrupt the silence. Where is it coming from? I concentrate trying to figure it out... it sounds like scratching? That's when I notice that my window is shaking! I'm nervous beyond belief, knowing there isn't a storm outside.
My eyes go wide as a hand pushes the window up. I'm terrified considering I can't even leave my bed.
"Hello?" I call out hesitantly. What else can I do?
Damon's head pops through the window.
It's official, he's out of his mind.
"Elena. You're awake." Damon greets casually as he enters my bedroom.
My eyes take in his appearance. Like any greaser on the street, his hair is swept up in a pompadour. He's wearing a black fitted pearl-snap shirt with black cuffed jeans and silver leather creepers.
"Did you expect me to be sleeping?" I ask as he stands next to my bed.
He shrugs, not giving me a real answer.
I would smack him if I could reach him. "What are you doing here?" I blurt out exasperated, looking around my room.
"Ah, you know... I wanna see how you're feeling."
I glance over at the window with a questioning eyebrow. "What's with the Romeo entrance?"
"Your front door was locked and I didn't want to ring the bell." He answers with a smirk.
"Cause you're avoiding Jeremy?"
Damon pales at my question. It's as if he got caught stealing from the cookie jar. "You know?"
"He says you're no good for me. And that he'll kill you if I get hurt." I laugh before glaring at him. "You weren't supposed to spend the night."
"Ah ah! You curled up to me." He replies smugly. "I just didn't want to disturb you."
"You know I was absolutely bombed, right?"
Damon ignores my comment, glancing at the bathroom door which connects to Jer's room. "Is he home?"
"No. He's with Vicki."
Damon grins at my answer and next I watch him kick off his shoes. Damn. He's going to stay, isn't he? I feel my palms becoming sweaty and I tuck my diary under the covers for safe keeping. Guess he hasn't let go of his infatuation with me. I still don't understand why he's this interested in me. There are plenty of other girls that want to be with him.
Without my invitation, Damon proceeds to lay down next to me on my bed. I turn, as much as I can, to face him on my side. I look at him in anticipation. Seeing him this close with sober eyes, I admit that he's especially handsome.
"Damon. What are you doing?"
"Having fun with you." He retorts with a smirk. Honestly, he reminds me of an excited little kid.
"You can't stay the night." I reply seriously with a glare. It's hard to swallow that I'm even having this talk with him.
"Your brother won't catch me." He pouts at me.
"What about yours? Stefan will be here."
"Why?" He asks, shifting rather uncomfortably.
"He eats breakfast with me on Sundays."
"Tsk. It makes no difference."
"I-" I begin to protest sharing my bed with him, but it's no use.
Damon grabs my face in his hands and completely distracts me. He scoots his body closer to my body. "Damo-"
He doesn't let me talk as he presses two fingers to my lips. "Shush. Please, don't turn me down again. Hmm. You can ask me to stop, if I go fast." He whispers mischievously and his blue eyes burn into mine.
I blush at his language, but I don't agree or disagree. My non-reaction is apparently the green light that he needs. I gasp in amazement as his lips meet mine. I can feel him smiling into the kiss. His left hand moves up to tangle in my hair. He moves closer until my hand can rest against his chest. He captures my bottom lip and softly sucks on it.
I love the way he kisses.
I can't believe this is happening.
How is this happening?
There's a shock running through my body as his tongue touches mine. His hand moves from my hair to press against my back. He pushes our bodies impossibly close to each other. Damon surrounds me until all I feel, all I see, is only him. There's no room to think about anything.
I love how his solid body feels against mine. I can feel his strength and it is somehow comforting. I continue to lose myself in his body and his lips. I no longer know what time it is anymore. I've lost my common sense because of him. My eyes pop open when he finally stops kissing me.
My tongue licks at my lips and I know they are swollen. Damon moves down my neck, his kisses are more forceful in this area. His neck kisses feel better than his earlier ones. I catch myself moaning in pleasure. I'm behaving too fast but I don't want to stop either. I'm torn at how wild I feel with him.
I begin to call his name, but I'm not sure if he's paying attention. I pull on his hair, but not too roughly to get him to look at me. His eyes are glossed over and there's a lazy smirk on his face.
"Don't leave any hickeys." I warn seriously.
Damon nods against my chest before returning to my neck. My eyes shut savoring everything he's putting out. His tongue is tracing lines on my skin in between kisses. The sensation feels positively sinful.
"Damon!" I cry out in horror as he bites down on my neck. He snickers against my skin and resumes kissing me.
The damn dress that I'm wearing makes me too open for him. He moves further down my neck to suck on my clavicle. He runs his mouth against each end of the bone. My body heats up with warmth that I've never felt before. I feel uncomfortable like I'm going to explode from neediness.
It's too much.
His hands are moving further down my body. I reflexively jump away when I feel him touch my breasts through the thin fabric.
"Damon. Stop. Too much." I mumble in a shaky voice that doesn't sound like mine.
I hear Damon sigh in disappointment, but he crawls up the bed. I'm relieved that he stopped that easily.
"So, doll, did you have fun?" Damon asks with a wicked expression while his fingers rub soft circles into my cheeks.
I duck my head, knowing my cheeks are crimson. Damon knows how shy I am about this stuff, but he still laughs at me. Is he mocking my inexperience? I sober up, attempting to hit his chest. He quickly blocks my hands.
"Be nice!" I exclaim in a fit of nerves.
To my horror, he keeps on laughing.
He grins roguishly before replying. "I'm never nice."
Damon turns to glance at my nightstand. "Want more water?" He asks.
I close my eyes in disbelief. I'm not shocked by his behavior, more of my own for going that far. We haven't even gone on one date anywhere.
"Please." I manage to whisper.
I open my eyes to see him grab the empty glass and leave my room. I let out a long, deep sigh once I'm alone. I lay flat on my bed, staring over at the window. I coyly touch my lips, thinking about everything that happened since he showed up. I can't help how giddy and hyper I feel. What is wrong with me? I'm never like this. I shut my eyes again, hoping to regulate my breathing.
