A/N: Thanks for the reviews as always. Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. I was contemplating on re-writing the whole thing but decided to keep this. Hope you guys like it!
Chapter 7:
'Don't think about Chuck Bass' Blair reminded herself again.
Blair was at Chanel trying on sunglasses. She'd been thinking about him and the kiss the whole day. Her lips were still tingling from his touch. The one she had on didn't look good when she looked in the mirror. The sales attendant showed her a cat-eyed sunglass. It was one the newest styles that just came out. Blair put them on and looked in the mirror.
"I'll take these" she said.
Blair went through a few more stores and purchased new dresses. Shopping therapy so far has been working. It hasn't made her think about things for a couple hours. As she was walking back, she stopped by Harry Winston to put some pieces on her wish list for her upcoming birthday. It may be a few months away but she had always enjoyed doing it. There was a bracelet that caught her eye and she asked to try it on. The bracelet looked beautiful as it sparkled against her skin.
'It would be nice to get a new bracelet. It's not like Dan would get me something like this' she thought.
"I'll take this" Blair said.
The bracelet would be the perfect ending to her shopping day and it would make up for the fact that she didn't buy that pair of Christian Louboutin.
"And what is your name?" the man asked.
"Blair Waldorf" she said smiling.
"Hang on one second" he said as he went to the back.
Blair played with the bracelet in her hand and couldn't help but look at it over again. This was something she wished Dan bought her but he liked to buy her gifts that she never had as a child. The last gift she received from him was a kite. He said that everyone should experience flying a kite. Sadly, she didn't think so and his kite have been sitting in the closet ever since.
The man came back holding a black velvet box in his hand and placed it in front of Blair. Her fingers traced the opening feeling the soft black velvet. There was nothing like opening a Harry Winston box.
"Are you sure this is for me?" she asked.
"It was registered under Blair Waldorf" he said.
Blair looked opened the box carefully and saw the big engagement ring in the box. It looked exactly like the one Chuck used to propose before the whole Jenny Humphrey fiasco. But that was more than 6-7 years ago when that happened.
'Could this be the same ring?' she thought.
"Do you know who bought this?" she asked as she looked up.
The man shook his head and apologized.
"I'm sorry, that information wasn't available" he said.
"Is it okay for me to take it?" she asked.
"Yes" he said with a smile.
Blair nodded and closed the black velvet box again.
'It could only be from Chuck' she thought.
When she got back to their penthouse, she placed all the bags in the living room. Dan came out of his studies and was putting his coat on.
"I have to go out" he said as he eyed the bags that she just placed on the floor.
"What? You're not going to the party?" Blair asked.
"No I have to go meet with a publisher" Dan said as he got dressed to leave.
"I'll try and come by when I get the chance but" he said as he leaned in to kiss her.
"Fine, I guess I'll go to the housewarming party alone" Blair said as she moved away rejecting his kiss.
"Alright, I'll see you later tonight" he said as he left.
Blair sat on the couch and took out the ring from the black box. She held it up against the light and it was sparkling. She carefully placed the ring on top of her engagement ring. It made her engagement ring from Dan look like a kid ring. Her engagement ring was a pale shade of yellow compared to the clear cut diamond from Harry Winston. She placed the ring back in the box and hid it in one of her locked drawers in her study.
'I don't think Dan could find it here' she thought as closed the drawer.
The time was already 5pm and she had to get ready for the party. She wore one of the dresses she bought earlier. It was a bold blue with a low v-cut. The dress was something she would not wear usually but she felt daring today.
She arrived at Serena's and Nate's party first and handed them a bottle of champagne. Serena was so surprised when she saw Blair. Nate gave Blair a quick hug and thanked her for coming.
"Oh gosh B, you look gorgeous. I didn't think you would wear something like this" Serena said as she slid her hand through the fabric.
"I thought it was time to change my image" Blair said as she smiled.
"Well ... it looks really good" Serena said as she let her in.
Serena had paid a decorator to furnish their whole apartment and it paid off. The place looked like it came out of an Ikea catalogue. They sat on the couch together and opened the bottle of champagne.
"To new beginnings" Serena said.
"Cheers!" Blair said as she clinked her glass.
"So who else is coming?" Blair asked.
"I just asked my mom, the Humphreys and Chuck" Serena said as she drank her glass.
"Okay" Blair said.
It was a small gathering and by dinner almost everyone had shown up except for Chuck and Dan. Blair was in the corner of the room talking to Dan on the phone.
"B, dinner is going to be in 20 minutes" Serena said.
"Alright" Blair said covering the speaker.
"Sorry about that, what were you saying again?" Blair asked.
"The meeting is dragging longer than I thought" Dan said. "Listen I won't be home until late so have fun at the party and I'll see you when you get back" Dan continued.
"Fine, whatever" Blair said as she hanged up the phone.
As Blair got off the phone she noticed Chuck entering the apartment. The sight of Chuck made her heart leap. He was wearing his usual suit with a deep purple tie and a silk scarf hanging off his shoulders.
"Blair" he said as he greeted her.
His eyes trailed down to her chest and noticed the low v-cut dress. It was the first time he had seen her in a dress that was so revealing. Until now she had always dressed like Audrey Hepburn. It was nice to see her in something sexy.
"Chuck" she replied.
"Where's Humphrey?" he asked as he looked around the room.
"In a meeting" she said.
"That's too bad" he said.
"For who?" Blair asked with a sly smile.
Chuck grinned at her response. He couldn't stop thinking about their last night's kiss. There was a part of him that felt guilty for doing it yet he still enjoyed it.
"New dress?" he asked as he looked at it again.
"Yes, just bought it this morning. Do you like it?" she asked playing with one of the straps.
"I adore it" Chuck said as he looped his fingers over hers.
"Hey, it's time for dinner" Serena said.
She noticed Chuck's hand over Blair's and asked "what are you two doing?"
"Just fixing the strap for her" Chuck said.
Chuck and Blair followed Serena to the dining room where all the meals were set out already. There were two empty seats on one side of the table and Blair went to sit down. She shifted her eyes and looked over the empty seat hoping that Chuck would sit next to her but instead he sat next to Jenny.
"How was work?" Jenny asked as she looked over to Chuck.
"Fine, the meeting dragged on but I managed to get out of it" Chuck said as he ate a piece of fish.
Chuck glanced up and noticed Blair frowning. He tried to ignore it for now since he didn't want anyone noticing a thing. Jenny kept the conversation going with Chuck until Serena asked Blair about her upcoming wedding. It made Chuck stop listening and start eavesdropping on their conversation. He was curious to what Blair had to say.
"Did you get your gown yet?" Serena asked.
"No, I haven't found one yet" Blair said as she stabbed another piece of fish.
"Didn't you go to a couple stores?" Serena asked.
"Yes but it wasn't perfect" she said.
"I can always make you one" Jenny said with a smile.
She was eager to please Blair since yesterday night. Blair faked a smile and nodded her head.
"Yeah, if I can't find it still I'll be sure to ask you" Blair said placing her fork down.
After dinner was finished, Nate helped Serena clear the table. Blair was sitting in the living room contemplating if she should go home. She was tired of watching Jenny and Chuck talking to each other in the corner of the room. Serena sat beside her and looked in their direction.
"Why do you keep staring at them?" Serena asked.
"No reason" Blair said quickly. "Anyways, it's getting late, I should go home now" Blair said as she got up.
Serena nodded and gave her a small hug.
"Dinner on Friday?" Blair asked.
"Sure, I'll text you then" Serena said as she walked Blair to where everyone else was sitting.
Blair said goodnight to everyone and noticed Chuck watching her. Her gaze lingered before she walked into the elevator. When she got out of the building she noticed how chilly it was getting. Her jacket was thin as she hugged it closer to her body.
'I should have worn a thicker jacket' she thought.
"Blair!" Chuck called out.
She turned around to see Chuck standing at the entrance of the building. Jenny wasn't with him and she felt a bit of relief.
"Let me take you home" Chuck said.
"What about Jenny?" Blair said as she looked down.
"Never mind Jenny" Chuck said.
"You guys got along splendidly" she said as she faced the street looking for a cab.
Chuck ran his fingers through his hair frustrated with Blair.
"Are you jealous?" Chuck asked.
"Jealous of Little J? I don't think so Bass" Blair said.
"Let me give you a ride at least" Chuck said.
Blair nodded and Chuck took his phone out to call Arthur. His limo appeared a few minutes after. He opened the door for Blair to get in. She thanked him and slid into the back. Chuck went inside afterwards and sat close to her.
"I don't like it" Blair said quietly.
Chuck pulled her over to his lap and held her for a while. He ran his hand through her soft brown hair while she rested her head on his chest. Blair closed her eyes. This is where she belonged.
"Are you still going to marry Humphrey?" Chuck asked.
His heart was beating louder and he felt more anxious. He hoped for an answered he would like but the whole situation was too complicated. There was no easy way getting out of this without people getting hurt.
"I don't know" she said.
"So you still might?" he asked.
"Chuck...you let me go five years ago. I never heard a word from you. I came back to the Upper East Side to start over and during my first fashion show here I see you in the audience. We were starting to become friends and yesterday you tell me that you still care about me. It's a lot to process" she said.
"You're wrong you know" Chuck said.
"How so?" Blair asked.
"I did call you. I called you a week after you left but Dan picked up the phone and I thought that you were together with him so I hanged up when I heard you pick up the phone" Chuck said.
Blair couldn't utter a word. The past four years she always thought that he didn't care about her enough to contact her.
"Do you love Humphrey?" Chuck asks.
"I thought I did a couple of days ago but after yesterday, I'm not sure anymore" she replies.
Chuck didn't probe anymore. He didn't want to hear anymore instead he stared out the window and watched the buildings pass by.
"I'm sorry" she said quietly.
He shook his head, "No, don't apologize. It's not your fault. The whole situation is complicated"
The limo stopped in front of Blair's building. Chuck didn't want to let her go but he could feel her fidgeting on her lap. He knew that she was going to go back home and sleep with Humphrey next to her. Jealously was raging deep within him since he wanted to be the one sleeping next to her.
"I guess the Brooklyn kid is waiting for you" Chuck said as he stared down at her.
He couldn't watch her leave. Blair slowly reached for his hand and interlaced her fingers with his. Chuck's hand traveled to the side of her face and held it. He pulled her closer and kissed her passionately.
"I want you to stay longer" he said between each kiss.
"I can't, Dan is waiting" she said panting.
Chuck stopped and pulled away.
"You're right" he said.
Blair got out of the limo and Chuck watched as she went inside. He asked Arthur to drive home right away. Blair's scent lingered in the limo and it drove him crazy. Immediately he rolled the window down to air the back. He took his phone out and dialed Nate's phone. Nate was the only one he could talk to about this and he would never judge Chuck's actions.
"Nathaniel, do you think you could meet me at my apartment in an hour? I need some advice" he said.
"I don't know it's really late" Nate said.
"It won't take long" Chuck said.
"Alright. I'll see you in an hour" Nate said before hanging up.
Chuck waited thirty minutes at his penthouse before Nate showed up. They sat down in the living room with scotch in hand as Chuck told him everything that has happened between Blair and him including the conversation that happened today.
"Holy crap and this happened all within a month?" Nate asked as he fell back on the couch.
Chuck nodded.
"What do you think I should do?" Chuck asked.
"Well, do you still love Blair?" Nate asked.
"Yes" Chuck replied as he took a long drink from his glass.
"And what do you want out of it? What does she want?" Nate asked.
"We haven't really talked about that but I don't want her to marry the Brooklyn kid" Chuck said.
"Have you told her that? I'm sure she loves Dan to a certain degree but I think if you tell her honestly how you feel she'll leave him" Nate said clasping his hand onto his lap.
"No, I asked her earlier if she was going to marry Humphrey but she didn't give me a reply" he said.
"Give her hearts and flowers, show real commitment" Nate said.
Chuck nodded; he knew what he had to do now. Nate got up to leave but stopped before getting on the elevator.
"Just don't run away this time" Nate said before he left.
Chuck took in the words and leaned back on the couch staring at the ceiling.
'I won't this time' he thought.
There was a large bouquet of pink peonies sitting on Blair's desk when she and Jenny walked in. Blair was surprised to see them. She walked over to them and took the card. Chuck's name was at the bottom and she threw it into one of the drawers to read later.
"Who are they from?" Jenny asked.
"Not sure" Blair said with a shrug.
"Probably Dan" Jenny said with a grin.
"Maybe" Blair said with a smile as she moved the vase to the side of her desk so she could write.
It was still summer but Blair was going over the final details for the winter collection. Jenny took careful notes with her pad. Blair took out her lookbook and handed it to Jenny. The book was leather bound with Blair's name engraved in gold at the front.
"I'll look over the new pages and make a note of it" Jenny said smiling.
"Thanks, let me know if you have any questions" Blair said.
As soon as Jenny walked out of her office and closed the door, she took the card out to read it.
To my favorite girl - Chuck
Blair couldn't stop grinning. It's been awhile since she received peonies from anyone. Dan had a habit of giving her roses every occasion. Even on the anniversaries he gave her roses even after she told him that peonies were her favorite flowers. She got her phone out to text him.
Blair: My favorite person just sent me my favorite flowers
Chuck messaged her back right away.
Chuck: And who was that? ;)
Blair: Bass don't play games here, we all know who
Chuck: Want to have dinner today? I want to talk to you about something
Blair: Sure
Dinner went smoothly; they had a private dinner at the Empire Hotel. There was sushi and macarons, Blair's favorites. Afterwards, they walked down the street and Chuck took Blair's hand. This time he would make things clear for her.
"Dinner was really good" Blair said.
"I'm glad you weren't relapsing" Chuck said.
"Told you I wasn't" she said with a grin.
"Always knew you were strong Waldorf" he said.
They stopped by the park again where everything happened. The confession, the decision, the betraying, the returning and perhaps the start of something new. Chuck looked back to Blair who was still looking at the park and he spoke up.
"Blair, every minute of my life I regret not going to Paris with you. I love you more than life itself and if I could go back in time, I would throw everything away to be with you. But we can't, so I'm telling you now that I'm still in love with you, I always have and I don't want to spend another minute apart" he confessed.
Blair stared at him and looked away. She closed her eyes and made the decision. This is what she wants.
"I realized after yesterday that I'm still in love with you too, I think I never stopped" she said.
"I've been in love with you for so long that I can't even remember a time when I wasn't anymore. It hurt me when you didn't show up at the airport, I thought you didn't love me anymore" Blair said trying to hold back the tears.
Chuck touched her cheek and tried to comfort her.
"I'm sorry" he said.
"When I started dating Dan I kept reminding myself that I was over you. I was moving on but now… now I have to remind myself not to even think about you" she said.
"I really want to be with you Chuck, but how do I even know you won't do that again? I know the past few days I've been wavering back and forth with this but I really need to know this time it's different. It's easy with Dan, I know he will never do that to me" she said.
"Blair, I told you I called you a week after. I was ready to throw my whole life for you but when Dan picked up I thought you had moved on. I thought that you weren't in love with me anymore. I had nightmares every day about you" Chuck said with a weary smile.
"Nightmares?" Blair said.
"Well not really nightmares" Chuck said as he shook his head.
"I had dreams that I was with you in Paris, I was really happy" Chuck smiled fondly. "The nightmares began when I woke up. I was dazed and confused every morning wondering why you weren't next to me" Chuck said.
"Oh" Blair said. "And now?" she asked.
Chuck inched closer to her. He touched her arms and slid down until he was holding her hands.
"Now… now it's a dream come true minus the Brooklyn kid you have around your ring finger" he said.
Blair threw her arms around his neck and embraced him. Everything became clear. She no longer could marry Dan. That silent promise she made would have to be broken. Her feelings for Dan might have been true at one point but it's nothing compared to being in love with Chuck. She never once thought about Dan constantly. He never gave her butterflies.
"Okay" she said.
"Okay?" he questioned.
"Okay I want this too" she said muffled into his chest.
"Waldorf as much as I want you on my chest right now, I can't hear you" Chuck said.
Blair lifted her head up, embarrassed and said it again.
"I want this too" she said.
Chuck leaned down and kissed her. It felt perfect.
