Once they were back on the ship, the parted ways for the first time in what seemed liked ages. It felt strange to Elena to have both hands empty and nobody beside her.
She found her way to her room and reached into her pocked before realizing that her key was in Damon's room.
She knocked on the door, and thankfully Jeremy was there, getting ready for dinner.
"Hey, Lena! Long time no see," He said, opening the door for her.
"Yeah...sorry about that. I swear, we're eating with you tonight."
Jeremy raised his eyebrow at her nonchalant use of "we" but didn't say anything. His sister seemed happy; more alive in a way he hadn't seen in a long time. As much as he knew what Damon was capable of, he felt that he was good for Elena.
"It's cool, I've been eating with some people I met. They're pretty cool. They have this teen club thing. It sounds lame, but it's actually kinda fun.
Elena smiled, relived that her little brother hadn't been dining alone for the past few days.
She picked out a dress with a sequined gold top and a flowing black skirt.
"What do you think?" She asked Jeremy once she'd put it on and done her makeup and hair.
Her brother whistled, leaning against the door frame of the bathroom.
"I think Damon better hold you tight, because he may not be the only one after you tonight," He said, winking at her.
She rolled her eyes, and shoved him playfully out of the doorway. They left and together walked to the dining room.
As anticipated, Damon's eyes widened when he saw her in the dress. He got out of the chair where he'd been waiting for them at their table, and kissed her hand before pulling out her chair so that she could sit.
"You look ravishing, as always," Damon stated, giving her a covert wink.
"You look pretty good, too," Elena said, resting a hand on his thigh and smiling at him.
"Okay. Guys. Not at the table, please," Jeremy said, "Or I can leave...?"
"No, don't leave. Sorry," Elena offered, removing her hand from Damon's thigh and scooting her chair slightly farther away from his. This earned her an approving look from Jeremy and a pouty one from Damon.
"What can I get for you tonight?" Asked the waiter when he arrived, moments later.
"I'll have the macaroni," ordered Jeremy.
"I'll have the same, please," said Elena.
"Veal Parmesan," Damon decided.
Their food arrived soon thereafter, and they dug in, not saying much.
It was Elena who broke the comfortable silence.
"So, what have you been up to, Jer?" She asked.
"Well like I said earlier, there's this club thing for teens where they play music and give food and stuff, it's on the 11th floor. I met a few people, there's Kayla, Brock, Cory, and a few others. I've been chilling with them most of the time."
"Sounds lame with a capital 'L,'" Damon Drawled.
Elena slapped him on the arm, but Jeremy didn't seem to mind Damon's commentary. He was used to it by now.
"Well, what have you two been up to that's so interesting these past few days, so interesting that you couldn't join me for dinner?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Damon.
"We were hav-"
"He really doesn't need to know exactly what we were doing," Elena said hurriedly, covering Damon's mouth with her hand.
Jeremy, feeling the sexual tension between them, decided that it was a good time to get going.
"See you later, Lena," He threw over his shoulder as walked out of the dining room.
Elena glared at Damon, but he gave her that cocky grin that she couldn't stay mad at.
"You really didn't have to almost bring up our sex life in front of my brother, you know," She said as the waiter came to clear their plates.
"Well, how do you know what I wasn't going to say we were having waffles for dinner or something?" Damon replied.
Elena rolled her eyes, but allowed him to pull her out of her seat.
"So, what do you want to do?" He asked.
"Well, there are these whirlpools that hang off the sides of the ship, and I thought maybe we could check them out," Elena decided after thinking for a few minutes.
"Sounds good to me," Damon said.
They went to Damon's room first, where Elena had left one of her bikinis, and they got changed before going up the one deck to get to the pool floor.
There were four whirlpools, two along each edge of the ship, and they hung out off the side by a good 10 meters. Damon walked up to one and lifted Elena in after him, setting her down so that she was straddling his lap in the small pool.
"Damon, don't do that. You know what you do to me," Elena said, closing her eyes.
"Come on, how many people can say they've had sex in a whirlpool before? And I believe I owe you a rocking of your world today, anyway," Damon bargained.
Elena didn't speak, deciding to show him with her body that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. The fact that anyone could walk by at any time and see them made everything all the more fun.
She reached down and pulled down his swim trunks, holding him in her hand.
"All right, make it fast. And rough...I like it when you're rough with me," She whispered seductively.
Damon grinned and quickly flipped them so that Elena was on the underwater bench and he was on top of her.
As Damon reached down to slide off her bikini bottoms, they both had the same thought: how did they ever hold off so long?