A/N: Here we go! This is the first of three chapters about Damon and Elena's weekend date. I love this chapter. I loved writing it. And I hope you love it, too.
Thank you all for the response to the last chapter! You guys are the best!
Chapter 14: First Date Jitters
Damon's POV
Today's the day. I didn's sleep a wink last night. I couldn't stop thinking about the potential train wreck I signed up for. I haven't even told Elena what we're doing yet. I didn't know how to. It's like I've reverted back to being a fucking teenager. Actually, I don't think I was ever this nervous even back then. I can't believe I'm this damn anxious over a date. But it's Elena Gilbert we're talking about here, and my mom is right, she deserves the world. She deserves everything I can possibly give her and more.
I persuaded Mom to help me distract Elena last night so that I could pack her suitcase. I didn't pack her much, because today we're going to the mall, and I figured we'd buy whatever she's lacking. Both of our bags are in the back of my Camaro, and in less than an hour we're going to be heading off to the airport.
I decided to take her to Texas...Dallas to be exact. Why? Well, for one, everything is bigger in Texas. It's a fact. Number two, I've decided to take her to an amusement park...Six Flags. And number three, I just like Dallas. And I'm hoping she does, too.
I make my way downstairs, and I see that Elena is hard at work making breakfast in the kitchen with my mom. She's completely oblivious to the fact that she's about to be whisked away. Oh God, the nerves are back. What am I gonna say to her? I'm regretting this already. Shit.
Mom sees me pacing across the dining room, and she comes over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. I hug her back, and I wonder how I let my mom get me into this mess.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say my son was nervous about this date." Mom smiles at me, and I roll my eyes. I refuse to let her know how right she is. She, of course, sees right through me.
"Damon, my sweet boy, you'll be fine. Trust me, Elena wants this. I know you don't believe me, but she wants your attention. She wants your time. I know you feel guilty about whatever it is that happened, but Elena forgives you. And it's time that you forgive yourself." Easier said than done, Mom.
"Thanks, Mom. You're the best. Truly." She really is. I love my mom. She always sees the best in everybody. She's always seen the best in me.
Elena brings breakfast into the dining room, and soon everyone is seated around the table. We all dig in, eating homemade waffles, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Mom and Elena outdid themselves. As soon as breakfast is over, I realize that it's almost time for us to head off. Elena has already started cleaning the table.
My fucking palms are sweaty. I feel less like a man right now, and more like a nerdy teenager with bad acne who's about to ask someone out that is way out of his league. I walk into the kitchen, where Elena is slaving away over the kitchen sink. I take the plate that's in her hand and set it down on the counter. She looks at me in utter confusion, and I take her hand and lead her to the entryway.
Everyone is standing near the door, waiting to see us off. Elena looks even more confused, and I still don't have any idea what I'm doing. Caroline hugs Elena and tells her to have a wonderful time, and Elena looks at her like she's crazy. More hugs from Stefan, Ric, and Jenna ensue. Elena keeps looking at me for answers, but I still haven't found quite the way to tell her what we're doing. I know she wants to spend time with me, but does she really want to go on a date with me? I guess we're about to find out.
Mom and Dad hug us both. Dad whispers in my ear that if I don't keep Elena safe, if any harm should befall her, he will disown me. Good to know he hasn't gone completely soft on me. Mom tells Elena that she wants to hear all about everything when we get back. Elena just nods and suddenly we're all standing around in awkward silence.
"Well, we better get going. See you all on the flip side." I pull my sunglasses on my face, take Elena's hand and lead her to my Camaro. I open the door for her, like any chivalrous male should do, and she sits. I run around to the driver's side, get in, and we're off.
Elena's POV
I am so completely and totally lost. One second, I'm washing dishes. The next, Damon is taking me to God knows where for who knows what. Everyone else at the house seemed to know what's going on.
Our drive to wherever we're going is silent. Damon looks like he's contemplating something serious in his head.
"Um, Damon? Where are we going?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it? Don't you worry, it's nothing bad. I just thought you needed to get away for a while. We both do."
Truer words have never been spoken. I need a break from the boarding house. Damon has let me have more freedom since...the incident. I've been to town a few times, mostly to buy groceries or clothes at the cute little boutique on the square, but I don't like to stay gone too long. I don't like to think about who I could run into when I'm out.
The rest of the drive is quiet. All I know right now is that we just pulled in to the airport parking lot. Damon gets out and walks around to open my door. And I blush at his sweet gesture. I never would have thought that Damon was the chivalrous type.
He pops his trunk, and I see that he packed me a bag. We wind our way through the crowds and security and all the other nonsense that we have to deal with before we board our flight to the great unkown. An announcement comes over the intercom that first-class for the flight to Dallas, Texas is now boarding.
"That's us." Damon takes my hand, and we board the plane.
Dallas...We're going to Dallas. I'm envisioning cowboy hats and thick country accents and maybe a tumbleweed or two. Our seats in first-class are incredibly nice. I'm sitting in the aisle seat, and Damon is by the window. He pulls out his laptop, and I'm wondering if we're going on another business trip. But then I see that he's filling out an auto reply message for his email. He's on vacation, busy for the weekend. I feel my cheeks turning red when Damon catches me spying on him. But he's not mad. He just smiles and closes his laptop and puts it away.
I fell asleep somewhere between Virginia and Texas, and I feel Damon shaking me awake. "Hey, sleepyhead, we're here. You're drooling all over your pillow. You must be dreaming about me." I shoot awake, and Damon is smirking at me, amusement in his eyes.
"Please. Don't flatter yourself. And I don't drool." I smile, and Damon chuckles to himself. We get off our plane, grab our luggage, and we catch a shuttle to a car rental place.
Damon is about to rent a jet black Dodge Charger, when memories of the night my brother died flood my mind. This car is almost identical to Jeremy's. I grab Damon's arm and shake my head no, and he looks confused.
"Jeremy drove a Charger. That's what I was driving when...you know."
"Yeah. The Charger's a no go, dude. What else ya got? Something sexy and fast." Damon has a way with words. He has a way of making my insides turn to mush just by uttering a few simple words.
We are led to a cherry red Ford Mustang GT. It screams sexy and fast, and Damon agrees. Minutes later, we're driving off the lot in it.
Okay, so Dallas isn't what I had pictured in my mind. I haven't seen a single person wearing a cowboy hat. There definitely aren't any tumbleweeds around, and there aren't people riding horses on the streets.
We drive to downtown Dallas, and the buildings are so tall and so beautiful. There's such an eclectic mix of old and new. We pull up to a hotel, The Joule, and Damon has our car parked for us as we make our way up to the penthouse suite.
The suite is amazingly elegant. Damon tells me that I can stay in the master suite, and he'll stay in the other bedroom. I appreciate him putting us in separate rooms, but at the same time, I miss being close to him. I haven't been really comfortable with other people touching me the last two months, but Damon is the exception. He's been nothing but gentle, cautious, delicate. So unlike the Damon I first met, but just what I've needed.
I get acquainted with my room, and it's absolutely impeccable. The bedding is luxurious. The decor is modern, elegant and refined. There's even a telescope in my room.
I check out the bathroom and my jaw drops. It's massive. The bathtub looks so inviting, and the shower looks big enough for both Damon and I. And then, my thoughts are on Damon and I taking a shower together, and I'm suddenly really really hot.
"Do you like it?" Damon is standing in my doorway, and I hope he doesn't notice how flushed I am.
"Like it? I love it!"
"Good. I'm glad. But, for now, it's time to leave the lap of luxury."
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to the land of extremely overpriced merchandise, fast food, and obnoxious teenagers spending all of daddy's money...aka the mall. Now come on, you have some money to blow, and I have some people watching to do."
Damon's POV
The look on Elena's face when I told her I'm taking her to the mall was priceless. I could tell she was trying to hold back her excitement. I still can't believe the girl has never been to the mall before.
I've been to Dallas enough times to know my way around the city. I know where just about every mall within 50 miles of us is. And I plan on hitting up as many of them as we can today. Elena's gonna get a mall overdose.
Our first stop is The Galleria. We park in the parking garage and make our way inside through Nordstrom. Elena's eyes are already bugging out, and she hasn't even seen the ice skating rink yet. She's gonna freak out. We meander our way over to the women's section, where a middle-aged saleswoman asks us if we need help. I tell her to find some items that she thinks would look good on Elena and to bring them to us. Elena gives her all the information on size and color preferences, and a few minutes later, the saleswoman returns with a large stack of clothes.
She takes Elena to a dressing room, and Elena closes the door to begin trying everything on. I sit on a couch right outside her door.
"Oh my God. Damon! No." She opens the door, and she's holding a beautiful blue dress that will come in handy in a couple of nights. "These clothes are way too expensive. This dress is," she looks around as if the shopping police are watching us, "$700." She whispers.
"And the problem is?" This day is about her. It's about spoiling her rotten. Money is not an issue today. I told myself that if John Gilbert was going to pay me half a million dollars that was rightfully Elena's in the first place, then I may as well spend that money on Elena.
"I can't let you do this, Damon. It's too much."
"Elena, you deserve this. I'm not taking no for an answer. And I don't want to hear anything else today about what stuff costs, understand?" I try to use my most authoritative voice.
"OK. If you insist." She smiles at me, and I know then that she is as excited about trying everything on as I am about seeing her in everything.
Ten outfits and $3,500 later, we leave the store. And we head into what I like to call "the real mall." It's the part of the mall where there is store after store after store with the occasional pretzel shop or fast food joint sandwiched in between. Elena is looking around, completely awestruck.
"Lead the way, you. We'll go wherever you want to go." I smile at her, and she smiles back at me with the most breathtakingly beautiful smile I've ever seen. Maybe Mom was right. Maybe this is good for the both of us.
Two hours later, we've hit every store that Elena wanted to go to. I'm holding about 25 different bags, and we're both starving. We make our way to the food court, and I tell Elena to pick what we'll be eating. She picks McDonald's.
Elena ordered a quarter pounder with cheese, hold the pickles, add bacon. My kinda girl. She's also enjoying a large order of fries and a chocolate milkshake. I've never seen her quite as ravenous as she is right now. It's refreshing to see a girl eat without a worry in the world. Elena takes a bite of her burger, and there's ketchup on her nose, and she doesn't give a fuck. I'm finding it incredibly easy to relax around her. I don't know what I was so nervous about.
We finish eating and leave the Galleria. We hit four more malls on our mall tour. We eat pretzels and buy bags of candy in bulk. And when all is said and done, Elena has amassed no less than 50 bags of merchandise. And I would buy 50 more bags of stuff if it meant seeing her as happy as she was today.
I tired out before she did. Eventually, I just handed her my credit card, told her to have fun, and let her run rampant around the mall. I sat and people watched. I got hit on at least ten times, turning them all down. I made one girl cry. Elena returned two hours later, laden down with so many bags, she could barely even walk.
And now, as we're driving back to our hotel, the day is catching up with her. I see her head bob up and down a few times, and then she's asleep. I pull up to the valet station at the hotel, walk around to Elena's side of the car, and pick her up in my arms. I tell the driver to have Elena's bags brought up to our room, and I give him a generous tip.
As the elevator makes it's way up to our floor, I take the time to enjoy the feeling of having Elena in my arms. And for once it isn't because she's just been through some kind of trauma. It's just us, Damon and Elena. No extra baggage.
The elevator opens, and I take Elena to her room. I lay her on the sofa and pull down the covers on her bed. Then, I slip Elena's shoes off and lay her on her bed, pulling the covers up around her. And I realize, as I look down at her sleeping so peacefully, that this is why Mom suggested this. Because today was worth every penny, it was worth every single bag that was just brought up to our suite...because Elena was happy today. And everything about our first day in Dallas was perfect. And we still have two days to go.