A/N: I had the hardest time writing this chapter. That's the problem when you have too many ideas in your head, and that is probably why this story is going to be long as all get out. And I want to give a special shout out to lluviaalamancecer who made an awesome gif of Bonnie with Book! Damon. Love you honey, and THANK YOU SO MUCH for the visual. Now, on with the show.
Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.
Bayou La Batre, Alabama
Daredevil she was not known as. Bonnie played it safe only when she was sure of the outcome, and despite her otherness even she knew that she had a shelf life that she had to respect. Nevertheless she stood on the edge of a precipice staring down at the murky waters below waiting for her body to slice through like a laser burning through steel. She took a deep breath, several deep breaths, and quelled the shaking in her palms by balling her hands into fists. She hated heights with a passion although she loved flying, which made no sense. But at least in a plane she couldn't exactly see the ground. She saw nothing but clouds, but this was far different in that she knew exactly what was waiting for her down below.
A gang of her cousins were treading in the water below, staring up at her, egging her on to jump. Bonnie resolutely shook her head back and forth, furiously biting her lower lip.
Naturally she was being called all sorts of names that made a girl feel good about herself. In reply, Bonnie flipped them the bird and then took a few steps back from the cliff, and ran at full speed launching her body in the air.
She didn't scream although she very much wanted to. Instead she pierced her eyes closed and then, took in that last massive deep breath, and seconds later, her head made contact with the water. No matter how many times she did this when she was younger, it was still a shock to the system. The heat in Alabama was its own entity and was oppressive, so diving head first into a cool lake made her feel as if someone dumped ice over her.
Bonnie quickly doggy paddled her way back to the surface, and pushed her hair off her forehead. She smiled brightly and then floated on her back admiring the blue sky.
Across the private lake one of her cousins was doing something interesting with his girlfriend. Bonnie observed them for a moment before looking away. There were ten of them total all raging in age from sixteen to twenty-one. Bonnie swam over to her cousin Melanie who was sitting on a rock that looked like an iceberg in the middle of the lake. Melanie scooted over to make room for Bonnie who sat behind her and rested her chin on Melanie's shoulder.
Melanie was seventeen like Bonnie and could speak three languages fluently. Her mother was Bonnie's Grams' younger sister, and they had lived for a while in Germany because Melanie's father served in the Air Force. When they went places together everyone assumed Bonnie and Melanie were sisters because they were the same height, same complexion, but where Bonnie's eyes were green, Melanie's eyes were jet black.
Currently Melanie was texting her boyfriend who was three years older and of course her parents didn't approve of her relationship, but ask Melanie if she cared. Darren, when he was in the mood, treated Melanie well enough, however her parents thought she could do much better.
"You better lower your caps when you text me," Melanie said to the air and began pecking away.
"You two are fighting again?" the exasperation was heavy in Bonnie's voice. Since she got here which was about a week ago, Melanie had been in the middle of some argument and was rarely separated from her smartphone for longer than ten minutes going back and forth with Darren.
"He's being a punk bitch," Melanie said and pressed heavily on the SEND button on the touch screen.
Shauna, the eldest of the cousins and also the daughter of the aunt who Bonnie was staying with, swam over to them. "So dump his bitch ass," she retorted. "The boy is too possessive and treats you more like some toy or prize he won at the fair. Dump him."
Bonnie frowned as she looked at Shauna.
Melanie sucked her teeth and looked away. "He doesn't treat me like I'm a toy. And what's wrong with being with someone who wants to know where you are and doesn't like it when other guys try to push up on you."
To this Shauna rolled her hazel eyes. "Sweetums, most guys throw an arm over their girls shoulders when they are about to stroll past a group of guys. They don't start swinging for no damn reason only because he 'thought' someone was going to try to holla at his girl. There's a big difference between the two."
"Are y'all gossiping hoochies talking about Darren's bitch ass again?" Mike, another cousin asked as he joined the threesome.
Melanie having heard enough about the objections to her relationship, jumped into the water, mindful to keep her arms up so her phone wouldn't get wet. She swam back to shore, grabbed her stuff, and stalked off.
"Was it something I said?" Mike said dubiously and then shrugged.
"Are you ready to go, NiNi?" Shauna addressed Bonnie by her nickname. "I promised mamma that I'd get you back in time to help her out with the party."
"Yeah, I'm ready to go."
The two girls swam back to shore, saying goodbye, which Bonnie would see everyone later. Since arriving in Bayou La Batre it had been nothing but nonstop, continuous activity. Bonnie was sure she had been to enough cookouts to last a lifetime. Every night she was kidnapped to go to some club, or blues bar. Bonnie wasn't a blues or jazz fan but she liked the atmosphere because it was sophisticated and catered to a certain clientele.
Her cousin Clint celebrated his twenty-second birthday and did so by renting a stretch Hummer that took everyone to his favorite hole-in-the-wall seafood joint, and then that night Bonnie ventured to her first strip club.
It was…an experience to say the least.
She wasn't sure what tonight might bring, but she was open to new experiences. She never really had any dull moments in Bayou La Batre. Sure things were quiet during the day because of the excessive heat, but at night that's when the city became alive buzzing with activity like a beehive, and Bonnie soaked it all in.
Shauna dropped Bonnie off after declining to make a quick stop at the mall. Bonnie wanted to shower, wash her hair, and maybe get a quick nap in.
Since being here she had had very little contact with anyone outside of her father from Mystic Falls. When she went on break, she meant that—a break. Of course she let everyone know she had arrived safely, but that was about the only time Bonnie went out of her way to contact everyone. She did wonder what Damon might have been up to in her absence, but she didn't dwell on it for long. Besides he would be here at the end of the following week. She'd see him soon enough and then after that she would be gone for an additional three weeks, touring the world with Elijah.
Being here in Alabama made Bonnie mourn the loss of her "normal" life. The only problems her cousins and other family members had to face was worrying about which bill would be paid, what to cook for dinner, and who they would go visit. Simple. Easy. Uncomplicated. Bonnie wanted real life problems, not supernatural problems. And since she had been here no one muttered any of these words: witch, vampire, or werewolf.
The sun was slowly disappearing behind the horizon casting shades of rust, orange, pale yellow, and azure across the sky. Shipping boats floated by lazily as fishermen drew up their nets for the day about to head home. Bayou La Batre was peaceful, had been dubbed the seafood capital of the south and was a quaint place that was nestled between the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Her aunt's home was what Bonnie like to call a floating palace since it was surrounded by small lakes and streams with large trees covered with Spanish moss.
Entering the house, Bonnie tensed once the air conditioning hit her skin causing instant goose bumps to appear. She heard her aunt dictating orders to her household staff. Aunt Deloris was a very well-off woman and employed about five people to keep the three story mini-mansion in tip-top condition. Bonnie traipsed unseen upstairs to her room to shower and change and join her aunt in the parlor.
Thirty minutes later she took a seat on a floral print couch in the parlor next to her Aunt Deloris tucking her legs under her. Aunt Deloris smiled at Bonnie as she inspected a head shot of a prospective model before flicking her eyes to the man standing in the center of the room.
"He looks like he took a bath in coffee," Aunt Deloris said almost reverently.
Bonnie who had been in the middle of taking a sip of her Arnold Palmer nearly spit it up as a result of laughing. She had been asked to assist Aunt Deloris chose the eye candy that would be serving the crowd at the bi-weekly pleasure party she was throwing.
"What do you think?" Aunt Deloris asked in her signature Creole accent.
Bonnie titled her head to the side and agreed that the chocolate Adonis in front of her certainly did appear as if he bathed daily in black coffee. His skin was smooth and unblemished. He was clean shaven, with straight white teeth, and had a pair of bedroom eyes that could incinerate the panties off an unsuspecting woman. There was nothing disagreeable about the specimen in front of her. So Bonnie winked at her aunt and kept mum about everything else.
Aunt Deloris wasn't satisfied with merely looking. Nope she wanted to touch the merchandise as well. "Would you mind coming just a little closer?" she beckoned.
The man was only too happy to oblige. Bonnie tensed for a moment because she noticed the predatory way the man's eyes zeroed in on her aunt. She wasn't sure if she was about to be privy to the opening act of a porno, but she directed her attention elsewhere, admiring the Tiffany blue painted walls of the parlor, the cinnamon scent that wafted from the kitchen, a kitchen that would make Paula Dean drool.
She heard fabric being removed and turned back slightly only for her eyes to bug once seeing the upper torso of the prospect server. He was cut in all the right places, and probably had a bigger bust size than Bonnie.
"Turn around, please, honey," Aunt Deloris said sugary sweet.
The man did so revealing a toned back that bespoke of hours spent slaving away in a gym, and a backside you could bounce a quarter off of. Aunt Deloris cleared her throat and slightly fanned herself.
"Thank you, Alonso. Take this card and go 'round back. Show that to my assistant Kyle and he'll get you set up with a uniform."
"Thank you, Miss Rhodes."
Bonnie felt the room vibrate at Alonso's deep voice. She and her Aunt Deloris had a very hard time tearing their eyes away from his impressive backside.
"Lord, give me strength," Aunt Deloris muttered and then bellowed, "Send in the next one!"
The next guy up for bat was Native American with a shocking pair of bluish-green eyes. He had long curly hair that brushed his shoulders. Once again he like his predecessor before him was asked to remove his shirt revealing that his entire right pectoral was covered with some kind of tribal tattoo. It didn't take Aunt Deloris three seconds to hire him. She had a weakness for men with tattoos.
Bonnie nibbled on an oatmeal and chocolate chip brownie in order to keep her thoughts from tumbling to that special place that was designated for the hours of ten to six in the morning. Currently it was a little after seven p.m. and her earlier activity was beginning to catch up to her. Coupled with the heat and humidity she was ready to fall into bed, but she gulped more of her drink hoping a sugar high would help her make it through the next few hours.
Aunt Deloris Bennett-Rhodes was a twice divorcee who had utilized her settlement money to start an adult toy and lingerie enterprise, making her even more well-off than she was while married. Deloris had two daughters Michelle and Shauna who were around Bonnie's age. Michelle was currently doing a residency in Mobile, Alabama, whereas Shauna was the undisputed party girl of Bayou La Batre.
Anyone else might be a little embarrassed that their aunt sold adult toys for a living, but not Bonnie. She didn't look at the industry her aunt was insomuch as she did the fact her aunt was an entrepreneur and helped put kids through college. She had established two foundations that raised money for at-risk youth and had several scholarships in her name. Deloris gave until there was nothing left and there had never been any shame in her game. She sold items to keep married couples from divorcing and which bolstered the sexual prowess of the insecure. She would not apologize for how she made her money, and no one complained when she spent her money paying off their debt or buying them lavish gifts.
Deloris took a sip of her lemonade and made notations on a clipboard. She loved throwing these parties because she was sure to see a new face, make a new acquaintance, and double her clientele. And she kept things fresh by having a theme for each party.
Tonight's theme was a Midsummer's Night Dream. The men commissioned to serve drinks, give massages, and maybe test out a few of the less, how do you say, risqué toys would be wearing tights that left little to the imagination. All of them would be topless and more than likely sprayed down with bronze glitter dust.
"You still with me, chere?"
Bonnie snapped out of her reverie and looked at her aunt. Deloris probably favored her grandmother the most but she was heavier set than Sheila with russet skin and shorter hair.
"Yes, ma'am. I just think the day and the heat is catching up to me."
"You can go and lay down before the party starts. I'm sure if your père was here he'd have something to say. Would probably accuse me of trying to corrupt you."
Bonnie grinned. "Are you?"
Deloris looked at her niece askance. "Only a little. You're about to be a senior in high school, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you can handle staring at half-naked men. I operate a clean and classy business so things won't be getting out of control, and I always provide security in case some who have no house training do stop by and start some ruckus. But you gon' on up and rest a while. I will suffer through looking at these fine men on my own for a lil while," Deloris smiled.
Bonnie rose from the couch and heeded her aunt's words. She found her way to the second floor bedroom she would be lodging in for the next two weeks. She loved her Aunt Deloris' house. It was a sprawling three story colonial painted white with black shutters. Like most houses in the south it used to be a plantation but was converted into a restaurant at the turn of the century. Deloris when she had been married to her first husband fell in love with it, and had first husband buy out the business. The front yard was practically the size of a football field, and later would be filled with cars from all parts of Alabama.
Entering the room, Bonnie fell on the bed and only woke up because of the noise of the party that was in full swing. Swinging into action herself, Bonnie tried to tame the frizz to her hair. Shauna had advised her to either get her hair braided or locked before coming down. And Bonnie was glad she listened. She fingered her corkscrew curls until they formed a bushy halo around her heart shaped face. Bonnie reapplied her makeup and slipped into a one shoulder linen sheath that she paired with gold T-strap sandals and gold jewelry.
Downstairs was bustling with women who stood in large and small groups, eating, sipping signature drinks, and ogling the half naked men who walked around with trays balanced on their fingertips.
Bonnie tried to find a familiar face in the crowd and couldn't spot anyone.
"NiNi!"
Bonnie swung around upon hearing her nickname and found at least six of her cousins standing off to the side in the dining room. She made her way over to them. Everyone started talking at once.
"Gurl I like your hair."
"Gurl where you get this dress from."
"Gurl where you get them shoes from."
"You eat anything?" Shauna asked and handed over her glass tumbler to her diminutive cousin.
Bonnie took a tentative sip and shook her head. "I fell asleep upstairs and probably would still be sleeping if it weren't for the noise."
Shauna took Bonnie by the arm and began to tug her through the crowd. Over her shoulder she said to the others, "Come on y'all lets get something to eat."
The girls elbowed their way to the kitchen. Bonnie picked up two plates and handed one to Shauna. There was so much food Bonnie had no idea where to start. She saw everything from grilled and fried shrimp, catfish, crawdads, lobster tails, chicken wings, roasted lamb, pork chops, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, collard greens, lentils, fried zucchini, squash, custards, pies, cakes, just endless, endless food.
Shauna began piling on the seafood. Covertly Bonnie looked at the various topless men walking around. Almost every single ethnicity was being represented. One guy who might be Greek or Italian caught Bonnie's eye. He winked at her and served drinks to a group of blushing women. Bonnie shook her head and then following her cousins once more they huddled in a corner to wolf down their food. Bonnie listened to the playful banter between her cousins, commenting when necessary, laughing nonstop.
Once their bellies were full they ventured from room to room, staring at the various products, testing out some of the devices. Distractedly listening to the tutorials that were being given on certain products. Bonnie had never seen so many silicone dildos in her life. Some glowed in the dark, vibrated, played music, or did a combination of all of those. Bonnie was sure she'd never get seeing half of this stuff out of her head: butt plugs, nipple clamps, pleasure beads, lubes, special lotions and potions that had been formulated to give a woman a heightened sense of pleasure.
Hmm, Bonnie thought, maybe Damon could get a special cast of his tongue made and sell it. He certainly didn't need any of these devices to give her a mind blowing orgasm. She felt her body warm at the thought.
"Shauna, your mamma is freaky as hell," Yolanda chortled and picked up a flogger giving it a sideways glance.
"You don't know the half of it. She says the secret to why she looks so young is because of this crap. There are just certain things a child need not know about their parent."
It didn't take long for them to be surrounded by rippling muscles. Pat, who was probably the most outspoken out of the bunch, had been selected by the Adonis from earlier, the one her aunt said bathed in coffee for a special massage that were being given on the back screened in veranda. Out of curiosity everyone followed and Bonnie didn't think that watching someone receive a foot massage could be so damn erotic. It was like Alonso was making love to Pat's feet.
Pat certainly was enjoying herself. She couldn't stop moaning, giggling, squealing, and asking Alonso to marry her and have her babies.
When one of the idle servers who kind of resembled Mehcad Brooks tried to proposition Bonnie she was quick to throw out her age hoping it might act as a deterrent. It didn't. In fact he became even more adamant to work the kinks out of her muscles.
"Well," the man whispered in her ear, "If I can't interest you in a massage maybe I can interest you in something else."
"Like what?" Bonnie craned her neck to stare up at the bald-headed specimen of fineness.
He grinned. "I'm sure there's a nifty little toy I could…demonstrate its usefulness."
Bonnie was sure he could, and as tempted as she was to take him up on the offer, she declined and then went outside to get some fresh air. Besides she needed a break from the sexually charged atmosphere. Some women were beginning to get grabby hands now that they had a few drinks in them.
If anyone said nothing interesting ever happened in Alabama, well Bonnie had incontrovertible proof that was a lie. And as much fun as she had been having, now that she could take a step back and really examine her life without any outside interference, Bonnie slowly began to realize how much this place reminded her of Damon, the one from Fell's Church. It was beautiful, it was mysterious, it was seductive and ancient with a rich history. Like him. She missed him more than she had in weeks past and she could account for that because here she was alone, but in Mystic Falls someone who knew her history inside out was always around to distract her. Bonnie looked up at the sky remembering the request Damon asked of her. She had no idea what he could have been doing. Time probably travel differently in his dimension and years could have passed where on her end only months had crept by since his departure. In this moment if she had the power to conjure him into existence she would have.
But then her thoughts shifted to Damon, the one from her world. Yes, she missed him too, and if she picked up the phone and told him to come to Alabama right this second, Damon would drop whatever he was doing, and he'd be here. She couldn't do that with dark-eyes because he was gone. The pang in her chest was still there, smaller, but there nonetheless. Maybe she would never fully be over him but the only way to test that theory was to immerse herself in something else. It was funny how days could go by and then all of a sudden Bonnie would stop whatever activity she was doing to realize she hadn't thought about dark-eyed Damon. And then, there were moments like this where he'd be heavy on her brain and she'd want nothing but to hear his voice or stare into those unfathomable eyes.
She was months away from starting her senior year. That meant filling out college applications, planning her future, and of course dealing with whatever nuisance might attack her town. But she could really careless about any of that because all she wanted to do was see Damon just one last time. However, it wasn't possible and logic was telling her it was time to let him go. She wanted to, more than anything, but at the same time she wanted to hold on just a little while longer. Yet even she knew she couldn't have it both ways. Either hold on and compare every guy to approach her to Damon, or finally let him go and move on with someone who was in the here and now.
Bonnie sighed. Her load was light and heavy in equal measure.
Damon, I miss you.
Her days and nights were running together. Sleeping until noon wasn't permitted in her aunt's household, so that meant her long nights were costing her precious sleep. Bonnie was expected to be seated at the formal dining room table for breakfast promptly at seven. If you were late or didn't show up you either had to cook for yourself or go out to eat.
After breakfast she had two options: work in the greenhouse or volunteer at the Boys and Girls club for a few hours. Bonnie always chose to work in the greenhouse because children required far more energy than she presently had to keep them entertained. After lunch she was pretty much free to do what she wanted.
Today Damon was coming and she was a bucket full of nerves. She worried if he would behave himself, wondered if her family would accept her "dating" someone outside of her race, and prayed no one would figure out what he was and spill the beans. She doubted that would happen, yet one could never be too sure.
She joined her Aunt Deloris for breakfast as usual and picked over her veggie omelet, home fries, and link sausage.
Deloris observed her niece from the far end of the lacquered table. "What's wrong, chere?"
Startled, Bonnie snapped her attention to Deloris and tried to smile. "Nothing…another late night is all."
Deloris sat her coffee cup on the saucer. "You must have forgotten I was seventeen once. You have the jitters and since you've been here you've been completely fine. So what gives? It have anything to do with that special fella you got coming?"
Bonnie ducked her eyes a bit and forked some egg into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed before addressing her aunt's question. "Maybe. It's just…he's probably not what everyone will expect."
"Most of the time no one is, chere. Just so long as he minds his manners we won't have a problem."
If only things could be that simple.
The back door to the property opened and Deloris who didn't like uninvited guests in her house, immediately reached for her paring knife she kept handy. When she saw it was her sister, she rolled her eyes.
"Next time come through the front door instead of through the back like some hoodlum. You almost got shot," Deloris chastised her younger sister Vanessa.
Vanessa rolled her toffee colored eyes at Deloris before going over to Bonnie who had stood up from her seat to greet her aunt.
"Hi, baby," Vanessa crooned and then held Bonnie out at arm's length to inspect how much she had changed since the last time she laid eyes on her.
"Hi Aunt Vee."
"I see that nephew of mine has been feeding you. The last time you were here you were as skinny as a rail."
"Go get your eyes checked, Vee, that girl is still skinny as all get out," Deloris said from her end of the table.
"Not everyone wants to tip the scales at two hundred pounds, DeeDee."
"And no man wants to hug a woman he might break, VeeVee."
"And not everyone wants to be with someone who looks like a walking heart attack."
"And not everyone…"
"Ladies," Bonnie interrupted her aunts sparing match. Those two had a rivalry that started from the time they hit puberty. Deloris and Vanessa were only ten months apart in age. Some considered them twins others called them oil and vinegar. They talked so much trash about each other you'd think you were standing in a landfill, but they loved one another fiercely. If you messed with one you messed with them both, and trust you did not want to be on the receiving end of their wrath or fists.
"Sorry, baby," Deloris and Vee said in unison and then frowned at each another.
Vee turned back to Bonnie and eyed her plate. "You almost done with breakfast?"
"Yes, I'm finished."
"Harrumph," sounded from the other end of the table.
"Ignore that old coon," Vee said. "I'm sure she's made you eat every part of the pig since you've been here."
Bonnie felt that round two was seconds from starting and grabbed her Aunt Vee by the hand. She knew why she was here and that was to go over some of the requirements of the cotillion.
"Aunt Vee, you said you wanted to talk about the cotillion."
"Yeah, chile. Come help me carry some stuff in the house."
"Bonnie don't forget to carry your plate back in the kitchen," Deloris reminded her niece. She didn't run a restaurant but a household.
Picking up her plate, silverware, and glass, Bonnie carried everything into the kitchen and dumped the remnants of her breakfast into the garbage disposal, washed her dishes, and then joined Vee outside.
They carried several photo albums into the house where they settled in the living room. Together they flipped through photo album after photo album some dating back to the Civil War. Bonnie's eyes traversed over aged black and white snapshots of unsmiling faces of families standing in front of shack houses, to those posing in front of historical black colleges, and some of the first automobiles.
"Our family has been made up of carpetbaggers, soldiers who fought and died in the Union Army, bootleggers, singers, doctors, and yes senators."
"Really?" Bonnie didn't know any of this information and found herself drinking it all in.
"Oh, yes during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War, three of my great-great-great-great uncles served as US senators. There were more black senators and representatives who served in congress back then there are now, which is a sin and a shame.
"And one of my great something or another aunties was even rumored to be a direct descendent of Queen Ranavalona III of Madagascar, the last reigning monarch of that country."
Again, Bonnie's eyes bugged. Was that even remotely possible? That she could someway be tied to actual royalty? Aunt Vee read the question and disbelief on her face.
"Like I said it's a rumor, but I've been pouring resources into tracking down our family tree, filling in several blanks. All of that being said, participating in the cotillion has been done for many generations in our family. My organization is willing to nominate you if you want to participate. And I'll get into more of that later, but I wanted to lay down the groundwork for our family first because you'll need to know who you are before you can figure out who you're going to be."
Bonnie never really looked at her life like that before. She knew what she was, a descendent of a powerful witch bloodline, but there was so much more to her than just the supernatural. She listened intently as Vee spent the next few hours talking about the people staring at her through the photos. She learned that certain family members had been trailblazers, decorated war veterans, started businesses, participated in freedom marches, gave up their lives so that Bonnie could enjoy the rights she and many took for granted.
"Wait, go back," Bonnie said because a photo caught her attention. When the page turned back, a crease formed between Bonnie's eyebrows and her jaw dropped.
"Goodness, NiNi she looks just like you," Vee gasped.
Yeah, that caught Bonnie's attention but not so much as the man in the photo.
"Elijah," Bonnie whispered lowly so Vee wouldn't hear her. The black and white photo might have been taken in the early 1800's, of that Bonnie wasn't sure, and the woman standing in front of her uncle did in fact look like Bonnie which caused a shiver to rundown her spine. Elijah was dressed in dark suit his hair parted in the middle and gelled down to the sides. The woman was dressed in a white gown with a beaded headdress adorned on her head. This might have been a wedding photo. "Do you know who they are?"
Vee studied the photo for a moment. "Now I remember. I think the woman was called Tatia and the man…Elijah. My grandmother told me this photo was taken in Paris during the 1800's. They were engaged, but Tatia died of Influenza, and Elijah," Vee shrugged. "No one really knows what happened to him. He may have died with Tatia."
"Who was Tatia?"
"I think she might have been an opera singer. She couldn't find work here, for obvious reasons, so she caught a boat to Paris. She met Elijah, they fell in love, and then she died. So sad."
Bonnie couldn't unlock her gaze away from Tatia and Elijah. They looked happy. Seeing someone with her face smirking at the camera almost in the same way Bonnie did, creeped her out. So that explained why Elijah claimed her as being his favorite because for all intents and purposes she was the doppelganger of Tatia.
Bonnie abruptly rose from the table. "Excuse me, Auntie I need to use the bathroom."
Getting lost in the bathroom, Bonnie was tempted to call Elijah and put him on blast, but at the same time she didn't want to do that. She could interrogate him in person, but now traveling with him didn't seem right anymore. She didn't think he was trying to relive his prior love vicariously through her, but once again she wasn't sure about that either. Elijah had been nothing but kind, courteous, and generous to her. And sure he had a tendency to stand too close to her, yet Bonnie noticed it was a trait all vampires carried. However, none of that equated that he would try to seduce her on their travels.
If she told Damon he would only shout in her face "I told you so". Bonnie sat on the closed toilet lid nibbling her thumb. She wished Grams were still alive so she could talk to her, and get her opinion not just about this, but about several things. Getting off the toilet and washing her hands, Bonnie rejoined her aunt downstairs.
Hours passed and Bonnie was once again off to get dressed for a cookout her great uncle was throwing. She opted not to go out on his catamaran with her other cousins in order to spend time with Aunt Vee and learn more about her family, now she kind of wished she had taken him up on his offer. Bonnie donned her black sleeveless cotton dress that swept the floor. She paired it with metallic silver gladiator sandals, doorknocker earrings, and a silver cuff bracelet. Her phone vibrated against the bathroom sink. She smiled at seeing who the caller was.
"About time you showed up," she said and brushed bronzer over her cheeks and T-zone. "You should have been here two hours ago."
"Don't ride me, Judgey, in fact do but not about being late. There were several delays and then I got stuck in traffic behind a truck filled with chickens. I'm picking feathers out of my dashing locks as we speak."
Bonnie snorted and dragged her lip gloss applicator across her bottom lip. "I'm about to head over to my Uncle Jericho's house. You still have the directions to get there, right?"
"Yes, woman. And knowing you I'll probably beat you there. Will I be accused of being apart of the clan if I show up in all white?"
"Get off my phone, Damon. I'll see you later," Bonnie chuckled.
"See you soon, Bon."
Bonnie's earlier trepidation began to ebb away after hearing Damon's voice and knowing that he was near. Twisting from side to side admiring her reflection, Bonnie gave herself the seal of approval and left the confines of the bathroom.
She rode to the cookout with her Aunt Deloris and Aunt Vee and laughed the whole way there since Aunt Vee did nothing but criticize her sister's driving. If Bonnie had had siblings she wondered if she would have bickered with them the way her aunts battled it out. More than likely since it seemed all the females on both sides of the coin had fiery personalities and spoke their minds regardless of who they were addressing.
The house was bursting with people by the time they arrived. Little children ran around in bathing suits chasing each other before heading to the moon bounce. At least five grills were going simultaneously, and no matter which corner of the enormous backyard Bonnie's gaze landed on, she saw nothing but tables and tables piled with food.
Bonnie quickly joined her cousins who were standing near the DJ booth. When her Uncle Jericho threw a cookout it soon transformed into a block party. Later tonight, a distant relative of Bonnie's who was the lead singer of a cover band would be performing.
Since she didn't finish her breakfast, and deliberately skipped lunch knowing she would be attending a cookout, Bonnie was ravenous and didn't waste a minute before dressing a plate. Of course that was after greeting the elders of her family, conversing with them, and putting a few of the smaller children in line.
She just started in on her ribs when she got a tap on the shoulder. Bonnie looked up.
"There's some white dude named Damien out front looking for you."
Bonnie shook her head and rose from her seat. Bunching up her dress so she wouldn't trip over the grass, Bonnie made her way out front. There standing across the street leaning against a black Cadillac CTS Convertible dressed in all black in spite of the heat was Damon Salvatore.
He was…without a doubt the sexiest thing Bonnie had seen and that was saying a lot considering she had been in a house crawling with half-naked toned bodies just last week. Damon never really had to do much outside of stand still to draw attention to his lethal handsomeness. Though it had been no more than twelve days since the last time she saw him, seeing him still made her feel as if she had been blindsided by a truck.
Damon pushed away from the car and approached her full of bravado and swagger. If there had been any activity happening on the street it stopped so everyone could marvel at the unnaturally striking man headed towards little Bonnie Bennett.
When he loomed over Bonnie Damon made it no secret he liked what he was seeing. Damon had never seen Bonnie with her hair in its natural curly state. She either wore it pin straight or in waves, and though she did look younger, she was still a knockout. And if he weren't mistaken she may have gained some weight but only in the right places. Her boobs looked bigger, and though the dress she was wearing didn't hug her curves, even he could see as if he had x-ray vision that her thighs were thicker. And her skin was the color of toffee.
The sun was hitting Damon at an angle turning his blue eyes into silver daggers that pierced her deep in her feminine core. His eyes were nearly transparent that she saw nothing but his pupils. His hair was black as night but upon closer inspection she saw some red undertones, and of course his skin was the color of milk.
"Gotdamn," someone said.
Bonnie briefly looked to her right and spotted one of her uncle's neighbors nearly drop her child because she couldn't stop gawking at Damon. Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Let's take this to the back before you send some poor woman into cardiac arrest," Bonnie reached for Damon's hand to tug him after her, but he didn't move a muscle. She pivoted on her feet to stare up at him.
"Don't I get a hug or kiss or something?" he wiggled his eyebrows.
Bonnie wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a quick peck and attempted to dart out of the way knowing he would grab her, which he did. Damon brought her flush against him, buried one hand in her thick hair and clamped his mouth over hers claiming her like a knight after slaying the dragon and climbing the tallest tower of the castle to rescue the damsel.
The burn and the sizzle that started in her core began to fan out increasing the heat. Damon's tongue brushed against hers, the spongy texture of it causing her to hold him tighter and consume every last drop of him. Damon lightly nipped her lip, pulling it between his teeth before releasing it.
"Now I'm convinced that you missed me," he winked at her and then linked their fingers together. He purposely eyed passing females with that notorious come hither look of his causing people to stop dead in their tracks, or to walk into objects.
Bonnie's heart began to speed more than it currently was the minute they made it to the backyard. Naturally gazes swung their way, necks craned, and it seemed the noise level dimmed down to a soft murmur. Bonnie's cheeks began to burn as she tugged Damon behind her and began introducing her to her aunts, cousins, saving her overprotective uncles for last.
Damon was in his element. He hadn't met a crowd he couldn't charm yet. He kissed hands, cheeks, gave dap, shook hands, even talked the lingo and made himself right at home. Naturally he got the third degree from her Aunt Deloris and Vanessa but Damon took it all in stride and won them over easily.
Bonnie stood next to yet another aunt who couldn't tear her gaze away from Damon while he held some kind of conversation with three locals from the neighborhood as he fixed himself a drink.
"You done good girl," her Aunt Shadie elbowed Bonnie.
"You think he's pretty you should see his brother."
Shadie's eyes widened. "He got a brother?"
Bonnie nodded and pulled out her phone, opening up her photo album and showed her aunt a picture of Stefan.
"Good gawd!" Shadie exclaimed. "You gotta hook a sistah up."
"Sorry, Auntie but Stefan is taken. And aren't you married?"
"Married, not dead, gurl. Even they names exotic. Damon, Stefan Salvatore…hmm," Shadie shivered.
Bonnie pinched the bridge of her nose.
Rejoining her cousins and finishing her food, Bonnie fielded nothing but questions about Damon. How long had they been together, which was tricky to explain considering Bonnie and Damon hadn't made anything official between them. But she simply introduce him as her guy friend though no one had been able to accept Damon would come all this way to see her and meet her family if they weren't in a relationship. And of course Damon soaked up all the attention and praise for being so devilishly good-looking, along with threats to treat her right or he'd turn up missing.
But she was asked about all sorts of things, even about his penis size to which Bonnie replied was none of their damn business so stop asking.
Damon joined her at the table sometime later, picked Bonnie up and placed her on his lap eliciting a chorus of sighs and aww's.
He spoke into her ear. "See I told you, you had nothing to worry about, that I would fit right in. I can officially say all the ladies love me and the guys," he shrugged, "some of them want to shoot me but I can't really blame them for that. I am a panty dropper."
Damon earned himself a Bonnie eye roll. He kissed her shoulder and began to engage her cousins in conversation. Some of them had minor difficulty in forming coherent sentences. And while Damon conversed with her cousins they ate off the same plate. Then he was gone yet again, off to go play spades with her some of her male cousins all of them were ex-military. And armed.
And with Damon busy doing that, Bonnie danced and gossiped with her cousins who had become the sisters she needed while growing up. Dusk settled, the alcohol was making everyone even more mellow as the night lulled on.
Once night officially hit, the band her uncle hired arrived, set up their instruments, and did a mike check before staring their performance. After wiping the floor clean of Bonnie's cousins, Damon rejoined her at the table and turned their seats until they faced the back of the house.
The lead singer bobbed in time with the music as she belted out the first words to the song she was singing a cover of. It was Jill Scott's "A Long Walk".
Bonnie began singing along, closing her eyes and getting lost in the music. However, she turned to Damon and sung, "You're background ain't back squeaky clean…"
He pursed his lips at her.
A few couples were up and on their feet dancing, and Damon was astute enough to realize that he and Bonnie never argued when they danced. He reached for her hand, ignored the slightly horrified expression that crossed her face as he pulled her to her feet.
Damon swung her in front of him. This wasn't exactly a song to cut a rug to, so Bonnie was a bit stiff until the singer jumped to the next song which was "Call Me" by Tweet. Even more people turned the grassy backyard into a makeshift dance floor.
Bonnie still found it hard to believe that she and Damon were here in this moment. Nearly a year ago she would have done everything in her power to make sure Damon stayed as faraway from her family as she could. But now she wanted him to see the other facets of her life outside of being a witch. Things could have gone down a vastly different road where that would have been the only role and purpose she'd fill in his life. Being the witch he kept on retainer to help get him out of jams.
But as she stared into his powder blue eyes Bonnie didn't have to question in what capacity Damon wanted her to be in his life.
"Something is on your mind. I smell it," he said breaking into her thoughts.
She had to share him with her family for the last three hours and now she wanted Damon all to herself. Bonnie dropped her arms from around his shoulders. "I want to be alone with you."
That mischievous glint instantly sprang to his eyes. He wondered how long it would take for Bonnie to say enough was enough, get him alone, and strip him naked. Okay, so the last part might not happen, but that didn't mean he couldn't strip himself.
"Tell everyone goodnight," he said.
Bonnie did just that, waved at her cousins, and together she and Damon got lost.
They didn't go far, just down to Portersville Bay. Despite it being night, the humidity was still a raging bitch and didn't let up for a second. Bonnie's nice cotton dress was stuck to her in attractive places, and Damon's shirt was molded to his chest like a cast, not that she minded.
"We should go for a swim and cool off," Damon suggested and dropped his pants right in front of her.
Bonnie had gotten past the point of blushing at seeing Damon's naked backside especially after he showed her how he got himself off the night he ate her out. But he stood proud before her a powerhouse of toned muscle and of course that one muscle that was surely happy to see her.
In situations like this Bonnie always came prepared because she never knew when someone might suggest going to the pool or to the lake. Underneath her dress she wore a two piece bikini. Bonnie divested herself of her dress, shoes, and jewelry and left everything in the car. Taking Damon by the hand, they walked to the water's edge, and sunk in until they stood about chest deep.
"How is everyone in Mystic Falls?" Bonnie asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist.
Damon shrugged and sunk under the water, taking Bonnie with him. They resurfaced a short while later, and he lifted Bonnie until she was poised over his head. She giggled. Slowly he lowered her and nuzzled the area where her shoulder and neck intersected.
"Everyone is fine," his breath brushed across her skin. He kissed her neck, her shoulder, the corner of her jaw, and then her earlobe. "No one died."
Bonnie angled her neck allowing him better access. "That's…good."
Damon's clever fingers reached for her top and pulled it down. Bonnie gasped and was about to protest but Damon's hand covered a mound and teased her skin until her nipple pebbled against his palm. Damon dipped his head and took the little pearl in his mouth, laving it with his tongue. Bonnie nearly swallowed her saliva down her air pipe. Damon went missing under water again and pulled her bikini bottoms off in addition to her top leaving her naked just like him.
Bonnie watched as her bathing suit went floating by on the water surface as she wrapped herself around Damon again. Her neck was back in his mouth as he drew designs against her skin with tip of his tongue. She also felt a nice little nudge from below.
"How many guys have tried to holla at you, shawty?" he smirked and got distracted by the feel of Bonnie's naked body against his. If he shifted his hips just right he could impale Bonnie on his shaft.
In the twelve days that went by with her gone, Damon had to work overtime not to do anything stupid. It was hard, but he kept reminding himself that he would get to see Bonnie. He had never really missed anyone like that before. Not even after he was turned and thought Katherine was dead. What fueled him back then was anger and rage. But with Bonnie gone it felt like a huge chunk of him had been missing.
Bonnie hitched an eyebrow in the air. "What makes you think someone tried to holla at me, ninja?"
He pressed her with a droll look. "You're not related to every guy in this town. And you're hot."
"Hmm," Bonnie thought for a moment. "Well, there was this one guy at my aunt's pleasure party. He wanted to give me a foot massage."
"Pleasure party? Foot massage? WTF?"
Bonnie giggled. "I turned him down. I should ask how many women have propositioned you since I've been gone."
Damon smirked. "Other than the mayor and the sheriff and a couple of college co-eds, you know, the usual. And I let them all know that I am a semi-spoken for man."
Bonnie grew quiet for a moment. She brushed Damon's hair off his forehead. She didn't like the idea of someone possibly capturing his attention while she was off on her adventures with Elijah. Damon had made it plain over and over again that he wanted to be with her. He was accepting her friendship but just barely and he hadn't exactly been pressuring her for more. So the only thing holding them up was her.
Yet if she took this plunge, Bonnie felt she would be relinquishing the last hold she had on Fell's Church Damon. She missed him, she loved him, but he was gone. It was a mantra she repeatedly ran through her mind day after day, and one she needed to put the final nail in the coffin in.
"Damon," Bonnie dropped her eyes and stared at his shoulder, "I've done some soul searching. And I've made a decision." She hesitated.
"Yes?" Damon prompted.
"I'm ready to move forward." Taking a deep breath, Bonnie summoned up her courage because she never asked anyone this question before. "Damon, will you…do you want…be my boyfriend," she finally sputtered.
Damon's eyes did that wild thing they do when he was trying to figure something out. When he connected her disjointed words together it sounded like Bonnie either asked or ordered him to be her boyfriend.
"Can you say that again and this time without the stuttering."
She slapped his arm. "Be serious."
"I'm being perfectly serious. I speak English, Bon, not broken English."
Bonnie huffed and bored her green eyes into his. "Damon Salvatore will you be my boyfriend?"
Seconds ticked by and there were crickets singing in the background. Damon's face was impassive and then he started smiling.
"Are you sure because I'm a lot to handle?"
"I can take you," Bonnie replied confidently.
"I've never actually been in a relationship so I'm sure I'll make some colossal mistakes along the way."
"Again, I'm perfectly aware of the type of person you are, Damon. I'm not going into this with blinders on."
"I could break your heart."
"I could break you."
"That could be problematic." Pause. "We will be so good together."
Bonnie held on to him just a little tighter. "We are good…together…most of the time."
"Are you seriously ready to do this? It's not all the seafood you've eaten talking is it?"
Now Bonnie was getting exasperated. "Do you want to be my boyfriend or not?"
"Okay, okay, okay, sheesh relax," Damon cleared his throat and fixed Bonnie with an unwavering stare. "Yes, Bonnie Bennett I would love to be your boyfriend."
Bonnie smiled and bit into her bottom lip. "Good, now go buy me poodle."
"Shut up," Damon said and pulled her closer, sealing the deal with a kiss, sinking under the water yet again.
In the car Bonnie's cell phone began to vibrate.
Flashing on the LCD screen was "MY DAMON".
To be continued.
A/N: What could this possibly mean? What an ending. TV Bamon are together—yea! bout time. I really wanted to delve into Bonnie's history since that's gravelly left out of the series. And everyone else's history on the show is tied into the founding families but doesn't go beyond that. And I won't say that Bonnie is the doppelganger of Tatia; and yes I stole the name. Take that JP for stealing a Book Bamon scene and giving it to Delena. But I will say that Bonnie heavily "resembles" Tatia. She will question Elijah about it in the next chapter. I wanted there to be more witty dialogue between Bonnie/Cousins, Damon/Family but I couldn't get my mind to cooperate and be funny. Sorry about that. But thanks for reading and everyone have a safe Fourth of July! Love you babies.