Chapter 5

It had been four days since he'd seen Blair and she'd left him in a state of painful arousal that didn't make any sense considering they'd only shared a friendly hug. He couldn't get her smile out of his mind, or the way she challenged his bullshit and blushed at his compliments. His mind had never obsessed over a girl the way it was currently fixated on his best friend's fiance.

Thursday evening, Nate called him to meet up for drinks, explaining that he needed some time away from Blair and wedding planning. Chuck had begrudgingly taken him up on the offer, but he really wasn't sure that he wanted to hear Nate gripe about Blair all night long when all he really wanted to do was figure out what she tasted like.

After ordering a double round of drinks for both of them, he took a sip from his scotch glass and nearly choked when he heard Nate grumble, "I need to get laid." He looked up at his friend only to find his eyes fixed on a voluptuous blonde seated at the other end of the bar.

Chuck tried to maintain his composure, knowing that he would typically urge his friend to spread his wings a little before he's officially tied down in two weeks. He had never been one to respect the rules of monogamy or commitment, but he couldn't bring himself to encourage Nate to betray Blair; she was too pure, powerful, and perfect to be the victim of infidelity before she even made it down the aisle. He quickly searched his mind for an appropriate response that wouldn't raise any red flags, "Not the words I'd expect from a betrothed man. Don't tell me that the flame has already burned out before the honeymoon."

"Blair has this stupid no sex until the wedding rule. She says that our wedding night will feel like any given night if we don't abstain and make it special," Nate didn't need to spell out his feelings about Blair's newfound abstinence; his frustration was written in his disgusted expression and his unwavering focus on the blonde from whom he still hadn't diverted his gaze. "It's been almost a month. A man can only take so much."

Chuck couldn't help feeling irrationally angry at Nate's crudeness and found the entire conversation to be disrespectful to Blair. These thoughts were so unfamiliar to him that he fumbled in his response, "Maybe she has a point. It's only two more weeks."

Nate laughed aloud, clearly under the impression that Chuck's statement was meant to be sarcastic, "Says the guy who fucks a different girl every night."

"Yeah, that's me," Chuck replied dryly, "But you're the one who signed up for a life of monogamy and vanilla sex. If you can't handle a temporary period of abstinence then maybe you need to reevaluate this whole rushed wedding."

Nate finally ripped his eyes away from the bombshell he'd been ogling throughout the conversation, and turned toward Chuck, "What the hell is your problem? You've been in a shitty mood since I arrived."

Chuck sighed, knowing that his friend was right. This wasn't anywhere near how he would typically react to Nate, but he still couldn't find it in himself to really put much effort into discussing Nate's sex life with Blair. Something about the image made his skin crawl, and he wanted to punch Nate in the throat. How is it possible to be possessive of someone who doesn't belong to you? "Sorry," he muttered half-heartedly, "Feeling the pressure at BI. Maybe I need to get laid, too."

Nate knocked back the last remnants of his whiskey and patted Chuck on the back, "Ha, well, there's plenty of ass to choose from here. May I suggest the gorgeous blonde making sex eyes at you," he pointed at the not-so-subtle woman still glancing in their direction, "I should probably head back; I've got to get to the office early in the morning to prepare for the Bloomberg interview tomorrow night. Blair will be ready for dance rehearsal at 7 tomorrow evening. Thanks again for taking my place and for the drink tonight."

Chuck looked back at the blonde who swirled her tongue around her cocktail cherry suggestively. What the hell? he thought as he made his way in her direction. Sliding up to her with a suave indifference, he murmured, "You're quite talented with your tongue, it would seem."

Without missing a beat, she answered, "Wouldn't you like to find out?"

Two minutes later, her warm mouth wrapped tightly around him in a small stall in the men's bathroom. She was sucking a little too hard to elicit the pleasure she was trying to give him, and he jolted when her teeth scraped against the delicate flesh of his member. He closed his eyes and let himself envision soft ruby lips instead of the mauve pair currently sliding down his length. Her hair was a brittle bottled blonde that felt too much like hay tangling around his fingers. She was overly aggressive in her movements; her skin was too tanned and not even close to the silky porcelain that he craved. The worst part was the overwhelming sickly sweet scent of DKNY Be Delicious. With a groan, he pushed her off of him without an explanation, quickly fastening his pants, and made his way out of the bar to the awaiting limo on the corner. How was it possible that a girl he'd never even touched more than platonically had ruined him for a quick fuck with a stranger?

Resigning himself to another night of jerking off to mediocre porn while shamefully fantasizing about his best friend's girl, he barked instructions at his driver to head back to the hotel a little bit more harshly than he had intended. He'd never felt like a bigger piece of shit than he did in that moment.

XOXO

Blair didn't want to consider the reason that she was putting more effort into her make-up than she normally would for a dance rehearsal where she would likely sweat it off anyway or the fact that she'd tried on eleven different outfits before deciding on a slinky wine-colored dress with a dangerously high slit up the right leg and spaghetti straps that exposed the smooth planes of her shoulders and the delicate dip of her waist. The silky material hung to her hips in sinful innocence, as if she didn't know exactly what the clingy fabric did for her curves. Underneath, she'd opted for a dusty pink bustier and cheeky boyshorts. She hadn't chosen her sexiest lingerie to dance with her fiance's best friend, she told herself. Just like the fact that she hadn't gotten a blow-out earlier that afternoon with the thought that his fingers would slide through her hair as he held her closely against him. No, the only reason she'd chosen such an alluring set of underwear was because it was the only set that didn't show through her dress, and her hair was in desperate need of special treatment anyway. Bullshit, her mind screamed, taunting her pathetic attempts to ignore her confusing feelings about Chuck Bass.

She quickly spritzed Chanel Chance on her wrists when she heard the elevator chime indicating that she had company. After reaching for her favorite Edie Parker clutch and adding a raspberry lip balm to it, she headed down the stairs, allowing her trembling hand to grip the banister tightly to support her weight. Why was she so nervous?

When he saw her, his heart stopped beating momentarily before accelerating to such a rapid pace that he was sure she could see it thudding against his chest. "Wow," he whispered, as she approached him with a confident sway of her hips, "You look...just wow." He mentally cursed his inability to form the words necessary to compliment her adequately. He'd been charming girls out of their panties since he was 15, so why was he suddenly acting like a bumbling idiot? He shook his head to rid himself of the uncertainty currently wreaking havoc in his brain and extended his arm to her.

She smiled at him before lowering her eyes to her hands shyly. The way he was looking at her sent chills down her spine, and she struggled to understand why. Her fiance's looks of approval or perfunctory compliments never made her feel this way. She looped her arm through his and basked in the warmth of being so close to him. She felt her body heat rise slightly, and she wondered how her body would possibly respond to the intimate dance that they were about to engage in.

Once in the limo, he carefully slid to the far end of the bench to try to maintain as much distance as he could. His body was reacting in a way that he didn't understand, and he didn't trust himself in that moment - not with the way her side slit revealed her smooth, toned thigh to him, begging to be touched. Glancing out the window, he asked as casually as he could, "How's wedding planning going?"

"Good, I suppose," she answered half-heartedly, surprisingly unenthusiastic to discuss her approaching nuptials. "Nate's been acting weird lately." She regretted her confession as soon as it left her lips. Lately she seemed to forget that Chuck was Nate's friend, not hers.

"How so?" Chuck asked, unsurprised given Nate's words at the bar the night before.

"I don't know," she responded with a sigh, "He's just been really distant. I think he's angry with me."

Chuck turned toward her and saw her mind struggling to explain Nate's actions. He hated Nate in that moment, "Why would he be angry with you?"

"I -" she lowered her gaze to the hem of her skirt and smoothed in down her legs anxiously, "Never mind."

"Hey," he reached tentatively for her hand that was fiddling with her skirt, "You can talk to me. Obviously something is bothering you."

"I'm sure it's just nerves as the wedding day approaches," she answered dismissively, carefully lacing her fingers with his. His hand brought her so much comfort right then that she didn't even care that she was boldly holding hands with him. "I would really rather not talk about it."

"If you're sure," he replied skeptically, slowly running his thumb over her knuckles, "Just know that I'm here if you need to talk or anything. Just because I'm Nate's friend doesn't mean that I can't be yours, also."

"Thank you," she smiled, "That really means so much. And thank you for stepping in tonight. I need the extra practice. I'm sorry that we seem to keep giving you more responsibilities than are in your job description as a groomsman."

"Best man," he corrected her, "I'm happy to do it. Besides, I enjoy spending time with you." Too much, too much, too much! Rein it in, idiot. "I mean it's been nice to get to know you a little better since you'll be Nate's wife soon, and we'll be seeing each other a lot more often."

As the limo pulled to the curb, Chuck exited without waiting for the driver to open the door. He felt like he was constantly saying the wrong thing or being too forward with Blair, and he wanted to kick himself for his uncontrollable mouth.

They walked silently to the ballroom where Blair greeted Antonio, their instructor, and introduced Chuck as Nate's stand-in for the evening. Antonio shook Chuck's proffered hand and chuckled, "I hope you're more nimble on your feet than Nate because I'm not sure that Blair can handle any more blisters."

Antonio positioned Chuck and Blair's body together, pushing them closer than either one had ever been to the other. Chuck's breath caught in his throat as he felt every inch of Blair pressed intimately against him and he willed his body to behave. His hand that wasn't holding hers hooked onto her hip, bunching the fabric between his fingers in an attempt to maintain some control, while she placed hers onto his shoulder.

He drew a breath and started to lead her around the room to Antonio's instructions. He relished in the feeling of her so close to him, and he allowed himself a moment to completely let go of the guilt that he felt for being so enamored with his friend's fiance. If he didn't act on his attraction to her, then there was nothing to feel guilty about, right? He was dancing with her at Nate's request, so, in a sense, he was simply being a good friend by fulfilling the groom's wishes.

Liar.

Knowing he was lying to himself changed nothing, though, and he slid his hand further around her waist and pulled her even closer until there was no room left between their joined bodies. Within seconds, Antonio's commanding voice disappeared and Blair was the only person in the room. He stared into her chestnut eyes and found himself falling into the abyss with no safety net. His hand slid higher up her back and slowly caressed the satin skin in a path along her spine. She shivered at the deliciousness of his fingers against her flesh and gave into the unrelenting desire to run her fingers through his hair. His face slowly worked his way closer to hers until his jaw was resting against her ear. She leaned in to him as she felt his hot breath tickle her neck, eliciting goosebumps on the exposed skin of her arms. He whispered huskily, "You're a really good dancer."

Her pulse quickened, and she felt her chest rise and fall with the erratic pattern of her breathing. "So are you," she barely managed to force out, as she felt him raise his hand to thread through her hair.

Their eyes locked together in an intense gaze,and neither one seemed to be capable of breaking the connection. It wasn't until Blair's tongue darted out to wet her lips that Chuck's eyes fell to her mouth. He wanted to kiss her so badly that he couldn't remember why he wasn't supposed to. Nothing mattered at that moment except experiencing what her lips would feel like against his own. He could've sworn he saw her sultry mouth forming into a pucker in anticipation, so he lowered his mouth toward hers, hesitating slightly when he was only mere inches from brushing his lips against her own. Her eyes closed slowly, causing her long eyelashes to flutter against her cheeks, while his hand moved from the back of her neck to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand.

A sudden loud clapping sound shook them both back to reality, and they stepped apart instinctively. "Bravo," Antonio's voice echoed through the large room, "You two are even more convincing as lovers on the dance floor than you are with Nate. Chuck, you could definitely give him some pointers because clearly my instructions are falling on deaf ears."

For the remaining half hour of rehearsal, both Chuck and Blair were careful to maintain an appropriate distance - at least as appropriate as possible given the nature of the dance style. Chuck noted that Blair purposefully avoided his eyes for the rest of the time, and he kept his touch light, barely allowing his hands to press into her skin. Their movements became mechanical as they tried to replicate intimate dance moves in a platonic way. Of course, Antonio noticed the change, and he was quick to announce his disappointment, "You're dancing like you're uncomfortable strangers. What happened to the passion from the first dance?"

Neither one answered him, but Chuck could see Blair's mind working in overdrive to formulate a response. He looked at his watch in an all-too-obvious gesture, "Rehearsal is only forty-five minutes, right?"

Blair gave him a grateful smile and thanked Antonio for his time before following Chuck back to the limo. They rode in complete silence to the Waldorf Penthouse, both aware that something had changed between them in the past hour. There was no denying their attraction to one another, but the scary part was that it didn't seem to be merely physical; there was some kind of deeper connection there that neither one could completely define for themselves.

Once they exited the car, Chuck helped Blair out of the limo and escorted her up the elevator, fiddling with the interior lining of his pants pockets, trying to decide if he should address what almost happened during their first dance or just leave it be. "Blair -"

"Don't," she warned.

He faltered at the sternness in her voice, but turning toward her, he could see her eyes held a certain sadness that he hadn't expected. He wanted nothing more than to sweep her into his arms and kiss her senseless. He shook his head at the thought that he almost had done exactly that earlier. "I just -"

"I'm engaged, Chuck," she responded quickly before he could say anything that would cause her resolve to weaken. At that moment, she had trouble figuring out why she was even with Nate because, if she was honest with herself, their relationship had lacked passion and intensity for a while - maybe since the start. She hadn't realized how lackluster it really was until she'd felt the electricity surge through her body at Chuck's simplest touch. She was sure that if he kissed her, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from going further. Her desire for this man terrified her; she wasn't an adulterer, but she could feel herself trying to justify an innocent kiss in her mind. She closed her eyes and stressed her point firmly, more so for herself than for Chuck's sake, "Engaged to your best friend. We can't do this."

He watched tears prick the corners of her eyes, and he felt like the most selfish asshole in the world. He simply nodded his head because he was certain his voice would crack if he tried to speak. As she stepped off the elevator, he quickly hit the button for the ground level so that he wouldn't have to see the look on her face as she turned back to face him.

A/N: Probably not my best update, but I'm trying to keep this story alive.