I am so so sorry for the wait on this. I feel terrible, but I just haven't done any writing at all for the past couple of months. Life got in the way and I didn't want to turn out something that I didn't believe in. I hope I haven't lost all of you and that you're still here waiting for an update. I promise next time there won't be as much of a wait as there was this time.
"So you're seriously trying to tell me that you kissed Damon Salvatore?" Caroline asked for the hundredth time that morning. We were sitting in the car in the parking lot of the university talking about everything that transpired yesterday. So far my illicit kiss with Damon was of the utmost importance to Caroline. She had total faith that the situation with Liam would sort itself out without me losing any time with Scarlett but the thing with Damon required all of her attention.
"Well Damon kissed me but yes. Damon and I kissed after he brought Scarlett and I home after lunch yesterday." I told her and she sighed dreamily.
"Of course you would get every girl on our campus's dream guy Elena. I'm so proud." She said.
"It doesn't mean anything. We're not dating casually or exclusively. He's going to help me with Liam but that's it." I tried to convince her. Caroline wasn't easily convinced, she was convinced Damon and I were some kind of soul mates or something. She said I had good taste in guys and wouldn't just kiss some guy that didn't have good intentions with me and Scarlett. She was right, but I was still convinced the kiss was a one-time thing.
"Was there tongue?" She asked for the first time. She had refrained from asking that question when we were with Scarlett. We didn't need to explain the concept of French kissing to my daughter.
"No, it was long but very chaste. I was impressed by his restraint." I admitted and she practically swooned.
"We better get out there. People are starting to arrive and you've already agreed to spend the morning with me instead of in the library." She said opening the door.
"I need a break from Shakespeare and I don't have that class today so I'm going to spend the morning with my best friend." I told her and she threw her arms around my shoulder as we walked onto the quad. I hadn't spent much time on the quad in the mornings and I could see why it was such a popular hangout.
"Well good morning there." Damon said falling into step beside us. He must have arrived just after we did. He didn't try to kiss me good morning which kind of proved that it was a one-time thing like I'd thought.
"So I hear you rescued my girls yesterday." Caroline started and Damon grinned and nodded his head.
"I did. I'd do it again in an instant." He answered as he kept pace with us. His friends were sitting at their usual table but he never strayed from our sides.
"Well I'm glad you were there. I would have felt horribly guilty if something would have happened with Liam and I wasn't there." She said and I smiled at her, squeezing her hand.
"Like I said it's fine. I'd do it again in a heartbeat." He promised and I had to smile at him. "Speaking of help, I talked to my dad."
"Oh? I really appreciate this Damon, but it's really not necessary. You don't have to put yourself out to help me. I've taken care of everything else on my own." I told him, not wanting to offend him but also not wanting him to think he was responsible for Scarlett and me. Just because I asked for his help once, didn't mean he always had to come to my rescue now. He didn't have to be our hero even though I sort of hoped that he wanted to be.
"I want to help you. I hate everything about that prick from what you've told me and I don't feel like he deserves any part of a life with Scarlett. You're not putting me out, in fact my dad wants to speak to you about it." He said and I smiled and shook my head.
"What can your father do? I need a lawyer not a governor." I asked and he smiled.
"See that's where my dad comes in. He was a renowned lawyer before he entered politics. He has an incredible streak when it comes to wins and losses. He never fails his clients and he said he'd be willing to talk to you to see if there is anything he can do. He misses being in a court room and arguing his cases with a judge and a jury. And if Liam wants to fight then my dad is the man to fight with if you want a battle." Damon told me and I sighed. As fearful as I was to accept his help, I knew I really didn't have a choice. Liam's dad had loads of money and could buy Liam a team of lawyers that would completely destroy me. I would have no one to fight for me, considering the only people who can defend me at all are Caroline and Mrs. Neal. I needed Damon and I hated to admit that.
"Okay, when do I speak to your father?" I asked giving him.
"He and my mother would like to invite you over for dinner tonight or whenever is good for you. My mom got all excited when I started talking about a girl especially since the relationship didn't start with sex. She put something together when I said that I wanted to help you with a legal matter. She thinks that if you weren't important in some way to me, I wouldn't want to help you like this." He said with a shrug.
"Tonight is fine, I think." I answered, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
"Of course tonight is fine Elena. You never have plans." Caroline scoffed and I shook my head and chuckled.
"She spoke. Tonight is good." I told Damon and he grinned.
"Perfect, I'll text my mom and she'll get something amazing planned for dinner. It's just what she does. Guests should be treated like royalty. She literally brings out the good china when we have dinner guests." Damon laughed.
"Tell her not to go to any trouble for Scarlett and me. We don't expect much and we don't need much." I told him.
"It's impossible to rein in Lily Salvatore." Damon said with a shake of his head before he stood up. "I better get going. I have to check out a book in the library before class. I'll catch you later."
"Elena loves the library, she spends every morning in there pretty much. She should totally go with you." Caroline piped up and I glared at her.
"Do you?" He asked and I laughed.
"I don't love it, but I do spend a lot of time there." I laughed.
"Well then come along. I'm not going to object to having a beautiful woman on my arm on my way to the library." He said holding out his arm for me to take. I smiled and shook my head but accepted his proffered arm.
"Have fun you two. You know at least have as much fun as you can in the library without naughty things happening." Caroline called after me and I had to stifle a laugh.
"Caroline is certainly an interesting character. I have a whole new respect for her knowing how she cares about you and Scarlett." He said as we walked through the library doors. Damon didn't strike me as someone who spent a whole lot of time in the library and it showed. He didn't know where he was going as I steered him through the turnstiles.
"Good morning Elena, have you recruited Damon Salvatore?" The librarian asked and I laughed.
"He came on his own but I'm just tagging along." I told her and she smiled.
"Well it's nice to see a new face." She said as we walked down the shelves looking for a certain book that Damon needed.
"Well at least now I know where to find you when you disappear." He said as his hand moved down my arm. I was kind of frozen, I hadn't had anything related to a boyfriend in years.
"Sorry." He said when he felt me stiffen.
"No, I'm sorry. It's just I haven't had anything with anyone in so long. You scared me, but if you want to hold my hand then I'm okay with that." I told him aware that I sounded really awkward. He didn't respond, he just took my hand in his and laced our fingers together. I smiled at the feeling of his hand in mine. It was something I hadn't felt since Liam and even that was different from this. Damon perused the shelves until he finally found the book he was looking for.
"Do you need anything?" He asked and I shook my head and together we walked back to the librarian. Everyone in the libraries eyes were on us and I hadn't had that much attention in a long time. It made me uncomfortable. They more or less ignored us when we walked in, but now that we were holding hands we were officially headline news. It wasn't what I wanted, but I still didn't let go of him. When we were finished, we went our separate ways, me to my lab, and him to his literature class.
"Care, you have to help me! What am I supposed to do?" I demanded as I frantically searched through my closet for something appropriate to wear to the Governors house for dinner.
"Mommy, what's wrong?" Scarlett asked coming into the room dressed in the dress Caroline picked out for her. Scarlett took every opportunity to dress up. She loved fashion, and I was pretty sure that was Caroline's influence. I didn't have time to worry about fashion. I lived in jeans and henleys.
"Mommy can't find a dress to wear to dinner tonight." Caroline told her and I rolled my eyes.
"Why don't you go play until it's time to go? Auntie will help me." I told her and she nodded and left the room.
"Alright grasshopper, come with the master." Caroline said with a dramatic sigh as she pulled me to her bedroom.
Caroline was a miracle worker, she managed to make me look presentable in a black cap sleeved slim dress. It went almost down to my knees and it had lace covered cap sleeves. She called it her perfect meet the parents dress and she argued with me when I told her that's not what was happening. It wasn't a date and we weren't a couple. She just didn't understand that. She hooked my peep toes over her finger and held them out to me but I shook my head.
"I still feel like I'm overdressed." I said gesturing to my dress.
"You're going for dinner at the Governors house. You're not overdressed. Take the shoes." She told me and I sighed and slipped the shoes onto my feet.
"Fine." I said grabbing my purse, and the car keys. "Ready Scarlett?" I called and she came running out of her room where she was playing.
The nerves set in when I parked the car outside the mansion.
"Mommy are we going inside?" Scarlett asked and I nodded my head.
"Yeah." I said snapping out of it and unbuckling my seatbelt. Scarlett was out of the car before I was and I took her hand as we walked up the steps. The door opened before we even knocked and Damon was giving us a smile. It turns out I wasn't overdressed. He was wearing a black shirt and pants slightly dressier than the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing earlier. He made both look equally good.
"Come on in." He said and I offered him a smile and stepped inside.