Chronicles of Chuck Bass
"Chapter One"
There just were certain things that a woman just couldn't forget.
For instance, she would never forget the time she had progressed from girl into womanhood; the time she had begin wearing her first bra; the time she had her first real date; the first time she fell in love and the first time she had made love.
Blair was remained of this latter two as she was sitting across from the man who had played an instrumental role in both; her ex-husband, Chuck Bass. She had tried to concentrate on what he was saying and not on the memories invading her mind. Memories of naked bodies and silken Egyptian sheets; memories of the insane love making sessions that had seemed to last forever, and orgasm of the highest intensity that had no endings - she expected this from him but to expect him to be so gentle with her she did not.
Seeing Chuck again reminded her of all those things, it also reminded her of all the pain still lingering deep within her heart, and was a rude awakening that even two years after their divorce, he was not yet out of her system, not fully out of her heart. That thought made her rather uncomfortable.
"What about it, Blair?" Chuck asked softly, in his normal drawling voice which was driving her crazy after taking a leisurely sip of his scotch on ice, interrupting her thoughts. The eyes of chocolate brown met his were curious yet reserved.
The sat at a corner table in Chez Françoise, as the well known restaurant in Paris where Chuck had purposed to her those many years ago. On weekends it was usually filled to capacity, but tonight - a weeknight- the amount of people dining was a good number: not too many to be considered crowded and not too few to be considered as cozy. The atmosphere was relaxing, comfortable and tranquil - perfect for meeting her ex of course.
"Why me Chuck? Why have you come to me with such a generous offer of all people?" she had finally asked him after the long uncomfortable silence, her brows knit.
He smiled before his gaze shifted to the magazine in front of him, having expected her curiosity to get the best of her. "I think the answer of that is quite obvious. That piece you did on Christian Dior and High fashion profiles was outstanding, exquisite and says it all."
She smiled gratefully, before feeling the slightness of a blush raising on her face. "Thank you."
When Christian Dior came to her office to announce to the world his story, the story all magazine editors were dying to get. It had been Blair Cornelia Waldorf, a twenty-eight year old freelance writer, magazine editor and family friend of Dior, whom got the man's exclusive interview and rights to write the article. Before then, Blair had done a number of jobs for various fashion publications but the piece on Christian for Vogue magazine had brought her skills as a fashion journalist into the national spotlight.
"And you know how I am when it comes to my privacy, Blair." he continued after taking a slip from his glass, "You know me better than anyone, and I think it's time people knew the real Chuck Bass as well, I want you to be the one to tell my story because I know you'll be fair and objective.
Blair inhaled slowly before picking up her white wine glass and bringing it to her lips to let the cooling sensation run down her throat. Yes, she did know him and at one time she'd felt she had known him better than anyone. But that had been before the demise of their marriage. After that she'd wondered if she even knew him at all. She silently admitted there were time when she thought there were things about his past that he refused to share with her. But the one thing she did know was that Chuck wasn't the old, hard, millionaire the media made him out to be. He was fast becoming one of the largest businessmen in the country of the United States, and everyone wanted to know all they could about the elusive, wealthy divorce who'd made his mark in the business world.
"People might think I'd be less objective since we were once married." she finally said.
"Or they may think that since we were married you could have the inside scoop if there were any. I want my story told Blair, so people can stop speculating."
"How long did it take you to come up with that?" She asked before pushing the wine glass away from her, she as of now was not feeling very well.
He decided to ignore her last remark before smirking at her softly. Again she was surprised. The Chuck she knew wouldn't have cared what anyone thought. She had been a journalist long enough to know that people liked reading whatever they could get their hands on about the rich and famous - regardless of whether the information was true. "The speculations may not stop, Chuck. It may only increase."
"I know that, but I want to put it in writing once and for all that I live a very normal and very dull life that doesn't include a different woman in my bed every night as my past may lead people to think."
Blair took a long sip of her wine, which she had once abandoned but now looked promising to her. She was glad to hear that. Although she hadn't wanted to believe what she'd read in the newspaper and tabloids - she'd came to believe that everything that she read about him was true and maybe he did cheat on her during their marriage. The thought of him becoming a womanizer once again had bothered her more than it should have.
She sighed as she placed her empty wine glass onto the table. There was a lot to consider. She had thought about him a lot over the past few weeks after hearing he had came to Paris on business. He had moved back to New York within months after their divorce.
He had come to town to discuss a 'business' deal within Bass Enterprises with the Paris branch which consisted of - Freddie, Isaac and Timothy- to fulfill their dreams: to build a Palace hotel that would serve also as a cluster of upscale shops and restaurants. She had been surprised when she had gotten a call form Chuck yesterday, inviting her to dinner to discuss a business propositition. The last time they had seen or 'spoken' to each other was at Nate and Serena's wedding reception almost a year ago. She knew Serena and Chuck stayed in contact over the past couple of years.
Her mind went back to the offer he'd made. She knew any journlist would jump at the chance to gdo an exclusive with Chuck. He was a man who seldom did interviews. But not only was he willing to do one, he wanted her to be a part of it.
And that was the crux of her problem. That was the reason she felt so tense around him. There was no way she could spend any amount of time with him and not remember what they had once meant to each other. Although they had agreed to remain friends after their divorce -such of-, all it took was for her to look at him to know that even after all this time she was still very much attracted to him. He was still handsome, sexy and his whole appearance changed to masculine, she could tell the gym was doing him justice, with eyes so compelling they not only penetrated her soul but had the ability to draw you in. Even onw when he looked at her, his eyes went that hazelish color they always did when he saw something he liked. They were just that intense and magnetic.
She sighed deeply. The effect Chuck still had on her was startling and played havoc on her raw nerve endings. He could still make her body ache in certain places. The interview would take a good week to complete if she did it in stages like the one she'd done with Christian Dior. How would she survive Chuck Bass for an entire week?
"Where will the interview take place?" She asked, breaking the silence between them trying not to notice his hands. They were hands that used to give her house upon hours of death-shattering pleasure. Of all the things they used to disagree about while married, sex was never an issue' the both of them had over passionate hormones. The main reason they had decided to go ahead and marry so soon after college was that they had found that it was hard to keep their overheated sexuality under control. It was during those times in his arms, while they were able to bring each to second orgasm while still trembling from the effects of the first, the she'd felt so much an integral part of him. Even now, a part of her body tingled from thinking about how they used to make love all night, day and every other time of the year.
"My House."
Blair raised an arched brow when she realized he had answered her question. "Your house? In New York?"
He gave her a smile that had the ability to actually reach out and touch her, which was bad timing after having thoughts of them making love. "No, the one here in Paris." he murmured softly.
"She stared at him through the lingering fog of his words, confused. "You a house here in Paris?"
He knew that information had surprised her. "Yes actually, it's a few miles into Paris, a nice townhouse which is quite big actually. I bought it six months ago. It's right in the center of Paris actually, are you familiar with the area?"
She stared at him dumbfounded as she nodded in a stunned shock. Yes, she was familiar with the area, she dreamed of having a house in the beautiful section that was in the heart of everything she loved about Paris.
"How are your parents Blair? I understand that they are back together?"
Blair refused to let him smoothly just change the subject like that, not after the bomb he had just dropped on her. "Yes, Eleanor and Cyrus had a pretty big fight, which concluded them getting separated but after a year their back together and better than ever." She said, thinking about the adorable old couple living the good life on Cyrus' villa. Then, without missing a beat, she asked, frowning "Why did you buy a house out here, Chuck?"
He met her gaze. "Because I'm moving back Blair."
She frowned even more, her face turning red with rage. "Why the fuck are you doing that chuck?"
Rather than to tell her the absolute truth, Chuck decided to give her the watered down version. "I missed Paris, Blair. The atmosphere basically. Although I as born in New York, I consider Paris my home once I spent quite some time here. Is it unusual for someone to want to change his scene?"
She considered the question thoughtfully before responding. "No, but you use to hate Paris because of the things you didn't want to remember." They were things he had never shared with her, which caused her to believe he had a lover on the side. "Is it easier to come back now that you've gotten everything you wanted in life?"
A part of Chuck knew that now was not the time to tell her he hadn't gotten everything since he didn't have her. Nor was it the time to tell her that he'd found out the hard way he had never been satisfied. The more he obtained, the more greedier he had become. But in the end he'd realized material possessions and success weren't everything. Having someone you loved and someone who loved you were. And he did love the beautiful woman sitting across from him. He loved everything about her. He loved the way she wore her hair now, an abundance of shoulder-length, precision-cut layers. And he loved her full lips and dark brown eyes that conveyed sensuality and allurement all rolled into one.
"No that's not the reason, Blair." he said as the corners of his lips lifted in a smile. "I guess you can say that I've come back to find myself. That's one of the reasons I want you to do the article. Talking about it, getting it out with someone I trust will help. That's one mistake I regret making while married to you. I didn't openly communicate with you as I should have."
Blair said nothing for a long time. This was definitely not the same Chuck. He might look the same but his views had definitely changed. What he had just confessed was true. He hadn't openly communicated wit h her because he'd been too busy to openly communicated with her because he'd been too busy making it to the top and knocking Bart Bass name off the top as fast as possible. Being successful and having money and power were all that mattered. He had wanted those things more than he had wanted her. What had bothered her most about their breakup was how easily he had walked away from their marriage without putting up a fight.
"I need to think about it Chuck."
"That's fine but I'd like to know something within a week if possible."
She nodded and glanced at the magazine that was still in front of him. A week was plenty of time for her to really think things through. "All right, I'll let you know something by then."
She then looked up at him and once again got caught up in the way he was looking at her. His gaze was touching her; she could feel it thought the clothes she was wearing. The deep penetration of his eyes was hot. She let the scope of her vision run lightly over his face, everywhere except the deepness of his dark eyes. She took in the rich ivory color of his skin, the sharp cheekbones, the jutting chin, the full lips. She inhaled deeply when she felt the deep sexual awareness and knew she had to make sure his offer was just what it was. She could not fill her head with illusions that is was more than that. For a moment she tried reading his thoughts; but as usual his expression was unreadable.
"This interview Chuck, it's strictly business right?" She decided to ask him.
He lifted his scotch glass and me her stare before taking a sip. "Yes, Blair, this is just strictly business." he said smoothly. He then tipped the scotch glass to his lips and while the cool liquid burned his throat he thought, yeah strictly unfinished business.