A/N: I'm changing the rating on this story to M just to be safe. Damon refuses to keep his language clean (he only does that for the CW), and there will be plenty of sexual situations in future chapters. This story won't contain any full-fledged smut, however, since I just don't think it would fit with the tone of the story. As always thanks to everyone for reading and especially if you take the time to review!

Chapter 3

A few days later, Damon and Becca and Ric had claimed the pool table at the Grill. Ric wasn't bad for a human and Becca wasn't bad for a beginning vampire (which made her much better than Ric), but Damon usually won most of the games. This time, however, Becca had beaten him soundly. He watched the sway of her hips as she headed to the bar to get more drinks, on his tab of course. Her long, wavy blond hair flowed over her shoulders. She was wearing tight jeans that hugged her curves perfectly, and her top dipped low enough in back that he could see a good expanse of her smooth skin. His own jeans were feeling a little tight as his eyes followed her.

Ric was looking at him knowingly. "I think I see why you just got your ass kicked. Are you finally going to stop being an idiot and make a move with her?" At least he kept his voice low enough that Damon hoped he was the only one that heard.

Damon shrugged, putting on his best unconcerned look. "Yeah, this weekend. If she's interested."

Now Ric's look was disbelieving. "Are you actually nervous?"

Damon shrugged again, nervously. She was a thousand years old, drop dead gorgeous, and could kill him without breaking a sweat. Of course, he was nervous. "Of course not." He hesitated. "She turns down every guy who approaches her, though."

"That's because she's into you, Damon." Ric somehow managed to look simultaneously exasperated and sympathetic. "What's taken you so long anyway? Patience isn't exactly your forte."

"I didn't want to screw it up, for once. Wanted to make sure I was ready to do it right." He didn't say "I wanted to be over Elena," but he knew Ric knew what he meant. Damon was done with the colossal mindfuck that was his unrequited love for Petrova doppelgangers. He just hoped that he hadn't missed out on any chance he might have had with Becca. He reminded himself that Becca had seemed interested when she had entered his mind and convinced him not to give up on his undead life. He had been able to sense some of her thoughts then (it was his head, after all), and he only hoped she might still want to be more than friends.

"That's actually smart. Who are you and what have you done with Damon Salvatore?" Now Ric was looking a bit incredulous, and Damon knew he should probably be insulted.

"Shut up."

"Seriously. Damon's much better at pool than you are."

He was saved by Becca returning with their drinks. Except saved might not be the right word. "What the hell is that?" Damon pointed at the massive third drink sitting next to two glasses of bourbon. It actually had a pink umbrella in it.

"That is your drink." Becca smiled sweetly. "You said I could pick if I won."

"I have to drink that?"

"Yep."

Damon tried it and grimaced. It was as bad as he expected, and Becca had clearly compelled the bartender. "How much alcohol did you have him put in that?"

"Too strong for you?" She was laughing at him.

"Fuck, no." Obviously he was going to have to drink it.

Damon tried to finish the horrid drink quickly, watching as Becca made short work of Alaric at pool. She turned to him. "So are you ready to lose again?"

He picked up his cue. "Bring it on." Too bad his head was spinning from the alcohol and the way she had smiled and tossed her hair. He was in big trouble.

•••••

Becca tilted her head and looked at him appraisingly. "Can I drive?"

Damon thought that was probably a good idea actually. He was having a tough time walking straight. "Did you get me drunk just so you could drive my car?"

"That, and beat you at pool." She held out her hand, and he tossed her his keys. Luckily, his aim wasn't too bad.

"Was it worth it?"

"Hell, yeah."

As Damon settled in the passenger seat, he tried to remember what he had planned to ask her on the way home. It took him a second, but he had it, and maybe it was a good thing that he was drunk for this conversation. It had been a very long time since he felt these butterflies in his stomach. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"Hanging out with you, probably."

"Want to go to a music festival in D.C.?"

"Sure. I have never been to a music festival. What is it like?"

"There are lots of bands and alcohol. It's fun."

"Is Ric coming, too? Or Caroline?"

"Nope. Just you and me." He grinned at her.

She smiled back. "I'm in, as you say."

He kept his voice as casual as he could. "Good. It's a date, then." He put his head back against the seat, hoping she didn't notice the smile on his face.

When they pulled up to the boarding house, Damon maneuvered himself out of the car with some difficulty and staggered toward the door. That walking straight thing was still giving him trouble, and now that he was upright again, the world was spinning a little. Unfortunately, when he and Becca got inside, Stefan and Elena were not only still awake but seated in the parlor, apparently in the middle of a serious conversation. And even more unfortunately, Damon stumbled over one of the rugs in the hall. At least Becca caught him before he actually fell, but Elena and his brother had been watching.

"Damon, are you drunk?" Elena's big brown eyes combined judgy and amused in an interesting way.

He held up two fingers as a measure. "Little bit. It's her fault." He pointed at Becca, which was awkward since she was still helping to hold him up.

Now Elena just looked amused as her eyes flicked to Becca. "Did you drink him under the table again?"

Damon felt a bit offended at that. Just because he had been stupid enough to challenge Becca to a straight-up drinking contest once didn't mean he would make the same mistake again. How was he supposed to have known that a little thing like her could out-drink him, Original or no?

"No, I just beat him at pool." Becca sounded amused, too.

That wasn't exactly the whole story. "And forced me to drink these awful concoctions." It was important to clarify that.

Stefan entered the conversation, looking annoyed. "Whatever. Can you at least make it up the stairs?" That was clearly a dismissal, but Damon didn't really care at the moment. He was not in the mood, or condition, to trade barbs with his brother.

"I will help him." Becca kept her hands on him as they moved toward the stairs, and Damon leaned on her more than was strictly necessary. He could have made it up the stairs just fine by himself – he did have some experience with being drunk, after all, and there were no treacherous rugs on the stairs – but he didn't exactly have the willpower to move away from her touch just then. It had actually been a while since he had had sex (what with the months of craziness chasing Klaus and trying to be on his best behavior since then), and his body was on fire just at her proximity.

Becca silently helped Damon to his room, and he sat down on his bed. He felt a bit cold as her hands left his body and she stepped away. He tried to hide it by staring at his shoes, debating whether it was worth taking them off. Becca must have seen the object of his focus, because she bent down and quickly removed the shoes. She looked up at him and met his eyes. "I am sorry I got you drunk."

"What?" She was kneeling right in front of him, almost between his legs. He was more than a little distracted.

Now she was smiling. "I said I am sorry I got you drunk."

He smiled back. "Oh, it's okay. Happens all the time. It's practically my natural state."

He started to undo the buttons on his shirt, but suddenly she stood up and she was right there in front of him. Becca's face was only slightly higher than his with him sitting on the bed. His gaze flickered between her sparkling brown eyes and her full pink lips as she looked at him. God, he wanted to kiss her right then, but some small part of his brain was still rational enough to remind him that it was a bad idea. She wasn't some sorority girl or random pick-up at a bar; she was a thousand year-old vampire. No, when he kissed her, he needed to do it right, and that rational voice in his head was telling him that now was not the time. He would mess it up, and he had waited this long just to make sure that he didn't mess it up for once.

Even as Damon was fighting conflicting impulses of brain and body, Becca looked away from his face and quickly undid the buttons on his shirt for him. She took a step back. "Get some sleep, Damon." Her voice was gentle.

Damon reluctantly watched her leave the room before collapsing back onto the bed in frustration. He would be on his game this weekend at the music festival, he thought as he drifted off to sleep, and she would be the one who didn't know what hit her.

•••••

Becca closed Damon's door behind her and stifled a sigh. As an Original, she very rarely slept, and she was quickly working her way through the Salvatores' extensive library. She headed for her own room, wondering if any of the books waiting there could distract her from thoughts of Damon Salvatore. She had desperately wanted to kiss him, and she was almost certain that he had wanted it, too. Almost being the key word. Damon was an inveterate flirt, but so far they had kept things between them strictly on the level of friendship, and it would be completely unfair of her to change that when Damon was too drunk to be entirely in his right mind.

And Becca was afraid, afraid that Elena still held too much of his heart, even if the human girl didn't want it. Afraid that if she gave Damon the rest of her – and Becca knew he already had much of her heart and soul, having claimed it without either of them really being aware of what was happening – that he was too broken to give her what she needed. The problem wasn't that Damon was damaged, that he had baggage – Becca had centuries of baggage herself, after all – but rather that a major part of Damon's baggage resided just down the hall. Becca would not be a replacement for Elena Gilbert. She wanted Damon only if he chose her because of who she was. He had come back with her, chosen to continue living because she had gone after him and asked; that was something. And he shared much of himself with her, his time and his laughter and his knowledge and his mind. She and Damon had fun together, and Becca didn't doubt that they were good together. But Damon was a master at hiding behind sarcasm and innuendo and alcohol. She still didn't know if his heart was free and intact, and she couldn't casually give her body to him because she knew there would be nothing casual about it.

She was going crazy with the waiting, though. Perhaps the music festival this weekend would finally answer the question of whether Damon had any interest in her beyond friendship, whether he had moved on from Elena. In the meantime, she had several hours to fill before he woke up.