Author's Note: I do not think there are any words for how much of a labor of love this chapter is for me. I have had this planned since before I even wrote the prologue. I have to give a HUGE thank you to Anna, Daisy, and Tamilnadu09. I don't know if I'd be able to post this chapter without them. I might also suggest listening to Skinny Love by the magnificent Bon Iver. It gave me lots of inspiration. There really isn't much I can say to preface this chapter. So, I'll just say I love you all. You leave me the most amazing reviews that have me smiling so much I worry about the lines I will get on my face from it. Just remember that...and please don't kill me.
Chapter 31
And in the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different kind
And I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
The limo was tense and silent, filled with so many things that needed to be said, but nobody willing to say them. Sawyer was still peacefully asleep in Caroline's arms, and she was leaning against Stefan with her eyes closed, even though she wasn't asleep. Alaric was next to him, content to stare at the glass of scotch in his hands that he'd brought with him in the car. And Damon, well, he was just trying not to lose his mind. He knew what everyone was thinking, could see it clear as day, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
Everyone liked Andie just fine, but none of them believed that this was right for him. It was probably the fact that they did like her that made them feel strongly about this. Andie had never been anything but good to him. She'd always loved him and never hurt him. He knew that he couldn't claim the same. He never set out with the intention to hurt her, but he knew he had. There were more lies between them than even she knew. He'd let her down in more ways than she knew, but he wouldn't let her down today.
He couldn't.
This wasn't just about them. Her father was running for President of the United States, and he actually had a shot. That meant if everything stayed calm, he'd most likely receive the official nomination in a few months. For that to happen, everything in his family needed to be perfect. It would be anything but perfect if his daughter got ditched on her wedding day.
He'd chosen this path knowing where it led. He had gone into this with eyes wide open, no thought of going back. Though, things hadn't exactly gone as planned for the past few months, it didn't change the reasons why he proposed to her. He loved her and she loved him. They made sense together. Their lives were in the same place, and they wanted the same things out of life. They wanted them with each other. It might not be the perfect marriage that people thought they would have when they were young and stupid, but it was the right one.
"Drink?" Alaric extended his bottle of scotch, a nervous look in his eyes.
He looked at the bottle, weighing his options. He'd already had a few drinks today, but nothing close to what he needed, and the alcohol had already started to wear off. However, he probably needed to be sober for his wedding. It probably wouldn't be a great idea to show up drunk to his wedding to a senator's daughter. Then again, right now it didn't feel like his best decision to stay sober. To drink, or not to drink?
"Yeah," he said, snatching the bottle from Alaric before anyone could argue. Alcohol always won out for him. Children used safety blankets; he used alcohol.
"Again?" Stefan questioned from his place in the limo.
Damon scowled at his brother. "No comments from the peanut gallery."
Stefan watched Damon bring the bottle to his lips and consume an ample amount before he rolled his eyes and said. "I don't get you sometimes."
"What's there not to get? I'm an open book."
Stefan snorted. "Okay, whatever you say."
"Can we please not do this again?" Caroline whispered, opening her eyes to give Damon an exhausted look. "I am tired and stressed out. At this point, I just want to get this wedding over with so I can take Sawyer home. So, please, both of you shut up."
Damon watched from the side of Andie's sunken tub as she put the finishing touches on her makeup in front of her bathroom mirror. Her father had decided earlier this year to make his official announcement of his intention to run for President of the United States. So, for the past several months, his girlfriend had been in a whirlwind of family obligations. There were dinners to raise money for his campaign, photoshoots to show what a family man he was, and interviews to solidify this fact even further. It all seemed to be working for her father, so that left her busier and busier with everything. And seeing as her father hated him, Damon was involved in none of it. In short, Damon's girlfriend had felt like a ghost as of late.
Tonight, she had a dinner with people her father was hitting up for even more money for his campaign, leaving him to fend for himself at Alaric's birthday party. Normally he wouldn't mind, but he could admit that it would be nice to actually spend some time with his girlfriend outside of the bedroom. It came as a bit of a shock to him, but he missed having her around. When he did not have her at his side, it made Caroline, Stefan, and Alaric feel as if they could say anything they wanted to him. That anything was usually Elena. Ever since they'd called the cease fire, everyone felt the need to offer their two cents on the matter. It was two cents that he wanted no part of. What was going on between him and Elena was just that, between him and Elena. They had no business in his business, and he wanted them out of it.
He also missed getting to unwind with Andie. She didn't push him, and it was okay for them to not have serious conversations every night of the week. He got to relax with her. Even if she wasn't totally comfortable with his family and friends again, she didn't push him for anything. She let him be, and that was nice.
"This dinner shouldn't last later than 10:30, which means I should still be able to get to Ric's in plenty of time to enjoy the party."
"I don't know," Damon clicked his tongue in his mouth and grimaced slightly. "By 10:30, Ric might already be passed out in an alcoholic stupor in his bathtub."
Andie laughed and met Damon's eye in the mirror. "He is far too much of a professional to throw in the towel that early. Besides, he can't have his girlfriend thinking he's a lightweight."
The words still sounded foreign to his ears when someone would mention the word girlfriend and Ric's name in the same sentence. Apparently he'd shacked up with one of his students during a summer course, and hadn't told anyone, even him, that he wasn't really single anymore. His excuse was that she was his student and it was against the rules, so they had to hide it from everyone until she'd been out of his course for a while, which had turned out to be three months. His best friend fell in love and didn't even tell him.
No, it didn't upset him at all. Anyone who said otherwise was crazy.
"I can't believe he's dating a 21-year-old. She probably still does keg stands for crying out loud."
"Honey," Andie spun around to lean against her sink and cross her arms over her chest, "If memory serves, I'm pretty sure you did a keg stand over Fourth of July weekend."
"It was a dare!"
"You're 31."
"Well, if my memory serves, you told me that it had been oh my God, so hot, later that night."
It was now Andie's turn to act indignant and scoff. "I was plastered." He opened his mouth to fire off a witty retort when Andie held her hand up to stop him. "Do not use my own argument against me."
Damon reached out and snatched her extended hand, tugging her to him, where he pulled her onto his lap. "Let's just call this argument a draw and let it go?"
When he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her to him, she twined hers around his neck. "I'll be at Ric's as soon as I can, okay?" she asked, moving back to their previous topic of conversation.
"Am I ever going to get you to myself again?"
She chuckled softly. "Yes," she promised, "Election season doesn't last forever."
"But if your dad actually wins this thing, aren't you going to be just as busy being the daughter of the president?"
"My life will change, of course, but we don't have to. Things are just going to be busy for right now."
"You know, it kind of feels like your dad is running for president just to keep you from spending time with me."
Andie softly slapped his chest. "He would not do that. However, he would totally use the situation to his advantage. He is a politician after all."
"Oh, so you do admit that he's an asshole?"
"Damon," she sighed, her jaw clenching in frustration. This was always their point of contention: her father.
When she moved to stand up, he held her tighter to him. "I'm sorry, I know we don't agree about your father."
"Agree? We're not even in the same stratosphere."
"The man hates me with the fire of a thousand suns. He's not exactly innocent in this whole thing either."
"He is warming up to you, Damon," she insisted softly. "He's just protective over me. Your father is the same way, whether you want to admit it or not." He sighed, but said nothing, not wanting to touch the topic of his father with a ten-foot pole. "I really do need to head out, though. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can leave. So, I'll be at Ric's as soon as I can, and then we'll stay at your place. Sound good to you?"
"What about the rest of the weekend? How many hours of free time has your father allotted for you?"
She smiled widely and leaned down to press a soft kiss on his lips. "I am all yours for the duration of the weekend. There's the whole Delaware straw poll coming up, but for this weekend, I am yours and yours alone."
"Promise?"
She continued to smile as she nodded her head. "I have a special bag I'm bringing over in honor of this special occasion."
He perked up at the mention of a special bag. "What happens to be in this bag? May I get a preview?"
"I'm not going to tell you much, but I will tell you this. I had an interesting shopping trip at La Perla earlier this week. I'll leave you with that tidbit."
He smirked and raised his eyebrows suggestively. "I think I approve. However, I will need a thorough inspection to make sure."
"I think we can make that happen." She smiled happily as she lifted his wrist to look at his watch. Seeing the time, her eyes widened and she jumped from his lap. "I swear, you try to distract me to make me late for things with my family." He watched, slightly amused, as she scurried around her bathroom, trying to make sure she had everything she needed.
"It's not my fault that I'm so captivating."
"Just shut up and help me get out the door," she barked at him, but it held no trace of anger or annoyance.
With a sigh, he moved to his feet and made his way through her apartment, being sure to turn off all of the lights, and the radio that she seemed to always have playing softly in the background when she was home. By the time he was done, she was running from her bedroom, holding her long gown up so she would not trip. She looked slightly panicked as he stepped in front of her and placed gentle hands on her shoulders. "Calm down, take a moment, and breathe. I know tonight is a big deal for your father, but you need to calm down. You'll be fine. You aren't going to say anything wrong. Just be yourself. They'll love you."
Taking his advice, her eyes fell shut, and he felt her shoulders rise and fall beneath his touch as she worked to calm her nerves. After a few deep breaths, her eyes opened again, now free of the panic that he had seen moments before. "Okay, I'm better now."
"Good." He smiled and leaned forward to brush a comforting kiss on her lips. She easily melted against him, allowing herself one last minute to enjoy him before she had to leave. "I'll talk to you later?"
"You will," he assured her.
"Okay, do you want to make sure to lock up, then?" she asked and he nodded. "Good, I'm going to run now before my father disowns me." She placed one last, quick kiss to his lips before she began backing toward her door. "Tell Alaric I'm sorry, and happy birthday."
When she got to the door, he asked her, "Wait, don't I get anything?"
She smiled and warmly rolled her eyes. "Love you."
"Thank you." He smirked, and then added, "Love you too."
After that she was gone, leaving him to make sure that he hadn't missed anything and then to let himself out of her apartment. Using the key she'd given him, he locked the door and went to the elevator. He'd need to make a quick stop by his apartment to pick up Ric's present and then he would head over for his birthday party.
By the time he had everything he needed and was inside of Ric's, the party was in full swing. It was almost ten, and his apartment was filled with people. It was easy to find Ric through the crowd, though. Really, it was easy to find Ric wherever he was, as long as there was a bar, Ric would be by it. With a smile on his face, he walked over to his best friend, anxious to give him his birthday present. He'd worked long and hard to find the perfect present for him, now it was time for the payoff of getting to see his face when he saw it.
"Hope I'm not interrupting." Ric pulled away from his girlfriend, a slightly frustrated look on his face. "Calm down, Alaric, you can continue making out with your precious Meredith in a moment."
The female he spoke of turned to face him, wrapping her arm around Alaric's waist. "Damon," she said tightly, "How nice to see you again."
He and Meredith weren't what anyone could really call the best of friends. He thought she was too young for Alaric. She couldn't be ready for what Alaric wanted in his life right now. Granted, there might have been a few extenuating circumstances with him and Elena, but he could vouch for the fact that dating someone who had so much left to figure out about her life hadn't worked out that well for him. He didn't want his friend to get hurt, and right now, he couldn't be sure that Meredith wouldn't hurt him. That meant that he probably wasn't as nice to her as he should be, and Meredith, who surprised him by having a backbone, responded with attitude of her own to his behavior.
He didn't know what it said about him, but it actually made him gain a little grudging respect for her. She didn't take his shit. He had to admire that. He wouldn't tell anyone that, of course, but that wasn't the point. If she could continue to surprise him like that, he might come around see her as a decent match for his best friend. Hey, it had happened before with Caroline.
"Happy birthday!" Damon pulled a shiny magazine from behind his back and handed it to his best friend.
Alaric grabbed the magazine from him and stared down at it in disbelief. After a moment, he lifted his head and asked, "You got me a subscription to AARP? Seriously?"
"Two-year subscription." Damon beamed and pointed down to the post-it note on the front of the magazine. "See?"
"You couldn't even wrap it? If you're going to give me a crappy gift, you could at least try to dress it up."
"Oh, just read the damn post-it note," Damon snapped and moved the few feet toward the bar. He found his bottle of scotch hidden in the midst of all the other alcohol and began to prepare a drink for himself.
A short few moments later Ric is next to him, a bright and wide smile on his face. "You got me a one-year subscription to a scotch of the month club?"
Damon slid the glass of scotch he'd made over to Ric. "Nice to know your reading comprehension skills are still in tact."
"It's your birthday!" Damon and Ric both flinched at the high-pitched squeal from Caroline as she ran toward them, arms extended for a hug. She threw them around Alaric and hugged him the best her protruding stomach would allow. "Happy birthday!"
Alaric could only laugh as he hugged Caroline in return. One would think that being in the third trimester of pregnancy might slow Caroline down, but Damon had found that it hadn't slowed her down in the slightest. She was as peppy and energetic as ever. In fact, Damon thought the pregnancy was slowing Stefan down more than it was Caroline. Then again, his brother was known for his overwhelming ability to worry about anything and everything.
"Thank you, Caroline."
Stefan appeared now, moving much slower than his wife, a bottle of bourbon in his hands. "Your present," he said in lieu of a greeting. "Try to make it last longer than an hour."
"I make no promises." Alaric smiled and grabbed the bottle from Stefan. "After this party, I'm going to be set on alcohol for at least a month." Damon eyed his friend skeptically, who then amended, "Okay, two weeks. Maybe."
"I love being pregnant and all, but I really miss drinking. It's been seven months since I have been able to sit down and enjoy a nice glass of wine."
"Don't be sad, Blondie. I've made sure to drink enough for the both of us," Damon assured her with a smile and a tip of his glass in her direction.
"You've made sure to drink enough for five people, Damon," Meredith told him, smiling brightly in his direction, only a hint of sarcasm in her eyes.
"Watch it, Meredith," Damon warned. "You are dating an alcoholic."
Alaric shrugged, unaffected by the classification, but added, "I prefer the term connoisseur of liqueurs and spirits."
"Rich man's alcoholic," Damon said, nodding appreciatively. "I like it." Alaric grinned and tapped his glass against Damon's. "This is why we're best friends."
"Ooh! Elena's here!" Caroline exclaimed, raising her arms and waving them in the air. Cause, you know, Elena would have never been able to find them otherwise. What with them hidden among the masses of forty people, it was like a riveting game of Where's Waldo?.
Elena easily spotted them, courtesy of the perky blonde frantically waving her arms in the air, and came toward them. She took a few steps, then turned around, and motioned to someone behind her. Moments later, Colin moved next to her, a warm smile on his face, while a scowl took hold of Damon's. She brought the model to Alaric's party? What was he, her puppy that followed her everywhere she went?
She was holding lightly to his arm when they reached the group, but she quickly dropped it to lean forward and hug Caroline before she produced a tall and thin black bag for Alaric. "Happy birthday, Ric. I come bearing gifts."
Smiling, Ric grabbed the bag from her hands and reached in to pull out a bottle of Ric's favorite bourbon. "I can't believe you still remember. You're a good woman, Elena Gilbert."
Elena winked at Ric. "A good bartender never forgets a drink order." She turned to Colin and grabbed his arm to pull him into the small circle. "I hope you don't mind that I brought a friend, Ric. This is Colin. I don't think you met him on Halloween."
Ric set his present from Elena down on the bar and reached his hand out toward Colin, who politely shook it. "Nice to meet you, man. Help yourself to the bar. There should be more than enough to go around."
"Thanks," Colin said. "Happy birthday, by the way."
"Thank you, but honestly, once you hit thirty, they're really just an excuse to get too drunk to see."
"Isn't that a Friday for you?" Elena teased.
"Please," Alaric scoffed. "That's a Monday."
Damon rolled his eyes and Elena joked around with Ric like he was her oldest buddy. Ric was his best friend, and he had been long before Elena came into the picture, but since she was a bartender and Ric was an alcoholic, she thought that made them buddies. And stupid Ric encouraged it. How was that for solidarity? His best friend still treated the woman that broke his heart like she was the second coming of Jesus because she knew how to mix a good drink. Traitor.
Okay, he could admit that he sounded a little petty. Scratch that, he sounded a lot petty. It was just – his mind had been doing weird things since their conversation in the bar just over a week ago. He'd been seconds away from asking her to dinner when that smiling model came waltzing in, kissing her cheek, and resting his arm behind her chair like it belonged there. On Halloween, when he first asked her about Colin, she'd sworn that it was nothing. He'd believed she was going out with Colin to appease a wish of Caroline's. Color him surprised, when it turned out that, not only were they still spending time together, but also Caroline wholeheartedly believed it was going somewhere. Yep, Blondie was just positive that she'd found Elena her soul mate.
"Having a good conversation with your scotch, there?" Damon looked up at the sound of his brother's voice. He was surprised to see that Stefan was the only one left standing in front of him now. Apparently, everyone else had dispersed.
Damon looked into the glass and shrugged. "I figured I'd bond with it before I drank it."
"I take it you aren't a fan of Colin?" Stefan asked, apparently content to jump straight into the fire instead of dancing around it for a few minutes.
"He's a model, and I'm straight. What is there to be a fan of?"
Stefan shook his head. "And it would have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he's dating your ex-girlfriend?"
His head snapped up, forgetting all about the glass full of scotch in his hands. "They're dating?"
Stefan smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Figured that would get your attention."
"Answer the question. Are they dating?"
"According to my wife – so take this information for what you will – Elena swears they're not, but they must be because they see each other at least three times a week. Two more weeks and she'll have names picked out for their kids." When Damon tensed and his eyes jerked away from Stefan, his brother audibly grimaced. "Shit, I'm sorry, Damon. I didn't mean it like that."
Damon lifted his glass to his lips and swallowed every last drop before reaching for the bottle of scotch behind him. "Don't be." He smiled stiffly at his brother. "Elena can do whoever she wants. It's what I told her to do." Scotch in hand, Damon walked away from Stefan, needing ample distance from that conversation. What he really needed though was alcohol – lots of it – and distractions.
Alaric's friends weren't who he would normally view as good distractions, seeing as most of them were professors like him, but they would do tonight. He needed time to kill until Andie got here anyway. Then, once she was here, he could say that he'd played the social butterfly all evening, let her say hello to Alaric, and then go home. On the train of thought of his girlfriend, he checked his phone to see if he'd somehow missed any texts or calls from her, but he found there were none. It was nearing eleven and he still hadn't heard a word from her. How long could a fundraising dinner for a politician go on for?
"You know you'll have to like me at some point, right?" Meredith interrupted his few moments he was spending on a break from conversations with other guests. She had a glass of wine in her hand and a casual smile on her face as she stared up at him. "One day, you'll have to acknowledge that I'm actually not a siren out to lure him to his death."
"No wonder Ric fell for you. You're every dork's hot nerd fantasy come to life."
"Was that a compliment?" she questioned, pressing a finger beneath her ear and leaning forward. "Do my ears deceive me?"
Damon's phone vibrated in his pocket and he quickly pulled it out. Andie's name flashed up at him, along with a short text from her apologizing, and saying that she wouldn't be able to make it. Apparently the dinner was going to go on for longer than she'd thought, and she swore that they'd talk tomorrow. Perfect.
He looked back up at Meredith, slightly annoyed with his current circumstance. "Oh, give it a rest, you know I thought you were hot. I'm not blind."
"I know," she smirked, "But it's nice to hear something halfway positive about me from your mouth, even if it is a little degrading."
"Oh," Damon grimaced, peering down into his glass, "You're one of those."
"Calm down, I'm not a feminist."
"Good to know."
"I'm serious, though, you can't loathe me forever."
Damon looked at Meredith and rolled his eyes. "Why do you care what I think?"
Meredith stared up at Damon like he was speaking a foreign language to her. "You're my boyfriend's best friend. You think he really won't start to think differently if you can't stand me?"
"Trust me, Ric doesn't give a damn what I think. Don't believe me? Talk to Elena, she can tell you all about how they're such good friends."
Meredith sucked in a breath and nervously glanced away. "Right, the ex. Forgot about her."
"So, there you go. There's your proof that my opinion doesn't have much effect on what Ric does or doesn't do." Damon looked through the room, seeing a few couples dancing to the music, laughing and chatting with each other as they swayed comfortably. His eyes easily spotted Elena's dark hair, tied high in a ponytail, from the rest of the group. She was pressed against Colin, giggling about something, when he suddenly leaned down and captured her lips.
His entire body froze as he watched her smile against his lips before happily reciprocating it. Her arms slid up his body to wrap themselves around his neck and pull him closer to her. Her body easily fit against his as they kissed, neither looking as if there was any intention of breaking free any time soon.
"Damon?" A hand appeared in front of his face, fingers snapping, to get his attention. "You there?" He tried to pull his eyes from what he was watching in front of him, but he couldn't seem to tear himself away. It was almost like watching a car wreck. You knew it was wrong to look, but you still slowed down and craned your neck to catch a glimpse. "Damon!"
Finally, when Meredith stepped in front of him, blocking Elena and Colin from his view, he looked at her, gruffly asking, "What?"
Her brows furrowed in confusion and she took a small step backwards. "What just got into you?"
"What do you want, Meredith? It must be important if you felt the need to start snapping your fingers in front of my face."
She looked a little taken aback, and, if he wasn't mistaken, slightly hurt at the sudden change in his attitude. "I was just saying that if you really don't think that your opinion matters to Ric, you're delusional. You're his best friend. Of course he cares what you think."
"Whatever you say."
"You know, if you're really his best friend too, maybe what he thinks should also matter to you. Maybe you should care that he cares about me."
"You know what? Maybe you're right."
Meredith fought to keep the smile from her face. "Really? You're actually going to give me a chance?"
"What?" he asked, confused on where she got that idea from. "No, I don't care about your relationship with Alaric. I was talking about the delusional thing. I think you're right, I obviously have trouble seeing what's right in front of me. So, if you'll excuse me. I have something I need to do."
He left Meredith behind him, leaving her lost and unsure of what had just happened with their conversation. He was sure he might hear about that later from Alaric, and how he should be nicer to Meredith, but he didn't care right now. Alaric should know him well enough by now to know that if Damon truly didn't like Meredith, he'd behave much worse toward her. If he couldn't figure that out, that was his problem. Right now, he had other things he needed to do, more pressing things.
If he knew Elena like he thought he did, and he was pretty sure he did, she'd be running off to the bathroom any minute now. She could never last long without going to the bathroom when she was drinking alcohol, and by his count, she'd had three that he'd seen. He just needed everyone else at the party to not need to go to the bathroom. So, he slid into Alaric's bathroom, also going on the assumption of how well he knew her. He was betting that she would bypass the guest bathroom, wanting to avoid the one that everyone else had used tonight, and use Alaric's, which hadn't been used much.
Sure enough, after only a few minutes of waiting, Elena came into the bathroom, unaware of his presence just a few short feet away. "Elena," he whispered, causing her to jump and twist around to face him in the dim lighting of the bathroom. Her hands were clasped to her chest and she was breathing heavily.
"What are you doing in here?" she questioned him softly, looking out the bathroom door to see if anyone else was outside. "Why are you standing in the dark? Are you waiting for me?"
Damon brushed past her to close and lock the door. After securing them their privacy, he turned back to her, her name falling softly from his lips, "Elena."
"What are you doing? Do you need to talk about something? Is everything okay?"
"No, everything isn't okay."
She relaxed then, breathing a sigh of relief. He could see her concern filter into her eyes now that the apprehension had gone. "What's wrong? Talk to me."
Damon grimaced and looked back at the bathroom door, the door that led right back to the party, the party where she was attending with her date, Colin. This date was only supposed to be something done to appease Caroline, that's what she'd said. Well, she'd maybe said something different, but that's what it had been about. What it wasn't about was being an actual date. She had made it clear to him that she was strictly friends with the Colin guy. It was a line he'd bought for some time, until he showed up in the bar that was his place with Elena. It was their place, the place where he saw her for the very first time. And then Colin just walked in like he belonged, and apparently he did, since Mark knew his drink order. So, the friends thing became a little harder to buy after that. However, it wasn't until tonight that he was calling bullshit. They were officially dating now; nobody could deny it. He'd seen the kiss. He'd seen every last second of it.
"Why did you bring Colin?" he finally demanded, turning to face her again.
Confusion formed on her face as she stared up at him. "Because he's my friend and I thought he'd have fun."
"Why is it your place to invite people to a party, Elena? It's not like this is Caroline's party, it's Ric's."
"I know," she shrugged her shoulders, "Ric and I are friends."
"No!" he snapped, pointing a finger in her direction. "Ric is my friend, my best friend. That means you don't get to just show up with your new flavor of the moment."
Elena's jaw clenched at his words. "He's just a friend, Damon. And if Ric doesn't want Colin here, we'll leave, but I'll need Ric to tell me that himself."
"Really? Friends?" he questioned suspiciously, taking a step forward to invade Elena's space. "When's the last time you kissed Bonnie like that?" Elena's eyes were wide as she stared up at him. "Oh yeah, didn't think I'd see that did you? His tongue down your throat?"
"It's not like that," she began timidly, but he quickly jumped in.
"A model, Elena? Really? Did you learn nothing from my divorce from Katherine? A model?" He spoke the words like they disgusted him and left him with a bad taste in his mouth, which they did. They were gross.
"He's a good guy!" Elena defended Colin. "He's been a good friend to me. A friend that isn't tied into all of this, and understands what place I'm in right now."
"I understand what place you're in!" he exclaimed, hitting his own chest for effect. "I understand! Isn't that why we're doing this thing we're doing? I can finally acknowledge that we're on the same page with things right now?"
"Not in that way, Damon." She tried to explain. "Colin just went through a really crappy breakup. That's what place he understands that I'm in."
"Well, you're just in a lot of places right now aren't you?"
"I guess so," she sighed, "But that's what Colin is for me. He's a friend, and I could use that."
"So why are you kissing him?"
"Because he's cute and I've had a little too much to drink. It happened with us once upon a time when we had no intention of going anywhere with anything we were doing. It was a kiss, that's it!"
"But we did go somewhere!" he pointed out. "We went everywhere."
"What is going on with you? Are you drunk?" She shook her head, confused and disoriented as to the situation she'd found herself in when she came into the bathroom.
"No, I'm not drunk," he spat. "I don't get you. You told me that you were only friends and now you're making out with him all over the place. Just be honest about what you're doing, Elena. It would be nice –"
They jumped at the sound of someone pounding loudly on the bathroom door. They stared at the door, neither moving to open it. When the door didn't open, the pounding continued, this time more insistently. "Come on, pregnant woman out here with a baby on her bladder. Open the door!" They looked at each other, eyes wide when Caroline's voice came through the door.
He groaned and rolled his head back in annoyance. Caroline was the last person that he wanted to be on the other side of that door. There was no way that she'd just let it go once she saw that he and Elena were in the bathroom together.
After he made no attempt to open the door, Elena tried to move past him, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. "Wait," he hissed.
She rolled her eyes and tried to pull free from his grasp. "Let me go, Damon. We can't just stay in here, Damon. We have to let her in."
"I still need to talk to you."
She stared up at him, her eyes blazing with fury. "There's nothing to talk about. I'm just friends with Colin and you can choose to believe it or not." She forcefully pulled her arm away from him. "Not that it's your place to have an opinion." She brushed past him and jerked the door open, revealing Caroline's frustrated face, and her arm poised, ready to bang on the door once again. Her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide when Elena opened the door. "Bathroom's all yours."
"What the hell?" Her blue eyes moved from Elena to Damon, growing more confused with each passing moment. It was only when Elena pushed her way past her that Caroline jumped to attention, honing in on Damon. She stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. "What the hell are you doing locked in a bathroom with Elena?"
"Powdering our noses," he deadpanned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get out of your way and let you do whatever it is you need to do."
Caroline inserted herself between Damon and the door. She waved a finger in front of him. "Not so fast." She laughed mirthlessly and shook her head. "You've been avoiding me since Halloween, and after seeing this, I'm done being ignored. I don't know what the hell you have going on with Elena right now, but you need to cut it out. Either you are completely with Andie or you breakup with her and get your feelings sorted out for Elena."
"We were just having a conversation, Caroline. Whatever crazy story you've concocted in that little blonde head of yours is just that, a story. We were having a conversation, and it doesn't involve you."
"She's my best friend and you're my brother-in-law, you're damn right it involves me."
Before Caroline could press him any further, there was another knock on the door followed by Stefan's voice. "Babe, you okay in there?" He didn't wait for a response before opening the door and sticking his head in. When he found Damon and Caroline in the midst of a tense standoff, he entered the bathroom. "What's going on?"
"Your brother is being stubborn," Caroline said.
Damon looked to his brother and rolled his eyes. "No, I'm keeping your wife out of it, just like you made me promise to do." He grabbed his brother's shoulders and pushed him toward Caroline. "Here, you married her, you deal with her."
Not sticking around for anymore of Caroline's pestering; he breezed out of the bathroom, leaving the couple to themselves in the small space. For three years, Caroline had thought that she had some claim on what he did with his life. She thought it was her right to insert herself in his business. It wasn't her place, though. His business was his, and he didn't need her opinion on any of it. If he wanted to fight with Elena in a bathroom, he could damn well fight with Elena. She needed to stay out of it, and he needed for her to stay far enough away for him to finish what he'd just started with Elena.
As he rejoined the party, he saw Elena back with Colin, whispering something into his ear, a serious expression on her face. Moments later, Colin's eyes lifted and scanned the room, soon falling on him. The two men shared a look, possibly sizing each other up, or maybe just sharing mutual contempt for the other. Colin was with her now, though, and he wouldn't be able to pull her away, he knew that. He'd need someplace more private, someplace where they wouldn't be interrupted. He knew exactly where that was.
With determination, he smiled at Elena, who was now looking at him, happily waved to her, and then left Alaric's apartment. He'd catch hell tomorrow for leaving without saying anything, but he couldn't risk Elena leaving before him. He had to get to her apartment before she did. She'd have to go home at some point tonight, and hopefully she wouldn't be bringing Colin with her. If he could just catch her before she got into her apartment, she'd be his. She wouldn't be able to escape him, and he'd be able to finish this and get some answers.
He didn't care how long he'd have to wait when he got to her apartment. He'd wait all night if he had to. She'd told him that Colin was nothing but a friend to her, but there had been nothing friendly about that kiss he'd seen them share tonight. No, that had been far outside of the territory of just friends, and he wanted to know why she'd lied to him. They were supposed to be friends now. Didn't that mean she was supposed to be honest with him? Didn't that mean she was supposed to be able to talk to him about things?
So he waited, and he waited, never entertaining the thought of leaving without talking to her first. He tried to come up with some idea of what he was going to say, but he had none. Hell, even if he did, she'd completely throw him off anyway. Arguments with her never could go the way he planned for them to. She was too damn stubborn. He'd just have to wing this one.
After almost two hours, he heard the elevator doors slide open, and moments later Damon watched Elena round the corner, head hung low and facing the floor. She was close to her door when she halted in her tracks. Her shoulders tensed and she slowly lifted her eyes to his. "What are you doing here, Damon?"
"We need to talk." He stepped away from her door to allow her to step forward and insert her key into the lock, making sure that she had plenty of distance from him.
She looked back down at the ground as she passed him. "It's after midnight and I have to be up at seven. Can we just not do this tonight?"
He shook his head even though she wasn't looking at him. "Why did you have to bring him tonight?" He ignored her request, jumping straight into the deep end of the pool, ready to sink or swim.
Once her door was open, she turned and looked up at him. Her shoulders fell with a heavy sigh. "I don't know if you've noticed, Damon, but I'm surrounded by a sea of couples. I wanted to have a friend of my own tonight instead of being the third wheel to everyone else. Is that really so hard to understand?"
"He's a model, Elena!" he groaned. No matter what she or anyone else said, he just couldn't get past that fact. Elena couldn't stand models. She'd always complained when they were together that the models Caroline invited to parties were so vapid and shallow. Now, all of a sudden, she wasn't just okay with them, but she was making out with one? It didn't make sense.
Elena closed her eyes and blew out an annoyed sigh. "I'm not going to do this. Go home." She entered her apartment and tried to shut the door in his face, but he stuck his foot between the door and the frame. While she was distracted with trying to push his foot out of the doorway, he pushed against the door and shoved it hard enough to send her stumbling backwards. "God, what has gotten into you?" she demanded. "We are finally not fighting. Why are you trying to mess this up?"
"I'm messing this up?" he shouted as she closed the door and leaned against it. "You're the one who is prancing around with some stupid guy that gets paid to sit around in his boxers all day."
He wasn't exactly proud to admit it, but he'd looked the guy up. He'd almost hoped that he'd been using the term model in the most basic way possible. As it would turn out, he was actually a model, and a successful one at that. The moment he'd typed in the name, he'd been bombarded with images of this Colin guy in Emporio Armani underwear. He had a billboard in Times Square and everything.
He pulled himself back to the moment when Elena pushed herself off the door and came toward him, her shoulders held high in determination, and her finger pointed in his direction. "I am not doing any prancing of any kind. I was spending an evening with a friend. Because, for your information, Damon – not that you've asked – he's turned out to be a decent person and I like him as a friend."
"If he's only your friend, why are you shoving your tongue down his throat?"
"Why do you care?" she shouted. "You and me, we're not together. It's a fact that you've made abundantly clear these past few months."
"Is it so hard to believe that I care because I'm looking out for you? Unless you've forgotten, I did the whole model thing before – the whole shebang. I married her and everything. Remember what that got me, Elena? I do believe I walked away homeless and robbed of twenty million dollars."
"If you care about me, then back off. And, hey, maybe your anger should be directed at yourself. You're the one that told me to move on."
"Not with a model!"
Elena's eyes widened and her head reeled back in disbelief. "First, you lecture me for not moving on, and now you're lecturing me because I'm not doing it the way you think I need to? You have got to be kidding me!"
"Why am I the problem in this situation?"
"Because, you looked me in my eyes and told me to move on, and now you're yelling at me, because I dared to actually do it! You sound like a psycho!"
"I'm trying to be a friend!" he exclaimed.
"That's a lie, and you know it. If you're going to barge into my apartment and yell at me, at least have the decency to not lie to my face!"
Damon looked over Elena's rigid form in front of him and scoffed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Elena set her shoulders and took a daring step toward him. "You know exactly what it's supposed to mean."
"Well, in that case," he told her, waving his arms out in front of him to effectively give her the floor, "Enlighten me, Elena. Why am I really here?"
"Because you're jealous. You told me to move on, but you didn't really want me to, not yet." She blew out an annoyed laugh and shook her head. "You can say otherwise, but you like that I'm still in love with you. It gives you some sense of power, knowing that you can destroy me with one sentence. So, of course you're mad and jealous that I'm moving on. Cause, if I really do it, if I really move on, you don't have the power anymore. You want the power, Damon."
Damon stepped away from Elena, needing distance between them. Even after all this time, he still found it so hard to think when he was this close to her in certain moments. She brought up feelings he believed were to be long gone. It had been so simple when she came back: make her pay for everything she'd done to him. It sounded perfect at the time, then things started to change. He couldn't steel himself to the regretful look on her face every time they had a conversation. He couldn't block out the sound of the pain in her voice. She got under his skin again, so he thought that they needed to try being friends again. They'd done it once; they could do it again.
It was different now, though. The boundaries were different. There was history between them that had not been there before. He felt some sort of claim on her that he hadn't before. He'd told her to move on, but he hadn't thought it would come so soon, and he certainly hadn't thought it would be with a model. Everything was happening so fast. He was on a runaway train that he had no ability to stop. It kept speeding forward until he found himself in her living room yelling at her for doing what he told her to do. And for every piece of him that told him he had no right to tell her how to move on, just as equal of a part told him that he had every right.
"You think I want this, Elena?" he asked her, feeling like he was going to crawl out of his own skin from the bone-crushing fear that ripped through his veins as he looked at her. "You think I want to be jealous? You think I just wake up every morning and think to myself, I hope Elena brings Colin to something, so I can be jealous? You destroyed everything when you left, but I finally put it back together. It took two years, but I did it. And then, out of the blue, you showed up on Caroline's doorstep, back for good. Everything was finally back to normal, and now you've messed it all up again." Without thinking, he stepped forward and grasped her face in his hands. "God, why did you have to mess everything up?"
He could feel Elena tense against him, her body going rigid with shock. Her eyes flooded with confusion as she stared up at him, her mouth parted to release the short, quick bursts of breath that she blew against his chin. "Damon," she whispered, her voice caught somewhere in the back of her throat.
"All I wanted to do was hate you. It was supposed to be so easy. Why did you have to make it so hard? Why couldn't you let me hate you?"
She shivered against him as she stared into his eyes with confusion. She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn't think he could hear what she had to say. Before he even knew what he was doing, his mouth was on hers. Her body went rigid in his arms, frozen to his hands that wandered over her. When his tongue slid over hers, she finally melted against him, her mouth immediately coming to life. It was surreal to feel her against him again like this, but familiar too. She still felt and tasted the same as she always had, maybe with a hint of vodka lingering on her breath.
In an instant, though, she ripped her body from his grasp, leaving him cold and alone. She turned from him and he could see her shaking her head back and forth. "Oh God," she breathed quietly, barely loud enough to reach his own ears. He watched her for several moments, paralyzed to his spot on the floor, unable to reach out and touch her. The tension was thick in the room, choking him, but he did nothing to relieve it, he didn't even know how.
Slowly, she turned to face him again, piercing him with her pained gaze. They stared at each other for several moments, neither of them moving or speaking. There was an ocean between them that felt deep and cold, but as he watched her lift her shoulders in some silent form of acceptance and sadness, the ocean only seemed like a small stream now. Something snapped inside of him as he stared at her still form that radiated such a heavy sense of desolation that it hurt. Reflexively, he grabbed her arm and pulled her body back toward his, capturing her mouth once again.
Everything disappeared from around him as he held her to him and felt her mouth move so perfectly with his. There was no apprehension or hesitating this time as she kissed him back, coming alive against him. Her hips pressed firmly into him, immediately awakening a burning desire inside of him that he'd tried so desperately to silence. He'd been attracted to her from the moment he met her and no amount of anger or pain would ever erase that. She was gorgeous and knew how to use her body to its maximum abilities. She turned him on and he didn't think it would change.
Mindlessly their feet carried them to the bedroom, their bodies never losing any contact. It didn't matter that he'd only ever been in the apartment once, and that they collided with various items on their way, nothing could distract them from what was happening in this moment. There were no coherent thoughts in his head as her hair tumbled down her back, somehow falling loose from the tie that had held it up, possibly with some encouragement from his own fingers that were tangled in the long locks.
A soft moan escaped her mouth and seeped into his, giving the only last indication he needed to not stop. Her hands pushed and pulled at his shirt, trying to push it up his torso before she tore her mouth from his. The loss was immediately overwhelming, leaving him desperate to pull her back to him, but once she started attempting to get his shirt over his head, even with his arms down at his side, his mind shifted gears. Faster than he could think, he had his shirt off and on the floor, and his hands were on her body again. If he was losing the shirt, it was only fair for her to return the favor.
Her arms easily rose above her head, giving him the assistance he needed to rid her of the unneeded material that hid her skin from him, and moments later, her bra soon followed, leaving her breasts bare before him. She allowed him no more than a few moments before her fingers found their way to his jeans, fumbling with the button and zipper with desperation and need. Unable to wait for her to complete her task, his lips moved to her neck, burning a trail over her hot skin, distracting her from what she was doing. Her fingers left his jeans and buried themselvs in the depth of his dark hair.
His own fingers trailed down her stomach, feeling her muscles clench beneath his touch, as he sought out the top of her pants. With little effort, he removed her of them, pushing them down her legs and out of his way. He easily grabbed hold of her hips and lifted her then, holding her by the back of her smooth thighs, bringing her body to press against his. Goosebumps cropped up on her legs when he set her down on the cold dresser.
She gasped in surprise when he pulled her toward him, sliding her across the dresser until he was nestled between her thighs. His fingers curled beneath the band of her panties and he pulled them down. Her hands held firmly to the dresser as she supported her own weight long enough for him to pull the panties down her legs. When he was done, his mouth was on hers again, his hands roaming her body, fingers sliding over every inch of skin that he could touch.
Their tongues and lips moved in a desperate frenzy, as if afraid they might disappear if they stopped for even a moment. There was something desperate and pleading beneath the touches, but at the same time, they'd never been so soft and gentle. It felt like they wanted to burn every touch and feeling into their memories. He could comprehend nothing outside of this moment, no idea of what the future might hold, but right now, tonight, he needed her. He needed everything about her to stay with him in this moment, because he didn't know if it could ever happen again.
He lifted her then, and she felt completely weightless in his arms. It only took a few short steps before his legs hit her bed and he was lowering her to the soft mattress. Their eyes finally met for the first time since before he kissed her and she smiled at him, a lopsided, dazed smile. She sucked in a cool rush of air when he entered her, her eyes widening while her muscles clenched around his length before relaxing. Her warm depth welcomed him; pulling him in as far as he could go. Something swirled within him and she suddenly everything felt so real and familiar. He'd memorized every inch of this body once, and the knowledge was still there, ready for him to remember it all.
His senses were on fire as he remained frozen inside of her, her brown eyes staring up at him in unveiled honesty and desire. Her hair was fanned out like a blanket around her head and unable to resist the temptation, he reached out to run his fingers through the soft locks once more, her eyes staying trained on him as he slid the silky tresses through his fingers. It was only when she whimpered softly that the desperation and desire exploded within him, filling every fiber of his being. His eyes locked on hers again when he began to move within her. Consumed, her eyes fell shut for several moments and she clung to him, holding him as close as physically possible. They were damp with sweat now, skin sticking together with each move they made. Everything was slow and teasing as he watched her climb closer and closer to the brink that she so desperately craved.
He could no longer resist the delicate skin of her neck again, lowering his lips to the base of the skin. When his tongue swirled over the wet skin, a cry of pleasure fell from her parted lips, head rolling to the side as she gasped for breath. Her hips arched up to meet him in his next thrust and her fingers dug into the ripples of muscle in his back. Her nails dragged a pathway down his back and retraced their steps up to his shoulders again.
His pace quickened as the momentum built inside of him, growing and evolving until it wouldn't be able to contain itself anymore. He could feel himself getting closer, and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer. His forehead pressed softly against hers, his eyes locked on her brown orbs, refusing to waver. Her shaking fingers took hold of his face, holding it softly within her grasp. The tips of her fingers traced every line, feeling the contours as if she were burning them to her memory.
Her eyes darkened and he could see her hovering on the edge, moments away from falling into the depth of the unknown. His lips hovered barely an inch above her own as he looked down at her, drowning himself in her eyes. Tears flooded her own and she began to shake beneath him. "I love you." Her whispered voice broke through the sound of their strained breathing, uneven and frazzled. In this room, locked away from the rest of the world where there was betrayal and heartbreak, and memories clouded by lies, she voiced the truth, shattering every illusion built over the past two years, and he came undone, tumbling over his own edge. She soon followed him, a breathless moan falling from her lips while she rode out her own wave of ecstasy.
Now that it was over, and she lay beneath him, struggling to catch her breath, he didn't know what to do. There were no words that could suffice in this moment. All he could do was roll away from her and move beneath the sheets on her bed. She watched him silently as she joined him under the covers, her brown eyes searching his for any clue as to what was going on in his head. He knew there would be no answer for her to find. How could his eyes give away his thoughts when his own brain didn't even know what they were? Nothing about this night had been planned, from waiting for her in Ric's bathroom to what had just transpired between them in this bed. There had been no thought process behind any of it, just an overwhelming need to see her and talk to her. Now, he had nothing.
His brain had little time to digest any of it, though, because the next thing he knew, sunlight was streaming over his face. With a small start, he opened his eyes, the events of last night all coming back to him in alarming clarity. He remembered every moment clearly, how she'd felt against him, the taste of her mouth, the sounds that had fallen from her swollen lips, and the three words she'd spoken to him in the midst of it all. He remembered everything.
It was when he felt a warm breath of air, that he looked down to realize Elena was curled against his body, her head resting on his chest in lieu of a pillow, and he was the one that was holding her there. His arm was wrapped tightly around hers, pulling her into him. It was a sight he'd seen dozens of times, but it had been absent for the past two years. After she left, every morning that he woke up without her was like a new form of torture that made him feel like his heart had literally been ripped from his chest. He had missed her so much that it hurt, and even through all of the pain, he would have given anything to wake up with her in his arms. Now, long after he'd stopped bargaining with some unknown higher being, she was here in his arms. There was no feeling of elation or contentedness, though. He was just lost.
Staring at her as she slept, vulnerable and oblivious to the world around her, she looked the same as she had then. There was no heaviness to her shoulders from the burden of pain that she carried. Her eyes were not dark and distant with sadness. Her lips did not turn down in regret. She looked exactly like the Elena he'd fallen in love with before the tragedy of a miscarriage had warped her forever. That wasn't who she was anymore, though. That Elena was gone forever. When she woke up, the Elena that had come out of the miscarriage would appear, a different Elena, the one who broke his heart.
That thought, and the flashing memories in his head of every time he'd woken up with her in his arms like this, had him slowly sliding out of bed, being careful to not wake her. He had to get out of here. Seeing her like this in the light of day, the memory of last night hanging over him, made his chest clench in fear. It all felt too familiar, having her in his arms, the memory of a night of shared passion fresh in his memory. He'd lived it more times than he could remember, but everything was different now. She'd left. One morning she was next to him when he woke up, and the next, she was gone. Elena was not the woman that woke up next to him anymore, that was Andie, his girlfriend.
Andie.
God, he had a girlfriend that was not the woman he was waking up next to. He had a girlfriend that was probably confused about where her boyfriend was, probably never bothering to think that he'd be with another woman. He had a girlfriend that trusted him and loved him. He had Andie, and he'd slept with Elena.
Shit!
His brain, that had been utterly unable to form any coherent thought about anything last night, was now running rampant with a million thoughts that he couldn't catch up with. All he could do was try to not make his head explode and get out of Elena's bed before she woke up. If she woke up while he was still here, they'd have to talk, and he didn't know what to say. Despite the multitude of thoughts running through his head, there was no way to put anything into words – no words that could fit this situation. He didn't even know how last night had happened. How would he be able to talk about it with her? What would she even think about any of it? What would she think it meant?
So, he fled from her apartment, calling himself a coward and every other name in the book. It was a dick move to run out on her before she'd even woken up, but he was going to suffocate in there if he stayed for one more minute. He couldn't breathe in that bed. There had been a pull inside of him, like a tugging undercurrent beneath raging waves, telling him to stay with her and fall into the moment, accept it for what it was, but he couldn't. He'd been sucked into that undercurrent before and barely survived. He'd had his heart ripped to shreds because he fell into the moment with her. What would happen if he fell into it again? What would he do about Andie?
Even though he hadn't been able to spend time with Andie lately, he still wanted to be with her. She pulled him out of that darkness once before, and had been there for him when he needed her. Even though he'd been anything but the perfect boyfriend to her when they were in college, she'd never stopped loving him. Through all of his heartbreak and disappointments, she still loved him. She still wanted to be with him. She loved him and this was how he repaid her, by sleeping with another woman – the other woman. Elena was her insecurity, the fear in her heart that he'd go back to her, but she trusted him. She trusted him to not do to her what he'd done all those years ago.
He had two choices, as he saw it. He could go to her, explain everything, and lose her forever. She wasn't twenty-one anymore and scared of the world. She would leave him, and not only would he lose his girlfriend, but he'd also lose one of his oldest friends. There would be no ability to casually talk with her anymore or joke around. The friendship would be gone for good. So, he could tell her and lose all of that, or he could say nothing. He could act like it never happened, bury it somewhere deep within the confines of his mind, and continue on as they had been.
Or maybe there was a third option. Maybe there was an option that would allow him to keep her, tell her nothing, and make sure that he wouldn't lose her. It would be a risky option, one that could blow up in his face, or it could be the best one. It could provide him with everything he needed. He'd have her forever, content in the knowledge that she'd be by his side, loving him and never hurting him. If he went down that road, he'd be cutting off any chance of ever being with Elena again. There would be no going back if he did this, but he didn't think he wanted to go back. He didn't think he could. Last night had happened, he couldn't change that, but he could control where this all went.
Andie was who he was with now. Elena was his past, but Andie was his future. She was everything he wanted. It wasn't like when they were in college. It was mature and simple with them now. She didn't make him fill with blinding rage that consumed him to the point he thought he would go crazy. She didn't make him feel like he needed to dive into a bottle of alcohol to make sense of things. She just made sense. They fit. Where Elena hadn't known who she was and what she wanted, Andie did. She had her career that she'd always wanted, and she was happy. She was not searching for some sense of purpose. She'd found hers, and he didn't need to help her fill that void. He did not have to wait for her to grow up at all. That was why he knew what he had to do. Every thought in his head fell away as he felt a calm fall over him, leaving him with one simple thought and task.
There was no hesitation in his step as he walked into the store that had barely been open for thirty minutes. There was no doubt in his mind as he found the person he needed and pointed to what he'd come for. "I want that." His voice was so confident and assured that he wasn't even asked if he was sure about his purchase.
Minutes later, as he rode up in the elevator, there were no second thoughts that were seeping into his brain. There was only the knowledge that he was right and doing what he needed to do. So, he didn't think twice when he knocked on her door. There was no force behind his smile that spread across his face when she opened the door, shocked to see him in her hallway. "Damon, what are you doing? Also, where have you been?"
He didn't give her an answer as he walked into her apartment. "I've been doing some thinking about us."
"Okay," she said slowly, nervously closing her front door and locking it. "What have these thoughts been?"
He turned to look at her, the smile still on his face. "You love me, right?"
"You know I do."
"And I love you."
"Well, I'd hope so," she chuckled softly, the nervousness evident in her voice.
"And you want to be with me?"
"I thought I'd made that pretty clear."
"Okay, then I have something to ask you."
"Yes?"
As he looked at her expectant face, he knew he could still back out. He could come up with a stupid question, and forget about this whole idea of his. He could act like everything was still the same. This was his last chance, but he didn't take it. He knew there was no going back from this, but he didn't want a way back. He just wanted a way forward, and he wanted it with her.
So, without any explanation or a preamble of any sort, he dropped to one knee and pulled the small velvet box out of his pocket, opening it for her to see the ring inside. As she stared down at him, her mouth gaping, and her eyes wide, he asked, "Marry me?"