Blair paced the sidewalk, checking her phone again before sending a pointed look at her husband. Dan stood still, not making eye contact... that was until his wife stomped in front of him and waved her phone in his face.
He sighed heavily. "I love you." He offered as a way of getting her to not kill him.
It didn't even register with Blair. It did however get her talking, something she hadn't done since they'd arrived at the restaurant half an hour ago, but couldn't be seated because none of their party had arrived.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a reservation at THIS restaurant, let alone one at 8 o'clock on a Friday night! Do you know what I had to do to get it?!"
"I'm hoping it wasn't prostitution..." He tried to joke.
"If only!"
"I don't know how I feel about that?" Dan mused mostly to himself.
"You should feel the way I do. That there's a lesser chance of me getting fired for prostituting myself than for using my boss' name to get this reservation!"
"I'm sure Jenny is very grateful."
Blair snorted, and turned away from him.
"Okay, okay! But I'm very grateful." He said and slipped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulder. "You didn't have to do any of this, but you did. You're making my sister and Nate happy whether they acknowledge it or not. So... Thank you, Blair."
Blair didn't say anything for a moment, but forced herself to relax in his arms. She also knew that she still hadn't told him she'd be going out of town for a few days right before the wedding, and she was planning on using this as emotional capital against him. If she played this right she wouldn't have to worry about him guilting her for leaving.
"It's fine... You know I love Jenny." It was a slight lie. Okay, an outright lie, but you couldn't exactly tell your husband that you couldn't stand the little sister he adored.
He opened his mouth to say something just as a cab pulled up.
"They're here!" Blair snapped, cutting him off. "Finally!"
Chuck's limo pulled up outside the restaurant and Serena got out before the driver could open the door. She hopped a little as she waited for him to climb out, which he reluctantly did a few moments later. He then planted his feet and surveyed the front of the building, in a way Serena recognized. He was sizing it up, and weighing whether it was worth a buy.
"No business when you're with me, remember." She said to him, as she linked her arm through his and started to drag him past the long line outside, to the front door where an eager hostess was there to welcome them.
"Mr. Bass!" He'd slept with the woman once, but had forgotten her name. It didn't seem to matter since she fawned over him now. "We didn't expect you to join us tonight! Your assistant said you'd been called into a meeting at the last minute."
Serena's eyes shot to Chuck, and she bit her lip. He was quiet at the news he'd been used to get a table. This was not good.
The hostess started wringing her hands. "I'm so sorry, but when you weren't with your party... and they were late... we seated them... elsewhere."
Chuck gave a curt nod. "It's fine. I'll have my usual table."
The woman looked as if she was going to question why he didn't want to join the party he had booked with, but at his cool gaze, she thought better of it. She plastered a great smile on her face. "I'll seat you right away."
They followed her to a darkened booth along a side wall. It was slightly elevated and allowed those sitting in it to have a full view of the restaurant, but also afforded them a measure of privacy. They hadn't even sat down before Chuck had spotted Blair. He didn't say anything to Serena.
Serena raised an eyebrow at her brother, as the hostess took her jacket, and Serena slid into the booth. "She used your name to get a table... it's such a shame. I really liked her."
Chuck didn't say anything as he busied himself sliding low in the velvet seat, and it was his silence that drew Serena's attention. "She's fired, right?"
"There's no need to make a big deal out of it." He bit out, his jaw clenched.
Serena's jaw nearly fell off her face. "I agree that it's not a big deal, but you never have."
"Serena..." He cautioned.
"You agreed with my mother that your tutor should be transferred to North Dakota for using the Bass name to get out of a parking ticket. You fired my favorite maid after she used the family name to get tickets to the Book of Mormon. I don't even want to know what happened to the assistant you had last year who cut to the front of the line at Starbucks with the Bass name."
His jaw ticked, and he opened one of the menus a waiter had just brought them.
"Oh my, god!" Serena gushed and laughed with joy. "You like her!"
"More than I like you at the moment." He said without looking at her, and continued to keep his gaze on the menu.
Serena bit down on a smile, knowing when it was time to ease up on teasing her often over serious brother. Instead she placed her drink order, and she knew he didn't have to because they already knew what he drank. She planted an elbow on the table and propped her head in her palm, and started to survey the room.
"What do you think he looks like?" She asked, still trying to pick Blair out in the crowded restaurant.
"I have no idea..." He took out his phone and started scrolling through it.
Serena had a goal, and she wasn't going to stop till she found it. "Where are they? Another restaurant?" She grumbled.
"Bathroom." Was all he said in response.
Serena smiled at the fact he'd already honed in on his assistant, and then she looked over at the table with a scrunched nose. "A table near the bathroom? How late were they?"
Serena's eyes lit up as she picked out Blair, and then shot to the man at her side, the one with his arm around the back of her new best friend's chair.
"He's cute!" Serena exclaimed.
"She could do better..." Chuck muttered under his breath.
She was about to tell him how obvious he was being when she noticed the other couple at the table. The first thing Serena noticed was that the girl's hair was too light, and whatever product she used clearly wasn't of high quality, because it was stripping everything out of it. Then her gaze drifted over to the man at the bleached blonde's side... He was gorgeous, that was for sure, but he was also very familiar.
"Natie?" Her brows shot up in surprised recognition. Then her whole face lit up as she realized that he was exactly who she thought he was... a little older and if possible, a whole hella sexier. "NATIE!"
Chuck flinched as she shouted across the restaurant. He then saw where she was looking, and he came as close to panic as Chuck Bass was capable of. So basically his jaw clenched, his nostrils flared, and his eyes shot daggers at his sister, who was now standing up and waving at the very last table he wanted to make contact with.
"Sit down!" He hissed, trying to grab her arm, but missing as she was already practically skipping towards Blair's table.
He shut his eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose before getting up and following her. His sister was beautiful, full of light, life, and hair, and nearly every eye in the place was on her, but not his. He had eyes only for Blair. He saw her brown gaze land on Serena, first in annoyance, then in confusion, and finally in horror. It was the flash of horror that was still in them as they found his own eyes, and he was impressed by how quickly her face became a mask of social pleasantness. Chuck would bet her true self was nearly unreadable when she chose, and this was one of those times. Unfortunately for her, he could read her. He was beginning to think she just might be his favorite book...
"Serena?!" At this point the blond man at the table stood up, bumping the table and nearly upsetting all the wine glasses.
"Nate?" Jenny tentatively asked at his side.
He didn't seem to hear her, since he was too busy catching Serena who had thrown herself into his arms.
"Nate?!" Jenny asked with greater edge, and she didn't even notice the man who had come to stand beside her fiancé and the strange, stunningly beautiful woman who was wrapped around him.
"NATE!" The half scream did it.
Chuck and Blair had been staring into each other's eyes the whole time, and Jenny's voice jolted them out of their loop in the same second it did Nate and Serena. Blair quickly looked at Dan, and Chuck scanned the crowd, he noticed that Dan couldn't seem to look away from Serena either.
"Nathaniel Archibald!" Serena had pulled back but she kept her hands on Nate's shoulders.
"Serena Van Der Woodsen!" He laughed as his eyes sparkled like jewels.
"Well, I believe we've established that you two know each other. Good to know we don't have too many introductions to make..." Blair broke in, her tone making it clear she was taking their rudeness to task.
"Blair!" Serena laughed.
"You know her?" Both Jenny and Dan asked Blair at the same time.
"Of course!" Serena giggled. "She's my best friend."
"Again, you have no proof of that." Blair rolled her eyes dramatically. "She's my boss' sister."
"Your boss?" Dan asked confused.
"Yes, my boss. It worries me that it's been so long that you don't remember what one of those is." Blair spoke to her husband, so she missed the hint of a smile that curved Chuck's mouth. Serena didn't miss it.
"Yes, her boss." Chuck stepped in. "I'm Chuck Bass."
"Did anyone else just get chills?" Dan asked nobody in general.
Introductions were quickly made, and before anyone could even think to stop him, Nate was inviting Chuck and Serena to join them, and Serena was having waiters bring over more chairs.
"So... How do you two know each other?" Jenny asked petulantly.
"Oh, we go way back." Nate smiled. "Camp Toopipalm... What was it? Every summer for like... six years?"
"Yes!" Serena gasped. "And I always had the biggest crush on you, but you were always telling me you had an uptight, possessive girlfriend back home, and wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot pole!"
Nate spun in his chair to pin Blair with a triumphant face. "SEE! I told you I never cheated on you at summer camp!"
"I can't tell you how relieved I am that that's been put to rest." Blair said sarcastically. "Good to know that it really did only happen in a closet at Winter Formal with Ellen Grant."
Nate had the good grace to blush.
As Serena and Nate took over the conversation catching up, Jenny began to sulk more and more, which caused Dan to become overprotective and start to try to cheer her up. The only two who were quiet at the table were Chuck and Blair. She sipped her wine. He drank his scotch. She made note of how he'd changed his suit since work, and how he really did pull off purple well. The dim lighting of the restaurant also created shadows over him, highlighting the perfect line of his jaw, the sweep of his cheekbones, and slope of his nose to perfection. She took another sip of her wine, and tried to focus on her husband.
He'd made note of this being the first time he'd seen her in a dress, since she mostly wore skirts and blouses to work. He caught sight of the hemline as he'd sat down, and it was the shortest he'd ever seen her wear. It had to be at least half way up her thigh. He was also trying not to stare at her arms. They were bare from her shoulders to the tips of her fingers, and it was the most skin he'd ever seen on her. He took another drink from his scotch and tried to understand what his sister was saying.
"Nate, sweetie, don't you think this wine is amazing? We should totally serve it at the wedding." Jenny said with emphasis, trying desperately to drag the conversation to what tonight was supposed to be about. Her.
"Sure. Whatever you want." Nate said, and a second later his eyes lit up at another memory. "Serena, do you remember that midnight canoe trip a bunch of us took that time?"
Serena looked puzzled for a minute, then her eyes brightened. "I remember the time we took the canoes out at midnight to go on a beer run after the camp director had gone to bed!?"
"Wasn't that every canoe trip?" They both started laughing, and didn't notice it looked like Jenny was ready to explode. Dan looked desperately at Blair for help.
Getting the message, Blair sighed, rolled her eyes, and addressed Nate. "Nate, how is writing your vows going?"
Blair's icy tone cut right into Nate, because she'd trained him more than a decade ago to respond to her demands. It was also known that she could get him to carry her purse with just a look, a fact that seemed to burn Jenny's ass every time.
"You're getting married? To who?!"
"Me." Jenny bit out, and held up her hand to show the Vanderbilt engagement ring on her finger.
Serena started laughing at the sight of it. "Really? That's insane! You're way to young too get married! Only delusionals or knocked up people do that!"
Nate's face dropped and he shot a worried glance across the table, and Serena knew she'd stepped in something nasty. "But I'm sure that's not you!"
She finally looked around Nate to talk to Jenny. "So? Tell me about the wedding? When is it?"
"Next weekend-"
"That's perfect!" Serena gasped and clapped. "Blair will totally rock a tan at your ceremony!"
All eyes shot to Blair, and for a split second she had a deer in the headlights look in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by doe-eyed innocence.
"Didn't I mention I have to go away on business for a few days?"
"No!" Jenny snapped, her voice rising. "When?"
"In two days. I'll be back before the wedding."
"What?! Who's going to help me with the flowers? The rehearsal dinner? My dress?!"
"Jenny, where are your friends?" Serena asked, her hand to her chest, and with the most innocent expression Blair had seen on her, but with what she knew to be the most pointed dig. In that moment Blair realized that Serena Van Der Woodsen just might turn out to be her best friend.
They were all taken by surprise by Jenny standing up sharply, and sending her chair screeching loudly back.
"I'm not feeling well. I'm going home." She looked at Nate. "Don't follow me. Come on, Dan."
With that she walked out, and a perplexed looking Dan stood up to follow her. "I guess I'm leaving too." He paused to look at Blair. "Maybe give me a little while to calm her down before you come home?"
Blair nodded, not particularly dying to join her husband and his sister anyway.
He started to walk away, but touched her shoulder for a second. "We'll talk later."
She nodded absently, and took another sip of her wine.
With the brother and sister gone, Serena looked at Nate. "They're opening the dance floor! Come on!"
She grabbed his hand and dragged him away, leaving Blair and Chuck alone at the candlelit table. They hadn't said much of anything to each other, or anyone else really. They had both been watching, picking up information and storing it away. Now they were here, outside of work, just the two of them.
A waiter came and refreshed both their drinks.
"Do you have any idea of how many hours of my life you have cost me?" Blair said as if she were really put out.
Chuck couldn't help but smile, knowing instantly that she was referring to her husband's last comment. "He does seem like a talker..."
"You have no idea." She sighed with resignation.
Blair turned slightly, putting her bent arm over the back of the chair as she looked over at the dance floor. Chuck's eyes warmed as he looked at her, and he couldn't help thinking again how beautiful she looked tonight. She was always beautiful, but he usually saw her in more buttoned-up attire. Right now she looked so soft...
He cleared his throat, and followed her gaze out to the dance floor. When he looked back at her, he caught the undercurrent of longing in her. Chuck stood up, came around the table, and held out a hand to her.
"Dance with me..."
She looked at his hand and then up into his face. Something twisted in her stomach, and she knew she should say no, but she couldn't help but stand and take his hand. Neither commented on the jolt they both felt at the contact, but they each knew the other had felt the same by the way their fingers tightened momentarily on the other's.
Leading her out onto the dance floor, his hand found her hip and her hand, while her hand found his and his shoulder. The song had been a more upbeat pace, but had now changed to an old standard.
"I love this song..." Blair whispered under her breath.
Chuck held his tongue. He loved it too since 'It Had To Be You' had been his parents' wedding song.
Their bodies started slowly moving to the music, inching closer without realizing it. His hand tightened on her hip. Her head leaned in closer to his shoulder. Their breathing fell into sync. She wanted to get closer. He wanted to get closer.
"I'm sorry." She said so softly he had to lean down a little to hear her.
"For what?"
"Using your name to get the reservation." She still wasn't looking at him, but at his wide shoulder. He couldn't look anywhere else but her face.
"It doesn't matter..." He said, and realized it was true.
"So I'm not fired? Because if I am, there's a pair of shoes that I need to return to Bergdorf's." She teased.
He smiled at her tone. "You're not fired. Who would do all my work in Belize..."
Her eyes finally met his, and her dark gaze was full of life, enjoying him. "I'm sure you could find a replacement."
"I wouldn't say that." A small smile curved his lips. "I'm beginning to think you just might be irreplaceable..."
Warmth and tingling spread through her body at his words, but then they both reacted to the unintentional deeper feeling behind them. Both Chuck and Blair became discombobulated at all the emotions running through them, and each took a little step back at the feeling. Blair looked around, as if for an escape, and the ending of the song provided her with one. She let go of his hand, and took a few much needed paces back, ignoring the way she felt cold with the heat of his body now gone.
"It's getting late, and I should get home."
Chuck didn't say anything. He was still reeling from his feelings, and was worried about what he'd say if he tried to talk now. Instead he stood on the dance floor and watched her go.