Thank you for your lovely reviews last chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Honestly, I'm tryna stay focused

Honestly, I'm tryna stay focused

You must think I've got to be joking when I say

I don't think I can wait

I just need it now

Better swing my way

I just need some dick

I just need some love

Tired of fucking with these lame niggas

Baby, I just need a thug

Won't you be my plug, ayy

You could be the one, ayy

We could start with a handshake

Baby, I'ma need more than a hug

Summer Walker

"How many sexual partners have you had?"

"Just one."

"This was the ex?" Damon steepled his fingers across his chest and rose his brow.

"Yes." Bonnie's mouth pinched at the thought of Jeremy, but then she relaxed, remembering why she was here. To let go.

"Did you ever orgasm or feel pleasure from any of your intercourse with…"

"Jeremy, and no." Bonnie sighed, running a hand through her bangs before placing them behind her ear. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed by Damon's line of questioning but she was grateful that he took this part of their conversation seriously, not letting even a twitch come to his lips or a crinkle around his eye disturb his solemn expression. Finally, she saw the professional version of him.

After a tense silence, more on Bonnie's behalf, she realized Damon was waiting for her to go on after he tilted his head.

"Every time with Jeremy was…painful, and I never really felt arousal." For the first time, Damon's expression changed as his eyebrows went up and his gaze darkened. Assuming where his line of thought was going, Bonnie quickly amended her words. "I mean, he was never forceful on anything like that! And some things that he did, like when he touched me in certain areas, felt good." Bonnie fidgeted, "Sometimes I thought I was into it, but then my head would go into this other space and it just wouldn't feel right anymore. I didn't want to stop because I loved him, but…it didn't feel good. It was obvious that it was never for me."

Bonnie's eyes tightened as she finished, realizing finally at that moment how big of a deal her discomfort with Jeremy during sex was. He never intentionally hurt her and she never outright said she didn't want to be with him in that way, but it frustrated her that he didn't love her enough that he couldn't just tell that she wasn't into it.

Deep into her own head, Bonnie didn't come out until she heard Damon clear his throat. "Bonnie, listen, I understand that this is hard for you. I've met many people like you with similar problems, so don't ever feel ashamed around me alright?" Damon sat up in his chair, "I may talk a good game, but I didn't come out of the womb like this…On second thought," Damon tapped his chin consideringly, looking around as an added effect.

Bonnie giggled like he thought she would, shaking her head at his idiocy and Damon smiled back, enjoying her laughter before continuing on.

"All jokes aside, no one starts off knowing everything about sex and we all have had at least one bad partner in life."

"What if I'm the bad partner?"

"Well, that's what I'm here for." Damon gave her a pointed look. "Sex isn't all about skill and stamina–although that helps. It's about making a connection with your partner, understanding your body, and wanting to learn theirs. Wanting to give and receive pleasure in equal measure."

Bonnie nodded, starting to understand.

"Do you feel the urge to have sex? Do you masturbate?" Damon asked plainly.

Stunned by the change in question, Bonnie let out a breath, blushing as she took her time to answer. "Of course, I feel the urge…I'm just afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

The girl groaned, placing a hand on her face almost as if she were trying to hide, "Look, I know it doesn't make sense, that it's irrational, but…I was worried that if I masturbated it would feel too good and that I wouldn't want to be with someone afterward."

Bonnie looked up at Damon trying to gauge his reaction.

His face stayed impassive so she kept going.

"I didn't think much of it in high school, but once I got with Jeremy it became a real problem because I didn't enjoy having sex with him. I was even more anxious then. I was worried that if I liked masturbating with myself too much that I'd never want to have sex with him. I didn't want to do that to him."

Bonnie peered imploringly at Damon waiting for him to say something.

"Alright, I will admit, that is the first time I've ever heard that before..."

Bonnie sat back in her chair with a cry, "I knew it! You think I'm insane."

"...but it's not something that I can't help you with," He finished glaring at the dramatic girl. "Bonnie honestly, this isn't the worst I've ever heard. You at least have an urge and a desire to have sex and I can work with that. If you didn't it would still be fine but you would have to look deeper into yourself if sexual intimacy was something that you really wanted." They shared a look before he continued. "Lastly, I'll just briefly go over a couple more things you should expect and you can tell me what you're comfortable with."

"I thought you already did that in the orientation."

"This will be different, I'm working with you one-on-one so I feel like I can try more methods with you and adhere them specifically to your needs."

Bonnie nodded in assent.

"Alright well, are you okay with me touching you?"

"Yes."

Damon nodded, "I don't plan on touching you too much, because like I said that's not what this program is about, but if I do and at any point you want me to stop I will."

Bonnie let out an anxious breath, nodding appreciatively. She was fine with him touching her but knowing that she had control over the frequency and that she could tell him to stop gave her more relief than she anticipated. Having agency over her body and what she wanted was not something that she was used to. Even when she stayed away from others, it still felt like her issues were holding her back and controlling her. She knew she had the capacity to be a loving and sexual person, and she wanted that for herself.

Damon listed a few more things, similar to the exercises he mentioned during orientation, and Bonnie gave her consent to all of them.

"We will build up to it, but are you okay with hugging?"

Bonnie blinked quickly.

"I separate it from me plain touching you because the hugging exercise will be done with the intention of intimacy between us. Normally you would do this with someone you're in a relationship with, but considering one of the reasons you're here I'd assume those are not in great supply."

Thinking on it a bit, Bonnie couldn't help but shift in her seat uncomfortably. She and Jeremy hardly ever even hugged and she felt like she was more so forced into hugs with her friends and family. If she had to do it she could, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be a half of a second touch with Damon if he was making this big of a deal about it.

Nodding slowly, Bonnie answered. "If things go as planned and I get better, I don't see why not…"

Damon lifted his lips but it wasn't quite a smile, "Let's revisit this then and I'll make sure you're okay with it when the time comes."

"Thanks…"

"Alright," Damon clapped his hands and leaned back. "That is most of my questions and since you already filled out the forms with Andie," the receptionist, "downstairs I guess all we need to do is make up a schedule. Two times a week sounds good, right? How do you feel about Tuesdays and Fridays around the same time as today?"

"Sounds good to me. Do you want to do our first session this Friday?"

"As long as you're ready and willing." Blueish gray eyes narrowed suggestively.

Perfect brows raised as Bonnie's expression became exasperated, "You have a gift, Damon, truly. I don't think I've ever met someone who can turn anything into an innuendo quite like you do." She sighed deprecatingly, "I thought you were going to stay serious for this conversation."

Damon shrugged.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, collecting her stuff before standing and making her way to the door. "Don't make me regret this, Damon."

"Never," he smirked, "Until we meet again, beautiful."

.oOo.

"So you're taking this 'How to Have Sex' class and you're just now telling me?" Caroline's high-pitched voice rang into Bonnie's ears as the woman stood in front of her pushing a pretty indigo dress against her form. As the brilliant multitasker that she was, Caroline tossed that dress with a shake of her head and pressed another one, this time mustard colored against the smaller woman, all the while ranting and complaining about why she was the last to know about Bonnie's new hobby.

"Hey, I liked that one!" Bonnie complained as the first indigo dress was tossed, yet her next words were staunched by the look that Caroline's blue eyes gave her. With a deeply vexed sigh, Bonnie rolled her eyes and replied. "First of all, it's called sex therapy and it's nowhere near as pornographic as you're thinking. Secondly, we don't learn how to have sex, we learn how to open ourselves up to others and allow ourselves to receive and give sexual gratification. There's very little that's physical about it, it's more about energies." Bonnie explained her chin tilted up smartly as she twisted from side to side looking over Caroline's shoulder at herself in the mirror. She liked this dress too. "Plus, I told you the other day that I was going to get help with my intimacy issues. Stop acting like you had absolutely no idea."

Another shake of Caroline's head and she tossed that dress in the growing 'no' pile. "Still, Elena shouldn't have known for a whole week before I got the memo!" The no pile that was attached to a young and annoyed sales clerk's arms.

"Hey! I liked that one too!" Bonnie yelled indignant.

Caroline gave her a look, "And this is why I'm here because your taste sucks."

"My taste does not suck!"

"Okay, then it's dated." Caroline shook her blonde head, exasperatedly, "The bohemian-witchy look was cute in 2009, now in this day and age, it's a little tired, sweetie." Ignoring Bonnie's angry green eyes, Caroline turned to the young worker next to them, "You can go ahead and put those back, we won't be needing them." Bonnie could clearly see the look of relief on the teenager's face, and then, "Go bring the collection you guys came out with last week. I want one of everything; small in dresses, small in shirts, medium for pants. If you see some shoes get those as well, you're a size six right Bonnie?" Bonnie was too flabbergasted to reply. Caroline turned back to the sales clerk, "Go! What are you still doing here? Chop, chop, we don't have all day!"

The young girl bristled but listened to Caroline regardless as she rushed off to get everything the evil blonde wanted.

All Bonnie could do was shake her head. After eighteen years of friendship that started in the kindergarten sandbox as tots, you would think the girl would be used to how her friend could be sometimes. Caroline wasn't a bad person at all, but when she was on a mission other people's feelings were the last thing she thought about until she reached her goal. Today's goal was to get Bonnie's closet overhauled and to have her reconfirmed as a baddie post-breakup.

"Is she harassing the staff again?" Elena asked, already knowing the answer to her question as she stepped out of the dressing room she was in and turned towards the mirror. The beautiful brunette was wearing a lilac-colored peasant dress that had a modern spin on it accentuated in the flowy hemline that ended at mid-thigh and the laced quarter-length sleeves. It was very cute and the color matched well with her olive-toned skin.

"You know it," Bonnie rolled her eyes giving Caroline a pointed look who was busy studying Elena's dress, before smiling wide at her fellow brunette friend. "You look great Lena, that's a hot dress."

"It's cute, isn't it?" Elena smirked at herself in the mirror before winking at Bonnie.

"I approve, but what's the occasion?" Caroline finally uttered after checking off whatever rubric she had in her head for clothes mentally. "You're supposed to be helping me with Bonnie's wardrobe Elena, no personal shopping until we're done."

Elena and Bonnie shared a look, knowing the blonde often had a one-track mind. "It's for mine and Stefan's anniversary," Elena gave a secret yet completely besotted smile, "it's coming up next weekend."

Caroline gasped, grasping the girl in front of her and shaking her until Elena got out of her daze and groaned the girl's name, threatening to get sick. "How dare you not tell me! What do you have planned? Do you need help preparing anything? Nix that question, of course, you do! We need to have made plans starting like, yesterday!"

Bonnie giggled at the girl's antics.

"Care, chill!" Elena hissed, finally able to get her arms out of the other girl's grasp. Just in time for the poor sales clerk from earlier to come back as well.

Bonnie spoke to the worker before Caroline could get a chance. "Thank you, you can just put everything on that chair there, we really appreciate your help, you don't have to worry about us anymore." The green-eyed beauty coaxed the girl to leave however it was unnecessary, it didn't take two seconds before she was gone after giving Bonnie a grateful smile.

"Bonnie!" Caroline hissed.

"Anyways, I'm going to change and pay for this," Elena spoke referencing the dress.

"Elena!" The blonde whipped her head back to the other girl.

Snickering, Bonnie picked up a very cute, red, satin, cropped cami. She visualized it with the fashionably ripped pair of faded mom jeans next to it and cute slide sandals. Nodding her head, Bonnie flitted right after Elena into a dressing room and got changed.

A few minutes later, she stepped out and guessed that based on Caroline's raised brows and puckered lips, she would finally get an approval. Looking in the mirror at herself, Bonnie appreciated the tight way the shirt hugged her frame, pressing her breasts together and showing off the tiny cinch to her waist. Her belly button showed but everything lower was covered by the very cute mom jeans that hugged her heart-shaped behind nicely yet left comfortable space for Bonnie's legs. The cheetah print sandals added more of a sexy factor since animal print brought out a person's wild side–so to speak. She felt very hot, but not over the top.

"You look drool-worthy Bon! All you need is some jewelry accents, your hair in a ponytail to show off your neck and you'll be perfect!" Caroline clapped her hands.

Bonnie sighed in relief that Caroline approved and then sucked in a breath once she realized this was the first outfit that she did so…

One down, at least twenty more outfits to go. Bonnie could cry.

"Now, I was thinking for dresses, that this would send Jeremy crying and wishing his dick never even touched another woman," Caroline smirked holding up a very risque dress.

It was short, if it was that short on the hanger, she knew it would be even shorter on her behind. The straps were thin and the neckline was square with a triangle cut in the middle that would show off an ample amount of her chest. It was all black and the fabric looked like it was good quality but stretchy which meant it would be tight on her form.

"Where would I even wear that Care?"

All she got was a knowing smirk in reply.

.oOo.

Weeks passed by before it was almost two months since her initial meeting with Damon. She was greatly pleased, all of their sessions had been great so far. However, it wasn't all perfect, the man was an oaf and his jokes were often crude and juvenile in ways that irked Bonnie to kingdom come. They often fought–well bickered, and he laughed every time he saw he got under her skin but she trusted him and he truly was slowly but surely making her feel better about her sexuality.

They had tried a number of different methods to help release Bonnie's tension and reluctance, meditation was key in a lot of them and Bonnie could even get to pretty zen spaces in her mind when Damon wasn't doing all his blathering–and boy did he like to hear himself talk.

They tried many things from sensory integration to even painting, basically, things that helped Bonnie focus on the here and now using mindfulness. When she was able to do that, that's when Damon went deep and he made her close her eyes, lay down, sit for five minutes, and express her feelings in the sun-lit, quiet room. He didn't say much but just gave thought-provoking words or phrases to guide her to talk.

One particular moment came to mind of a session at the end of their first month together.

What started off as her thoughts on the recent weather and some recent news about her friends turned into her feelings about her grandmother's death, and finally the loss she felt at never having grown up with a mother. With little pushes here and there from Damon she was able to connect the abandonment she felt from the most important figures in her life, her mother, grandmother, and even her father who despite loving her was often away for work, to her current state. Bonnie felt alone growing up and even more so when her Grams died. It caused her to cling to Elena and Caroline and at times use them as a crutch as to why she couldn't make more friends.

Despite them all being close, everyone knew that Bonnie was the bridge, the glue of their friendship. Elena and Caroline spent more time arguing and annoying each other than getting along. Often times going between the both of them was exhausting, especially when they were on the outs. She couldn't play favorites and spend more time with one over the other or all hell would break loose. Adding another party into the equation was a no-go. So, she used the excuse of not wanting her two best friends to be jealous if she split even more of her time up and neglected her self-inflicted responsibilities as the group mom, as a reason for why she didn't want to branch out.

She talked on and on with Damon about her relationships until she voiced how she really felt about her position in people's lives. She felt like a stand-in. Like she constantly needed to find a purpose for herself and be useful to the people around her, so that they wouldn't up and leave.

Like with Caroline and Elena, she was constantly doing things for her dad while he was gone. She went above and beyond taking care of the house by cooking and cleaning. She took care of the accounting, hired the groundskeeper, cleaned and ironed his suits for his next trip, and helped build stocks for their savings. She wanted to give her father a reason to need her, to want to come home because he knew he couldn't live without her.

Jeremy was the same. She did everything in their relationship, almost like she was his mother–or worse his babysitter, and kept him out of trouble. Their first breakup showed how much he became dependent upon her and she was sure this one was just as hard, if not even more so as he digested her loss.

She did all of this because she wanted unconditional love after a life of feeling like people would only stay in her life conditionally.

With tears streaming down her face she realized why she avoided intimacy with another person. She was scared to be rejected, to be told she wasn't good enough. The feelings of inadequacy that felt more familiar than her friends, rose up as she thought about how her mother turned away from her when they first got back in contact when she was in middle school and she had begged her to stay. Then the feelings built as she thought about how she felt around her father. Like she wasn't enough for him to come home to, no matter what she did around the house. Not for parent-teacher conferences nor daddy-daughter dances. She knew his job was demanding but she couldn't help but feel resentment that he never even tried to get the days off. Instead, he sent money and bought gifts and made sure to tell his mother-in-law to take her out, his treat, even though he wasn't there.

By the end of the session, Bonnie was sobbing, crying hard and painful as she realized that she'd never told anyone how she felt before. Ever since she was young and she realized the fact that she stared at her father's back as he was leaving out the house, more than she saw him smile.

Against protocol, Damon wrapped her in his arms and tried comforting her, rocking them back in forth with soothing coos long after their session was up.

Thinking about that moment again brought chills down the girl's spine. She had felt embarrassed and ashamed by unloading everything onto him at the time but Damon was in rare form that day and didn't tease her like he normally would, instead he looked at her earnestly with a shadow of something deeper in his eyes and said, "You don't ever have to apologize for opening your heart to me Bonnie, it's safe here."

Weirdly enough, she never felt more accepted by another person before. Her heart never beat the same around him again. Where he touched became warm and sensitive. His gaze made her feel bright and valuable. He gave her the confidence to demand more from people. To realize she deserved to receive unconditional love.

And that was when she first felt it.

That she like-liked him, a little bit… It was hard not to, he'd helped her so much…and they had so much in common.

Due to Damon not being strictly professional and him being laid back during his time with her, during sessions she not only learned about herself but she learned things about him as well. There were the obvious things like the fact that they were both stubborn, both blunt, and sometimes crass–Damon more so than Bonnie. Then there were the not-so-obvious things that Bonnie enjoyed finding out like they both had similar taste in music, preferring classics from the 80s and 90s to today's pop, although Bonnie also loved some current RnB artists like SZA and Summer Walker, plus who in their right mind didn't love Beyonce?

Damon didn't know much about the former two but after getting cajoled by Bonnie during one of their sessions he played some songs and realized how well their albums fit with some of his therapy. He enjoyed the neo-soul rifts and ambient beats of Sza's song Good Days, which melted like butter with the angelic melody of her voice, and he especially enjoyed it when Bonnie started dancing to Summer Walker's song Girl's Need Love. The melody was dark and soulful and gave the listener an out-of-body feeling that Bonnie was able to perfectly express with her beautiful curves.

All he did was suggest she move along with the music.

In that kind of therapy, he usually got people to shift from side to side and there was maybe some arm waving and slight full-body undulations, rarely was there ever someone who gave him a full performance of artistic expression.

Bonnie glided from one side of the room unhurriedly, eyes closed and back arched, she completely let the music guide her. The sensuality of the music that begged for the caress and deep strokes that only a man could give, took hold in the way that Bonnie moved. Pressing her breasts high in the air, her hips took a slow sway like a pendulum swing and her ass jiggled and flexed after each movement. Little did Bonnie know but Damon was in awe. Once again left questioning how someone so naturally seductive could need his help.

Her tastes in music were eclectic, she enjoyed Rock, House, Latin, Jazz, Reggae, Rap, and more. Damon knew and appreciated more artists that she mentioned than he thought he would. After realizing how much interest they shared, and the experience of enjoying the two artists she told him to play on his stereo, he wrote down any other artist and song she mentioned that he wasn't familiar with to listen to later.

Damon and she were also quite opinionated. Even though the man liked to call her Judgy, since the first time he came up with the name he hadn't stopped, just cycled them through the growing Rolodex of nicknames he gave her like, Beautiful, Bon Bon or just Bon, Bondella, Witchy (ever since she mentioned her grandmother was accused of being one and then she mentioned later that the woman actually was a practicing Wiccan, she hasn't gotten him to stop saying it since, regardless if she herself never believed in the practice), Bunny, and Sweet Ass. That last one she always slapped his arm for. Anyways, even though he called her Judgy, he was just as quick to determine a person's character before he even met them as well. His answer every time she mentioned that he didn't give so-and-so a chance was, 'I just know these things Bonnie' in a pinched voice. Like Kol, his manager Klaus' brother who she met in the parking lot after one session. He tried to hit on her and asked her out on a date. After telling Damon about the incident, he proceeded to call Kol a slimy little weasel and said he only wanted to get in her pants.

"Isn't that the whole point of this program? To open up more intimately with new partners?"

"Sure, but as disgusting as he is, I wouldn't open up to him unless you wanted to start making round trips to the free clinic." Damon provoked.

Bonnie made a face.

They were able to have deep talks about a number of topics and he didn't make Bonnie feel like a bad person or dumb if what she said came across a certain way. He knew what she was really trying to say and she felt comfortable expressing herself around him in a number of ways.

In less serious situations she saw that they had a similar dry sense of humor and he let her into a goofy side of him that she wondered if he often showed to other people. One could argue that his constant jokes were him being goofy enough, but he often said those comments glibly and with a vague level of sincerity. This other layer of Damon that she discovered was one hundred percent dorky and more than a little childish.

"Hey, Bon Bon," Damon saddled up to the girl as she stretched her legs out on the floor. His expression was serious and it held Bonnie's attention on what he could possibly want to tell her. "Pull my finger." He demanded, face like stone.

Bonnie huffed, rolling her eyes before bending back over into her stretches and ignoring his demand, "You're insufferable."

Sitting at her vanity, Bonnie stared at herself. She watched the amusement that lighted her eyes create a sparkle as the memory played through her brain. Shaking her head as if to get rid of her thoughts of him, she couldn't avoid what she saw. Looking deep into her eyes she saw the truth. Thinking about all of these things made it clear to herself that even though she only wanted to admit she liked him a little, she had to be honest with herself that it was actually quite a lot. It was probably even the beginning of love.

The last few sessions had been hard after the one where she cried and he said those amazing words to her. The ones that she needed to hear more than anything else and somehow, he inherently knew that.

Knowing that her feelings weren't completely professional, or even platonic enough for friendship made it difficult to act normal around him. In the past when Bonnie had a crush, she would never act upon her feelings but she couldn't ignore them and now was the same. She hated how obvious she could be at times.

Especially after last week's session.

It wasn't often that he touched her, due to the therapy having little to do with physical touch, but Damon admitted that there were more intimate methods that helped develop one's sexuality. Nothing extreme just breath work while touching another person and being aware of them with touch like you would yourself. Bonnie was down for anything as long as it would help. It also helped that she had been dying to touch him ever since she realized her crush.

To start, they sat back to back, completely aligned with each other, and breathed, mentally checking how they felt from head to toe and noting the parts where they felt relaxed or tense. Bonnie's tension was definitely in her chest near her heart and her lower stomach, the feeling tighter and tighter at the feel of Damon's strong warm back. She felt muscles he had there that threw her mind in the gutter, she imagined touching him and dragging her nails down his back after he undulated waves of pleasure upon her–

Bonnie cleared her throat, picking up a small brush and slicking the edges of her hairline in a natural way without gel and just a bit of hair wax. She decided to leave her hair in brushed-out large curls that gave her hair body and made the healthy black of her hair even more luminous against the caramel tone of her skin and the ethereal green of her eyes. Her widow's peak, the black clothes, hair, and tinted red lips reminded her of Morticia Addams and Bonnie contemplated making that her Halloween costume for the year.

Her shadowy deep brown eye makeup added to the look and made her look like a nymphet.

Perfect, that's what she was going for.

Winking at her reflection, Bonnie could definitely admit, that she was one hot mamma.

Finishing up with her appearance, Bonnie organized the products on her table a bit before leaning over and buckling the strap of her peep toe matt black heels. They were sky-high and added to the look, taking Bonnie's small stature to modelesque heights.

She picked up her Saint Laurent black clutch–one of many love bribes from her father and threw inside of it the necessary items for the night, lipstick, ID, credit cards, and cash. Once she got the alert on her phone that her Lift was there, she stood up in her heels with practiced grace and ease and made her way out of her newly leased apartment then walked out to the curb to meet them.

It was going to be a fifteen-minute drive so she let her thoughts go back to that afternoon after greeting her driver.

Today they had sat hugging each other. It was a therapy to help feel and build up a sense of ease toward intimacy by sitting in another person's arms for a long time. Damon had mentioned it in his office when they had gone over what to expect for the one-on-one therapy, and at the time, Bonnie was willing to try it depending on her progression in the program.

Now a couple of months later and with the progress made, Bonnie was hesitant. This would be the most that she and Damon had ever touched, and with her newly developed feelings for him, it could put her brain into a tailspin and her heart into overdrive. Sure, he had held her when she broke down crying when opening up about her feelings, but she hadn't been in the right mind and it was different. Comforting someone while they cried and were barely cognizant of your touch versus, hugging in a prolonged stretch of time to build intimacy were two completely different things. The thought of being hugged in that way by another person period made her feel uncomfortable.

Her family wasn't big on affection, even the person she had been closest to, her grandmother who grew up with strict parents wasn't one to be touchy-feely outside of meaningful caresses and back pats. Her grandmother cooked, gave advice, complimented her beauty and intelligence, and even sang to her when she wanted to show affection, but hardly did she ever receive a hug.

Her father squirmed at the idea, but he loved to give her head pats and forehead kisses, her mom…yeah anyways, the only other people she hugged were Caroline, Elena, and then Jeremy. With them, she always understood that she preferred to give affection than receive it–limited as it was. She didn't mind giving the occasional hug to her friends and then-boyfriend but felt awkward and quick to get out of their arms with they gave her one. She never understood why but it probably circled back to the revelations she made with Damon during her breakdown.

Before they started, Damon confirmed with her that she was fine doing the therapy and then mentioned the benefits as he did for every session. He could tell she had a rational mind so to ease her worries before doing something new, he explained why they were doing it. Hug therapy would help her oxytocin levels which helps with social bonding and affection. It would increase her sexual performance, therefore, the more hugs, the higher the libido.

Bonnie wanted to mention that just being around him exacerbated her libido, but he beat her to it with a wink and a rise to his chest.

She shook her head and laughed, at that point used to his antics and even able to guess what he was going to say beforehand. He seemed even more excited by her amusement contrary to her annoyance and tried to jump right into it.

With one last utterance that the hug should last at least twenty seconds to see the benefits, Damon stepped into her personal space.

She expected him to just go at it, even pick her up and slam her down all caveman-like–as ridiculous as that sounded. With the way her heart was beating you would have thought she was being pushed to her death like a pirate edging a wench down a plank. Instead, he looked her deep in her eyes in that special way that only he could, before smoothing his thumb across the high point of her cheek, "You're so beautiful."

Bonnie had gulped.

He looked at her in wonderment, taking a few more seconds to brush his fingers along the sides of her face before cupping her head and bringing her close.

Bonnie started to panic thinking that he wanted to kiss her instead. That close to telling him to stop and freaking out, she relaxed slightly when he just pulled her close until her head was cradled against his chest and a part of her shoulder was under his arm.

Oh god, they had fit so well together.

It was weird, yet pleasantly surprising. Like two puzzle pieces from different puzzle boxes perfectly aligning.

She felt tense at first until she felt him rub his large hands up and down her back, massaging her shoulders a bit before going back to sliding them up and down. Bonnie's breathing came out fast, the panic attack still wasn't completely abated yet. Then she felt his husky melodic voice puff into her hair, "Shh, shhh, shh. You're okay. I got you. You're doing amazing."

Bonnie hiccuped, slowly allowing herself to relax, sheepishly realizing a couple of tears had fallen from her eyes.

"You're so soft, you smell so good. I love holding you, Bonnie you're amazing."

Bonnie turned her face fully into his chest, finally circling her own previously lax arms around his middle and nuzzling him.

She smelled good? No, he smelled divine. Like a heady, masculine mix of leather and whiskey, there was another note to him something dark and smokey as well that all together made him smell absolutely intoxicating. He smelled so different from Jeremy. Who, while he didn't smell bad, smelled like your average college-aged boy. A slight smell of sweat covered by axe body spray and deodorant. Not bad but definitely not anything that called to her as Damon's smell did. Knowing her feelings for him, she could probably attest it to the natural pheromones she was receiving from him due to her attraction.

Taking deep shaky breaths of him, she felt herself relax further, easing into his arms and feeling her body become pliant against his massaging and coaxing hands.

"Good girl. This feels good right?"

Bonnie shivered, his voice was too close to her ear in that deep seductive timber. She nodded her head obediently.

After a few more moments a timer went off distantly and slowly Damon pulled back, untangling their limbs.

Bonnie wiped her face, embarrassed that she cried just from a little old hug.

What was wrong with her?

The cold air rushed against her super heated skin and unlike the other times that she was hugged she felt like she missed it.

Looking up into pensive clear blue eyes, Bonnie suddenly felt very bashful and shy. She knew Damon was a handsome guy–it was obvious, and he liked to remind her anytime he thought she may have forgotten, but at times like this it almost took her off guard and she wanted to either gawk at him or hide.

Ew.

Bonnie placed her hand on her forehead shaking away her thoughts.

"How do you feel," Damon finally spoke.

Sighing, Bonnie answered him, "A little embarrassed that I cried, and wondering if I feel like that when we hug now then how will I feel during sex," Damon's eyebrows rose and he stood straight, "with someone…" Bonnie finished quickly realizing she made that sound like when she and Damon would have sex with each other. Ugh, great and now her face was hot from thinking about sex with Damon. If she didn't know better, she would think he was also embarrassed at her slip going off of the darkened tint to the natural rose on his cheeks. But that was insane, Damon never got embarrassed.

Clearing her throat she kept going. "It was hard at first, but I started to feel comfortable and it started to feel..good. I liked it." She finished with a small grateful smile.

Although his face was passive, Damon got a twinkle in his eye. She raised her head to gather what it could mean but a cloud passed over the sky and a shadow covered his face before she could. Damn him for turning off the lights and leaving the room sunlit.

Stepping forward into the waning light, he continued, "Great, well let's do that a couple more times until you feel completely relaxed. We'll try different positions, sitting, back hugs, one where you straddle me," he wiggled his brows.

Bonnie's eyes widened in alarm. She looked like she would hop away from him if he tried to catch her.

"Chill, Bunny it was a joke."

Bonnie let out a breath.

"We'll do that next time."

"Damonn," she groaned.

"Ooh, I love it when you say my name like that."

Back in the lift, Bonnie giggled fondly remembering how annoying Damon could be.

After the first hug, the next few that followed got easier and easier. Even pleasurable in a soothing way. It was still nerve-wracking at first. And she felt awkward. With the different positions they tried, she was often left befuddled on where she should place her hands. As if he just knew what she was anxiously worrying about, he would whisper sweet nothings to her and gently place her hands where they would naturally go like a seat belt clicking into place.

Oh god and the things he said, "Yes, just like that. You're doing so well. Can I hold you tighter? You fit so well in my arms." Bonnie was wondering if she had a praise kink or something with the way those words were whispered into her ear making her toes curl and her thighs rub together, womb heavy and tight with tension.

Or maybe she just had a Damon kink.

Towards the end, she was feeling great. More than great. She started to initiate the hugs. The first time she did that, Damon had a dumbfounded look on his face that Bonnie couldn't help laughing at.

When they laid on some fluffy cushions placed on the ground facing each other, Bonnie felt the shift from hugging to cuddling. Despite the moments when he'd say something a little suggestive, or when his fingers brushed over a sensitive nerve on her skin, it overall didn't feel sexual at all. It felt comforting, like all her stress from the day was coalescing between them and evaporating into thin air with each brush of their hands. Damon was so much bigger than her, his frame was masculine, his hands strong. When he wrapped his arms around her she felt so protected and cared for. She felt weak, but not in a bad way. In a way that you allowed yourself to be when you were in the arms of someone that you trusted to never harm you, a person that you allowed to see your gooey center and feed it.

When he shifted her to lay on top of him so that her chest laid flush against his and their legs twisted together, and then he continued to brush his fingers through her hair while humming a distant tune and scratching at her nape, she was that close to purring. She felt so contented and relaxed, she wouldn't be surprised if she fell asleep.

.oOo.

Sighing, Bonnie stared at the buildings that passed by on the street and the people walking around with friends or lovers, chatting on phones or with the people beside them. It was nighttime now but in Charlotte, North Carolina, the nightlife kept going until daybreak. This place was a far cry from her hometown of Mystic Falls, Virginia. That was one of the reasons why she and her friends moved here for college, to get away from the norm.

She realized after today that all this intimacy she was sharing with Damon would be hard to replicate with another person. He was beginning to become really important to her. She couldn't imagine being like this with anyone else and it was kind of making her freak out.

She could only hope that Damon's therapy worked and that he was just the beginning of her journey.

Her heart panged painfully at the thought and she was forced to realize that there was a not-so-small part of her that wished she didn't have to find anyone else.

"Alright Miss, this is your stop."

"Thank you."

In the middle of editing the next chapter, hopefully I'll have it out soon!