He brought you balloons?" Caroline exclaimed over the phone and Bonnie shrunk back at the shrill sound of her friend's voice.
"What, was he coming from some pre-labor day parade or something?" the blonde continued to bombard her with questions.
"I don't know, I thought it was cute" Bonnie shrugged her shoulder and slipped her feet into a pair of black patent pumps. She took a seat on a linen wing chair in her bedroom and traced her fingers over the supple contours of her legs.
"Did he leave the party hat at home at least?" Caroline asked and Bonnie shook her head, rising from the chair to search her small jewelry box for a pair of minimalistic earrings.
"Caroline!" she laughed softly as she adorned one ear with a black diamond stud before switching her mobile phone to the other ear so she could slip the second earring in. She stepped back to view the finished product in the mirror and teased her tousled hair with her fingers.
"Normal and eligible New York men impress you with flowers not balloons"
"Can you strap a bouquet of roses to a lawn chair and fly away somewhere infinite like in that old animated movie?" Bonnie sighed, leaning over the mirror and ringing her eyes with dark eyeliner.
"Are you talking about the movie Up?" Caroline asked and Bonnie wrinkled her nose at her reflection. She picked up an eye makeup container and dusted grey powder over her eyelids.
"Yup" she replied, slowly and carefully creating a smoky look.
"You watched Up?" Caroline cried and Bonnie could tell that her friend was holding back laughter.
"Yes I watched Up"
"I didn't figure you for the cartoon reading type let alone the type to watch an animated film"
"And why is that?" she asked, leaning even closer to the mirror to examine her eye shadow. She liked the glossy sheen it lent to her eyes and it made her skin look healthy and dewy.
"Because you're the type that'll explain a joke until it loses its humor" Caroline laughed.
"Hey, I can be plenty playful and funny" she countered, her brow marred by a frown.
"What time is your dinner date?"
"Nine o'clock and talking to you is making me late"
"Where're you meeting him?"
"His place, he's sending a town car to fetch me" Bonnie pulled her drawer and pulled out a tube of peach gloss. She strolled over to her walk in closet, the black Chantilly lace dress skimming her curves to perfection. She paused in front of a gilded full length mirror inside her closet and ran her finger along the scalloped neckline of the fluted dress and admired the wonders it did for her décolletage. Turning around, she viewed the dress's low V-shaped back and her back muscles moved beneath the glare of her bedroom lights.
"Hmm cooking dinner and providing car service, he's really smooth" Caroline drawled and Bonnie rolled her eyes, chuckling.
"Okay, I'm hanging up now"
..
Her smile was contained when Kai opened the door for her but the softness in his blue-grey eyes unravelled it.
"Hi" she greeted, the smile still resting on her lips.
"Hey" he leaned against the doorframe and dragged his eyes down her body in an obvious gesture. Her pulse hastened slightly but she fought through the knots in her belly and smiled sheepishly at him.
"I brought you some wine." She said, lifting the bottle to eye level.
"Please come in." Kai stepped aside and gestured with his hand. He smelled great, she thought as she brushed past him, manly and potent.
"Nice place, it has a good structure." She commented while he eased her coat off her shoulders. His fingers teased the bare skin there and she wasn't sure if was intentional or an error on his part but nonetheless, she froze.
"That's what the realtor told me" Kai said, unaware of her nerves or the effect his light touch had on her.
"I hope you don't mind the boxes, I'm still unpacking." He explained as they moved past the foyer toward lounge.
"So you're settling well?" she asked, her keen eyes roving around the pre-war apartment.
"Yes. You look amazing by the way." His fingertips climbed up her back, one vertebra at a time as he ushered her inside the lounge with its high ceilings.
"Thank you" Bonnie nodded and swallowed past the knot in her throat. She was dying for a drink to ease the tension in her shoulders and the anxiety in her gut. Her eyes fell to the black grand piano sitting close to a row of bay windows overlooking the city.
"Nice piano" she said, walking toward it. She ran her fingers over the keys and pressed a few notes.
"You play?" Kai asked, arms crossed against his chest as he watched her.
"Much to my parent's distress, no." Bonnie laughed, glancing at him over her shoulder.
"I could always teach you"
"Then you'd be privy to my performance anxiety"
"I have Xanax for that" his smile broadened, his bottom lip caught between his teeth.
"I think I'll settle for a glass of wine" her eyes drifted to the fat, dimpled leather couches and the smoke rising from a lone ashtray to her left before settling back on his face.
"You wanna choose the wine?" he gestured to a wine rack next to a stack of books that were waiting to be slotted onto the bookshelf on one side of the room.
"I trust your judgment."
"You might want to seek a second opinion?" Kai laughed and strode to the wines, pulling out a two bottles of white wine.
"Is that a little doctor humor?" Bonnie arched an eyebrow, her lips edging into a slight smile.
"It sounds corny doesn't it?"
"Yeah."
"It sounded better inside my head." He chuckled and pressed play on his remote control. Sam Smith's music filled the room, wafting from surround sound speakers hidden behind the walls and she nearly jumped out of her skin when flames began flickering in the gas fireplace. Kai continued to maneuver his remote control and she noticed that the overhead lights had dimmed. He was certainly intent on creating a scene, she thought as he led her to a pair of French doors that opened to the dining room's balcony.
He had a small table set up with a white table cloth and flickering candles. A shiver ran through her when he pulled out a chair of hair and she nodded her gratitude. It was all too much for a first date and as impressive as it all was, she couldn't help that her nerves jangled at the enormity of the evening. When he disappeared back into the apartment, Bonnie swung her head toward the star spangled sky and took a deep breath. She heard the rustle of his shirt and smelled the aroma of sweet figs before she opened her eyes.
"There you go" Kai smiled, a pair of dimples denting his cheeks as he set down a bowl of artichokes, fig and parmesan salad in front of her.
"I see you've been slaving away in the kitchen all day" Bonnie laughed and snagged a linen napkin from the table, placing it on her lap.
"Let's hope the final product meets your approval" he took a seat and laid a napkin over his lap before taking a hearty sip from his glass. Slowly, he drizzled lemon olive oil over his salad and offered her the stainless steel can with a spout.
"You could serve me peanut butter on toast and it would meet with my approval" she chuckled lightly, baptizing her salad with the oil. She picked at the portions with the tines of her salad fork before slipping a few leaves into her mouth.
"What's it like working for my father?" Bonnie asked after swallowing, lifting her eyes to meet his.
"Doctor Hopkins's a great mentor and he has a wicked way of keeping one's ego in check" he winked at her, taking another mouthful of parmesan and artichoke.
Smirking, she poised her fork over her plate, "Don't tell me you have a colossal ego"
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." Kai grinned, picking up his glass but still watching her face over the candle light. He swirled the wine inside the glass for few second before taking another sip.
"I think you need a healthy dose of self-esteem to become a functioning surgeon, not to mention a functioning human being" he added, staring intently at her.
"Interesting deduction" she shied her eyes away from him and focused on piling morsels of food on her fork. When she managed to look back at him, her cheeks were flushed. She took a few more sips of wine and smiled clumsily at him. The wine was dry, crisp, and fruity. It tasted phenomenal paired with the figs in the salad and Bonnie savored it on her tongue before she swallowed.
"It is one of Maslow's needs after all" he chuckled, his grey eyes sparkling and she watched the bob of his Adam's apple as he swallowed his wine.
The next course was wild bass with seasonal vegetables and as Kai refreshed her wine glass, she realized that she wasn't having an awful time. She found Kai to be sexy, intelligent, youthful and he had a feisty craving for a spirited debate. She cut a thin slice of wild striped bass and sampled a juicy bite before taking another long sip from her glass.
"Okay, I am thoroughly impressed. This is really good" Bonnie exclaimed between mouthfuls.
"Thank you" he smiled sheepishly, raising his eyes to her face.
"My father didn't tell me that you were somewhat of a master chef"
"I try"
"You sure you didn't smuggle this in from some Michelin restaurant?"
"I promise. I just love to cook"
"How does a full time neurosurgeon find the time to take culinary lessons?"
"Let's just say that a little boy growing up in Oregon had to fend for himself. My dad was usually too busy running his company so I had to take care of myself"
"Interchangeable maids, babysitters, psychiatrists…yeah I know all about that life" Bonnie chuckled dryly.
"Do you think you would have turned out differently had you grown up in one of those families with Sunday dinners as a family tradition as opposed to Tuesdays with the shrink, cocktail hour and tennis on Saturdays?"
"Yeah," her face bloomed before morphing into a wry smile, "how about you?"
"I hate mundane rituals and my family is too dysfunctional"
"All families are dysfunctional in some way"
"The Parker's take the trophy" he smiled and checked his watch, a sporty Galactic with a trophy black dial and leather straps.
"Expecting another date?" she teased, corking an eyebrow.
"Nah, you're all the company I need" he smiled, rising to his feet and squeezed her shoulder with his hand as he walked past her. Dessert was small walnut brownies with vanilla ice cream and a small serving of sun-dried dessert wine. They spoke about London and the music shows they've been to and Bonnie discovered that they had the same love for surrealist art.
"You have a little something on your cheek" Kai smiled, motioning to the fleck of pastry on her cheek.
"Thanks" her cheeks flushed pink as she wiped said pastry from her cheek. As the evening wore down, he walked her to the door while his driver waited down stairs. They stood at the threshold of his door with his fingers tracing the side of her face until they cupped her chin.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening" he whispered, dragging his eyes from her lips back to her eyes.
"I had a great time" Bonnie replied softly, her eyes falling to his lush lips.
"Can I kiss you?" Kai asked as a grin washed over his face and before she could respond to the ridiculous middle-school question, he leaned over and kissed her lips. His kiss was warm, unrushed and left the pads of her fingers tingling as they splayed over his warm chest.
"Good night." She purred when they finally broke the kiss.
..
Three days later she was stuck inside an air-conditioned car with Klaus and Caroline as they made their way to the Hamptons. Driving through a mesh of traffic, Caroline grabbed the steering wheel for Klaus while his hands left it temporarily. He was shouting into the mobile phone, arguing about some rape-homicide case from what Bonnie could tell. She was too busy on her phone to pay attention, too busy engaging in a battle of wits with her dad about her date with Kai. He was yet to call her after three days but he had sent her a few basic texts. They weren't necessarily texts about the weather but he still hadn't asked her out on a second date.
She wasn't even sure she wanted a second date. They obviously both led busy lives and she wondered where she would fit the relationship.
..
Klaus punched the code into the security system while the girls put away their weekend luggage. Caroline showed Bonnie her bedroom upstairs and she smiled when she saw the ocean view.
"Wes is trying to get me an anchor position at Fox News" Caroline said, tearing Bonnie's thoughts away from the peaceful view of the ocean.
"Don't let Jenna push you out of ANN, at least there you have a platform to voice your own opinion" she said, glancing at Caroline before her eyes flitted back to the expansiveness of the ocean.
"No, I don't. I'm an anchor, I state the facts and no one has an interest in my opinion" the blonde shook her head, biting her lower lip before bending down to slip off her sling-back scandals.
"Care" Bonnie looked at her, brows creased as she tried to read Caroline's flushed expression. She looked worn-out, Bonnie thought.
"You're so lucky to have your column. It's doing great by the way"
"Thank you" Bonnie said evenly, running her hand up and down Caroline's back.
"Have you discussed this with Klaus?" she asked, noticing the blonde's glassy eyes.
"Klaus has no business meddling in my career; we're not married and even if we were…" her sniff morphed into a sigh.
"Don't get me wrong, I love him very much but he's his own person and so am I" she quickly added and Bonnie let out a breath.
"I get it, trust me"
When they made their way back downstairs to Klaus, he was seated on a bar stool with an open bottle of beer in front of him.
"Seems Stefan is bringing an extra guest," he sorted through junk-mail as he spoke, barely looking up from his task. Caroline brushed past him to open the fridge and fished out a pair of cold beers. She gestured to Bonnie who nodded even though she was not an avid fan of beer, at least not the American brands.
"Bonnie you'll have to share your bedroom with Stefan's brother." Klaus said pointedly and swung his head up to look at her.
"Damon?" they cried in unison with Caroline.
"Yeah" Klaus replied mildly, roping Caroline with one arm after the blonde had handed Bonnie her beer. They clinked the necks of their bottles together before Caroline took a swig.
"I'm not sharing a room with Damon Salvatore" Bonnie cried, chin thrust out in protest. She couldn't believe that her supposed friends where throwing her into the lion's den like this.
"The house has four bedrooms and the other three bedrooms are already taken. Stefan and Rebekah will have one room, Marcel and Sophie the other one and then there's me and Caroline." He explained, "Would you have poor Damon sleeping on the couch in the lounge?"
Bonnie stared at them as Klaus spoke, she could feel her face heating up as Caroline ruffled her boyfriend's curly hair.
"I'm sure he'd feel right at home slumming it on the couch." She hissed, annoyed with Klaus's crooked smirk and Caroline's sweet demeanor.
"I know you're too considerate and practical to let the poor guy sleep out here by himself." Caroline said softly and smiled much to Bonnie's growing impatience with the two lovers.
"And I bet he's scared of the dark." Klaus added with a pout.
"Yes, there's that." Caroline tore her gaze away from Bonnie to kiss the lout.
"It's your house, your rules" Bonnie finally sighed and took a pull from her beer. She'd play by their rules for now but it didn't mean she had to like it and she was pretty sure than Damon would hate it.
..
Damon dragged his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose before taking them off completely and then slipped them into his shirt pocket. His eyes took in the cottage perched on the cliff overlooking a glittering ocean. He tilted his head to let the sun bake his eyelids and warm his skin.
This was exactly what he needed, he thought. Sure Enzo had been disappointed to learn that he wasn't going to be spending the Labor Day weekend in the city but he really needed this calm to centre himself after the whirlwind of the past of few weeks.
The fact that Bonnie Bennett was also going to be present didn't hurt either. He certainly didn't mind an entire weekend with her. Helping Stefan lug their bags out of the trunk, Damon followed Rebekah and his brother up the steep, sandy pathway to the cottage. The place was redolent with the smell of barbecue and the tangy aromas of leafy salads. He set his bags down on the floor as Klaus and Caroline walked into the room to welcome them. The couple was already toting around a couple of beers and Klaus handed him one before slapping his back with his hand in an affectionate gesture. Finally Bonnie came into the room, walking shortly behind Caroline, a frown marring her brow as customary. It was a look she wore quite well, Damon thought with a smirk.
"Thatcher" he greeted, his eyes travelling the length of her body. He savored her toned legs in a pair of white shorts with roll up cuffs before drifting back up to her faded denim shirt. Just the mere sight of her was making him salivate.
"We have a situation" she said firmly, whisking him away from the rest of the group before he could even think or protest. When they were finally out of ear shot, she untangled her arm away from his and ran a shaky hand through her gloriously tousled hair.
"We certainly do" Damon pointed at the first three buttons of her shirt which were suspiciously left undone. Bonnie's eyes darted down to her chest and the lacy bra peaking out from her shirt.
"I know you have the attention span of a gold fish but can you please focus long enough for us to sort out our living situation?" she snapped her fingers and directed his attention back to her flushed face.
"There's only one bedroom left and I've already taken it." She announced and Damon got the feeling that the issue would not be up for debate.
"So there's no room at the inn?" his eyebrows quirked in amusement and a slow smiled eased across his face.
"No, so you might as well go look for a stable" Bonnie kept her voice stern and this delighted him even more. There was something about stern, argumentative Bonnie that drove him wild and fuelled his fantasies.
"Why don't you go look for a stable?" he asked, toying with her.
"Because you're the poster boy for horsing around and I was here first" she raised a hand to her hip, "Were you even invited?"
"Yes…of course I was invited" Damon stammered and rubbed the back of his neck. Was it that obvious that he was a gate crasher? That he'd practically begged bobble-head, otherwise known as Rebekah for an invite this weekend?
"You're lying" Bonnie narrowed her eyes and gave him that unnerving look she liked to give distrustful people.
"Look, why don't we just share the room?" he suggested, crossing his arms against his chest in a rather obvious defensive gesture.
"No" she glared at him, unflinching.
"Why, I mean this place is practically the Noah's Hamptons Ark, there's a couple in every bedroom"
"We're not a couple and I don't feel very inclined to share my bedroom with you"
"Just like you didn't feel inclined to share your column or your cubicle with me"
"Watch your tone!" she hissed and closed the small gap between them.
"Where am I going to find a hotel in the Hamptons on a Labor Day weekend?" he pouted, trying to tear his gaze away from her lush lips but the way so incredibly close, all he needed to do was lean down and-
"Why are you even here, Damon?" she jerked him from his thoughts and he took a step back, biting his lower lip.
"I wanted to breathe some fresh sea air and I hear Oprah's around the Hamptons this weekend"
"We need to reach a resolution"
"Done" he smiled, walking away from her.
"Where are you going?"
"To see a man about a horse" Damon simply said over his shoulder. He had no intention of finding accommodation in the impossibly booked Hamptons. He would have to an idiot to pass up an opportunity like this.
This was a game changer.
..
Damon's wasn't going to back down, Bonnie knew that as she watched Sophie clutch onto the wooden butcher top, her hips swaying to music. She threw her head back, her dark curls grazing her shoulder blades and mimed to the song. Bonnie loved how unbridled and confident French women could be. She always conformed, always played by the rules but not Sophie; at least it didn't look that way. Bonnie had leaved up to her parent's expectations but her world was void of color except for her passion for politics and writing.
"Do I move you, is it thrilling…?"
Nina Simone sang and Sophie moved while Caroline chopped a few cauliflower stems on the wooden cutting board. Smells from the boiling pots infiltrated the air and Bonnie eyed Sophie's dance over the edge of her martini glass. It was her second after the two bottles of beer but who was counting now that Salvatore was here.
"When I touch you do you quiver from your head down to you liver?"
Sophie ran her hands over her head, fingers raking through her dark tresses but her hips didn't stop undulating. They were talking about something but Bonnie had lost track of the conversation. Caroline added a couple of candied walnuts, sliced red-skinned apples, grapes and celery to the bowl and tossed the salad.
"Do you mind checking on the lobster Bon?" the blonde asked, indicating to the ringing mobile phone in her hand, "I need to take this"
"Sure" she replied, rising from her bar stool to open the pot as a column of steam shot into the air.
"Caroline tells me you're in publishing" she addressed Sophie after closing the lid and slipping back to the barstool.
"I used to be in publishing, now I just play happy homemaker" Sophie replied, toying with a barbecued linked sausage with the tines of her fork.
"Marcel and I picked straws to decide who would stay home and raise Louis after he was born. I drew the shorter straw." She shrugged, finally cutting a piece and lifting it to her mouth.
"I'm just yanking your chain." She chuckled, after taking a swallow "We figured that he being a trader at a well-known investment bank would be the better option as the breadwinner. He earned the higher salary and I was fine with taking one for the team"
"You view your state as being a stay at home mom as taking one for the team?" Bonnie quipped, fishing her martini for the last olive.
"It would interest you to know that Marcel left Wall Street two years after I quit my job to become an art broker. These days he earns a quarter of what he earned at the bank" she defended herself, picking up a half finished glass of wine and refilling it with a dazzling red merlot.
"I was a junior editor for Harper Magazine with incredible growth potential… so yes; I took one for the team"
"For what it's worth, I think being a stay at home mom is an honorable thing to do. I wish my mom had been that brave or that selfless" Bonnie said quietly.
"I regret my decision every day. I can never re-join the work force because there are younger, hungrier and sexier women willing to do anything to get to the top of the corporate ladder and who can blame them, corporate jets and fashion shows are a nice incentive."
When Bonnie said nothing, Sophie looked up and asked, "You think that makes me a terrible mother?"
"No, everyone's situation is different"
"Thank you"
"Okay, I'm back what'd I miss?" Caroline smiled, re-entering the kitchen.
"Looks like Ben Carson is taking Iowa" Bonnie replied and motioned to the mounted TV.
"No political talk this weekend unless we're voting for the legalization of pot "the blonde laughed, plucking something out of her tee-shirt pocket.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"I don't know, I think the legalization of pot takes the fun out of it. Its kinda like legalizing sex workers." Sophie teased, taking another slug from her glass.
"Except for the part where legalizing sex workers helps prevent sex trafficking" Caroline countered and examined the rolled pot between her fingers. She brought it to her nose and sniffed it.
"Tell that to the underage girls from India, Africa and Russia who are sold to sex slave markets" Bonnie said, watching Caroline's nimble fingers.
"But at least with decriminalization they get a platform to fight sex trafficking" the blonde argued pointing at Sophie for a lighter.
"Let's not kid ourselves, these girls are abused, victimized, raped, dehumanized, their passports get confiscated and they strip them of character, nationality, family and self. If you decriminalize prostitution you give more power to the puppet masters who control these markets" Bonnie's face was beginning to heat up as she spoke and she had to remind herself to calm down because this was just a discussion between friends.
"I disagree; I think licensing escorts will finally give them a voice and the recognition they need to make a difference" Sophie replied, handing Caroline a lighter.
As the three of them rose from their chairs, Bonnie reminded them and lifted her finger, "Prostitution and sex trafficking are two separate issues"
"Putting a spotlight on certain human right's topics usually helps those issues" Caroline opened the refrigerator to retrieve a bottle of vodka and cranberry juice.
"Let's agree to disagree about this particular issue" Bonnie said as the blonde handed her a bottle of cranberry juice. They were about to head out to the sunny terrace when Rebekah barged inside the room, followed by Stefan.
"Okay, I am ready to get this party started!" Rebekah laughed, tying her shirttails in a knot at her waist.
It was going to be a crazy weekend or as crazy as this group could get, Bonnie thought with a smirk.
..
"How was your dinner with balloon guy?"
"Dinner with Kai Parker was great, thank you" Bonnie replied, moving along the sun dappled porch. She lingered underneath a blotch of sunlight before sliding back under a net of shadows. The crisp wine dulled the chatter emanating from inside the house and Damon's eyes held hers. The hairs on her forearm tingled when he looked at her like that. His blue eyes appeared bottomless and her sharp breathing betrayed the features she had tried to school.
"You think you might have dinner with him again?" he asked and heat spread to her cheeks as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Perhaps"
"Spidey kinda seems like a bunny boiler to me."
"Spidey?" she furrowed her eyebrows and shoved both hands inside the front pockets of her shorts.
"Kai Parker…Peter Parker"
"Potato, potahto." Bonnie shook her head, hiding her smile "you and your pedestrian monikers"
An uncomfortable silence expanded between them as she waited for him to say something. It was almost dusk and by evening they had to settle the matter of the single bedroom.
"Are you really going to stay?" Bonnie asked, her voice sounding too hoarse for her liking. He waited, lips pressed together as he studied his empty plate before lifting his eyes to her anxious face.
"Look, Thatcher we're both adults and we can be grown up about this but if you're that uncomfortable with sharing a room with me then-"
"You promise to respect my rules and boundaries?" she cut him off, catching him off-guard.
"You have rules and boundaries? You don't say!" Damon teased but his face morphed into an earnest expression when he saw the concern in her eyes.
"Yes, I swear to respect your rules and your boundaries" he said quietly.
..
After dinner Damon settled into the bedroom and packed his things away. He hung his shirts with Bonnie's, the fabric of the clothes touching elegantly. She was still downstairs with the rest of the gang in an effort to avoid him, he presumed. When she finally drifted back up to the room, she found him lying on his back with a glass of bourbon balanced on his chest, hands laced behind his back.
She circled the bed for a bit finally pausing in front of the wide open French windows leading out to the balcony and the view of the giant sea.
"What's this, your little black book?" Bonnie finally spoke, picking up a book he had set down on a table close to the window.
"It's my journal"
"You keep a diary?"
"A journal, there's a difference" he defended himself, his voice rising a decimal or two but her expression remained neutral.
"You're such a wanker" she teased and Damon swore than he saw a glimmer of mischief behind her green eyes.
"You know what you need?" he levered up on his shoulders, setting his glass aside on the nightstand.
"Enlighten me" she raised an eyebrow, setting his journal back down on the table.
"You just need to bang one out" his smile was lazy as he scratched his torso, the hem of his t-shirt rising just enough to show his navel. Bonnie shifted her gaze before she could behold his lean and taut torso.
"Bang one out?" she asked, clearing her throat. She dragged her gaze from his torso and back to his face.
"You know, fuck someone, and loosen up"
"Fucking some wanker will help me loosen up, where'd you read that GQ?"
"And who is this candidate?"
"Sorry Thatcher but I'm not gonna bang you" his smile widened and he caught her licking her bottom lip.
"Unless you really really need me to" Damon teased, dropping his gaze down to her chest and her now fully buttoned shirt.
"Can we please stop using the word bang? Because it sounds so derogatory" She made a show of checking her watch before her eyes darted back to the door.
"Okay" he agreed, his grin now spreading to his eyes.
"You know what you lack?" she asked, maintaining her glare on his face.
"Yeah?" he asked, sitting up, his elbows resting on his thighs.
"Self awareness, perhaps if you were more enlightened you wouldn't feel the need to fuck for sport and by the way, you're certainly no Jake Gyllenhaal"
"Here" he nudged a bottle of bourbon toward her and waggled his eyebrows.
"I'm going downstairs"
"Great, I'll come down after I bang out this e-mail real quick" he teased, patting a laptop seated beside him on the bed.
"You're incorrigible"
"You're bang on but that's why you love me"
..
When Bonnie ventured back downstairs, she found her group of friends on the patio passing a pair of joints between the six of them.
"If we live in a democracy, shouldn't we have a say on how government spends its foreign aid budget. I mean that's out tax dollar at work." Klaus was talking, barely taking a pause to take a puff before passing the joint to Caroline.
"Well it's officially the end of summer in New York." Bonnie chipped in with a sigh, plopping on a chair across from Rebekah and Stefan. The blonde was perched on Stefan's lap, her head resting on his shoulder. Marcel nudged Bonnie's arm and handed her a joint which she took reluctantly until Caroline winked at her. Slowly, she took a drag off the joint and looked over the group attentively. After taking another quick drag, she gave the blunt to Rebekah.
Rebekah extended her hand, taking the offered joint before announcing with a smile to no one in particular, "Now seems a good a time as any."
"We have an announcement to make…" she followed her statement and took a deep breath, exchanging a look with Stefan before the both broadcasted, "We're getting married!"
"Why?" Sophie shrieked with a horrified laugh.
"I think what Sophie meant to say was congratulations." Marcel patted his wife's knee, a reassuring smile directed at the excited couple. Bonnie nodded to him and smiled at Sophie amidst the excitement, pondering when exactly Sophie had turned into a mean girl. She wondered if she'd always been a mean girl, the uber ice-cold queen at Harper magazine or if her growing resentment toward her family had driven her to such great lengths.
"Congratulations!" Klaus exclaimed, giving Stefan a bear hug and an affectionate slap on the back.
"What a beautiful ring!" Caroline gushed, snatching up Rebekah's hand so that she could access the engagement ring a little closer. A square halo of white diamonds glinted in the light and the women cooed.
"And he picked it out all by himself." Rebekah noted with pride.
"How did he ask?" Bonnie asked trying to sound as enthused as the others.
With a toss of hair and a chuckle, Rebekah responded "Over a beautifully prepared breakfast in bed. Never mind that the bed was strewn with legal pads and case files but…it was beautiful."
"We're so happy for you" everyone exclaimed, reluctant to leave the huddle.
..
Damon traced the source of the smell with his eyes and found the group outside. They were wild and boisterous, obviously excited about something either than the blunts they were sucking on. He smiled because it felt like high school all over again.
"You're just in time!" Marcel beckoned him over.
"Your brother's getting married." Klaus laughed, patting Damon's back as he brushed past him to head to the kitchen. Damon's stomach clenched, his blue eyes darting from the crowd around the happy couple and back to the kitchen. Still dazed, he followed Klaus into the kitchen and watched him dig a couple of beers out of the fridge. Klaus tossed him a bottle and watched as Damon popped the lid, brows knitted and eyes focused on the task at hand.
"You good?" he asked, tapping his beer against Damon's before opening it.
"Great." Damon grumbled, taking a swig and another before clearing his throat. He could still hear the voices sounding outside, laughter punctuated by shrieks carrying inside to assault his ears. Leaning against the kitchen island, he lifted the bottle for another sip.
After securing a few more beers and a chilled bottle of white wine for the ladies, they migrated back to the patio for more celebratory drinks.
"I'd like to make a toast." Damon cleared his throat, clanking the side of his bottle with a fork. Everyone looked up at him, waiting with anticipation and for a moment he thought back to the Thanksgiving dinners in Long Island with Rasputin and Stefan when they had to give speeches about what they were thankful for each year.
"To the death of hope." Damon lifted his glass, unable to hide his smirk.
Bonnie traded a glance with Caroline when Damon perched himself on the arm rest of her chair. He sat, squaring an ankle over one knee and draped an arm around the back of her chair. Wedging a blunt between her lips, Bonnie took another long comfortable inhale before passing it onto Damon.
"Thanks." He smiled, his gaze dropping to her mouth before coasting back to the joint in his hand. He studied the red lipsticks marks around the butt of the blunt and touched them to his lips. He couldn't take his eyes off her mouth as she talked and his mouth reeled from the idea of tasting her.
There was more conversation, more whales of laughter, more beer, more wine and one last joint before someone came up with the idea of skinny-dipping in the ocean.
..
They raced down to the beach, tearing off their clothes with each stumble on the wet sand. Leaving a trail of their discarded clothing and footprints behind, they loped into the water laughing and screaming as waves licked their legs.
..
Later they emerged from the water, moonlit limbs moving like ghost in the sultry evening as they sprinted back toward the cottage. Someone had the bright idea to start a bonfire and make smores on the beach but she was fatigued, wet and didn't feel like staying up all night much less talking with Damon all night. She snuck off to her bedroom while everyone else was looting the cupboards for ingredients for the smores.
Bonnie had just stepped into the dark room when she heard the door click open and shut behind her. A shaft of moonlight fell across the bed and when she whirled around to face who ever had followed her to the room, she stood eyes wide open, frozen on the spot.
"Damon" she breathed, blinking owlishly in the dimness of the room.
"You done for the evening?" he asked, the huskiness in his voice surprising him.
"I just came to change into something dry." She replied, moving deeper into the room, her hands around the hem of her damp shirt, water from her hair pooling onto her shoulders. She could feel him moving and breathing behind her and the closer he moved, the more her heart raced. When she felt his hand on her shoulder, she turned around slowly and found his gaze pinning her to the wall.
"What're you doing?" she asked breathlessly but he didn't offer a response.
His hands rested on her hips while her hand teased the hem of his shirt before fisting it in her hand. Gently cupping her chin with one hand, he nipped her bottom lip with his teeth before swallowing the moan that escaped her mouth. He kissed her again, threading his fingers in her hair and pulling her closer to him. Slowly she lifted his shirt off over his head and bared his chest. Breathing hard and fast against his shivering flesh, Bonnie closed her mouth around one of his nipples and sent shivers down his body.
"Shit!" he cursed before fisting his hand in her hair and reclaiming her mouth with his again. When she eased down his zipper, the warmth of her hands lingered on his skin making his cock throb. He groaned when she finally eased his jeans down his legs and unable to wait any longer, he slipped a hand under her shirt, stroking her lace covered breast before easing the straps down her shoulders. A cacophony of voices and music drifted in from outside the room before disappearing out into the night toward the waiting beach. Beyond the voices, beyond the ringing laughter, the music and the sound of the roaring waves, there was just their beating hearts and breathless moans.
Now. Here. This room. This was all that mattered.
Damon unbuttoned her shirt one button at a time, his eyes never leaving hers. He could feel the tension in her body everytime he exposed new bits of skin. He lifted her left leg to his shoulder and rested his hands on the wall above her head.
When he finally lifted her in his arms, she wrapped her thighs around his hips and clung onto him.
He stretched her out on the bed, giving her a slight wink before lowering himself on top of her. His tongue followed the line of her rib cage and she let out a shuddering breath, arching her back to the point of nearly jumping off the bed. He kissed his way down the length of her torso, relishing her taste and her responsive moans. He dragged his open mouth over her lace covered mound before teasing her panties to the side.
"Fuck!"
Gritting her teeth as pleasure shot through her, she dragged her nails across his back and seized the back of his head drawing him closer to her.
"Please" She whimpered as he sucked in her clit, thrusting his tongue inside her, savouring and lapping her heat.
He lifted himself off her to retrieve a condom from his luggage but by the time he turned back, she was already passed out.
..