"Let's go out tonight," Damon said as he plopped down on the couch next to Emma.
Emma closed the book she was reading, that Sam Winchester had sent her, and looked over at him, "With everything going on? Ric is locked up in your friggin cellar."
"Exactly, let's cut loose a little for a minute. Especially since I'm going to Denver with Elena tomorrow to find the ghost whisperer," Damon kissed Emma's cheek, "I wanna spend some time with my girl."
"Why isn't Stefan going?" Emma crossed her arms.
"Uh," Damon didn't want to tell Emma about his brother's insecurities about his relationship with Elena, "his whole 'control' thing, he feels like staying around here would be safer for now. Familiarity and all that crap."
"Okay, so where are you taking me?"
"That is for me to know and for you to, dot, dot, dot," Damon smirked before he stood up and vanished out of the room.
Emma pulled out her phone and pulled up Caroline's number, she waited for her to answer.
"Hey," Caroline greeted her.
"Wanna go shopping?" Emma asked.
"Is that even a real question?" Caroline laughed, "Duh, I'll meet you downtown in an hour."
Emma stood up and made her way upstairs to the bedroom, she rifled through a few drawers, pulling out a simple jean and t-shirt set. She pulled on her boots before heading to the bathroom to put on a little mascara. On her way out the door she grabbed her backpack and her motorcycle helmet. The drive downtown was quick once her tires were on stable concrete and she was able to sped up. Emma pulled up to a parking spot in front of a small boutique.
"So what are we shopping for?" Caroline asked excitedly.
"Damon wants to go out on a date tonight, and since we have never really been anywhere but the Grill and I hate dressing up, I have nothing," Emma explained her dilemma.
"Well, then you called the perfect personal stylist," Caroline almost bounced as she walked into the store.
Emma followed behind her as she watched Caroline pull dresses off the rack, occasionally looking back to judge if the color or size she was grabbing was right.
"Do I have to wear a dress?" Emma complained, "What about a nice blouse and jeans."
Caroline turned around looking offended, "First of all, we are not in Florida, dressy casual is a little more strict. Secondly, how many times has Damon actually seen you in a dress."
"Um," Emma thought back to homecoming, where she reluctantly wore one to blend in, "once."
"You are wearing a dress," Caroline insisted before turning around and continuing her way around the store.
Emma started to regret calling Caroline, but she was the only one she knew who would give her an honest opinion and make her look incredible. Caroline led her to a dressing room and hung the dresses around her on the hook, she closed the curtain before going and taking a seat in front of the mirror, waiting for Emma to start her personal runway show.
Without thinking Emma grabbed a black strapless dress that Caroline had picked out, once she had it zipped up she threw the curtain open dramatically.
"Well, this was a quick trip, I pick this one," Emma smiled smugly.
"Nope, next," Caroline crossed her arms, "you are not wearing black."
"But I always wear black, besides if you weren't going to let me pick it, then why add to my choices?"
Caroline stuck her nose up in the air in arrogant way, "I was testing you."
"Ugh," Emma threw her hands up and stomped back into the dressing room.
This time she chose a light blue skin tight dress, she barely had the curtain open by the time Caroline was already saying, "No."
Caroline's fashion show lasted another half hour until Emma grabbed a blood red dress, she slipped it on and reluctantly opened the curtain, waiting for Caroline's 'no'. To her surprise it never came, when Emma looked up Caroline's hand was covering her mouth and her eyes were wide.
"That's the one," she said excitedly, "that is the dress."
Emma looked into the mirror, the color of her deep red hair accentuated the color of the dress, against her lighter skin tone it made her look ravishing. The straps hung off of her shoulders and the dress hugged her body nicely, showing it off without giving too much away. Even the chiffon fabric added a richness to the dress as it flowed down to just above her knees. Emma smiled at Caroline confidently.
"Now for the shoes and accessories," Caroline clapped happily as she started rushing around the store again, she handed Emma a pair of black heels.
Emma laughed and handed them back, "Ha, no, try again."
Caroline crossed her arms, "You don't always have to be battle ready Emma."
"Maybe not, but I do have to be able to keep my feet under me when I walk, Caroline."
Caroline almost snarled as she turned around to find a new pair of shoes, came back with a black shoe with a much more modest heel, "Will these work?"
Emma nodded as she slipped them on to see the entire outfit, she smiled at herself in the mirror, it had been a long time since she had felt dolled up.
"How are you doing your hair and makeup?" Caroline asked, to which Emma shrugged.
"Well, it looks like I'm coming over then."
"You sure?"
"I did not put that much effort into finding you the perfect dress to have you muck it up with frizzy hair and the wrong shade of lipstick," Caroline rolled her eyes.
Two hours before Damon was supposed to take Emma out, Caroline showed up at the boarding house to help Emma get ready. Caroline pulled a brush through Emma's hair expertly and made several small braids, which she pinned back under the rolled bun she was creating. To Caroline's surprise, Emma had a full array of makeup, including the shade of red lipstick that she was hoping for. After Emma's makeover was completed, Caroline helped her into her dress and latched a small silver chain around her neck.
"Perfection," Caroline stepped back and smiled, pleased with her work, "as much as I don't like Damon, I'm actually excited for you."
Emma rolled her eyes and ignored the left-handed compliment, instead picking up her borrowed silver clutch and making sure it had her phone, wallet, lipstick, and of course her small modified pistol.
Caroline looked over her shoulder and frowned, "Seriously?"
"When have I ever left myself open for an attack?"
Caroline shrugged, knowing she would have an easier time arguing with a brick wall, but pleased that she had managed to persuade Emma not to strap a stake to herself somewhere. The girls headed downstairs just as Damon was coming in, he was already dressed and ready.
He wore a black dinner jacket with a light blue shirt under it that nearly matched his eyes, his hair was combed neatly and it even looked like he had gotten a slight trim while he was out.
When he saw Emma his face brightened instantly and he had to fight to stay in the present and not look like a dumb love struck fool. Emma on the other hand, had never seen Damon dressed nicely, and she couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly.
"Whoah," she accidentally said out loud, which made her face flush red with embarrassment.
Damon smirked up at her, "I'll say, you look beautiful Em."
Emma motioned towards Caroline, "She did most of the work."
"But I had a good canvas," Caroline commented as she walked past the two and into the library.
Damon took Emma's hand and helped her down the last two stairs, "Seriously Emma, you look amazing."
"You don't clean up too bad yourself Mr. Salvatore," Emma flirted.
Damon lifted her hand to his and pretended to bite her wrist playfully before he led her outside to his waiting Camaro. As soon as Damon had taken his place in the driver's seat he reached over and took Emma's hand in his. Damon started the car and drove it around the cul-de-sac of the driveway, back to the front door. Emma raised her eyebrow at him and smirked, waiting for him to reveal his master plan.
Without giving anything away Damon got out of the car and made his way over to Emma just as she was opening her door, he offered her his hand, she smiled up at him as she took it and helped her out of the car. He kept a hold of it as he led her back to the front door and through the house until he reached the kitchen.
"I'm shocked at your silence," Damon smirked.
"Am I always that much of a smartass?" Emma laughed.
Damon shrugged innocently, knowing it was a loaded question. He let go of Emma's hand, pulled off his jacket, and walked over to the refrigerator before he began pulling out ingredients, it took a moment, but Emma had a guess as to what they were making.
"Is this when you show me how to make a meatball?" She asked sarcastically.
Damon chuckled, "The thought had crossed my mind, but we are always eating out, so I figured I would cook for you."
Emma sat down on a barstool that was at the counter, "All right Emeril, let's see what you got."
"What was that about you always being a smartass?"
Emma watched as Damon began to expertly began slicing and dicing vegetables. He looked up and smiled confidently at Emma as if he was showing off, she rolled her eyes at him.
"Anything I can do to help?" Emma moved over to Damon's side.
"Nope, just stand there and keep being pretty," Damon moved on to the stove and began cooking.
"What are you making anyway?" Emma picked up a stray slice of prosciutto off of the cutting board and popped it in her mouth.
"Ragu alla bolognese," Damon looked back over his shoulder as he stirred, "not super authentic, otherwise I would have been in here all day."
"Careful you don't summon a demon," Emma laughed, "seriously though, it wouldn't be the first time."
Damon raised his eyebrow curiously, "What was the weirdest thing you've ever come across."
"Easy," Emma shrugged, "giant suicidal teddy bear."
Damon's jaw dropped slightly.
"Funniest was when Dean became so paranoid and afraid of everything that he screamed bloody murder when a cat jumped out at him."
"Your life here must be boring compared to all of that," Damon commented.
"It was, until I started dating a vampire."
Damon rolled his eyes and turned back to his cooking, "You jumped in the car willingly."
Emma wrapped her arms around Damon's waist, "Are you really complaining?"
"Never," Damon smiled.
Small talk filled the time while Damon moved his chair closer to Emma's, his fingers brushing the back of her hand, a constant smile filled both of their faces. As the dinner concluded they shared a piece of tiramisu. Damon put a spoonful in his mouth and contently listened as Emma told a story about hunting down a skin-walker. As Emma looked up she noticed that a small dot of the tiramisu cream had gotten stuck in the corner of Damon's mouth, she smiled at him, making him sit up slightly and look at her with his eyebrow raised.
"What?" He questioned.
Emma motioned for him to lean forward, curiosity got the best of him and he did as she asked. She leaned in and used the tip of her tongue to lick the cream off of his lip before lifting her hand and putting it behind his head, pulling him in closer to her, kissing him with a slight desperation, Damon let one of his hands roam her thigh while the other was pressed at the small of her back, he felt her smile against his lips before starting to kiss him again. Emma pulled away but rested her forehead on his.
Damon suddenly stood and offered his hand to Emma, she stood up and followed him out of the dining room and into the library. Damon grabbed a remote on the way into the room and hit play. Soft jazz music filled the room as he continued to lead her into the center of the room. He wrapped one hand around Emma's waist and started to twirl her around the room.
"Do you ever think of the future?" Damon asked unexpectedly.
Emma shrugged, pretending to be unbothered by the question, "I'm more of a day by day gal."
Damon looked at Emma, she was concentrating on keeping up with him, "Yeah, but now you have an eternity to do anything you want."
"Yeah," Emma nodded, "I'm still wrapping my head around that."
"What about our future?" Damon said so quietly, it was like he almost didn't want to ask the question at all.
Emma lifted her head and smiled, "I love you Damon, so I'm not going anywhere if that is what you are worried about."
Damon noticed that Emma was just as graceful as he was as they danced, her years of practiced footsteps showed.
"What about you?" Emma turned the tables, "Where do you see me fitting in?"
Damon smirked, "Everywhere Em, you fit in everywhere."
They continued dancing before Damon remembered something and stopped moving. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag.
"What's that?" Emma asked.
"Just something I found," Damon smirked at her as he opened the bag and dumped a small silver bracelet into his hand.
He unlatched the hook and held it up to show Emma, the bracelet held an aquamarine stone in an intricate setting. Emma held up her left hand for him, after he latched it around her wrist he kissed her hand before releasing it for her to look at. Emma smiled as she studied the setting.
"It's really pretty," she said, still smiling.
"It was my mother's," Damon told her, pleased that he had picked something she liked.
Emma looked up, "Are you sure?"
Damon nodded.
"You never really talk about your family."
"Not much to tell, my father was a bastard, my mother died in an asylum from consumption, and Stefan, you are very familiar with."
Emma nodded, "Thank you."
"For what?" Damon said playfully.
"For loving me."
Damon pulled Emma close again and began to sway with her.
The room was suddenly dimmed when the log that was in the fireplace fell over.
"I got it," Emma announced as she walked over to the fire.
She grabbed the fire poker, but before she could lift it her hand suddenly felt like it was burning, she let out a quick scream in shock and pain before she let go, it fell to the floor with a loud clang. Damon rushed to her side and looked down at her hand, it was already healing.
"What the hell just happened?" Damon said concerned, he bent over and picked up the fire poker and put it back on the stand.
"Iron," Emma huffed annoyed, "phoenixes can't touch it. This ring isn't as strong as my other one, or I'm stronger now that I've died. It's not working right."
"Avoid iron, got it," Damon noted in his head, "I'll buy new ones that have a handle or something."
Emma let out a quiet squeal as he picked her up and used one arm to support her back and the other slid under her knees, Emma wrapped her arms around his neck for support as he sped them upstairs.
Once in their room Damon gave Emma a devilish smirk, before laying her on the bed and kissing her, his hands roaming her body. When his fingers found the zipper for the dress, he slid it down before sitting up enough to undo his own buttons on his shirt. Emma let out a soft moan and he leaned back over her, his lips connecting with hers again.