Ch.7 - Preview
"I'm sorry I've been blocking you out from everything that's been going on lately," he said softly, tenderly stroking her hair as she lay strewn across his chest.
The scene was familiar, and for once it made him wary.
"I just don't want you taking care of me," he admitted.
Her barely moving fingers drawing circles on his chest stilled, and he knew she was tensed for an argument, or hiding her feelings. He didn't know which was worse.
He sighed and started massaging her scalp, hoping it would calm her. It did, but only a little.
"A big problem between us before, Blair, was my dependence on you. I always thought you'd be there for me, so I didn't put a limit to what the threshold was. I put you on a pedestal. In my mind, it was like you weren't even human."
She shot up and turned to look at him. Desperation raced across her face.
"I will always be there for you, Chuck."
He sighed and calmly rubbed her back.
"I know, but I don't want you to feel like you have to. At the start to my...changing myself, I told you I was going to start taking care of myself. I meant it."
"And I said I would still be there for you if you needed me."
"Blair-"
"And you do, Chuck. You need me."
He sighed in resignation.
She lay her head back down and smoothed her hand over his chest.
"Just because you need help doesn't mean you're relapsing. It doesn't make you any less of a man."
She smiled a little as she tilted her head up to look at him. He looked down at her, amused.
"No?"
"Nope," she said cheerfully, raising herself up again to kiss him on the tip of his nose.
He didn't let her pull away right away though. He held her arm gently and cradled her face in the palm of his hand. The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He was so very much in love with her.
He pulled her closer and nuzzled his face against hers. The way he felt with her in his arms was indescribable. It made him wonder why the hell he'd made her fight so long and hard for him when he ached so badly for her every night.
"I think you should start staying overnight."
This perked her up instantly. "Really?"
It was obvious she'd been waiting for this for awhile and it made his heart beat faster.
"Yes, really," he said, grinning like a fool.
She was glowing.
"We were never really good with restrictions anyways, were we?" he asked, smirking.
She giggled. "No," she said, as she leaned down to kiss him. "We weren't."
-----
It was much later when she realized he hadn't told her what had been going on the last few weeks, if Jack had ever even been involved past their initial trips to various European casinos at the beginning of summer.
It made her wonder if this was all a series of calculated steps in keeping her in the dark. Maybe she couldn't really trust him at all.
No, she scolded herself. She could trust him. After all he'd done for her in the last year, the least she could do was trust him.
Then again, maybe the rude awakening of both Bart's return and his taking back Bass Industries had made Chuck snap. He was so cautious with her now, even in this breach with them spending the night with each other (which she knew she would love and take full advantage of).
Maybe this hadn't been the right decision after all. Maybe she would've been better off taking charge of Waldorf Designs and only coming to him after he'd managed to fix things on his own.
But no, she'd said she was all in and she was. Totally. Completely.
Besides, she'd burned him badly. It was enough to make him stop wanting her altogether if she didn't fight for him, and soon.
She groaned and slipped out of bed. Being so close tucked into Chuck was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. She'd fought so hard for him so long that she didn't let herself question the depth of his love and desire for her. But now that they were together and he was hiding things from her - even with the clear assumption from their recent conversation that they'd start pouring out - she began to doubt more than ever if he would simply get rid of her when proved to be too difficult.
And she knew she would be. She was Blair Waldorf. Her name spelled out trouble and her visage expressed more than words could possibly say how difficult she could and would prove to be. To a matured Chuck Bass... if he hadn't already been in love with her, he wouldn't fall now.
Not a chance.
The scene was familiar, and for once it made him wary.
"I just don't want you taking care of me," he admitted.
Her barely moving fingers drawing circles on his chest stilled, and he knew she was tensed for an argument, or hiding her feelings. He didn't know which was worse.
He sighed and started massaging her scalp, hoping it would calm her. It did, but only a little.
"A big problem between us before, Blair, was my dependence on you. I always thought you'd be there for me, so I didn't put a limit to what the threshold was. I put you on a pedestal. In my mind, it was like you weren't even human."
She shot up and turned to look at him. Desperation raced across her face.
"I will always be there for you, Chuck."
He sighed and calmly rubbed her back.
"I know, but I don't want you to feel like you have to. At the start to my...changing myself, I told you I was going to start taking care of myself. I meant it."
"And I said I would still be there for you if you needed me."
"Blair-"
"And you do, Chuck. You need me."
He sighed in resignation.
She lay her head back down and smoothed her hand over his chest.
"Just because you need help doesn't mean you're relapsing. It doesn't make you any less of a man."
She smiled a little as she tilted her head up to look at him. He looked down at her, amused.
"No?"
"Nope," she said cheerfully, raising herself up again to kiss him on the tip of his nose.
He didn't let her pull away right away though. He held her arm gently and cradled her face in the palm of his hand. The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. He was so very much in love with her.
He pulled her closer and nuzzled his face against hers. The way he felt with her in his arms was indescribable. It made him wonder why the hell he'd made her fight so long and hard for him when he ached so badly for her every night.
"I think you should start staying overnight."
This perked her up instantly. "Really?"
It was obvious she'd been waiting for this for awhile and it made his heart beat faster.
"Yes, really," he said, grinning like a fool.
She was glowing.
"We were never really good with restrictions anyways, were we?" he asked, smirking.
She giggled. "No," she said, as she leaned down to kiss him. "We weren't."
-----
It was much later when she realized he hadn't told her what had been going on the last few weeks, if Jack had ever even been involved past their initial trips to various European casinos at the beginning of summer.
It made her wonder if this was all a series of calculated steps in keeping her in the dark. Maybe she couldn't really trust him at all.
No, she scolded herself. She could trust him. After all he'd done for her in the last year, the least she could do was trust him.
Then again, maybe the rude awakening of both Bart's return and his taking back Bass Industries had made Chuck snap. He was so cautious with her now, even in this breach with them spending the night with each other (which she knew she would love and take full advantage of).
Maybe this hadn't been the right decision after all. Maybe she would've been better off taking charge of Waldorf Designs and only coming to him after he'd managed to fix things on his own.
But no, she'd said she was all in and she was. Totally. Completely.
Besides, she'd burned him badly. It was enough to make him stop wanting her altogether if she didn't fight for him, and soon.
She groaned and slipped out of bed. Being so close tucked into Chuck was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. She'd fought so hard for him so long that she didn't let herself question the depth of his love and desire for her. But now that they were together and he was hiding things from her - even with the clear assumption from their recent conversation that they'd start pouring out - she began to doubt more than ever if he would simply get rid of her when proved to be too difficult.
And she knew she would be. She was Blair Waldorf. Her name spelled out trouble and her visage expressed more than words could possibly say how difficult she could and would prove to be. To a matured Chuck Bass... if he hadn't already been in love with her, he wouldn't fall now.
Not a chance.