Cousins: Introducing Damon Salvatore

52: Face To Face! 'Dog-Sitting'

Vanessa and I entered the house, our hands full with shopping bags. We had spent all afternoon shopping for decorations and outfits for tomorrow night. I was hosting a party here at the Salvatore Boarding House. "Damon!" I called for my boyfriend.

I led the way to the dining room and placed my bags on the table. Vanessa did the same and sighed. "You were right. We did need a lot of decorations. This place is huge," she said and I smiled lightly.

"Hey baby," a voice came. I turned to see Damon in the doorway. But he wasn't alone. In his hand was a blue leash. Connected to that was a pink collar wrapped around the neck of a short haired, golden colored dog. I wasn't sure the breed.

"I can't believe you," I said to him, shaking my head. "How could you just do this without talking to me first?"

I walked over to the dog and lowered myself down. She leaned forward and started sniffing loudly. I held out my hand and she sniffed at that before licking it. I smiled and began petting her and stroking her head. Her tongue rolled out her mouth and she panted, sending me a toothy grin. "She's so cute," I whispered.

Damon lowered himself down next to her so I faced him, and we were eye level. "I didn't make this decision with you, Skylar. She's not ours," he said.

"Then what is she doing here?" I asked, rubbing behind her ears. "Hi pretty. Hi. Yeah," I laughed softly, talking to her as she moved forward and licked at cheek, heading towards my mouth, but I pulled away just a bit to avoid it. I'd like to kiss my boyfriend in a minute.

"I'm dog sitting. But if we want to keep her... she's ours. There was this girl at the shelter--" Damon told me.

"What girl?" I narrowed my eyes and he smirked. I stood up and he did the same. I tugged him close by his shirt and he grabbed onto my hips, giving them a light squeeze before answering me.

"Just some girl. She said her grandmother was going to Florida and needed someone to dog sit. The girl was saying she didn't want to do it because she's allergic. Kol and I overheard, he charmed her. We met the old lady and Lavender is temporarily in our care for two weeks. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay," I sighed softly.

"Hi, Vanessa," he finally greeted my friend. She smiled and said hi back, walking over to pet the big dog. "I was gonna take her for a walk..." He trailed off and I nodded.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"Our room," he said. We walked Vanessa upstairs so she greet everyone. Stefan, Hayley, Kol, and Bonnie all rested on our bed with Moke in the middle of theme

"Hey, Damon and I are going to walk the dog and talk. You guys wanna help Vanessa start decorating, please?" I asked.

"Of course," Bonnie grinned.

"Hey, girl," Hayley smiled at her, getting off the bed first. I smiled and left with Damon. He held onto the leash in one hand and held mine in the other.

"You do realize having a dog is a lot of responsibility, right?" I asked and he chuckled.

"Yes, baby. I know, but I want one," he said. "I know we have Cooper and Bambi, but they stay at your moms. They're also tiny. I can lay on her, Sky."

I laughed lightly. "Are we going to end up with a zoo one day, Damon?" I asked him, half serious. Because we both loved animals. A whole lot. And if he could do this on a whim who's to say he won't again.

We ended up at a park. Damon handed her leash over to me. He then sat down on a bench. I rolled my eyes at him. "Come baby," I cooed at the dog, tugging on her leash.

I moved to the street path of the park. I picked up into a jog and she dragged herself next to me, not running. So I sped up, "come on, girl. Run with me," I encouraged. She picked up her feet, keeping up with my pace.

We lapped around twice before I got a little tired. I've been out all day long, walking around. Doing the most. My feet hurt. I dropped down next to Lavender and kissed her head. She panted heavily, letting me shower her with love as she sat still on the grass.

A whistle sounded and her head darted to the side. I looked at Damon standing now in front of the bench. I raised a brow and he smirked at me. I slowly dropped her leash and Damon patted his thighs, leaning down and calling her over.  She ran quickly over to him, jumping up on his legs. He grabbed her head in both hands as he leaned down. She licked all over his face and my heart swelled. Jesus... I knew it. I would fall in love instantly.

Yeah, she wasn't ours... But, Damon was going to get attached. And I wasn't going to be able to say no. I knew that now as he grinned at me, resting his head on hers as he got her to sit down and be still as I reached them. "You want to keep her, don't you?" I asked him and he smiled sheepishly.

"I do," he said. "But if you don't want to or you think it's a bad idea. I won't. She can go back home and we can forget about her."

"Don't make me the bad guy," I frowned. "You know, I don't want to upset you, darling. I just feel it's a lot right now... We just got Moke not too long ago. Stefan and Hayley just brought another cat into your house. I graduate in a few months and then I'm going off to college. It's okay if I just leave all the pets with you? Three dogs and a cat?"

"I don't see the big deal."

"What if a crisis arrives? You're not going to be home, Damon. Three dogs? They need lots of attention. Especially Coop and Bambi. They're so high maintenance too," I pointed out.

"I wouldn't be doing it alone. I have Stefan and Hayley," he said.

"Two weeks. We can talk about it at the end of two weeks, okay? I don't want to get into some deep thinking right now. Tomorrow night is New Years Eve. We're throwing a party," I said and he nodded.

"Mhm. Then you and I are going off to a hotel."

I blushed, taking his free hand. "I love you," I said and he grinned.

"I love you too, darling," he replied. I stepped close, pressing a hand to his cheek as I leaned up and kissed him.