A/N: This one-shot was originally written for the "Fandoms Fight the Floods" fundraiser. We're now allowed to post it for those who were not able to donate!

A huuuuge thanks to my betas, tsukikomew and Linda (manywords). You guys are incredible.

ENJOY!

I stood in front of the full-length mirror hanging on the back of my bedroom door and allowed a moment for my eyes to scan my appearance.

My dark brown hair was parted perfectly over the arch of my left eyebrow and pulled back into a smooth bun, coiled tightly at the nape of my neck. My eyes were darkened with a bit of eyeliner and a satin black eye shadow. Light rose-colored blush highlighted my cheekbones and clear gloss shone on my lips. My eyes wandered lower to the white three-quarter sleeve button-up shirt that clung tightly to my torso. A bit of grey lace peeked up at the deep vee where the silver buttons connected. Beyond that a crisp, charcoal grey tweed pencil skirt hung around my waist, the hem stopping just at the bend of my knees. I twisted my legs a little to make sure I had properly moisturized all the way around. Then my eyes finished their route at the black pumps adorning my feet.

I pursed my lips tightly as I went through a second look-over before finally nodding to myself and walking over to my jewelry box. I opened the lid and picked out a pair of diamond cluster earrings, a silver locket encrusted with a single ruby, and my black wristwatch. As I began putting on my earrings, I glanced down at the time on the watch and groaned, an overwhelming sense of urgency washing over me.

I was supposed to be at the Mystic Falls University at 9 a.m. The university was forty minutes away and it was already 8:30 a.m. I hadn't realized I was running so short on time.

After each earring was in place, I grabbed the necklace and watch and started to awkwardly put them on as I briskly walked to the living room. The watch went on easily, but the clasp on the necklace was small and I had to stop walking to complete the task, wasting more time.

As soon as it was hanging securely around my neck, I searched for my knee-length black pea coat. It was thrown haphazardly over my rocking chair and I ran over to it, quickly shoving my arms through the sleeves and heading for the kitchen.

As I entered the dimly lit room, my stomach growled and I rolled my eyes. It always knew when to make its presence known.

I found my purse and slung it over my shoulder as I reached into my refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water and a plain bagel. It wouldn't be the most appetizing breakfast, but it would have to do.

Several minutes later I was driving like a complete idiot on the freeway, one hand on the wheel, the other holding the bagel to my mouth. My eyes frequently glanced over to the dull green glow of the radio clock to keep track of time. If I kept speeding like I was, I would only be about five minutes late.

As I chewed the last bite of my bagel, I mulled over the day ahead of me. I hadn't been back to MFU since the day I graduated two years ago with a business degree, and it hadn't been an accident that I had not returned. I hated the university. I invested four years of my life into crap classes that did nothing to prepare me for the real world. I had graduated with such an optimistic outlook that was quickly crushed within the first four months. I guess I never got the memo that the economy was going to shit. As a college student, I was more focused on pizza and getting guys to pay attention, but the university should've let me know, right? My teachers shouldn't have built up this pretty picture of fancy high-rise offices and easy living when that just didn't exist anymore.

I went through hell trying to find a job that was at least somewhat related to my degree. I now worked for a major corporation – Forbes Investments – but I was barely above an intern. I hardly ever got to work with actual business related files unless I was sorting them into metal cabinets.

I sighed as I realized I hated my job almost as much as I hated MFU.

I shook my head slightly and pushed the thoughts away. Today, I needed to love Forbes Investments. I needed to love it so much that I could convince other bright-eyed MFU students to apply for internships and sell them the same dreams I had been sold.

I pulled into the visitor parking lot near the business building on campus and parked as close as I could to the door. I began unloading clear storage containers with wheels from the trunk and headed inside.

Just through the doors, I was met with a brightly colored poster declaring "Business Fair Today!" that hung from the ceiling. It was the same poster I had stood under when I was a student attending this event. I walked right past the front office and down the hallway, already knowing where the banquet room was.

White folding tables were scattered everywhere, most already covered with business materials praising the companies to which they belonged. I searched out the table reserved for my company and blushed when I saw my boss glowering at me from behind it. She stood with her arms folded across her chest, the tips of her perfectly manicured pink nails showing against her black suit sleeve.

I approached cautiously, pulling the two rolling cases behind me.

"Do you know what time it is?" Caroline asked, venom seeping through each word.

I nodded, avoiding her cold eyes. "Traffic. I'm sorry."

"You should have taken that into consideration and adjusted you time accordingly, Elena. There is always traffic."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, laying the first case on its side and unlatching it. I began pulling out stacks of brochures, sign-up sheets, and a tri-fold presentation board showcasing some of our business' finer points. From the second case I dug out pens, pencils, soda can koozies and writing pads that had our company logo plastered on them.

I set them out on the table in an organized fashion, all the while feeling Caroline's devilish gaze burning holes into my skin. When I was finished, I glanced up at Caroline and she gave one hard nod, indicating her approval of the set-up.

I walked around to her side of the table and she held out her hand. "Here," she began. "I want you to wear this."

I took the large square pin from her and read the bold black text printed across the front: Elena Gilbert – MFU Graduate 2009. I suppressed the urge to groan.

"Do I have to?" I asked.

"Yes. It'll help the students relate to you while you're talking to them. They'll get a sense of camaraderie."

Perfect. That's exactly what I wanted, to have these students see me as a representation of what they might be in their futures. If they knew how it really was, they'd run far, far away.

My jaw tightened as I nodded and pinned the square to my lapel.

Caroline turned around and bent to pick up her purse from the floor. "I'll be back around two," she said.

My eyes grew wide and I turned to her. "What? You're leaving?"

She nodded, taking her cell phone from her purse and scrolling through the screen, not even bothering to look at me. "I am."

"Miss Forbes," I started, straightening my shoulders and trying to find a tone that wouldn't overstep my boundaries but would also get my point across. "This fair ends at two. That would mean that I would be here by myself the entire time."

"Uh huh," she agreed simply, now using both fingers to start a text.

"Miss Forbes," I said a bit more loudly, trying to concentrate her focus on me, "there are over three thousand students in the business program here. There's no possible way I can speak to each of them about the company without rushing and skipping over things."

She lowered her phone and looked up at me, her pink lips curling into an uncomfortably sweet smile. "Elena, dear, I'm sure you will figure it out. Talk to them in groups if you have to," she suggested. "I trust you. Is there any reason I shouldn't?" Her eyes narrowed and her head tilted slightly to the side, daring me to tell her she couldn't trust me.

"You can trust me," I mumbled, trying to hide the defeat I felt from my tone. I bit down on my lower lip and looked away from her.

"Great," she smiled. "Then I'll see you at two." With that, she spun around, her curled blond hair whipping around her shoulder, and headed for the exit.

I stared at her retreating form, my mind spewing every curse words I knew in her direction.

Caroline was smart. She had taken the small firm her father started and built it into the financial empire it was today. Forbes Investments had its hand in every pocket of every small business in Mystic Falls. Our company acted as big brother to the smaller companies. When they were on rocky grounds, members of our staff would go to their work place and stay for a few months, setting them on the right track again. It only cost a small fortune, but it came with the guarantee their business wouldn't crumble. Really, Forbes Investments was a lifesaver for many privately owned businesses, so it would seem like its owner would be the kind and giving type.

Caroline was a bitch, however, through and through. Her main priorities were making money and having fun. If she wasn't immediately doing one or the other, she didn't do it at all. Like this fair, for example. It wasn't a fun time and she wasn't going to make a dime by attending it, so she had no reason to stay. And she never gives a shit about her employees, which was why I was standing here alone. We're replaceable in her eyes.

"So what does your business do?"

The voice of the small girl startled me. I had been so zoned in on Caroline that I hadn't even noticed the business fair had begun and there was a small group of students gathered around my table.

I cleared my throat, running my palms down the sides of my skirt, and put on my most friendly smile.

"Hi," I began. I hadn't really practiced anything for this event so I wasn't sure where to start. "Forbes Investments takes pride in Mystic Falls and the privately owned businesses that thrive within our town. Our company is here to back the smaller companies."

"What do you mean by back them?" the girl asked.

"Well, if they find themselves in trouble and start to drown, we swoop in to help. We give financial advice, we alter the way they run their business so that it's more efficient, and if they need loans we're able to help them with that. We're here to make sure that they stay open and continue to benefit our community."

"Which businesses have you helped?"

"We've helped all sorts of businesses from the flower shop downtown to the Kia car dealership on Main Street."

"No, you," the girl corrected. "Which businesses have you, specifically, gone in to help? Like where have you been assigned to before?"

Unconsciously I pulled my lower lip in between my teeth. I hadn't been assigned to help any businesses because I had been assigned to a tiny office that could better be described as a closet. This girl was standing here calling out my failed career and I had no idea how to answer.

"I'm sure she's helped with lots of shit, Vicki. Geeze, leave her alone. Why are you even here? You know you'll never get a job anyway."

My eyes darted over to the male voice that had spoken and as soon as I discovered the source, my heart stuttered in my chest. My feet suddenly felt bolted to the floor and everything around me faded away in an overly dramatic, rom-com movie type of way.

My gaze was completely captivated by two ice blue eyes set in a remarkably gorgeous face. His jaws were perfectly sculpted and his soft looking lips were curled into a haughty smirk that was so sexy it made my knees shake. Pieces of his disheveled black hair fell casually into his eyes.

"Fuck you, Damon," the girl responded with a snarl, breaking me from my temporary reverie.

His smirk only grew. "Gladly."

She scoffed and turned around, storming away from the table. All of the others followed after her except for the male.

I broke away from his gaze and picked up a stack of brochures, tapping them against the table to align them, even though they were already straight. I was simply trying to hide the fact that my hands had started to tremble and I suddenly felt incredibly nervous.

"Hi," the guy greeted me, and I made the mistake of glancing up at him. When I did, the papers slipped through my fingers and fluttered on the floor around my feet.

"Shit," I cursed sharply, bending down to gather them again. I reached out for one sheet and before I could grab it, his hand was there, holding it up to me. I could feel my face heating with a deep blush. "Thank you," I said softly.

Once the brochures were all picked up, I straightened them and put them back on the table. The guy walked back to the other side of the table and without hesitation sat on the edge.

"So, now that nothing's in your hands, should I introduce myself?" he asked and I could hear in his tone how he found my embarrassment amusing.

I nodded and held out my hand. "I'm Elena, and sorry about that," I said, referring to the dropped papers.

He took my hand, but instead of shaking it, he lifted it to his lips and gently kissed my knuckles. I didn't think it was possible to feel butterflies as a grown woman because I assumed that phase of attraction disappeared with age, but something was certainly fluttering in my stomach. "Damon," he replied when he let go. "And don't worry about it."

I smiled slightly, grateful he didn't embarrass me further about the situation. "So, Damon, what would you like to know about Forbes Investments?"

"Not a thing," he chuckled. "I'm not a business student. I'm just here to meet the hot business ladies."

If I thought my blush couldn't deepen, his words proved me wrong. "Ah," was my only response.

"So, Elena, you graduated in 09?"

I nodded.

"Is the real world everything you thought it would be?" he asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I didn't really have any expectations for it." That was a lie. I had expected it to be great.

He nodded to himself and picked up one of our pens, rotating it to read the label. "And you like your job now?"

"Sure." He glanced up at me with a raised brow. I had answered too quickly and I'm sure he knew it was a lie. "It's a fine job," I continued, hoping to recover. "They have great benefits and do a lot of good work for the community. Although you're not a business student, maybe you'd like to apply for an internship?"

He laughed and sat the pen down, standing up from the table. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm pretty sure I could find more…entertaining ways to occupy my time." He looked up at me as he said the last words and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

My business-friendly smile stayed plastered on my face, but I could feel my composure crumbling and I swallowed hard.

Damon chuckled again and picked up one of the soda can koozies. "Well, I'll see you around, Elena," he said with a nod. Our eyes stayed locked for a moment longer, probably giving me time to respond, before he simply smiled and turned away from the table.

I realized a second too late I was supposed to have replied in some way and I let out a breathless "Bye," too quiet for him to have heard.

I looked down at the table and bit hard on my lower lip. What was wrong with me? That guy probably thought I was either a complete idiot or mentally inept. This was the reason I didn't have a boyfriend and why I hadn't had one since high school. I didn't know how to successfully communicate with men, especially men that looked like Damon.

I stared blankly at the brochures sitting on the table, my mind drawing up the image of Damon's crystal eyes. They had been so deep and chilling. And by the way Damon looked at me, he knew he was attractive. Why couldn't I have that confidence? If I did have it, maybe I could've responded to him in a way that didn't make me seem utterly stupid.

"Excuse me, miss?"

My head snapped up and I looked at the girl standing in front of the table.

"I'm sorry to bother you," she smiled. "You seemed kind of out of it. I was just curious about Forbes Investments."

"Oh, yes, not a problem. Hi, I'm Elena," I held out my hand and began my speech all over again.

The first three hours went more smoothly than I had expected with running my table entirely alone. It seemed that a majority of the universities business students had opted out of checking out the fair. I didn't blame them. It was too early and it was Saturday. And besides, I'm sure each of the companies being represented gave the same sort of mind-numbing information that the table beside them gave. I would know because after telling a student that Forbes Investments took pride in the Mystic Falls community, I heard the exact sentiment practically echoed back to me from the Lockwood Corporation table behind me.

Although I tried my best to focus my attention on the students standing before me and giving them the appropriate answers to their questions, I felt a nagging pull that would cause my eyes to wander around the banquet room frequently. I knew I was hoping to catch a glimpse of that Damon guy. I almost found myself disappointed when I didn't see him each time.

As the time neared noon, my stomach was rumbling profusely. The bagel from my morning rush had hardly kept me full during the first hour of the fair, much less three. As I was saying a silent prayer that we'd have time for a lunch break, my request was immediately answered by a voice sounding over the intercom, instructing the students that the banquet room would be closing in five minutes and the business fair would resume at 1 p.m.

The students filed out of the room and I quickly packed the Forbes Investment merchandise into the clear boxes and slid them under the table. The items weren't worth much, but I didn't want to have to listen to Caroline bitch at me if the stupid pens and notepads were stolen by some mischievous college kid.

I followed the crowd out of the banquet room and made my way to the food court that I remembered being on the third floor.

The adults in front of me all stopped at two elevators and pressed the buttons indicating they wanted to go up. I rolled my eyes and continued down the hallway to the door that led to the stairs. I wasn't lazy and I wasn't old so I was perfectly capable of walking two flights. Also, if I remembered correctly, those elevators were hardly ever inspected and tended to be faulty at times.

I pushed open the heavy metal door and stepped inside of the stairwell. Even as a college student at MFU, whenever I went to take the stairs, I would pause and listen for other footsteps. I wasn't paranoid, exactly, but the stairwell wasn't very large and I felt uncomfortable if I had to pass another person on the steps while by myself.

As I stood, I was met with absolute silence in the hollow space. I started forward and cringed as the tapping of my heels broke the silence and echoed against the concrete floor and walls.

Climbing the stair brought back memories of my college days. I practically lived in the business building during my junior and senior years. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning for three semesters straight I had a 10:40 a.m. class on the second floor of this building. When the class let out I would head straight to the third floor for a bite to eat before attending my next class on the first floor. The stairwell became one of my best friends, yet one I hated so much. It was my best friend because it usually allowed me a minute or two of silence as I climbed up or down; most of the other students chose to take the elevator. However I hated it because I normally ended the trip in pain, either because the books on my back or in my arms were too heavy or because the muscles in my legs started cramping.

Thinking of the pain made me suddenly aware that walking up the steps in high heels was a really bad idea and I could feel my calves starting to ache. As I neared the top of the steps to the second floor, I decided to finish my ascent barefooted and slipped off the stylish shoes. I sighed happily as the ache immediately disappeared and I started back up, my footsteps now silent.

I flipped over one of my shoes as I walked to examine the wear on the bottom. I had noticed recently that I had lost a lot of traction between my shoes and slick surfaces, causing me to slip and nearly hurt myself more than once.

I was mulling over options to reduce this problem when I heard the door leading to the second floor open. Heavy footsteps sounded against the steps as the person entered the stairwell. Automatically I froze, waiting to hear which direction the person was heading. My heartbeat picked up speed when I realized the person was going up.

I clenched my shoes tightly and began climbing up again. I had no reason to be worried about the person below me, yet I couldn't stop my nerves from becoming rattled.

I reached another landing and turned the corner to start the next flight and as I did so, I glanced over the railing of the staircase to find out if I could see the other person.

The other person was stepping onto the flight I had just stepped off of and all I could see was the top of their head, covered by a black hoodie.

My gut turned immediately. In my experience, most people didn't put their hoods up unless they were cold – though it was fairly warm in this stairwell – or they were trying to hide their face. It made it difficult to read their intentions.

I quickened my pace as I climbed and as I did so, I heard the other footsteps speed up as well.

As I neared the last landing, I glanced over my shoulder and inhaled sharply when I realized the person was a lot closer to me than I had expected. It was obviously a male by the physique. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jacket and he was looking down at the ground, leaving me with only the top of his hood to look at.

Once my feet touched the cool concrete surface of the third floor, I sprinted to the metal doors leading away from the stairwell. My reaction was probably unnecessary and irrational, but I couldn't control my actions once I became frightened. I threw my body into the large doors and nearly fell into the empty hallway beyond it.

I walked rapidly down the hallway, trying to remember through my moment of panic which hallway to take to get to the food court, which was sure to be crowded with people.

Behind me I heard the metal doors swing open again. They hadn't even had time to fully close from when I had opened them.

The footsteps of the male seemed to amplify in the new surrounding and I could feel my pulse accelerate.

Acting on impulse, I took a sharp right and began down a new hallway. I used this method when driving. If I thought someone was following me purposely, I would take random turns on random roads to see if they happened to turn as well. So far, no one had ever actually taken the turn, but as I glanced over my shoulder again, I saw this did not apply for my new companion.

I looked forward again and saw that the hallway in front of me took another right. As I rounded that corner, my breath caught in my lungs – I was stuck at a dead end, locked offices on either side of me.

I twirled back around toward the approaching footsteps and rotated my shoes in my hands, preparing to brandish the heel as a weapon if need be.

The man turned the corner and I lifted the shoe, the point facing him.

"I will hurt you," I warned in the fiercest tone I could muster. I could hear my heart hammering in my ears as I waited for him to come at me.

Instead, I was met with a chuckle and the lowered head lifted.

"I'm sure you would," the male voice told me and as I met Damon's stunning eyes, I released a shaky sound, half laugh, half sigh.

"Oh my god, it's you," I breathed, immediately lowering my shoes. I bent over slightly and took a few deep inhales. "You scared the shit out of me," I admitted.

"Because I was walking behind you?" he asked and raised a brow slightly.

I suddenly felt very stupid. "I…I get a little paranoid sometimes," I muttered. He just nodded once and remained silent, his perfect lips pressed into a line, his arms folded over his chest. The longer we remained silent, the more self-conscious I became. "So why were you following me?" I asked to break the silence.

"Following you? I definitely was not following you." he responded.

I rolled my eyes. "You just happened to be coming down this dead-end hallway as well?"

He suddenly reached into his jean pocket and I heard the jingling of keys. He pulled them out, looked through them for a moment, and unlocked the office door on his right. "I was just coming to my office." He pushed the door open and looked back at me. "Again, not following you."

I could feel the heat rising over my cheeks and turning my face red as my mouth formed a small 'o'. How conceited was I to think he was actually following me? How conceited was I to think he would even want to follow me? I looked away from him to gather my composure. "I'm sorry, I just thought… I mean, it just seemed like…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say to him. I bit down on my lower lip in thought for a moment before finally deciding it would be best to go to the food court as previously planned and save myself from further embarrassment. I looked back up at him. "I'm sorry, Damon, for the confusion and for threatening you with a shoe. It was nice seeing you again." I gave one hard nod before starting forward, my eyes falling to the floor again.

As I passed Damon, I felt fingers gently wrap around my upper arm and stop me. Immediately the touch sent an electric buzz across my skin and I looked back at him. By the way he quickly dropped his hand and looked at his fingers I assumed he felt it, too. I was really hoping he felt it, too, and that I wasn't simply going crazy, but that was very unlikely.

He caught my gaze again and held open the office door. "Would you like to come in?" he asked.

"I was actually going to grab some food," I said with a soft smile, pointing over my shoulder with my thumb.

"Do you like pizza?"

My brow furrowed. "Um… I guess, yeah."

"Well, then you're in luck. I had some delivered to my office about thirty minutes ago. It'll save you from spending money on that ridiculously over-priced stuff in the food court."

I stared at him, wondering why he would invite me to eat with him. Honestly, I didn't even know if I could eat with him. I was one of those girls that, when she first meets a guy, finds it impossible to eat in front of him. It only added to my self-conscious thoughts.

Although I was searching for a reason to deny the offer, the flirty twinkling of his eyes and his slight smirk made it very difficult to form coherent sentences at all.

"Well?" he prompted, tilting his head slightly to the side.

I finally sighed, knowing I was forfeiting my lunch and I would be hungry until I was able to get home. "Sure, why not?"

I walked past him and into a fairly large office. It was larger than mine, at least. In the center of the room was an antique looking mahogany double pedestal desk. A leather-upholstered chair that matched the antique feeling was behind the desk. A bookcase stood against the wall with books crammed into any space available. Many of those books were thick with matched leather spines like a massive set of ecnyclopedias. Papers were scattered all over the surface of the desk, some with glaring red marks across them.

I furrowed my brow as I saw them and quickly began putting pieces together. Damon had an office on campus…a nice office at that….with…graded papers?

I gasped and turned to face him. "You're a teacher?" I blurted loudly.

He closed the door and walked around me to sit at his desk. "I prefer the term 'professor'. Makes me sound important."

"But…but how?" I questioned, not understanding how that could be.

Both of his eyebrows lifted. "Should I feel affronted? Are you insulting my intelligence?"

"What? No, no, no," I quickly corrected him. "I just mean… you're… you're like… hot…" I knew the blush was coming as soon as the words left my tongue-tied mouth.

"I'm hot?" he smirked, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his desk.

"I mean…I just meant that," I searched for the right words to say. "I meant that you're young. You look young, anyway. You don't seem old enough to be a professor. And you don't dress like a professor."

He laughed and gestured to a seat located in front of his chair. "Why don't you have a seat, Elena? It might help you focus."

I bit my lip and blushed more. By his tone of voice and the way he spoke, it wasn't difficult to believe he was a professor. I sat down in the chair and waited for him to continue.

"Firstly, I dress comfortably. Secondly, yes, I'm young, but I entered college when I was 16, finished graduate school last year at 23 and was hired by MFU last semester."

"And you teach…" I wondered aloud.

"Philosophy," he answered, finishing my sentence. "Stuck in limbo trying to answer life's most imperative existential quandaries."

"Why is your office in the business building, then?"

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Well, philosophy doesn't really get its own building, you know? Many professors think the courses I teach are irrelevant to actual reality, so I get stuck in the office in the back of a random building, at a dead-end hallway. But isn't that how life is altogether?"

I smiled, finding myself ridiculously surprised by…and attracted to Damon's intelligence/attitude. He was one of the most intriguing people I'd ever come across.

"But if you're a professor, why did you speak to that girl that way?"

"What girl?"

"At my table, at the fair. You basically told her to shut up and pointed out her worthlessness."

He laughed. "Oh, Vicki? I've known her since I was a kid. We even had a thing once. She's a bitch."

"Oh," I replied quietly and looked to the floor, not knowing what else to say. Before finding out Damon was a teacher, I felt inadequate enough because of his astounding appearance. Now I felt inadequate and incompetent.

"And I wasn't lying when I told her she'd never get a job," he continued. "She thinks she can just sleep her way to the top, but she'll learn soon enough that isn't how it works…unless she wants to be a prostitute, of course."

I looked back up at him and saw his playful smile. Surprisingly, it instantly made me feel lighter and more at ease. "So, if you're already in the 'real world,' why did you ask me earlier if it was everything I expected?" I asked. "You're in it, too. Shouldn't you know what it's like?"

"I'm a philosopher, Elena. It's my job to ask questions like that. And it helps me read people."

I tilted my head slightly. "And what did you read in me?"

He leaned forward again and folded his hands on top of his desk, his eyes burning deeply into my own. The way he looked at me made me think he was trying to read me further. It made me self-conscious all over again and I shifted my weight in the chair.

"You're kind of an open book," he started. "I don't think it would take a person who's trained in reading people to read you. You're sad. And lonely. And you definitely hate your job, but who doesn't? But you're also kind. And driven. And beautiful."

My jaw tightened and the blood once more rushed to my cheeks.

He chuckled and shrugged, moving back in his chair again. "But who knows, I could be wrong. As a philosopher, most of what I say is challenged."

I looked down at my shoes lying in my lap, thinking over his words. He was right about everything he said. Except for the beautiful part. The self-deprecating side of me wouldn't allow me to believe that statement.

I nodded slightly and confirmed his words aloud. "You're right. I really do hate my job."

"Then quit," he said as if the answer to my problem was obvious.

One humorless laugh left my lips. "Right. Because that's a feasible option."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

I looked back to him. "Why do we have jobs in the first place? To make money. I couldn't quit because I need the money."

"But you're willingly giving up your happiness by staying there."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "You don't know that."

His next expression told me that he did know that and it was preposterous that I suggested he didn't.

"I just can't quit it, okay? It's the best I can do right now, so…I have to do it." I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms. I wasn't a very open person and sitting here discussing this matter with a complete stranger was fairly off-putting.

He held up his hands, his palms facing me. "Hey, hey, no need to get defensive. It was a simple observation. And I get it, we all need money."

As if to save me from the conversation, my stomach growled loudly and I dropped my hands to it.

Damon smirked and sighed. "I have a confession," he began. "There's no pizza."

My mouth dropped slightly. "What?"

"I only told you that to get you in my office."

I stared at him incredulously. I didn't understand why he would lie to get me into his office and I didn't really appreciate it. And I was starting to get really hungry. I picked up my shoes and stood. "Well, I'm pretty hungry… so I'm gonna head to the food court. You can join me if you want, but if not, again, it was nice meeting you." I turned around and started for the door. hadHis declaration drastically altered the atmosphere in the office and made me uncomfortable.

My hand grasped the silver metal handle and attempted to turn it, but it wouldn't budge. "Hey, I think your door is loc—," I started, turning to look over my shoulder at Damon. My words were caught short when I realized he was standing barely a foot away from me. I turned entirely around, my back pressed against the door. "What are you doing?" I asked quickly.

He lifted a hand and gently ran his knuckles along my jaw line, creating the same electricity as earlier.

"I spotted you from across the room, you know?" he asked, his eyes roaming over my face and down my body. "You stood out against the crowd immediately. A blonde woman was obviously causing you distress, I could tell by the look on your face. It appeared as if the weight of a thousand worlds was being placed on your shoulders. You were being crushed. And suddenly all I wanted to do was to ease some of that stress for you."

My heartbeat had increased and I was completely immobilized by his words. "I-I don't understand," I breathed softly, my eyes wide with concern.

His smirk reappeared and his eyes traveled back to meet mine. "And I saw you searching for me, Elena. The entire time we were in that room, you would look up, scan the room, and then your face would fall with disappointment when you didn't see me. I knew then that this was meant to be. You felt everything I had felt."

My brow furrowed and I looked away from him. "Damon, I really have no clue what you're talking about."

He brought both of his hands to my face and gently rested his palms along the bottom of my jaw, his thumbs grazing my cheeks. The buzzing sensation instantly made my cheeks heat and my breath caught in my chest.

"You don't feel that?" he asked teasingly.

"I…I think I need to go," I told him, not knowing what else to make of this situation. When I didn't understand something, I ran away from it, plain and simple. It was the perfect escape tactic. However, I could tell by the contemplative look in Damon's eyes that it would probably not work.

"You do feel it," he smirked, his blue eyes darkening. "This answers one of those existential quandaries."

His gaze was making my body weak, yet it felt more alive than it ever had. His hands on my face were beginning to burn my skin pleasantly and I could hear my heart in my ears. "Which one?" I asked.

He stepped forward and as his body pressed against mine, I inhaled sharply. He lowered his face until his lips were hovering mere inches above mine and he answered. "What is love?"

Before I could respond in any way, his lips crashed against mine. His kiss was firm, yet gentle, and I immediately melted into it. His hands slid down against my throat and I craned my neck to reach him better. His body lightly pressed me against the door and I whimpered quietly when I felt his excitement press into my stomach.

He opened his mouth slightly and his tongue ran across my lower lip. I parted my lips and allowed his tongue to move in. The taste was sweet and perfect.

As our tongues danced, his hands moved down my body, gently caressing my curves. One of his thumbs grazed the curve of my breast on the way down and I felt the response immediately as my nipple hardened.

My mind was racing with thoughts as we kissed. This was not something I did, hooking up with random men. But something felt right about this situation. I knew that even if I wanted to stop, I wouldn't try. For some reason, I needed this to happen.

And I deserved it, didn't I? For once, I deserved to feel wanted by a man that I found remarkably attractive. I deserved to have a moment that would allow me to forget about all the shitty stuff in my life. As I thought about it, I began to understand Damon's words. In this moment, I deserved to feel love in some fashion. This was just one way of being shown it.

I dropped my shoes beside me and lifted my hands to the back of his head, wrapping my fingers in his dark locks – something they had been itching to do since I first saw him. When I tugged gently, he groaned into my mouth and the sound sent waves of arousal shooting to my center.

One of his hands slid around to my back and lifted until it reached my tightly coiled bun. I felt him tug the pins out of place and my hair fell in waves against my back. His other hand reached the top button of my shirt and he pulled away slightly. His breathing was labored, matching my own, and I opened my eyes to look up at him.

"May I?" he asked.

I unconsciously ran my tongue over my lip and I nodded. Looking down, I watched his fingers begin to slowly unbutton my blouse, revealing the grey lace bra I wore underneath.

As the last button fell from the loop, I couldn't help but grin at the appreciation that shone in his eyes.

"I'm okay?" I whispered.

He exhaled deeply and lust-filled eyes met my own. "More than okay," he answered softly before returning his lips to mine.

His hands fell to my torso and rested on the outside of the bra. One of his thumbs began to make slow circles around my nipple through the fabric and I unconsciously pressed my hips into him. His lips moved away from my own and began to trail down my throat, sucking and licking the skin as he went. I tilted my head back until it was pressed against the door. Both of his hands found their way to the soft mounds of my breasts and he began to knead gently with his palms.

I could feel my teeth embedding themselves into my lower lip as each of his movements affected my body in ways I had never felt before.

Damon gently pushed my shirt from my body and then his hands slid around until his fingers touched the latches on the back of my bra. I felt the fabric give way and I lowered my arms to allow the garment to fall to the floor. Wasting no time, Damon lowered himself until his soft lips wrapped around the hardened peak of my breast. As soon as his tongue reached out to circle around it, a deep throaty groan rumbled from his chest. My heartbeat stuttered and chill bumps rose across my skin as I felt the vibration. Never before had I had a man make sounds of ecstasy while he was pleasuring me. Normally the male never made a noise unless it was the other way around.

While one of his hands continued to massage my chest and his mouth sucked on my nipple, his free hand reached around to the hidden zipper on the back of my skirt. All of my senses were heightened from my arousal and I could hear the distinctive ziiiip of him undoing my skirt. Seconds later the fabric was loose on my hips and it took barely a tug from him for it to drop around my feet, leaving me in nothing but my matching grey lace thong.

Damon pulled away from my chest and looked up at me from beneath his dark eyelashes, his haughty smirk appearing again.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, his voice deep with desire.

I simply nodded, knowing I would never find the words to express how much I actually wanted to have this happen.

He stood back up and my hands immediately reached out for his jacket. I pushed it off his arms then pulled black v-neck he wore over his head.

My eyes grew wide as I took in his body. If I had felt self-conscious before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. His chest was sculpted like a Greek god. The lines of his abdomen were chiseled to perfection and his skin appeared soft, though I knew that if touched it would be hard. The lines of his pelvis leading down below his pants made my breathing accelerate.

He chuckled, causing my eyes to jump up to his. "I'm okay?" he asked softly.

I giggled quietly with a small smile on my face as I nodded. "More than okay," I responded.

I rose up on my tiptoes to seek out his lips again and his hands wrapped around my back, pulling our bare chests together. He reached down until his hands were gently cupping the curve of my ass and I gasped into his mouth when he easily lifted me.

He turned us around and walked me to his desk. Instead of shoving the graded papers from the desk like they do in movies, Damon sat me directly on top of them. I could hear the essays crinkling beneath me.

As we kissed, my fingers gripped at the buttons of his jeans and I quickly undid them. He assisted me in shoving them and his boxers down his legs, exposing his very erect, very large member to me.

I inhaled deeply. "Damon, I don't think that will… I mean you're kind of…" I rambled hurriedly and I could feel my blush coming on. Damon was the most endowed man I had ever been with and I honestly didn't think he was going to fit inside of me.

His hands grabbed my face softly and he tilted my head up as he kissed me once more. He moved back the tiniest bit, our lips still touching, so he could respond. "It'll fit," he whispered. "I promise." His tongue made its way into my mouth again and I accepted it hungrily.

One of his hands dropped to my waist and I could feel his fingers dipping beneath the hem of my thong and sliding lower. My body shivered as I waited from them to find the spot that desired him most.

When his fingers grazed over my clit, I couldn't hold the sounds back. "Uungghhh," I moaned quietly.

His fingers made work of circling and teasing the area, as well as partially entering my body beneath. My hips ached to move against him and it took all I had to stay still.

Damon broke our kiss and got down on his knees. He stared into my eyes as he pulled the thin fabric of the thong down my legs and moved forward. I watched with wide eyes as his tongue left his mouth slightly and ran along the folds of my wet center. I clenched my jaw tightly to suppress the whimpers making their way from my chest. He closed his eyes and enveloped the sensitive bundle of nerves with his lips, sucking and flicking generously. When one of his fingers slipped inside of my tight opening, my lips parted and the air whooshed out of me. Beads of sweat began to appear along my hairline, on my forehead and my heart was pitter-pattering rapidly. He added a second finger and curved them ever so slightly, hitting the sensitive area inside of me each time he pulled out and pushed back in.

I could feel a coil beginning to tightly wind in my lower abdomen each time he moved. My breathing was frantic and soft cries of pleasure rode out on each of my exhales, "Yes, yes, yes."

As he sucked once more on my aching center, the building sensation exploded inside of me and my fingers sought out Damon's hair, keeping him in place against me. His groan let me know he enjoyed it. The moan that escaped me was low and long. Waves of the orgasm lapped over me and I could feel my clit twitching wildly from the pleasure.

"Damon! Yes! Ohh, yes!" I gasped, my nerves on fire from the pulsing release.

As the feelings began to fade, I watched with panting breaths as Damon stood, his tongue running over his glistening lips. His smile was glorious and I was astonished to find it was still possible for me to blush.

He reached forward and gently pressed my shoulders back until I was lying flat on his desk, my hair flaring around my head. He grabbed the back of my thighs and pulled me forward until my butt was on the edge.

With narrowed eyes and his sexy smirk, he pushed forward with purpose and I cried out as his erection entered me. The orgasm from before had made me slick inside so he glided in much more smoothly than I had anticipated. Relief flooded through me as Damon made good on his promise.

Very slowly, Damon pulled nearly all the way out of me, then slid in again. I watched as his eyes closed and his head tilted back slightly. As he repeated the motion, he lips parted and he moaned, "Oh, god, Elena." The words were like music to my ears

His hands remained on my thighs, keeping my legs secure on either side of his hips while he set a steady pace. I allowed my eyes to flutter closed and I rested my head back on the desk, reveling in the sensation of him inside of me.

He reached forward and one of his hands landed on my breast. He rolled my nipple between his thumb and index finger before pinching it slightly, successfully sending darts of pleasure directly to where we were connected.

His thrusts began to increase in speed and I could feel myself sliding on the desk, the papers rustling loudly. Damon had begun to groan frequently and my panting cries soon joined him.

Before I had time to realize what was happening, Damon had lifted me from the desk and spun us around, ramming me back against his office door. My legs automatically wrapped around his waist and my arms around his broad shoulders to keep me secure. His hands remained on my butt to keep me up. He did most of the lifting to slide me up and down his shaft.

The new position allowed greater friction between my clit and his pelvis and each time I was shoved down, my center rubbed against him and I could feel the coil winding again.

The metal door behind me made hollow pings each time my back hit it and I knew the noise would be heard down the hallway. I should have been concerned, but found I didn't care in the least.

Damon's lips had attached to my neck and he was sucking my skin feverously. "Fuck," he groaned against my throat, his upward thrusts growing more frantic.

His movements quickened the tightening inside me and I knew I was close to another climax. My nails dug into the skin on his back and his hips bucked in response. As I neared my second orgasm, my body took control of the movements and I lifted and lowered on my own. Damon took note and allowed one of his hands to leave my ass and he grabbed a breast, teasing my nipples with his fingers. His tongue still slid over my neck.

I closed my eyes tightly, licking at my swollen lips, as I waited for the pleasure I knew was coming. Damon's hand left my breast and he lifted one of my arms away from his shoulder. He raised it and slid his hand up my arm until our fingers wrapped together above my head.

"Oh, god," I moaned, my body beginning to shake. With two more strong upward thrusts from Damon, I tipped off the edge and reached my second orgasm. The sound that escaped my mouth could only be described as a gargled scream, mixed with Damon's name.

He continued to push into me quickly and before I began to come down from my own sexual high, I felt his warm liquid start pumping inside me. "Elena, fuck. Unngghh, Elena," he groaned, his hand tightly gripping my hand.

With shaky legs, Damon took a few steps back and dropped into the chair I had been sitting in earlier with me still straddling his hips. My heart warmed as he wrapped his arms around my bare back and pulled me forward to lie against his chest. My head tucked into the crook of his neck and I felt him kiss the top of my hair. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths beneath me.

We each took time to steady our pounding hearts and the moment was purely blissful.

After quite a long while of silence, I spoke first. "Thank you," I whispered to the man holding me.

"No need to thank me," he replied, his voice now steady. "This is what life is about, Elena." His fingers began to stroke through my hair from the crown of my head to the tips at my waist. The movement was comforting and I sighed happily.

"Life is not about work or making others happy," he continued. "It's about finding connections with other people so that moments like this can happen."

"And you don't regret it?" I asked as the thought wriggled its way into my mind. I half expected him to have found this moment lackluster.

"Never," he answered and I felt his smile in my hair. "This was perfect. You were perfect."

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face and I snuggled closer against his skin.

We sat that way for who knows how long. I understood that I was missing the remainder of the fair and I still hadn't eaten and Caroline was probably raising hell trying to find me, but those issues seemed to be like anthills among the new mountains I had discovered. Damon, a man had I just met, a man whose last name I didn't know, was all that mattered for the moment. He and I connected in a way I didn't think existed and for which I hadn't prepared at all.

Maybe we weren't supposed to prepare for it. Maybe it was supposed to simply find us when we weren't expecting it and weren't searching for it.

This was what made life worth living.