Damon's P.O.V
I growl lowly at the sudden visit but make my way to the door nevertheless, I swing it open and freeze when I find Will standing on the other side. Her ready smile slips slowly as her eyes move from my face, tracking their way down to take in my appearance. I hold still, feeling heat embracing my neck at falling under the scrutiny of my mate.
I force myself not to cover myself, hoping and praying to Goddess herself that she was pleased with me. My mind tries to quell my worries by reminding that she probably couldn't see everything, but I dismiss it because my mind is an asshole.
Will's throat bobs as she swallows tightly, her eyes remaining on my abs, not even bothering to glance up to my face as she opens her mouth to speak. Her mouth wobbles as she tries to formulate words but fails, the little fumble making Theo howl with deep delight which ripples through the both of us.
"I didn't realize it was time already," I say leaning back to check the clock when hung in the kitchen, a frown filling in my features when I see that it wasn't time.
"I-It's not that." Will splutters when she eventually finds her words again. "I came to ask you about clothes."
"Clothes?" I question with a raised brow.
Will bites her lips when she realizes what she said, she slaps a hand over her face and drags it down slowly with a huff. I chuckle lightly at the cute action, tighten my grip on the door handle to stop myself from reaching for her.
"I meant, how should I dress? Since you refuse to tell me where we're going, can you at least tell me how I should dress for it?" Will explains exasperatedly, her eyes holding mine in a desperate act to not get distracted.
I didn't even know how to dress myself, now I was supposed to help her?!
Besides, dressing in relation to an occasion was a human thing. Most wolves didn't share the trait and didn't really indulge in it, we dressed the same for pretty much everywhere we went. I'd wear the same thing to the market as I would a pack gathering or a formal ceremony, but then again, that may have just been me.
There was that one time Hagen and I showed up in shorts and relatively clean shirts for an Elder's Climb while everyone else was in button-ups and had on their nice shoes. I didn't really have nice shoes though, plus I hated elders, so it was a lost cause from the beginning.
You're getting distracted - Theo scolds bringing me back to reality, a slight pain remaining at the memory of Hagen. Tell him it's jeans appropriate.
"The place is jeans appropriate, don't worry." I relay, hoping that Will ould understand this lingo that I didn't. Will nods with a small okay before she backs up into her door, her eyes flick down one more time before she slips back into her room.
I close my own door, heart light with excitement and return to trying to pick something that would please Will. I smile when I see Blaze rummage his way through the clothes before appearing on top, he stares up at me for a good five seconds before flopping over to the side with contentment.
"I'm happy too."
-----------------
I force myself to breathe normally, letting Theo's pep talk resonate with all the doubtful parts of me and curl my fist, knocking gently against my mate's door.
"Coming!" Will calls, her voice causing my heart to hiccup with glee.
The door swings open but I'm met with Will's back as she tries walking out with the weird dog hot on her heels.
"I'll be back soon Sassy." She pleads as she tries closing the door, she was putting her mouth between it and whining. "Don't you want the place to yourself? Please Sassy, come on."
Will continues her little begging fest with the dog, who kept giving her the best puppy eyes she could muster. Then the bitch glanced across at me and had the fucking balls to glare at me as if she weren't the one holding our date back.
I glare back, flashing her my canines which I let descend. She whimpers and pulls back, running into a desolate corner to hide in the house. Will closes the door before she can change her mind and turns to me in time for me to hide my canines.
I smile at her and she sends a small one back, cheeks filling as she gripped the keys in her hands.
I let my eyes travel down her small frame, pleased beyond measure to find her just as breathtaking as always.
She'd styled her hair in a manner in which it curled at its tips, looking soft and natural somehow and wore a large, red turtleneck that seemed to be made of yarn and way too big for her, but somehow it fit just right.
"Shall we?" Will asks, her smile was vibrant and kind.
I offer her my hand and to my surprise, she takes it with only a brief moment of hesitation. It warmed the deepest parts of me to know her trust in me was growing, the pacing didn't matter because it was still growing.
Her vibrancy traveled to me through our hands as we walked with equal measures of nerves and excitement.
When I press the button for the garage instead of the main lobby, Will frowns before glancing up at me, searching for an explanation. I don't bother answering, tugging her forward once the doors open. I take us right up to the car Mekhi arranged for me, I didn't think I'd need it but now I was nothing but grateful for it.
"I didn't know you had a car," Will says with surprise as I walk her to her side of the car. I try to open the door for her but she wacks my hand away. "Stop being a gentleman, I'm losing my cool attitude."
I chuckle at this and leave her to get in herself. I slip into my side and smile at the feeling of the engine purring to life. I'd always loved driving, even though my type of driving often got me in trouble in ways I didn't like dwelling on.
"So I take it we're going out of town?" Will asks after buckling in, she knew as I did that everything in this silly, human town was in walking distance.
"If that's okay with you," I reply turning to face her. "I know somewhere else that's in town we can go if not."
"No, it's fine." She says with a nod that seemed to be more for her than me. "It's fine."
"Are you sure?" I press, hating the thought of making her uncomfortable.
"I'm sure." She confirms with one of her mesmerizing smiles.
With that, I put all of my attention into getting us to point B as safely as I could, precious cargo accompanied and all.
---
Small fingers tighten around my own when we approach the perfect restaurant I'd spent scouting for. I look down quickly to find Will, curling herself tighter against me while her chest races a mile a minute.
"What's wrong?" I ask quickly, glancing around for the cause of her sudden panic.
"I haven't been outside at night for a long time," Will confesses, words fragile with misplaced shame. "It's harder than I thought it would be."
I'd picked up on this from the fact that Will never left her apartment except to shop for food and go to work, all of which was done during the day. She'd also hinted at it when describing the way she saw, with the fact about the light helping with her perplex state of sight.
But I'd also prepared for this.
"We're almost there and I got us a private room with a lot of light," I promise as we approach the Japanese restaurant I'd gotten reservations at weeks ago. "We can go back anytime you want."
"No. I want to... just need to get inside." She explains, slightly frustrated with herself.
I nod my understanding, tightening my grip on her hand and take her inside. I make sure to open the door for her and settle her where she wasn't at risk of coming too close to anyone else in the busy waiting area.
I really wasn't one for nice shit but I could admit that the place was nice enough.
The waiting area was easily decorated with loose bubbles which hung from the room in a particular order to create a makeshift chandelier, the lounge sofas were low and long to hold as many people as the place attracted.
"Damon Calderon." I offer to the receptionist, hand still tightly bounded around Will.
She'd calmed down in the space with the abundance of light which allowed her comfort, but the discomfort only strung itself in a new direction at the number of people in the waiting area.
"Right this way."