Chapter 268: Friends with benefits

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Friends with benefits

The drive back to the university takes nearly two hours.

Vivienne settled comfortably into her seat, watching the scenery outside the window as East Junction gradually disappeared behind them.

For a while, neither of them said much.

The quiet wasn’t uncomfortable.

If anything, there was something pleasantly peaceful about it.

Vivienne eventually glanced at the time on her phone.

Then she looked at Damian.

"I’m hungry."

Damian turned toward her.

He paused.

Then he realized that he was hungry too.

"Oh."

He looked toward the driver.

"Could you find a suitable place for lunch along the way? Somewhere comfortable. We can continue after we’ve eaten."

"Of course, sir."

Vivienne smiled.

She wasn’t surprised.

She had only mentioned that she was hungry, and Damian had already taken care of it.

That was simply how he was with her.

Attentive.

Always noticing.

Always ready to do something before she even had to ask.

The driver nodded and adjusted their route.

A little while later, the car pulled into a pleasant restaurant along the way.

It wasn’t particularly grand by their standards, but it was clean, comfortable, and polished enough for them to have a proper lunch before continuing the journey.

The driver got out first.

Damian followed.

He walked around to Vivienne’s side and opened the door for her.

He even placed a hand above the frame as she stepped out.

Vivienne glanced at him.

"Again?"

He smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She laughed softly.

He really hadn’t changed at all.

They entered the restaurant together.

The staff quickly led them to a quiet table.

Damian pulled out Vivienne’s chair.

She sat, smiling to herself.

He took the seat beside her.

The waiter handed them their menus.

Damian glanced through his briefly before turning toward Vivienne.

"What are you having?"

"I’m not sure yet."

He looked over her menu.

"What about this?"

Vivienne followed his finger.

"That looks good."

"Then get that."

She smiled.

She continued scanning the menu, occasionally pausing at something that caught her attention.

Damian noticed.

"What about that one?"

"I was just looking."

"You want to try it?"

"Maybe."

"We can order it."

Vivienne looked at him.

"We won’t finish all of this."

"We can take the rest with us."

She gave him a look.

"That’s wasteful."

Damian paused.

Right.

Their entire project had been about resource efficiency and reducing unnecessary waste.

He glanced at the menu again.

"Then we’ll order less."

Vivienne smiled.

"That’s better."

He nodded and adjusted the order accordingly.

The waiter returned a few minutes later to confirm their order.

Damian made a small adjustment to one of the dishes, then handed the menu back.

Only then did he seem satisfied.

Vivienne watched him with an amused smile.

"You’re very attentive today."

"Am I?"

"A little."

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he reached for the folded napkin beside her plate.

Vivienne watched as he unfolded it and carefully placed it across her lap.

She blinked.

"Damian."

"What?"

"I have hands."

"I know."

He said it so matter-of-factly that she couldn’t help laughing.

"All right."

He smiled.

Then his gaze lingered on her for a moment.

A strand of her golden hair had fallen forward over her shoulder.

Without thinking, Damian reached over and gently tucked it behind her ear.

His fingers brushed lightly against her earring.

He paused.

For some reason, even that tiny detail caught his attention.

The delicate earring suited her.

Everything suited her.

Her hair.

Her eyes.

The little curve of her smile.

Even the way she was sitting there looking at him with that amused expression.

He had never understood how someone could seem more beautiful every time he looked at her.

Apparently, he was finding out.

Vivienne noticed the look on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You’re staring."

"I know."

She raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

He smiled.

"And I’m allowed to look."

Vivienne shook her head, but she was smiling too.

She took a sip of water.

"You’re very strange today."

"Today?"

She laughed.

"Fair point."

The food arrived soon after.

Damian immediately shifted the plates around so that Vivienne could reach everything comfortably.

He made sure her drink was close enough.

When she reached for one of the dishes, he moved it slightly nearer.

Vivienne watched him for a moment.

This was getting ridiculous.

And yet...

She liked it.

She liked how easy it was.

She liked having someone fuss over her without having to ask.

She liked the way Damian looked at her as though every little thing she did was worth noticing.

She took a bite and glanced at him.

He was smiling again.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You keep saying that."

"Because there’s nothing to say."

Vivienne narrowed her eyes playfully.

"You’re enjoying yourself."

"Yes."

The answer came immediately.

She laughed.

"You’re impossible."

"So you’ve said."

They continued eating.

The conversation drifted naturally between university, the Foundation work, and the things they would need to deal with once they returned.

For a while, Vivienne simply enjoyed it.

The food was good.

The restaurant was quiet.

Damian was beside her.

And everything felt strangely... easy.

Too easy, perhaps.

That was what eventually made her put her fork down.

She looked at him.

"Damian."

He turned toward her immediately.

"Hm?"

Vivienne hesitated.

She had been thinking about this since morning.

Not because she regretted anything.

She didn’t.

If anything, she was happier than she had expected to be.

She liked Damian.

She liked having him around.

She liked the attention he gave her.

And she certainly liked what had happened between them.

But she also knew that she needed to make one thing clear before either of them accidentally assumed something that wasn’t there.

"I’ve actually been wanting to tell you something."

Damian set his fork down.

"All right."

Vivienne looked down at her plate for a moment before meeting his eyes again.

"I don’t know exactly how to say this without making it sound worse than I mean it."

His expression softened.

"Just say it."

She smiled faintly.

"Okay."

She took a small breath.

"I enjoyed being with you."

Damian’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.

Vivienne continued.

"I really did."

"I know."

"And I like you."

His heart gave a quiet, hopeful beat.

She smiled at him.

"I like having you around. I like talking to you. I like the way you treat me."

Then her expression became a little more thoughtful.

"But I don’t want you to think that because of what happened last night and today, we’re together now."

There it was.

Damian went quiet for a moment.

Oh, right.

There’s still Anthony.

He had known that.

Of course he had.

He had known it before last night.

He had known it this morning.

Somehow, though, between waking up beside her, taking care of her, and then having her happily accept everything he gave her, he had allowed himself to hope again.

Just a little.

Now reality had caught up.

And surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as he thought it might.

Perhaps because Vivienne hadn’t rejected him.

She had simply drawn a line around what this meant.

Damian gave her a small smile.

"I understand."

Vivienne studied him.

"You do?"

"Yes."

He leaned back slightly.

"I don’t want you to think I’m expecting anything from you either."

Her shoulders relaxed.

"Good."

"I like you, Vivienne."

He kept his voice deliberately light.

"And I liked what happened between us."

A faint blush touched her cheeks.

"But I’m not going to make you feel like you have to give me something more because of it."

Vivienne smiled.

"Thank you."

There was a brief silence.

Then Damian added, almost casually,

"So..."

Vivienne looked at him.

"So?"

He smiled.

"Maybe we don’t have to make this complicated."

She tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

Damian hesitated for barely a second.

Then he said,

"Friends with benefits."

Vivienne blinked.

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

Damian tried to look completely unconcerned.

Inside, however, he was very much hoping she wouldn’t laugh in his face.

Vivienne slowly lowered her fork.

"You’re serious?"

He nodded.

"I am."

She studied him.

"You’re suggesting that?"

"Yes."

"After what I just told you?"

"Exactly because of what you just told me."

He gave her a small shrug.

"You don’t want a relationship right now. I understand that."

"And you’re okay with that?"

"I can be."

The answer was simple.

Perhaps too simple.

Vivienne stared at him for another moment.

So that was what he was suggesting.

Friends with benefits.

To be fair, she couldn’t say she disliked the idea.

Quite the opposite.

She liked Damian. She liked being around him. She liked the attention he gave her, and she certainly wasn’t opposed to having more of what they had shared.

And if this meant she didn’t have to make a decision about their relationship just yet...

Well, that was rather convenient.

Then another thought briefly crossed her mind.

But that means he’s free too.

Vivienne paused.

What if he...

She stopped herself.

No.

Damian liked her. She knew that much. He had made that fairly obvious in the way he treated her, even if he had never actually said the words.

Besides, if they were agreeing to something without strings attached, then it had to work both ways.

That was only fair.

And if Damian wanted to keep his options open as well, then she couldn’t exactly object.

Whatever.

She wasn’t going to overthink it.

Vivienne smiled.

"That doesn’t sound so bad."

Damian’s expression brightened almost immediately.

"Really?"

"Really."

She picked up her glass again, taking a small sip.

"I think that works for both of us."

Damian nodded, trying very hard to appear more casual than he actually felt.

"I think so."

Vivienne smiled to herself.

Somehow, this was turning out much more conveniently than she’d expected.

--

Tbc