Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 55

A brilliant, white smile spread across Damon's face when I spoke, and he reached out and slowly tucked some of my hair behind my left ear.
"You're something else," He murmured, and I wondered if he was talking more to me or to himself. I didn't understand the sudden urge I had to hug Damon, but somehow, I thought he might have felt it too. Because he leaned back on his heels, shifting slightly away from me without a word.
"I'll hand it to you, you managed to pull off a pretty good first date, even after plans changed." I said, clasping my hands together in front of me and starting to walk out onto the wooden dock.
Damon followed me with a shake of his head and a smile. "Why can't you believe that I wanted to go on a nice date with you?"
I stopped and turned to Damon with a frown, "What do you mean? Of course, you wanted to go on a date with me," I flipped my hair, rolling my eyes when Damon smirked, "I was trying to compliment you..." I muttered, sighing when I couldn't find another smart way around what I wanted to say.
What is with me tonight? My comebacks are trash!
I thought with a huff.
"Well, thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Damon chuckled, passing me on the dock. We both trailed out to the end of the wooden planks, before I sat down and pulled off my shoes.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking the water temperature." Damon ignored my response and took a seat beside me, pulling off his own shoes and dipping them into the water beside mine. "So," I started, taking a breath, "Tell me something about yourself, Damon James Lawson." I said, saying his full name with a smile.
Damon leaned back on his hands, staring up at the night sky, as he answered, "What do you want to know?" He tipped his head slightly sideways to look down at me.
I frowned, "Why have I never met your dad?" I asked him, and Damon's shoulders tensed ever so slightly. There was a slight pause, before he answered.
"He died from lung cancer about three years before my sister passed."
I winced, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
Damon cut me off, "Don't apologize. I figured you were going to ask sometime." He shrugged. "But, it would make it easier for me to forgive you, if I knew your middle name..." He added slyly.
I scoffed, "What does my middle name have to do with anything?"
"You know my full name, so I need to know yours."
I leaned back on my hands, copying Damon's posture, and stared up at the stars, "No."
Damon frowned, "No?"
"I'm not going to tell you." I shook my head, smiling into the darkness.
Damon kept looking at me, "That's not fair."
"I'll give you a chance to ask another question." I shrugged, carefully picking out the constellations that I could recognize, and following the stars' paths through the sky.
For a minute, Damon was quiet, staring off into the night, lost in thought. Then he turned to me and straightened, "Would you rather go hiking or swimming?" He asked, completely serious.
Really?
I blinked at Damon, "Are you serious?"
"Very."
I inhaled and looked back up at the sky, "Hiking."
Damon smirked, "Really? I would have thought you'd rather go swimming," He mulled.
"Why?"
He grinned up at the sky, "Because you get to wear next to nothing." He said.
I turned and narrowed my eyes at Damon, "I like wearing bathing suits as much as I like you," I smirked, "very little."
Damon winced in fake offense, "Ouch." He lifted a hand to his heart. Instead of patting his chest like I thought he was going to do, his hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder. I barely had time to scream before he shoved me off the dock and into the lake.
As I went under, I gasped at the chill of the water on my skin, and when I surfaced quickly, I started coughing up the water I'd swallowed.
"What the heck is wrong with you!" I screamed, treading water and starting towards the dock. Damon had jumped to his feet and retreated back a safe distance, his deep laughter echoing across the face of the water.
"I thought I'd refresh your memory on swimming," He said, rolling up the sleeves on his arms.
I glared at Damon with my mouth agape, unsure of how to respond. I was soaked.
"I'm going to kill you." I narrowed my eyes at Damon and started swimming towards the dock.
"No need to be violent, it was just a joke!" Damon stepped forward to offer me his hand, still laughing.
I gripped his hand as hard as I could, pursing my lips, when he started to haul me out of the water.
"Oh, yeah?" I stepped up onto the dock raising my eyebrows as shoving my wet hair out of my face. "Do I look like I'm laughing?" I lowered my tone, taking a step towards Damon.
His expression turned serious for a minute, and he held out his hands in front of me. "Don't even think about it..." He cocked his head and looked me in the eyes.
I flung some water off my hands, "I'm not thinking about it," I narrowed my eyes at Damon, before I sprung forward, grabbing at his closest arm.
Damon caught my wrist midway and held me back, "I'm sorry!" He tried to apologize, but I saw the way his eyes twinkled with laughter.
"Yes, you are!" I jerked at his hold on my wrist, dropping underneath his other hand when he reached out to grab me, and slamming myself into his stomach full force. Surprised, Damon lost his balance and stumbled backwards. Damon cursed out loud, before we both tumbled into the lake.
I held my breath as we hit the water, and in seconds Damon and I were a tangle of limbs and water, flailing about until we both broke the surface. As soon as I caught air, I dove on top of Damon's head and drove him back into the lake when he opened his mouth to yell at me.
Take that.
I thought with a smirk, remembering when David and I had gone swimming at the public pools in the summer.
Talk about water wars.
I gasped when Damon reached up and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me down into the water with him, consequently filling my own mouth with water. As I went under, I fought Damon's hold, but in spite of the darkness and the water, he held tight. The second we surfaced, Damon shifted from holding my shoulder to getting a firm grip around my waist. Of course, I was scrambling away from him, reaching for his head to buy myself a split second of freedom. When my hand found his forehead, I shoved his head backwards as hard as I could.