Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 56

Damon and I both sank under the water for a second, his grip on me bringing me down with him.
"Cheate-" the rest of Damon's accusation was lost under the water. When we resurfaced this time, both Damon and I were gasping for air, momentarily forgetting our squabble. I treaded water and caught my breath, laughing with Damon. Only when I paused to catch my breath, did I realize that Damon still had his hand around my middle. He was holding me back against his chest, one of his arms wrapped around my waist, with his mouth just above my right ear. I could feel every breath he took, and for whatever reason, chills rose on my arms at the sudden realization. I shivered, and Damon's chuckle subsided.
"Are you cold?" He asked, sending another wave of chills down my arms.
I shook my head, debating on whether to move away from Damon or wait for him to let go.
Almost as if he read my mind, Damon seemed to realize how uncomfortable I now felt, because he immediately started to pull away, putting a safe distance between us, and treading around to where I could face him. I took that moment to compose myself.
"I didn't mean to..." Damon started slowly, seeing the way I was desperately looking anywhere but him, but I cut him off.
"Don't make it awkward," I murmured, reaching up to shove some of the soaked curls out of my face.
"Got it." Damon smiled, looking away from me to where an owl sounded across the lake. In that moment, I came to the realization that as much as I had avoided Damon in the past- or tried to rather- I'd somehow ended up with him anyways. It was odd because with no one else had I been swimming under the stars in a lake, or gone on long nighttime walks.
No one.
Had I really avoided him then? Did I know from the beginning and just deny it this entire time?
Careful Oana...
I lifted my chin a notch, watching Damon as he treaded water and stared out over the lake, distracted by something in the distance.
Why can't he be just another attractive jerk? That would make my life so much easier.
"What are you thinking about?"
I snapped out of my thoughts to see that Damon was looking back at me, holding my gaze with a ghost of a smile on his lips.
I shrugged, forcing myself to keep looking him in the eyes, "You."
I didn't elaborate. He didn't ask me to. He just watched me, his face still, but his eyes a dark swirl of thoughts in the moonlight. "We should probably..." I trailed off and Damon's sober expression softened.
"Yeah." He began treading water, following me towards the dock. When we reached the wooden platform, my arms weren't long enough to reach the top so I could pull myself up, so Damon swam up to the dock and grabbed the side of the walkway. As if he weighed nothing, he pulled himself up out of the water, kneeling on the dock and reaching down to help pull me up. I struggled, and lost his grip twice, before we were able to haul me up onto the dock.
I rolled over onto my back, laughing quietly to myself, before I sat up, looking down at my wet clothes. Only then did I realize one of my shoes was missing from the dock. "Look what you did!" I turned to Damon, gesturing to where only one of my shoes still sat on the edge of the dock. His gaze dropped to my feet, before a smile spread across his face.
"What good is one shoe?" He grinned.
I pursed my lips, "Exactly my train of thought." I scowled, but Damon only smirked wider. I opened my mouth to ask him what his deal was, but before I could, he reached forward and grabbed my remaining shoe off the dock, spinning and tossing it into the water. I blinked. Staring out at the water in shock, I switched my wide eyes to Damon.
"What was that for?!" I jumped up, rushing over to the edge of the dock. "Those were expensive!" I pursed my lips, and Damon did his best to look at me innocently.
"I'm going to buy you another pair-"
I gaped at him, "What's wrong with you?" I shoved my sticky hair out of my face.
"They weren't my favorite color anyways..." Damon shrugged, smiling when I stiffened.
I took a step forward, "Your color preference has nothing to do with what shoes I wear!"
He cringed, "I know, I know. Easy, Oana, it was a joke!" He chuckled, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"The new pair better be a heck of a lot nicer than my old ones!" I frowned at Damon, annoyed that he seemed to find my reaction amusing.
He cocked an eyebrow, "I'll take you shopping tomorrow at noon." He said, but I shook my head at him, my frown deepening.
"You're not forcing me to go shopping with you," I grunted, pushing myself to my feet, "You can buy the shoes without me." I reached up to wring out my hair.
Damon chuckled, "How am I supposed to know-"
"You should have thought about that before you chucked my shoe in the lake!" I snapped, dropping my wet hair and shoving it out of my face when it fell forward in wet strands.
Damon watched me quietly, still faintly smiling when I started ringing out my clothes, "Alright..." He said after a moment, shaking his head once and sending droplets of water through the air. I wiped at the water that landed on my cheeks, and reached down to wring out the bottom of my shirt. Glancing up, I faltered when Damon crossed his arms in front of his chest and peeled his shirt off. He caught my stare as he balled the wet material up into his hands, and smirked at me. I rolled my eyes and looked back down again, pretending to focus on my own shirt.