Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 57

"What if I buy the wrong size?"
I cocked an eyebrow at the ground as I wrung out my shirt, "You'll have to return them and buy the right size."
Damon fell quiet beside me, and I glanced up at him. He was looking at me, half of his face covered in shadows from the night, his lips stretching up at the corners when I met his gaze. "What?" I rolled my eyes when he winked at me and flexed his stomach muscles. "Put your shirt on!" I shook my head, forcing my eyes back to his face.
Damon smirked, "Hey! I've worked hard for this body, the least you can do is appreciate it." he frowned, chucking his wet shirt at my chest.
I caught the shirt and raised my eyebrows, "Appreciate yourself. I'm not doing it for you."
Damon hissed as if he was in physical pain, "Ouch!"
Ignoring his hurt expression, I passed Damon on the dock and started back towards the woodland path, praying that I wouldn't get a spliter. When Damon started following me, I turned back to him and held up his wet shirt. He smirked and held up one hand to catch it. Instead of throwing it at him, I smiled and chucked it into the lake. Damon's smile fell and he looked out at the water where his shirt was floating, before he turned back to me.
"That's littering."
I crossed my arms, "Then go get it."
Damon smirked, "Wouldn't you rather ride home with me shirtless?" He smirked, and I coughed.
"Absolutely not."
"Then maybe you should have thought about that before you tossed my shirt into the lake."
I scowled, "And my shoes?"
Damon shook his head, "I only threw one shoe in the water-"
"You shoved me in the water in the first place, which makes you responsible for losing both shoes."
Damon laughed and shook his head, but he didn't retort. Instead, he dropped his shoes on the dock and stepped over to the edge. I watched with raised eyebrows as he dove into the water and surfaced a few yards away, swimming out towards his floating shirt. While Damon retrieved his shirt, I pulled my own shirt off and wrung it out, being sure to replace it before Damon was within seeing distance. Once he finally climbed back up onto the dock, wringing out his shirt again, we started back towards the parking lot. For a while, we just walked in comfortable silence, the sounds of the night filling the silence. I loved listening to the sounds of nature after dark; the crickets, the owls, and the occasional sound of a frog in the distance. Some people, I'd heard, found the night unsettling or creepy, but I'd never understood why. It had always been so peaceful to me.
"Can I ask you a question?" Damon asked, breaking the silence.
I raised my eyebrows, "If it's about my middle name, I'm not going to answer you."
Damon glanced over at me with a half-smile, "It's not."
For a second, I felt anxious about what Damon was going to ask me, but instead of being smart with him to avoid the question, I just shrugged in response.
Damon studied the dark path in front of us for a moment, before he spoke again. "How would you feel about a trip back to Cape Trent?"
I stopped midstep and stared at Damon like he was insane.
"Not just the two of us. My mom, Greyson, David and Kenya would all go too." He chuckled when he saw my face. "For an actual vacation."
I shook my head without even thinking, "I've had too much time off already. Being kidnapped was really a killer for my vacation time." I winced at the memories and consequently stepped on a rock. I bit my tongue and blew out a breath, quickly moving off the rock, and pausing to check my foot.
Ouch!
Damon chuckled and stopped to wait on me, "You ok?"
I pursed my lips and nodded, shifting towards Damon to avoid another rock.
He smirked, "I could carry you..."
I turned and glared at Damon. My facial expression did not require words, because he quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Joking!" He smiled, putting another step between us.
I scowled, "Your jokes tonight are terrible."
After that, Damon walked the rest of the way back to the car in comfortable silence. It was nice to be able to enjoy each other's quiet company.
Once we'd made our way back to the car, my clothes were only slightly damp, but Damon happened to have a spare towel in the back of his car.
"Tell me you didn't plan for this?" I frowned taking the towel from his hands.
Damon smirked, "I guess you'll never know."
I straightened and returned his smirk, finally having a smart comeback, "Just like my middle name." I tossed him the towel and turned to open the car door.
*
The ride back home was less than quiet, filled by loud music and arguing over what songs to play. When we finally pulled into the parking lot of my apartment, Damon was blaring some 80's rock song with all the windows rolled down.
"You're going to get me in trouble!" I yelled to Damon over the music when he turned the volume up a few more notches seconds after I turned it down. He just smirked and shrugged. I rolled my eyes and reached for the door handle, but Damon shut off the car and suddenly the music stopped.
"Let me walk you in." He chuckled when I pursed my lips at him, and climbed out of the car. I slipped out of the Range Rover and padded lightly around to Damon's side of the car. He waited for me to catch up with him, then clicked the lock on the car and walked beside me to the apartments.
I sighed when he opened the door for me, and shook my head, walking through the door. "You know, you don't have to walk me in every time. I'll be fine between here and my apartment." I began climbing the stairs. Damon just smiled and followed me up the stairs without a word. When we reached the top of the stairs, I glanced back to see Damon still behind me and shook my head at him. He reached around me and pulled the second door open, gesturing me through before him. I didn't even bother trying to send him back to his car, I just walked into the hallway and continued on towards my apartment. Damon's long strides drew him up next to me in the hall, and we made our way quietly to my apartment door. When we stopped outside the door, I felt my heart beating a little heavier against my chest, but ignored it and turned to Damon. He ran his eyes across my face when I tilted my chin up to look him in the eyes, and his lips twitched.
"That was the worst date I've ever been on..." I smiled a little, looking at Damon, a hint of jest bleeding into my voice.
He smiled, "I'm glad you liked it."
That was twice in the span of ten minutes that he'd given me a genuine smile, and I wasn't sure what to think. I had to force myself not smile back at him without reason.
"I should probably go-"
Damon opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when I spoke. When I looked at him curiously, he just nodded and dropped his chin. I wanted to know what he had been about to say, but I could tell he'd changed his mind. So when he said nothing, I turned and knocked on the apartment door for David to let me in. Damon and I stood there for a few seconds in awkward silence, until I knocked again, frowning. Lifting my phone up, I checked the time when no one answered, and knocked one more time. This time, I reached down under the loose threshhold board and checked for the spare key, but Soma must've forgotten to put it back again, because it was gone.
I turned to Damon and shook my head, "You can go, I'll call David and wake him up." I started to dial my brother on his phone, and Damon shrugged, leaning against the wall beside the door.
When David, Soma, and Kenya didn't answer their phones, I started to worry. I called them all one more time before I tried knocking loudly again. Nothing.
Turning back to Damon, I frowned, and he moved in front of me to try the door lock. Wriggling it around a few times, he reached into his damp pant pocket and pulled out his keys. Holding up his gym membership, he murmured something and shifted closer to me to observe the door. I stepped back to give Damon room. After David had been injured, I'd hired a guy to come fix the door and put a more secure lock on it, and it seemed to be holding true. Even when Damon tried to open it with his card and keys, the lock stayed in place.
I let out a frustrated breath when Damon stepped back and dropped his keys back into his pocket. Pulling out my phone, I text Soma and David and Damon texted Kenya. Ten minutes later, none of them had responded.
I turned away from knocking at the door for the millionth time and looked at Damon. "I'm starting to worry." I said, crossing my arms over my chest, feeling the effects of the air conditioned hallway on my damp clothes.
"You're sure you don't have a spare key anywhere else?"
I frowned, "I might have one in my car, but it's locked so it wouldn't make a difference."
Damon shrugged, "It's worth a try." He straightened and took a step forward. I followed suit and led him down the hall back towards the stairs.
We descended the stairs in silence, and I prayed that by some miracle, I had forgotten to lock my car this morning after I'd gotten home from work. After we made our way back out into the parking lot, I turned and led the way to my car. My little, red Honda looked like a child's toy compared to Damon's Range Rover, but I tried to ignore that thought as I moved around to the driver's side door. Damon stopped on the opposite side of the car, and before I had the chance to try my door, he reached out and opened the passenger door. I gaped at him and quickly reached for my own door. It was also unlocked.
Thank God!
I crawled into my car, searching the organized center counsel for my extra key ring. When I found it, I slid back out of the car and held it up for Damon to see. I then locked my car from the inside and followed Damon back to the apartment building.
Back at my door, I fumbled to find the right keys, before I finally slipped the correct key into the lock. As I pushed the door open, I stared at the living room, astonished.