Author's Note-so you guys continue to surprise me with encouraging words and reviews. I was seriously expecting people to hate the last chapter due to the long wait. But you guys are amazing! I love writing this story and I have another story in mind for when this one is nearly finished.

Also, since I'm not computer savy is there anyone who is interested in creating a banner or a trailer for this story? If not, that's fine. Just thought it would be cool if we could sum up with story with an amazing picture :)


"I'm just a believer that things will get better.
Some can take it or leave it,
But I don't wanna let it go."
American Authors

"Dude, what the hell was that this morning?" Stefan demands the moment Damon steps foot outside with a tray filled with food.

Damon knows what Stefan is referring too but he plays dumb and smirks. "What was what, baby brother?' He's taunting and it makes him smirk the moment Stefan's brows pinch together in frustration.

He really has to get this food to Elena or else her meal and his will be cold and he hates cold food.

"You could barely stand her a week ago and now you're carrying her around as if you guys are friends again." Stefan's arm reaches out and grabs onto Damon's forearm.

Damon whirls around with danger flashing through his eyes.

"You're treading on a fine line right now brother. You wanted me to play nice with her for the summer and that's what I'm doing. Nothing more." Damon purses his lips, glaring Stefan down to make his point stick.

Stefan sighs, running his hand through his hair in frustration and worry. Damon isn't sure what the worry is for; whether it's for him out of brotherly concern or Elena and best friend concern.

"You're my brother but she's my best friend and not once has she walked away from me when I needed her." Stefan takes one step closer and it actually surprises Damon as he watches Stefan stand up for the brunette. "Don't hurt her again."

Damon doesn't acknowledge Stefan or his request. Instead, he shakes his hair out of his eyes and steps around his brother. Everyone wants him to be friends with Elena so they can all have a peaceful summer, and now that he is actually putting in an effort Stefan and others are acting as if Damon has a second agenda. He can't please them.

"Hi, Damon," Andie giggles as he and Stefan continue to walk towards the pool area.

Damon nods her way but doesn't do anything more. He spent one night with her and now she can't let him go.

Stefan chuckles at his brothers antics. "I swear, if we have to sneak out the back door again just to avoid her camping out in front of the house I'm officially calling the police and telling them she's stalking you."

"It's not her fault she can't resist my charm…my irresistibility…my sex." Damon wiggles his eye brows suggestively.

Stefan's face scrunches up. "Yuck. I so do not need to think of that."

Damon acts cocky, but only he knows that the girls that keep flirting with him at the club just aren't doing it for him anymore. Ever since the night of Caroline's party, the night he cornered Elena in the bathroom, no one has been able to make his cock stiff—no one except the image of Elena in his head.

"Damon," her voice sings while he feels her lips brush against his bare back. Small, soft fingers are gliding down his skin, scraping over the claw marks on his back that she put there the night before. The white sheet sits low on his waist while he buries his head under the pillow.

He loves how she wakes him up, but he knows that she can try harder and doesn't want to give her the satisfaction of waking him up right away without having to work for it.

"Baby," she coos hotly into his ear, biting his ear lobe and tugging like the wildcat that she is.

Peeking out to the side he sees her bare chest right before his eyes, curving into his body and he salivates at the idea of taking her dusky nipple between his teeth and making her call out his name time and time again.

Her nails scrape lower on his back and she plays with the sheet covering his bottom half.

"I need you right now," she whispers, her lips pressing against his hot skin, traveling lower on his body.

Shutting his eyes blissfully, he rolls over as Elena's body slides over his, her thighs gripping either side of his hips. His cock brushes against her bare core and he can feel her wetness pooling between her legs.

"God," he moans. "You're so wet for me baby."

"Only you," she smirks down at him.

Elena's hands travel up his neck, tickling his skin lightly with her teases, before her right hand cups his cheek. Before she can move, his hand reaches up and holds her in place. Opening his eyes he smiles up at her.

Her hair is creating a curtain around them and it's only them in his world.

No one else.

"Do you need me too?" She grins like a Cheshire cat.

"Always," he promises before sliding into her, filling her to the hilt.

He's mesmerized by the way she arches her back in pleasure. She's trapped between feeling the sweet pain and blissful pleasure and Damon can't take his eyes away from how she looks above him.

"Oh god, Damon!" She cries, her hips rocking against him in a glorious rhythm.

Damon had woken up with the stiffest erection he had ever experienced. He doesn't know where that dream came from or how he managed to picture Elena since they had never gone that far physically in their relationship before. The dream unnerved him, but at the same time started a carnal desire.

Damon narrows his eyes as his body freezes. What the hell is Mason doing?

"That doesn't look good," Stefan mumbles, coming up to Damon's side.

Damon sometimes thinks that Stefan purposefully states the obvious.

Over in their corner is Mason who is tilting his head down towards Elena. Elena has her body backed against the wall. There are no other guests around and that's one of the reasons why Damon and Elena eat at those tables.

Mason's saying something as Elena looks up at him in surprise. Damon has seen this look a hundred times before. Neither look happy as Mason points directly at Elena, his face scrunching up in anger.

Whatever he is saying is making Elena fold her lower lip between her teeth and cross her arms. She looks uncomfortable and this makes Damon charge over.

"Is there a problem?" Damon smirks, placing his tray down that holds all the food.

Mason gives Elena one last look before turning around and squaring off with Damon. "Nothing that concerns you."

Elena is looking down at the ground instead of at him and this makes Damon's hatred of Lockwood flare up. Whatever he said to her is obviously making Elena upset to the point where she won't even make eye contact with him. Damon feels as if they took a step forward in their friendship this morning and he doesn't want to take a step back.

"Why don't you take a beat," Damon suggests. Taking a step forward, Damon crosses his arms, letting his upper body muscle become prominent.

Mason must notice just how serious Damon is because he takes one last deep, seething breath before turning around to face Elena again.

"Just remember what I told you," he says to her before storming off.

Elena instantly sits down and runs her hands through her hair. "Thanks," she mumbles, using her brunette waves as a shield.

Damon instantly wishes Mason would just leave her alone. Whatever he said to her makes Damon want to punch him until he can't speak anymore because Elena should be smiling and laughing right now.

"Look at me," Damon demands softly. Or at least he hopes he's speaking to her in a nice tone, but his irritation for Lockwood has him on edge. He feels the need to hit something, a feeling he hasn't felt in a while now.

When Elena looks at him with such a curious face he smiles. "Whatever he said to you: brush it off. They're just words and Lockwood means nothing. No one has the right to make you upset." Damon stretches and puts his hands behind his head. "Plus," he smirks, "I happen to know how the teams are divided for the football game tonight. You want to be stronger than him? Then beat him on the field, in his own game."


Elena pumps her legs harder, running after Rebekah who has the ball currently. She dodges Alaric who is blocking for Rebekah and pushes herself harder to catch up to her friend. Narrowing her eyes, she flings herself forward and grabs onto the yellow flag attached to the slim girl's hip.

She grins victoriously as she feels the slick piece of equipment in her hand and she tugs as her body falls to the ground. She can hear the crowd-especially Bonnie and Caroline-who are cheering for both sides.

"Impressive." Stefan stands at Elena's side, looking down on her. He offers her his hand and he hauls her up. She smiles brightly at Rebekah who retrieves her flag.

The teams were separated evenly as far as Elena can tell. The two girls were put on different teams much to Rebekah's dislike. Stefan and Damon are separated-Stefan being on Elena's team. Damon, Alaric, and Mason are all on Rebekah's team-along with other faculty and guests who signed up to play. While Elena has Matt and Tyler also on her team with guests.

She doesn't know how Damon knew she would be against Mason in this game, but with every block, catch, and touchdown her teams makes she feels as if she's rubbing it in Mason's face. It's petty and it shouldn't make her feel better, but he deserves it as their conversation from earlier in the day is fresh in her mind.

"Salvatore is using you."

"He's an asshole who only wants one thing from you."

"You're nothing but a whore in his eye."

"You're getting cocky," Damon whispers to Elena, right up against her ear as she walks past him. Just as quickly as he came, his body leaves hers as he travels back to his team who are all huddled together.

His body warmth is still attached to her skin and she can't deny his scent that filtered through her nose. Damon smells like mint and woods all rolled into one. It's intoxicating.

"I haven't seen you smile this much in a long time," Stefan says thoughtfully as they slowly trudge back to their team.

"I smile," Elena defends herself quickly.

"It looks like you swallowed a clothes hanger," he teases before they rejoin their group and get back to business.

The game continues for another twenty-five minutes before the time really starts to crunch down and there's only a minute left. Both teams have put in their best effort and for the time being Elena, along with everyone else, is surprised that somehow Mason and Damon haven't killed each other yet.

Her team has the ball, they're only five yards from the end zone, and everyone is basically exhausted.

"Last chance," Alaric taunts Elena as he passes by her. He had just effectively pulled Tyler's flag before he could make it into the end zone.

Elena bumps his shoulder playfully. "Then we better make it count, huh?"

"You can try," Damon speaks up from behind her. Once again his mouth is near her ear as his body is as close as possible to her without actually touching. "But there's no way I'm letting anyone past that line."

His body is drenched in sweat and Elena cant' help but notice how the strands of his hair are sticking together in a beautiful mess. His blue jersey grips his upper arms but is loose on his waist. She knows what the jersey is hiding underneath and she can't stop herself from licking her dry lips.

"Although you'll look good trying," he adds before giving her his famous wink and departing.

She tells herself to snap out of it. This is just Damon's way of getting inside her head for the sake of the game.

But what if it's not?

What if he really did think she looks good out on the field? She knows from being with him that Damon can't stand girls who just sit on the sidelines. He likes his girls to be busy, tough, and athletic. Nothing too girly for him or else he gets bored.

Her body is hot from the heat she tells herself. It's not hot because of Damon and his words. She can feel a bead of sweat trickle down her spine. Her whole body is clammy and glistening; much like everyone else on the field.

Twirling back to her team she hears Stefan direct everyone. It makes sense that he's calling the shots because he is used to it on the football field.

Tyler shouts something encouraging and they all break apart. She narrows her eyes as she watches Rebekah and Damon talking very closely on the field. It's not normal for Elena to feel this way, but Rebekah is single and Damon likes to go for the blondes. But Rebekah would never do that to her. A nice girl doesn't date her friend's ex-boyfriend.

Matt snaps the ball and Elena takes off running. Damon's team looks confused for just a moment as everyone scrambles around on the field. Stefan holds onto the ball as he scans their team for an open player. Elena can catch, but what she's best at is running. It's too late for her to turn back around for a pass.

She side steps around Alaric and goes to the left outside. Stefan throws a perfect spiral to her which she thankfully catches and she takes off. For a moment Elena thinks that she's in the clear until Damon comes into view. Her eyes catch his and she barrels ahead, forcing herself to sprint faster.

Elena wants to beat Damon at his own game; especially since she's running in the same position he plays.

His hand swipes out to pull her flag, but she puts all of her weight on her right foot, pounding her shoe into the ground to stop herself, and then she uses momentum to push off the ground and run straight forward on his left side. She doesn't believe it at first but she actually tricked Damon into thinking she was going to run to the right.

From her place in the end zone she slams the ball down and the game is done.

Cheers ring out as the viewers flood the field. Wiping the sweat from her brow she goes to reach for the football she threw down but is surprised when two large arms wrap around her. Elena grabs onto the two arms holding her close to their chest and she squeals with laughter as her legs are lifted off the ground in the tightest hug she's felt in a long time.

"Who taught you that move?" The deep voice growls into her neck.

When she's put back on the ground Damon doesn't move from behind her. His arms stay hanging over her shoulders as his chest molds perfectly to her back. His chin rests on her shoulder and she knows he must be bending his knees a little in order to lean on her.

"Never in my dreams had I imagined that you'd use it against me," Damon whispers against her.

There are people scattered all around them, couples kissing and holding one another, friends laughing and cheering, but everyone fades away the moment his breath tickles her face.

Shutting her eyes, Elena's breath becomes shallow.

"Dreams?" Elena teases. "You dream of me?"

"Uh-huh," he mumbles, his fingers possessively trailing down her arms to settle on her hips. She's only wearing thin, cotton shorts and it's like his body heat is burning through all her defenses. "And in every dream you have me going crazy."

Pushing up her jersey, she feels his finger tips caressing the sliver of skin that is showing. Elena sucks in a breath as she tries to keep the fire at bay in her stomach.

"But I drive you crazy too," he warns. "In my dreams we are no longer kids growing up. We're two adults who make each other so hot and bothered that I'm like a steel rod and you're soaked through your scrap of lace."

"Hey Captain!" Alaric jumps out from behind Elena and Damon and slings his arms around their necks. He's smirking and Elena knows that Alaric saw what Damon was doing to her. "And hello Miss. Elena. Looks like you got moves on the field."

Damon snorts as the three friends start walking over to the golf carts parked along the bleachers. "Moves I taught her," he mumbles.

"You excited for the after party?" Alaric asks. "I know a few guys who are interested in you. If you want me to set you up that is."

Alaric is testing the waters between Damon and Elena. He's trying to get a rise out of either one of them.

She's still trying to get her breathing regular again as she catches Damon's eye. They're intense-belonging to a life like savage. He reminds her of a predator who she should stay away from, but is drawn to instead.

She watches as Damon's eyes narrow in a slight challenge. He's begging her to respond to him and she doesn't want to give him the satisfaction. Elena doesn't know what his goal is with her, but she's starting to think he doesn't want to just be friends anymore.

And she refuses to be a one-time girl for him.

Game on, she thinks as Damon's hand brushes against her back the moment she steps into the golf cart.

"That sounds great Ric," she chirps happily as Damon's widen in surprise before turning into daggers. "I think it's time I get back into the dating game."

Damon's face is like stone the moment Elena announces she wants to date. She takes a sick pride in making him upset. He can't expect to treat her like nothing has happened between them, making her hot and bothered like that on the field, and then expect her to be docile. It doesn't work like that and Elena refuses to be used by him.

She has to protect her heart from Damon Salvatore.