As the sun goes down, the fire becomes bright and vivid. The intensity and excitement of the flames is like they are dancing in the moonlight. Damon stares at the flames as they lick at the wood and the red sparks dance in the cool breeze. The nearby lake has the reflection of a distant glow.
"Want another beer?" Enzo plops down on the log beside him.
"I should get going," Damon takes a swallow from the long neck bottle. "I have to work tomorrow."
"How's that going?" Enzo pops the top on another one.
He opens his hand and shows him a blister on his hand. "I like it, and she..." Damon blows out a breath.
"She's?"
"Beautiful, man. I want to bury my hands in her hair and run my fingers through it..." he shifts to hide his bulge.
"I've seen her, she's hot," Enzo agrees. "You think you have a chance?"
Damon shrugs, "I don't think she's that much older than us," he splats a mosquito on his arm.
"Is she seeing anyone?" Enzo empties what's left of his beer.
"She has a neighbor that's pretty protective but I don't think they're lovers..."
"What are you two so quiet about?" Kol comes from behind them to sit by the fire.
"Damon's got a hard-on for his boss," Enzo guffaws, nudging him with his elbow.
"You have a big mouth," Damon scowls at him.
"Go for it. What do you have to lose?" Kol encourages him.
"I'm going to go. Do you need a ride back to town?" he looks at Enzo.
"Nah, Kol will give me a ride, won't you buddy?"
"Sure thing."
Damon nods and walks away...
Streaks of sunlight pour in through the cracks in the blinds. Slowly and reluctantly, Damon uncovers his face, blinks, closes his eyes, and blinks again. He shifts onto his belly and pulls the pillow over his head.
Suddenly... Beep, beep, beep fills the room.
Damon groans, feeling around with his hand till he reaches the alarm clock and flicks it off. Sitting up, he drags his feet off the bed and rubs his knuckles against his eyes to get the sleep out of them. Standing up, he stretches his arms above his head and yawns.
A volley of raps and an "Are you up?" comes from the other side of his door.
"Yeah, I'm up," he yawns again.
"Breakfast is ready, hurry before it gets cold," his mom adds and then he hears her footsteps retreating.
Damon quickly dresses and hurries downstairs. He's excited to see her again, what she'll be wearing today? He hopes it's a pair of short shorts so he can imagine her long, lithe legs wrapping around his middle..."
"You better quit daydreaming or you'll be late," his dad looks at him over the top of the newspaper.
"Yeah," he quickly finishes his orange juice, kisses his mom goodbye then jumps in his car to drive out to Elena's place. Every time he sees her, he has to make a conscious effort to fight the feelings that are churning inside. How good would it feel to have her cradle him intimately?
An "aahht bloooot," sound comes from a string of cars behind him, alerting him that the traffic light has turned green. He waves his hand through the window as he steps on the gas pedal...
When he walks up the door, he hears Elena's Doberman, Zeus barking. Sucking in a breath, he curls his hand into a fist and knocks, surprised to find himself face to face with an older man when the door swings open.
"You must be Damon? Come on in," the guy steps aside.
"Good morning, Damon," Elena smiles at him, she's wearing a bright yellow sun dress covered in ladybugs.
"Morning," he replies, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I should go out and feed the animals..." he starts backing towards the door.
"Vincent's going to stop by to pick you up. A drunk driver ran into a section of my fence last night. He'll be back soon, he ran to the lumberyard to get some supplies for me."
"Is he or she okay?"
"Fortunately, yes," the man interrupts, "she'll have some legal trouble, a bill for my services and the supplies."
"I'm sorry, Damon, this is my Uncle John."
"Good to meet you, sir," Damon internally breathes a huge sigh of relief as he shakes the man's hand.
"Nice to meet you too, I've been telling Elena for a long time too that she needed help out here. I'm glad Vincent finally convinced her."
"You mean nagged until you wore me down," she laughs, her eyes meeting Damon's. Every single time she looks into them, her breath catches in her throat.
Damon loves the way her face lights up when she laughs.
"I better get busy, I'll go feed the livestock, Vincent can find me there," he gives Elena a nod and leaves the house.
Damon takes off his gloves and empties the water bottle Vincent gave him with one long chug. The grass leading to the fence is turned up too as if the woman spun her wheels trying to drive away. Luckily it isn't a huge section of fence that needs to be repaired.
"This is at the far edge of her property; how did Elena even find out about it?" Damon crumples the plastic and tosses it in the cab of the pickup. Picking up another handful of nails, he starts to pound the plank.
"I happened to drive by, called the cops, they showed up with an ambulance to take her to the hospital to check her out, had the vehicle towed. I saw a vodka bottle on the passenger seat..."
"It's a good thing you drove by..."
"Yep," Vincent takes his glove off, noticing a blister beginning to form.
"How did she keep up this place by herself?" Damon wipes his forehead with the back of his arm.
"Aaron was a friend of mine, a good man. We went to high school together. I don't know if she wanted to get married so soon but he didn't want to leave her here, knowing distance breaks up so many couples. They had a quick wedding then they left for California. Elena's a strong woman but this is a big place, and a lot of work. She's been struggling which is part of the reason I didn't let up on her to hire someone to help out."
"I'm usually dead tired when I get home but I like the work," Damon bends down to pick up another slab of wood. With Vincent holding the other end up, he pounds it in place.
"Once we slap some paint on it, it'll be as good as new."
"Yeah, it looks good," Damon runs his gloved hand along the top board.
"You're a big help to her, I'm glad you're happy here. Come on, let's go, get a gallon of white paint, forgot it this morning."
Damon picks up their equipment then climbs in, his eyes on the countryside as Vincent drives over the bumpy gravel road.
As Damon walks up to Elena's house to say goodnight as the last vestiges of the setting sun disappear over the horizon. The copper hues give way to a dusty purple scattered with the occasional glitter of a faraway star. It's been a long day.
He pauses for a few minutes to watch the fireflies and the glimmers of light that electrify the night.
"Damon?" Elena walks outside with two cans of soda, handing him one.
"Thanks," he pops the top and takes a swallow.
"Beautiful night," she notices the way the moonlight spills onto his chest and shoulders. Elena bites her lower lip, eyes everywhere but on Damon.
It's been too long.
Then he moves closer with those eyes that look so deeply into her own. There is something about that blue gaze of his that does crazy things to her insides.
Zeus gallops towards them with a chorus of loud barks, nearly knocking Damon over when he leaps at him.
The moment passes.
"Zeus!" Elena reaches for his collar.
Damon steadies himself then stoops down to pet him a little. "I suppose I should get going."
"Your parents are probably wondering where you are?" Elena walks him to the car with Zeus ambling beside her.
Damon stares at her lips, wondering how soft they would feel against his. The sound of her voice snaps him out of the trance.
"Bye Damon," she steps back allowing him to slide into his Camaro.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he says softly and waves his arm out the window as he departs.
Elena watches the cloud of dust kick up on the gravel road and when his tail lights are no longer visible, she and Zeus go inside.
I rec'd an anon review - which precludes me from responding to her personally - telling me this story is wrong because Damon is 17. Just so you all know, I specifically made him 17 because THE AGE OF CONSENT IN THE MAJORITY OF THE STATES IS 16 - including the one this story takes place in.
Thank you all for your support.
Chapter title: 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry.
Have a wonderful weekend.