I am so unbelievably sorry! The wait was completely unacceptable. Forgive me?
Alright, so I have to say that writer's block was kicking my ass but after Thursday night's episode, inspiration came back full force. That kiss? Damn. Just damn.
Now what's left are the memories…
It was the day after Elena and Jenna had arrived in California. The sun was high in the clear blue sky, the air warm- the perfect beach weather. After lathering their skin in sun tan oil, they gathered their beach basics: towels, sunglasses, water, magazines, IPods and snacks and threw it all in a beach bag and began their walk to the beach. The house they were renting for the summer was the third row of houses from the beach, so it took a matter of minutes to walk.
She was positively mesmerized by everything. The sun, the people- it all felt so different from home. It felt so nice to pass people on the sidewalk and know they had no idea who you were. It was so nice not having to worry about running into Matt at every corner, or doing one wrong thing and having the whole town gossip about you. She felt like she was a completely different person. She felt free.
"How do you come back home after spending the summer here?" Elena asked, the admiration and wonder evident in her voice.
Jenna laughed. "I know, I know. This place is like a whole other world compared to home."
"Tell me about it," Elena responded, narrowly missing a guy with long hair on a skateboard. After regaining her balance, she ran a hand through her hair and looked up at the sun. "I could stay here forever."
"But then it wouldn't be so amazing," Jenna said, playfully bumping her shoulder. "All good things come to an end."
Elena frowned. "I guess."
By the time her bare feet touched the hot white sand of the beach, she was sweating bullets. They chose a nice spot a couple of feet from the dunes to drop their stuff and set up the umbrella. After helping Jenna get settled, she abandoned the t-shirt she was wearing, leaving her clad in only a bright red bikini, and made her way to the water.
Once at the edge of the water, she tentively dipped her toe in. She broke out in a smile. The water was perfect tempertature- not too hot, not too cold. Like everything else here, it seemed just right.
Laughing like a little kid, she began running through the shallow water, eager to dive under the surface, eager to feel the waves break on top of her. When she was waist deep, she went under. She glided through the water until her lungs began to burn with the need for oxygen. Only then did she come up, pushing her hair away from her eyes as she broke the surface.
She was far enough out that if her parents had been here, they would have been knee deep in water, waving their arms around and yelling at her. But her parents weren't here. Being with Jenna was more like being with a sister than a guardian.
After another thirty minutes or so, she decided to get out of the water and go exploring. She swam back to the shore and squeezed the water out of her hair as she walked back to where Jenna was. Her aunt was not so slyly pretending to read a magazine and actually checking out a cute brunette.
"You should go talk to him," Elena said, grabbing a towel.
"What?" Jenna asked, startled.
"Oh come on," Elena said, grinning. "He's cute."
Jenna laughed, but shook her head. "No way. He's like 18."
Elena rolled her eyes. All her aunt needed was a little push and she'd be good to go. "Who cares? You're 24. That's hardly illegal."
Jenna bit her lip, clearly trying to make up her mind. She quickly shook her head and looked back down at her magazine. "No, no," she said. "I'm going to keep my butt right her, get a tan and read this."
"Suit yourself," Elena said, shrugging. "I think I'm going to go do a little exploring."
"If you walk to the pier there's a little shack," she said. "A lot of kids your age hang out there."
"Okay," Elena said. She pulled her t-shirt over her head and slipped her feet into her flipflops. "I'll meet you back here in a few hours?"
Jenna waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Go, have fun," she said. "You know where we're staying."
It took about ten minutes to walk to the pier and another few to get to the shack. It was a small little thing, with a few stools lining the counter and a few picnic tables surrounding it. The sign said it sold varities of food and drinks, along with sunglasses, necklaces amd wax for surf boards.
Jenna had been right. Most of the people who were there were her age- some a little older, some a little younger. She knew immediately she'd be spending plenty of her days here. Something about it felt so comforting and welcoming.
She decided she would order a drink or something and then sit down at one of the tables instead of simply standing their and staring, so she walked to the guy behind the counter- a cute blonde with a sunburn and puka shell necklace. He gave her a once over and then a smike as she approached.
"Well, hey there," he said.
She smiled and sat down at one of the stools. "Hey," she said.
"What can I get for you?"
She tilted her head to the side and twirled a piece of her hair around her finger. She knew she was being positively ridiculous but she hadn't flirted with someone in so long she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. He was cute and she was single and there wasn't one single reason why she couldn't flirt with him.
"A Coke," she said.
"Sure thing." He walked to a cooler and opened it up, pulling out a bottle of Coke dripping with water. He walked back and handed it to her. "Here ya go," he said.
"Thanks." She took the bottle and said, "How much do I owe you?"
He smiled and shook his head. "For you, it's free."
She blushed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well that's not fair to all the other paying customers," she said, only slightly serious.
His face grew serious and he cocked his head to the side. "How about this? Come back tomorrow and the next day and the nexy day and buy something"
"Well," she said, pretending to think about it. "That does seem fair."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.
She nodded. She opened the botttle and slipped off the stool, feeling warm and happy and perfectly content. She didn't see the ball coming as she titled her head back, the opened bottle top touching her lips. One minute, there was nothing in the air and the next, it was hitting her in the face. The force of the ball smacked the Coke right out of her hand, but not before getting a generous amount all over her face, shirt and hair.
She stood there, compeltely shocked.
"I'm so sorry!" she head a voice say, though she was suddenly too annoyed to really care. She was surveying her soaked t-shirt. The whole front was soaked, so she slipped it off and used it to wipe off her face.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone approach her. "The ball kinda got out of control," the guy said. "I'm really sorry about that."
"Yeah, well you should-" She looked up, prepared to give this ass a piece of her mind, but she didn't get the words out. Standing in front of her was the guy from the airport. His eyes were even bluer up close and his hair was even darker. Her breath caught in her throat.
For a second, he looked just as mesmorized as she felt, but the next second he was smirking and holding out his hand. "I'm Damon," he said. "Damon Russo."
She took his hand, feeling little electric sparks ignite between their hands. She looked at this gorgeous boy, who was looking at her with curiousity and she wanted to be someone he was curious about. She didn't want to be small town Elena Giblert. She wanted to be mysterious and fun and- "I'm Elena," she said. "Elena Sommers."
The air was thick with tension as Elena and Damon made their way to the barn- him leading a foot or so ahead and her following reluctantly. When Stefan had still been watching, a smile had been on her face and she was side by side with Damon- just the clueless girlfriend and brother. Now that Stefan was behind a closed door, Elena was happily lagging behind. Facing Damon was inevitable of course, but she was perfectly content with putting it off for a few more minutes. And anyway, she'd be damned if she was the first to speak.
The barn seemed to be miles and miles away from the Mansion, but in reality was only about half a mile. The Salvatore's had more acres of land that her childhood neighborhood had. It was ridiculous really. What did they even need that much land for? A carnival? Another mansion? Maybe her opinion was just jaded because of the situation she was in.
After a good six or seven minutes of walking, she felt the air change. It wasn't a palpable change- the temperature did not rise or fall, the wind did not pick up or slow down and the sun did not brighten or dim, but the change was not ignorable. It felt as if the tension doubled and she just knew he was about to speak.
Sure enough, seconds later, he stopped and turned to face her, his face pleasantly blank. She wanted to smack that relaxed expression right off his face. How dare he. Who in the hell did he think he- "Should I say it, or should you?" Damon asked simply, as if he was commenting on the weather.
"Say what?" she asked, hoping her voice was just as empty and falsely pleasant as his.
She was happy to see his eyes narrow just the slightest at her indifference. Good. "Well, Elena," he said slowly like she was a insubordinate child. "We weren't exactly strangers before Stefan introduced us at dinner."
"I'm aware," she said in the same faux-placid tone. "Very aware, actually."
His perfectly pleasant façade was wearing down thin. She could almost see the irritation on his face. Of course, the moment it cracked, Damon sealed it back up again. He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "And you don't think we should talk about it?" he asked.
"What's there to talk about?" she countered.
"Um, I don't know?" he said. "The fact that we dated?"
Ice seemed to make its way through her veins, chilling her from the inside out. "I would hardly call that dating," she disagreed.
"Then what would you call it?" he pressed.
She thought about that for a second. If someone had asked her then, she would have said dating, but now- with the knowledge of what a real relationship was like- she would call it nothing more than a-
"A summer fling," she said.
"And tell me," he said, his voice different now: more calculating, more… wicked. "What would Stefan think of our 'summer fling?' I'm assuming he doesn't know."
She knew this game. He was trying to get under her skin, make her worry that he was going to tell Stefan about them. He wouldn't though. After all, how would that benefit him? It wouldn't. Clearly nothing had changed over the years. Damon was still the spoiled trust fund kid who got what he wanted and when he didn't, he threw a tantrum.
But she had changed. She wasn't the same love struck sixteen year old girl looking for an escape anymore. She knew what real love was like and she wasn't about to compromise that over Damon Salvatore.
"How would he?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "You lied to me that summer. I had no clue you two were related."
This time, when the anger flashed through his eyes, he didn't try to hide it. "I wasn't the only one lying that summer," he said.
"Maybe not," she shot back. "But I'm not going to compromise my relationship with Stefan over something that meant nothing more to me than a good time."
Ice chased away the heat in his eyes. "Well," he said, taking a step back in the direction of the barn. "I guess we do agree one thing: we meant nothing to each other."
She ignored the painful twist in her chest. "Good," she said. "Then I guess Stefan doesn't need to know, does he?"
"I suppose not."
She forced her lips to curve up into a smile. "Well, then," she said, "now that we know where the other stands, there's no reason for this to be awkward or uncomfortable."
Damon smirked. "We should get to the barn before Stefan shows up and wonders just what we've been doing out here."
She saw the challenge in his eyes and she knew he wasn't going to make this easy for her.
I know, I know. The whole lying about their last name thing is slightly corny, but bear with me.
Review?