Chapter 10: Peeping On A Woman

The river water was very clear, and this stretch formed a small pool.  It was about five feet deep.  Fed by mountain springs, the water glittered like glass. By chance, a thicket of yellow thorn trees screened where Damon lay hidden, impossible to spot from the bank. A slim figure slipped toward the river, so hurried to undress that she never paused to check whether anyone was in the water.  In the moonlight, her long skirt fell away in a whisper.  She slipped into the water, naked. She had a slender frame.  Under the moon, her skin almost glowed.  Waist-length black hair spread across the surface, drifting like the mane of a river spirit.  The moment Damon saw that waterfall of hair, he knew who she was. The woman was Chelsea. About twenty.  She taught primary school in town. And yes, she was very pretty. Only, her timing could not have been worse. Damon had just managed to cool his head, and here Chelsea came pulling a stunt like this.  He nearly lost control. His heart was pounding. How long was she going to keep bathing? In his experience, most women lingered.  Fortunately, Chelsea didn't.  She was in the river for barely five minutes, including a quick wash of her long hair and a brisk twist to tie it up.  Even Damon had to admit, she was efficient. At last, she came out, dressed, and as she glanced around, she suddenly spotted a pile of clothes on a nearby rock.  She froze. "Whose clothes are these? Did someone leave them here?" She crouched. "Am I supposed to take these and ask whose they are, or..." It looked as if she meant to walk off with them. "Ahem!" Damon couldn't hold back. He let out the faintest cough. Chelsea's whole body stiffened.  She turned toward his voice. Her face went white as a sheet.  Someone had been in the river all along. It was a man. Color rushed into her cheeks.  What now? Had he seen everything?  Rage and panic surged. "You... you were... Were you watching me take a bath?"  Chelsea stamped her foot. "Shameless!" "Hey!" Damon had had enough.  "How am I the one peeping here? I was here first, all right? I'd already stripped and slipped under the water. Then a beauty showed up. Would I dare make a sound? If I had spoken up, who knows how loud you'd scream." He shook his head.  "If you'd just tiptoed off and left my clothes alone, none of this would've happened." Chelsea recognized him then. She bit her lower lip.  "Damon Barlow, you are shameless." "Say whatever you like." He shot her a glare.  "Between the two of us, you're the shameless one. You even thought about taking my clothes." "I..." Chelsea stamped her foot again, so upset that her eyes brimmed.  "Who wants your clothes? If you keep talking, I will take them and leave you to..." She was threatening him. "Wow." Damon shrugged.  "Chelsea, you call yourself a teacher, but you'd think of something so mean? If you dare touch my clothes, I'll have no choice but to chase you home naked. Worst comes to worst, I'll let you get an eyeful." "I'm the one losing out!"  Tears welled in Chelsea's eyes.  She stamped once more and glared at him, breathing hard.  "I'm done bathing. I'm getting out." Damon looked her over and smiled.  "Do you want to see my naked body?" "Who wants to look at you!" Chelsea whirled and ran.  She realized she couldn't keep tangling with Damon, or she'd only lose more ground. Damon shrugged and sighed.  "One woman after another keeps coming at me. I was burning up. Good thing the river cooled me down, or I'd be in real trouble." After everything that night, his mood finally settled a little.  "Either way, I still have to send Ailee some money." He had once planned to earn some cash and ride the bus to hand it to Ailee himself.  But after he found out Ailee was adopted and wasn't his biological sister, he dropped the idea.  Every time she saw him, Ailee was over the moon.  The moment she spotted him, she would sprint over, leap into his arms, and cling to him. In the past, he had been delighted. Now he felt differently.  He couldn't let Ailee hold him like that anymore.  Otherwise, something bad might happen. "Tomorrow I'll just deposit it straight into her account." Damon let out a long breath.  He soaked in the river a while longer until he cooled off.  Then he climbed ashore, dressed, and headed home at a brisk clip. Just as he passed a vegetable patch, a small sound rustled from within.  A dim flashlight wobbled over the rows. Someone was picking vegetables.  One glance told him it was a woman. "Another woman..." Damon grimaced.  One short walk at night, and women were around every corner.  What was going on tonight? He watched the woman reach in and twist off a cucumber.  He knew better than to stir up trouble with women again that night. It was only vegetables.  Why stick his nose in it? He strode away. Back home, he found Stefan still sprawled on the floor, snoring. "Stefan." He went over and nudged him with a light kick. Stefan did not answer. "Useless." Damon gave him another nudge.  "It was just a little liquor, and you're already down for the count? Your old mother is waiting up for you." Stefan still didn't stir. He had passed out cold. "All right, all right. Looks like I have to haul you back, and clean up the table while I'm at it. The stink is too much."  Damon shook his head, grabbed Stefan, and heaved.  Stefan felt surprisingly light. His strength really had grown.  With a slight push, he slung Stefan over his shoulder, then marched toward Stefan's house. When he got there, a single dim bulb glowed inside.  Stefan's gray-haired mother sat at the table.  Dishes waited on the table. "Auntie!" Damon carried Stefan in.  "Stefan got drunk. He's out. I'll put him on the bed." Stefan's mother blinked. "I wondered where he had gone. I kept waiting to eat with him, and he... Oh dear, drinking again. Look at the state he's in. Oh dear." She let out a sigh. Damon had no patience for her endless nagging.  He hurried Stefan into the room, laid him on the bed, and slipped away. When he reached home, he suddenly stopped short.  He frowned, crept to the bedroom door, reached in to flick the switch, and saw a woman lying on his bed.