tiny

It was already August…

The senior year was going to change everything. And I mean literally. Because it was probably going to be the last year the boys and I were going to be together. After that, everyone was going places. I had no idea where I was going to end up, but I hoped it would be somewhere with a scholarship.

A water polo scholarship to be exact.

But right now, I needed to decide if I should wear the T-shirt my buddy demanded I wear, or if I should wear something that was more comfortable.

Because let’s be honest – I was a big guy and I feared my buddy Derek didn’t order the right size for me.

I was supposed to be the T in DAKOTA. Derek was supposed to be D. Not because his name started with D, but because he was Diesel, while I was Tiny. And the others – Anchor (Samuel), Knuckles (Adrian), Orca (Daniel), and Apollo (Tim).

And we were supposed go to this talent show where Derek’s baby sister would be performing with her band.

Dakota…

She was as sweet as a breezy sunny day, but could turn your world upside down if she woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

She was a menace. She was fierce, free, impossible to cage, and also the kindest person I’d ever met. Her hair was so wild, it was like fur protecting her from the outer world. Not that she was fragile, but I’d like to think of it as her armor. The last defensive of wall that no one could penetrate.

I’ve always loved her. Loved teasing her. Loved her character.

She was like the sister I never had. Her nickname was Sparrow in my head. But I’d never say that out loud.

Okay… focus, Luke. You have a job to do, and you can’t let Derek down. He’s been talking non-stop about this; I’ve never seen him get this excited about anything other than water polo.

He loved his baby sister, and we all were the older stepbrothers she didn’t sign up for.

At least the T-shirt was black. Not that I could hide my body, but black seemed less intimidating.

Five minutes.

Derek texted, reminding me that I shouldn’t be late, but honestly, they were the ones who were already late.

I put on the T-shirt, grimacing at the way it hugged my body. Could’ve been worse, I guess. Tried to tame my blond hair to the right, but I knew it was going to do whatever it wanted anyway.

Oh, well…

“Hey, man,” Anchor greeted me before everyone else when I placed myself in the passenger seat. Derek was talking on the phone – probably with Leah, whose family was as conservative as they came, and because of that she wasn’t in the car with us – in a soft voice that was only reserved for his girlfriend.

“Hey,” I said, glancing back, looking at the faces of my teammates. I smirked immediately when I saw Tim. He was the most handsome boy I’d seen in my life. And he just looked perfect tonight.

“Looking good as always, Apollo,” I said to him, earning a grin. “Always, man,” he said back, flashing his perfect teeth.

Seriously, the guy was ridiculous. He wasn’t a big guy like me, but he had muscles in all the right places, making all of us jealous. We lifted weights more than him, spent more hours in the gym than him; still, he looked much better than any of us. So, naturally, girls flocked to him.

“I can’t wait to meet Dakota’s friends,” Apollo added, looking out the window, giggling. “I hope they’re not all freshmen.” He snickered. “Even if they are, I’m sure they’ll be the perfect eye candy.”

“Hey!” yelled Derek, looking at Apollo in the rearview mirror. “Stop calling Dakota’s friends eye candy.”

Apollo scoffed. “Why not? They may be young now, and off-limits but they’ll eventually grow up.”

He paused for a beat, staring at Derek’s reflection through the mirror.

“They are fifteen, for Christ’s sake!” Derek shouted.

Apollo just shrugged and continued looking out the window, while I could feel Anchor tensing behind me.

“He knows that,” I said softly to Derek, who was obviously irritated with Apollo, but really, he had no reason to be. I knew in my heart that Apollo was all bark and no action. Especially when it came to Dakota and her friends.

Derek remained silent and started driving toward the venue where we’d meet Dakota. Everyone else was lost in their own thoughts for a minute until a song started playing and Anchor graced us with his voice. I swear, that boy should be a singer instead of a water polo player.

We all sang the song with him, awfully out of tune, but Anchor didn’t seem to mind. He was singing his heart out, shoving Apollo’s shoulder playfully from time to time.

I glanced at Derek, who was smiling wide, murmuring the song’s lyrics. The tension had completely dissipated, as it was always the way with us.

The venue was packed. There were high school students trying to pass as adults, middle school students who wanted to pass as high schoolers, parents who were studying the place with detective eyes – and us… Four idiots wearing T-shirts with the letters of Dakota’s name. Waiting for Orca and Knuckles. Who were late, as usual.

The first band was okay, I guess. Too much distortion for my taste. But I clapped and howled with the rest of the guys, just because anyone who took the stage at this age should be appreciated and supported.

Even if they were bad and my ears were ringing like hell.

“What’s up?!” yelled someone, tackling Apollo, making him stumble into the group of girls in front of us who’d been oblivious to us until then.

But now, they’d seen Apollo, and I saw their eyes dilate even in the dim light of the venue.

Apollo, of course, was quick to respond to their amazement. He immediately forgot about us and started talking to the girls.

I rolled my eyes and half-hugged Knuckles, who was about my height. I fist-bumped Orca, who looked cool as usual. He was the most laid-back. Knuckles was a hothead. Apollo was the one with the looks. Anchor was, well, I don’t think I need to explain that one. And Derek – Diesel – was the captain and the fuel we all needed.

And I was Tiny.

Because I was a big guy.

Those boys were my second family.

“And now the Non-Pretenders!” announced the speaker with an enthusiasm that felt fake. But all the girls in the place started screaming so loud that any thought in my mind suddenly vanished. I even covered my ears with my hands, because the girls in front of us, especially, were going wild.

Did Dakota’s band have a fan base already?

The lights dimmed. A girl whooped faintly. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, including us. Derek positioned us according to Dakota’s name, so that she could see her adopted brothers were there to support her.

And then the spotlight was on the guitarist.Her hair was shadowing the guitar – her knees were slightly bent, and she was wearing her trademark Vans with a skirt I thought was too short. Metal things were hanging down from her skirt, touching the guitar with each movement.

But she was lost in the moment. Nothing mattered to her. She was playing her intro in a world other than this. It looked like nothing would dare touch her.

Then the rest of the band joined her, and all hell broke loose. People were jumping, the singer was screaming – I had never felt that much out of place.

All I could see was her anyway. Because she had finally straightened up and showed her face. Her beautiful green eyes heavy with black makeup, her red hair full of feathers, shiny things I didn’t have the vocabulary for.

She’d been away in England for the summer to visit her cousins. And I guess England was good to her because I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

She had grown up. She had become something else. She had become curvy. In the right places.

Stop!

Dakota…

Derek’s baby sister.

My Sparrow.

Off-limits.

But, man…

I shook my head, ran my fingers through my hair to try to get rid of the indecent thoughts that were occupying my mind. Also to do something with my trembling hands. I looked at Anchor to be anchored, but he was trying to see Dakota through a sea of teenagers with no success. Apollo was already dancing with one of the girls in front of us, Orca was nonchalant as always, and Derek was smiling from ear to ear. He looked proud.

I looked at Knuckles, who was eyeing Dakota in a way I didn’t like. I slapped him on the back, making him stumble and look at me with wide eyes.

“What?” he mouthed, raising his hands. I put my fingers in frontof my eyes, and then pointed at his eyes. He tilted his head and let out a laugh, unable to cover his stunned expression.

“Come on, man, this is Dakota we’re talking about,” he yelled into my ear. He pulled back and stared at her on stage. “But obviously a lot of things have changed during the summer,” he yelled again.

It was becoming hard to breathe through my nose.

Because I knew he was right. Because I was looking at Dakota the same way Knuckles was looking at her.

Fuck!