Strictly Friends

There was a time when the four of us could fit underneath the Parkers’ old wooden picnic table. Technically, Emma and I could fit underneath it. Owen and Theo mostly sat beside it and complained that we were cheating.

“You can’t hide under there forever, Sadie!” Owen yelled, his sneakers skidding against the grass as he ran around the table.

I pressed both hands over my mouth to keep myself from laughing. Emma was crouched beside me, her brown eyes wide as she tried just as hard to stay quiet. One of her braids had come loose from her ponytail, and there was dirt smeared across her knee from where we’d dropped to the ground.

“He’s gonna find us,” she whispered.

“No, he’s not.” I whispered back.

“I can hear you!” Owen shouted.

Emma slapped a hand over my mouth this time. I shoved it away, nearly falling onto my side. We couldn’t have been older than nine. Owen was eleven, which meant he considered himself practically an adult, and Theo was ten, which meant he followed Owen around like they’d been born attached at the hip.

They’d been counting against the big maple tree at the edge of our backyard while Emma and I scrambled for somewhere to hide. The picnic table had seemed genius. Until two pairs of sneakers stopped directly in front of us. Emma and I froze. Slowly, I looked up.

Theo dropped to his knees on the other side of the table, his dark hair falling across his forehead as he grinned at us through the gap between the bench and the grass. “Found you.”

Emma screamed. I screamed louder. We shot out from underneath the table and ran in opposite directions while Owen yelled something about us being cheaters. Theo came after me. I remember laughing so hard I could barely breathe as I tore across the backyard, my bare feet digging into the grass.

“You’re never gonna catch me!” I yelled over my shoulder.

“That’s because you’re tiny!” He replied.

“I’m not tiny!” I argued.

“You’re nine!” He said still trying to catch me.

“So?” I remember I was so insulted.

“So you’re basically a baby!” He said. I grabbed the nearest weapon I could find—the garden hose.

Theo stopped dead. “Sadie.” I smiled sweetly. “Don’t.”

I turned it on. The scream that came out of him was probably heard three streets over. Owen collapsed onto the grass laughing while Theo came charging toward me, soaked from head to toe. I dropped the hose and ran.

For years, that was what summer looked like. Bare feet. Grass stains. Melting popsicles. Emma sleeping over so often that Mom stopped asking if she was staying for dinner and started automatically putting out another plate. Owen and Theo fighting over video games in the basement. The four of us racing bikes down the street until the porch lights came on. Theo calling me a baby. Me telling him I hated him. Neither of us meaning any of it.

A burst of cold water hits my shin. I blink. The memory disappears as quickly as it came.

“You suck!” Emma shouts.

I push my sunglasses down my nose and look toward the pool. Owen is laughing so hard he can barely keep himself above the water. Emma wipes water from her face before immediately sending another wave toward him with both hands. Her dark brown hair is twisted into a messy bun on top of her head, though several curls have escaped and are sticking to her cheeks.

“You started it!” Owen says, shielding his face.

“I splashed you once.” She defends herself.

“You splashed me first.” Owen argues.

I love how easily my best friend and my brother get along, it makes everything easier.

“Because you deserved it.” Emma says.

“I literally didn’t do anything.” Owen lifts his hands in the air.

“You breathed near me.” She widens her eyes and smiles.

“That’s generally how staying alive works, Em.” Emma rolls her eyes before sending another wave directly into his face. I laugh from my lounge chair. Some things really don’t change.

The four of us are older now. The wooden picnic table is long gone, replaced by the big stone patio my parents had installed a few summers ago, and none of us have to race home when the streetlights come on anymore but somehow, we’re still here. Same street. Same backyard. Same people.

Emma’s house is three doors down from ours. Theo lives across the street and two houses over. Growing up, knocking was basically optional. Our parents all knew each other. Our kitchens were community property. Half the time, nobody even knew which house Owen or Theo were supposed to be sleeping at. Even now, Theo probably spends more time here than he does at his own house.

Which shouldn’t bother me and it doesn’t. Usually.

I settle deeper into the lounge chair and stretch my legs out beneath the sun. The afternoon heat presses against my skin, but there’s enough of a breeze to make it comfortable. Somewhere behind me, music drifts through the open kitchen window.

“You planning on joining us at some point?” Owen calls.

“Nope.” I answer.

He pushes wet blond hair away from his forehead. “Why are you even wearing a bathing suit?”

“To tan.” I narrow my eyes.

“That’s boring.” He says.

I sigh. “Good thing I didn’t ask you.” Emma laughs.

Owen points at her. “Don’t encourage her.”

“I’ve been encouraging her for ten years.” She reminds him.

“Exactly. Look how she turned out.” I lift my middle finger at him. “Love you too, Sades,” he says, grinning. Despite myself, I smile.

Owen drives me insane approximately eighty percent of the time, but he’s also my favorite person approximately ninety percent of the time. The math doesn’t make sense. Neither does having an older brother.

Something moves at the other end of the pool. Theo. Not that I’m watching him because I’m not. I’m tanning. Very intensely. Theo swims toward the edge, one arm cutting through the water before the other. He reaches the side and grabs the concrete ledge. Then he pulls himself out and apparently I forget every thought I have ever had.

Water runs from his black hair, dripping down his forehead before disappearing along the sharp line of his jaw. He plants one knee against the concrete and stands, reaching up to push his hair back. My eyes follow the movement, which is mistake number one. Mistake number two is letting them travel lower.

Theo has always been athletic. All three of them are, really. Emma and I work out together, Owen practically lives at the gym, and Theo has played football for as long as I can remember. Knowing that does absolutely nothing to prepare me for watching water slide down his chest or his abs. I swallow. This is ridiculous. I have seen Theo without a shirt before. Hundreds of times. Probably thousands. Okay, maybe not thousands but enough that this shouldn’t be— Oh. My. God.

I immediately drag my gaze back up. Too late. Gray-blue eyes are looking directly at me. Theo stands a few feet away, water dripping onto the patio beneath him and he’s smiling. Not a normal smile, either. It’s that slow, irritating Theo Brooks smile that tells me he knows something I desperately don’t want him to know.

My stomach drops. Please tell me he didn’t notice. “Enjoying the view, Parker?” He noticed.

Heat rushes straight into my face. “What?” Excellent, Sadie. Very convincing.

Theo grabs the towel hanging from the back of the chair beside mine. “You were staring.”

“I was not.” I lie. His eyebrows rise. “I wasn’t.”

“Right.” He laughs softly.

“I was looking behind you.”

Theo glances over his shoulder. There is nothing behind him except the fence. When he looks back, his mouth twitches. “At the fence?”

“Yes.” I nod.

“The fence.” He repeats.

“It’s a nice fence.” Why am I still talking?

Theo rubs the towel over his hair, laughing quietly under his breath. I shove my sunglasses back up my nose so he can’t see my eyes. Problem solved. Except my entire face is probably bright red.

“Leave her alone,” Emma calls from the pool.

Thank you. My best friend. My hero. Theo glances toward her. Emma’s mouth curves into a suspicious smile. Never mind. Traitor.

“What?” Owen asks, swimming closer.

“Nothing,” I say quickly.

Theo looks at me. There’s amusement in his expression, but something else flickers there too. Something I can’t place.

Owen pulls himself halfway out of the water, resting his arms on the pool ledge. “What’d she do?”

“She was checking me out,” Theo says.

I sit straight up. “I was not!”

Owen bursts out laughing. Theo laughs too, and suddenly I want to throw myself directly into the pool and remain underwater until everyone leaves.

“Keep dreaming, Brooks,” I mutter.

Theo presses the towel against his chest. “Hey, I don’t blame you.”

My mouth falls open. Emma starts laughing. “You’re so full of yourself,” I tell him.

“Confidence is attractive.” He says.

“Not when it’s delusion.” I add.

“Ouch.” He puts a hand over his heart.

For one stupid, horrifying second, his eyes stay on mine and my heart does this ridiculous little skip because there’s something in the way he’s looking at me. Something warm. Something almost—

Owen snorts. “Dude, quit messing with her.”

Theo’s expression changes. His smile stays, but his eyes move away from mine. “I’m kidding,” he says, tossing the towel over his shoulder. “Sadie’s basically my little sister.” Oh. There it is.

Owen just nods like Theo said the most obvious thing in the world. “Exactly.”

Emma looks at me. I look away before she can see anything. My chest feels strangely hollow. Which is pathetic. Because what did I expect? Theo has known me since I was practically a toddler. Okay, not technically but close enough.

He remembers when I wore glittery purple glasses in sixth grade. He’s seen me cry because Owen accidentally broke my favorite doll. He used to help my brother hide my stuffed animals on shelves I couldn’t reach. Of course I’m like a sister to him.

I’m Owen’s little sister. That’s all I’ve ever been.

I reach for the bottle of sunscreen beside me and pretend I’m suddenly fascinated by the label. SPF 50. Broad spectrum. Water resistant for eighty minutes. Fascinating. Absolutely riveting.

“You okay?” Emma asks.

I glance toward the pool. She’s watching me. “Fine.”

She studies me for another second. I know that look. She knows me too well. Thankfully, Owen grabs her ankle beneath the water.

Emma shrieks. “You idiot!” She launches herself at him.

The moment disappears. I breathe out slowly. This is exactly why crushing on Theo Brooks is stupid. Not that I have a crush on him. I just— Appreciate him. Aesthetically, like a painting, or a sunset, or a really attractive man climbing out of a swimming pool. Okay. Fine. It’s a crush. A stupid one. One I should’ve gotten over approximately three years ago.

I lie back down and close my eyes. Behind my eyelids, I can still see Theo’s stupid smile. Enjoying the view, Parker? I groan quietly.

Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll get heatstroke and forget the entire conversation. A shadow falls across me. I open one eye. Theo is standing beside my chair again. Great, exactly what I need.

“What?” I ask.

He holds something toward me. My water bottle. “You’re gonna cook out here.”

“I have sunscreen.” I lift the bottle to show him.

“That isn’t water.” He says.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Theo doesn’t move.

I sigh and take the bottle. Our fingers brush, it’s barely anything. An accidental touch but I feel it anyway. His fingers hesitate against mine for half a second before he lets go. My eyes flick up. Theo is already looking at me.

For once, he doesn’t have a smart comment. The noise from the pool seems farther away. My heartbeat suddenly feels annoyingly loud. Theo’s gaze drops. Not far, just enough that I swear he’s looking at my mouth.

Then he blinks and steps back. “Drink something, kid.” And there it is again. Kid. Little sister.

I twist the cap off my water bottle. “Bossy.”

“Someone has to keep you alive.” He says.

“Owen seems to think that’s his job.” I hit back.

Theo glances toward the pool. Something shifts in his expression. “Yeah,” he says quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “He does.”

Before I can figure out what that means, Owen launches a pool noodle at him. It smacks Theo directly in the shoulder. “Get back in here!”

Theo catches the noodle before it falls. “You’re dead, Parker.”

He drops the towel and dives back into the pool. Owen barely has time to yell before Theo tackles him beneath the water. Emma cheers. I laugh. Then Theo surfaces. For a second, his eyes find mine across the pool and my smile fades. He looks away first. I stare down at the water bottle in my hands. No. Absolutely not. I am not doing this to myself.

Theo Brooks does not look at me like that. Theo Brooks sees me as his best friend’s little sister. He literally just said so. Twice, basically. Whatever I think I saw— I didn’t. I take a long drink of water and lie back against the chair. Across the yard, Theo laughs at something Owen says.

I close my eyes. It’s just a stupid crush. That’s all and eventually, I’ll get over it.