by Tracey Smith
It was strange, I thought I’d be excited, but I guess I forgot how to feel that way too. I don’t think I really felt anything anymore. It wasn’t until we met up with everyone at the concert hall that I finally felt something. When I saw her I felt nervous. I don’t know why seeing Destiny should make me nervous but she didn’t look like Destiny anymore. Not the tall skinny girl I remembered. Not the kid I had played with nearly every weekend for the first 12 years of my life.
This girl standing in the parking lot was beautiful. She was tall and she had curves I didn’t remember Destiny having. Her features were basically the same, but so much more mature. She had changed so much in three years. I was too nervous to say anything and since I’d spent the last two years not really talking to anyone it was easy to stick to my normal routine. I just hung back and kept my head low. I couldn’t help but look at her when I thought no one was looking, a couple of times she caught me.
That night after the concert we stayed at their house. As soon as I was given a room I stayed there. I didn’t have any interest in being a part of the happy reunion. It was only temporary anyway. Tomorrow we’d be going back to L.A., back to my own personal hell. But as I sat in the guest room I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wanted to at least tell her how impressed I was with her violin playing. She really was a talented musician. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t talk to her at all. I really had no reason to be nervous, it was still just Destiny after all. We used to swim together in our underwear.
I decided to wait in the hallway for her to come to bed. When she did I almost lost my nerve, but just before she went into her room I worked up the courage to say something. We only talked for a few minutes but it was long enough for me to realize that she was still just Destiny. It was easier to talk to her in the dark where I couldn’t see her that well. It was less intimidating.
When we left the next day I left with a little bit of hope. If Destiny landed a spot on some youth orchestra then she would be coming to spend the summer with us. The idea of having a friend again had me almost excited.
A month dragged by before I heard anything and I was beginning to lose the small shred of hope I’d left San Diego with.
“Hey Tyler.” Mom said as I came in from school. I just nodded and headed for my room.
“I heard from Destiny today.” She said and that stopped me. I didn’t turn around but I waited for her to continue.
“She got the seat in the orchestra, she’ll be here next week as soon as school lets out.” Mom said and I could hear the excitement in her voice. It matched the excitement that I suddenly felt. I was smiling as I went into my room.
It was one of the longest weeks of my life waiting for Destiny to arrive. When the day finally came I couldn’t contain my excitement I even smiled in front of my parents. I heard Mom say something about it to Dad when she didn’t think I was paying attention. I didn’t care if they knew I was happy. It felt so good to finally really be happy again I didn’t even feel like hiding it.
“Hey Tyler!” Destiny exclaimed as soon as she got out of the car.
She was waving excitedly and it made my heart jump to see how happy she was to see me. She wasn’t as dressed up as the last time I’d seen her. She was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans with her long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, but she was still pretty. I felt that nervous edge again and wondered where it was coming from.
“Hey” I smiled back and ignored my parent’s excited murmurs over the small gesture. She ran right up to me and gave me a big hug. Immediately I had butterflies in my stomach. What was going on with me?
“Let me show you to your room.” I said grabbing her bag and leading her upstairs to our apartment.
Our parents followed behind us and I thought I heard my mom mumbling something about how this would be good for me. I tried to ignore them.
“You can have my room.” I told Destiny when we got inside.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’ll take the couch.” I told her carrying her bag to my room.
“I can’t ask you to do that Tyler. I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.” She said.
“S’okay I don’t mind, really.” I told her “I know you’re used to something a lot… bigger.” I said looking around my room.
“This is perfect Tyler, I really appreciate you guys letting me stay with you. But really I can take the couch, it’s no big deal.” She said and I realized she meant it. Even though Destiny had been raised in the lap of luxury she really wasn’t as spoiled as I guess I imagined her to be.
“What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you do that?” I asked her with a mock bow.
“Our son the gentleman.” I heard my Dad laugh behind us and I quickly spun around to face my parents.
My mom had a huge smile across her face and I had to admit I was a little glad to see it. I hadn’t really seen Mom smile much since we’d moved here and I realized I’d had something to do with that. I smiled back and knew that would make her day.
Uncle Mike and Aunt Katherine stayed for dinner and our parents did most of the talking while we ate. After everyone left it was already pretty late. My parents settled into their room and Destiny went into my room to get ready for bed. I changed in the hall bathroom and then hesitated on my way to the couch. I wasn’t sure if Destiny had gone to sleep. The door was closed so I knocked softly. If she were asleep it wouldn’t have been loud enough to wake her, but she opened the door.
“Hey wanna come in?” she asked opening the door wider.
She went over and sat down on the bed crossing her legs underneath her. With her baggy sweats and oversized t-shirt she looked a lot more like the Destiny I remembered. I walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed with her.
“So I guess I haven’t congratulated you yet on getting that seat in the orchestra, that’s pretty cool.” I said
“Yeah, thanks. I was so nervous waiting to find out! It’s a relief to know I’ve made it but now I feel even more nervous. There are so many talented musicians there.”
“You’re a talented musician.” I told her, and I think she blushed a little. I couldn’t remember her ever blushing before.
“I guess.” She shrugged. “But it’s going to be a lot of hard work.”
“What’s your schedule going to be like?” I asked.
“Practice three days a week, concerts every weekend.”
“That’s cool.” I said fidgeting a little. Why was I so nervous?
“So what about you?” she asked “What are you doing this summer.”
“Nothing. Just like always.”
“Is it that bad here?” she asked looking concerned.
I just nodded.
“Don’t you have any friends here?”
“Not really.” I mumbled.
She nodded like she’d expected my answer.
“Mom says you’re not playing baseball anymore.” She said.
I just shrugged.
“Why not?” she probed.
“I don’t know.” I said.
She didn’t say anything else, she was looking at me expectantly waiting for me to elaborate.
“I guess my first year here I didn’t try out for the team just to spite my parents. And now that I’m in high school it’s a little too late. All the guys on the team have been playing together for years, so I wouldn’t fit in. I’m out of practice anyway.”
“I can’t believe you’re in high school!” she laughed.
“I’m not that much younger than you.” I reminded her.
“No, I guess you’re not.” She looked at me intently for a minute, like she was just seeing me for the first time.
“You’ve changed a lot.” She said and it almost looked like she was blushing again.
“So have you.” I said staring at the bed.
Neither of us said anything for a minute and it began to feel a little awkward. I never used to feel awkward around Destiny.
“I’m glad you’re here.�
� I told her still looking at the bed.
“Me too.” She said and I looked up to meet her eyes. She was smiling at me, and it made me smile back. It felt good to smile.
“I’ve got a couple of days before my first practice, what do you usually do for fun?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I replied.
“You have to do something.” She insisted getting up from the bed and wandering around my room.
“Are any of these bands good?” she asked thumbing through my CD’s.
“I guess… Haven’t you ever heard any of them, they’re on all the major radio stations.” I wondered if she was just making conversation. My music collection was not that eclectic.
“Not really. I mostly listen to classical or whatever genre I’m studying. Don’t imagine there are many violins on…. Metallica’s latest album?” She asked picking the name off the CD she was holding.
“No, I guess not.” I laughed.
“I envy you.” She said and that took me by surprise.
“Why?” I asked.
I couldn’t imagine Destiny ever having the need to envy anyone. She had everything.
“It must be nice to be able to do nothing, to listen to music just because you want to. I always have somewhere to be, something to study. Sometimes it’s exhausting. You’ll have to show me how to do nothing this summer.” She said wandering away from my CD’s and fiddling with my weight set.
“You’ve come to the right person.”
“Wow this is heavy!” she said trying to lift one of my barbells from the rack.
“That’s kind of the point.” I laughed. It felt good to laugh.
“You have a pool?” she asked excitedly looking out my window.
“Do you have A.D.D. or something?” I joked.
She seemed so interested as she explored my room and I knew my life was not really that interesting.
“No!” she laughed “It’s just fun to be somewhere new. So do you swim?”
“No.”
“Why not?” she asked. “I’ve always wanted a pool!”
I wondered why she didn’t just have her daddy buy her one.
“I don’t know. I told you I don’t do much.”
“Well do you have a suit?” she asked.
“Well, yeah.” We weren’t that poor.
“Then we are going swimming tomorrow!” she said and she looked so excited by the idea that I didn’t argue.
She came over and plopped back down on the bed next to me.
She stretched and yawned as she lay back against the pillows.
“It’s pretty late.” I said, “I’m going to let you get some sleep.”
“You sure you don’t want your bed?” she asked. “I really don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
“Naw, I don’t mind.” I told her.
“Kay, guess I’ll see you in the morning.” She said as she snuggled under the covers.
“Goodnight Destiny.” I said from the doorway.
“Night.” She said, she sounded like she was nearly asleep already.
The next morning when I woke up I could smell something fantastic. The wonderful smell lured me into the kitchen where I found Destiny and my mom. Dad was already gone of course.
“Morning sleepy head.” Mom said more enthusiastically than usual. “Destiny made us breakfast, wasn’t that nice?”
“It smells great.” I said rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
“You’ll have to give me some recipes Destiny.” My mom laughed. “I haven’t seen Tyler out of bed before noon on a Saturday in years!”
“Aw Mom.” I mumbled, running my hand through my tangled hair.
Destiny giggled as she set a plate on the table for me. I was still half asleep as I ate. I’d never been much of a morning person. Mom and Destiny talked quietly over coffee while I finished breakfast then I stumbled into the bathroom to shower.
When I saw my reflection in the mirror I was mortified. No wonder Destiny was giggling, I looked ridiculous. My hair was matted down on one side and sticking straight up on the other. I still had red lines across one side of my face from being pressed against the seams of the couch cushions. I had never had to worry about how I looked in the morning before. I wasn’t exactly sure why I felt the need to worry about it now, but I decided I would definitely shower before breakfast from now on.
Once I was clean and dressed and not so hideous I went back out to the living room and found Destiny waiting for me.
“So are there any good music stores around here?” she asked practically bouncing on the couch as she spoke. She was definitely a morning person, this was going to take some getting used to.
“Uh… yeah… there are a couple.” I said
“Cool, let’s go.” She jumped off the couch and grabbed my hand.
“Why?” I asked.
“You’re going to help me pick out some new CD’s.” She told me pulling me towards the door.
“Uh… okay.” I said still baffled by how anybody could be this hyper in the morning. I usually spent the first few hours of my morning staring at a television.
“Aunt Claire, we’re going out for a little while.” Destiny called into the kitchen.
“Okay, you kids have fun.” My mom called back.
I was surprised she hadn’t asked where we were going. I supposed it was just because Destiny was with me, but then again I hadn’t really tried to go anywhere lately and I wondered if she would have been just as lenient if I was going alone.
Destiny held my hand as we walked down the street. Her hand felt warm and soft in mine. I led her to a music store that was a couple blocks away and helped her pick out a few CD’s that I thought she might like, she even picked out a classical CD for me. She said I needed to expand my musical library. I laughed but humored her request even though I knew I’d never listen to it. She held my hand again as we walked back toward my apartment and I couldn’t help but notice a few guys looking at me enviously.
“Ready to go swimming?” she asked as soon as we got back to my apartment.
“Is this what you call doing nothing?” I laughed.
“Come on, you do remember how to swim don’t you?” she taunted.
“I could swim circles around you.” I challenged.
“We’ll see about that.” She laughed as she went into my room to change into her suit.
I grabbed mine and changed in the bathroom. I was ready in less than five minutes. I waited another five before knocking on the bedroom door.
“Chickening out?” I asked through the door.
“Couldn’t find my suit.” She called back “But I’ve got it now. I’ll meet you down by the pool.”
I grabbed a couple towels and headed down to the pool to wait for her. As I sat on the edge of the pool I wondered why I had never come down here before. It was a nice pool, and I used to love to swim. I used to love to do a lot of things. I guess I just stopped doing anything once we moved here. It was kind of nice to be doing something again.
“Are you ready to get beat by a girl?” I heard Destiny’s voice from behind me.
I got up and turned around to face her. All of the anxiety I had felt that night in the parking lot of the concert hall came back with full force. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Destiny stood in front of me wearing a tiny little hot pink bikini and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was beautiful. It was much easier to think of her as my childhood friend when she was wearing her baggy sweats. Right now she was a beautiful seventeen year old girl and suddenly my palms were sweating. She had stopped just a few feet away from me and she was staring at me too.
“I thought you said you were out of shape?” she asked staring at my chest.
“I said I was out of practice, not out of shape.” I said a little embarrassed.
“Those weights are doing you some good.” She said still looking me over. Now I was the one blushing.
“Last one in is a rotten egg!” She yelled as she ran past me and dove into
the pool.
I waited for her to surface and then I cannon balled right next to her. When I came up she was waiting for me and grabbed my shoulders dunking my head under the water. I grabbed her by the waist and pushed my feet against the bottom of the pool propelling myself up and throwing her into the air. She came down with a huge splash. We were both laughing so hard we had to stop horsing around because we’d both swallowed a mouth full of water.
After we caught our breaths Destiny challenged me to a race. Three laps and whoever won got to sleep in my bed tonight. By the third lap I was a good body length ahead of her so I slowed down to let her win. It wouldn’t be right to make her sleep on the couch. Although I regretted throwing the race once she started getting a little cocky.
“Did the big muscle man get beat by a girl?” she teased.
I wondered if she really thought I had big muscles.
“You just got lucky.” I told her, but I didn’t tell her I let her win.
We swam for several hours sometimes racing, sometimes playing around and other times just floating on our backs looking up at the clouds. For a while it was easy to forget I was swimming with a gorgeous girl and just think of her as my friend Destiny. Until she got out of the pool.
She had a great tan that really stood out against her hot pink bikini. Her body was long and slender with sleek subtle curves. I tried to remind myself that she was supposed to be like a sister to me, but a voice in the back of my head kept reminding me that we weren’t actually related.
“I’m starving!” she said as she dried off next to the pool. I tried to stare at anything but her body.
“Me too.” I said trying to concentrate on drying myself off.
When we got upstairs Mom had sandwiches waiting for us. We ate at the kitchen table laughing and reminiscing. I was having the best time of my life.
After lunch we decided to watch a movie. I was relieved that she actually watched TV sometimes. She was wearing me out! I was also relieved that she had changed out of that very distracting swimsuit. She had on a very safe pair of sweats and a tank top. A big t-shirt would have been better, but it was still an improvement over the bikini. I was uncomfortable with the way she made me feel sometimes. I’d had crushes on pretty girls at school before, but I’d never really looked at Destiny that way. Not until now and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
