Four Little Hands

I could see the boys waving at me from the back seat. In reply, I held up the basket of muffins and smiled. I got into the passenger side of the vast white truck. "Hey," Banks effused. "Eric and Jude, this is my... friend Daya. Daya these are my little brothers, Eric and Jude."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," I nervously squeaked. Banks mentioned so many times how important they were to him. I really didn't want to mess up.

"Can I get one," Jude asked with excitement in his eyes that could only be found in a child who hasn't been jaded.

I handed them the basket, "Yeah, I brought them for you!"

"What do you say," Banks requested of them.

"Thank you, Daya," they said in unison but I noticed that Eric definitely didn't sound as excited. Banks started driving down the road.

"What park are we going to? I forgot to ask earlier," I asked wondering if I unintentionally lied to my mom again about where I was going.

Jude beamed, "The best park in town." With just a subtle nod I could tell that Eric lacked enthusiasm. I couldn't tell if it was me or the situation in general.

"The one on 6th street. Also known as the best one," Banks laughed at his little brother.

Jude bounced in his seat, "It has a pirate ship and the most beautiful mermaid I've ever seen."

"You know she isn't real, right," Eric murmured towards his younger brother.

I gasped, "Is it possible to be more beautiful than Ariel?"

He nodded excitedly, "Ariel is a close second, but Siren has her beat."

I hummed, "The park near my house is great too. I went there all the time when I was your age. It doesn't have a pirate ship, but it's a great place to be." We listened to the boys bicker about their pirate adventure for the rest of the way to the park.

Jude ran right out of the truck, and straight to the pirate ship with an, "Aye, me hearties!" Eric shoved his hands in his pockets and merely walked after his brother.

I chuckled, "They really are adorable. You all look alike." We walked to the swings where the pirate ship was still in view.

Sitting down I said, "How old are they?" I didn't want him to know I could sense the tension between them the entire car ride.

With his head hanging low, he said, "Jude just turned six and Eric is eleven. Eric's in this weird place where he's starting to see what's going on in our house. Our soon-to-be stepdad is still a prick."

Lowering his voice to a whisper, he continued, "He's been asking a lot more about Dad. No one told them that he was in jail. He hasn't been as happy as he used to be. I'm worried about him. The last thing I want is for him to fall into the same trap that I did. I just don't know how to help him."

I swung my feet in the air, "This. Being here with him, making him get out of the house. You're doing your best and I'm sure he knows that."

Silently, he walked over to the swing on my left and landed on the seat with a thud. "You probably weigh too much to swing. You might break it."

"Are you saying I am too fat to use this swing made for kids twelve and under?" I started nodding before he could even finish his sentence.

"That is precisely what I'm saying," I affirmed. "I can't be out for long. My mom, brother and I are having a family bonding experience later today," my hair was flying in the wind.

"Speaking of my brother, I think I smoothed everything out with him. He's still not happy about it, but I don't think he's going to stand in our way. All you have to do is prove him wrong," I poked the tip of his nose.

"I promise I will," he kissed the back of my hand.

Changing the topic, he said, "In other news, Neo's having a party at his house tonight. It's just going to be us and our friends, nothing big."

Knowingly, I said, "And you're telling me this because..."

His voice was littered with sarcasm, "You're going to make me spell it out. Fine, will you go to this party with me.... as my date?"

My mind instantly went back to what Dennis said about Banks and girls at parties. Also, he told me about what happened between him and Liv at a party. "I'm not much of a party girl."

In an attempt to convince me, he pleaded, "It'll just be us, our friends, and a few other people that Neo might invite, but he promised it'll be a small... get-together."

"I... I get really nervous about crowds and people I don't know. I'll think about it." Just the idea of being at a party gave me pause.

With a dissatisfied tone, he mumbled, "Okay, but if you don't go I'll be thinking about you the whole time. Maybe we can do something else when I get off work."

I shrugged, "I want to go I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Oh, I see you're that girl at the party that's didn't actually show up but stalks everyone's Snapchat to see if they missed out on anything the whole night." The fact that he could read me so well enticed me.

A smile came across my face, "That's a pretty good assessment of me actually."

He looked as if a lightbulb came on in his head. "Or your friend dragged you there and you complain at first and have a terrible time for most of the night."

"That's also potentially something that would I do," I giggled.

He slightly swayed on the swing. "That's only for most of the night though. Somewhere in there, you meet me and I change your life forever."

"You seem to know a lot about girls at parties." I copied his movements.

He winked, "I consider myself to be a very observant person."

"I think I'm pretty observant too. I'd say," I tapped my chin. "That you're the guy at the beach party strumming your guitar even though the stereo is on. You complain about sitting by the fire but stay there the whole night."

I tried to play it off like what Dennis said wasn't in the back of my mind. "Or if it's a house party because those are exponentially different. You're the guy sitting on the couch, downing a few solo cups, with your guitar right beside you. You're scoping out all the girls that walk by, hoping that one of them sits beside you so you can pull them in with the mysterious musician act. Am I close at all?"

Moving in a little closer he whispered, "I think you may need to watch me a little more. Plus it's not an act. I'm obviously a very mysterious musician. But if you come with me I'll be sure to keep the guitar at home."

"You're going to have to try a little bit harder to convince me it's actually worth my time," I moved my head closer to his and took a deep breath out.

"I'll make it worth your while," he hummed as our noses touched.

With our lips nearly touching I whispered, "Thank you, that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"Oliver," Eric screamed ruining the almost moment we had.

He rested his forehead on mine and sighed, "Yeah, yeah." I giggled as he leaned up. "We're coming," he said in a dejected tone.

"We need a sea monster to protect Siren from," Jude said as he looked through the binoculars.

After he stood up, he outstretched his hand to me. I took his hand and walked over to the pirate ship. "Get ready for a show," he cracked his neck and knuckles. He started waving his arms around like they were tentacles.

"Captain Eric and Jude, I require the mermaid you have on board," he said in a silly accent.

"Cannons," Jude screamed as Banks wiggled to the other side of the pirate ship.

"Daya, it's not safe in the oceans milady," Eric motioned over to me. "Oh, of course." I hurried inside the pirate ship.

"Take the wheel," Eric said as he ran to look through the porthole.

I grabbed the wheel, "The seas are fighting back, argh!" I laughed at Banks who was now hitting the side of the ship.

"I want both of the ladies now," Banks yelled and I couldn't help but hear the double entendres.

"You will never take me! You're a disgusting sea monster," I shouted back as I tried to hide my laughter.

"Argh," Jude fired the cannons at Banks with a "Boom!"

Banks fell back into the sea of cold snow, "I'm wounded!"

Eric and Jude both high-fived me with genuine smiles on their faces. "But I can still fight," he got back up and waved his arms frantically.

"Back to your post boys! Hold on," I turned the steering wheel with everything I had in me.

"I'm turning this bad boy around." The boys shook as they held onto the sides of the ship. Banks swam against the hard current, trying to catch up to us. "I'll never give up!"

The battle raged for hours against the slimy sea monster, but we never gave up. In the end, we bested the monster, but he would always lurk within the waters.

"What an adventure," I wiped the pretend sweat from my forehead.

Jude panted, "We couldn't have done it without you."

"I'm happy to have helped you escape from this one," I pointed over my back in Banks' direction.

He swung his lanky arms at his chest, "You won't be able to survive round two with this sea monster."

"Oh, my sea legs are shaking." He ran up behind me and lifted me into the air.

"Next time, I'll be back for Siren," he declared as he ran toward the truck with me still in his arms.

"Onward," Eric called out as they ran behind us. Eric seemed to have done a 180 from the beginning of the day till when it was time to go home.

"Save me, Captains," I laughed. He put me down and leaned me against the truck. I swung my arms and hit lightly.

"Get your slimy tentacle off me." He leaned down and pecked my lips with a grin still on his face.

The boys ran up with their fists swinging. "Unhand her you dirty beast."

He wrapped his arms around my waist, "She's all mine."

Jude pouted, "Do we have to leave already?" He released me and opened the door for them.

"We've been here for almost two hours and I don't want you to have an asthma flare-up," Banks grabbed his cheek and he did a cute little squirm. "Plus, it's time for your gorgeous co-captain to go home."

I gasped, "Have I been promoted to co-captain?" I leaped into the air.

"We never would have won without you. Will you come to the park with us again next weekend," Jude asked.

"I would be thrilled to," I got into the passenger's seat and turned to look at them.

Eric pointed at the basket of muffins sitting between them. He asked cautiously, "Are all of these ours?"

"They are all yours but be sure to save some for your mom." Banks got into the truck, and we left the high seas in our wake.

We pulled up into my driveways as the boys talked through their muffin-filled mouths. "Okay," Banks turned around, "Say goodbye to Daya."

First, Jude unbuckled his seatbelt and hugged me. Then, Eric followed with hesitation in his movements. "Thanks, boys. I'll see you both again as soon as I can."

They both said, "Bye, Daya," as I hopped out of the truck.

"Bye, Banks," I said from the outside of the truck.

Before I got to the front door, Banks called after me. I stopped as I heard the truck door close behind me. He ran in front of me. "Didn't I just say goodbye to you," I teased.

"I never got an answer from you about the party... ur, small get-together tonight. We're all going to be at Neo's house, all of our friends. If you can, do you want to be my date?"

I kissed his cheek and sighed, "What if it's weird? I don't want to upset anyone."

He looked down at his shoes, "I just want to see you. It doesn't really matter where." His head stayed in the same position, but his eyes looked up.

"You know what, I'd be honored to be your date to this small get-together. Will you pick me up," I whispered in his ear.

Punching the air with a giddy expression on his face, "Yes, I will see you tonight."

The cuteness overload was too much for me so I walked back to my front door and waved, "Bye." It was amazing to see the pure joy that was splattered on his face.

*They give me all of the feels!

How do y'all feel about this different side of Banks with his brothers?

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