Cuatro

Oliver returned to his room after the others had disappeared. The sun had set and the world was covered in a deep blue tint. Dakota was fast asleep. Now that he thought of it he was worn out himself. He yawned picking up his neglected phone. Several missed calls from his sister and a few text messages.

A message from his mother informing him she wouldn't be home until tomorrow afternoon. A last-minute trip to a new property across state lines wouldn't see her back before noon and she needed him to pick up his sister from her practice at six.

He checked his watch. 7:17. He cursed and grabbed his coat from the closet and rushed down the stairs reaching the bottom as his sister opened the door. He paused. Her face was void of emotion.

"Where were you?" She said plainly setting her bag in the closet next to the front door.

"Lisa? How'd you..."

"...Get home? I walked." She walked by way too nonchalantly into the kitchen. She sighed at the Pizza boxes and bags of discarded bags of popcorn. "At least clean up after them or make them clean after themselves."

" Yeah sorry about that, I'll get to it."

"I'm already here." She started to tidy up. She was only eleven but was already more mature and responsible than Oliver. Oliver smiled. She was much more like an older sister. She turned and headed towards the stairs. "Clean up your mess in the living room please."

" Yeah yeah, I got it."

As Oliver was throwing away the cans and rest of the garbage he noticed something underneath the tv stand. He crept closer attempting to guess what the white object was. It wasn't until he picked them up that he could tell they were Dakota's panties. And from the time he read the message from his mother, raced downstairs to hurry to get Lisa, and having her meet him at the front door, he somehow managed to forget all about Dakota along with the fact she was asleep half-naked in his bed.

To make matters worse, he was all too sure he rushed out of the room without shutting the door. A short jog to the stairs and -Lisa was already halfway back down them. He wondered if she saw. Maybe he could fake it.

" Why is there a naked lady in your bed?" Oliver's bubble popped at the pointed question. "Have you become some kind of criminal? Should I call the cops now?"

She was calm, casual, and a bit callous to the situation. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He swallowed.

"I'll wake her and ask directly."

Oliver grabbed her hand. "The truth? She's kind of...well like...voluntarily...my...girlfriend?" He couldn't say slave who would believe and understand that?

She nodded unamused and went back up the staircase. Oliver held his breath. Was that it? Her footsteps stopped at her door then turned and went directly into his. He rushed up the stairs but was too late to stop her from waking Dakota.

Dakota sat up wiping the sleep from her eyes. Lisa loomed beside the bed gauging Dakota. "Just who are you?"

" Who am I?" Dakota repeated lost looking out of place. She was in such deep sleep that, now suddenly awake, she had no clue where she was. Then she found Oliver in the doorway and remembered it all. An unexpected panic attack began to overtake her. Had she gotten them busted in her need for sexual release?

" My brother said you're his girlfriend, is this true?"

Dakota relaxed several notches sliding her glasses onto her face. This girl didn't know she was actually his teacher and she had been sleeping with her student. "Is that what your brother told you? That is a very interesting thought."

" You should know I am my brother's keeper. I won't let anyone else break his heart." Lisa stood like a mother passing judgment on her son's fiance.

Dakota smiled amusedly. "Noted."

"Good." Lisa finally exited and returned to her room shutting the door.

"It's clear you are very well loved here Oliver."

"Pay her no mind, as mature as she sees herself, she is quick to make assumptions about others then becomes way too blunt."

" No. I actually consider it a blessing to have someone care so much about you." She slipped from the sheets and stretched grabbing her pants from the floor. "I should go, it is much too late for me to be here. Things will not be so easy to escape if your parents were to catch us next."

" No one will be back till noon tomorrow."

"Enticing, however, I do have a lot of paperwork that I put off to spend the day with you. Next time perhaps."

Several minutes later she was dressed and Oliver dropped her off at her apartment. When he returned Lisa was sitting at the island in the kitchen eating ice cream and watching The Mindy Project on the television centered on the wall.

" You have to take me to practice tomorrow." She said not looking from her show.

" Yeah. And don't tell mom and dad."

" Yeah."

------------

The sun was was high overhead beating down on Oliver with a vengeful hatred. It was a little after one o'clock. He was just waiting around for his sister to finish up for the day.

" Oliver!" A familiar voice called out to him. He turned to face Gyll. She was wearing a pair of beach shorts covering up her gold and black two-piece bikini. Her ear length auburn hair was tied back into a short ponytail. "I didn't expect to run into you."

Gyll blushed when Oliver waved. " My sister has practice here. You going to the pool area?"

"Um yes. We were somehow roped into bringing a few of my cousins swimming." She was being accompanied by four younger girls and two boys. And bringing up the rear was Jacquelyn.

The pool was located inside the building next to the community football field Lisa's team was using. Like the field, the building was built by and for the community and housed a basketball court, a swimming pool, a gym, and a few small shops.

Oliver looked at the sky. " It is a pretty toasty day maybe I should join you."

"The more the merrier is the way to go." Jacquelyn agreed, handing over the bags she was carrying. "Thanks, Oliver such a gentleman."

"I didn't bring any trunks. Maybe next time."

"I could buy you a pair." Gyll blurted. She shifted her eyes away from Oliver's. "They are having a sell at the shop inside. If you would like to go."

" Yeah, why not. Let me tell my sister where to find me."

Gyll bought Oliver a pair of ruby and sapphire trunks and they all found a place by the pool to house their belongings. Gyll began to properly introduce her clan.

" Oliver this is Mya, Jess, Sasha, Laticia, and Zachary. Guys this is Oliver say hello.

They all greeted him with the own unique flavor. Mya was fourteen, next was Zachary and Laticia at thirteen, while Jess and Sasha were fifteen and sixteen respectively. This left the twins themselves as the oldest being seventeen, with Gyll being the eldest of them.

The water felt refreshing to Oliver's skin. He sunk lower as he sat on the steps at the shallow end of the pool. He was coming back to life after frying in the hot sun that whole time. He watched as the group teamed off to do their own things, whether that was floating on their backs from one end to the other or getting yelled at for cannonballing into the water.

A pair of legs dipped into the water next to him. He looked up to a smiling Jacquelyn. "Sup Jacqi?"

She smirked harder. " Nothing. What's going on with you?"

Oliver tilted his head. Jacquelyn had a knowing look on her face. " What's on your mind? You might as well speak." He took a swallow of the juice he had bought from the vending machine.

"Did you only make out with my sister yesterday or did you go further?"

Oliver nearly drowned from his juice. "Wait...what!?" He chocked out.

"She couldn't shut up about you and a secret last night. That and the stupid smile on her face tells me something happened between you two."

Oliver's eyebrow twitched. The point of a secret is no one knows there is a secret to begin with. "Nothing worth noting."

She kicked water at him playfully. "Liar! At any rate, I'm rooting for you two. After what happened to you and Elizabeth..."

"... Yes?" like a demon who was just summoned by a ritual, Elizabeth was suddenly just there. "Oliver?"

"Speak of her and the devil shall appear it looks like." Jacquelyn spit venom and Elizabeth snarled at her. The two girls disliked each other from the beginning way back to when their friendship crumbled in last year of middle school.

"Hey, Elise." Oliver treated her to a friendly greeting.

"Hey, have you given any thought to what we last talked about?"

" If your trying to win him back honey that ship has sailed." Jacquelyn laughed.

" This has nothing to do with you Jacqi."

"Just thought you should know Oliver has moved on, he's practically dating my sister now." She shrugged smugly.

"Gyll?" Elizabeth gasped.

" You needed me?" Gyll swam closer to the group. "I heard my name?

"Yup Gyll is Oliver's girlfriend now, right Gyll?" Jacquelyn jumped into the pool and wrapped her arms around her sister.

Gyll's face flushed beet red. She looked like her head was going to shoot steam from it. "W-wwwwhat!? G-gggirlfriend?"

"They were making out last night and everything. You lose."

Gyll waves her hand in protest. " No...no we never..."

"They had disappeared together in his bedroom last night. You do the math." Jacquelyn cut in.

" She can't be serious?" Elizabeth took a step back staring down Oliver.

Oliver finally spoke up. "I think sometimes Jacqi comes up with scenarios to fit her imagination." He spoke unsurprised by her rant.

"Notice how that wasn't a denial. Everyone was there if you don't believe me." Jacquelyn added. "They could have easily done the deed. You'd know personally, it doesn't take long."

"Jac! Stop it!" Gyll ran off embarrassed.

"Good job Jacqi you know introverted she is, she can't handle this kind of attention." Oliver sighed. "I'll go check on her."

Oliver found her hiding out at the smoothie bar. He slid into the booth with her. "S-sorry about all this Oliver. I'm sure you wouldn't want people thinking we did any of that stuff." She never looked at him.

Oliver was a gentleman first above all else, he really wanted to ease her worries. "Let people think what they want. It's not so bad if it's with a cute girl right?" Oliver rubbed his nose in an attempt to cheer her up."

Gyll finally gave him her attention. She turned visibly red. " You...you think...I'm cute?"

He held up an OK. "I should actually be thankful, even though it's a misunderstanding, Elise probably thought we were dating. Maybe it's a little petty of me but I owe you one." He flashed a genuine small.

Gyll's heart tightened. "Well...um..." Her body fidgeted as she tried to decide whether to speak or not.

"Hm? What was that? I couldn't hear."

" Oh...uh...if you don't mind...since you said...would you like to maybe...go out with me...maybe once...?" Gyll's heart nearly overheated she had never had the courage to ask a boy out, let alone the guy she has had a serious crush on since her middle school days.

" You mean just the two of us? Sure that could be fun." Oliver couldn't bring himself to turn her down he knew how much strength it took for her to fumble her way through asking him to hang out with her.

Gyll waves her hands defensively. "Nnnn...not like a date...or anything like that...just two people who know each other and...Wait. You said y-yyes?"

"Yup. I'm free next weekend."

She looked stumped. " Oh...ok..."

"Now that you've calmed down, should we rejoin the others?" She nodded in response.

"Um...Oliver? I have another small request."

" What?"

"While no one is looking...would you...hug me?" Her voice was so whispered Oliver had to lean in until his ear practically touched her mouth.

Oliver raked his hair with his hand looking away. Being how she was, a hug was probably the most intimate thing she has ever done and that made him feel nervous and caused his heart to speed up.

Like her sister, Gyll had radiant porcelain skin that was as captivating as snowflakes. Deceptively long, flawless legs and a modest beauty. It gave off the appearance of Underworld's Kate Beckinsale. She could make top dollar as her stunt double.

" You're sure you want to hug someone like me?" She nodded to which Oliver naively obliged.

His chest pressed tight but comfortably to hers. His arms wrapped around her waist and hers instinctually went around his neck. They stared into one another's eyes trapped inside their own little bubble. Maybe it was because they had been friends for years, maybe it was because she has seen everything of his laid bare in front of her, but she felt an uncommon sense of closeness. Something Oliver himself couldn't dispel.

Maybe it was Dakota's influence but his mind couldn't stray away from her lips. He wanted to kiss her but knew he shouldn't. But as she rose to her toes he couldn't stop himself from lowering to meet her. Definitely Dakota's influence. The thought caused him to stop just shy of the kiss. That brought Gyll back to her sense as she became flustered.

She took a step back. Oliver suddenly came to a realization. Gyll might actually have some feelings for him. She was actually going to kiss him. He couldn't lie to himself either, he was certainly going to kiss her.

"What's with this atmosphere?" Jacquelyn strode up to the two as they jumped apart. A mocking tell stretch across her face. "Did I interrupt something?"

" Haven't you had enough teasing for today Jacqi?"

"I just want you-know-who to hear!" Jacquelyn raised her voice for the benefit of Elizabeth, who tried her best to gracefully ignore her.

Lisa waved at her brother to get his attention. She must finally be ready to leave. What a relief. "I have to go, ladies, please enjoy your swim."

" Oh ho, running away Oliver? Tsk tsk." Jacquelyn shook her head clearly amused.

"See you tomorrow...Oliver." Gyll waved meekly.