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“It’s hot,” Tony whined.
“It’s mid-August, we’re sitting above asphalt, we’re sitting on the hood of your car, you’re wearing a black t-shirt, and you’re drinking black coffee,” Sam said.
“But it’s still hot.” Tony leaned against Sam, who shouldered him off. Sharon rolled her eyes and sipped from her milkshake. A chunk of chocolate interrupted her mint. She blew hard until she felt the chunk fly out of her straw and stirred before sipping again.
“Steve needs to hurry the hell up if he wants to be back here by six,” Tony complained. He kicked Sharon’s shoulder with his sandal. She ignored him, so he kicked at the beach chair she’d set up. He stopped when he saw her threatening to leave a glob of drool on his toes.
“The beach isn’t going anywhere, Tony,” Sam said.
“But there will be people there!”
“You love attention! Just think about people in their bathing suits who want to press up against you to take selfies and stop bitching.”
“You mean people like you and Steve? Eh? Eh – AH! What the hell, man!” Tony stood up and started shaking the water out of his hair. Sam smiled and recapped his water bottle. Sharon smiled around her straw.
“Hey, since when did Steve’s friend join the band?” Sharon asked.
“Which one? Arnie? Because he’s been in band since fourth grade. He’s the drum major,” Sam said.
“No, the other one. The guy with the clarinet.”
“Oh, Bucky?”
“Yeah, Bucky.”
“He joined last year, back when he cut all his hair off.”
“Right.” Sharon cocked her head and studied Bucky. He’d grown a few inches taller since she last saw him. He looked like he would be Sam’s height now. His hair was tied back in a tiny ponytail that was starting to fall apart. He wore a black tank top and black basketball shorts. He wasn’t as sweaty as the other guys, who saw Sharon sitting among the band friends and partners and began showing off to her. One even winked at her. She gagged as loud as she could at him.
“Ew, isn’t that the guy who drinks cans of Monster before going down on people?” Tony asked. Both Sam and Sharon turned to look at him with disgust. “Listen, I don’t judge you, so you don’t judge me. I only know because it happened to a friend of an ex.”
“You’re nasty,” Sharon said. She went back to looking at Bucky. “He got cuter over the break.”
“Really? Him? The guy looks paler than Nat. Like a vampire. Wait, you’re not into those Rob Pattinson types, are you?”
“Not even Rob Pattinson is into it,” Sam said.
Bucky licked his reed as he stood patiently in one spot. Others around him were wiping sweat from their faces. One girl used her phone to make sure her makeup was still intact. Steve was on the far side of the field, carrying an enormous drum, and not breaking a sweat. Sharon frowned. It peeved her, that he was basically incapable of sweating. She was sweating just sitting here. Bucky was sweating, but he wasn’t moving to dry his head.
“Sharon, no,” Sam said.
“‘No’ what?” Sharon asked.
“I know that look. You and Steve do the same face when you’re thinking of going after someone.”
“What happened to your plan of staying single in high school to avoid the drama?” Tony asked.
“I’m terrible at taking my own advice,” Sharon replied with a shrug. She smiled as Bucky licked his reed again. They all moved into different positions, and Arnie looked ready to start conducting the band again.
“You know that band geeks are notorious for being horrifically sexual, right? I know a few of them have had sex on the band bus.”
“And?”
“Do you wanna be associated with that kind of person?”
“Didn’t some chick blow you in the bathroom in Target?” Sam asked.
“That’s irrelevant,” Tony insisted.
Sharon ignored Tony and Sam’s banter and watching Bucky march around the field, only holding his instrument and not playing it, as were the other musicians. While some moved fluidly, and others moved tiredly, he was very clean-cut and military-like in his shifts and steps. He stopped without swaying, kept his head forward and glanced up at Arnie for the most part, and kept his arms and instrument in what must have been the correct position that not many others were doing. She wondered how much he practiced at home.
When it was done, the director called them up to the front, where the band huddled. Bucky carefully stepped over the haphazardly placed flagpoles and stood by Steve, who had forgone his drum.
Sam was the one to kick at Sharon this time. “Yo, Sharon? Did you hear us? Are you gonna ask him out?” he asked. Tony leaned forward to see her face.
“I’m thinking,” she replied. Asking Bucky out was starting to be something Sharon found herself interested in. Setting up the conversation for asking him out was all she needed to plan out. And as the band began moving back toward the school, likely the end of the morning practice, Sharon realized her window was starting to close. “You got enough room for a fifth, right, Tony?”
“Maybe,” Tony said.
“Well, I can always sit on his lap if I need to,” Sharon replied. She stood up and walked slowly towards the building, waiting patiently for Bucky to come back out. More cars began filling the parking lot, mostly impatient parents or partners. The freshmen were the first ones out (typical freshmen, Sharon thought to herself, like she wasn’t like that her first year of track, before she quit). She could vaguely make out the older kids hanging around inside. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other. He had to come out eventually.
When he did, Bucky was flanked by Steve and Arnie, who were all laughing about something Sharon didn’t hear or likely care for. She knew Steve has a bunch of inside band jokes. The only one she understood was the American Pie reference.
“Oh, hey, Sharon, why are you over here? Tony getting impatient?” Steve asked.
“Yeah, something like that,” she said with a smile. She turned to Bucky, whose eyes widened a little. “Hey, Bucky. Long time, no see.”
“Uh, yeah. Hi,” he said.
“What about me?” Arnie teased.
“What, wasn’t standing front and center above everyone not enough?” Sharon teased. Arnie stuck out his tongue at her, but he was smirking. “Having fun being the leader?”
“No, because it’s fucking hot. Speaking of the heat, I’m gonna go home and sleep on top of the air vents for five hours. See ya.” He clapped his hand on Bucky’s shoulder, then Steve’s, and waved goodbye to Sharon before jogging over to his car. Sharon’s attention went back to Bucky.
“What about you, big guy? You got any plans? We got an extra seat in the car if you wanna come to the beach,” she said. She twirled some of her hair around her finger. “We can work on evening out your t-shirt and sock tan.”
“Um…” Bucky looked at a loss for words. Sharon wondered if she broke him. She might have broken Steve too. He looked absolutely dumbfounded.
“I promise, we’ll get you back in time for your night practice,” she added.
Bucky licked his lips, as soft as he had licked his reed. “I can’t. My sister and I have to go get school supplies,” he said.
Sharon almost laughed – not at him, but because she had just remembered that Steve told her that despite appearances, Bucky was a bit of a dork. “Well, maybe another time,” she said.
Bucky nodded. “Yeah. Another time.”
“Well, it was nice seeing you. Come on, Steve.” Sharon waved goodbye and started heading back to Tony’s car. She heard Steve say goodbye to Bucky before catching up to her.
“Since when were you into Bucky?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Since ten minutes ago?”
She and Steve piled into the backseat of Tony’s car, while Sam and Tony began making up a saga about Sharon and Bucky from the driver and passenger seats. She rolled her eyes. They were immature.
She looked over and saw Bucky sitting on the concrete under the patio, waiting for his ride. Just as she looked at him, he looked up from his phone and locked onto her gaze. He blushed lightly, but wouldn’t look away. She smiled, blew him a kiss, and waved again as Tony drove off with Aerosmith playing on the radio. She swore she saw Bucky wave back. A small wave, barely noticeable, unless you were looking for it.
Sharon leaned her head back against the seat and put on her sunglasses. She had another six hours to think of a back-up idea for her to spend time with Bucky. It wouldn’t be too hard. She was a Carter, after all, and Carters were known for their brilliance.