His Sunshine Baby

Dancing is fine, but no guys

I throw a new punch and hit my target right in the stomach. He takes a couple of steps back, catching his breath. I don’t give him any rest, and change position for a sidekick. This time, he sees it coming and use his hands to shield his flank. Never mind, I shift balance at the last second, and my other foot flies through the airs to hit him right in the head. He is sent flying a couple of meters away, while I fall back on my feet.

I hear a whistle of admiration, but ignore it to walk to my opponent. That last one was a bit too much for the kid I think.

« Are you ok, Chris? »

« Yeah… I'm a bit dizzy, you got my jaw. But damn Elena, that was a really cool move! You have to teach me that last one. »

I can’t help but smile. He is a good kid. No matter what, he never complains. I hand him a water bottle while he sits up. We have been at it for twenty minutes at least, it should be enough. I start unwrapping the stripes around my hands and head to the entrance of the gym. Daniel is waiting for me on a bench.

« Someone is in top shape today, « he says while staring at the teen still on the boxing ring.

« Danny, you know I hate when you whistle while I fight! »

« You were done. And I can't help it, you were smoking hot and fierce. It was so exciting. »

I roll my eyes. He sees me fighting almost every day, how does he not get bored? I grab my Adidas jacket, but just when I am about towards the shower, I notice a figure entering the gym.

« Damn… » I mutter

«Elena! »

Crap, the Alpha looks furious… I lower my head, waiting for the Storm. Danny just froze too. We already know what he is about to say but we can’t avoid it. My Wolf is already on all fours, annoyed, but I have to tame her. The Alpha almost runs up to me, furious.

« How many times do I have to tell you! You are supposed to train him, not kick his ass in front of everyone! »

Everyone? There are only half a dozen people in the room! Aside from Daniel, two guys are lifting weights and a young she-wolf is shadow-boxing on the next ring. And none of them cares whether I beat Chris or not. The kid runs up to us as soon as he hears his father's yelling. Despite his swollen cheek, he steps in between his father and me.

« Father, stop it! I asked Elena to do this! Everyone already knows I'm not strong enough, who cares if she beats me or not? » Chris says.

« You’re my son! How am I supposed to face the rest of the Pack if my own son gets his ass beaten in front of the whole pack! »

Here we go again. The Alpha hates when I show my strength, and that I am stronger than his son. But Chris is four years younger than me! He hasn't even reached his adult body yet. And he is actually quite good for a boy his age too.

I have a hard time containing my wolf. I'm not happy about this scolding either, but I don't want to make a scene. The Alpha hates it no matter who I train anyway... Even the youngsters, I am supposed to train them without fighting or to let them win. I only agreed today to fight seriously because Chris insisted a lot. Usually, I would only fight other warriors of the Pack, and I would still be holding myself back against them too. But no one is blind. They all already know I'm way stronger than that. Our Alpha is the only want who wants to keep the appearances.

« I'm sorry, Uncle. »

« I told you not to call me that, » he growls.

My wolf wants to growl too, but I ask her to shut it.

« ...Sorry, Alpha. »

I may as well submit right away. Otherwise, this will go on for hours and I can’t take my shower until then. He growls, but Chris pushes me to go.

« Father, can I talk to you? »

I gave my cousin a silent thanks. I know his dad will yell at him for being weak or whatever, but he is ready to endure it so that I can go. A really good kid. Daniel follows me into the ladies changing rooms when the yelling starts again from behind us. We both ignore it.

Daniel waits until the shower is running to talk from behind the curtain, making sure the Alpha can't hear us.

« Seriously, I have never seen an Alpha with such a stupid inferiority complex! Why does he always have to take it out on you! »

« Danny, Chris is the one getting scolded right now. I'm good. »

« I don’t care, Elena, you or the kid, it's the same thing. Why can’t the Alpha leave you alone! »

I leave Daniel to his rumbling, ignoring my best friend to focus on the cold water running on my skin. That feeling is awesome. While the water chases the heat and the sweat from my body, I do a quick check up. I have an ecchymosis on my left side, but that’s it. Well, Chris is definitely getting better. A few months ago he couldn’t even hit me. I'm proud of my student.

Danny hands me my towel when I come out. It’s still early in the morning, and now that I'm all cleaned up, I'm starving.

« Do we have time for breakfast? » I ask while grabbing the clothes in my bag.

« Let’s drop by George's. I can text him our order. What do you want? »

While we argue about what to eat, I put on my baggy jeans, a grey tank top, and a large hoodie. Danny makes an annoyed face.

« What’s with the boyish clothes? When do you actually show off those curves and abs? »

I ignore him. We have that same argument every day, but no matter how much my best friend hates my style, I ignore it. I like comfy street clothes! And I hate showing off my body too. I don’t need other people to look at me. The most invisible I am, the better. Daniel keeps complaining until I cut him off.

« Danny, shut up. You’ll get to dress me up when we go out, ok? Can we go now? »

He pouts, but at least he is not complaining. Instead of drying my hair, I just put it up with a pin. We are in June anyway, they will dry in no time. We leave the Clan’s gym and get into Danny's car. It's an old Toyota, he bought it two years ago from one of the old guys of the Pack. It was a rubbish car, but Danny actually managed to make it pretty decent, covering the cigarette burns, new tires, some painting on the rusty parts and a radio.

I turn it on as soon as we are in. It's an old Madonna song, of course; Daniel loves her music. He starts humming Holidays tune asks soon as we depart. I can't drive, but I love riding in Danny's car. I stare at the scenery outside. Living in the Artsy District is like getting a free art Museum tour every day. New wave graffiti on every wall, weird pipe sculptures from time to time, and colorful houses. There is even a car that was emptied to be used as a gardening spot, with flowers sprouting randomly all over it. I open the window to enjoy the morning breeze and sunshine. Danny is now happily singing Like a Virgin.

« Ok, let's go out tonight, babe. I feel like dancing. »

« What about your exams? » I ask.

Danny is a nerd eighty percent of the time, and a party animal for the rest of it. He is always the one to insist we go out, and the first one to complain about his headaches before going to work. He is a Biology student, but I bet none of his lab partners knows the lab rat actually loves going to nightclubs.

« I'm still a week away. »

I just nod. Daniel is a straight As student anyway, he will probably ace it like he always does whether we go out or not. I peek at my best friend, while we are stuck in traffic. Daniel is the skinny type, despite his efforts to build some muscle at the gym. But with his blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, he is quite popular. I hate when he grows that stupid goatee of his though. He is too lazy to shave during the week, so he just leaves it to grow wildly and puts his hair back like now. He only dresses up for the weekend too. Otherwise, he just picks whatever weird patterned shirt he can find. Who said gay guys were stylish? Daniel is only good at complaining about my style.

« What is it, mesmerized by this handsome Blondie ? » he asks when he catches me staring.

« I was wondering when you are going to shave. You look like a caveman. »

« And you look like a boy. My sister gave you some actual woman clothes. You know, the kind that is actually your size and doesn't look like you live in a garage. »

I roll my eyes. Daniel hates my boyish clothes. I used to be much more feminine, and he misses that part of me. But this is bound with some painful memories I don’t want to deal with.

« Ok, you get to dress me up tonight if you shave all this beard. »

He makes a victory sign into the air.

« Moon Goddess, yes! My girl is going to be so hot tonight! Heels, skirt and some makeup, get ready poor males of Silver City, I am taking an anatomic bomb to the dance floor tonight! We need to show those killer legs! Come on Madonna, I need to sing it. Where is that song again? »

I laugh when he starts making some really ridiculous dance moves to match Vogue's beat. I love Danny exactly for this. No matter what, my best friend has no sense of shame. He just does whatever he wants and doesn’t care what other people think, even when dancing to some pop music and singing loud with the car windows open. I keep laughing and start singing my heart out with him.

We act like teenagers until we reach George's restaurant. I can’t stop laughing when Danny keeps singing as we walk in. From behind the counter, George smiles.

« Into the Groove so early in the morning? You two are in high spirits! »

« It’s Friday and I am taking this lady dancing tonight, » says Daniel.

«Really? You should go to Pepe's club then. It's Pride theme all month, and he misses you guys. »

« Sounds good. And Daniel loves Latinos…. »

I wink to my best friend, who nods with a sneaky smile. Daniel's favorite type of man is really easy to remember: tall, Latino and hunky. He falls in love with any man who fits those criteria within ten minutes. George’s takes out two boxes with our order and clicks his tongue.

« Come on, Danny, you should find one for Elena first. »

« No, no, George. Dancing is fine, but no guys. I can enjoy myself just fine on my own,” I reply back.

« Oh, come on girl. You should give it a try sometime… A guy asked for your number again this week! »

« Was he handsome? » Asks Daniel.

“Not really. And I already told him you wouldn’t be interested, sweetie, don’t worry. But if you ever change your mind about the whole I-don’t-need-a-man thing, give me the update! I kept some of the cutest’s numbers.”

He gives me a wink and turns around to prepare our coffees. Daniel pouts.

“I hate it. Why do I have to be the sexy blonde’s friend? Why don’t I get phone numbers?”

“First, I’m not sexy. Second, George said the guy wasn’t that cute. And third, you’re blonde and popular too. Who was kissing that hot Brazilian guy last weekend? What happened to him?” I ask

“Hernando? He’s from Mexico. And second, he wasn’t that hot either.”

That's Daniel for you. He falls out of love just that quickly. Sometimes I wonder if he doesn’t do it on purpose because of me. He knows I don’t want a boyfriend, but he wouldn’t stick to one night stands just because of me, right?

We pay up and leave George with our breakfast to eat in the car. Cinnamon Roll for me, a veggie bowl for Daniel, and dark coffee for the two of us. It’s a ten-minute ride to my School, and I am done way before Daniel drops me off at the parking. I grab my bag on the backseat.

« I can meet you at the lab? My classes finish at 5 pm. »

« You better bring coffee with you, Babe! »

I nod and send him a kiss. This our usual routine, but we just repeat that conversation over and over every morning. The car starts again, and Daniel heads off to the Science University a few streets away. I take out my cap from my bag and put it on as I head to the Business School.