Dad Next Door: Volume 1 (Under Editing Soon)

Eleven

I wake up at eight and surprisingly, the kids are still asleep. I slip my slippers on and wrap my dressing gown around me, stepping quietly to the bathroom to relieve my bladder then go downstairs, mentally prepared to be met with a sleeping Louis.

But when I get to the front room, the sofa is empty, the fluffy throw neatly folded on the arm rest with a sticky note on top. 

I snatch the note up and read it with a furrow of a brow.

Thanks for letting me spend the night! 
You never actually said no to the date so today (Saturday 3rd Jul) @6pm :) 
SEE YOU THEN, CURLY 
x x
⌣

How dare he. Really, he really thinks he can just be this bold? 

I punch in his number in my phone, walking over to the kitchen and plonking a pan onto the stove.

"Harold," He coos with a smile hinting his voice. 

"Lewis," I bite back.

"I'm guessing you got my note?"

"Yes! And no way Jose."

"Oh come on! Why not? It'll be fun! It'll let us get to know each other better!"

"I don't need to get to know you anymore than I already have!"

"Oh, stop being such a sourpuss! You'd want to know me if I look after your angels again!"

And for God's sake, he has a point there. 

I grumble. "I don't have anyone to look after them, if you haven't realised, my mum is away and she was the only other person that would look after them."

He laughs. "Curly, you bring them with you, silly!"

"Where were you even thinking of going for this 'date?'" I ask, mobile now wedged between my ear and shoulder as I whisk up some pancake batter. 

"Well, since it's not our first romantic date, I was thinking maybe the arcade? Down by the beach." 

I sigh heavily through my nose. "That's an hours drive away, Louis. By the time we get there, it'll be time to come back for bedtime."

"Then we go earlier! We could go there for the day, I'll come over now and we can get going." I can hear him mooching around. 

I shake my head. "Kids aren't up and haven't been fed."

"Then I'm coming to wake them up, then. We can bring food along with us."

I look down at the pancake batter, moving my phone into my hand and reapplying it to my ear. "I don't think pancakes will be easy to eat in the car."

"You have to make an issue out of everything, don't you? Slice some banana and add it with some chocolate spread into the pancakes and roll the pancakes up so they resemble a wrap. Open the door." 

"You can't be here yet, surely." I say, walking over to the front door anyway and unlocking it. I hang up the phone, putting it in my dressing down pocket. 

"Oh!" He smirks. "Thought I was never seeing you in a dressing gown? It suits you." 

I slap him up side the head. "Just shut up and get in, yeah?" 

I close the door behind the giggling man and he skips up the stairs. I follow on his heel and he goes into the kids room, knocking on the door beforehand and opens the curtains. 

"Rise and shine littlens!" He sings. "It's time to get up, it's time to get uuuup! We have beach day todayyyy! Time to get up!" He pulls the gate to the cot down, grabbing a nearly awake Robin from his cot and puts him on his hip, dancing with him toward the girls' bed.