The Gentleman Plan

5. Hold doors open for people

"Jordan, where the fuck is the kiddie pool?" I asked as I stepped out into Akira's backyard, raising my arms.

"Well, it turns out you shouldn't trust eBay," He said holding a bucket. 

"We'll just have to DIY a water park then," I answered, sighing and laying a large mat and then turning the sprinklers on. 

"Maya, what the fuck!" Jordan screamed as he got instantly drenched in water. 

"Serves you right! In this household, we only trust Walmart!" I yelled, quickly going back in the house to find Emre with the rest of my friends and Sora.  

"Hey, you came!" I sat down next to Sora. 

"Of course, how could I miss this angel's birthday?" He answered, tickling Sora as she laughed.

"I officially give up, it's been four freaking years that I've been trying to make her like me and she instantly likes Emre?" Toby exclaimed.

"The kid does what she wants, suck it up," Akira shrugged, smiling.

"Traitor," Toby whispered, sitting down to face Sora while she completely ignored his existence being too preoccupied with Emre's curly hair. 

The doorbell rang just as I started to play some music. Soon enough, the backyard was full of kids and adults. Following Emre, I stepped outside carrying some snacks in my arms just as the door closed on me. Again. 

"Okay, first lesson. Hold doors open for people. That's like a common thing to do, it's polite and helpful!" I said, putting the snacks down and crossing my arms. 

"Right. Sorry." He replied, taking out a pen and writing it down on his hand as I shook my head. 

"Anything else?" He asked. 

"Smile, you can't look like the grinch, it doesn't make you look approachable," I said as he attempted to smile.

"Not like that, you look like a pedophile. Just let it be natural, like a tiny smile." I retorted.

"How about this?" He asked as I gave him a thumbs up. 

The next hour or so, Emre spent his time holding the door for people, even though I told him it wasn't necessary.

"Listen, it's nice what you're doing, but you need to go have fun too. And what I meant by holding the door open is that you should do it if there's another person behind you or something, it's just a nice gesture." I laughed, pulling him to the bench with the rest of our friends. 

We spent the following hours getting to know Emre and playing with the kids until it was time for all the kids to leave. Akira went to go put Sora for her nap while we cleaned the backyard up. 

"Need any help?" Emre asked as I was picking up some trash.

"Sure, here, hold the trash bag," I said.

"Thanks for inviting me, this was really fun. Also, I'm one step closer to being a gentleman," He said, smiling.

"No problem, I'm glad you had fun," I replied, chuckling.

"I'm sorry if this seems a bit intrusive, but where's Sora's father? Shouldn't he be here for her birthday?" He asked, tying the bag and throwing it in a bin. 

"We don't know who he is, only Akira knows. All we know is that he didn't want to be apart of Sora's life." I answered.

"Well, I'd say Sora is pretty lucky having all of you guys." He smiled.

"And we're all lucky to have her," Jordan said, coming next to us with Toby. 

"You really are. Anyways, I should go, thanks again for today." Emre said.