Touring With the McDonoughs (sequel to MIWTM)

Chapter 12

Two burnt sauces, five dirty pots, two almost food fights and several karaoke contests later, we six were sitting around our dining table, gobbling down some surprisingly good tasting white sauce Pasta.

"I had no idea I could cook!" Toby laughed with his mouth full.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Connor, Riley, Thomas and I scolded. Toby pouted and looked down at his food.

"Hey, no shouting at my Tobster in front of me, got it?" I said, glaring playfully at the four boys. Their eyes widened and they nodded vigorously before returning to their Pasta. I turned to Toby and smiled, who smiled in return and hugged my arm. If it wasn't obvious, he was sitting next to me, with Connor to his right. Riley, Thomas and Lindsey were sitting in front of us. Oh! I forgot to mention! The moment the boys ran into the kitchen, I sent a text to Lindsey, updating her about what had happened and without joking, she was at my house in two minutes. Barging into my house, she ran straight into our kitchen and into Thomas's arms. She and the others was so excited to see each other that nobody noticed that she'd ran into THOMAS's arms first... Not that it went unnoticed by me. I grinned at the thought as I took another bite.

"Oh for God's sake, let go of her arm! She can't even eat with you clinging onto her!" Riley cried out. Toby pouted again and looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

"He's right, Toby. I need to eat with my right hand, which is not quite accessible with you holding the arm," I agreed and saw his face fall, so I added,"Tell you what. You can hold onto it after we're done eating, okay?" Toby's face immediately lit up and he nodded, grinning and let go of my arm. Connor let out a chuckle and messed up Toby's hair. His eyes met mine and I smiled widely at him. We had a baby sitting between us.

"I am stuffed!" Lindsey exclaimed. Thomas glanced at her and smiled. Riley and I caught is smile and smirked at each other.

"But we haven't even had desert yet!" Toby and Riley whined.

"Well for that, we'll have to go out," I barely said as the dining room was erupted in cheers.

"ALL DONE!!" the boys of Before You Exit shouted at the same time and quickly gobbled down their last spoonfuls before springing up and running to the kitchen to put their plates. Lindsey and I watched their actions wide eyes. As soon as they disappeared into the kitchen, we burst out laughing. We heard the sound of running water and calmed down.

"Hey please don't flood Haley's kitchen!" Lindsey shouted towards the kitchen. Riley came out with a smug look on his face and a wet shirt.

"We may be famous but we know how to wash dishes, thank you very much," he replied, making Lindsey roll her eyes.

"But you also know how to wet yourself during the process. Must take some great skill," Lindsey shot back. I chuckled, standing and going to the laundry basket, which held the freshly washed, dried and ironed clothes. I pulled out my oversized Batman shirt and went back to the dining room, where Riley and Lindsey were having a glaring slash staring contest. I stifled a laugh.

"If looks could kill, you'd both probably would be guilty for murder," I said and the two pairs of glaring eyes turned to me. I held up my hands in surrender.

"Hey, just trying to lighten the tension here. Riles, you can borrow this shirt. I think it'll fit you. The bathroom's upstairs, first door to your left," I stated, handing Riley the shirt. His eyes immediately softened and he nodded gratefully, giving me a small smile before heading out of the room. I watched him leave the room and turned to pick up my plate from the table but found the spot empty. Confused, I turned to the kitchen to see Braiden putting it on the rack for drying. He turned around to see if there was anything else on the dining table that needed to be washed and caught my eye. A small smile crept onto both our faces and I quickly looked away, trying not to blush.