Him and I

XXXIII

"Dinner's ready!" I shouted, making sure everyone upstairs heard me. "Coming!" Sam shouted back, my Dad right after her. I walked back to the kitchen where Isaac was putting the food onto plates. "You think it'll be good?" He asked, suddenly looking nervous. "They'll like it, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, they will, monkey." I said, kissing him on his cheek. "I kinda like that name, now." He said, grinning. My Dad walked into the kitchen, my sister right behind him. "It smells great," My Dad said, taking place on one of the chairs. "It does." My sister said, putting her phone away. I helped Isaac give everyone their plate and then sat down, Isaac taking a seat next to me. "Enjoy," Isaac said, allowing everyone to start eating. I cut off a piece of my chicken, putting it into my mouth. "So, Willow, how's Chris doing? I haven't seen him in forever." Sam said and I looked at her. "Oh, uhm, Chris is doing alright," I said. "But I'll ask him to come around if you want me to?" I asked, frowning. "Yeah, he and I still have to finish that game we were playing." She said, taking a bite of her rice. My Dad looked at her suspiciously. "Why not ask him yourself?"

"Uhm, that would be weird." Sam said, raising her eyebrows. "Why? You guys have hung out when he was waiting for Willow." My Dad said, taking a huge bite of his chicken. "Yeah, because he was waiting for Willow." She said.

"How's Ines?" I asked my sister, trying to rescue her from an awkward conversation about my best friend. "She's alright, her brother has been talking about you, you know?" She said, trying to hold back a smile. "What does he say then?" Isaac asked, putting down his fork. "Oh, only good things." She said.

I rolled my eyes at the grin on her face. "Sure," I said, poking at my rice. "Why would Gabe talk about you, though?" My Dad asked. "I mean, I know you used to crush on him when you were like ten, but you guys never really talked unless he was over for your brother. What's with the sudden change of mind?"

"She doesn't look like a 12-year-old boy anymore," Sam said and I glared at her. "As in?" My Dad asked, cocking his head to the side. "Dad, she's got a killer body and I'm sure everyone agrees with that, right Isaac?" Sam asked the boy across from her. "Uhm, yeah, but that's not the only thing that matters." Isaac said and my Dad cocked his eyebrow, motioning for him to go on. "Don't get me wrong, your daughter is gorgeous, but not only on the outside, if this Gabe guy is only commenting on her appearance I don't think he's worth her time." Isaac said, fumbling with his words. I grinned and put my hand on his bouncing knee.

"You're right," My Dad said. "Totally right." He said, smiling as he took another bite. Isaac's hand folded around mine, squeezing it. "Thanks for the food, by the way, it's really good." My Dad went on.

Sam looked in between me and Isaac, squinting her eyes. "It's nothing," Isaac said. "You do like chocolate mousse, right?" He asked and my Dad's mouth fell open. "You made chocolate mousse?" Dad asked and Isaac nodded, unsure. "Erm, yeah."

"How much?"

"Dad," I said and Isaac just laughed. "A lot, you can keep it all, I made way too much." Isaac said and Dad grinned. "Thank you."

We finished up dinner, also eating the chocolate mousse. "We'll clean up," I said, stopping my Dad from gathering the dishes. "You can relax, go on." I said and Dad gave me a suspicious look. "Isaac's staying over, isn't he?" He asked. "Yeah, he is." I said and my Dad squinted his eyes. "In your room?"

"Maybe."

Dad pursed his lips and nodded. "Alright," He said. "Don't be too loud."

I smacked his shoulder, him laughing as he walked into the living room. Isaac came back from the bathroom, washing his hands in the kitchen. "We're doing the cleaning I see," Isaac said, drying his hands with the towel. I was gathering all the plates, putting the uneaten parts into a garbage bag. "Can you put the cutlery in the dishwasher?" I asked and he reached for it, his big hands grabbing the forks, knives and spoons at one time. He walked to the dishwasher, putting the cutlery in the top section. I followed him to put the plates in the lowest section. "Where should I put the chocolate mousse?" He asked. "I'll do that, it still needs foil on the top." I said, putting the glasses into the dishwasher as well.