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See? This was why I loved her so much. She didn't just tell us to call her mom, but she treated us like we were her kids too. It was wonderful.
Nico and I set the table while we both eavesdropped on their conversation in the kitchen. When exactly was Dakota planning on telling her? Maybe during dinner?
"You okay, kiddo?" I looked up at Dakota's dad and smiled, nodding slowly.
"I'm fine, sir. Just lost in thought."
"Now, that's not right. You call my Vanessa 'Mom,' don't you? Then shouldn't I be 'Dad?'" he asked, raising one gray eyebrow at me.
"You're right, my mistake," I said with a grin as happiness filled my chest with warmth. "Dad."
Dad smiled, and I barely kept myself from dancing in place as I set the last of the plates. "I'm gonna go get the glasses."
"He said I can call him Dad!" I cheered as I walked into the kitchen, then realized I might've been loud enough to be heard from the other room.
"Yep, he heard you," Nico said in a whisper from the other room, and I felt my cheeks heat up. Eh, who cared. Let him know I was happy.
"That's great," Dakota said with a wide smile, and I rooted my feet to the floor as a sudden urge to throw my arms around Dakota washed over me. Not yet, I told myself. Not until he told them.
Soon enough, we were all seated around the dining table and serving ourselves, the rich aroma of chicken and gravy filling the air. My stomach was a mix of hungry and nervous, and I wanted to eat and felt like puking all at once. Dakota really needed to hurry up if I was going to have any chance of enjoying this meal.
"Oh, there's something I wanted to tell you," Dakota finally said, casual as he could be.
"What is it?" Dad asked as Mom tilted her head curiously.
"Wait, don't tell me. Did you get a boyfriend?" she asked, a smile already forming on her lips.
"Close. I found three," Dakota said, then added, "I'm dating Star, Ryk, and Nico."
Dad froze with his spoon halfway to his mouth, and Mom's eyes went wide.
"You're dating them? All of them?" Mom asked, her eyes sliding from Dakota to us.
"Er, yeah," Dakota said, the first note of hesitation entering his voice. Had he truly been that confident? And was his mom going to break that confidence now?
Mom covered her mouth with her palm, and my heart sank. Shit. Was she truly not okay with this? What did that mean for us? No more dinner at his parents', no more game nights. Would Dakota have to break up with us to keep his family? Was she going to make him choose?
"You mean I get to keep all three?" Mom asked, and I blinked, sure I'd heard wrong.
"Huh?" Dakota asked, clearly having the same problem.
Mom squealed loudly, shooting to her feet so fast her chair clattered over. Running around the table, she threw her arms around Star and smacked a kiss on his cheek before doing the same to Nico and me. Finally, she walked over to Dakota, gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, and smiled at him. "I'm so happy for you, kiddo."
Turning to us, she said, "Welcome to the family, boys. I hope you know you can't leave now that you're in."
"Is this a family or a gang?" Dakota muttered under his breath as I chuckled, mostly in sheer relief.
"I wouldn't want to leave anyway," I assured her, and she smiled before returning to her chair—Dad had of course straightened it up like the level-headed man he was. They balanced each other out really well.
"Take good care of each other, all four of you," Dad said, which I took to mean we had his approval as well.
"We will," Nico said with a small smile, while Star still looked too stunned to say much of anything. Things calmed down after that, though, and I finally got to fully enjoy the delicious meal Mom had cooked for us.
Star
After we finished dinner, we moved to the living room. Ryk and Dakota helped his mom get out the board games while Nico and I moved back the furniture so we could all sit on the floor. I was a teensy bit surprised at how well Dakota's parents had taken the news, but then again, they had some of the lightest souls I'd ever seen, just like Dakota. It was no wonder they'd raised a man as kind and caring as Dakota.
"So do you guys all kiss at the same time? What about other things?" Dakota's mom asked, and my fake-beating heart practically leaped out of my chest.
