AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ryk was still watching me expectantly, as if waiting for an answer, so I shook my head. "That doesn't really sound possible, Ryk."
His lips pursed in a pout, and then he turned to Star, grabbed his shoulders, and started shaking him. "Star, wake up! Wake up! Help me convince Dakota to be our sugar baby!"
Sugar baby? I thought, mildly horrified. Where had Ryk even heard that term?
"What's going on here?" Nico asked as he arrived in the room, and I buried my face in my palms. Shit, I was supposed to bring Ryk and Star down for breakfast. I totally forgot.
"Nico! I'm trying to convince Dakota to leave his job because he doesn't like it," Ryk said, and I raised my head to look at him.
"Who said I don't?" I asked, and Ryk gave me a look.
"Do you?"
Sighing, I shook my head, and his expression turned all smug as he turned to Nico, his arms still busy trying to shake Star awake. How Star was still asleep, I didn't know.
"Dakota, if you truly don't enjoy your job, you don't have to work," Nico said, and it somehow sounded more real coming from him, probably because he hadn't used the term 'sugar baby.'
"Yeah! You can just stay home with us!" Ryk said, his face alight with eagerness, and I couldn't help smiling.
"As much as I love you all, I think I'd get tired of doing nothing at some point," I said, and Ryk blinked at me.
"We're not asking you to never work again," Nico said, placing his hand on mine where it rested on Ryk's knee. "You could leave your job and then take some time to find a job you actually enjoy doing."
That...didn't sound so bad. When I was in college, I'd had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do, and in the end I'd just gone along with the courses my friend had picked, then applied for a job in the field, all without any real interest in it. I'd figured that it wouldn't matter as long as I could do my job, but doing something I didn't enjoy for eight hours every day was starting to take a toll on me. An opportunity to step back and rethink things might not be a bad idea.
"Let me think about it, okay?" I said, and Nico smiled before patting my hand.
"Of course. Now let's go eat breakfast before it gets cold, okay?" he said as he stood up, then snapped his fingers.
I turned around just in time to see the glass of water hovering midair as it tipped over, spilling water all over Star's face. I jumped to my feet to avoid getting wet as Star woke up with a gasp.
"Oh, you're awake!" Nico said with a smile, as if he hadn't just thrown water at Star's face. "Breakfast's ready. I'll see you downstairs."
Nico disappeared downstairs while Star was still blinking water out of his eyes, and then he glared at Ryk.
"It wasn't me!" Ryk squealed as Star grabbed him and flipped them around so Ryk was below him, and I bit my lip as I took a few steps back and leaned against the wall to watch the show.
"It was Nico!" Ryk repeated as Star hovered over him. "He threw water at you, not me."
Star smirked at Ryk before leaning down and pressing his lips to Ryk's. I was tempted to join them, but I was afraid of getting doused with water by Nico.
"I know you didn't. I just wanted to kiss you," Star said as he pulled back, then sat up and turned to smile at me. "Hey, Dakota. Good morning!"
I returned his greeting with a shake of my head, and hoped every day of the rest of my life would be just like this one.
Nico
It took them another ten minutes to make their way downstairs, and I ended up having to use a little magic to keep the breakfast hot. After everyone had their tea, coffee, and breakfast, we settled around the table. Ryk attacked the food with gusto while Star sipped at his tea, and Dakota sedately ate his breakfast. They all had different ways of appreciating the food, but I could tell easily that they all enjoyed eating the food I cooked. Knowing how much they enjoyed my cooking pleased me to no end.
"Wait a minute," Ryk said suddenly, and his spoon clattered against the plate as he sat upright.
"What is it?" Star asked, mirroring the question going through my head.
"Dakota said he loves us," Ryk said, and my eyes widened.
"What?" Star and I demanded at the same time. What was surprising was that Dakota also asked the same question. Did that mean he'd said it unintentionally? Or was Ryk making things up? I didn't think this was something he'd lie about, though.
"He did. You were probably asleep when he said it, though," Ryk said to Star, then turned to Dakota. "You did. Upstairs."
