Let's just say I was a little bit nervous about having dinner with Will and his family. I don't know why. I don't have a problem meeting new people or anything. I've never had a problem meeting my friend's parents or having dinner with another family. It's something about it being Will's family that I can't quite understand.
Remi left for work and I was left alone at the house while the boys had practice. I didn't really feel like going out. Most of the day I sat on the couch and watched reruns of my favorite tv shows.
I looked at my phone. Dad texted me.
practice done soon be home in about an hour.
don't forget about dinner at Will's.
Love you.
I answered him.
Copy that boss see you soon love you
He replied with a thumbs up. The boys would be home in an hour and then we'd get ready for dinner. I decided that I wanted to curl my hair and since that takes forever I started then.
I put last minute touches to my hair when I heard the boys come in.
"Cora?" Dad called out.
"I'm in my bathroom" I called back.
I heard footsteps come up the stairs and to my bathroom. There was a soft knock on the door before it was opened. Dad leaned against the doorframe.
"Hey Coco, oh you curled your hair?" He sounded kind of shocked.
I shrugged. "Felt like it" I sprayed my hair with a little bit of hairspray so it would stay.
I hugged Dad. I could smell the sweat from the sun on him.
"No offense Dad but I think you need to take a shower before we go to the Erickson's." I joked and waved my hand on front of my nose.
He smiled and pushed me away. "I will. We leave in a little over an hour."
I nodded in response. He left, most likely to go take a shower. I walked into my room to go pick out an outfit.
It took my a few minutes but I finally found something cute. It was a lavender tank top with a ruffled hem and went just below my belly button. I paired it with a pair of ripped light wash denim shorts and my favorite pair of light tan sandals. I layered a couple gold necklaces and put on a few rings.
Finally, it was time for my makeup. I used concealer, blush, mascara, and a little bit of natural eyeshadow for my makeup. I didn't want to put on too much, plus it was cute.
A little bit of last minute touch up and I was ready. It was almost six. The dinner started at six thirty.
Dad was the first one downstairs. "Boys let's go! We're going to be late"
They all came down the stairs at the same time. Cooper was still trying to fix his hair, Cater let his hair roam free and Connor looked completely ready.
"Okay" dad clapped his hands and gestured towards the door. "Let's go"
We all piled into Dad's car, which hasn't happened in a while. I sat up front with all the leg room and the three boys crammed themselves in the back seat.
A few minutes later we pulled up to a nice looking house. It was two stories and had brown siding.
I knocked on the door as the boys stood behind me. A lady that looked to be in her thirties opened the door and smiled at us. Her hand rested on her noticeable baby bump. Her hair was raven black and curled. It was opposite from Will's blonde hair.
"Hi, you must be the Barnes's. I'm Karla welcome to our home. Will your wife not be joining us?" She asked my dad.
"Oh um my wife and I are divorced, it's just me and the kids" He answered politely.
Karla covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry I had no idea"
Dad gave her a reassuring smile. "It's no big deal really"
"Please come in" She stepped to the side and the boys piled into the house. They introduced themselves as the walked in. I was the last one to enter.
"You must be Cora" she smiled at me.
"Yes ma'am" I answered.
"I've heard so much about you from Will and none of that ma'am stuff call me Karla."
I nodded in answer. "How far along are you?" I asked.
"Six months, he's due in August." She smiled adoringly at her stomach.
"Congratulations" I smiled and followed the same path the boys walked.
"Thank you" She smiled and closed the door behind me.
Their house had a homey feel to it. You could tell that this house was full of love the second you walked through the door.
"Kenzie, Come down and greet the guests" Karla called up the stairs.
A girl, who looked to be around thirteen, came down the stairs wearing a red crop top with 36 written across it, light wash denim shorts and a black and white flannel wrapped around her waist. She wore white hightop converse and gold jewelry with it. Her hair was black like her mother's and thrown into a low messy bun with a backwards hat.
"I'm Kenzie" She said as she walked up to me with a smile.
"I'm Cora, it's nice to meet you. How old are you?" I asked.
"I'm thirteen, I'll be in seventh grade in the fall. Are you a senior, like Will?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm a junior"
We walked into the living room, where all the boys are.
"Hey guys, I'm Kenzie"
"Cooper" he smiled with a wave.
"Connor" he smiled.
"Carter" he half waved, but didn't bother looking up from his phone.
The boys took their turns sharing their names.
Will walked down and all the boys stood up and did their weird bro-hug things. "Hey Cora, It's nice to see you again" He smiled at me. I love his smile, somehow it always seems to brighten my day.
"You too" I smiled at him.
"Dinner's ready!" A middle-aged man came in holding a plate of what looked like chicken, but I couldn't tell as he took the plate into the kitchen.
"Kids, table" Karla pointed to the dining room.
Kenzie and Will obediently walked into the dining room to set the table. Karla stood up from her place on the couch with the help of Connor.
"Thank you Connor" she patted his arm. We followed Karla into their dining room.
We all took our spots. I sat in between Connor and Will. On the left of Will, was Carter. Dad sat at the head of the table on Connor's side and Mr. Erickson on the other. Cooper sat to Dad's right and across from Connor. Karla was sitting to her husband's left and Kenzie sat next to her.
"Thank you guys for coming. I hope you like it here in Greenhill." Will's dad, whose name I have yet to learn, said.
"Thank you, Michael, for having us. We really appreciate y'all welcoming us to the town." Dad answered.
"Ken, please no hats at the table" Karla pleaded. Kenzie sighed but took her hat off anyway.
The food was passed around the table and everyone got their fair share of food. The boys were encouraged to eat as much as they liked. Conversations were flying from all directions. It definitely a quiet dinner, but that's what I liked about the Erickson's. They were all so kind and easy to talk to, no wonder Will is such a good kid and as far as I could tell Kenzie.
"So Cora, do you play any sports?" Karla asked.
"Well I've always been a very athletic person, but I haven't really found a sport that I love yet, besides football. I love working out with the boys though"
"Well that's nice, at least you don't mind trying. That's the most important thing." She smiled at me.
Questions were thrown about college to the boys and I ate my food.
"Maybe you should come work out with us one day" Will whispered to me.
"I thought about going to football practice this week and working out with y'all." I answered. I really did love working out with the football team, whether it was lifting, drills, or conditioning. I think my favorite part was watching the looks on the boys' faces when I'm beating them at their own sport as a girl.
"You should, I'd like to see how 'athletic' you are. Every time I've seen you, you've been stuffing your face with food and watching tv on the couch. I bet you couldn't last through one of our practices."
I smirked, knowing full well that I could last through one of my father's practices plus more. "Oh yeah Erickson, do you wanna put money where your mouth is. Twenty dollars says I can last through one of your practices."
"I'll take that bet Barnes" He smirked.
Someone cleared their throat and Will and I pulled our faces away from each other. I didn't notice how close out faces had become. I tried to hide my blush and Will just sat back in his chair and looked at Carter expectantly.
"I asked about coming to our house tomorrow after practice." Carter repeated.
"Oh yeah of course, if it's okay with you guys" Will asked his parents.
They both nodded in agreement.
"How long?" Kenzie asked. "You promised you'd take Shelby to get snow cones tomorrow, remember?" She groaned.
"No worries I can take you and Shel before I go to Carter's. I promise I didn't forget about you Kenz."
This brought a smile to her face and she went back to eating her food.
Dinner was over and we really didn't want to leave. I got to know so much about Will and his family just over this dinner, not to mention we talked for a while after.
"Do you guys want to stay and watch a movie or something?" Will asked.
We looked at Dad for an answer. "Sure if it's okay with Karla and Michael" He nodded.
Karla smile politely. "Of course, y'all are welcome anytime." Michael walked over to her and wrapped his hands around her and kissing her head before kissing her belly.
"Thank you Karla" I thanked her. "Bye Dad" I kissed his cheek.
"To the game room" Will said and started to walk down the hall.
"Am I invited?" Kenzie asked.
"You're always invited" Will picked her up and threw her over his shoulder with ease, which caused her to bust in a fit of laughter.
I loved how he included his sister even though there's a five year age gap. It seemed to make her smile. He really is the best brother.
He carried her down the hall and opened a door. The boys and I followed behind. Behind the door was a set of stairs, most likely leading to a basement turned game room.
Will threw her on the couch before he jump on top of her.
"Will" She said from under him and tried to push his back off of her. "I can't breathe" She kept trying to push him off to no avail.
"Do you guys hear anything because there's this annoying buzzing in my ear?" Will joked. The boys laughed but did nothing to help poor Kenzie.
I sneaked up to the couch casually. "You know what Will, I do hear something." I said with an evil smirk. I tried to tickle his sides but it didn't work.
He shrugged. "Sorry Cor, I'm just not ticklish"
"Try his feet" Kenzie said.
Before I could even try to tickle his feet, he threw himself off the couch, and Kenzie, and huddled up defensively protecting his feet. The boys all busted into laughter and I high fived Kenzie. She sat up on the couch and I took the spot next to her.
"You are officially my favorite" She smiled and ugged me, to which I hugged her back.
After a few minutes, we settled down and chose a movie to watch. We chose The Game Plan.