Louis' POV
You know you love a person interminably when they can tell you to drive to a certain place at a certain time without saying why and you do it. Michael told me to be at the house by six thirty and wait outside for him and refused to tell me why. And how did I respond to the request? With a childish eye roll and obedience. During my self-reprimanding, I couldn't emphasize enough that I was obeying a nine year old. It's probably important to add that I was reprimanding myself as I drove to Franco's apartment so, in a way, I was ignoring every logical thing that was coming out my mouth.
I pulled up to Franco's apartment in time to see him get into his car and leave. Then, a second later, another car pulled up and Michael jumped out, stopping briefly to kiss the driver on the cheek then rushed my car. He dived into the back seat and yelled, "Hurry, follow daddy. I'll explain in a minute."
I sighed and drove in the direction Franco went. He hadn't gotten too far so it was easy to keep track of him. "Michael, what is this about?"
"Daddy is going on a date," he said as if that explained everything.
"No, Michael, that doesn't explain why I'm following him."
He pouted, "He can't date Pat so we're following him to the restaurant for dinner."
"Just a normal dinner with me and his kid?"
He nodded, "We just have to make sure it doesn't go too well so they won't go on another. We can even join their table."
I groaned, "He's going to know we came to crash his date right away."
Michael nodded and shrugged, "We weren't going to get away with it anyway. Daddy's too smart to not see what we're doing."
I looked at him in shock. He was doing all this knowing that he'd be caught? My shock turned into disapproval. "You know, Michael, I hate to say this but Franco might be a little too lenient with you. He's your father. You accept and respect his wishes. You do not pull little schemes like this because you don't like the decision he made."
Michael pouted and deflated in his seat, totally disheartened by my scolding. "Okay, we can go back home then."
I cleared my throat guiltily, fully aware that I didn't want to go home for my own selfish reasons. "Well we're already on the road so we might as well go."
The delight almost made it to his face but after a sharp glare, he contented himself with a faint smile.
We ended up following Franco all the way to Pat's house then to the restaurant. It was a family restaurant, not too luxurious or uncomfortably formal. It made sense, considering Franco appreciated simplicity. Anyone he dated would have to appreciate it too if they were to last more than a month. I began to wonder if Pat liked simplicity and if I should have listened to Michael and taken him home. There was no point in going in if Franco was serious about this. If he accepted then he must have liked Pat. What wasn't there to like about Pat?
"Louis," Michael broke through my thoughts, "What are we waiting for? Let's go in."
I sighed, "Michael, I think this was a bad idea. Pat is exactly the type of guy that Franco needs in his life."
"Oh, don't worry. Uncle Troy said he isn't," he simply said.
I furrowed my eyebrows, "Why not?"
"Because Pat is wishy-washy," he explained, "And Uncle Troy said that daddy is too so it wouldn't work out. It'd just make things awkward. Like two negatives on a magnet, they would push away inside of coming closer."
"You believe Troy?" I asked, kind of irked by the insult.
"Yes," he answered clearly even after noticing my irritation and continued pointedly, "Because Uncle Troy loves daddy and wouldn't say anything just to be mean. It's just like when grandma called you moody."
"She really said that?" I asked in disbelief. However, thinking back, it does sound like her.
"You are moody," he confirmed with a shrug.
I glared at the cheeky little boy, "I didn't ask for a second opinion."
"I don't mean it in a bad way. I looooove you," he hugged my neck dramatically, smashing his cheek against mine, "You're the best Louis ever."
I rolled my eyes, "I doubt you even know another Louis. Now get off me so we can go in."
"Yay," he released me and hopped out the car excitedly. I followed him into the restaurant, nervousness rolling like a rock in my stomach. The hostess asked us to follow her to a table but, unfortunately for her, we found Franco's table before we could make it there.
"Daddy, Pat, what are you doing here?" Michael asked with cheery surprise, as if this really was just a pleasant coincidence.
They were both shocked to see us but when Franco spotted me, he immediately figured it out but instead of being mad, he seemed simply exasperated. Pat followed his eyes and eyed me warily.
"Hey, Michael," he greeted cautiously, "What are you doing here?"
"Exactly my question," Franco looked between the two of us and seemed to be deciding whether to be angry or amused, "Shouldn't you be with your abuela?"
"I told her I wanted to hang out with Louis," he slid in the booth next to Pat, purposely leaving Franco's side open to me.
"And Louis, of course, came running when you asked," Franco concluded, giving me a disapproving frown that was contradicted by the amusement in his eyes.
"I didn't come running," I retorted pathetically, "I drove."
"Oh, you drove," Franco nodded sarcastically, "Huge difference."
"Yes, it is," I agreed, just to continue the joke since I could see the outline of the smile he was holding back, "I even went under the speed limit."
He cracked and laughed, "I'm trying so damn hard to be mad at you. Stop smiling and let me be angry."
Smiling?
Right, I was smiling. Actually, my smile was so wide, I couldn't fathom how I didn't feel it. I glanced at Michael to see that he basically had heart eyes while staring at the two of us. Then on the other end of the spectrum was Pat. The teacher was watching us with a slight frown. We made eye contact for a second. In that second, he did nothing but quirk his eyebrow but I felt myself blush, probably confirming his thoughts.
We stayed at the table and ordered our food, forgetting that this was supposed to be a date between Franco and Pat. Even Pat seemed to forget after a while and flowed with the conversation.
"I have to pee," Franco said, suddenly standing up.
I slid out of the booth to let him past and commented, "There are so many euphemisms you could have used."
"If 'pee' honestly offends you then I'll be sure to use more often," he grinned cheekily, making me chuckle and roll my eyes. "Do you need to go, Mikey?"
Michael popped up, "Yep. I've been holding it for so long."
Franco chuckled and asked him why as they walked towards the bathroom together. I didn't realize I was following their every move with my eyes until Pat called my name. He wore an amused smile and motioned for me to seat back down. Warily, I sat down with the man who was Franco's date though Michael and I really sent that plan straight to hell.
"You did a good job of stealing my date," he commented casually.
I stiffened, feeling a blush rise up. "Sorry, I didn't really mean for this to happen."
"No but Michael did," he smiled knowingly, "He obviously wants you two together. Speaking of which, am I the only one who think that's a little weird?"
"No, I'm as confused as you are."
He chuckled, "Well, I can't say I'm confused as to why. The one of the most important people in his life died so he wants to make sure that the other two are loved and cared for like they should be."
I frowned. At nine years old, he shouldn't be worried about if we're loved and cared for. He shouldn't have any worries other than school. "He shouldn't worry about that."
"So you say," he drawled, "But kids only worry when adults do something that worries them."
"So it's my fault?"
He didn't get to answer before Franco and Michael came back to the table. Michael was chattering on about something and Franco was listening ardently to every word he said. He didn't motion for me to scoot over but sat down and pushed me over so he sat across from his son.
I glared at him, "I guess there's no need to say excuse me."
"Good," he replied with the same cheeky grin that he passed on to Michael. Looking at it now, I knew exactly why I could never stay made at Michael and why I never will.
When we finished eating, Pat requested for a separate bills, seeing how this didn't turn out to be a standard date.
Franco agreed, to the displeasure of our waitress, and motioned towards Michael, "He's on my bill."
"No, he's on mine," I corrected.
Franco turned to me with a glare that was as threatening as a kitten. "No, he's on mine."
"I'm the one that brought him here," I reminded him, "So I'll pay for him."
"But he's my son so I'm paying for him."
"But I love him too so it's only fair that I get to pay for him too."
I watched Franco freeze and look at me with some shock. Without even realizing the effect my confession had, I told the waitress to add Michael's meal to my check and shooed her away. When I turned back to him, he was still staring at me but with a strange small smile. I didn't even realize that I was smiling back.
After paying, we left the restaurant and Franco escorted Pat to his car. I watched them talk, Franco's lips forming apologies and Pat reassuring him that it was okay with hand motions and smiles. Michael leaned his head on my arm, probably watching them too. Their conversation came to an end and Pat drove off. Franco glanced around the parking lot until he spotted us waiting near my car and walked towards us. As he moved, he took out his phone, fiddling with it until before I knew it, he snapped a picture of me and Michael. He grinned at the picture.
I rolled my eyes but didn't comment on the picture. "I'm going to head home. I'll see you later, Franco."
"What? You don't want to drive Michael home too?" he teased.
"I would if you wanted me to. It's not just Michael that I would come running for," I admitted. I chuckled when his eyes widened. Apparently he didn't expect me to be as forward as I was with it.
"Oh," his eyes gleamed happily, "Well thank you. I'll see you later." He nodded for Michael to follow him as he walked down the parking lot.
Michael scampered after him though he swung around mid-step and waved, "Bye Louis."
I waved back then a sudden thought occurred to me. "Franco," I called. They both stopped curiously. "Maybe we should go out for tea some time."