Dedicated to tomichele500 for being an amazing reader and commenting some beautiful comments that make me smile.

The movie I chose is one of my all time favorites but, by the way he keeps groaning and covering his face every five minutes, Dakota finds it a little more difficult to enjoy.

Being completely honest, I find him a bit more entertaining than the movie itself. I shove a handful of popcorn in my mouth as I glance over at him, his eyes doing that weird thing where his face and nose is pulled up in a wince but his eyes are wide.

"You good?" I laugh when he covers his face with the blanket, his legs pulled up on the couch.

He looks over at me, lowering the blanket and relaxing his face. "Yeah I'm fine I'm just cringing at this movie but I'll live."

I laugh, looking back to the movie. "Thirteen Going on Thirty is a fantastic movie." I defend, knowing very well that it's more of a chick movie and, while I'm sure plenty of men enjoy it as well, I knew Dakota would absolutely despise it.

He reaches over onto my lap, noticeably scooting a bit closer to me on the couch mind you, to grab some popcorn for himself. "I'm sure it is a fantastic movie...for thirteen year of girls." He deadpans.

I lay on my back, scoffing, before using my foot to kick him in the side slightly. "Shut up."

His hand immediately grabs my foot, pushing it away. "I'm just saying that the fact that The Hulk plays in this is throwing me off. And she was such a jerk when they were younger so why is she expecting his help? It's unethical. Not to mention that the whole thing is the work of witchcraft in that weird dust crap." He says sassily, earning another swift kick from me. "Ow." Dakota explains sarcastically, pushing my foot away once more.

"He made his debut as The Hulk way after this movie was made. That's hardly a valid reason to hate the movie." I pop a few pieces of popcorn in my mouth and enjoy the crunch with a smug smile.

He rolls his eyes, pinning my legs down on his lap as to not be kicked again. "Well you're missing the whole thing by running your big mouth so watch the movie and stop trying to convert me." His dry tone is spot on but when I peer at him closely, I spot a small smirk on his lips.

"Mhm. Okay." I chuckle lowly, turning my attention to the screen. As I twist to lay on my side, I keep my legs outstretched onto Dakota's lap. He seems to have lost concern for more abuse by my feet so his grip on them has slackened.

Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, I pull it over myself and snuggle into the cushions, fighting to keep my eyes open. I guess Dakota was right, I am pretty tired.

✰✰✰

When I wake up, Dakota is gone and the television is playing a Bob Ross tutorial which I find very odd. Sitting up, I look around, rubbing my eyes to rid them of the dryness; I hate falling asleep in my contact lenses.

Saying nothing, I push the blanket off of me and pick my phone up off of the floor. It must have fallen in the midst of my sleep. Checking the screen, I sigh in relief. It's only a little after six o'clock, I have plenty of time to get ready for my dinner with my dad.

Just as I'm about to text Dakota inquiring about his whereabouts, he walks in with an apple in his hand, a single bite taken out of it. His hair is ruffled and the right side of his head looks significantly more flat so I'm guessing he also fell asleep.

"Oh, you're up." He crunches on his apple. "I was just about to wake you. Did you know that you snore?" He jumps over the back of the couch and lands with a slight spring next to me.

"No I don't." I tell him matter of factly, running a hand through my hair to rid it of tangles.

"Dang it, that was a fail." He sighs, biting into the fruit in his hand once more. "But for real, if you're ready to go, I can take you home. I know you have that dinner thing to get to. What's it for anyway? Just to have some family bonding time?" He asks me as I stand up, folding the blanket and laying it back over the back of the couch.

"My dad got a new job that he's wanted for a while and so we're celebrating." I explain with an excited smile.

Dakota smiles back, swallowing. "You seem to be really happy for him so therefore I am too. What's he going to be doing?"

"He went to college for engineering so that's what he's finally going to be doing." I chuckle, holding a hand out for him. He grabs it and I help pull him up off of the couch.

"That's awesome, I'm glad he's getting to do what makes him happy." He tells me, leading the way down the stairs.

Their sitting room downstairs has no television which I find both interesting and really cool. They have a "movie room" upstairs in a sort of common area down the hall from Samantha and Dakota's bedrooms and that's where everyone goes if they wish to watch something. That and they all have their own laptops for binging Netflix on their own time.

As we walk through the front door, I grab my shoes and backpack but don't bother putting any of them on as I trot to the Jeep, the sun setting slightly in the distance.

"Ready?" Dakota asks me as I buckle myself in. I nod in response before we pull out of the driveway and begin on our way.

As expected, we're there in only two minutes flat. "Thank you for the ride, I really appreciate it." I smile at him as I step out of the vehicle, throwing my backpack over my shoulder.

"No problem." He tells me, putting those darned sunglasses on again. "Thank you for hanging out with me even though you passed out and drooled all over my couch." He gives me a crooked grin.

"No I didn't." I deadpan, earning a laugh from him.

"It was worth a try." He shrugs. "I'll see you later, Lillian."

"Bye." I wave meekly before he drives off, honking once as he goes making me laugh lightly to myself.

As soon as I open the door, the familiar feeling of home surrounds me and every muscle in my body relaxes. When I was fifteen and my mom was gone, coming home was something I dreaded with every fiber of my being. I would do anything to refrain from coming home and living amongst a million reminders of my broken family.

Now, after my dad and I rearranged, redecorated, and even painted some of the rooms, it's like my mom was never here. It took us longer to bring ourselves to get rid of her stuff, especially for my dad, but after about a year, all of her stuff was gone. It's funny how you can be so angry at someone yet miss them so much that your heart feels like it's going to shatter into one thousand pieces.

Part of me still remembers my mom fondly but then most of me just knows the facts; she left me, she never even tried to contact me, she obviously loves herself more than she could ever love me.

"Lillian?" My dad yells from somewhere upstairs, his voice muffled. "Is that you?"

"No, this is a robbery. Bring me all of your valuables." I yell back with a smile and soon he stands at the top of the stairs with an unamused expression.

"You're hilarious." He sighs, a tie loose around his neck. "Can you help me with this?" He asks me as he steps down the stairs.

"Sure." I smile softly as he stands in front of me, the smell of his cologne bringing me into a stage of nostalgia. It's the same scent he wore when I was a little girl. My hands wrap the tie around itself before shimmying the small knot up to his coller. "There. Better?"

"Yes, thank you." He kisses my forehead gently before stepping away, his feet still only covered by a pair of socks. "Now I just need my shoes. Have you seen my - "

"In the hall closet." I interrupt him as I hold the stair railing, making my way up to my bedroom to get ready myself.

"Thanks, kid." He calls before leaving to get them.

Searching through my closet after I've finished my makeup, I pull out a few options to wear tonight. After trying on all three of them, I decide on a tan spaghetti strap dress with white detailing covering the whole thing in beautiful and intricate patterns. I put it on, running my hands over it all the way to the button as it falls just above my knees.

Grabbing my spray bottle from my vanity, I spritz it over my hair and open my hand to gently squeeze some hair moose into my palm before scrunching it into my hair to accentuate the already natural curls.

Bunching up the hair, I squeeze and shake my roots to add volume, smiling at myself in the mirror as my gaze runs over my bronzed skin and dark gold eye makeup. I got a bit brave and took the time to actually do some thin winged eyeliner, my blue eyes standing out against the contrast of colors.

My hands reach for a tube of nude lipstick, carefully opening the cap and running it over my lips and fixing the edges with my fingertip. Finally, I open a small container of clear lipgloss and put a thin layer over the lipstick to give my lips some shine.

"Lillian! It's time to go, I'll be out in the car." My dad hollers up the stairs.

"Okay!"

I sigh at my reflection. "I'm happy with this." I nod, grabbing a pair of nude heels with a strap around the ankle and a single strap over the toes.

I shove my phone, a twenty dollar bill, my bank card, and my lipstick and gloss into a white clutch with a gold braided strap and make my way downstairs.

As soon as I settle into the passenger seat, my dad gives a low whistle. "Look at you."

I laugh, tucking my hair behind my ear. "You like it?"

"I love it." He tells me with a fond smile. "You look beautiful, honey."

"Thank you, dad. Now let's go before we miss our reservation." I tell him with fraud sternness, a smile peeking through.

"Alright alright." He chuckles lowly, putting the car in drive.

On the way there, my dad talks excitedly about his new position and about all of the details and every little thing about the job while I nod along and try my best to follow along. I'm not sure that it matters much if I understand anyway because he just needs someone to listen and be expected for him. Which I very much am happily that person for him anytime he needs me.

I step out of the car as soon as my dad pulls the door open for me. "After you m'lady."

"Thank you." I chuckle, taking his arm.

I walk through the doors of the surprisingly very chic restaurant with an air of confidence. It's not every day that my dad and I get to dress up and go to a five star restaurant with one another. In fact, I can't remember the last time we did.

The waiter who walks us to our table seems nice enough considering he holds out my chair for me and returns regularly to ask if we need anything. I try not to feel uncomfortable when he stares at me a little too long before walking off with our orders.

I sip at the lemonade he brought me, the rim of the glass lined with sugar and a slice of lime propped onto it as well. My dad looks at me closely with an amused smile.

"You can't really blame him for staring. You take after your old man." He winks as I laugh at his words, shaking my head.

"He's probably not even staring. He's just being nice."

"A little too nice." My dad sips on his own beverage; blackberry whine just like him and mom used to drink together. I guess that habit was never broken.

"Stop it." I roll my eyes. "It's his job to be nice."

"It's not his job to stare at you across the room like you're a prime rib." He replies smartly as he looks at me over his glass.

"What?" I ask him, confused.

"Your eight o'clock." He nods in that direction inconspicuously before setting down his glass and pretending to fiddle with his silverware.

I wait a few seconds before turning, pretending to itch my head a little bit as my eyes glide to the corner of the room where our waiter stands with a few other employees, his eyes on me. As soon as his gaze meets mine, his eyes widen slightly and he quickly looks back to his fellow workers and begins participating in the conversation.

"Huh." I hum, turning back to my dad who looks to be finding this very amusing. "I guess he was looking at me. But that doesn't mean anything."

"It means he thinks you're hot apparently because he's looking at you again." His face becomes red as he holds back his boisterous laughter that's clearly threatening to spill over.

I cover my face with my hand slightly to shield my mouth from the waiter as I say, "What is his problem?"

My dad leans forward and whispers, "I guess his problem is he's male."

"Now it makes sense." I laugh at his joke.

He pauses, leaning back against his chair with a small smirk. "Speaking of males, I saw a young man drop you off today two hours after you got off of work. Care to explain?" He sips at his wine once again as I sigh.

"His name is Dakota and you already know who he is. We got trapped in the elevator together." I tell him.

My dad shakes his head. "I had never seen him before so excuse me when I was shocked to see you hop out of a Jeep that belongs to an attractive kid."

"You find him attractive? Maybe I should be grilling you instead, dad." I say dryly, drinking my tarte beverage sassily.

"Oh stop." My dad rolls his eyes. "I'm serious. Do you like this guy or something? Where were you?"

"I was watching a movie at his house and we're just friends." I tell him sharply, almost too defensively. "I'm sorry I guess I just want you to know that, if there was anything going on, I would tell you because you're not only my dad, you're also my friend."

My dad grins at me. "I'll drink to that. Cheers." He holds his wine glass up and I carefully tap mine against his with a laugh.

Soon after, the waiter returns with our meals and, this time, I notice his subtle flickering eyes over at me and the way he leans in a little too close as he places my plate of pasta and chicken in front of me.

Once he's gone, my dad and I joke about it a little before he begins to talk about his exciting for his new job once again.

All in all, I'd say the dinner goes splendidly and, by the time we have to leave, I find myself wishing I could stay there at that table and see my dad's face light of with happiness forever.

My father leaves to pull up the car for me after much arguing on my part about being perfectly capable to walk to the car. I finally agree when I realize how much pain my feet are in after wearing these low support heels.

As I wait, I fiddle with the strap of my clutch. I stiffen when someone stops behind me and taps on my shoulder lightly. Closing my eyes and releasing a breath, I turn around and place a smile on my face. "Hello." I say to the dark haired waiter.

His smile is rather nice I must admit but his dark chocolate brown eyes hold something in them as he looks at me that I don't quite like. "Hey. I'm glad you came tonight, I really enjoyed being your server." So far everything is normal. This is good.

"Thank you, you were an amazing waiter. Enjoy your night." I go to turn and walk away but his hand catches my wrist gently.

"Here's the thing," He begins, "I think you're absolutely gorgeous and I was hoping to get your number. I'd love to get to know you." He grins at me, dimples appearing on his cheeks.

I sigh, forcing a smile on my lips. "Um...that's very sweet of you and I appreciate the compliment. You seem like a very nice guy but I actually...I actually have a boyfriend." I blurt, feeling deeply guilty for taking the easy way out.

His face falls. "Oh. Really?"

"Yeah..." I reply.

"What's his name?" He asks me with a suspicious expression as if he believes I'm lying. I would feel more offended if he weren't correct.

"His name?" I repeat, "It's...Dakota." The name rushes from my lips and, as soon as I say it, I want to take it back because the waiter's eyes light up at the mention of it.

"It wouldn't happen to be Dakota Thornton would it?" He asks me curiously.

"Yes. It is actually. Do you know him or..." please say no.

"Yeah!" He chuckles, "Our moms are friends. Wow, what a small world." More like what an annoyingly small town.

"Yeah." I mumble. "Hey so, it was great to meet you..."

"Peter." He jumps in with a laugh.

"Right - Peter, it was nice to meet you but I've got to go. My dad is waiting for me so I'm going to have to say goodnight and head out." I tell him, jutting my thumb behind me.

He looks in that direction, nodding understandingly. "Okay. Well...goodnight. Dakota is one lucky guy." He tells me sweetly.

"Thank you, Peter." I smile at him before turning on my heel and walking out the door. My dad's gaze meets mine with a questioning look and I mouth to him that I'll explain later. Or maybe I'll leave out the part where I said Dakota is my boyfriend.