Stepping in Love

Chapter 2: The Dinner

Luffy

Today was Friday and simultaneously the last day of the school year before Summer holidays. The weather was hot and humid so I rushed after school back home just to feel the coolness of the AC. And that was exactly what I did. I got in the house followed by Zoro, kicked my shoes to the side and turned the AC on a really low temperature. I loved the sun and the heat, but this time around it was unbearable.

"So, what are your plans for today? Did you plan a date with the snake woman?" Zoro inquired uninterested, just to start a conversation.

"Yes, I'll go on a date with Hancock for dinner"

"Did you make reservations?" He asked and I heard the door open as my dad got in the house.

"Nope, I will do so later"

"No, you won't" Dad stepped in.

"Why?!"

"We are having guests over for dinner. You have to be here"

"Why didn't you say that earlier???"

"I forgot about it probably, doesn't matter. As long as Dadan has made preparations." I sighed and texted Hancock that it was cancelled for today. She texted back with a sad emoji but told me it was fine.

Later that day, when Zoro left for home, dad sat me down in the living room.

"Luffy, I'm sorry that I forgot to mention it but I have a lover."

"What?!"

"She will be moving in with us next week with her daughter" I was silent. It was sudden but I was happy for him to finally find some company, especially since I'll be moving out next year.

"Okay"

"Cool" he said and stormed off to his room already dialing the number of, I'm guessing, my soon to be Stepmom. I just hope they are good people that won't shout at me for having a messy room like dad does and also, that they love food like me and Hancock do.

We have plenty of rooms in our house. There were two on the first floor and 4 on the second. Those were the ones that we usually shared with my two older best friends/siblings when they visited and the other one was my dad's. Dad's room was the first one on the hallway and I had the one furthest from the entry leaving two guest's rooms in between.

I sat on my bed waiting impatiently for time to pass. It was still 6 o'clock and dinner wasn't supposed to start until 6:30. I could see dad pacing back and forth on the hallway nervous.

"Dad you're gonna sweat. Stop walking."

"I won't. You've set the AC on arctic temperature." He had a point.

I got up and stared at myself in the mirror. I had showered and shaved my sideburns and my chin since those were the only areas I could grow some hair. I was looking fresh. I wore some jeans and a burgundy T-shirt. My hair were messy like usual and overall I looked good.

The doorbell rang. For some reason I started feeling nervous. I heard feminine voices. One was rough and mature while the other one was sweet and kind, I felt my heart skip a bit but whatever, I was just stressed.

I walked to the living room where they all sat.

"Hello, my name is Monkey D. Luffy."

"Hello, young man, I'm Bellemere, nice to meet you!" a woman in her 40s spoke up. I guessed that this was the woman my father fell in love with.

"Hello, my name is Nami" I looked at the person that said that. She was a girl my age. She looked cute and elegant, wearing a white dress with little pink flowers that went up her knees. On her feet she had some beige sandals. Her hair were loose and wavy locks of bright orange colour. They looked soft. No one could deny that she was beautiful.

"Nice to meet you too" I said. My gaze was on my dad and he was giving me signs that he was pleased with the introductions.

"I have another daughter but she's in university that should have been here, however, her exams are coming up so she stayed back to study." Bellemere added.

We sat at the table and talked. I was not paying any attention untill Nami spoke up.

"So, how old are you?"

"17, how 'bout you?"

"17, too" she answered.

"Are you planning to go to a university like your sister?" I asked her curiously.

"Yes, I'd love to become a kindergarten teacher"

"Sounds cool" I claimed

"What are you planning to do?" She inquired. I gave it some thought before answering.

"I want to continue my dad's corporation as a leader. I really want to be the youngest and most successful man in the world"

"Wow, that's a big accomplishment to achieve! Good luck with that"

"Thank you" I said genuinely smiling at her. I thought I saw her blush but she was back to normal in a blink of an eye.

"Do you think we'll be in the same school as well?"

"I don't know, it'll be fun I think"

"Yeah" she said grinning.

The night went on and we shared stories and laughter. Dinner was over and Nami and her mother left. They had a tour of the house before that and Nami decided she wanted the bedroom next to mine since it had a better view from the window. It was the same room as mine just flipped. Dad had already ordered her new furniture and they planned on moving as soon as possible.

Bellemere was kind. She looked tough but was warm and welcoming on the inside. We learned that she worked as a soldier until Nami came in her life.

All in all, I was relieved about my new family additions or so I thought.