The Football Boys (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Twenty One : Family Ties

I sat on the back porch of Dakota's house with him beside me, watching my parents and his chat like old times. Mrs. Moreau looked well, compared to the last time I had seen her. My mom and her were talking with smiles on their faces and Mrs. Moreau looked like she was on verge of happy tears. My dad spared me the lectures and had opted to help Mr. Moreau with the BBQ, the smells made my mouth water.

"How's your mom?" I asked Dakota.

"She's getting better." Dakota said solemnly, but by the expression on his face it seemed he still had some anger towards her.

"I nearly laughed in my moms face when she told me we were coming over for a BBQ." I said to him with a chuckle, hoping to cheer him up from whatever was bugging him.

"I guess the two of them patched things up." He said as he looked over at them.

I nodded, but I knew he wasn't telling me something and seemed off. I brushed my hand against his, giving him silent comfort although I didn't fully know what was bothering him. He turned to look at me and smiled, the kind that made me do a double take, wanting to do nothing but grab his face and kiss him in front of everybody.

But I was smart enough not to do that.

My dad and Mr.Moreau had finished grilling the meat and we dug in as we sat on the patio, the savory flavors swirled in my mouth and I let out a groan of satisfaction. Dakota smirked and rubbed my thigh underneath the table making me jolt, gaining questionable stares from our parents.

"Everything okay, son?" Mr.Moreau asked with a arched brow.

"It's just really good." I let out a nervous chuckle, kicking Dakota's foot with my own. He bit his lip, suppressing a laugh.

"I'd just like to make a toast to my best friend, for doing so great." My mom lifted up her glass of wine with a proud smile. We clinked out glasses together, with me only wishing I had a glass of wine instead of the lemonade. Mrs.Moreau smiled sheepishly, thanking my mom with a pat on the back and it felt like the days of when I was a kid, seeing our parents constantly together and close.

The rough patch between my mom and Mrs.Moreau never affected Dakota and I's friendship but it made me happy seeing my mom the way she was before she would always compare the two of us. I still didn't understand why she started comparing me to him, or when for that matter. One day she just changed.

"I hear your co-captain now Luka." Mr.Moreau said with a grin. I nodded and muttered out an answer.

"I'm just hearing about this now?" My dad asked, his voice gave away that he was slightly annoyed.

"Oh you're always busy, hun. I must've forgot to tell you." My mom said patting his hand. I scoffed seeing right through her and pulled myself from the fake reality I was in, for thinking that maybe for a second she was back to the way she was before. Knowing her, she probably didn't even bother mentioning it to my dad at all.

"That's great son. I'm sorry I couldn't congratulate you earlier." He said with a smile that caught me off guard. He was either frowning or stone cold, it surprised me to see a different expression on his face, it looked off. And we'd be arguing by now. I nodded unable to say anything and continued to eat.

I could sense the awkward tension in the air, between my dad and Mr.Moreau. It almost made me chuckle knowing my own father didn't know about his only son becoming co-captain but Mr.Moreau did, as bad as that sounds. But I didn't let it bother me to much. He's forgotten about my own birthday once before, this was nothing new.

After the BBQ Dakota and I jumped in his pool for a swim while our parents sat inside, continuing to drink the rest of the wine bottle. Ironic how they were having this BBQ to celebrate Mrs.Moreau getting help for alcoholism, yet they were drinking wine together. I could still see them through the big glass window on the back of the house, laughing together.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" I asked Dakota, now that we were alone.

"She's not getting better. If anything she's getting worse." He paused for a moment.

"My dad, he actually wants me to pretend that everything is alright. Just so our moms would start talking again." He scoffed and I heaved out a sigh, taking in everything he'd just said.

"I just can't stand it here sometimes."

Dakota took in a gasp of air before going under the water. I held my breath and joined him, opening my eyes to take in his features as they glowed beneath the water.

He inched towards me, with a subtle grin. We stared at each other for a moment, before he cupped my face with his hand, bringing me closer and pressing his lips against mine. I grabbed his waist, pulling him towards me so we wouldn't drift apart. His lips felt softer underwater, and the kiss felt deeper. It gave me adrenaline knowing that at any moment someone could catch us but at the same time it felt like we were in a different world. Bubbles of air escaped from our mouths as they moved in sync.

I couldn't hold my breath any longer and swam up for a breather. Dakota emerged from the water with a grin on his face, pushing back his ash brown hair that looked almost as black as mine, now that it was wet. I chuckled splashing him, and started swimming away. As I was getting out of the pool, he pulled me back in by my waist, pushing me under the water, kissing me once more with a hand snaked around my neck.

We swam back up, gasping for breaths of air. I chuckled and moved closer to him, his features glistened against the sun as water droplets slid down his freckled skin.

"Time to go son." My dads voice made me jump and I whipped my head around. He was standing on the back deck, with his arms crossed.

"Coming." I quickly got out of the pool and waved to Dakota as he continue swim, winking at me with a grin.

On the walk home I glanced at my dad, wondering if he had seen the two of us under the water. But as soon as we got home he went straight to his office without a word. I took that as he hadn't.

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