Seventeen | Soulmate AU | ✔

36 | Dinner

I know. What an original chapter title, Owl. You're such a genius.

[comment here if you have a better chapter title. whether i'll be motivated enough to change the chapter banner is debatable. sorry guys. i'm a little tired, as you can see, and i don't particularly care to think up my own chapter title. thanks.]

I already started on the next chapter (I know, what a hustler), and it's turning out really interesting so far.  You'll see what I mean when I post it. That chapter's in Keefe's perspective, so get ready for that. Happy Monday, you guys. Make sure to vote, comment, leave feedback, all that stuff. Love you. x

I make sure that I arrive on time for dinner. I'm feeling a bit nervous, but when I talked to Sophie earlier she told me that everything would be fine. It's just like every other time; I keep telling myself. I'm not sure that's necessarily going to work, though.

Sophie opens the door for me with a smile, stepping aside to let me in. "You still nervous?"

"Nah, I know they'll love me," I answer cockily with an easy smirk. I give her a side hug, but I think she can tell that I'm still slightly nervous. Confidence is always an easy fake.

"Are you nervous?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively. "You're a little tense over there, Foster."

"Not at all," she replies quickly, shooting me a look. She takes my hand and leads me to the dinner table, where dinner is being served. It seems like dinner is a family event at Foster's house. Edaline brings out dishes, Grady puts out plates, and Amy is setting out utensils and fabric napkins. I wonder what Sophie's normal role is.

"It smells delicious," I comment, feeling rather awkward catching everyone's attention as I walk into the room. Everyone seems to have a role here and it really makes me want to do something as well. "Can I help with something?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you're the guest," Sophie says from beside me, giving me a smile that makes my heart race in my chest.

Amy, her sister, gives me a look like I'm an alien. It reminds me of the way Sophie acts. She gestures to a chair on the side of the table closest to me. "Sit down, pretty boy."

"I've raised our daughters so well," I hear Edaline comment from across the room to Grady. He shakes his head, chuckling lightly.

I raise my hands in the air, surrendering as I sit down. "Whatever the Foster people want. Just let me know if I can help."

"You can stand up again," Sophie chimes brightly from where she's leaning against a chair on my right.

I turn to her, confused, but I don't question it. I stand up again, looking at her.

Sophie comes over to me and pulls out my chair, then gestures for me to sit down. "It would be rude of me not to help you into your chair."

"You didn't have to do that," I protest, but I set down anyways with a smile at the gesture.

Amy snickers, seating herself across from me. "You've got him so whipped, sister."

Everyone else at the table sits down, the table set and ready to eat. Sophie sits to my right, Grady to my left, and Edaline next to Amy across from me. Edaline starts to pass out dishes, asking for plates as she loads them all up with yummy-looking green beans. The sweet potatoes and chicken get passed around, followed by the garlic bread. It's apparently clear that everything on the table is homemade by someone in the family, and I start to get an idea of just what family dinners mean in this household.

Once we've all got plates and start to eat, the questioning starts. I have the great luck of being seated next to Grady, which makes me incredibly wary to try anything. I can feel him observing me and the way I interact with Sophie.

"So, Keefe, how's school going for you? Sophie mentioned that you're on the football team?" Edaline asks with a pleasant smile, her fork full of chicken. She seems to be the meat-eater in the family.

"Good. School's been surprisingly pleasant the past few months," I say, glancing at Sophie knowingly. She sees the look and blushes, her eyes going straight down as she stabs a sweet potato on her plate. "I do play football, yeah. I'm not that good, though."

My soulmate completely ignores me, looking at her mother. "He's pretty good, actually. He's just being modest. Even if that word isn't included in his vocabulary."

"Hey!" I say playfully.

"It's the truth," both she and her sister chorus at the same time.

I look at Grady – I regret doing that – for some reason. "How do you survive in a house full of women? They're scary and you're outnumbered."

He laughs, to my surprise. "You learn to live with them after a while. Do you not have any women in your family?"

I shrug awkwardly. "Just my Mom, but she's not really around anymore. It's just me and my father these days."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Edaline gushes immediately. She tries to change the topic, unaware that my family is an altogether bad topic. "What's your father like?"

"He runs a company, so he's normally busy all of the time. We don't really spend much time together unless he's got a business meeting," I say, chewing on my string beans that suddenly taste like cardboard in my mouth. I can feel Sophie rubbing my knee below the table comfortingly, and her touch does help.

Amy, on the other hand, is quite outspoken and has no problem being tactful. "Not a family man, huh? That must suck – having a quiet house." She glances around the table. "Then again, I could see how that could be nice."

"Amy!" Edaline chides her for being so blunt.

She offers me an apologetic smile, shrugging. I get the feeling that within the family she's the one that is the most confrontational. Sophie isn't very, and her mother really is tactful. Grady's just the one that scares people off and doesn't talk as much unless you include him in the conversation.

"How about college plans?" Edaline asks, glancing at me. "What are you thinking about for the future?"

"I'm honestly thinking of going into art," I start to tell her. I talk about that for a bit, also discussing how my father wants me to go into business.

From college talks, the rest of the discussion ends up with jokes and fun times. I surprisingly don't get a stereotypical dad talk like I expected with Grady, and it goes well. I do the dishes after dinner.

When I walk out the door and say goodnight to Foster by giving her a quick kiss on the check and thank them all for having me.

Things are going my way for once in my life. What a miracle.