We greet the other two Parker boys in the kitchen. Derrick is on his phone and Ethan is scouring through the cabinets. "Hey, Lacey!" Ethan says as soon as he sees me. He runs up to me, wraps his arms around my legs, and smiles up at me. "Having boy trouble again?" I cover my mouth to laugh and Dylan rolls his eyes. "She's not having boy trouble," Dylan answers for me. "Well, that's debatable," I say. I can't even go out on a real date with him yet because of Kay. "We'll talk about it later," Ethan says, nodding. When Ethan walks away, Dylan gives me a flat look. "I just asked you to be my girlfriend. How are you having boy trouble?" "Your point would be valid if I didn't have to share you." As soon as I say it, he shuts up. Derrick walks up to us and smiles at me. "Lacey, I hope you're prepared for a night of crazy Parker antics." "I think I can handle it," I nod. Hopefully I'll be able to. Dylan hasn't mentioned much about his dad so I don't know what to expect. Dylan, Ethan, Derrick, and I are all in the living room watching TV when we hear the front door open. The butterflies erupt in a frenzy in my stomach as everyone stands up to greet Mr. Parker at the door. Should I call him Mr. Parker? Dylan squeezes my hand as we walk into the kitchen where the other boys are at. Mr. Parker is slightly taller than Derrick, probably right above six feet. He's pulling items out of grocery bags as he speaks with Derrick. He sees me and stops talking. "Well, well, who do we have here?" his smooth voice asks. "Dad, this is Lacey, my girlfriend," Dylan quickly introduces me. Derrick whistles. "Girlfriend, huh?" Ethan jumps in also. "Wait, I thought you had a different boyfriend?" It's all overwhelming so I focus on Dylan's dad and extend my hand out to him. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Parker. I hope I'm not intruding on dinner with your boys." Mr. Parker breaks into a huge smile and shakes my hand. "And she's polite! How on earth did you say yes to this guy?" He wraps his arm around Dylan and messes with his hair. "I'm glad you're here. I knew Dylan would get his dad's charm." Derrick coughs into his hand and Mr. Parker puts his arm around him too. "In fact, all my boys got my charm." "Some of us have more than others," Dylan nudges Derrick. Ethan frowns at me. "So, what happened to that other guy?" he asks me. I'm being put on the spot again. "We broke up a while back. I decided I didn't need that negativity in my life," I tell him. "Good," he nods. "Anyway," Dylan interrupts. "Dinner?" "Yes," Mr. Parker answers. "I picked up some steaks and since I have absolutely no idea how to make a potato salad, I got a store bought one." My stomach growls at the mention of steak. "I hope you're hungry," he turns his attention to me. "These steaks are massive." While Mr. Parker prepares the steak and turns down my efforts to help with dinner somehow, Ethan suggests the rest of us play a card game, specifically Old Maid. I sit next to Dylan at the table and Ethan and Derrick sit opposite of us. After Ethan deals the cards, I realize I have the Old Maid after taking out my pairs. "Lacey, go first," Ethan says as he takes out his pairs. I face Dylan and he rolls his eyes. "Fine," he says, picking a card. He doesn't pick the Old Maid. It's going to be a long game. Mr. Parker soon has the steaks on the grill outside and I end up losing the game. While Dylan laughs at me, Ethan shoots up from the table. "I think I have UNO somewhere," he runs out of the room as he says it. Dylan stands up also. "I'll be right back." He slides behind the glass doors to the backyard where his dad is. My eyes follow Dylan. It was really sweet of him to ask me to be his girlfriend the way he did. I wasn't expecting it, plus the roses are a nice touch. All this Parker charm is making me feel giddy inside. "I knew you guys would go out," Derrick says suddenly, interrupting my thoughts. "I called it." "You aren't the first to say that," I laugh. "I think you guys are good together." I wonder if he knows about the situation with Kay. Getting his perspective will be nice. Has Dylan told him about it? "It's just a little hard right now," I say vaguely. I don't know how much he knows about the Xavier situation, or if he knows at all. He glances at the sliding glass doors before getting up and sitting in Dylan's spot next to me. "Listen, I told Dylan in the beginning not to get involved with Xavier. And now he's dragged you into it, which I'm not happy about." "Why?" "Xavier is a psycho. When Dylan got involved with Kay, I was pissed. I honestly thought he was still with her," he eyes me suspiciously. "We're keeping things a secret," I admit. "Dylan didn't tell you about us?" "Dylan doesn't tell me anything. I have to get information through Reece," he shakes his head. "Does he know what he's doing?" I sigh. "I hope so. It's not just him though. My best friend was neighbors with Xavier and Kay so she got dragged into this too." The sliding glass doors open. "Who's hungry?" Mr. Parker asks. Derrick gives me a look. "I'll give you my number at the end of the night," he quickly says. That means we aren't done talking about the subject and I'm glad someone knows the truth. After we're all served, we sit at the table again. "Dig in, everyone," Mr. Parker says, grabbing his knife. As soon as the steak hits my tongue, I try my best not to shove all the food in at once. "Tell me about yourself, Lacey. What are your aspirations in life? Any hobbies? Any brothers or sisters?" Mr. Parker asks me. I swallow the food in my mouth. "Um, no brothers or sisters. I do write for the school newspaper and I want to be a journalist." "You want to write for the local paper? I've got a buddy who works as an editor. He can probably take you on as an intern," he nods. He'll do that for me? "That would be really awesome," I admit. "I would love to work for the local paper, but I want to move up also. I want to go to bigger places like TIME, or the Post." "Those are some big dreams," he says. "I like that." What are Dylan's dreams? Is there something he is passionate about that I don't know? Maybe I don't know Dylan as well as I think and the reality begins to set in. What will happen after graduation? Does Dylan plan on going to college? What is his dream job? I've been so wrapped up in Xavier and Kay drama that I don't know anything about what Dylan wants for his future. "What about family? Your folks okay with you spending your Friday night here?" Mr. Parker asks, interrupting my thoughts. It's an innocent question, so I can't be upset. Dylan immediately clears his throat. "Uh, dad," he shakes his head. "It's okay," I nod at Dylan. "I live with my aunt right now. I lost my parents in a car accident earlier this year." Hearing the words come from my mouth is still foreign. "Oh," Mr. Parker says. "I'm really sorry." Things get awkward for a few seconds and I feel the pity in their looks. I need to break the tension. "This steak is great, Mr. Parker. I haven't had a good steak in a while." He grins bashfully. "Thank you. And please call me Dean." There is a recurring theme in the Parker household, and it's one that Ethan is not a part of. Dean, Derrick, and Dylan all have the same starting letter in their name, but not Ethan. Dean jokes with the boys about what they were like when they were younger. Apparently, Dylan liked to run around naked a lot. Derrick liked to break into the cabinets and eat all the peanut butter. Ethan, even now, couldn't go anywhere without making a mess of something. One thing absent from these memories is their mom, but there isn't a somber feeling about it. It just seems like they shared memories that she doesn't happen to be in. Dylan and I clean up the mess after dinner. The other three sit in the living room while Dylan washes dishes and I dry them. "I hope you had fun," Dylan says.