The Man of the House

Chapter 148

“Is that why you asked me into your room?” I responded, wearing an amused expression.

I was surprised that her dad had agreed to let me in her room. He had glanced in suspiciously after she opened the door. At that point, she had put her clothing back on and her toy was nowhere in sight. My eyes couldn’t help but look to her bedside stand, but I quickly diverted my eyes. She was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, much like she would have worn before, but somehow it felt more feminine and less tomboyish, although there were still elements of that kind of lifestyle. When her father saw there was nothing wrong, he told us that we had five minutes to head downstairs, or he was going the barge in no matter what. Even with that exception, wasn’t her father kind of whipped?

Her face flushed. “No, I just wanted to tell you that whatever you think you saw, you didn’t see it.”

“Is that so?” I smirked. “I’m not sure I can unsee it.”

“Noah!” She glared at me. “I mean it. If it got out, it’d be social suicide.”

I made a face. “Is being popular that important to you?”

“It isn’t about being popular!” She glared at me, but when she saw my face, she look away again. “There are already a lot of rumors going on about me. My mom cheated on my dad. It’s embarrassing. Now, dad is trying to overcompensate. I just don’t want to be seen as weird.”

“I never saw you as weird.” I sighed. “Then again, I wasn’t enough.”

She blinked. “What do you mean?”

I raised my eyebrow. “Isn’t that why we stopped being friends?”

“What?” She looked shocked. “The reason we stopped being friends... was... we just drifted apart.”

Her voice started strong, but as she reached the end of it, it seemed to lose power, and she looked a bit awkward.

“I liked you,” I spoke up, causing her eyes to look up. “I always did.”

Her mouth fell open a bit, and then she shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I let out a laugh, shrugging. “I was scared. I didn’t want to ruin what we had by taking the chance. In the end, I ended up losing you anyway.”

“Noah...” She reached out, touching my arm hesitantly. “I don’t know what to say. I have a boyfriend.”

I winced internally. I hadn’t been expecting that. In the other world, she was a popular person, but she wasn’t in a relationship. It turned out it was too much to wish that a popular girlfriend wasn’t someone she was in a relationship with. It looked like she was already taken. There was nothing I could do about it other than wish her well and move on with my life.

Well, that’s what I would have thought had it been the previous me. The current me had lived in the shoes of a girl. I had interacted on that level and at least knew a bit about how they thought. A grin formed on my lips.

“Well, then, I’ll just have to steal you from him.” I declared.

“Wh-what?” She took a step back.

I tilted my head. “Did I mumble? If you have a boyfriend, then I’ll just have to beat him up and take you.”

“H-he’s on the football team, so he’d kick your ass.” She responded indignantly.

“Really?” I took a step toward her. “Well, he must have a tiny dick, so he can’t be that threatening.”

“T-tiny?” She squeaked, backing up a step warily. “Why would you say that?”

“Isn’t it because you have to use a toy to satisfy yourself?” I grinned.

Her face turned red, her expression angry. “I said you didn’t see anything.”

“And I responded that I’d never forget such a wonderful sight.”

“Past tense,” I responded, leaning up and kissing her cheek. “Didn’t I already say?”

Her face turned red, but she didn’t resist even as I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her neck from behind.

“Do I need to come up there?” Her dad yelled.

“Guh!” She elbowed me in the gut.

“No, dad! We’re coming!” She got up, shot me another look mixed between anger and embarrassment, and then after quickly fixing her hair, left the room.

With a chuckle, I quickly did a clothing check and then followed after her. I had gotten good at this sort of fun. In a house with so many sisters, I’d get pulled into one room or the other. Some of my sisters would get jealous of the attention I gave others, so I made it a habit of making sure I could clean up quickly and leave without a trace. I found most people weren’t nearly as observant as the ones being observed presumed. Obvious things were usually ignored.

As I headed down the stairway, my mom was serving something on the table. “It’s dinner time!”

“Noah’s mom! Y-you’re here?” Samantha was shocked when she saw my mom in an apron serving kitchen.

“I invited Noah and his mother over for dinner. Is that okay with you?” Her father asked.

“No...” She shot me a side look as I entered the room. “It’s fine.”

Her eyes seemed to say what she couldn’t. You did that to me with your mother there? I had done far more to my sisters under mom’s nose, but that was a different world. In that one, mom had known a great deal more than I wished for in this world. I’d rather keep exactly what I do with different girls intimately between us this time around.

“Well, sit, sit... Noah! Remember your manners!” Mom huffed as she started to set the table.

I moved forward and started to help her while Samantha and her dad found a seat. Only once everything was brought out did we all end up sitting together and eating. The meal was surprisingly flavorful, and I both thought of a few ways to improve it and gained a few insights into my cooking by seeing Mom’s final product.

While we ate, it was mostly conversation with Mom and Bob while the pair of us stayed quiet. It was only when Bob asked me a question or Mom asked Samantha that we would open our mouths to speak. Throughout the dinner, Samantha would occasionally give me looks. They weren’t hateful or disgusted looks but conflicted ones.

Just as supper was finishing up, Bob leaned toward me. “Let’s got get that headlight in, sound good?”

“Ah! Y-yeah.” I agreed as he put a hand on my shoulder.

Samantha watched as I was dragged away into the garage, but my mom seemed to grab her and put her to work clearing dishes. That was the last I saw before we were in front of the car with an open hood. The repair was easy. He just had to reach in, loosen a single cable, and then swap the bulb out. He swapped one bulb, and then told me to do the other. He said it was better to do both at once so the bulbs were the same. As I was in the middle of installing it by repeating what he had shown me, he was hovering nearby, with his arms crossed.

“I noticed the hickey she was trying to hide,” he suddenly said, causing me to freeze.

“Oh... um...”

“Listen, Noah, I always liked you. Frankly, I was a little sad when my girl stopped hanging out with you. However, that was when you were just friends. I’m not going to get in the way of you two. My daughter is going through a lot right now, and perhaps having you will help her in some way. However, if you hurt my daughter, you’re going to have to answer to me, understand?”

I realized why I had been brought out here. I was being given the dad talk. In the past, I hadn’t had to face such a thing. Now, I didn’t know where to laugh or cry. I realized he was staring at me, waiting for an answer.

“Okay, but I’ll say the same to you.”

He blinked. “What?”

“You don’t think I know you like my mom?” I asked.

“Ah!” he broke into a cough, the stern look he had been trying to wear turning into an embarrassment. “That’s just...”

“Well, she’s my mom, and she’s been through a lot too.” I declared. “If you hurt my mom, you’re going to answer me!”

I declared just as I finished the work, standing up and facing him. He stared at me with a raised eyebrow, and I stared right back. After a moment of silence, he let out a laugh.

“Touché.” He held out his hand. “In that case, let’s both become men the girls can be proud of.”

I reached out a took his hand.