Maybe Forever (Missing Pieces Book 1) (4 page)

“It was inherited, actually,” Jamie says matter-of-factly.

“Real funny. I’m not going to fight with you, Jamie.”

“Good. Let’s just enjoy our dinner. Who knows when I’ll see you again?”

Aiden sighs loudly at his son’s sarcasm.

“I’m sorry,” Jamie says softly.

“Me too,” Aiden replies.

Chapter Four

Jamie

“
Mom
…” Jamie throws his bag on the coffee table. “
Mom
…” he calls again. He shrugs his shoulders and goes into the kitchen. He opens the fridge and shops for a few seconds and then closes it, not liking what he sees. When he walks back into the living room, he hears giggling from the top of the stairs. His eyebrows raise, and instead of announcing himself, he watches his mother come down the stairs, the smile on her face completely breathtaking.

“Hey, Mom,” he says casually, and she jumps up almost to the ceiling.

“Jamie!” She pushes him playfully. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” Jamie says, looking at the stairs. “Is that Dakota up there?”

Harper doesn’t answer him; she just walks toward the kitchen. Jamie follows her, almost going into a slow jog. “Mom, is Dakota in your bedroom?”

“It’s none of your business who’s in my bedroom, Jamie,” she says, turning around abruptly. She tries to keep a straight face, but the grin on his face is too much for her to bear.

“Did he stay here last night?” he says.

Harper nods her head, her cheeks turning red.

“Yes,” she says in a whisper.

“Sweet!” he exclaims. Harper laughs.

“Jamie,” she warns.

“I’m sorry,” he says, laughing. “I’m just…what happened? Are you together?”

Harper shakes her head.

“Nothing happened,” she says. “He just stayed the night.”

“Are you together?” Jamie asks again.

“I’m not sure. We have to talk. Discuss some things.”

Jamie nods his head. “Should I go? Do you need some alone time…?”

Harper shakes her head. “No, no. I’m not going to run you out of your own home.” Jamie nods. She grabs a few waters from the refrigerator, and then they go into the living room. “Hey, what are you doing home, anyway? Your father said he was going to drop you off tomorrow morning…” Harper asks.

“Oh,” he says, crossing his arms. “I just wanted to come home a little earlier.” Harper strokes his curly hair.

“Is everything okay?” she says.

Jamie sighs. “Yeah.”

Harper presses her lips together. “I’m sorry he isn’t the kind of father you deserve.”

Jamie flags her statement. “I got twice the mom and I got Dakota. I’m all set.”

Dakota comes down the stairs and stops midway when he seems Jamie.

“Hey, Jam,” he says. Jamie nods at him as he walks down the stairs and stands with him and his mom. “What are you, uh, doing home so early?”

Jamie scratches his head, the smirk still on his face.

“My dad and I had a fight, so I asked to come home early,” he replies.

Dakota nods. He looks at Harper, and she chuckles slightly at his awkwardness.

“I’m going to make us some breakfast…French toast?” Harper asks as she walks toward the kitchen.

“Extra cinnamon,” they both say in unison, and Harper laughs. Once Harper is out of the room, Jamie turns to face Dakota.

“Did your mom tell you?” Dakota asks softly.

“That you stayed the night in her bed?” Jamie asks with a straight face.

Dakota rubs his head, cupping his neck slightly. “Yes,” he says tightly.

“Yup,” Jamie replies and then goes over to the sofa to watch television. Dakota joins him, sitting on the other end.

“Do you want to talk about this?”

Jamie searches through the channels casually. “Honestly, I don’t. I’d rather not know what you did. It’s sort of gross,” he says, frowning.

“Nothing like that happened, Jamie. We just slept,” he says.

Jamie stops surfing through the channels and settles on one station. He looks at Dakota. “D, you don’t have to explain to me. I’m just teasing,” he says, shaking his head.

“No, I do,” Dakota says. “That’s your mom in there. Your one and only mom, and I don’t know what’s happening here, but I’d like to find out…with your blessing.”

Jamie rolls his eyes at the ceiling.

“Oh my god, D,” Jamie says, smiling. “There is nobody I’d rather see with my mom more than you.”

Dakota grins. “Are you sure?”

Jamie nods his head.

“Okay,” Dakota says and turns back to the television. “So what happened with your dad?”

“Oh,” Jamie sighs. “He was pissed because I want to be a photographer.”

Dakota looks at Jamie. “Why would he be pissed about that?”

“He doesn’t think it’s as cool as being a book editor,” he scoffs, shaking his head.

Dakota rolls his eyes, knowing that Jamie is probably leaving out the part where Aiden is pissed that Dakota gave him the idea in the first place.

“Don’t let it get to you,” Dakota says, holding back his irritation. He looks at Jamie, and sadness is written all over his face. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Jamie’s eyes narrow. He doesn’t usually talk about his father openly, not even with Dakota; it just seemed like a waste of time. But he feels like he will explode if he doesn’t get this off his chest.

“Sometimes I just want to know why, you know? Why he doesn’t want to be around me like other dads want to be around their kids,” Jamie says honestly. He clicks off the television and throws the remote on top of the coffee table.

“And then whatever lame excuse he gives me will be followed up with the question how. How could he do it?” Jamie’s head hangs low. Dakota feels his eyes burn at the site of his favorite person in the world hurting.

“Sometimes I think it’s my fault. That I’m not…enough,” he continues softly, his voice slightly shaking from holding back the emotion.

“So this is what all the questions about me leaving are about, huh?” Jamie shrugs. “You are an amazing kid. You’re honest, responsible, bright, and so much fun to be around. This is not your fault. Aiden is selfish. I knew it the first day I met him years ago, and he hasn’t and will not change.”

Jamie looks up at him, tears making his eyes shine like the diamond he is. He lets the tears fall freely down his cheeks. Dakota slides down the sofa to Jamie’s end and wraps him up in a bear hug. Jamie buries his face deep in Dakota’s shoulder.

“I love you, man. You know that?” Jamie nods his head. “And I will never ever leave you like your father has done. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he says through his tears. Dakota gives him a last squeeze, and they let go of one another. Jamie wipes his face dry.

“You want to go upstairs and get yourself together?” Jamie nods.

“Okay, I’ll go help your mom with breakfast.”

“Okay.”

Dakota gets up and heads for the kitchen.

“D,” Jamie calls. “I love you too.”

***

Dakota

Dakota knocks lightly on Harper’s bedroom door. He leans against the archway and folds his arms across his wide chest, looking down at the shaggy rug. Harper looks up at him from her spot on the bed, crossed legged, a book in her lap, and her reading glasses hanging from the tip of her nose.

“Hey,” she says.

“Hey,” Dakota says back. Harper closes her book and sets it beside her. She removes her glasses and sets them on the nightstand table beside her.

“Did Jamie go to the library?” Harper asks. Dakota nods, coming into the room slowly.

“He said something about checking out his summer reading books.”

“I’m pretty sure we bought copies of those already,” Harper says, confused.

“Yeah, I think he just wanted to leave us alone for a while,” he says, chuckling. Dakota sits down on the bed, and Harper slides down so she’s directly in front of him. She brings her knees up to her chest and lays her head down on them.

“I heard you guys talking earlier,” she admits softly. Dakota looks at her with a smirk.

“Eavesdropper,” he says. Harper chuckles.

“I knew he had some issues with his father, but he never really opened up to anyone about it before.” She exhales. “I’m glad you were there for him.” Dakota follows the pattern in her comforter as she speaks.

“I’ll always be here,” he says. “You don’t have to thank me for it. This is what I do.” Harper smiles.

“Yeah…I guess having sleepovers with me is a new addition to the Dakota do’s and don’ts list, huh?”

Dakota looks at her. “If you want it to be,” he says seriously. Harper lifts her head and looks down at his hand lying casually by his side. She twines her fingers through his slowly, enjoying the feel of his hand in hers.

“This is crazy…” she says.

“Is it really that crazy?” Dakota says, smirking. She hated when he did that. There was something about the way he curved his top lip that made her go weak in the knees, foggy in the brain, and unable to say no to anything.

“I mean, think about it, Dakota.” Dakota sighs. He was ready for the speech. Ready to hear all the reasons they wouldn’t work. “We’re in two totally different phases of our lives.”

“How so?”

“I’m almost thirty. I’m old.”

“You are not old, Harper. Believe me,” he says, his gaze roaming over her body. Harper swallows.

“But you’re twenty-three and you just got your dream job and we’ve been friends for so long and…” Dakota puts his finger over her lips to silence her. He takes her legs and puts them across his lap then slides his hands around her waist, pulling her close.

“You think about this, Harper. What is really going to change in this house if we start dating? I’m always here. I don’t care that you have a kid, because he just so happens to be my favorite person in the world.” Harper hangs her head, chuckling. “My life already revolves around the two of you. Just answer this and don’t think about our age differences or how I came into your life; just answer it honestly, okay?”

Harper takes a deep breath and nods her head.

“While I’m holding you like this right now, what do you feel?” Harper smiles, blushing furiously. She bites her lip and shakes her head. “Tell me.”

“I feel amazing.”

“I feel amazing too.”

“So what does that prove, Dakota?” she says, laughing.

“It proves that this is right and nothing else really matters.”

“But what if we try this and then it doesn’t work out? What about Jamie?”

“Like I told Jamie earlier, I’m not Aiden. I’m not going to just abandon you or Jamie. If we don’t work out, then we don’t work out. That’s not going to affect my relationship with Jam. I will always be there for him. Always.” Harper sighs. There is silence for several seconds as she takes in his words.

“Okay…”

“Okay?” Dakota asks, smirking at her.

“Okay,” she says. Dakota pulls her onto his lap and kisses her softly. When their lips break apart, Harper’s eyes are still closed. Dakota kisses her closed eyelids.

“Okay,” he says with finality and connects his forehead to hers. She wraps her arms around his neck, and they sit there like that for what seems like hours, talking, and only break apart when they hear Jamie yelling about what will be for dinner later.

Chapter Five

Jamie

Jamie stands on his front porch shaking his head in embarrassment as Dakota takes another dozen pictures of him. Harper insisted on taking shots of him brushing his teeth and packing his book bag with supplies while Dakota decided he’d cover Jamie eating his first breakfast meal as a high schooler.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Jamie says, striking several poses playfully for Dakota.

“We’re proud. Let us have our moment,” Harper says, standing behind Dakota chuckling.

“I haven’t even done anything; I’m just going to school like every other freshman in this town.” Dakota takes one last shot and then stands up straight next to Harper. She looks up at him and loops her arm through his.

“You’re continuing your education. That’s something to be proud of,” Dakota says. Jamie rolls his eyes, still embarrassed.

“Well, let me go do that,” he says, pointing down the street and slowly heading down the stairs. “I’ll see you guys after school.” Jamie glances at his mother’s hand, which has disappeared inside Dakota’s. He stops and thinks for a second. He takes note of the fact that Dakota was already in the kitchen when Jamie was dressed and ready for his breakfast and the fact that his mother and Dakota’s hands have not left each other’s the entire time they’ve been standing here talking. His eyes widen.

“Wait a minute…are you two…” His voice trails off. Harper nods, a deep blush rising up her cheeks.

“We were going to wait until you came home from school to discuss it,” Dakota says, smiling.

“What is there to discuss exactly? I get the whole dating thing. Awesome,” Jamie says with a wink.

“Yes, but just in case you had any questions or reservations…” Harper replies, her eyebrow raised, waiting for his reaction.

“I’ve been waiting for this to happen since I was like ten years old, so…” Dakota laughs, shaking his head. “Honestly, guys, I’m good. I’m happy.”

“Okay.”

“All right, get to school already, kid,” Dakota says, grinning so hard his cheeks are burning. Jamie heads down the street, and Harper and Dakota stand on the porch watching him until he disappears around a corner.

***

“Great,” Jamie says under his breath. Today hasn’t been the best first day of school. He missed the first five minutes of his first period class because he got lost. This resulted in an awkward arrival with twenty kids staring at him like the freshman he is. He tripped up the stairs on the way to second period and knocked down the person walking up the stairs in front of him because he was busy studying his map of the school instead of watching where he was going. In third period, he had a coughing fit after swallowing his gum by accident and choking on it. In fourth period, things started to look up until he tripped over someone’s book bag while leaving class and fell face first on the floor. He left the classroom with scattered laughter in his wake. All in all, it hasn’t been the best morning, and looking at the full cafeteria, it won’t be a good afternoon.

He takes a French fry from his plate and stuffs it in his mouth, surveying his options. It looks like he could sit by the trash cans…but no one wants to sit there…or he could sit at a table in the center of the room. There’s a girl sitting at that table. He stares for a few seconds and realizes she’s beautiful. She’ll probably run away screaming when he asks to join her. He takes a deep breath and walks over.

“Hey,” he says. The young woman looks up at him from her book. Her hazel eyes pierce into him and he swallows, taken aback by their beauty. She smiles, and he thinks he may die right there in front of everyone.

“Hello,” she says sweetly.

“Do you mind if I sit here? There’s no other seats.”

“Oh, no, I don’t mind at all,” she says. Jamie sets his tray down.

“Thanks,” he says, taking his bag from around his shoulder and putting it down by his seat. He slides into the chair. She nods her head and then escapes to her book once again. Jamie takes this time analyzing her features once again. Her hair is dark brown, curly, and extremely long. His palms itch as he gets the urge to run his fingers through it. She runs her fingers through her hair and looks at him. Jamie looks down at his tray and stuffs some French fries in his mouth.

“You look familiar,” she says and takes a sip of her soda. Jamie just looks at her. She stares at him intently for a few seconds.

“I think you were the guy that bumped into me on the stairs this morning.”

Jamie frowns. “I’m really sorry. I’m usually a lot more graceful than that. I wasn’t paying attention and I was rushing.”

The girl laughs. “It’s okay. I’m tougher than I look.” Jamie laughs and then continues eating. “I’m Bianca. Bianca Bradley.” She holds out a delicate hand.

“Jamie,” he says, swallowing his food and taking her hand. It feels like satin.

“Nice to meet you. Freshman?”

“Yeah. You too?”

“No. I’m a sophomore. I saw you come in, and you looked like a lost puppy. Wasn’t too hard to guess.”

Jamie chuckles. “I tripped, fell, and made my teacher think she had to do the Heimlich maneuver today, so I’m pretty sure everybody thinks I’m a weirdo anyway. Freshman is fine.” They laugh. Bianca puts down her book and takes a bite of the salad in front of her. Jamie glances at the book title.

“Oh,
To Kill a Mockingbird
? That’s one of my favorites. I’ve been asking my mom for a puppy since I was like eight, so I can name it Atticus, like Jake Gyllenhaal.” Bianca laughs.

“You’re kidding. Me too!” she says. “I have a dog named Atticus.”

“Whatever,” Jamie says, laughing.

“Seriously, I do. A German Shepherd,” she says, trying not to choke on her food. They share their favorite parts of the book and then move on to others, and by the time their lunch period ends, Jamie is sure he just made his first friend. When the warning bell sounds, they both walk over to the trash can to clear their trays. They stand in the hallway facing each other. Jamie nervously plays with the straps on his book bag.

“Thanks for letting me sit with you,” Jamie says.

“No problem. It was nice to have the company. What classes do you have for the rest of the day?” Jamie goes into his pocket and pulls out his schedule. He unfolds it and stares at it intently. Bianca bites her lip.

“I have History with Mr. Samuels, Spanish with Dr. Vega, Physical Science with Mr. Ross, and Algebra I with Ms. Nelson.” Bianca leans toward him and reads the paper with him. Bianca nods. They start to walk down the hall.

“Mr. Samuels is really, really cool. I had a blast in his class last year. Dr. Vega loves participation, so answer as many questions as you can and ask as many questions as you can.” Jamie nods enthusiastically, taking in her advice as she goes on about each teacher he will encounter this year. He smiles as he admires her mocha-colored skin for the hundredth time, the way the light hits her hazel eyes, and how each chocolate brown curl adorning her head bounces as she walks.

“And I saw you have Ms. Baker for Health. She’s the tennis coach here, so pretend like you know everything there is to know about Andy Roddick and she’ll give you an A regardless if you actually participate or not.” She stops in front of a classroom. “Here’s your history class.”

“Are you sure you’re not a part of some sort of freshman mentor program?”

Bianca smiles and blushes slightly. “Nope, just doing my good deed for the day. Random acts of kindness. Pay it forward. That sort of thing.”

Jamie nods his head, smiling. “Well, it’s very much appreciated.”

“You’re welcome,” she says. She starts to head down the hall to her next class.

“It was nice meeting you,” Jamie calls.

“You too,” Bianca says back.

“I’ll see you around!” he shouts. Bianca giggles and waves goodbye as she disappears around the corner.

***

Harper

“Why are you all Sponge Joy Smiley Pants today? What’s up?”

Harper laughs out loud at her coworker as she tries to decipher writing on one of her patient’s charts. She bites down on her pen to stifle the laugh. “What are you talking about?”

Casey Reynolds closes a chart and sticks it in the shelf with the others. She leans one elbow on the counter in front of them and tilts her head, looking at Harper.

“You’ve been smiling and laughing at everyone’s jokes and you didn’t react to any of Mrs. Peterson’s insults. What’s the deal?”

“There is no deal. Can’t I just be having a good day?” she says as she finally figures out the notes from the doctor and closes the chart.

“You could, but Mondays Dr. Andrews is on call and you hate Dr. Andrews, so you never come in here looking like that.” She gasps. “Did you get laid?”

Harper immediately starts to blush. “Oh my God, Casey. No, I did not get laid. Why do you ask questions like that?”

Casey shrugs, giggling at her friend’s embarrassment. Harper has known Casey since Jamie was born. They met in nursing school and became fast friends. Two years later they got jobs at the local hospital and haven’t left each other’s side since.

“You have the I-got-laid glow, though,” Casey says, still teasing.

“I’m not even going to enable this conversation right now,” Harper says, chuckling.

“Hey, Suzette. I’m going on break.” Suzette, their coworker, nods her head.

“Me too!” Casey says. “Janet’s my relief.” Janet, who is sitting at the computer behind the counter, looks up at Casey and rolls her eyes. Casey ignores her. She catches up with Harper as she walks down the hall, trying to get away from her friend. She isn’t sure if she wants to talk about her and Dakota yet—not even to Casey, who she considers a close friend. Part of her feels like if she talks about it, it becomes real, and then there’s room for jinxing. They both head down the hall to the nurse’s lounge. Harper grabs her lunch from the fridge and plops down on the sofa in the corner of the small, square room. She looks around as if she isn’t familiar with the brown cabinets adorning the walls, the round table in the middle of the floor, and the sink below the cabinets that Casey is currently washing grapes in. For some reason, everything just looks different to her today, and she isn’t sure why. She tries to hide a grin as she unwraps her lunch and begins to eat, but Casey spots it as she sits at the round table, popping a grape in her mouth.

“I won’t talk to you for the rest of the day if you don’t tell me right now what’s going on with you.”

Harper sighs deeply, knowing that Casey’s threat isn’t empty.

“Fine,” she says. “But promise me you’ll let me get everything out before you state your opinion on the matter.” Casey nods. Harper sits up straight on the sofa. “Friday night, Dakota told me that he’s been harboring feelings for me for quite some time.” Casey sits up in her chair and opens her mouth to speak. Harper holds her hand up for silence. “And…I realized that I had been doing the same thing.” Casey’s face begins to turn red as she holds in her comments. Harper bites back a laugh. “He spent the night and we talked and we decided to start dating and see what happens.” She looks at Casey; the color seems to have left her cheeks. She sets down the grape she was about to eat and runs her fingers through her hair. Harper continues.

“Dakota takes care of Jamie in ways that Aiden never has. He’s there for him when he needs it and even when he doesn’t. He’s more than just a babysitter. It’s deeper than that. He’s someone Jamie looks up to. Someone he can depend on. Jamie knows that no matter what’s going on, he can call on Dakota no matter what.” Casey smiles.

“I know all of this, Harper. Why are you defending him to me?” Casey gets up from her seat at the table and sits down next to Harper. She leans back on the couch and loops her arm through Harper’s. “I think it’s awesome. Dakota drives me insane, and sometimes I picture him being trampled by rabid raccoons.” Harper laughs. “But he is good to Jamie and he’s so good to you. You would have been crazy not to develop feelings for him.” Harper takes a bite of the turkey sandwich then puts it back in her lap.

“So you think it’s good?”

“I do. I really do. And I think it’s going to work.”

Harper’s smile spreads to her ears. She exhales. “Did you see this coming?”

Casey presses her lips together and nods.

“How?”

“You talk about him all of the time, you guys joke and laugh like teenagers, you look at each other like there’s no one in the room, and whenever you have a conversation you are inches away from each other’s face.” Harper blushes.

“He’s really young.”

“So what?” Casey says, shrugging. “Age means nothing nowadays. Besides, if he’s mature enough to keep a single mother and her teenage son sane, then he’s mature enough for anything.” They laugh, almost snorting. Casey groans. She goes into the pocket of her scrubs and pulls out some money.

“Here, give this to Jamie.”