Forever Mine

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

JAY

I walked into the bedroom where Dakota was lying on the bed in his boxers, scrolling through his phone. Like always, seeing Dakota was like a lighting strike to my dick. I was tempted to give up on my plan and just take him. But I held strong.

“Get dressed, darlin’.”

Kota looked up with a frown. “Why?”

I sighed. I was already freaking out, I wished he just kind of went along. But Kota wouldn’t be Kota if he didn’t ask questions.

“I’m takin’ you out.” I rocked back on my heels, as Dakota finally noticed what I was wearing. His eyes widened and his tongue unconsciously licked his lips.

I had gotten showered and dressed in Beck and Riley’s room so Dakota didn’t notice. But now I stood there in borrowed dress pants and the Henley I never returned after lunch with Kota’s folks. I had my hair slicked back and borrowed some product from Ri, to keep it smooth and from falling in my eyes. I wished I had something other than my Chucks to wear, but oh well, it was good enough.

“Fuck, Jay. You look really hot.”

I smirked. “Thanks, darlin’. I left clothes in the bathroom for you. Can you wear those?”

He raised an eyebrow and climbed off the bed and into my arms. I gladly hugged him back. “Where are we going, baby?”

“It’s a surprise.” Dakota pulled back, shocked. Not that I blamed him. I wasn’t exactly known for my romantic gestures. But desperate times and all that. Ever since we found that letter, Dakota had been…off. He had been quieter and withdrawn and pretty content to just cuddle in my room when he wasn’t working.

Not that I minded that. I loved every single moment with Kota, and much prefer being home with him than out in places with a bunch of strangers. But I didn’t want that if it meant Kota was struggling. I was desperate to do something to help him, and since we had no clue who sent that fuckin’ letter, so I had no one to murder, this was a close second.

Slowly, Dakota’s surprise melted into a smile. “Are you taking me on a date, baby?”

I shrugged feeling a little awkward. “Is that okay?”

Dakota leaned up and pecked my lips. “Of course it’s okay. You know you don’t have to, right?”

“I know. I want to. You deserve to get out and have some fun.”

Dakota bit his lip, thinking. “Yeah, you’re right. We both do. Moping around here isn’t accomplishing anything. Do I have time to shower?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Dakota kissed me again before going into the bathroom to get cleaned up. I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled out my phone.

It had been nearly a week since that letter and rose showed up, and there had been no other sign of anything. With Luca and his guys still dark, Wes had asked a favor of Diego to see if he could see anything. There was CCTV footage of a guy entering the apartment building with a rose, but he had a hood on and there were no distinguishable features to make out. Wes set up a better security system for Dakota, but honestly there wasn’t anything else to be done. The longer it went without any other incident, the more I started to believe it really was a sick prank.

Still, it got to Dakota more than he let on, and as much as he tried to dismiss it, he was still freaked out. If taking him out and proving I could be a decent boyfriend took away some of his tension, I’d be more than happy to do it.

About twenty minutes later, Kota entered the room wearing the tight gray pants and a sky blue polo that fit snugly around his shoulders and pecs. He had combed through his reddish brown hair and had it falling to the side.

I growled and stalked to him, my fingers immediately fisting the thick hair. “Fuck, sweetheart. You look delicious.” To prove that I licked up his neck.

Dakota laughed and swatted at me. “Stop that. Otherwise we’re never leaving this room, and I really want to see what this date is you got planned.”

Nerves started to get the best of me as I second guessed everything I had planned. Would Dakota like it? Was it too much? Not enough. Fuck. I wasn’t cut out for this romantic bullshit.

Dakota’s thumb across my lip stopped my spiraling thoughts. I lightly sucked on the tip. “Anything we do will be great. As long as we’re together.”

I swallowed and straightened my shoulders. I got this. “Are you ready then?”

Dakota nodded. “Yeah let’s go.”

We left my apartment and headed to the street. Automatically my eyes were on a swivel looking for anything out of the ordinary. Maybe I was the one who suggested we go out, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t gonna be careful. I didn’t see anything.

Kota took my hand. “Are we taking your truck?”

I shook my head. “Actually, nah, it’s only a few blocks walk, and parking is shit in that part of the city.”

Kota smiled softly. “Sounds good.”

We walked to center city. It was wild how close we lived now. I had barely even been over in this part of the city, even though I grew up here. Now I could just walk.

Dakota grinned when we stopped in front of our destination. “The History Museum?”

My heart that had been pounding from the second I told Kota I was taking him out, finally relaxed. He loved it. I sucked in my lip ring. “Yeah, is that okay? I know you were talking about how much you loved goin’ here as a kid and you never have time anymore. Plus there’s a new exhibit about Ancient Egypt and you said that was your favorite time period in history, and—”

Kota stopped my random word vomit with a kiss. “It’s perfect, baby. I love it. Let’s go in.”

Dakota dragged me inside. The museum was free on Wednesdays, which maybe made me a cheap ass, but Kota didn’t seem to mind. He just went to the sign to look at all the attractions and started to map out our route.

I was pretty much along for the ride, but I fuckin’ loved watching Dakota as he went to exhibit to exhibit giving me a history lesson on each piece. It was fascinating. Maybe if I had Kota for a history teacher, I’d have passed the damn class.

“What made you go into nursing instead of this? You’re in your element, sweetheart.”

Kota shrugged as he led me to the Ancient Egypt section. “This was always just a hobby to me. I always wanted to be a nurse.”

Made sense. Kota was born for the job.

As the day went on, I got this sense that I was being watched. I tried not to bring attention to it. There was no reason to freak Kota out, and he was enjoying himself so much. I tried to discreetly look around, but nothing or no one seemed out of place.

Still I couldn’t shake the feeling.

“Okay, Jay, what’s going on?”

“Huh, what’re you talkin’ about?” I rocked back on my heels. Dakota narrowed his eyes, not believing me. I was a shit liar when it came to Kota.

“Cut the shit. You’ve been on edge for the last hour.”

Fuck, I thought I was hiding it better. I kissed his cheek. Not that it distracted him. “Really it’s nothing. I just had this feelin’ that we were being watched. But there’s nothin’ there. I’m just being paranoid.”

Dakota’s lips thinned. “Maybe we should leave?”

“Absolutely not. We’re not gonna ruin this because I’m a weirdo. Everything is fine.”

I wasn’t sure if he believed me, but he let it go. The feeling never let up though. I either was doing better at hiding it, or Dakota decided to try and ignore it. Once it was time to leave I was so on edge.

“So, I planned on takin’ you to the place Riley works for dinner. We could take the train or go grab my truck.”

Dakota looked into my eyes for so long, I started to get uncomfortable. I ran my hands through my hair. “Can we get it as takeout instead? I think we might be peopled out.”

I loved how he said we, even if we both knew it was mainly me. I still appreciated the suggestion so much I could cry.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? We can totally go.”

“Nah. I’m really ready to cuddle up on the couch, watch Kaos on Netflix and eat some good ass food. That’d be the perfect end to this perfect day.”

My face flushed. “Really? I wish I did more. I know I’m not the most romantic—”

Once again Kota shut me up with a kiss. “C’mon let’s walk back to your truck and we can go pick up the food.” Damn, my man really knew me.

On our way to grab the food, Kota got a call from his sister, so he stayed in the car while I ran inside. Riley wasn’t working, but he called in and hooked us up. I offered to pay, but Ri said it was covered. The hostess smiled when I walked in.

“Hi, can I help you?”

“Um, yeah I have an order for pick up, under Jay Parks.”

The woman smiled even brighter. “Oh, right, Riley’s friend! Your food is just about ready. If you want to take a seat, I’ll have it out to you in a few minutes.”

“Thanks.”

I sat down in the corner of the lobby and started to scroll on my phone as I waited. As I did, a man walked in that looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t place him. The hostess brightened up.

“Dr. Kiley! I was wondering when you’d be back. It’s almost been a whole week.”

The man, who is in his fifties and wearing a fancy suit, smiled politely at the woman. “Yes, that’s practically years for me. I had a big workload this week and just had a moment to breathe.”

“Your usual seat is open, Dr. Kiley, I can get you seated right away, if you’ll follow me.”

“Thanks.”

As he walked away I realized how I knew him. He was my ma’s doctor the last time she was at the hospital. He was the one who signed her death certificate. I couldn’t believe I forgot about him, but I was way too focused on Kota at the time, I guess.

My food was ready a few minutes later, and I hurried back to Kota. He wasn’t wrong, I was ready to get home and spend some quality time with my man.