Forever Mine

Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

DAKOTA

“Are you sure it’s safe for us to go?” It was the third time Jay had asked this, and under normal circumstances, I’d think he just didn’t want to go to a birthday party for a six- year-old, but this time, I understood.

We were sitting in my car in front of the trampoline park where my niece was having her sixth birthday party. I had been as reluctant as Jay when my sister first strongly insisted that we both go. It was bad enough that this stalker probably at least knew what my parents and Declan looked like, it was best to stay away from anyone else in my family.

But after a month of avoiding family dinners, and any other physical contact with my family, after we left Declan’s place a few days after the incident, they all put their foot down. Bridget even played the guilt card, telling me that Gemmy had been asking every night if I was coming and would probably cry if I didn’t show up. Nothing put a dagger in my heart like the idea of my baby niece crying because of me.

Jay and I talked to Wes, who agreed it should be okay to go. It was public and in the middle of the day. Also, the guy hadn’t done anything since the day he put chocolates in my locker and destroyed Jay’s car.

We’d spent weeks on high alert and paranoid, but there hadn’t been a peep. The cameras in the hospital were a dead end, the only people who came in and out were people who belonged there. Nothing looked suspicious. As far asthe factory, of course Jay’s truck was parked in a blind spot in the surveillance. They found a video of a man in a dark hoodie with the hood up and looking away from the camera walking in the direction of the truck, but there was no footage of the destruction.

They had no suspects, and as hard as I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of anyone who would do this. Wes even checked on the man from the grocery store but he had an alibi for that night. So we were at square one. I wasn’t sure if he got scared off by our proactive response, or ifhe was just biding his time, but either way, there had been nothing, and I was tired of putting my life on hold.

Which was how we ended up in the parking lot of a trampoline park, holding a big box wrapped in rainbow wrapping paper with a giant unicorn bow.

“I’m tired of sitting scared, baby, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but this is your nieces and nephew in there.”

My heart pounded in my chest. “Listen, I agreed with you. But we were overruled. They want us here, and I’m done letting that bastard win.”

Jay sighed heavily but eventually got out of the car and grabbed the package. As soon as I met him on the other side he took my hand, which made me smile.

That was one good thing that came from all this. Jay and I seemed even closer. I knew he still battled with his insecurities and sometimes he still doubted us or how I wanted him, but those fears were disappearing bit by bit. He also never pushed me away anymore. In fact, we’d been sleeping together every night, mostly at his apartment because it somehow still felt safer to us than my place, and he was always touching me. Always. Sometimes it was small, little touches, like a brush of my shoulder when he reached across the table for something, or knocking my arm with his when we were in the kitchen together. Sometimes I woke up with his mouth on my dick or his fingers in my hole. No matter what it was, I couldn’t get enough, and I cherished every single fucking touch.

We walked into the place and into instant chaos. Jay winced. “Are these places always this loud?”

“Probably.”

I scanned the tables to the side that were reserved for birthday parties and found the one with Gemmy’s name on it. My sister was bossing Ezra around as they tried to set the table with the unicorn plates and cups that Gemmy picked out. My mom was sitting in a chair with a helium pump between her legs, blowing up pink and purple balloons. I waved at Ezra, who was on the other side of the table, and went to greet my mom and sister.

Bridget dropped everything when she saw us and zeroed in on Jay. I already warned him about her, so it didn’t surprise me when he tensed slightly as she came up to us, her eyes sparkling.

“You must be Jay. It’s so good to finally meet you. I’ve been hearing so much about you from everyone. It’s good to put a face to the name. Finally .”

I rolled my eyes and my mom shook her head. “You’re laying it on a little thick, honey. Besides, only Dad, Declan, and I have met him. Not everyone.”

“Close enough.”

Jay didn’t know what to do, but thankfully, Bridget never got a chance to interrogate him because Gemmy and Molly came bounding up to us. “Uncle Dakota!”

I grinned as I had an arm full of a brand new six-year-old in a full-on unicorn regalia. “I heard it was someone’s birthday,” I said conspiratorially to her, “Do you know who it is?”

Gemmy fixed me with her best offended face, her hazel eyes huge. “Uncle Dakota!”

“What?” I asked her innocently.

“It’s my birthday!”

“Oh! That’s right!” Then I kissed her cheek loudly. “Happy birthday Gemmy!”

She giggled and wiggled out of my arms and turned to Jay, who was still standing there with the present in his hands. Seriously? My sister could’ve taken it from him.

“Hi! I’m Gemmy!”

“Hi, Gemmy. I’m Jay. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you! I’m six!”

Jay grinned. Gemmy was infectious. “I heard. That’s awesome.”

She nodded in agreement. “Are you Uncle Dakota’s boyfriend?”

His eyes flashed to mine quickly but he answered without hesitation. “I am.”

“Okay. Well, I’m going to jump now. Bye!”

Gemmy grabbed her big sister’s hand and ran off, leaving us with the adults.

“Do you want to see my pictures from the beach?” Henry asked Jay.

We were sitting at the birthday table while most of the kids ran crazy around the trampolines. It wasn’t really Henry’s scene and he had been mostly playing on his tablet with his headphones on. But he seemed to take a liking to Jay. Henry didn’t talk much to people he didn’t know, but that didn’t seem to apply to Jay. They had spent the last half hour talking about video games I’d never heard of.

“Sure.”

Henry beamed as he pulled up his photo album on the phone. “Mom and Dad took me there on vacation at the beginning of the summer, since we probably won’t be going on vacation there next year, with the baby coming. Usually, we go in August, but Mom was too big by then. So we went in June.”

I hid my laugh. Nora would love that explanation. The pictures were surprisingly good.

“Wow, Henry, you took those?”

“Yup. Dad said he’ll get me a camera for my birthday. I’ve been researching the best options.”

“These look great, kid. I’ve never been to the beach, but these make me feel like I’m right there.”

I didn’t know who looked more shocked, Henry or me. Though I guess I really shouldn’t have been that surprised.

Jay realized we were both staring at him. “What?”

“Nothing. I guess I didn’t realize you’ve never been to the beach before.”

He shrugged. “Never really thought much ’bout it, honestly.”

Jay turned his full attention back to Henry, not phased in the slightest, while I was hit with just how much privilege I had. My family wasn’t rich by any means, but the idea that something I took for granted, since we live only an hour from the ocean, was something my boyfriend never got to experience really shook me. In all the things Jay had shared since we’ve been together, I don’t know why this one was hitting me so hard. It just was. I was determined to make sure Jay experienced all the things he missed as a child that I took for granted.

Time passed, and I settled back and watched my nieces play with their friends, wondering when the fuck the pizza was getting here, when one of the workers walked up to the table, her arms filled with boxes. “Finally.” We helped her get them settled on the table while Bridget rounded up all the kids.

“Can you start getting the half slices on plates, please?” My mom asked as she grabbed a case of juice boxes and began putting them at each plate setting.

“Sure.” Jay helped me quickly pass out the slices as a horde of hungry kids filled the table. Once the first box was done, I threw it to the side as Jay opened the second box. He froze, the box half open.

Dread settled in my gut before I even looked at him. “Jay, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he slammed the box down and stormed away from the table, headed for the exit. Fuck!

Did I look at the box or go after him? Luckily, Declan made that decision easy for me. “Holy fuck, there’s a note in here, Dakota.”

I didn’t even look at it. I didn’t need to know. Not yet. I sprinted after Jay, ignoring the calls of my concerned family.

Thankfully Jay was still in the parking lot, pacing in front of my car.

“Jay!” He whirled toward me. “I need the keys, Dakota.”

Yeah, I didn’t fucking think so. “Why?”

Jay worked his jaw, his fists clenched at his sides. “Dakota, don’t do this right now, please. I need the keys. If I had my fuckin’ truck…” He shook his head like he was trying to clear his thoughts, “Never mind, that don’t matter. Dakota. Keys.” Every word was a strain to get out, he was barely hanging on.

I took a step toward him. “I’m not giving you the keys until you tell me where you’re going.”

He growled, frustrated, and spun away from me, tugging at his hair. “Did you read the note?”

“No. I came after you.”

He heaved a deep breath, his shoulder shaking. I wanted to hold him so badly, but for the first time in weeks, I wasn’t sure if my touch would be welcome.

“This has to end, Kota. This is a fuckin’ birthday party. What if he talked to your nieces?”

I was hit with a spike of fear. It was one of my biggest worries when I came here. God, if that fucker even looked at one of them…

“Talk to me, baby. What’s going on in your head?”

He bit his lip. “I—I just want to protect you and your family from all this.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You all are so good. You don’t deserve someone comin’ in and trying to destroy that. Your nieces are so innocent. So fuckin’ happy. And they should be. All kids should be like that. I—it’s one thing to mess with me, but to come here, to violate something so…good. It needs to end, Kota. I need to end it.”

How many times will this man shatter me with his view of the world? My eyes were stinging and I had to blink to keep the tears from falling. Not yet. “How, love? How are you ending it?”

“I was gonna go to the pizza place and figure out who the fuck wrote the note. Someone would talk eventually. If that didn’t work, I’d go to that store and see if that creepy fucker was there. He made you uncomfortable, Kota, and we’re only around the block from that place, right? I—I don’t fuckin’ know anymore. I just…I need to do something.”

My mind raced, trying to figure out how to handle it. I couldn’t let Jay leave, that I was sure of. It was the first time I was glad his truck had been destroyed and he refused Wes’s offer to replace it. I couldn’t even imagine what would’ve happened if he’d left.

I heard some commotion from behind me. I glanced back and noticed most of my family outside. I gave them a quick shake of my head, like don’t come over here. I could tell my mom and sisters wanted to, but my dad and brothers kept them back, for now.

“Baby,” I started carefully, “I love you. I love that you want to protect me and my family. But, please don’t run off on me. I need you here. Not running around town. That’s what the cops are for. Let them handle that. Please, Jay. The best way for you to help me is to be here with me.”

Maybe it wasn’t fair putting it that way, but I wasn’t above dirty tactics if it kept Jay from getting arrested for assaulting some poor pizza delivery guy. “You didn’t see the note yet. They threatened your dad, Kota. Said, he guessed he wasn’t surprised your family was okay with me, with your dad’s history, but he’d take care of it. Take care of you.”

Jay broke by the end, and honestly, I was pretty close too. We needed to get out of here. But I didn’t think either of us could drive. I wrapped my arms around Jay and he followed suit. We both stood there shaking and on the verge of crying. I was at a loss on how to handle it.

Finally, movement in my peripheral caught my attention. My dad was hovering. “Your mom called the police, if you give me Wes’ number I’ll give him a call and keep him updated.”

“Thanks Dad. I don’t think either of us can drive. We’re gonna wait in the car, can someone give us a ride when they get a chance?” I asked my dad. “Tell Bridget I’m sorry,” I added.

Dad waved me off. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”

I didn’t answer, and just led Jay into the passenger seat. Luckily, even after I turned on the car so we could get air, Jay didn’t fight me on leaving. He stared dead ahead. I reached for his hand, thrilled when he accepted it.

“I’m sorry, Kota. I shouldn’t have left you.”

“I know. I understand.”

“I—I never felt the way I feel about you, about anyone. You consume me, Kota. You make me whole. I love Beck and Riley like brothers, but that is nothin’ compared to the way you make me feel. You’re like oxygen. I don’t think I could breathe without you.”

I kissed his shoulder realizing that may be the closest Jay ever got to saying he loved me, and I couldn’t decide if his words were a good thing or not.