“Thanks,” Jamie says as he takes the items from him. They dig into the room service, piling random things onto their plates. Aiden is the first to get his helping and sits back on the sofa to eat. He watches Jamie as he continues to pile food on his plate and then finally sits back with his father. Aiden laughs.
“What?” he says, looking at his father and shoving food into his mouth.
“Your body is a vacuum,” Aiden says, laughing.
Jamie laughs too. “I’m a growing boy,” he says.
Aiden nods. “Did you enjoy your summer?”
Jamie finishes chewing before he answers. “It was good,” he says. “How was California?”
“It was work,” Aiden says, sighing. “I didn’t have time to do anything, really. Stayed in the office most of the time.”
“What are you working on right now?”
“We opened up a second branch of our publishing company over there, and they needed some help setting up.”
Jamie nods his head. “That was reliable of you,” he says sardonically.
Aiden ignores him. “So, tell me about your school,” he says.
“It’s pretty cool. A lot of extracurricular activities, seems like down to earth teachers, and it’s small, so I feel like I won’t be overwhelmed by the people.”
“I don’t know why your mom insists on keeping you in this small town. What kind of name is Blue Moon for a town? You know, you could always come and live with me in New York.”
“Thanks for the offer, Dad, but I like Blue Moon, and plus Mom would miss me too much.”
Aiden nods his head. “You’re right,” he says. “Have you started thinking about college? You could always travel for that.”
“I was looking at some art schools. Dakota went to Blue Moon Academy of Art. I was thinking about going there so I can stay close to home.”
“Really? What brought that on? I always thought you favored English like your old man,” he says, shoving him playfully with his shoulder.
Jamie chuckles lightly. “I spent most of the summer with Dakota.” He pauses to swallow some more food. “I got to shadow him at his photo shoots, and I liked it a lot. It’s fun.”
“So you want to take pictures for a living?” Aiden says, a little irritated.
“There is actually a lot more to it than just taking pictures,” Jamie says. “Anyone can take a picture. Not everyone can be a photographer and Dakota thinks I have the talent. We went down to Ocean City, Maryland, and shot for a summer vacation ad and he let me do a few rounds. He said they were good and I had potential.”
“You can’t possibly be serious about this,” Aiden says cynically.
“Yes,” Jamie says, leaning over the coffee table to get more food, officially irritated at his father. “Taking pictures for a living as opposed to reading books for a living? Same difference to me, Dad.” Aiden clears his throat and sets his plate down.
“Well, you have four years to finalize things. Doesn’t matter. I just figured you wouldn’t be influenced by a twenty-three-year-old babysitter, that’s all.”
“So where do you want me to get my influence from?” he asks.
“Your father, obviously,” he says, looking at his son.
“Oh, right, I’m sorry. So after I become an editor, do I automatically spend eight out of twelve months of the year away from my kid, or does that require a promotion?” Jamie asks.
Aiden’s eyes narrow. “I see Dakota’s wit has rubbed off on you.”
“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.”
&nbs
p; 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’r
e 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.
Maybe Forever (Missing Pieces Book 1) Page 3