Page 12 of Forever Mine

Dakota turned, and immediately my mood dropped. He looked so fuckin’ serious. “I know you might not feel up to it, but you should try to eat something.”

I rocked back on my heels, shoving my hands in my pockets, just for something to do with them. I eyed the two plates in his hands like they were poison. I didn’t want to fuckin’ eat.

“I’m not hungry.”

Dakota rolled his eyes and sighed, like he was dealing with a bratty kid. He put the plates down and turned to me, hands on his hips. “Jay…”

I shook my head. “If you’re gonna end things, just fuckin’ do it, Dakota. I don’t wanna eat first.” I already felt like I was gonna puke. I wasn’t gonna add fuel to the fire.

Oh, I pissed Dakota off. That cool demeanor was wiped right off his face, and all I saw was rage as his eyes darkened.

“So, is this how we’re doing this?”

I shrugged but looked down. I couldn’t look him in the eyes when he told me he was done with me.

“I knew it was comin’. You were gonna get tired of me eventually. May as well get it over with now. No point in stringing things along.”

I tried to sound casual, unbothered either way, but my voice hitched, betraying how much this was getting to me. I cleared my throat. Fuck my eyes were burning again. Why’d that keep happening?

“Go fuck yourself, Jaylin Michael Parks!” My head snapped up at my full name. I didn’t even know that he knew my middle name.

“What?”

“Are you really ready to walk away that easily? Do you really think that’s what I want?”

I shrugged again. “You’re pissed.” I didn’t know what else to say to that. I didn’t want Dakota to walk away. I wasn’t sure I’dsurvive it. Even thinking about it sucked all the air out of my lungs. But this was exactly why I tried to keep some distance between us. I needed to find a way to protect myself, even if I did a poor fuckin’ job of it.

Dakota threw his hands in the air, frustrated. Then he started to pace the room. I didn’t know what to do, so I kept standing there like a fuckin’ jerk.

“No shit, I’m pissed! You ghosted me, Jay! You know how fucking worried I was for you? Things ended weird with us, and then last I heard you were coming here after work, and then nothing? I know this wasn’t the first time you’ve done shit like this, but it still scares the fuck out of me. I thought you crashed and were in a ditch somewhere. Or got mugged and were bleeding out in an alley behind the deli.”

He was worried about me? “No one’s gonna mug me in that neighborhood. They know better than that.”

By the way Dakota’s nostrils flared, that was the wrong thing to say.

“That’s not my fucking point, and you know it, Jay. I hate when you act like you’re not smart, when we all fucking know it’s not true.”

Yeah, I didn’t know about that. Didn’t think that many smart people dropped outta high school at fifteen, but whatever. “Then what is the fuckin’ point here? ’Cause, smart or not, I ain’t gettin’ it. You’re pissed. I fucked up. Again. I get it. This is the part where you say you’re tired of my bullshit. That you can’t deal with how much of a screw-up I am, and that I need to leave and forget you exist. Let’s just get to it, please. My head hurts too much to deal with this back and forth.”

Not that I’d ever be able to forget Kota or let him go. If I survived the next few days, I knew I’d always be here. He was it for me. He was the first person I ever opened up to like that, and it wasn’t happening again. I’d be watching from the shadows forthe rest of my life. Protecting him and making sure no one gave him crap. But I’d keep my distance. It was the best option for him.

Something hit the center of my chest with a plop. Confused, I looked down. Right there, right below my pecs there was a piece of fuckin’ toast just stuck to my bare skin.

I stared at it, having no clue what was happening. It didn’t move for what seemed like fuckin’ forever, and neither did I. I just watched as in slow-motion the toast peeled off my chest and fell to the floor, leaving nothing but a smear of butter in its place.

I blinked up at Dakota. He was watching me with the same dazed look I was watching the bread. “Did you just throw toast at me?”

Dakota’s eyes widened, like he just realized what he did, and he covered his mouth. I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh, like a lot.

“What the fuck, Kota,” I choked, wiping the remains of the butter with the back of my hand. It wasn’t coming off, just making my skin greasier.

Dakota just glared, though I could see the corners of his lips tipping up. “You deserved it. If I had to hear one more fucking time about you leaving I was going to lose it.”

That somehow got through to me, and I stopped trying to clean myself. “Huh? You’re not leavin’ me?”

Dakota sighed. He grabbed a piece of paper towel off the table and stepped over the toast on the floor and into my space like he belonged there. For the first time since I woke up this morning, I could breathe.

He didn’t say anything while he wiped off the greasy butter. When he was done, he looked up at me, but he didn’t step away. I wanted to touch him so badly, but I didn’t dare.

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