Page 19 of Forever Mine

I still felt a little guilty about wasting the food. Kota didn’t seem too bothered, but years of going hungry was a hard feeling to forget, and it felt wrong to waste both his time and the food. Still, I’d been up in my feelings and lost in the past too much today as it was. We’d both said our piece. It was time to move forward, and that included tossing the old breakfast, I guess.

I grinned at him. “Oooh, yay. What did Mama Kelly send today?”

“Let’s get out of bed, and then you can see.”

It took us longer than it should’ve to get up and throw our pants back on. But that was just ’cause we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. The morning was significant, and therewas a shift between us, and I think both of us felt it. I just didn’t want to stop touching him.

Except, I was also hungry and so was Kota, so eventually we did make it out of his room and back into the kitchen.

This time, I helped him clean up the old dishes and plates, plus the toast on the floor, and then heated up the leftovers from his ma. As we moved around his tiny kitchen, we kept brushing up against each other. I kept shooting glances and little smiles at him, which he returned every time, causing my stomach to flutter like a teenage girl with her first crush. It felt very domestic and wholesome, and I was surprised I didn’t mind it. More than that, really, I wanted more of it.

We eventually sat down with our plates. Even then, we couldn’t deal with sitting on opposite ends of his table, though it was tiny. So we brought our plates to the couch and sat as close as possible while we ate.

I was determined to change. To make things right and make up for the distance I’d been forcing between us. There was one place to start, one thing that Kota had been asking me for since almost the beginning that I kept refusing.

I shoved a chunk of soda bread in my mouth and looked down at my plate. “Maybe next time you go to your ma’s, I can come?” Fuck, why was that so awkward?

Dakota froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. “Please don’t make a big deal about it,” I rushed out before he could ask me if I was sure or anything else.

He came to his senses and finished bringing his food to his mouth. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll tell her next time I talk to her.”

Damn, why was I fucking shaking? It would be okay. Dakota swore to me they wouldn’t judge me, and he would never put me in a situation like that. It was important to Dakota. I could deal with my own discomfort for him. I had to.

CHAPTER 8

DAKOTA

“I’ll only bea few minutes. Do you wanna come with me or wait here?”

Jay’s head snapped toward me from where he was staring absently out the window.

“Huh?” His cheeks heated with embarrassment. “Sorry. I was in my head.”

I leaned over the console of the car and kissed his cheek. My poor man was so nervous that it was making me nervous, even if there was no reason.

After I talked to my mom, we all decided that it might be better for Jay to meet them for the first time in a less chaotic environment than our family dinners. They were overwhelming at the best of times, and my sisters didn’t know the meaning of subtlety. They would be interrogating him from the moment he walked in the door. Plus, Jay was finally signing the lease on his apartment the day of our next dinner. He was already stressed about that, and I didn’t want to add meeting my entire family to the mix.

So, instead of throwing him to the wolves, we were meeting my parents for lunch at a restaurant. If it went well, next time we’d invite my brothers, before finally taking the step to thewhole family. When I talked to Jay about it, he was so fucking relieved that I knew it was the right decision. As much as I wanted to have him integrated with my family already, I had to be patient. He was making an effort. It was all I could ask.

But of course, he was still so damn anxious. He had been messaging me with questions all week while we were working, drilling me about my parents while we were together, and then he spent longer than I’d ever seen him getting ready. It was adorable, even if it was putting me on edge a bit. I was so distracted by Jay that I had left my wallet in my locker after my shift last night. Before we went to meet my parents, we stopped at the hospital so I could grab it.

“It’s fine. I just asked if you want to come in with me or just wait here? I should only be a minute.”

“I’ll uh, I’ll wait here if you don’t mind?” He scrubbed at his face, the skeletal tattoos on his hand peeking out from the long-sleeved Henley he insisted on wearing. I promised him that my parents weren’t going to care about his tattoos. My dad had more than a few himself, including a few from his Irish mob days that he’d tried covering up. But he told me he’d be more comfortable like this. Luckily it hadn’t been that hot of a summer so far and we’d be in air conditioning.

“Sure. I’ll be right back.” I kissed him and quickly left the car. I all but ran into the hospital, glad I hadn’t forgotten my badge too, so I could easily get where I needed to go without trying to find a coworker to get me to the lockers. I was still partly afraid that I’d come back and Jay would be gone. To the point where I kind of wished I’d insisted he come in with me. I had to trust him though.

I waved to Dr. Kiley, who was eating a sandwich in his office with the door open, before heading into the breakroom where the locker bay was. The wallet was right where I left it, and I shoved it in the pocket of my pants, waved to Dr. Kiley again,and got the fuck out of there. I was completely focused on the door, determined to get back to Jay as quickly as possible. I didn’t even see the other guy in the lobby until I walked right into him, literally.

“Oh shit, sorry.” I looked up at the guy, who was slightly taller than me with mousy brown hair and an average build and was holding a get-well-soon balloon and flowers. “I was distracted and wasn’t paying attention. Are you okay?”

“Dakota?” The guy smiled at me, while I frowned, trying to figure out if I knew him.

“Um, yes?” Maybe whoever he was visiting was a patient of mine.

“It’s John.” I blinked. Did I know a John? “From the grocery store…” He prompted when it was clear I had no fucking clue who he was.

It took a while for it to click, but then I realized who it was. The cashier from the other day. How did he know my name? I couldn’t remember if I ever told him. Then again, it was a small store and my mom and sisters were talkers, so it’s possible he knew it from one of them.

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