Maybe Forever (Missing Pieces Book 1)
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Authors: Keyanna Butler
Maybe Forever
Missing Pieces Book 1
Keyanna Butler
Maybe Forever
Copyright © 2016 by Keyanna Butler.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: July 2016
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
Formatting: Limitless Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-68058-718-0
ISBN-10: 1-68058-718-8
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
To my girls, Shandise Cokley, Jackie Bitzer, and Sabrina Taggart. Thank you for your fifteen-plus years of friendship, your unyielding loyalty, and your ability to accept a nerdy girl who loved to write short stories on construction paper and bug you to listen to them. This book is dedicated to you, summers at Smith Playground on our circle rock, and whole days spent on the bleachers in “the field.” Thank you for listening and thank you for being my friends. Had it not been for you, I would have never continued writing. You listened, you encouraged, and you supported my dream to write. I am forever grateful. I couldn’t have made it here without you.
Dakota
“What’s the password, sir?” Dakota Daughtry rolls his eyes at the boy standing in front of him. Jamie Montgomery folds his arms over his wide chest. With his five foot seven frame, he could easily pass for a very young security guard.
“Boobs?” he guesses.
Jamie shakes his head, his lip quivering from the force of trying not to smile. “Someone’s mind is in the gutter.”
Dakota chuckles. “Uh, fart?”
“Try again.”
Dakota’s eyes narrow slightly as he tries to concentrate. He looks at Jamie’s fifteen-year-old mischievous face.
“You are so immature, Jamie. I hope you don’t ask your first girlfriend for a password every time you hold hands.” Jamie laughs, untwining his arms. Dakota catches Jamie in his moment of weakness and head butts him in his stomach, forcing his way into the house. He kicks the door shut with his foot as he wrestles with the teenager.
“You two are toddlers…” Dakota peeks out from underneath Jamie’s chokehold, feeling like he can’t breathe. He thought he would be used to it by now, but every time Harper Montgomery walks into a room, she captivates him.
“All right! I give up!” Dakota says, and Jamie lets him go.
Dakota smiles up at Harper standing at the foot of the stairs and then turns back to Jamie. “You should be nice to me. I come bearing gifts.”
Jamie’s eyes widen when he realizes what Dakota is holding: a bag labeled
‘
GameStop’
.
“No way, D!” Jamie rushes to take the bag from Dakota’s hands. He opens it immediately to reveal a new PlayStation 4.
“D, this is awesome! Thank you!”
Dakota chuckles at his reaction. “You’re welcome. Go ahead and set it up.”
“Okay,” Jamie says, not taking his eyes off it as he kisses his mother’s cheek, saying goodbye quickly, and then rushing into the living room. Dakota feels Harper’s glare as soon as Jamie is gone. He braces himself for a spat.
“How much was that thing?” Harper asks.
“Doesn’t matter…” Dakota says sharply.
“Dakota, you have to let me pay you back for that. It’s too much.” She turns to the coat rack behind her and grabs a jacket.
“It’s nothing, Harper. Don’t worry about it. I knew he wanted it, so I got it for him.” Harper’s eyes narrow as she looks at him. Dakota rolls his eyes and grabs the flaps of her jacket, pulling her toward him slightly. A smile plays at her lips as she looks at him.
“Stop worrying so much.” Harper watches him as he buttons up her jacket for her. When he reaches the last button, he pushes her brown satin-like hair behind her ear and winks.
“Don’t try to butter me up, Daughtry,” Harper says softly.
“Go to work, Montgomery.” They break apart from each other.
“I’ll be home at around eleven-thirty,” she says, opening the front door.
“We’ll be here,” he says.
“As always,” she replies. Dakota stares at the door for a few seconds after it closes and shakes his head slowly. Smiling, he enters the living room to join Jamie in breaking in his new present, which is secretly a present for Dakota as well.
***
“D?” Jamie calls sleepily as he gets comfortable on the living room’s sofa bed. Dakota lies beside him on his back, one arm behind his head and the other resting comfortably over his stomach.
“’Sup, man?” He turns his head to look at Jamie.
“Can I ask you something?” He yawns softly.
“What’s on your mind?” Dakota asks.
“Are you going to stop coming around once I start school?”
“No, why would you think that?” Dakota’s eyes narrow slightly.
“I’m starting high school,” Jamie says matter-of-factly.
“And?” Dakota raises his eyebrows in confusion.
“I don’t know. Sometimes I just think you’re going to…” Dakota feels the emotion coming off him in waves. “Sometimes I hope you won’t start getting tired of me. You’re my best friend, you know.”
Dakota smiles warmly and then looks up at the ceiling to hide the emotion pooling in his eyes. “You have nothing to worry about, Jamie. I’m not going anywhere. Think about it…how often do we talk on the phone?”
“Almost every day,” Jamie says, his forehead scrunched up.
“And where do I spend most of my time?”
“Here with me,” Jamie says softly.
“And do you know why?” Jamie looks up at him. “Because you are the coolest kid in the world, and as long as you want me around, I’ll be here.” There is silence in the room for several seconds, and then Dakota hears Jamie let out a deep exhale. Dakota rubs Jamie’s head as he nods in understanding.
“Okay,” he says, grinning. They both lay flat on their backs and look up at the ceiling, feeling like they have bonded enough for the night. They lay in silence for a while. Dakota thinks Jamie has fallen asleep until he breaks the quiet.
“Do you ever think you and my mom will get together?” Dakota’s head snaps to Jamie’s drooping eyes.
“What?”
“Oh, come on…you’ve never thought about it before?” Jamie says, smirking.
Dakota stares at him for a few extra seconds, slightly shocked by the turn of their conversation. Before his brain can even go down that path, he reverts back to reality.
“That’s not a topic of discussion.”
“Oh come on, Daughtry,” Jamie says. “We’ve always been honest with each other. Don’t break the pact now.”
Dakota sighs, hating the fact that he references their pact from so long ago. He doesn’t understand how Jamie can still vividly remember the orange popsicles they were eating on a summer afternoon and the pinky swear they made that they would always be honest with each other no matter how uncomfortable it made them. Back then, he was just a high school student in a Big Brother program, but he never knew he would end up falling in love with this kid and the family his mother created for them. He never meant to become a father figure. He never meant to find a place here, but he did, and there’s no turning back from it now.
“D, you okay? I’m sorry if I’m out of line, I just…I’ve been thinking about that lately.” Dakota breaks out of his daze at the sound of Jamie’s voice and registers his words.
“Jamie, it’s okay, you’re right. We’re always supposed to be honest with each other.” Jamie nods. “You aren’t out of line, either. Some things aren’t appropriate is all.”
“And talking about your feelings for my mom isn’t appropriate?” Dakota shakes his head, smiling slightly.
“Yes, that and the best
Power Rangers
series. I’m just exhausted. We’ll never agree.” Jamie chuckles.
“Well, if it’s worth anything, I’m sorry we can’t talk it out. I know how it feels to bottle feelings up because you don’t think anyone will understand…”
Dakota’s eyes narrow. “Jamie, is there something you’re bottling up inside that you want to talk about?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“You don’t have to handle it on your own. That’s what your mom and I are here for.”
“I know.” The room grows quiet for a few moments, Dakota looking at Jamie thoughtfully. “D…”
“Yeah?”
“Just so you know, I wouldn’t mind calling you dad.” Dakota’s eyes water once again, but before he can respond honestly however, Jamie’s steady breathing fills the room. Dakota shakes his head and turns over to his side, opposite Jamie. He closes his eyes and hopes his head can calm enough for him to fall asleep as well.