“I’m sorry, Mitch. I really am.”
“Yeah, I am, too, Callie. Everyone thinks Reed is the good one out of the two of us, but I’m telling you right now, he’s going to hurt you, baby. He’s going to hurt you bad.”
“That’s my choice to make,” I tell him.
He stares at me and nods his head. He flops down on the chair behind him and stares at me. He doesn’t offer me a seat, not that there’s a place to sit amongst all the dirty laundry and pizza boxes, but still. Instead, after a moment of silence, he shakes his head as if I’ve disappointed him.
“So, why are you here, Callie?” he mumbles.
“I need your help.”
I can see that confuses him. He blinks, his brow crinkling, and he shrugs. “Why would you need my help?”
“Reed doesn’t know about…” I stop talking for a minute, unable to get the rest of my words out. Finally, I take a breath and try again. “He doesn’t know what happened that night I found him and Chasity together.” I swallow down the misery I feel at just talking about that night. I wish I could just forget it and never have to think about it again—or go back in time and make sure it never happened to begin with.
“Well, hell. Isn’t this rich?”
“Mitch…”
“You’re here to ask me to lie to my brother? That doesn’t seem like a great way to start a relationship, Princess.”
“What we did should have never happened, Mitch.”
“We’ll agree to disagree on that one, sweetheart.”
“It shouldn’t. You know that. I know this will hurt you and I don’t want to do that, but you knew I was in love with your brother, Mitch.” His face tightens, and something flashes in his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything. “I still love him,” I confess. “I’m here to beg you not to tell him. Telling him we’ve slept together would only hurt him and I don’t think either one of us want that. Besides, what we had is over. It began and ended that night.”
“Yeah,” he says, sounding resigned. He stands up and I have to force myself not to back away. There’s something about Mitch that is uncontrollable. I’ve never seen it, but I sense it from him and if I’m going to be honest, it frightens me. I stand still as he closes the distance between us. His hand comes up to brush against the side of my face. His touch is so tender that I’m embarrassed for being worried about him. His eyes look stormy, though, and I know I’ve hurt him, and I hate that.
“I know not many accuse me of being a good guy, Callie,” he says, staring at me, his thumb brushing against my cheek.
“Mitch,” I breathe, unsure of what to say. There’s a connection between us. It’s not emotional, but we’ve slept together. He’s touched me in ways no one else ever has and he made me feel beautiful that night, even in my misery.
“I could have been a good guy for you, Callie. I really believe I could have been good for you.”
I drop my gaze down because I honestly don’t know what to say. Mitch’s finger comes under my chin, and he looks at me. For a second my heart goes crazy in my chest and I’m afraid he’s going to kiss me. Instead, he kisses my forehead and I close my eyes.
“You have my word, Callie. I won’t breathe a word to Reed,” he says, dropping his lips down close to my ear and whispering the words.
“Thank you,” I respond, stepping away from him. He nods. I turn to leave. I have the door open, but I stop moving when he speaks again.
“But, sweetheart, secrets always find a way of coming out. If Reed can’t accept who you were before you got together, maybe he’s not the man for you. I know I’d accept you any way I can get you. I have before and I would again.”
My stomach lurches. I don’t turn around or even respond. I walk out the door and close it, praying Mitch is wrong and Reed never finds out.
Ever.
31 Mitch
“Come on, Mitch. You know you have it. I’d be willing to work it out,” Chasity says, giving me that look she thinks makes her look sexy as hell. It doesn’t. She looks stupid, or like she’s bound up and straining on a damn toilet. When I see it, it’s enough to make my dick shrivel. Okay, well, it would if she wasn’t stroking me.
Chasity is getting to be more trouble than she was ever worth. I’m not sure why I keep her around. She sucks dick good, though. Plus, she’ll do anything I ask of her. That comes in handy, much like now. Still, in the last few months, she’s crashing at my place more than I am. It’s getting annoying. If she’s going to stay here then she needs to earn her keep—doing something other than spreading her legs, because I can get that anywhere. There is something I want more and more lately, however.