None of this conversation would even be happening if the tech didn’t fail. I’d venture to say that Tito would be happy things are working out in everyone’s favor. But he already feels vulnerable because of a failure he thinks was his own, but it’s not. It was, and will be, mine. My burden to carry, my moral conundrum to toil over, the reason I can’t ever let my desires take over when I’m with Tito. All of it is my fault.
I grab Tito’s arm for him to hear Vince out, who looks like he’s getting ready to say something, but Tito pulls his arm away from my hand and turns away from everyone. He’s already almost up the steps before anyone thinks to stop him, and when he reaches his room and the door closes quieter than I would have thought it would with anger like that, Vince sighs.
I awkwardly turn my head back to Pops and Vince, who seems uncertain about how to deal with this situation.
“I’ll go check on him,” I mumble, turning to the steps and leaving them at the base of them. From their looks, I can tell this is the first time Tito has ever really defied them. The way he is around, Vince normally looks like a teacher and his favorite student. Not tonight, though.
I reach the top of the steps and cautiously make my way to Tito’s room. I know it’s his because there’s a sign on the door that is the code for how a door would work if it were an automated robot. After a second more, I reach up and knock a couple of times.
“Tito,” I call, and he doesn’t answer. This is where I should turn around and head to my room. Right? It's the only sensible thing to do, respectful even. But I don’t do that. I turn his doorknob slowly and then, all at once, open it wide. At first, I don’t see him, and then as I take a step further, I see he’s at the other end of the room, working at a large wooden desk.
He’s quietly working on something with headphones on, and I close the door behind me, slowly approach him, then gently tap on his shoulder. He whips his head around in shock before realizing who has startled him, and then he takes his headphones off and sighs.
“I’m sorry you had to be there for that.”
“It’s okay. I get it. Family stuff is….” I pause for a moment, and we both finish the sentence. “Complicated.” He offers me a sad grin, eyes focused on mine like he can see right through me.
“I should apologize. I know he’s only trying to help.” He sighs and shakes his head, but something in me feels furious for him. A wave of anger I didn’t know I had until he lost all of his.
“You can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you should let him think about it for a bit.”
“Think about the fact that I burst out in an emotional display?”
“No. Let him think about the fact that he shouldn’t treat you like a child. You’re an adult doing a job for him with real stakes. Maybe he didn’t mean to, but he treated you like you weren’t capable of handling the entire truth.” He narrows his eyes for a moment, furrowing his brows in thought as he looks past me. I study his expression for a minute until he looks back at me.
“Okay, I’ll make him wait.”
“Good.” I fold my arms over my chest, and he stands up. As he rises, I follow him with my head until I’ve tilted my chin up to his, and we’re just holding a gaze that could melt metal to pavements. I like this, the intensity of our gazes feeling like inertia. We’re just about to tip over the edge, a little more, so we can zoom towards our desires without any friction or external hindrances.
“Should I order food?” He whispers for no reason, but I like the way it raises bumps over my skin, only ever this intense when he’s near.
“Sure,” I whisper back, and he nods slowly, not breaking eye contact. “Tito?” I shove back the voices in my head, screaming for me to stop while I’m at it, and cup the length of his sharp jawline. “Remember how you said if I needed anything, it was mine?”
“Yeah?” He lowers his brows with a soft grin.
“I think I need you,” I whisper.
“What are you saying?” He inches his face closer to mine until our noses are millimeters from touching.
“Kiss me.”
14
TITO
“Kiss me?” Scout asks, her lips nearly connecting with mine. I can feel myself folding towards her, showing her every card I have, and now she knows she’s who I need too. To be honest, I don’t truly understand the weight of that or the permanence of it; I just know that I don’t want to hold back.
I collide with her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her as closely as possible. Her hands tug at me, asking for more than I thought she wanted and more than I was prepared to give when I invited her to join me in my room less than an hour ago. That sounds naive, but I can’t accept anything from her. Every time I do, she surprises me. I’m just here for the ride, here for a good time, here to make her feel special. Because she is special. She’s the most incredible person I’ve ever met.
I kiss down her neck, and she pulls my shirt off before I can object. I wouldn’t object, for the record. It takes me by surprise, her hunger for me. But here I am again, being caught off guard by Scout Summers again, and not an ounce of regret lingers about it. She kisses down my neck while her hand softly rests on my abs, and I feel my cock growing harder with every touch. She stops at my collarbone, and I don’t waste time, kissing her lips once more and pulling off her blazer.
Everything about her is sweet, even the taste of her warm, eager lips. I want her, all of her. All that she wants to give me, I’ll gladly take. I only want her to get what she needs. Want her to feel as incredible as I feel when I’m with her.
I pick her up, and she wraps her legs around me just before we reach the bed. My mistake last night was falling; tonight, I won’t do that again. I gently lay her down on her back, not breaking my lips from hers. She pulls away for a moment when her head touches the bed and I take the opportunity to ask her what she requires from me.