I throw my head back and laugh when she begins to wriggle her fingers.
“Maybe you've done all of that Cynthia, or maybe our boss is just heading this way to talk to me?”
My words sink in after about half a second, and I watch as something in her brain seems to connect, and she relaxes.
“You're right. You work closely with him, why did I not think of that?” she wonders aloud, looking like she's seconds away from smacking herself. I give her an encouraging squeeze just as Mitch reaches us.
Cynthia manages to behave, her earlier anxiety not reflecting in the way she confidently greets Mitch.
“Was hoping I could steal Beth for a second?” he courteously asks.
“Oh. No problem, you can, um, steal her anytime,” Cynthia murmurs, looking away with a blush. Now flustered, I look away from her, cheeks warming at the thoughts that suddenly flood my brain.
As Mitch guides me with a hand on my elbow towards the office area, I don't look back, I don't allow myself to question what this impromptu meeting is about. We have been spending a considerable amount of time avoiding each other, which is why I think this is purely business. Opening his office door, he ushers me in, my heart skipping when he does not attempt to turn on the lights. When I turn back toward him, I notice the dark circles under his eyes and the tense way he holds his shoulders up.
“I needed to talk to you alone,” he says in a quiet voice. “Away from the noise.” He gestures with his head at the open door where the loud music still filters through.
“Okay,” I say, proud that my voice does not betray the quiver that snakes through me.
Mitch moves toward the window and looks out of it, hands buried in his pocket, creating the perfect silhouette that causes my mouth to water. He doesn't say anything for several minutes, and I find that I am unable to fill the silence. When he turns toward me, he says in a low tone of voice.
“Do you have any idea when you'll be leaving?”
I close my eyes against the sudden despair. Of course, Mitch had not called me here to have a little tryst. He was merely concerned about how and when to replace me. I know I was the one calling this off, if there ever was a “this”, but I can’t help my body and my heart from screaming for him no matter how much hurt there is waiting for me on the other side. I try to shield myself, knowing it is impossible not to have my heart bleeding by the time this conversation is over.
“As soon as the current semester is over,” I reply, staring longingly at the door. This is the last conversation I want to have with Mitch.
He turns back to me. “You don't sound excited.”
It's an observation, his eyes in the slightly darkened room are trained on me.
“It is just a mixture of feelings,” I tell him truthfully. “I can't wait to get back on campus, but I will sure miss it here.”
I'll miss you.
I don't say it. Instead, I watch as he moves toward me very slowly.
“You're welcome here anytime, Beth. You are and will always be a part of the team, don't ever forget that.”
His words cause my eyes to sting and so I find myself blinking and chuckling at the same time. When he looks at me questioningly, I say, “I needed to hear that. I was afraid that once I'm gone, I'll be gone from here—for good.”
Mitch is now close enough for me to gaze into the eyes that are filled with so much fondness and care and lust that I find myself swallowing hard. The hallway light that filters into the room compliments his skin color and makes his eyes look black rather than brown. So soulful, so endless. I know I'm getting lost in his eyes, but I'm unable to look away from them, breath bated, heart thumping hard.
“I'll miss you,” I let out in an almost strangled voice, throat clogging up at the emotions that surge inside of me.
“Oh, Beth,” Mitch croons against my lips, his lips dancing across mine, brushing against mine but barely. I part mine and try to chase his, but he leans back slightly and chuckles. “I'll always think of the office over there as yours,” he confesses, his eyes looking troubled like he's been fighting himself about saying that. “You'll always belong here, Beth.”
I gasp at the raw emotion in his eyes, the unbridled passion that simmers in them. And when he finally captures my lips in a kiss, a helpless moan escapes me at the way he claims my lips, at the way he nibbles and nips and soothes me until I become a whimpering mess. Mitch shows me no mercy but brings those expert hands to the sleeveless skin-tight gown I'd worn, running his fingers along my ribcage, traveling up until he grazes the undersides of my breast. I moan into his mouth, kissing him harder, whimpering when those deft fingers pinch my nipple, causing it to pebble instantly. I arch my back, panting hard as he continues to palm my soft breast in his hands.
“God, Beth,” he groans. “You're something else. You're everything, Beth. You know that, right? You're just too much,” he says, his hands moving towards my other breast, fingers running around the soft bud until it hardens, pretty much like its twin.
“Your body,” he says, ending the kiss and trailing those lips down my jaw towards the soft skin of my neck. When he bites down hard on my weak spot, I cry out softly, eyes tightly shut.
“Mitch...” I whimper when his lips reach my collarbone. My hands are splayed against his hard chest; the only indication that this gets him as hard as it does me is how hard his heart hammers, which comes as a comfort, seeing as I'm on my way to a mini-orgasm from his ministrations. However, at the sounds of footsteps that are alarmingly close to the door, Mitch tenses against me. But we don't have enough time to spring apart before Aaron's voice rings out.
“I should have known I'd find you he—”
There's a definite pause where Aaron takes in the scene before him. Another tense silence where neither of us says anything. And then, Aaron questions with evident anger.