He blinked. His face was unreadable.
“LaToya was very nice by the way.” Her woman’s intuition kicked in as she searched her mind for possibilities of his transformation. The only thing different in his life was that woman.
Mitch nodded by didn’t reply. Instead, he bent down to one knee as his son came down the corridor and grabbed him.
“Alright, buddy, see you next weekend.” He kissed Zach’s cheek. “I love you so very, very much.”
“Love you too, Dad. I had fun with you. Tell LaToya I said bye.” He kissed his father and pulled his luggage out in the rain to the Mercedes waiting for him. On cue, Felix jumped out of the car and popped the trunk open to load the boy.
Mitch watched for a minute and then snapped out of his daze.
“Is she still here?” Elaine asked.
“Is who still here,” Mitch asked, looking at his watch. 2:53.
“LaToya, your cleaning lady. He said to tell her goodbye. Is she still here? I’d like to tell her thank you also.” She looked back into the house, wanting badly to break free of his invisible barriers to see who lurked upstairs in his bedroom. Jealousy began to pinch at her heart. Suddenly, she could remember how skilled her husband use to be in bed and it killed her to think another woman might know the same pleasure.
Mitch narrowed his mossy green eyes on his ex-wife and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Let me help you to the car,” he said, escorting her out of the door. He closed the door behind him and checked it. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting so long in the rain. You’re drenched.”
His simple acknowledgement of her made her heart skip a beat. She walked right beside him, instep with his every moment for the first time in many years. Suddenly, it felt good to be beside him, good to know him. She took in a deep breath of his cologne and clenched her jaw. Damn you, Mitch O’Keefe, she thought as heat started to boil from her core.
As he walked her out, Mitch nodded at Felix for the first time ever. Elaine looked over again dumbfounded.
“Thanks for bringing my son over,” he said, looking down at her as the rainwater hit his lips and the dimple in his chin. His eyes gleamed with a happiness that she could not understand.
“You’re welcome,” she whispered.
Mitch stopped midway between their car and his front door, refusing to go any further with her. As she walked hesitantly back to the man that she had left him for, she looked back at her ex-husband. The water seemed to hit him just right. It made him more beautiful, and painfully, it washed away the hold she had on him for so many years. Flashes of their life together passed through her mind. Their wedding. Her son’s christening. Their many happy days. It seemed to all wash away.
He stood bulging with rippling muscles under a wet, gray t-shirt clinging to his body around his taut biceps lined with veins, his thick neck, and his carved abs. The rain soaked his pants, and made them stick to his wide, muscular legs chiseled like stone from many years of playing soccer. His curly, tousled hair stuck around his tanned face and brought out his mossy green eyes and his sexy freckles sprinkled over his perfect nose and rose-dusted lips. He was a picture of perfection. Suddenly, she could see that and it was painful to watch.
She got in the passenger seat and looked out at him, standing in the rain watching his family leave him. Only this time, he didn’t seem to want her to stay. And this time, she didn’t want to go.
Nearly in slow motion, she watched him. Hitting the button on his key chain, the garage door opened to Mitch’s Toyota Tundra, and he quickly ran inside to it away from her and probably to LaToya.
She wiped the tear away and tried to smile at Felix, but he watched her as closely as she watched Mitch. Without saying a word, he backed up out of the driveway.
Before they could get down the street from his home, Mitch had already passed them in the splashing water, headed towards Phoenix in his truck. And he never looked back.
***
LaToya rushed about the house quickly, spraying sprays and scents on her body and on the furniture. The house was cleaned with not even a speckle of dirt, but she still had to arrange and rearrange considering a man had never been to her home before for the purpose of seeing her library or whatever.
Changing clothes in her bathroom, she slipped on a pair of jeans, thinking the restriction of such a garment would surely make her safer from his touch. She also piled on a tank-top, then a v-neck t-shirt just to make sure enough layers were there to remind her before she was naked of what she was doing.
Pulling her braids up in a wispy ponytail, she checked her makeup in the mirror and caught a glimpse of the weight scale in its reflection. She paused and looked over at it. It eyed her, and she eyed it back. There was a mental war going on between them, wondering if the numbers that little scale revealed would be the thing to keep her from the man who would be ringing her doorbell at any moment.
And just then, the doorbell rang.
She walked passed it, avoiding stepping too close, and darted to the front door.
The rain had just released another downpour. The winds had picked up, and Mitch was drenched, but he stood smiling as if the sun was shining directly on him. As soon as his foot hit the threshold of her home, he grabbed her in his embrace. Unable to wait, driven mad by the drive over from his place, he wrapped his wet arms around her and held her close. She held him back like she had not seen him in years. Their eyes met only seconds before their lips intertwined in a hot, mesmerizing kiss. Her knees became weak at the taste of his minty tongue swirling through her needy mouth. With each kiss, he drove himself deeper down into her heart, reaching finally to the core of her. The rain continued to rip through the door and drench them both, but they ignored it and continued to kiss.
LaToya managed in her divine insanity to flick her wrist hard enough to close the door while he consumed her, but she nearly lost consciousness after it shut. Kissing him back with the same heated passion that he provided, they found their way to the couch in her living room where he hovered over her, fists planted firmly into her leather sofa and muscles tense with wanton desire. He disappeared in the softness of her lips again, tasting the fleshy sweetness that caused his burn to boil.
She could feel all nine inches of him as he rocked his hips forward. Her skin instantly lit on fire with sensations that had been so long forgotten she didn’t know that they were still real. Widening her legs, she felt him lower himself in between her. Hot blood rushed up into his tense legs and through his throbbing penis. He planted himself just atop her aching sex, grinding against the softness of her body.
His thighs trembled as he thought about what he wanted, but instead, he continued to kiss her. Leaning over with one elbow beside her, he let his right hand relax to run over her large breasts. Unable to help himself, he pinched her pebbled nipple.
LaToya let out a gasp of both pain and pleasure. Every nerve ending in her body was firing all at once. Her eyes opened and she gazed up into the green abyss of his eyes. I have to stop this now or I’ll never stop it, she thought to herself.
Reluctantly, LaToya finally hampered her raw emotion and tapped at his rock-solid chest for him to pull back. He did so obediently panting at her feet like a good canine. She ran her hand through his tousled hair and leaned down to place her forehead on his. I can’t believe you’re here, she thought to herself.
“Your library is fabulous, by the way,” he said smiling.
She wiped the rainwater from his freckled nose.
“Thank you,” she replied, “but this is my living room. My library is down the hall.” Coming out of her heated state, she realized that they were now soaking wet.
Mitch looked around the room and nodded. “Well, this room is nice too.”
***
The rain beat down on the rooftop while Mitch and LaToya sat in her second bedroom, turned into a library, and drank mimosas while she showed him her record collection. They had been holed up for hours eating, laughing and kissing.
M
itch thumbed through to her records, given to her by her mother, and ate his seventh finger sandwich.
“So, your mother gave you all these records?” he asked, sucking his teeth.
“Yep,” LaToya said, proudly looking at her collection of over 500 records. “There in perfect condition, too. I listen to them on her record player when I read. Plus, it’s better than the music they play on the radio these days. It’s relaxing. ”
“This entire place is relaxing. I could stay in here forever. It’s so warm and cozy like a home should be,” he said, lying back on the pillow. “You must like living alone. It’s so tranquil.” He tapped his bare feet on the carpet, wiggling his toes happily.
“It has its perks.” She put down her glass. “And it has its draw backs. Everyone wants someone. I’m no different in that I suppose.”
He turned to look at her. “No, you’re not different in that. I want the same thing. I’m at the age where I need someone to love and someone to love me. That’s where I messed up the first time with Elaine. I gave her the world, but I never noticed that she didn’t give anything in return.”
She quickly changed the subject, seeing that just the thought of her still pained him. “So, you’ve been in the states for twenty years. You were married for eleven. You have one kid. And you’re close to making partner.” She smiled. “You’ve accomplished a lot in a short period of time, but how old are you?”
“Forty,” he smiled. “Don’t I look it?”
“You don’t look a day over 30.”
“Well, thank you for the gracious compliment. But I don’t feel like 30. As my son gets older, I feel older. Watching him grow up is the greatest treasure in the world, but with every inch and every pound he gains, I also gain a wrinkle, a gray hair. It puts my mortality into perspective.” He shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth with his index finger.
“I want kids someday. I want the house filled with construction paper and homework and class projects and report cards.” She grinned. “You’re so lucky to have Zach. He’s amazing.”
“A woman like you could have all of that and more. I mean, I’m sure that you’d be a great mom. You cook; you clean. You make everyone feel like they’re special. Zach fell in love with you in just one day, and trust me when I say that he’s guarded. I could just imagine what your own kids would think of you.”
Sitting up, he caught LaToya looking at his bare chest. She had taken his shirt off and put it in the dryer hours ago.
“Want your shirt back?” she asked softly. She bit her lip and looked away.
He looked down at his body and looked back up at her. “Would you like to join me...take off your shirt?”
LaToya shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t.” She blushed.
“Why not?”
She couldn’t bring herself to say that she was fat. Why couldn’t he just see it? Rolling her eyes, she tried to lie. “I don’t like taking my shirt off.”
Mitch bit his bottom lip. He’d take it off for her if she’d let him. Crawling on his knees across the room towards her, he snaked up to her body, in between her legs and moved her braids out of her face.
Studying her features, he dipped in to kiss her lips again, stroking his tongue along the roof of her perfect mouth, slowly committing her fruity taste to memory. She tasted like heaven. Her mewling sounds of pleasure sounded like hypnotic tunes of ecstasy. He literally could kiss her for days on end. The flesh on flesh made him forget that the outside world existed. She dipped her head back and allowed him to trail sensual, sweet kisses down her neck.
Trailing his finger over her bottom lip, he whispered in a husky voice. “Let me see what you look like, LaToya. I’m dying to know.” A promise of pleasure colored his face. His clever grin made her heart skip a beat. “For everything that you show me, I’ll show you mine in return,” he bargained.
LaToya could feel his hot breath on her skin setting it on fire again and smell his cologne making her drunk with blind desire. She looked into his eyes and marveled at how sincere he seemed. Shaking her head, she pulled away.
“Mitch, we have to slow down.” Patting him, she stood up and smoothed out her clothes.
He looked up at her. “Slow down? Why? Did I do something?”
“No. Why do you always think that you’ve done something wrong?” She clenched her jaw. “Look, before you even jump to conclusions, I’m not trying to play hard to get here. I want us to slow down before something happens. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been with anyone in some years. I imagine by now, I could have been, but I don’t want to get hurt again.”
“Well, I don’t want to get hurt either.” He sat on his behind. With his knees cocked up, he rested his elbows on his thighs. “And I don’t want to hurt you, LaToya. If you think that I’m some kind of playboy - ”. He nervously ran his hand through his hair and looked up at her.
“I don’t,” she cut him off. “I would have never invited you here, if I thought that you were anything but sincere.”
“Then what is it? It has to be something. We’re both adults. We’re both single. We’re both attracted to one another. I can’t imagine that there is any more reason not to continue forward.”
“I don’t want to be the rebound girl that you bided your time away with until something better came along.” Licking her dry lips, she pulled at her shirt, uncomfortable with his confused stare. “You at least have your son. You have...so much. It would be easy for you to get over moving too fast with me. But I wouldn’t be able to get over it that easy. I need to slow down for me.”
He understood, but he wouldn’t back down. “I don’t want to use you like that. Trust me, it’s been done to me, and it’s no way to treat a person. I like you. I want to spend time with you. I want to get to know you outside of our working relationship.” He shrugged his muscular shoulders. “But I won’t pressure you. It would devastate me if I ever hurt you.”
His words were sobering. A man had not been so honest about his feelings for her in a very long time. She was humbled by his willingness. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Just give me a little time before we move to ripping each other’s clothes off. You know. Let’s work into this and make sure that we’re making the right decisions. If it’s going to work, it’s going to work. Right?”
He stood up and walked over to her. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head and sighed. “Fair enough. I’m willing to work for it, but if you don’t want me to continue to think about ripping things off of you, I’d suggest you give me back my clothing and let me take you to dinner. Because, I’m starving for something, and I rather like the idea of having you as my main entrée.”
They both laughed.
Chapter Six
LaToya rushed quickly through her other houses to get to Mitch’s place. She had even re-arranged her schedule over the last couple of weeks to ensure that his stop was the last of the day.
Things between them had been slow but enjoyable. Her no-sex rule was driving him mad, but he continued to respect her wishes, while still getting to know her better each and every day. They talked about everything from politics to first loves. He was always open and candid and often extremely insightful. She enjoyed his company immensely and it had truly been the first time in her life that she was developing a friendship with someone as well as a stable foundation for a relationship.
Today, she cleaned the house perfectly, as normal, and then retired to the kitchen to fix them dinner. It was strange to be his girlfriend and cleaning lady. Often, she would hurry to clean their dishes after a meal just to make cleaning up the next day easier on herself.
Mitch laughed at how hard she tried and often went the extra mile to clean himself, unlike before.
She had turned on the skillet and was cutting up onions when she heard his feet on the tile in the hallway. With a smile on her lips, she kept her back to him as she cooked, just so he could walk up behind her and kiss her neck.
He did not disappoint.
She felt his soft lips against her skin and his hands on her arms. He bent to her ear and whispered. “I have the most exciting news.” His voice made her eyes flutter.
She turned and looked up at him. “What?”
“I got a promotion today.” He sauntered over to the cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses. “Well, it’s a little more than a promotion, really.” Opening a bottle of wine, he poured them both a glass and then passed it to her. “I made partner.” He grinned.
LaToya cracked a wide smile. “That’s wonderful.”
He sipped a little wine and leaned on the counter. “Isn’t it?” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe it myself. They told me today. We make it official at the end of next week. There will be an announcement at the Hadley dinner.”
The Ugly Girlfriend (The Lonely Heart Series) Page 6