ON THE THIRD CONSECUTIVEnight of hanging out, Mitch came to my place to watch baseball and share a dinner. Instead of greasy pizza or any other kind of takeout food, I grilled us some steaks and vegetables. I knew he wasn’t excited about coming to my place, but I also figured he would change his mind once he saw the inside.
It wasn’t anything fancy, but the house had great character with rounded archways, gorgeous wood molding, and built-in bookcases. The exterior needed some work and the landlord promised to give me a break on my rent if I did some of the work myself. So far, I hadn’t made the time to scrape off the chipped paint so I could give the home a fresh coat of exterior paint. I had made time to do a lot of landscaping and Mr. Sheldon made good on his promise and knocked a chunk off my rent that month.
“This place is a lot nicer than I thought,” Mitch confessed once we were seated at the patio table with plates heaped high with good, healthy food. “I also didn’t expect you to cook me dinner, but I appreciate it.”
“Maybe you should take a bite first before you go thanking me,” I replied with a wink.
Things had gotten easier between us once he stopped fucking a new guy every other day. It seemed we both made a concerted effort to drop a portion of our defenses and really get to know each other again. I knew that I was still holding back parts of myself and I suspected that he was too. Oddly, Mitch and I spent an entire year together in foster care and never once talked about our pasts and how we ended up with Howard and Dorey. I didn’t think it was strange then, but looking back I found it kind of odd.
Fast forward more than twenty years and we were still not talking about those things that originally brought us together. Not that I necessarily wanted to open up about it years later, it was still a subject that I never planned to share with anyone. I accepted the things that happened to me, I put them behind me the best I could, and I moved on with my life. I didn’t see the sense in conjuring up past hurts. Maybe we were smarter than we knew all those years ago. I wanted to know more about Mitch’s past, but I had no right to ask knowing that I wouldn’t be as open with him as I knew he’d be with me.
“This cabernet is delicious too. I didn’t know you were a wine drinker,” he said appraisingly, as if he was seeing me in a new light.
“I do enjoy it on occasion, but I know next to nothing about it. Luckily, there was a fancy wine store next to the butcher shop where I purchased the steaks. I asked for a great wine that paired nicely with a juicy, grilled steak.” I shrugged my shoulder. “The guy handed me this and told me I couldn’t go wrong with it.” It was delicious too. I wished I had purchased two bottles since it was obvious we were going to easily finish the one I bought.
I watched him spear a few chunks of grilled zucchini and pop them into his mouth. It made me ridiculously happy to see him enjoying the food I made for him. “These vegetables are just delicious. I’ve never had grilled zucchini before and I think it’s my new favorite way to eat it.”
“Just a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper,” I remarked casually.
“Quit deflecting compliments.” Mitch playfully punched me in the arm. The look of tenderness I saw in his eyes caused my breath to hitch in my throat. “When a guy tells you he appreciates something you’ve done for him, you thank him and accept his praise.”
“Thank you,” I replied. The smile he gave me caused my face to heat up.
The attraction between us was mutual as was the desire to move in and taste one another, but I knew we wouldn’t want to stop there. That was the reason I kept him at arm’s length. Things could get really complicated between us once we stripped each other bare. It was possible that Mitch was versatile, but I only knew him to top up to that point. In all of my sexual encounters, it was made clear what each person’s role would be. In fact, it wasn’t even a conversation I ever had to have; it was as if I was cosmically attracted to men who wanted to receive me and not the other way around. Until Mitch.
“You haven’t said much about your time in the military other than the ‘whore’ remark,” Mitch commented. “Is that a topic you don’t want to talk about?”
“Not at all, and my ‘whore’ remark was probably unfair. Yes, Uncle Sam had me by the balls, but it wasn’t all bad. War was fucking hell and there were things that I witnessed, and things I was a part of, that still rub me raw. It’s ugly business and make no mistake about it, Mitch, it’s all business for those countries; including ours. They both have something they want from the other and they’ll stop at nothing to get it. The body count and shattered lives aren’t a factor in their minds, only the end goal. It changes you, every part of you, and sometimes leaves you questioning your own humanity.” I took a deep breath and added, “I love my country; I would’ve died for my country. However, I’m not proud of some of the things I did on the behalf of our country, but I got my men home.” I looked him in the eyes.
“You’ve always been a hero.” Mitch said the words so softly that I almost didn’t hear them. “It’s true,” he said when he saw the disbelieving scowl I aimed in his direction. “You were my first hero, Mark.”
“Come on, Mitch.” I shook my head. “I wasn’t even that nice to you at first.”
“You were fair right from the start, no matter how badly you didn’t want me there. It was the last time…” Mitch broke off his sentence at the same time he broke our eye contact. He looked down at his plate and then he looked over my surprisingly large, enclosed back yard. He shifted his eyes back to me and asked, “Can I bring Frankie with me next time?”
The sudden change in topic caught me off guard so it took me a few seconds to respond. Clearly Mitch was finished with his trip down memory lane. “Absolutely.” I thought his dog was adorable and I loved watching the way he doted on her. Frankie was a very lucky girl. I had to work hard not to be jealous every time I watched him pet her sleek fur or stroke her velvety ears. I completely understood why Frankie followed him around adoringly. “She’s welcome anytime.”
“No pets for you, huh?” Mitch inquired.
“I’ve never had a pet, although I love animals. We couldn’t afford another mouth to feed growing up,” hell, I was lucky to have food, “and I was away too much when I was in the service.”
“Now you have time and plenty of space,” Mitch said while gesturing to the expanse of the back yard. “They bring you a lot of joy and give unconditional love.” His simple remark spoke volumes.
Mitch Heston was not a man who was loved without strings. In fact, I would bet that he probably wasn’t truly loved at all. I was aware of the strain between himself and his family and I’d never witnessed him hanging out with any friends. I realized that maybe having an endless bank account wasn’t such a great thing.
“I’ll give it some serious consideration and talk to my landlord about it.” I chose not to remark on my inner musings for fear that it would ruin the peaceful vibe we had going between us. Truthfully, I could easily fall in love with Mitch if I’d let myself. I couldn’t though, or maybe I just wouldn’t.
He narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to read my mind, but didn’t say anything. After several long moments, we resumed eating and continued on with small talk until we finished. Mitch helped me carry the dishes into the kitchen and load them into the dishwasher.
“I would think you forgot how to do this after all these years,” I teased. When he didn’t respond, I stood up from where I was bending over the dishwasher and looked at him over my shoulder. I caught him staring at my ass and I’ll never know what made me ask, “You like what you see?”
Mitch’s hungry eyes snapped up to lock on mine. Smoldering. That was the only word I could find to describe the look in my mind because all of the blood in my head was heading south to fill out my cock. Mitch took a step to close the gap between us and I turned my body toward him. That fast, our bodies were plastered together and our lips hovered a fraction of an inch apart.
The heat from his body burned me alive and made me shiver at the same time. The way my body began to tremble had nothing to do with the temperature and everything to do with anticipating Mitch’s mouth against mine again. Our kisses as teens were more like fumbling, but our first kiss as adults the night I showed up at his home after I assaulted Damien was anything but. Those were kisses of experienced men schooled in the ways of pleasing one another.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” Mitch said to me. I licked my lips that had suddenly gone dry to moisten them. The yearning groan that Mitch let escape made my fingers itch to touch his body.
He was telling me more with his eyes than his words. His eyes confessed that he had no intention of stopping at a kiss and the unease I felt had me taking a step back until I was flush against the kitchen counter. I didn’t want to refuse his advances, but I sure as hell didn’t feel comfortable telling him about my rules of engagement for fear he might probe as to why I felt the way I did. It was not a topic I was willing to discuss.
