The Story of Scömìche Part 2 (Completed)

Chapter 10

As soon as my mom sees me, she stands up from her chair so quickly that I think it will fall over and runs over to me. She hugs me tightly and says, "I need to feed you. You're too thin. Come eat something." Mitch pokes his head in and my mom pulls him into our hug, never letting go of me. Somehow, around my mom, he manages to kiss my cheek. When she finally releases us, I ask her where my dad is.

"He's upstairs." my aunt calls from the corner of the kitchen. I grab Mitch's hand and half pull, half drag him up the stairs. Ignoring the fact that I was looking for my dad, I pick Mitch up and carry him into my old bedroom. Once we are in and the door is shut, I drop him on his feet and push him against it. I connect our lips a little more harshly than I mean to, but he kisses back with the same intensity, sliding his hands under the hem of my shirt and holding onto my sides. I put my hands on either side of his head, caging him in, and dissipate any space between us by pushing my chest against his. I stop for less than a second to breath before kissing his neck, and biting gently. His hands fly up into my hair and grip it tightly as I continue down his shoulder and to his barely exposed collarbone. I pull at the hem of his shirt, silently requesting to get it out of the way. He reaches behind him and turns the lock on the door before nodding. I plant a kiss on his lips before yanking the shirt over his head and throwing it somewhere behind me. I had seen him shirtless before, probably a hundred times, but this is different. Somehow. I look at the little line of red marks I left and smile, proud, before continuing them on his collarbone. His hands are back in my hair as I trace lines on his bare chest. I kneel to press my lips to his stomach, and then his waist line and around his hips. He moans a little when I start to work the buckle on his belt and tips my head up toward his so that I can see his face.

"Not yet." he says, sinking down to his knees to be at eye level with me. I nod and pull him into a hug, setting my chin on his shoulder.

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"I don't think we can hide this." Mitch says, rubbing his thumb over his neck. I chuckle and say, "It's not that noticeable."

"Yes, it is. It's your mom's birthday. Why are you up here with me?"

"Because I can be." I say, handing him his shirt. He slides it over his head and keeps rubbing at his neck.

"No one is going to say anything." A knock on the door startles me.

"Scott? Are you in there?" my mom's voice comes through.

"Yes."

"Are you two staying for dinner?" I look over to Mitch and he nods, a smile growing on his face.

"Yep!"

"Good! So are Aunt Ginny and the kids, but everyone else is leaving, so come say goodbye."

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute." At the sound of retreating footsteps, I turn back to Mitch, noticing how pale he looks.

"I'm, like, kind of scared to go down and see them."

"They're not going to judge you or anything." He takes a deep breath and goes past me, leaving me smiling at his retreating form. I follow after a second.

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As I come down the stairs, I hear Lucy's oldest sister, Margaret laughing and saying to Mitch, "He decorated you, huh?" I drag her away as soon as I get there, looking over my shoulder apologetically at Mitch, who is now blushing brightly.

"Don't." I say, giving her an exasperated look.

"What?" she says, grinning.

"You know exactly what. Just don't." I release her and go back over to where Mitch is. He is standing so still that he looks like a statue. "Okay, so I forgot about her. But come on. She's thirteen. She feels morally obligated to make jokes."

"Mhm." From down the hall, I hear Lucy and one of her sisters, Marilyn, yelling at each other. For some reason, the sound brings a smile to my face. Mitch looks up at me sadly, cupping my cheek with his hand. "What's wrong?" He shrugs, opening his mouth to reply when my mom calls, "Dinner's ready!" The sound of running footsteps from my six younger cousins and the quiet footsteps of their mother, my aunt, as they all go into the dining room. I hold out my arm to Mitch and he rolls his eyes with a small smile, slipping his through mine. I place a kiss on his cheek before following him into the dining room.

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Mitch is situated between me and my aunt while we eat. I don't recognize whatever it is that we are eating, but it is really good. I take note of my mother's happy reaction when I take a second plateful and devour it. When we are all finished eating, Mitch, my mother, and I are all sipping on wine. My cousins all have grape juice, and my aunt is drinking only water due to her being pregnant and "not taking chances". I glance sideways at Mitch, who is taking a deep drink. My hand finds its way over to the inside of his thigh. I guess it startled him, because he jumped and spilled the wine on his shirt. I try to suppress my laughter as he stands up with a quiet, "Excuse me." and pads off toward the bathroom. I follow sheepishly. He is back in my bedroom, rummaging through some of my clothes from high school.

"You know, if I didn't love you so much, I would probably hate you." he says with a laugh, pulling his shirt over his head as he continues to search. My stomach does a somersault.

"Excuse me, sir, did you just say that you love me?" I try to keep my tone as even as possible while it feels like every particle of my being is vibrating.

"I might have let it slip." he says, biting his lip. I walk over to him, kicking the door shut, and wrap my arms around his shoulders. The warmth of his bare skin sends waves of heat through me. I put my head on his shoulder.

"Well, good. Because guess what?"

"What?" he asks quietly, standing up straight and turning his head so that we are eye-to-eye.

"I just happen to love you too."