When You Need Me | Scomiche

Chapter 12

     "No", Scott whispered. Mitch could barely hear it, but it was there. 

     Panic started rising at the unknown of this statement. "I don't want you to marry him." Well, that both cleared things up and made them more complicated. Mitch didn't know how to respond. He decided not saying anything would be better than saying the exact wrong thing and fucking everything up. After an uncomfortable amount of time, Scott spoke again, "Can you please say something?" He sounded nervous, maybe even scared.

     "Okay. I won't marry him." Mitch's words were also shy, and though his brain hadn't approved that sentence, his heart decided it was okay. They were both feeling strange, this territory not having been visited since early high school and a tiny bit during the Sing Off, and both of those were so long ago they didn't even feel like real life anymore. Just like weird dreams that for some reason you can't forget. Mitch was nervous but determined to keep the conversation from becoming too weird. "I was actually trying to call Kirstie tonight. I accidentally pressed your name instead." He attempted to clear the air of electricity.

     "Is that so?" The amusement was back in Scott's voice and Mitch let out a chuckle. Relived that his attempt at lightening the mood seemed to work. "I'd have to say though, she is probably going to tell you to say yes. Probably that you are crazy for even hesitating."

     "She is such a romantic." They quietly laughed again. "But I don't think I'm crazy. Do you?"

     "Definitely not." Mitch thought he was hearing things when Scott's voice deepened with those words, sending tingles down his spine and making his heart flip. He smiled.

     "Mitch?" Shit. "What are you doing up? Who are you on the phone with?" Beau wandered into the living room from the hallway rubbing his eyes. Mitch stayed silent, not sure if Scott heard or not.

     "That must be Beau." He heard in his ear. "And my queue to leave. I'm sure you will make the right decision after everyone's input. Goodnight, Mitchie.

     "Goodnight." He left out Scott's name and he heard the line click off. He turned to Beau, "It was just Kirstie. She's having boy troubles and needed some advice."

     "Oh? Everything with her and that guy okay? They seem like the perfect pair, I'm surprised they are having trouble." Beau leaned down for the remote to turn the TV off.

     "Yeah, they are fine. She is just a little worried about something, that's all. Everything is good." Beau smiled. He reached down for Mitch's hand tugging him up to standing and dragging him back to bed to actually sleep for the night. Mitch's heart was confused now, choosing to beat for a man halfway across the country instead of the one he was sharing a bed with.

***

     The whole next morning leading up to his Vogue photoshoot, Mitch's stomach was in knots. Partly nerves from Vogue being his biggest career move since he started modeling and partly because he needed to tell Beau he made up his mind. Every time he would get the opportunity he would chicken out. He tried to push thoughts of the proposal and Beau out of his mind as soon as he stepped inside Vogue Head Quarters. Beau had work today too, which helped Mitch focus, and he was grateful for the solitude.

     He was getting hair and makeup done when he received a text from Scott.

Scotty: Good luck with your shoot today. I know you are gonna blow everyone away with your gorgeous face and perfect model aura.

Mitchie: Thanks! That really means a lot. T minus 8 mins until the cameras start flashing!

Scotty: Sweet, text me after how it goes.

     Mitch's confidence was boosted a little by Scott's flattery and killed the photo shoot. The photographer was living for his facial expressions and really played to his angles. He was having the time of his life. People were giving him attention and he felt really beautiful. The hours went by fast and soon the last flash of the day went off and the photographer had yelled, "That's a wrap!" Everyone was buzzing after that. The whole team was ecstatic with how smoothly it went and kept complementing Mitch. As soon as he walked out of the building, he called Scott.

     "Hey." Scott's voice was hushed. "I'm in the hospital. How did it go?"

     "It was the best photoshoot of my life. I cannot wait until the issue comes out. You are going to die." Mitch squealed when he couldn't hold in his emotions anymore.

     Scott laughed at the muffled scream. "Wow, Mitch that is wonderful. I'm sure you looked flawless as always." Scott was so happy for Mitch and wore a face-splitting grin.

     "Aww, you flatter me." Mitch was smiling like crazy in the middle of the sidewalk.

     "So, did you..."

     "No, not yet." Mitch cut him off, not really wanting to talk about that right now. "But I will soon, okay? And I'm headed to a meeting with my manager about the upcoming weeks. Hopefully, I can come down again really soon."

     "I would really, really love that, Mitch." Scott crossed his fingers for luck.

     "I made it to the Starbucks my meeting is at. I'll uh... talk to you later, yeah?"

     "Feel free to call whenever you like. Bye, Mitch."

     "You too, Scott. Bye." And the call ended. He pushed opened the door and scanned the area for his manager. Turns out, he isn't that booked for the next three weeks. When he explained the situation back in Texas, his manager really pulled through for him. She said she would figure out when to reschedule the shoots and told him that family was more important than a couple silly advertisements. She booked him a one-way ticket to Texas that was leaving tomorrow. His excitement and anxiety shot through the roof. He was ready to be home again, already regretting spending time away from Connie, and excited to feel out this new dynamic between Scott and him. If there even is one. Mitch rolled his eyes at himself.

     But first, he had to face his fears and end things with Beau.

     He took a hot shower when he first arrived back at his apartment, scrubbing all the glitter and makeup off his skin and then slipped into sweats and a t-shirt. He poured himself a glass of wine and made himself comfortable on the couch, flipping on the TV and scrolling mindlessly through the channels. Beau's work days usually only lasted about eight hours, so if he was counting right, he was gonna walk in the room within thirty minutes.

     With only five minutes until the expected arrival, Mitch stood to refill his glass. Thirty minutes passed. Then an hour. Then two hours. Then soon it was close to eleven pm and Beau still wasn't home. Just as he was about to call the man, he heard a thud on the front door and keys jangling in the lock. It flew open and there was Adam, holding what appeared to be an incredibly drunk Beau, staring at him with 'please help me' eyes. Mitch rushed over to help bring Beau to the bedroom and thanked Adam for taking care of him, promising that he would be fine alone watching the now passed out man on his bed.

     This wasn't in the plan and Mitch was running out of time to be able to tell Beau before he was leaving back for Texas. He didn't want to leave without talking to him, but at this rate, Beau would have a major hangover tomorrow after sleeping until god knows when, and he couldn't miss his flight in the morning. Regret settled deep inside for not telling the man sooner and squeezed his heart as he went to the kitchen to pull out a piece of paper and a pen. A note will have to do.

     Beau easily slept through Mitch packing up his two suitcases, stuffing as many clothes in there as he could. He wasn't sure when he was coming back. His heart cracked when he turned around and locked the front door behind him. It broke when he stepped onto the plane.

***

A/N

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your feedback so leave a comment on how you think the story is going and where you would like to see it go from here. Vote if you feel like it and have a wonderful day! 

-Belle