Quiet & Riot (Scomiche)

Chapter 74

Hi there. Welcome back, lovely readers! :)

–Queen <3

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MITCH'S POV:

I let out a sigh of relief as Candice's husband, Kevin, sets my last box in front of the door. 

"That's it, Mitch!" He chuckles. "Welcome to your new home." 

"I can't believe I'm officially moved in. Thank you guys so much for letting me stay here for a bit until I can rent out my own place." I say, feeling extremely grateful

"The pleasure is all ours, Mitch Grassi. You'll be on your own two feet in no time. Plus, Candice and I admire you and she's really excited to have you as the face of her business."

I grin at his sweet words. Kevin has always been so nice to me ever since Scott introduced us to each other a few months ago and I felt so happy to be able to call him a friend now. "Speaking of Candice, do you know when she'll be back from Paris Fashion Week?"

Kev sighs. "Not sure, it ended a couple of days ago but she's staying with some friends there. Apparently they're throwing her a baby shower tomorrow, so maybe she'll be back by the weekend?"

"Maybe." I agree. "Have you talked her out of throwing the party?" I ask nervously.

Candice has been planning on throwing me this "Move-in" party so I could meet some new friends in LA and be introduced to some "important people." I resented the whole idea but I didn't want to be rude, especially because this is her house and she's not even making me pay to stay here. The woman is 8-months pregnant and I'm disrupting her whole life. The least I can do is let her throw a stupid party.

"I tried, man." He replies before bursting out into a fit of laughter. "I think you're just gonna have to go with it, unfortunately. But I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Candice knows a lot of people, great people, and there's sure to be great food if nothing else." 

I shrug. "Yeah, I guess. Do you know if, um... If she's inviting Scott?"

Kevins laughter immediately dies out. "Do you want Scott to come?"

I don't know... "I don't know." I reply honestly. 

"Well, I was helping with the guest list and I actually invited him."

"Kevin! But-" I start. 

"-Don't worry, he said he wasn't sure if he would go because he doesn't know how you're feeling about.. I don't know. What's going on between you two lately? I can hardly keep up."

I sigh. "Well, after the whole "I love you" thing I kinda freaked out on him. I still wasn't over my last relationship and I just thought that it was completely inappropriate and insensitive."

"You don't think you might have overreacted?" He asks calmly.

"Scott sure thought I did. But, in my defensive I had a right to. Block me out of your life for nearly half a decade and then expect for everything to be all peachy? Think I'll come running back just because he's got money now? That's not how it works."

"Mitch, I agree with you. But Scott doesn't like to show emotion so, you must know that you're significantly important to him if he's actually telling you how he feels." 

"You sound like my therapist." I scoff. 

"Well, I do have a masters in psychology."

I roll my eyes. "Can we please change the subject?"

"Of course. I've gotta head to the studio now, I should be back in a couple of hours. Anything you need? I could head to the grocery store."

I chuckle. "You're so nice, thank you so much. But, I'm okay. I've got a car."

"Alright then. I'll see you tonight."

"Okay, see you."

As he makes his way to the front door after grabbing his keys and wallet, I stop him.

"Oh, and Kev? Tell Scott I say hi, okay?"

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Candice pushes me onto the stage and toward the mic (in front of everyone at the party that had just gathered into the living room) whilst whisper-shouting in my ear. "Greet your guests, Grassi! Don't be rude." she scolds.

I roll my eyes. "Okay, mom."

"That's boss, to you." she corrects. 

"Damn." I respond. 

She just nods. "Yeah."

With that, I decide to listen to her. I take a few seconds too long to formulate my thoughts for this speech I was about to give but finally just tell myself "fuck it" and improvise. 

"Thank you all for coming tonight. I really appreciate it and have had such a wonderful time meeting a lot of you and seeing a couple of familliar faces." I look directly at Scott and sharply inhale when his eyes are already locked in on me. "I, uh- I'm really excited to grow here in LA and I'm now, because of tonight, confident that I've got some good people on my team. So, thanks for being so amazing and coming here for me. Cheers!" I conclude quickly.

As everyone begins to toast and go back to their conversations, the DJ turns the music back up and I make a run for the stairs. I needed to get out of this large crowd and get a few minutes to myself. I shouldn't have allowed Candice to throw this party, or at least not invite so many damn people. She already knew about my anxiety, so why would she invite practically all of LA into her home? 

On my way to the staircase, I feel a strong grip catch my arm and hear my name escape from the lips of a familiar voice. 

"Hey, Mitch!" 

I turn around to look at him. "Oh sorry, I just need a minute to-- Oh, hello." I feel my breath catch in my throat and my heart begin to beat much faster.

I'm pleasantly surprised when my eyes are met with the most angelic face I've ever seen. 

"I don't believe we've met?" I ask, consciously telling myself not to drool. God, this man was beautiful. 

"No, we haven't." He chuckles, extending a large right-hand toward me. I then take the opportunity to give him a once-over. 

Damn, he's tall too. And very, very well dressed. He's definitely got style.

I accept his handshake, but he brings my much tinier hand up to his lips. 

He places a light peck on the top of my hand. "I'm Bowen, but you can call me Beau."

As I stare up at his gorgeous smile, I decide that Candice throwing this party for me was a fantastic idea, after all. 

Hello, LA!!!

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