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Sophie stood in her tower, keeping everyone out, and Mitch attempted to find a way in.
So now she had to fix it. Because — and there was no denying it anymore — she liked him, and it was getting harder and harder to hide it.
Or stop wanting more.
“That’s the last one.”
Mitch sagged against the wall and huffed. “Thank god. My arms might fall off. It would be really awkward if I had to ask my dad to give me a sponge bath.”
A burst of laughter shot out of her so quickly she snorted. “You should sit down.”
He was already sliding to the floor, body melting to a puddle and limbs akimbo. “Good idea.”
“Are you trying to be cute all the time, or does it come naturally?”
“You know, it bodes well for me that you think that, because I’m always like this. I mean, based on all the time I’ve spent with myself, it’s just,” he waved a hand up and down his torso, “this, all day, every day.”
She joined him on the floor, leaning her head against the wall and trying not to zero in on the heat of his shoulder against hers. Every part of her was exhausted, from her toes to her eyelids. But it was the good kind of exhaustion. The kind that came with accomplishment. And she wouldn’t have been able to do it without Mitch’s help.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“You keep saying things like that, and I’m going to start thinking you like me.”
“Sorry, I should have been clearer.” She bit back a smirk. “You’re the strangest person I’ve ever met, and you have awful taste in boy bands, Hanson notwithstanding.”
“That’s just mean. And wrong.” He rolled his head to look at her. “I like you.”
“Do you? I hadn’t noticed.”
“And you like me.”
“Debatable right now.” But her smile was undeniable.
“You do.”
Could she let herself have this? Believe it was possible to be happy? Believe it could last?
She bit her lip, studying the shelves across the room, feeling a little like one of the dusty old boxes, sealed and protected from negative influences. “How can you be so sure all the time? Don’t you worry about anything?”
“All the time. I worry that one day my dad won’t come home from a fire. And I worry that he won’t eat his damn vegetables when I eventually move out. And what I’m most concerned about is that you don’t believe you deserve happiness, when you definitely do.”
“Everyone leaves.”
“I won’t.”
Right. Not even Mitch could make that promise. “I don’t know how to trust that.”
“Then I’ll just have to keep proving it to you until you do.”
“You might be waiting a while. A person can be cool; it’s people in general you have to be careful of.”
“Sure, lump us all together. That’s never backfired on anybody.”
Despite herself, Sophie laughed. Okay, he had a point. “All I’m saying is that, you know, fool me three times, and I’ll start to expect it.”
“Some people are assholes, no shit. But if you write everyone off, you miss out on being surprised, and you’re only doing to them what others have done to you.”
Well, fuck.
