“I’m telling you, Jada. It was crazy,” I pretended to be on the phone as I hurried to the door with my head down.
“Ella,” Mitch calls me again.
I’ve never opened a door so fast in my life. You would think Jason Vorhees was after me the way I got the door open and rushed into the house.
Shutting the barrier between me and Mich, I let out a dep breath. I knew I had to face him eventually, but now was notthe time. I needed to let the embarrassment fade just a little. Pushing away from the door, I place my things down and head into the kitchen.
The sound of my front door opening has me spinning around. Mitch is standing in my foyer; his arms folded over his wide chest and a scowl on his face.
“You avoiding me now?”
My mouth opens to say something, but nothing comes out. What the hell do I say? I was, in fact, avoiding him. Realizing that the truth is best, I let out a deep breath.
“You’re right. And I’m sorry.”
He nods his head, dropping his arms down by his sides. He turns and shuts my door before coming further into the house.
“We need to talk about last night.”
Oh crap. My stomach damn near dropped to my feet. Is this where he tells me how inappropriate I was and how he doesn’t have those feelings for me? Maybe he’s going to tell me he will now stay as far away from me as he can because I nearly leapt all over him last night.
“What...” I have to stop and start over for lack of moisture in my throat. “What do you want to talk about?”
“We have some new rules about this dating thing.”
I threw my head back, completely caught off guard. That is not where I thought this was going.
“What do you mean?”
He sits down on my couch and then points to the seat across from him for me to sit, as if this is his place and not mine. I follow his direction plopping down in the recliner.
Mitch leans forward, placing his fingertips together. “Rule number one: I need to know every time you go on a date. I don’t care if it’s at a coffee shop in the afternoon; I want to know.”
That isn’t a hard ask. I mean, I have no problem with letting him know where I am. After the last date, I felt safer with him knowing.
“Okay,” I agree easily.
He dips his chin before continuing on. “Rule number two: you can still share your location with Jada, but you need to share it with me as well.”
Another rule I can easily agree with. With a nod I let him know I accept.
“Rule three: you will call me when the date is over so I’ll know to be on the lookout for your return home. And no more going to your place after the date. You will park in my yard and come into my house. And lastly, if something ever feels off or unsafe, you send me a text. It can be anything.” He thinks for a minute. “Pineapple.”
“Pineapple?”
“Yeah. You call or text me pineapple, I’m on my way to you no questions asked. Do you understand?”
There were many ways I thought this conversation would go, but I swear this never crossed my mind. He wasn’t here to talk about the almost kiss. He wanted to talk about my safety. I guess last night scared him too.
“I understand.” I hold my hand out for him to shake as if we were making a business deal. Mitch looks down at my hand and grins before shaking it.
“Alright.” He lets my hand go and stands to his feet, looking down at me. “And Ella, there will never be anything that happens between us where you would need to avoid me.” He leans down, placing a finger under my chin. He lifts my face up to his. “Never.” His warm breath brushed across my lips. Those beautiful eyes stare back at as if he’s making sure I understand his words fully.
Finally, he lets my face go and straightens before walking out of the house, leaving me sitting in a puddle of my arousal.
Damn that was sexy.
Comfort
