"You parked crazy. Did you rush over here?" he asked Rico.
"No, but I'll be staying to help clean up," Rico informed him. He then looked toward the kitchen and the messed up door. "It must have scared the hell out of you when you walked in here and saw that."
"It did," Mitch admitted. "Your grandmother offered for us to stay over at her place."
"Are you going to?" Rico wondered.
"I don't think that's necessary," Mitch said.
Rico frowned at him and wondered if Mitch refused her invitation because he didn't want to be in the same house with him. "So you feel safe staying here?"
"Sheriff Jackson said whoever broke in has probably moved on already. I put in a rush order for a new door, and I'll be installing it today. It's a more secure door than the old one," Mitch said. "We should be fine here."
"What if I stayed over here?" Rico asked. He wasn't just testing Mitch though. He needed to be here or he would go crazy worrying. "Just for tonight. I can sleep downstairs, keep my ears open for any suspicious noises, while you're upstairs closer to Sammy."
"That would be good," Mitch said and Rico was so shocked at his quick agreement, he had to swallow a lump in his throat. "I would feel better if you stayed over."
A little thrown by how easily he agreed, Rico could only nod. To shake off all the weird, conflicting reactions he had to spending the night at Mitch's, Rico got busy putting the house back in order. Sammy got into it too, pointing out to Rico and her dad where things should go.
Rico was relieved that she wasn't too upset. As they worked together to clean up everything, he hoped Sammy wouldn't notice the tension between him and her dad. Mitch wasn't showing any strain, but Rico didn't think his own poker face was any good.
Determined to keep Sammy busy and keep her spirits up, Rico asked her, "You want to help me make lunch?"
"What about Daddy?" she asked.
"I'm going to be taking down the old door so we can put in a new one," Mitch told her. "You guys are in charge of lunch."
"We'll make something good," Rico told Sammy.
Her idea of something good was grilled cheese sandwiches. Rico didn't mind. He figured they could all use some comfort food.
While Mitch worked on the door, he asked Rico for help a few times. Being near him, reminded of other times when they worked together, Rico didn't know how he would handle being in the same house with him all night. When his grandmother stopped by again and dropped off his backpack, the reality of the fact that he was staying here sank in even further.
As long as they had work to do, it wasn't so bad. The closeness as he helped Mitch was unnerving, but he could focus on what needed to be done. Once the new door was up, they got the basement back in order and then it was dinnertime.
This time Mitch was doing the cooking with Rico and Sammy helping out. There were a few times when Mitch's hand brushed his, and Rico had to grit his teeth against the painful jolt and the desire to touch Mitch's body all over.
Rico was sure that he wasn't having a similar effect on Mitch. Then Rico offered to set the table and reached for the stack of plates just as Mitch picked them up. There was the briefest touch against his bare forearm, and Mitch nearly dropped the stack of plates he was holding. Maybe Mitch wasn't as unaffected as he seemed, or maybe it was only the break-in that made him jumpy and not Rico.
After dinner, there were a few more uncomfortable moments as he hung out with Mitch and Sammy until it was her bedtime. Before she went to bed, Sammy picked out the rose sitting room for Rico to sleep in.
That's where he was putting some of his stuff, when Mitch stopped by. He had a kitten in each hand so he must have come down so he could take them up to Sammy.
"The couch in the living room is bigger. You'd be more comfortable in there," Mitch pointed out.
"This is fine," Rico said while both he and Mitch eyed the small, pink, tufted sofa doubtfully. "And if anyone tries to break in I'll clobber them with this." Rico showed Mitch the two by four he had picked as his weapon.
"Thanks for doing this," Mitch told him.
"No problem," Rico said. He should have just said goodnight, but he wanted to linger there with Mitch standing awkwardly in the doorway. He didn't care if the silence between them was comfortable or uncomfortable. He just wanted to be near him.
"I better go," Mitch said as the kittens started to get impatient.
"Good night," Rico said and tried not to show his regret.
"Good night."
As Mitch left, Rico dropped into the sofa, threw his head back and breathed deep, like he had been holding his breath the whole time he was there. Why couldn't he stop wanting him?
