"It's the kittens. They're scratching and meowing. I better let them in." Mitch got out of bed and Rico raised his head so he could watch him.
Opening the door, Mitch got down and scratched Natalie and Veronica's little heads. He then scooped them up and brought them over to the bed.
"Which one do you want?" he asked Rico.
"Veronica looks too awake. Give me Natalie," Rico said and held out his hands for the kitten. As he took her from Mitch, she stared at him with her amber colored eyes. "Don't look at me like you know what I've been up to. Go to sleep."
As soon as Mitch was back in bed, Rico snuggled up against him. Though it was warm, he still wanted to be close to him, feel Mitch against him. For a while the kittens explored then they settled down too. Rico started to drift off with a kitten in the crook of his arm and the other one nestled against Mitch's beard.
Mitch's breathing deepened and his eyes started to close just as Rico's did, and that tonight for the first time they were sleeping together in the same bed.
The next morning, Rico woke up to kittens climbing all over his face and Mitch getting dressed. "No. Why are you up and not naked?" Rico complained as he wrangled the kittens.
"Believe me, I would stay in bed with you forever if I could," Mitch said and leaned down to kiss him good morning.
"That almost makes up for you being dressed," Rico said and he started to get up as well. "Do I have time for some coffee, or should I get out of here before you get Sammy?"
"What do you mean get out of here?" Mitch asked. "She's the one who was pushing for you to stay over."
"You think she meant in your bed?" Rico asked.
"She knows you're my boyfriend," is all Mitch said.
"She knew before I did," Rico told him.
"I kind of didn't realize it either," Mitch admitted then he smiled at Rico. "But I see it now."
He wrapped his arms around Rico and gazed at him, the look in his eyes admiring and possessive.
"You keep eyeing me like that, and I'll drag you back into bed," Rico warned him.
"I'm sorry I was so slow to realize how I felt and how important you are to me," Mitch said and he got shy.
"You made up for it," Rico told him and ran his hands all over his body as he kissed him.
Mitch was so unbelievably sexy, but Rico couldn't get over what a wonderful guy he was on the inside. Just the thought of being his boyfriend made Rico so happy that his heart hurt.
Chapter 34
It was the first day of the Peach Festival, and Rico was up at dawn helping at the café so they would be ready for all the people who wanted some "real food" as his grandmother put it.
Things were bound to get hectic, but for now the prep was done and Rico was on his way out. He was putting another shift in later, but he had some time off so he could enjoy the festival with Mitch and Sammy.
Seeing the town all decorated as he walked the streets of Peach Tree, he couldn't wait for Sammy to see how pretty the town looked. She was going to love all the colorful banners and streamers, and peach colored balloons that had leaves stuck to them so they looked like peaches.
The café was festively decorated. The place his grandmother called "the jewel of this town" really did shine. Rico was pretty fond of the place too and glad to see it all decked out for the celebration.
When Rico arrived at the Dunbar house and came in through the front door, he called out, "Good morning. Happy Peach Festival day."
Going further in, he heard Sammy talking to the kittens in the kitchen, but she must not have heard him. Mitch did say good morning to him, but Rico couldn't tell from where. After looking all around, he had to ask, "Where are you hiding?"
"I'm over here," Mitch told him as he poked his head out from behind some furniture from the living room that lined the hallway. "This would be out of here if I didn't spend so much time working for the festival."
"There isn't that much more to do in here. We'll get to it," Rico reassured him. "And tomorrow you get to see your hard work literally on parade. And some of it today too. It's going to be a good time."
As far as the work on the house went, only the living room needed another coat of paint. But Rico really hated the thought of it being finished since it meant Mitch might decide to leave town and look for work somewhere else.
Eventually Mitch emerged from behind the furniture and gave Rico a kiss. They went to the kitchen together and found Sammy explaining to the kittens why they couldn't go to the festival.
