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The two men couldn’t be more different—despite being brothers. I look back to my first day at school and remember that, at the time, I thought Mitch was the better looking of the two. Mitch is hot, but now, when I look at him, I don’t think he could hold a candle to Reed. It’s funny how quick things can change.
I realize I’ve just been standing here looking at a shirtless Mitch and not moving. I shake my head and go inside. Mitch gives me a knowing smile. He probably thinks I’ve been busy staring at his body. I know a lot of girls do, so it’s not really conceited for him to think I am, too. That’s not it, but he can think what he wants at this point. I just need his reassurance that we won’t hurt Reed.
That’s it.
It seems simple, but I know it is anything but.
My nose crinkles as I step into the dark apartment. It smells reminiscent of what the boy’s weight room did at school. There are empty pizza boxes lying around, dirty clothes—or what I assume are dirty—lying around everywhere. There are empty beer cans and bottles, too. It’s definitely a bachelor pad—my mother would call it a pigsty and she wouldn’t be wrong, really.
When he shuts the door, the room goes almost completely dark. The sound of the door closing makes me jump slightly and I tense up. I don’t relax until he flips the overhead light on. A buzzing noise, although quiet, begins and I look up to see the overhead lighting is just an old florescent shop light. There are two windows in the large room that serves as a kitchen and sitting area, but those are covered with heavy black curtains. There’s no way light could get in if it wanted to. Mitch works nights, so I guess that’s understandable. It is depressing, though.
“I was hoping you came here because you were thinking of me the way I’ve been thinking of you, Callie. Somehow, though, I’m thinking that’s not what is up, is it?”
I swallow, my throat feeling suddenly dry.
“Not really,” I respond, wishing he hadn’t said he’d been thinking of me. That’s just going to make this whole thing harder, and I don’t want that.
“Then, maybe you should tell me what’s up,” he says.
“Reed and I are dating, Mitch.”
I thought maybe he’d have heard through the small-town gossip train that’s notorious in Macon. Apparently, that’s not the case.
“Wow, I did not see that coming.”
“Mitch, you know how much I’ve always cared for Reed,” I murmur because he does. I didn’t make a secret of that, not ever. Since the night we had sex, I was crying and drinking because of his brother—that can’t even come as a surprise to him.
“Yeah, I know. I guess I just never saw you as the type to take Chasity’s sloppy seconds,” he says, and I flinch.
“That’s not nice,” I whisper.
He studies me, arms crossed in front of him. They slowly drop to his sides, and he lets out a loud breath that’s filled with irritation. I’m sure it’s all directed at me although when he speaks, he’s almost gentle.
“You’re right, Callie, it’s not. I just don’t understand what’s so special about my brother that you couldn’t even give the two of us a chance. I could have made you happy, Callie. I know I could have if you had just given me the chance.”
“I couldn’t do that to Reed, it would have hurt him if you and I started dating, Mitch.”
“Yeah, apparently, it’s okay for you to hurt me, though. Huh?”
I flinch, as guilt pools in my stomach. Instinctively, I go back to worrying my hands together.
“Believe it or not, Mitch, I truly never meant to hurt you. What happened between you and me….”
“Was good Callie. You can deny it all you want, but what we shared that night was really good.”
“It never should have happened. I was upset and drinking.”
“You were drinking, but you knew what you were doing, Callie. You begged me to make love to you.”
I blink. He’s right I knew what I was doing, but I never used the term love. I asked him to help me forget. That’s all. Did Mitch have feelings for me back then that colors how he remembers that night? How could I not have seen it?
“I never meant to hurt you, Mitch. I didn’t know you had feelings for me,” I respond, feeling helpless to fix all of the shit that I’ve messed up.
Mitch rubs the side of his neck and takes a step backward—moving away from me. The air between us is tense and filled with words that are so much better left unsaid.
“Yeah, well, I did. I still do, Callie,” he says and I close my eyes and hold my head down.
