Chapter 24

 

All morning Mitch had been telling himself that he hadn't changed. He was still the same man. Losing his head last night and again this morning when Enrico started talking about leaving before he got kicked out, he didn't act like it. Mitch felt like he would do anything to keep him around.

Done with breakfast, they were all getting ready to go and work outside. Enrico and Sammy had gone off while Mitch was still busy in the kitchen. Suddenly he heard a crash and then Sammy's voice. She sounded upset so he rushed right over.

He found her and Enrico in the hall. Enrico was sitting on the floor holding his foot. A heavy, wood carving they brought up from the basement and leaned against the wall was now turned over right next to him. While Enrico plastered on a reassuring smile, Sammy hovered over him and whimpered anxiously.

"What happened here?" Mitch asked and got down on the floor next to Enrico to see if he was seriously hurt.

"Oh no, Daddy, I was bad. I tripped on this big thing and it fell on Rico's foot," she said and looked ready to cry at the thought that he got hurt because of her.

Enrico was barefoot and smiling through the pain. "I'm OK. It was just an accident. Don't worry," he said to Sammy.

"Sorry, Rico," Sammy said and blinked at him sadly.

"Sammy, why don't you get some of those nice, cartoon bandages for Enrico," Mitch told her and she went off running.

As soon as she was gone Enrico doubled over and started cursing as he held onto his foot. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," he said under his breath.

"What were you thinking walking around here barefoot? This is still technically a construction site," Mitch said while he pushed Enrico's hand away so he could check out his foot.

"I totally understand those steel toed boots now," Enrico gasped. "But I'm fine, really."

"Let me make sure nothing is broken," Mitch told him and had him move his toes and flex his foot.

"Do my feet turn you on?" Enrico asked in a low sexy voice.

Mitch ignored the question and instead told him, "Thanks for hiding your pain from Sammy."

The way he was holding in that his foot hurt for her sake was really sweet. And his feet were kind of sexy, like all of him.

"And when my toenail starts turning black, I'll hide that from her too," Enrico told him.

"You mean you'll wear shoes, like you're supposed to?" Mitch said and helped him stand up.

Enrico could walk on his foot just fine, and that was a relief. Mitch hated the thought of him being hurt, even in a small way. When Sammy came back, Enrico ended up with several cartoon bandages stuck randomly on his foot.

"Now I'll be better in no time," Enrico told her.

Ready to get to work, they all went outside. Hit by a burst of morning sunlight, Mitch wanted to shield his eyes and bury his face in Enrico's shoulder. Was this a hangover from too much Enrico? After just one night under the same roof with him, Mitch found the world was new, unfamiliar, and too bright.

But he couldn't let himself get carried away with that feeling. He had to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. He couldn't forget that his life was about working, providing for Sammy and keeping a roof over their heads.

Today they were putting in a new fence where the old one used to be. Remains of the old fence were either leaning over or flat on the ground.

"Let's clear this out first. We'll break up those big sections and leave them for Mr. Miller to pick up," Mitch told Enrico. He seemed ready to get to work, but Mitch noticed that he didn't have work gloves on. "You're not wearing gloves?" Mitch couldn't believe he had to keep reminding him about that and after he just got hurt.

"I remember you threatening to put them on me. I'm in the mood to let you," Enrico said and gave him a wicked smile.

"Oh, man," Mitch said and hung his head.

"What? Are you surprised?" Enrico asked. "I want you to dress me, undress me..."

"Stop it. We're supposed to be working," Mitch said while he made sure that Sammy was playing far enough away not to hear them.

"Yes, boss," Enrico said insolently.

Now he was calling him boss. "I can't win, can I?"

"Nope."

"Fine," Mitch said, giving up and picked up the work gloves. To think that he had been afraid of Enrico's touch like it might brand him, mark him forever, and now he was putting gloves on him while he smirked.

They got to work, but the whole time Mitch couldn't stop thinking about last night. While he sweated alongside Enrico, Mitch wanted to bury himself in him over and over again until his body and soul were satisfied.

That was no good. In the light of day, he needed to forget what a good kisser Enrico was and how good his arms felt wrapped around him. But even hours later, the heat of his touch still burned him like a fever that wouldn't break.

Stopping to get a drink of water, Mitch deliberately kept his eyes off Enrico and how sweat glistened on his skin. Tipping back the bottle, Mitch looked up at the sun, high in the sky, almost overhead. It wasn't as hot and bright as Enrico though. Nothing was.

 

At lunchtime, Sam texted that he would be dropping by with some takeout from the café. Enrico sat on the front porch steps to wait for him, and Mitch went in to get cleaned up. After letting Sammy know that lunch was on the way, Mitch came around the corner of the house and saw that Sam had arrived. He sat down next to Enrico so Mitch decided to not interrupt them. He leaned against the corner of the railing at the side of the house and replied to a text from a former client to let her know he wasn't available.

"Looks like a lot," Enrico said as he took the takeout bags from Sam.

"You grandmother sent all this. There are three slices of peach pie with whipped cream on the side," Sam said.

"That's what Sammy had the first time she ate at the café," Enrico told him.

"Your grandmother seems really fond of her," Sam said.

"Of course she is. Who wouldn't be?" Enrico said as he looked inside the bags.

"You," Sam told him and Mitch wondered what he meant. "I remember you telling me you didn't like kids."

That was a shock to Mitch. Realizing he was eavesdropping, he knew he should leave or at least let them know he was there, but he couldn't make himself do either.

"Sammy is great. But I wasn't talking about kids. I was talking about guys with kids," Enrico corrected him. "Kids are a major roadblock to having a good time. You can't do what you want when you want."

Mitch felt stricken by what he heard, but it was better that he knew.

Sam was about to say something when Sammy ran right past Mitch and over to Enrico, who smiled at her.

"Check it out, Sammy. Sam brought us lunch," Enrico told her and let her poke around inside the takeout bags as he stood up.

"It's from Mrs. Del Rio," Sam told her then he noticed Mitch stepping over to them.

Mitch forced himself to smile at him. "Are you staying to eat with us? You're welcome to."

"Thank you, but I have to get back to work. You guys enjoy," Sam told them and then he left.

They went inside to eat, and Mitch didn't find it easy to hide how troubled he was. After what he heard Enrico say, he had to wonder what he was doing with him. Just passing the time? Proving he could seduce him?

Despite how good he was to Sammy, Mitch shouldn't have been surprised about Enrico's attitude. And he also shouldn't be letting it get to him, but he felt the pain of it like a stab to the heart.

Always beckoning him closer since the day they met, Enrico ensnared him. Whatever defenses Mitch tried to put up, Enrico broke through so easily. One look, one smile, a stray or an insistent touch, and Mitch was left aching for him.

But Enrico was never serious.

After all he was a man with no future plans. To get so worked up around him, lose self-control, that wasn't like him, but now Mitch felt like there was no going back.

That's what always scared him, that his attraction to Enrico would spark something bigger, ignite a fire inside him that could never be put out. Even after he was long gone, Mitch could never go back to being who he was. He wished he never knew what it felt like to yearn for Enrico.