Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mitch
Head pounding, mouth like a moldy sock, for some reason, his chest hurt as though someone had wrapped a bunch of iron bands around it and squeezed. It took him a moment to realize it was because he felt like something was missing. Something big he’d gotten used to being there.
Even though he and Domi hadn’t had a ton of sleepovers, he’d thought there would be more. Now there wouldn’t be. That was what he felt—the absence of her in his life.
He stared up at the ceiling.
A knock on his bedroom door made him jerk with surprise, but the movement was slower than normal, as if he was trying to swim through thick air.
“Mitch, you up yet?” Brian’s voice was muffled through the door. Oh, right, Brian had taken him home last night.
“Yeah.” At least, that was what he tried to say. It came out sounding more like “blegh.” His tongue felt swollen, and it wasn’t working correctly. Clearing his throat, he swallowed and tried again. “Yeah. Getting up.”
“Okay, breakfast is ready, and coffee’s waiting.”
Coffee.
Driven by that one word, Mitch forced his body to start moving.
Coffee might not fix everything, but it would help his brain work, and right now, that would be a massive improvement.
Last night, Brian helped him get down to his boxers so he could sleep.
All he had to do was grab a pair of sweatpants, and he was good to go.
Not that Brian would have cared, seeing him in his underwear again, but Mitch would feel weird if Brian was fully dressed.
The sound of multiple voices, speaking in low tones, didn’t register until he reached the kitchen.
“What are they doing here?” he asked Brian, staring blankly at Zach and Kincaid sitting at his kitchen table, eating what looked like fast-food breakfast sandwiches. His stomach rumbled in anticipation of grease.
“After last night, I figured I needed reinforcements,” Brian admitted, sitting down on the chair next to Kincaid. “You were pretty fucked up.”
Yeah. He should probably stop drinking when he was upset. It wasn’t healthy. Especially since he’d started off alone.
“Come eat. We picked up breakfast,” Kincaid said, prodding Mitch into motion. “Brian updated us on most of it.”
Oh, good, he didn’t have to relive his heartbreak first thing in the morning while suffering from a hangover.
Heartbreak?
Yeah.
“Shouldn’t you all be at work?” he muttered, sitting down.
“My shift doesn’t start for another couple of hours,” Kincaid said calmly.
“Working from home today.” Zach’s smile was almost sadistic. Bastard.
“Told them I’d be in late this morning due to a family emergency,” Brian said.
A little ball of warmth took root in Mitch’s chest. His parents might be fucked up, and they’d never given him siblings—which he’d been both grateful and disappointed about at various times throughout his life—but Brian was right…
they were family. If he could choose his own brothers, he’d choose these guys right here.
Proven by the fact they were here for him right now.
“Do you have to work today?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, but not until tonight.” Mitch took a long drink of his coffee, which was just barely cool enough. The hot liquid helped clear away some of the fuzziness inside his mouth, and he could almost feel the caffeine hitting his system, helping wake him up.
To his relief, the guys didn’t seem intent on hounding him over breakfast. Zach and Kincaid wanted to know about Brian’s date last night, especially about how well Morgan had handled it and what he’d thought of the guy.
Once they’d been reassured everything had gone well on that front, they wanted to know more about the woman Brian had been with.
“Marissa?” Kincaid cocked his head. “I think I’ve heard that name before.”
“Olivia didn’t like her,” Mitch said suddenly, interrupting the conversation. He’d been listening but not participating, which wasn’t like him, but the guys rolled with it. “I think she almost called her a name at one point.”
“Really?” Brian blinked in surprise, his brow furrowing.
Both Kincaid and Zach had similar reactions.
Olivia didn’t like everyone, but it was rare she actively disliked someone.
They’d had a total misogynist asshole in their Dom class.
Olivia had been perfectly civil to him until she’d kicked him out. “She seemed nice enough.”
“Do you think you’ll see her again?” Mitch was genuinely curious.
“No chemistry.” Brian shrugged. He looked between Zach and Kincaid. “If Morgan wants to go on more group dates with them, and Marissa needs a date, we should probably switch off. I wouldn’t want to lead her on.”
“What about me?” Mitch asked, frowning. Not because he wanted to date someone other than Domi, but he didn’t like the feeling of being left out, and he wasn’t dating Domi anymore. Looking out for Morgan would give him something to focus on.
Three pairs of eyes bore into him.
“Aren’t you going to try to get back together with Domi?” Zach asked the question, but it was on all of their faces.
Yes!
The little part of his brain that reacted wanted nothing more… but… was this how it started? Was this how his parents had begun? Knowing they should stay away, but always giving in to the impulse to be together again?
Mitch knew Olivia thought he’d made a mistake dumping Domi. He had a feeling she meant for him to try to win Domi back, then stick with it. She’d been right when she’d told him it was easy not to be his dad—he had to do what his dad had never done and stay away from Domi.
“I don’t think so,” he said finally, looking down at the breakfast sandwich in front of him. The tight bands around his chest squeezed hard. “It’s better this way.”
“If you say so,” Brian said doubtfully. Kincaid patted Mitch’s shoulder. He could tell none of them agreed with him, but they’d support whatever decision he made, which meant the world to him.
Domi
Staring at the numbers until they started swimming in front of her eyes, Domi finally slammed her laptop shut. She couldn’t concentrate, and that meant she couldn’t work. A mistake on her part could cost thousands of dollars, even tens of thousands.
She needed to finish her work, but she couldn’t do it when all she could think about was Mitch. Who hadn’t called… or texted.
Not that she had done either.
She shouldn’t… right? He’d broken up with her, so he had to reach out first, right?
Though she supposed, she could reach out and apologize for not listening to him, for not giving him space when he’d told her what he needed.
Not with the intention of getting back together, even though part of her wanted to, but she did owe him an apology.
She could check in on him, make sure he was okay.
Maybe find out what had set him off in the first place.
Argh.
This was madness.
Clearly, Ben and Jerry, though they’d tried their best, hadn’t cut it. She needed her real comfort food.
Abandoning her laptop and work, Domi headed for the kitchen. Cooking would help her get her head on straight anyway. Even if it didn’t, the end result would be worth it.
When Rae got home a few hours later, she came straight into the kitchen, following her nose.
“Oooh, honey…” Rae’s voice trailed off as she put her purse down, looking around at the array of food.
Ana would be excited when she got home. Domi didn’t often take the time to make Puerto Rican food.
It was usually a special treat, or they went to a restaurant.
Ana also wouldn’t realize what it meant, but Rae definitely did.
Using the back of her arm to wipe the sweat off of her forehead, Domi looked around. Maybe it had gotten a little out of hand. She’d ended up running to two different stores to get everything she needed—the first store hadn’t had quite enough plantains for both the mofongo and the tostones.
“I couldn’t concentrate on work,” Domi said, wringing her hands.
“It smells amazing. Ana will be thrilled. It’s been months since you made tostones.”
“I made alcapurrias, too.”
Rae’s eyes lit up. Those were her favorite.
What Domi really wanted was the Asopao de pollo she’d made.
Once she got the idea in her head, she wanted the food her mom made her when she was a kid, suffering some kind of disappointment, she hadn’t been able to let it go.
Which actually reminded her of her mom. It was never enough to make one thing—she had to make a whole feast.
“Too bad Avery has to work. I bet she’d love this.”
“I can set some aside for her. There’s plenty.” That was an understatement. There was enough for ten people. They’d be eating leftovers for days.
The thought made her sad but relieved. She didn’t want to feel like she needed comfort food for days, but she was relieved it was going to be there since she was probably going to need it.
Stupid Mitch. Stupid her. She couldn’t help but wonder, what would have happened if she hadn’t pushed him? What if she’d let him retreat and have his minute instead of pushing things? Would he have still ended things? Would they have been able to talk and work through it?
Was it too late?
Arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight.
“It’ll be okay,” Rae whispered in her ear. Squirming around, Domi hugged her bestie back, thankful she had Rae. Sometimes, she thought Rae might be her real soul mate. Not in the romantic way. Platonic soulmates. Sisters by love, rather than by blood.
“I know,” Domi replied. It might not feel like it right now, but eventually, it would be. Though she didn’t think she’d be exploring dating again any time soon.
Mitch
After his friends left, Mitch sat on the couch, wondering if it would do him more harm than good to take a nap.
Maybe he should go in early and see if he could get a Vitamin IV.
It wasn’t a ‘cure’ as such, but it sure helped speed up the recovery time and would make him feel less nauseous.
The grease from breakfast had helped a little, but his gut still felt all twisty and unsettled.