Chapter 14
Energy
Chapter Fourteen
Mitchell/ Ella
Ialmost fucked up. For a second I thought about saying fuck it, pulling El to me and kissing her until she understood exactly what she did to me.
Watching the light dim in her eyes as she talked about how Andrew made her feel pissed me off. It took all my restraint not to cross that line. It also helped that I saw the fear in her eyes. Don’t get it wrong, I saw the desire there too, but the fear was much louder.
“Hold on. Are we going dancing?” El asks as she pulls her car up beside mine.
When she asked where we would go next, I thought of a few places, but I knew this would be a good choice.
I climb out of my truck and walk around to the driver's side of her car to help her out.
“Welcome to Smoke’s.” I hold out a hand toward the small brick building.
Smoke’s is a simple hangout spot. Most would call it a dive bar. I’ve been coming to Smoke’s since I was old enough to look twenty-one. It was at Smoke’s that I met Valerie.
“I feel honored. Finally, I get to visit the famous Smoke’s bar.”
I laugh at El’s enthusiasm. Holding out a hand, I allow her to walk in front of me. “Ladies first.”
She giggles before walking ahead of me. Tonight, she’s wearing an olive-green dress that stopped mid-thigh. It hugged her curves just right, but flared at the hips. The top of the dress was heart-shaped and her sleeves were lace, giving it a sexy look. It was the perfect mixture of modest and sexy.
The way the neckline allowed her full cleavage to be on display has had my dick hard since I saw her walk out of her house earlier today for the date.
It pissed me off to think that the dentist was going to get the chance to stare at her all night.
I thought about it so much; it’s what caused me to check on her during her date. Glad I did.
I stare at the way the back of her dress swishes as she walks. My mind immediately fills with thoughts of bending her over the nearest flat surface and pushing into her from behind.
“Ugh!” I groan as I try to will my cock down.
“You say something?” El asks, looking over her shoulders at me.
The way her innocent eyes stare at me makes me feel like shit for my fantasy.
“No. I didn’t say anything.”
When we make it to the door, Ella stops, and I swing it open for her. The sound of old Motown music blasted through the building. The only thing stronger than music is the smell of cigarette smoke.
“Oh, this is so nice.”
I shake my head. Clearly, Ella is just in a good mood. Look, I love Smoke’s, but the place is far from nice. When you first walk through the door, there is the billiard section. There are four pool tables lined up side-by-side. Behind the pool tables are the dartboards.
After you enter the building, you have to go around the corner to see the rest of the bar. The place is basically L-shaped. In the middle of the room is the bar along with the grill. The dance floor is across from the bar, and there are a few round tables and chairs scattered around the room.
“Hey, Mitch!” Sam, the owner and son of Smoke, greets me as he spots me.
I place a hand on Ella’s back and guide her over to two empty seats at the bar.
“Hey Sam. Can I get my regular?” I turn to El. “What do you want?”
She grins bashfully. “I don’t know. You know, I usually only have wine. What’s something good?”
“I can make you something special,” Sam says eagerly. “I don’t get to show off my skills as a bartender too much with this crowd.” He dips his head toward me.
I shake my head with a chuckle, knowing I usually get whatever beer is on tap at the moment.
“Sounds good.” Ella grins.
Sam walks off to get our drinks. I turn in my seat so that I’m facing Ella. Her gaze bounces around the room, taking in the place. I scooted closer to her, my knees on the outside of her legs.
While she looks around, I take her in. Her pecan-brown skin is flawless. The way her button nose flares at the tip is absolutely adorable. Those full lips with their perfect bow shape are fucking stunning. This woman is a gotdamn work of art.
“What?” she asks in a soft voice.
I grin. “Nothing. I just wanted to look at you.”
I can tell my words have an effect on her from the way she ducks her head and from how she squeezes her knees closer together.
“You’ve seen me a million times,” she chuckles.
“It's never enough.”
Yeah, I know I’m coming on pretty hard right now, but fuck it, why not? Why can’t I spend this night making her feel good? Even if nothing comes of it, at least she can say she had one night of being treated like the gift that she is.
Sam placed our drinks on the bar in front of us. It’s the perfect distraction I’m sure she needed. She picks up the glass and places the straw slowly between those fucking lips. I watch as she takes a sip and her face comes alive.
“Oh wow!” She grins at Sam. “This is good.”
He nods. “Thank you. Ya’ll let me know if you need anything else.” He walks away, but not before giving me a wink of approval.
When I look back at Ella, she’s doing a little dance in her seat as she sips from her brightly colored drink.
“What?” she asks when I laugh.
I shake my head. “Nothing. I just like seeing you happy.”
She takes another sip of her drink. “Yeah, well, a few more of these and I’m going to be very happy.”
Tugging at my beard, I laugh. “Well, drink up. And don’t worry, I’ll drive you home and come back for your car tomorrow.”
Her face lights up, causing her cheekbones to lift. “You say that now. But once this liquor gets into my system, you’re going to regret that offer.”
Her words are said jokingly, but I see a little insecurity bleeding through them.
It reminded me of a comment Drew once made.
He said he hated when Ella got tipsy because she was always laughing.
Although he said it as if he were telling a joke, I didn’t like the way it made her smile fall.
I noticed from that day forward she seldom let her hair down around alcohol.
Leaning forward in my seat, I pinch her chin. “You can get as drunk as you want. I got you, Ella.”
Her grin spreads over her face, and she stared at me for a moment. Finally, she placed her glass down on the bar before turning to me.
“You say that all the time.”
“What?” I ask leaning back. “That I got you?”
“Yeah.”
“Because I do. No matter what you need, I got you.”
That was the fucking truth. If Ella Marie Scott asked me to help her hide a body, my ass would dig a damn hole in the middle of the forest for her.
It isn’t just because I’m in love with her; it’s because I know for a fact Ella would have my back as well.
She’s always had my back. During the roughest parts of my life, she has been by my side.
Whether it’s sitting with me in the dark after my divorce, holding my hand at my parent’s funeral, or baking my favorite treats when Val takes me through bullshit.
The music on the jukebox changed to an old Temptations song.
“Mmm,” Ella hums. “I love this song.” She dances in her seat.
Standing up, I tugged at the front of my shirt before holding out a hand toward her.
“What?” she looked confused.
“Come dance with me.”
“Mitch,” she whispers my name before looking around as if she’s worried about anyone seeing us.
“A date isn’t complete without some dancing.”
Her gaze comes back to me as she bites her bottom lip.
“Come on,” I say, encouraging her more. “When’s the last time you danced with somebody?”
She chuckles and rolls her eyes before placing her hands in mine.
I guide her to the dance floor. Wrapping my arms around her waist, she lifts her hands up and around my neck.
We move slowly, swaying to the five-part harmony of “I Wish it Would Rain.” I get caught up in the moment.
Her warm body pressed up against mine. Her beautiful face staring up at me.
We dance until the song changes. This time it’s Smokey Robinson’s “Ooh Baby Baby.”
“My wedding night.” Her words seemed to come out of the blue.
“What about it?”
“You asked when was the last time I danced with somebody. It was after our wedding. That night I was so happy. Andrew and I danced in the middle of the living room floor of that small apartment.” She looks down and shakes her head before looking back at me.
“When I used to ask to go out dancing, he would say he was too busy or too old for stuff like that. But honestly, I would have accepted just dancing in the living room with him.”
I remember looking at their marriage, thinking how happy and great it was.
On the outside, it looked like the most magical thing.
I didn’t see the cracks until that night he used me as an alibi.
I mean, I noticed small things, like comments or jokes he would make.
But I didn’t see how bad it was until that night.
Now that they’re separated, and she continually reveals more to me, I see just how bad things were. She was miserable.
I press her body closer to mine, digging my fingers into her sides.
“Well then, let’s make up for lost time.”
Placing my hand firmly on her back, I dip her low. She lets out a gasp before she chuckles. I kissed her nose before standing her upright. The song changes to “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and Papas. I let her go and watch as she throws her hands over her head and sways to the music.
That night El and I danced until she begged to stop.
Even then, we didn’t come right home. We stayed at Smoke’s talking and enjoying each other’s company.
It was well after two in the morning when I pulled my truck into her driveway.
She'd had a few more drinks, so as promised, we left her car at Smoke’s.
After climbing out and helping her down, I walked her to her porch. We stopped in front of her door. She turns to me with a huge smile.
“I can’t even explain how much fun I had tonight. Honestly, Mitch, thank you.”
I hold up a hand, stepping closer to her. “You don’t have to thank me.”