Right, because seeing each other for literally months means there’s no staying power.
It’s not the same, he told the little voice in his head. They’d been seeing each other for sex. Now they were actually going to get to know each other.
“How have you been?” he asked, much preferring to talk about her. He let her ramble on, responding in the appropriate places when she paused, slowly relaxing when she didn’t bring up anything with his dad. That was good. Unfortunately, he relaxed a little too soon. Right when she was winding up, she snuck it in there.
“You’ll probably be hearing from your father soon. He’s going to be in D.C. in a couple weeks.”
Closing his eyes, Mitch pinched the bridge of his nose as if the moment she said the words, a headache formed.
“How do you know that, Mom?” It wasn’t an accusation, more a weary inquiry. He didn’t understand why his parents couldn’t stay away from each other. Normally, he didn’t ask, but right now… well, he couldn’t help himself. Maybe because Domi was on his mind or relationships in general, but he wanted to know why his parents continually put themselves through the pain of being in each other’s company.
“He told me so,” she said matter-of-factly as if it wasn’t a big deal. Mitch’s back molars ground together.
“Why are you two even talking? I thought you said you were never speaking to him again.”
“Yes, well.” She paused. Sighed. “I’m sorry, honey, I know our unusual relationship is hard on you. We don’t mean for it to be.”
“I don’t understand why you two are a ‘we’ at all.” It was something that had bugged him all through high school, especially when his mom would come home and cry in her room. Mitch always knew it was because of his dad, even if he hadn’t known exactly what the man had done in any particular instance.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like his dad, but he hated the way his parents were when they were together. It was better when they were apart, other than the constant anxiety of waiting for them to be drawn back together. Every time, his mom said the same thing, Just because we can’t live together doesn’t mean we don’t love each other. She said it as if it explained everything.
That wasn’t the kind of love Mitch had ever wanted. Which was why he’d eschewed relationships.
Until now.
This was going to be different. He’d seen it at the club. BDSM made for stronger relationships, which was the most logical explanation he could think of. Communication was better, the bonds between people were better, even the sex was better. Granted, that last was just his opinion.
The sex was better, the relationships were better… made sense to him.
“If you say so,” he said, which was how he always responded.
“One day, you’ll find out,” she said as if that was a good thing. He never had the heart to tell her the last thing he wanted was to end up like her and his dad. “Alright, I’ll let you go. Love you, Munchkin.”
Another good reason to stay away from Pittsburgh—no one around here knew his mother’s nickname for him. Mitch liked a good funny nickname, but there was a line.
“Love you too, Mom, bye.”
For another long few minutes, he laid on his bed, his heart hurting for his mom… and his dad. Though his mom more. His dad tended to take everything stoically, whereas Mitch had seen his mom’s pain far too often, even though she tried to hide it. Although she wasn’t as good at it as his dad, Mitch knew his dad was hurting, too.
And his mom thought he’d want to get married after watching them? Have kids?
Not like them… but maybe like Marjorie and Walt. Andrew and Kate. The others at Stronghold.
Maybe like them.
Maybe that’s what he could have with Domi.
Domi
There was nothing as nerve-wracking as a first date.
When the doorbell rang, Rae went running for it while Domi nervously swiped her hands on her yoga pants, bending down to check on the pizza in the oven. She could hear Avery and Rae greeting each other, then a moment later, they came into the kitchen, Avery carrying a bottle of wine.
“Hey, how are you?” Avery said. She looked just as nervous and Domi and Rae. Domi couldn’t even remember the last time she and Rae had tried to make a new friend. Which just made it even harder—they needed to prove they could. And not make her feel like a third wheel while they did their usual thing so she would want to hang out with them again. On the other hand, after this, going on a first date with Mitch would probably be a breeze.
A lot less pressure.
“Good! Still trying to figure out what to wear on Tuesday.”
“Do you know where you’re going?” Avery asked, handing the wine bottle over to Rae. “That should breathe before serving, but it’ll go well with the pizza.”
Oh, right. Shit. Avery was a chef… who they’d invited over for pizza. In their heads, it had seemed like a good idea to invite her over to a good old-fashioned girls’ night/date planning dinner, but was DiGiorno going to be good enough for her?
“Uh, right.” Rae glanced nervously at Domi, looking as though she was having similar thoughts. At least they were all dressed the same. Rae had on a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt, while Domi and Avery were both in yoga pants and t-shirts. Avery’s had the Marquis restaurant logo on it, and her hair was up in its usual ponytail. Seeing their expressions, Avery looked uncertain.
“It’s a good wine,” she said as if she was trying to reassure them.
“I’m sure it is, I just… I just realized we’re serving a chef frozen pizza.” Domi gave her a lopsided grin, hoping she took it in good fun. Thankfully, Avery laughed, leaning her hip against the counter, and some of the tension leaked away from the room.
“Trust me, I’m no food snob,” Avery said, grinning. “Half the stuff I make for myself at home is microwavable. Cooking for other people all the time doesn’t really leave me in the mood to cook for myself.”
“Well, next time you come over, we’ll cook a real dinner for you,” Rae said, pulling the wine key out of their junk draw with a flourish. She cut the foil and peeled it off with practiced movements before starting to screw the opener into the cork. It had been a while since they’d had wine that didn’t come with a screw cap, but some skills were never forgotten.
Avery’s expression brightened at the idea. “That would be wonderful.”
That seemed to break the ice, and by the time they sat down to the pizza and wine, it almost felt as though Avery had always been part of their little group. She clicked with them in a way neither Morgan nor Samantha had.
“So, did you ever talk to Olivia about becoming a member of Stronghold?” Domi asked. Olivia was the manager of Marquis—the upstairs kinky part—and also the instructor for the new submissives class. A badass both on the streets and in the sheets, she was the kind of Domme nobody wanted to tick off. She was also incredibly protective of ‘her’ subs, which included almost every submissive to walk through a Stronghold or Marquis’ door, and not just her actual submissive and boyfriend, Luke.
Avery made a face, looking down at her pizza.
“No,” she sighed, taking a big bite of pizza and chewing as though it was comforting. Heck, it might be. Pizza was one of Domi’s comfort foods. She wasn’t sure why not talking to Olivia would get this kind of reaction. “I uh… well, Nick and I have been flirting a lot more, then this weekend… he kissed me, and…” She was turning beet red as she spoke, but she didn’t look entirely happy about the situation. “It was hot, and he’s very take-charge, but… I don’t think he’s kinky.”