Which was her way of asking if he was dating anyone. Despite the way her relationship with his dad had gone down in flames, she still had the normal mom desire for her only offspring to be married. Or maybe she was just hoping for grandkids.
“No, Mom.” His standard response, complete with exasperation, was out before he thought about it. Though once he did have a moment to think about it, he didn’t want to change his answer. Things with Domi were too new, and he wasn’t sure where they were going to go yet. If he told his mom about her, when he’d never had any woman to tell her about, her expectations and hopes would go through the roof. It was better to keep her in the dark until he and Domi were more settled. See if they even had staying power.
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
