Raising Alex Ch. 03

Mitch hadn't slept a wink all night. Instead he'd tossed and turned in frustration, and he suspected that he would probably suffer for it. He had been out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow but the soft murmur of Alex fussing in the middle of the night had pulled him out of his peaceful reverie.

Mitch was pretty sure Alex just needed a diaper change. after a couple of months he'd gotten pretty good at judging his little boy's needs based on the sound of his cry. One meant he was hungry and wanted a bottle, another meant he was wet and uncomfortable, and sometimes he just wanted someone to hold him. His mom had been helping him during the week, but on the weekends she left them to their own devices. After one weekend all on his own where he'd almost wanted to rip out his eardrums, Mitch was quick to the learning curve.

Groggily he turned the corner to Alex's room and stopped dead in his tracks. He thought he might have been dreaming so he rubbed at both of his eyes trying to clear the haze. If not for the startled gasp he heard, he probably might not have believed it himself. To his utter amazement he was wide awake and staring at a very sleepy and barely clothed Jamie Watson. She'd come out of the guest room wearing what looked like nothing but the faded Stanford t-shirt he'd given her to sleep in, the deep burgundy of the cotton shirt playing up the red tones in the skin of her bare legs. It stopped at just above the middle of her thighs and the way she'd folded her arms up at her chest made it crystal clear that she definitely wasn't wearing a bra. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, a few strands loose from resting her head against the pillow. He knew he was staring but he couldn't take his eyes off her. He should have said something but when he tried, his mouth only opened and closed,like a fish and not one sound came out.

Jamie's skin tingled under Mitch's heated gaze, electric pulses traveling from head to toe and concentrating at her core. The air conditioning was on and she could feel the cool breeze against her flushed bare skin which made her fully aware of her state of undress. There really wasn't much she could do standing out in the hallway as they were, so she'd made the quick decision to ignore it for the moment.

Mitch's boyish curls were tousled about his head, a few reaching into his eyes, but the way his muscled chest filled out his thin white undershirt and the dark stubble along his jaw made him look all man. He wore that scruffy look oh so well. Jamie wasn't sure how long they stood there staring at each other; what felt like minutes was probably only a few seconds. Before the silence could get awkward, Jamie spoke up.

"I can get him, I'm sure you're really tired. You can go back to bed if you want."

Mitch finally got his voice to work, clearing his throat, he replied, "No, no..it's ok, it's Saturday so you're officially off the clock." That slow lazy smile that turned Jamie's insides to goo, spread across his handsome face. "He probably just needs his diaper changed, once he's comfy, he'll go right back down."

"Ok then...I'll just, go back to bed." Mitch watched as Jamie nervously tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear and turned to head back to the guest room. He couldn't help but stare at the pert, round shape of her ass as it swayed with every step she took, the hem of his shirt catching just under her cheeks. He was glad she hadn't turned back around because he was sure he was probably drooling.

Once he heard the soft click of the door closing, he continued on his way to Alex's room and made quick work of the diaper change. The baby settled down shortly after, but he didn't seem to want to go back to sleep. Mitch sat up rocking him gently and humming and singing to him. Eventually Alex had decided he'd had enough and gone back to sleep. Mitch placed the baby gently back in his crib trying desperately not to wake him and headed back to his room.

He'd tried to go back sleep but every time he closed his eyes he had flashes of Jamie, in nothing but his Stanford T-shirt. And the longer he kept his eyes closed the further those visions progressed until he was dragging the soft fabric over her head to reveal her beautiful, shapely body. He pictured his hands running all over her soft brown skin, her smooth taut, belly, her full, round ass. He wanted to release her silken tresses from the band that held them tied back, and run his fingers through them, kissing her forehead, then her eyelids, before placing his lips over her plump ones.

Thinking about Jamie sent the blood pumping straight to his nether regions and had him tenting his shorts. It was also what had kept him up most of the night. Sleep had finally claimed him around 4am but his 8 o'clock alarm had cut it way too short. He knew Alex would be up in an hour or so and he wanted to make sure he was showered and dressed to take Jamie home once she was ready. Once he was clean, he put on another tattered T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts before peaking his head out of the doorway.

The house was always quiet at this time on Saturday mornings with Alex and his mother usually still asleep. He tip-toed down the hallway on his way to the kitchen passing by the open guest room door.

Wait....The guest room door was open?! He leaned his head into the room and saw that Jamie had made the bed, the pillows perfectly aligned against the head board. He had offered to drive her home and would feel really bad if she'd still decided to walk. He quickly jogged down the stairs when his nose was assaulted with the most heavenly scent—bacon! Following the trail, he found Jamie in the kitchen, strips of bacon in one frying pan while she was stirring something in a mixing bowl. Standing in the doorway, he watched her work, adding eggs and milk to the batter. She was humming something sweet sounding to herself and Mitch couldn't help but smile. He knew at some point she would notice him but for now he was content just to watch her work.

*******

Jamie had always been an early riser, especially after 4 years of college volleyball and the 6am workouts that went along with it, so she wasn't entirely surprised when she'd turned over at 7:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. After tossing and turning for 5 minutes she'd given up and finally gotten out of bed. The guest room had its own bathroom and she'd found a set of clean towels in a small closet in there and new toothbrushes in a basket under the sink. She'd brushed her teeth and showered. She hated to put the same clothes back on but she settled for the fitted white t-shirt she'd worn the day before and the loose fitting shorts that Mitch had given her to sleep in.

She padded down to the kitchen in search of something to eat. Despite her lankier frame, Jamie never skipped a meal-- especially breakfast, although that was probably because that was the only decent meal she knew how to cook. She found some eggs, bacon, and fruit in the fridge, and flour in the pantry. Peaking in the fridge again she pulled out the small tin of blueberries and decided on blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Mitch was definitely a big guy and she hoped he had an equally big appetite to match. She set the bacon in a frying pan while she prepared the pancake batter and very shortly the kitchen was filled with its delicious sent.

She'd been humming some gospel song she'd heard on the many Sundays she spent at church with Miss Davis, Clark, and Campbell, when she turned to grab another frying pan off of the rack hanging above the kitchen island.

Jamie hadn't been expecting to see anyone else in the kitchen with her, so when her eyes locked on Mitch's tall frame, she'd almost jumped out of her skin! Her cheeks colored hotly and she couldn't help the nervous laugh that followed.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked quietly.

"No I was up anyway. I didn't think you'd be up this early though. Sorry if I scared you." Mitch was blushing too, his trademark lazy smile spreading across his face. He really didn't know how gorgeous he was, Jamie thought.

"Well you can sit if you want. I got hungry so I decided to make breakfast. I hope you like blueberry pancakes."

Mitch couldn't help but groan, his mouth salivating at the thought. Jamie turned back to the stove and slid the cooked bacon into a plate, placing it off to the side. She poured a few pancakes onto the griddle waiting for them to bubble before flipping them with ease.

He crept up beside Jamie, intent on sneaking a strip of bacon of the plate and popping it into his mouth. He might have been successful too, if not for the sharp sting he felt from Jamie slapping his hand away with the spatula.

"Ow! Jeez, what was that for?" he asked, a playful scowl on his face.

There was laughter in his voice and he was fighting a smile. He tickled her side trying to distract her while he shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Go sit! You're as bad as the twins!" she giggled, shaking her head.

Mitch wrinkled his brow in confusion. Twin siblings, he assumed? He was becoming more and more aware that he didn't know a whole lot about Jamie. They'd never had any heart to heart conversations so he didn't know anything about her family or what she wanted to do with her life. Hell, he hadn't even interviewed her for the job of babysitting Alex. His mother had taken care of that. He knew that Jamie was aware of the circumstances of his break up with Liz as well as Alex's arrival on his doorstep, his mother had taken care of that too. He felt like a tool. Here he was at 24, with a kid of his own, and he was still letting his mom do all of his dirty work for him. Well--no time like the present, he thought.

Jamie must have noticed how quiet it had gotten in the kitchen because she put the spatula down and turned towards him.

"Clark and Campbell are my twin foster brother and sister. I basically raised them with my foster mom when she was working. They're the only family I've ever really had."

Jamie smiled a sad smile, her eyes misty with unshed tears, then she hung her head and stared at her feet. She really missed them. Mitch watched her carefully, he wanted to ask more questions, know more, but thought better of it seeing the sadness in her eyes. If she wanted to keep talking, he would listen, but he wouldn't push her. She made to swipe at her eyes and looked up at him tentatively.

Mitch knew what he was about to do, and whether that was right or wrong, he didn't know. He was closing what little space there was between them, coming so close to her that he could feel the heat radiating off her skin. He leaned down slowly, until his lips were inches above hers, giving her every opportunity to pull away. Mitch could feel her hot breath against his skin. He brushed his lips against hers softly as he brought his hand up to gently cup her cheek.

It was meant to be a brief meeting, a kiss meant to comfort her. But when a soft moan escaped her, Mitch took it as a cue to take the kiss further, moving his lips purposefully over hers. He parted the seam of her mouth with his tongue and delved into it, teasing her, tasting her. She met his tongue with hers, the two dueling in each other's mouths. Mitch felt Jamie's hands on his chest, her fingers fisting around handfuls of his t-shirt.

Jamie broke the kiss first, catching her breath while staring into Mitch's blue eyes. Her lips were swollen from his assault, her skin flushed. Mitch ran his fingers through her hair, waiting for her to say something, do something. Jamie dragged her bottom lip through her front teeth, nibbling on it nervously.

She opened and closed her mouth to speak, but a muffled cry over the monitor broke the sexual tension between the two.

Mitch let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and chuckled. "I should ummm, I should go get him." he said.

Jamie nodded her head but she hadn't let go of his shirt yet, her hands still feeling the ripple of his muscles, the steady strumming of his quickened heartbeat. Mitch touched her arm softly. "Oh...sorry"she laughed shyly, releasing her hold on him. She felt like she was blushing all the way up to the tips of her ears.

"Could you get a bottle ready. I'll just change him and bring him down. No reason why we can't all have breakfast together."

*******

Mitch left Jamie in the silence of the kitchen. She was done making breakfast and had set everything out on plates so she started scrubbing the pans she'd used while waiting for Mitch to come back down with Alex. She heard them over the monitor, Mitch uttering soothing words to his little boy, who seemed to calm as soon as his father picked him up.

She didn't know what to make of what was going on with Mitch. There was a very obvious physical attraction between them, he was just so gorgeous. But she wasn't really that type of girl, one that could have a relationship only in the physical sense. From what she knew about Mitch, she didn't really think he was that kind of guy either, especially now that he had Alex. Before she could get caught up in her thoughts, she heard Mitch's heavy footsteps bounding down the stairs.

"Look who it is Alex...It's Jamie and she has breakfast all ready for us--Aren't we a couple of lucky guys!" she heard him say. Jamie couldn't help but giggle at Mitch's antics. It warmed her heart to see him standing there in his shorts and now wrinkly t-shirt, holding little Alex and laughing and playing with him......so maybe it was more than just a physical attraction.

Mitch winked and smiled back at her, grabbing the warm bottle of formula from the counter and sitting down at the table, Alex perched comfortably on his lap. Jamie brought the food over, setting it on the table. She fixed Mitch a plate, looking over at him to make sure it was enough.

She'd guessed right in how big of an eater he was, piling heaping spoonfuls of eggs, half a dozen strips of bacon, and a hefty stack of blueberry pancakes onto his plate before he nodded, letting her know it was enough. Jamie fixed her own plate and sat down to eat, watching Mitch out of the corner of her eye as he tried to feed Alex and shovel forkfuls of food into his mouth at the same time.

When he wasn't chewing, he was asking her a question or answering one that she'd just asked him. It was the first real conversation that they'd had together. Mitch was charming and funny and a shameless flirt, all of which made her like him even more. Before they knew it, an hour had passed, the conversation, casual and easy. Mitch had made sure there weren't any leftovers and Jamie had to admit she was kind of impressed.

When there was a brief lull in the conversation, Jamie made to get up and clear the table. "Uh uh, no you don't. You cooked, so I'll clean. My mother would kick my rear end, if she knew I let you cook AND clean." He chuckled. "Here, will you take him?"

"Sure.-- Come here little man!" Jamie held her arms outstretched waiting for Mitch to place Alex in them. She hugged the baby to her, burying her nose in his curls then kissing his chubby little cheeks.

"You should spend the day with us." Mitch said. It was a question, she could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

Jamie knew she should say no, an excuse brewing on the tip of her tongue. "Mitch...I.." She sighed softly, coflicted.

" You don't have to if you don't want. I just...I just thought maybe, we could....I dunno, and, since you don't really know anyone here.....and Alex is...." Mitch interjected, trailing off at the end.

He was incredibly cute all nervous and stuttering the way he was. She chanced a look in his direction and saw the blush that tinted his cheeks. She was oh, so tempted to kiss away the sad pout of his bottom lip.

"Ok" She she breathed softly.. "Can we at least swing by my house so I can put on some clean clothes?"

*****

An hour or so later Mitch pulled into the parking lot of Jamie's apartment building. He'd changed into khaki shorts and a light blue polo that looked so good against his naturally tan skin. He and Alex were waiting in the car while Jamie went up to change. She was wiggling her hips into the denim skirt of the fourth outfit she was trying on when she heard the jingle of her cell phone, the tell tale ring tone that let her know it was Lilly calling.

"Hey girl!" Jamie exclaimed, ecstatic to be hearing from her best friend.

"Hey Stranger! How are you?"

"Great! I was just thinking about you and everyone today. I can't tell you how much I miss you guys."

"Well, I miss you too, I hope I can come visit soon. So what are you up, how's work going?"

Jamie had already told Lily all about babysitting Alex. She'd even sent her a few pictures of the sleeping baby, taken with the camera on her cell phone. But what she really wanted to talk to Lily about was Mitch.

"I just don't know what to do about it, Lil. I mean, he's hot, I mean, really, really hot, Seriously, I have to subconciously remind myself to close my mouth so I don't drool. And when he kissed me, God, I thought I'd burn from the inside out." Jamie couldn't help but smile as she heard Lily's laughter on the other end. She paused and sighed to collect her thoughts. "But I'm can't just have some meaningless fling with him, you know that's not how I operate. Plus the all important fact that I essentially work for him and we all know I need the money."

She waited patiently for Lily's words of wisdom.

"Why does it have to be all or nothing, Jay? I mean, I don't think he's gonna want to rush into anything blindly either. He's a 24 year old single father so that automatically makes things complicated. You've known him all of what 2 weeks, get to know him better, take things slow."

"But..." Jamie began, her head filling with all of the ways that taking Lily's advice could go horribly wrong. Before she could get her protest out, Lily cut her off, "When have I ever steered you wrong, kid."

Jamie was quiet, there wasn't a time that she could remember Lily ever giving her bad advice. She also happened to a much better judge of character than Jamie sometimes was. She'd told her that pretty boy ex-boyfriend was no good but Jamie had fallen for his rugged good looks, easy charm, and playful banter. At first she'd been pissed and devastated after catching him in a compromising position, but then she'd felt....relieved. Thinking back, she hadn't really let herself get too close to him, too invested in their relationship and he'd seemed pretty content with that. And then she wouldn't have to. She wouldn't have to open herself up to someone, to trust them.

It wasn't that she pushed people away, rather she kept them at arms length. She wasn't ashamed of growing up in foster care, it was what made her who she was, and she wasn't afraid to tell people that, but she never really confided in anyone. She never shared her hopes or fears or dreams with them. She never let them know what she was thinking or what made her tick and she didn't really expressed too much interest in getting to know their inner workings either. She'd always been pretty much a loner, bouncing around from one place to the next made it hard to get to know people so eventually she quit trying.

Jamie was never rude or mean or anything, other kids always thought she was nice, just quiet and a bit shy. When she'd landed at Ms. Davis', she and her social worker had agreed that getting Jamie involved in some sort of group activity might break her out of that shell. Playing volleyball had helped a bit, she appeared to have more friends which made her social worker and Ms. Davis happy, but in reality they were little more than acquaintances. She engaged in their conversations about teachers they hated, or boys that were cute, homework assignments, television shows, but never shared anything personal beyond her foster family.