"You should spend the day with us."

Mitch had let the words slip before he could stop himself. He could see Jamie hesitating, unsure.

 "Mitch...I.." She sighed softly.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. I mean if you have other plans...I just...I just thought maybe, we could....I dunno, and, since you don't really know anyone here.....and Alex is...."

He let out a sound of frustration and felt the blush that was most certainly coloring his cheeks.

"Ok" 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 he knew looked good against his naturally tan skin and brought out the color in his eyes. He and Alex were waiting in the car while Jamie went to change.

Upstairs, 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?"

"Oh you know, missing you guys. I was just thinking about you and everyone today."

"Well, I miss you too, I hope I can come visit soon. So what are you up, how's work going?"r32;r32;Jamie had already told Lily 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 about was Mitch.

"I just don't know what to do about it, Lil. I mean, he's hot, I mean, just like, out of a magazine or something! Seriously, I have to 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."

“Lucky bitch, all the gorgeous ones fall all over themselves for you!”

“Shut up! They might be gorgeous but they’re not always sane! I’d trade gorgeous, but lying and philandering, for a just a really good guy any day!”

Jamie couldn't help but laugh along with Lily who she could hear cracking up on the other end.

"But I can't just have some meaningless fling with him, you know that's not how I operate. Plus the all important fact that I work for him and we both know I need the money."

She waited patiently for Lily's words of wisdom. r32;r32;"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 protest, Lily cut her off, "When have I ever steered you wrong, kid."

Jamie thought quietly, there wasn't a time that she could remember Lily ever giving her bad advice. She also happened to be a much better judge of character than Jamie sometimes was. She'd told her that her pretty boy ex 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, magically, 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, fears, or dreams with them. She never let them know what she was thinking, what made her tick, and she didn't really express 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. Most kids thought she was nice, just quiet and a bit shy. The occasional girl thought she was a stuck up bitch, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

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 with anyone beyond her foster family and Lily.

“Alright Lil. Well….what should I wear?”

With Lily’s advice, Jamie opted for casual and comfortable, pairing white denim shorts with a light indigo denim shirt she left untucked. She donned a pair of denim colored Toms on her feet, and headed out the door. Get to know him, take things slow, Lily had said. If Mitch kissed her again, she wasn’t sure how slow things would be going!

Jamie needn’t have worried about things progressing too quickly between her and Mitch. Alex had been cranky and colicky since she’d followed the doctor’s advice and started him on a few simple solids, and for the last two weeks Mitch had been working longer hours on a new project. By the time he got home from work, she’d declined his invitations to stay for dinner and simply went home and crawled into bed.

So when Mitch left a message that he’d be home late yet again, Jamie tried to quell her rising frustration.  She knew it was mostly lack of sleep that had her in such a mood. Instead of making dinner as she usually did, Jamie set the baby monitor on the coffee table, and curled up on the couch, letting her weary eyes close and sleep overtake her.

*****

Mitch sat in his parked car in the driveway, his eyes closed with his head back against the headrest. He was tired hungry, and frustrated. Starting his own project at the firm was an incredibly exciting opportunity, especially for a rookie like him, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time. He was spending close to 12 hours out of the house and although he knew Alex was in good hands, Jamie had taken on more things around the house since he wasn’t home to take care of it, she looked exhausted, and he felt terrible!

He found Jamie asleep on her favorite spot in the living room, but instead of waking her, he reached over to cover her with a blanket. When she stirred, he resisted the urge to brush a loose strand of hair away from her face.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, it’s ok. Did you just get in? What time is it?” Jamie asked, sitting up slowly.

“Late. I’m sorry, got held up again at the office.”

“Not you’re fault. Listen…I’m so tired, I don’t even know if I can keep my eyes, do you think I could just crash here on the couch?”

“Don’t be silly, that couch can’t be all that comfortable. There’s at least one empty bed upstairs” Mitch said cheekily, knowing full well that the only bedrooms occupied in his 5 bedroom home belonged to him and Alex.

Come on, I'll get you something more comfortable to sleep in.”

Mitch held out his hand for her and pulled Jamie up off the couch.

Jamie followed him upstairs and down the hall to his bedroom, hesitating a bit at the door before Mitch waved her in. He opened up one of his drawers and pulled out a pair of plaid boxers and a T-shirt from his alma mater, handing it to Jamie.

She thanked him quietly.

Mitch gave a casual shrug of his shoulders and a reassuring smile.

Just as she was about to retreat, she heard Mitch's voice again.

 “Hey Jamie...” he said. When she stopped and turned to face him again, he continued, “Sweet Dreams.”

Jamie smiled and turned to head to the room Mitch had showed her.

She closed the door to the guest room and changed into the clothes Mitch had given her. Although she was tall for a woman at 5'10, Mitch probably still had 5 or so inches on her and his overall bulk meant that his clothes draped shapelessly over her slender yet distinctly feminine frame. It was a bit warm so she decided to forgo the boxers and sleep in just his shirt. Once she'd taken off what she'd worn that day, including her bra, she could never comfortably sleep in one, she slipped the soft cotton over her head. The shirt was well worn, the white letters imprinted on the fabric, faded from one too many rinse cycles. The fabric brushed over her breast and nipples and settled at the top of her thighs.

She could smell Mitch on the shirt, the summer rain scent of his detergent, plus something else she couldn't quite put her finger on it. All she knew was that she really liked it and she wouldn't mind being completely enveloped in it. She pictured Mitch wrapping his strong arms around her as she nuzzled into the hard planes of his chest and before long she was lulled back to sleep.