More to You ✔

Chapter 50 - Hollow (Mitch)

A frantic knock echoed at Mitch's door. He raised an eyebrow at Shawn, who sat on the other bed and shrugged.

Sniffles made Mitch's heart clench. Had something happened with Tom and Maria?

No matter the situation, Mitch would do what was best for her. Nothing could happen between them if she was this upset.

He opened the door to a crumpled Thai woman who threw herself into his arms, crying into his chest. He stroked her silky hair and down to her back.

"What happened?" he whispered.

He flickered his gaze to Shawn, who grabbed his phone and wallet then tiptoed out of the room. Once the door clicked shut, Prae gripped the collar of Mitch's shirt and stared into his eyes with intensity. "Make me feel anything but this."

Not too long ago, those words made his night. He could distract her from that pain, but it wouldn't get to the root. She'd be just as miserable tomorrow at the waterfall, and so would he. To compound that misery, he'd feel guilty for taking advantage of the situation.

"Lay down on the bed." When her eyes widened and lips parted, he added, "I'll give you a massage and you can tell me what happened."

As his hands worked through the tense muscles in her neck and shoulders, Prae's sniffles slowed and so did her breathing. He kept quiet to let her be the one to break the silence.

"You're quite good at that."

"Lots of practice."

Prae's body rocked with a laugh, which was a moderately good sign. "I imagine."

The occasional woman he'd hooked up with in Thailand enjoyed his massages, while most were interested in another kind of satisfaction. Thai massage parlours were so affordable, readily available, and better than what he could achieve. But if Prae was complimenting him, perhaps he wasn't as rusty as he thought.

"It was my ex from college. She had these shoulders that ground on each other like a cement mixer. Sitting in lectures all day and studying all evening didn't help." It was weird to picture her outside those final furious moments of their relationship.

"She must miss this."

Mitch forced his hands to relax before Prae noticed the change in his grip. "She has plenty of reasons to be relieved I'm gone. Is this helping?"

Prae groaned in contentment. "Yeah."

He smiled and worked on her tension like it was his own. The images of golden wheat fields filled his mind, that perfect hue at harvest time. Fields that spread for miles without breaking.

Once he finished, he lay on his side facing Prae. Her eyes were still red and puffy.

"He'll ask her to be his girlfriend," Prae said in a defeated tone.

"He told you that?"

She shook her head. "He didn't have to."

"We knew that going into this trip, didn't we?" It was one reason she'd begged him to come and even talked Tom into it. Not that Mitch's selfish ass needed an excuse to be around Maria.

"He was so upset, and we started talking, and I thought perhaps he was having doubts..." Tears trickled down her cheeks. "He'll say such kind things about me, and I'll tell him the same and the second I hope for more, he talks about her. Worse, what am I doing to Maria? Sitting there, holding and comforting him, wishing he'd see me the way he does her, all while she's worried about him."

Mitch pulled her into a hug and rocked her as more of her misery flowed out. Tom's actions weren't right, and he seemed too oblivious to see the pain he caused. Prae wouldn't like his plan, but it was the simplest to make her heartache stop without creating more stress. He reassured her and distracted her with funny animal videos on his phone until she fell asleep in his arms. After covering her with a light blanket, he sneaked into the courtyard and headed to Tom's hotel room.