sexy fireman

Mark that night, after fundraiser

As he sat in the quiet of his living room, negative thoughts swirled in Mark's head. From his recent fits of anger to having reckless sex with some girl he could care less about, Mark could tell he was beginning to lose control. He needed something to calm him down, but the Xanax was out of the question because of the Dewars - a horrible lesson learned from his mother. Still he had to ease the tension he could feel rapidly building.

Mark headed for the bottle of Dewars then stopped. He was on duty tomorrow and couldn't afford to be hung over. Instead he spun on his heel and headed upstairs to the master bedroom. Mark undressed, neatly hanging up his tux and shirt for laundering. He then put on running shorts and a Reebock t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. He slipped into his running shoes and jogged back downstairs.

Mark stopped in the kitchen and grabbed his bottle of C4 Extreme pre-work out, mixing it with water and downing a huge glass in one swallow. He grimaced at the taste, then rinsed out and dried the glass, putting the kitchen back in perfect order.

He headed down a back set of stairs to the basement of the brownstone. Mark flipped on the light switch to reveal a personal gym whose equipment rivaled the quality of the best health club in Manhattan.

He first jumped on the treadmill to warm up, starting on slow, then adding speed and incline until it was at a moderate pace. He felt the work out drink and Dewars sloshing around in his stomach, but he also felt the tension in his chest subsiding.

After a few minutes on he treadmill, he climbed off and stretched on a mat facing a mirrored wall. Mark stared at himself in concentration. He leaned over to full stretch his quads, trying to get into the zone and leave all the nonsense in his mind behind.

******

By the time his workout ended he it was close to 2 AM. Mark felt significantly better, but wired and wide awake. He only had five hours before he had to be at the house for his 7 AM shift. Mark went upstairs and took a long, hot shower, hoping to calm his body enough to catch a few hours of sleep.

When he emerged from the shower, he felt great. He climbed into his bed, relieved at the cool of the crisp white sheets. He rolled to his side and picked up his phone. Without looking at the display he shut it off and rolled to his other side, hoping for sleep.

*********

Marks alarm went off at 6. He jumped out of bed, refreshed, the events of yesterday like a bad dream. He quickly dressed, made his bed and headed downstairs and out into the bright sunshine.

While en route he considered calling Cara, but had no idea what he would say. In all likelihood, she had found out about Mindy by and he could kiss their relationship goodbye. And if she hadn't, Jay was still a factor. Mark was surprised  how much it bothered him that Jay was in the picture as he seemed the better match for Cara. A few years ago Mark had been no different than Jay; but maybe now that Mark had left that lifestyle behind he was out of Cara's league. 

Mark shook his head. He couldn't wait to get to the house. It seemed like the only place these days that made sense. When he walked in the first person he saw was Lewis, already hard at work.

"What's up Lew?" he said with forced cheer.

Lewis was surprised at the congenial greeting. "Oh,hi, Mark. How's it going?"

"Excellent!" Mark said and breezed by headed for the kitchen and coffee.

Rafe and a few guys were seated around the table. "Morning, gentlemen," Mark said. He went directly to the coffee urn and poured a steaming cup. "Anybody?" he offered.

" Jesus, Chambers. You get laid last night?" Rafe growled. "You sound like freakin' Mary Poppins!"

"What's the matter Rafe, boat taking on water again?" Mark volleyed back.

Just then Cap walked in with assignments, and the crew's day began. Mark was thankful, he finally felt centered again.