A/N: Helooo! It's Saturday again and I can now announce that this story WILL be 10 chapters long, so we're coming up towards the end here… an extra HUGE thank you to my beta TheCookieMonster this time, because we have both been working our asses off to get everything done before she ABANDONES me and goes on vacation with her family… pft… that's loyalty for you… ;) So here you go, people, chapter 8…
Now See Here!
Chapter 8: In the Public Eye
"Jake?" Mark took a step back from sheer surprise and the man took that as an invitation to enter.
"I'm sorry for just stopping by, but I still don't have your number… and we really need to talk."
"This isn't a good time-" Mark began.
"It will only take a few minutes." Jake was using his there's-no-use-arguing business voice and Mark closed the door again, sighing.
"Fine. A few minutes," he said and gestured for the man to move further into the apartment so they wouldn't have to stand in the small hallway. They entered the open plan kitchen/living room area and there the blond stopped. "Yes?" he asked. He wouldn't start talking, he wanted to see if the man came clean first.
"About what happened on Monday; I'm very sorry if I offended you, I know you're not a child… but with everything that happened… I got scared. I don't do scared very well."
"Yes, but-"
The man put his hands on Mark's shoulders. "I'm sorry, but I'm not quite done yet. I shouldn't have left without talking to you. I tried to get a hold of you, even Lance, but I was offered a really cheap last minute plane ticket, so… and I hoped that you needed time to think as well."
"You took a plane to go see that guy?!" Mark exclaimed.
"What?"
"I overheard you talking to him by the elevator! That it was over and you love him and couldn't wait to take him out and-"
"That was my ma."
"What?"
"I was talking to my mother back in Chicago!" Jake claimed.
"But… oh… but you said you were free!"
"Yes, I had just finished a big report I've been working on for weeks, so I could finally take a few days to go see her. I would have waited until this weekend, but… she has a few anxiety problems and she sounded like she really needed to see me."
"I… I…" Mark didn't know what to say. He was stumped. If Jake hadn't been cheating… well, now it felt like it was all Mark's fault, dammit! "I'm… I'm sorry… I…"
"It's okay, you just misunderstood. I understand what it must have sounded like."
"Yes, but… in the theatre… I… I was scared too! I was so scared! And then I got angry! And I'm an idiot!"
"Pft, that makes two of us," Jake chuckled. "But do you think two idiots can try again?" he added in a soft voice, one of his hands now playing with the hair on the back of Mark's head.
"Yes… yes I think they could…" Mark smiled. The man's hand moved to cup his cheek, tilting it up very slightly and Mark closed his eyes. When the lips touched his, it felt so right, so perfect, so-
"Hi sweetie, we're he-oh."
"Mom!" Mark hadn't had anything so close to a heart attack in his life. Even his knees gave out so Jake had to grab him to keep him from falling flat on his ass.
"Dear, I think that 'the birds and the bees'-talk might be necessary after all," he heard his father say.
"Is this the 'girl from the office'?" his mother wanted to know.
"Y-yes?" Mark replied as he started to pull himself together again.
"I've got news for you, son, that's not a girl…" his father said dryly.
"What? Noooo?" Mark piped up.
"It's true," Jake sighed. "I'm a man. Sorry about tricking you like that."
"No way! Next you're gonna tell me you're gay!" Mark exclaimed and then started giggling rather hysterically.
"Since our son has apparently lost both his mind and his manners…" his mother said, "My name is Sarah Sanders and this is his father Paul."
"Jake Barlow. Pleased to meet you, though I understand that it must be a bit of a… shock."
"You can say that again," Mark's father muttered.
"Dad, Jake went to MIT," the blond told him.
"Welcome to the family, son!" Paul chuckled, and Mark heard the sound of hands slapping together in one of those 'hearty manly handshakes' his father was a strong advocate for.
"I'm… not sure I underst-" Jake began.
"My parents are both scholars and… they are a bit snobbish about it."
"You make us sound like we're elitist!" his mother objected.
"Yes, we don't care if you date a janitor… as long as he has a diploma from a major college, of course. By the way, Jake, you do have a diploma, don't you?"
"He's the CFO at my job, I think he needed to at least go to a class or two," the blond muttered.
"Three actually. Worst day of my life," Jake said. "Had to get up early in the morning and everything. But I'm intruding, I should go-"
"Of course not!" Mark's mother exclaimed before Mark himself had had time to agree with Jake. "Mark has dinner cooking if my nose doesn't deceive me. Have you eaten his food? He's a divine cook."
"You didn't tell me you came with your own advertising agency," Jake chuckled, and the arm that was resting around the blond man's back squeezed him a little in a one-arm hug. "But is it really alright if I stay?"
"I don't think my mother would let you leave, so of course," Mark nodded. "And mother, if you couldn't embarrass me too much…?"
"Of course I won't sweetie! We brought some wine, by the way… so when did you know you liked men?"
Mark groaned, but as he continued with the dinner preparations, his mother got the story out of them. A very edited story, but still.
"I thought Lance sounded strange when he talked about your date," she mused as they sat down around the table. "Oh, this smells amazing, darling, you've really outdone yourself!"
"I hope there's enough for everyone," Mark said worriedly.
"Oh, your father had a big lunch, he doesn't need much," Sarah said.
"I did? Ow! What, I'm not going to eat the whole thing!" His father seemed to be under orders not to fill his plate to the brim like he normally did.
It was a bit awkward at times, but the dinner went so much better than Mark could ever have expected. His parents just had the shock of their lives, after all, and his mother got a bit frantic in showing her support while his father was a bit more reserved. There had never been a single slur mentioned in their house against gay people as far as Mark could remember, but support for that community hadn't exactly been up for discussion either. The blond remembered his parents applauding the decision to make same sex marriage legal in New York a few years ago, though, his mother saying something about it 'just made sense', so homophobic they were not. Still, he was their son… for some people that changed things. If Jake had been a woman, however, Mark was pretty sure it would have been almost as awkward.
His parents were there for a reason, he reminded himself after a while, and Mark was anxious to hear any news of his mother's condition. It felt a bit too private to bring up in front of Jake, though, as they didn't know each other yet.
It turned out that his mother didn't have any reservations about that fact, however. During dessert, which Mark and Jake shared, as Mark had only made three chocolate soufflés, she cleared her throat.
"About the RP… it's been confirmed."
"Oh, mom! I'm so sorry!"
"RP?" Jake asked. "Oh, the retina… um.. retini…?"
"Retinitis pigmentosa, yes," Mark's father confirmed.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Mrs. Sanders," Jake said solemnly. "Is it bad?"
"Not yet, no," the woman replied.
"But it will be," Mark mumbled.
"Oh, you don't know that, do you? Maybe-" Jake began.
"We do know, I'm afraid," Mrs. Sanders interrupted. "There's really not much you can do… but everything is being done, of course."
"I'm sorry, I must sound like an ignorant idiot," Jake excused himself. "I don't know much about it…"
"That's quite alright, if you're around this family for long enough you'll be an expert in no time," Mark's father told him.
"I'd say that I'd look forward to that, but it sounds wrong, somehow," Jake half chuckled, half sighed. "Pooch, do you want to be alone with your parents?"
"I was just going to ask if he wanted to be alone with you," Sarah said.
"I don't want you to leave, Jake, but… I do want to talk to them for a bit."
"Tell you what, why don't I clear the table and give you some privacy?" the man suggested.
"Thank you," Mark smiled softly and then moved into the living room area with his parents, where he finally got to hug his mother, really, really hard.
"It's okay, sweetie, we're doing all kinds of preparations, and you know I can already read braille… this will be a breeze," his mom insisted. Mark knew that it wouldn't be. He might have been just a child when the last of his vision disappeared, but he remembered how scared he had been, how lost, and how angry. His father wouldn't have it easy in the coming months or, hopefully, years.
"How fast is it progressing?" he asked.
"Not fast at all, so far it's just a bit of peripheral vision loss, and I'm getting lots of Vitamin A as always."
"Good… good…" The vitamin had proved effective for delaying symptoms in some cases, but his mother had taken it since she first found out she was a carrier, so Mark doubted it would hold it back now that it had started… he hoped he was wrong, though. He really, really hoped he was wrong.
"You got yourself a very handsome man there," his mother snickered quietly, changing the subject.
"I'm sure he is," Mark smiled, "But what about you, and-"
"Enough about me! We came here today with that bad news and we got good news instead! But if you stay together you have to promise me to marry before I go blind! I want to see the wedding!"
"Mom! We've only just started dating! Actually, we just… made up."
"Oh, yes, the man at work you talked about? The one that made you angry? That was Jake?"
"Yeah… there was a silly misunderstanding involved too and… yeah…"
"But you've made up now?"
"Yes. Definitely."
"So… we should go, maybe? Make up sex is the best."
"Mom! If he heard you, I'm gonna…" Mark hissed.
"He didn't."
"Like I said, we've just started dating! We're not… sleeping together!"
"Mark, sweetie…" his mother sighed and cupped his face with her hands like she used to do when he was little and she really needed him to listen to her. "You're twenty-three, you can't get pregnant… go get laid."
"But use a condom." His father decided to add his two cents with that little tidbit.
"And stop looking like you're about to cry sweetie, it's not that scary."
"If anything is going to make me cry, it's you two," Mark complained in a suffering tone. "I love you guys, but you are driving me crazy!"
"See, honey," his dad said proudly. "We're good parents!"
"Yes, that's what we are supposed to do," his mother agreed. "Yes, Jake we're done, you can come over."
"Are you okay?" the CFO asked, as he must have seen some kind of strange expression on Mark's face.
"No, my parents are insane," the blond muttered.
Jake chuckled and pulled him close in a warm hug. Mark stiffened a little bit at first, feeling self-conscious about doing these kinds of things in front of his parents, but then his own arms wrapped around the man and he relaxed, almost burrowed into his chest, with a deep sigh.
"I think that's our cue to leave," his mother said smugly.
"Mom!"
"We were going to head home early anyway, there's a documentary on tonight I don't want to miss," his father explained.
"Call me tomorrow! Nice to meet you, Jake, you're coming over for Sunday dinner tomorrow, aren't you?"
"Are we? Or did you just want to see Jake?" Mark asked his mother dryly.
"Weeeell… you may tag along too, then…" she snickered. "Jake?"
"I have a feeling a 'no' won't be accepted, so of course. Thank you," the man answered.
"I'm going to make your favorite dessert! What is it?"
"Ummm…"
"Say 'apple pie'," Mark stage whispered.
"Apple pie," Jake echoed innocently.
"Mark!" his mother snapped, "The poor boy might not even like pie!"
"The 'poor boy' actually loves pie. Especially with custard," Jake assured her with a laugh.
"Very well then, apple pie it is. We'll see you tomorrow at two."
Clothes rustled, a few more 'good byes' and 'see you's' were exchanged and then Mark and Jake were alone again.
"You," the older man said, "have extraordinary parents."
"They are okay when they are not trying to kill me from embarrassment…" the blond muttered.
"No, I mean it… when they showed up like that, and I realized that they were your folks… I almost jumped out a window."
"I'm glad you didn't," Mark laughed, "but I wouldn't have blamed you."
"So, how did they embarrass you, by the way?" Jake sounded curious, but also a little bit amused like he suspected what the answer was.
"Oh, they… nothing…" the blond mumbled.
"Hmmm…. maybe I should ask Sarah tomorrow?"
"No! Don't you dare!"
"You think she would tell me?"
"I know she would…" There was some resigned bitterness in Mark's voice, but then he chuckled and shook his head. "But enough about them. What do you want to do now?"
"Weeell…" the man said and then wound his arms around the blond. "How about making up some more?"
While Mark felt himself blushing, he grinned happily. "Okay, I can pretend I haven't completely forgiven you for a while longer…"
"Fine, but I will do my very best to make it up to you," Jake promised. Nothing happened for a couple of seconds and then the man burst out in a snort of laughter.
"What?" Mark asked, feeling a bit hurt, wondering if he had done something stupid, or looked stupid, or-
"I'm an idiot," Jake guffawed.
"What?"
"I wanted to kiss you…"
"Yes? Can't say I think you're an idiot for that?" the blond smiled.
"Of course not. But I was stumped because you didn't respond… and then I realized that you couldn't see the 'signals' so to speak… and I found myself trying to flirt with you during dinner too…"
"I'm sorry for unwittingly playing hard to get," Mark sniffed with a smile on his lips.
"I have to come up with a whole new game plan with you, don't I?"
"Would you like the weekend to work on it, or…?"
"I think I'll just roll with it for now… so, Mr. Sanders, if you would be so good as to tilt your head up a little bit…?" Mark laughed but did as he was told. "Very good. Now feel free to grope me as much as you want, because I intend to proceed in a similar fashion towards your person," Jake continued informing him.
"Man, you do need to work on- mmm…"
Jake hadn't been kidding; his hands soon went from the relative 'safe' area of the small of Mark's back, down to the globes of his ass. The blond almost froze, not because he felt intimidated or opposed to it, but because it was simply so... so… brilliant! His own hands stayed firmly in place at first though, but then, slowly, slowly, he dared moving them around a bit more, until…
I have a hand on another man's ass… The thought was so astonishing that he actually forgot to breathe, to the point where he suddenly had to break the kiss just to do so.
"Something wrong?" Jake asked worriedly as the blond gasped for air.
"No… No… I'm just… really good at being an awkward virgin," Mark claimed.
"I know this is a bit new to you, but you must have-" the CFO then stopped talking just before a hand came up to caress Mark's neck. "You… haven't, have you?"
"With a woman? No…" the blond shook his head. "Sorry…"
"'Sorry'?" the man sounded astonished. "Um… not really something to apologize for…?"
"No, I mean… for being awkward."
"That makes two of us… like I said, I need a new game plan here…"
"Maybe what we both need," Mark began and slid his arms around the man's neck, "is practice?"
_____________________________________________________
Soon they ended up on the couch, which annoyed Felix, as he had been sleeping on it. Mark barely cared, though; he was enjoying himself way too much. Way, way too much… Jake was on top of him and, though they were fully clothed, this was reminding him a whole lot of his dream, especially as the man kissed his neck.
Mark let out a moan of appreciation, a bit lost between reality and fantasy.
"You liked that?"
The blond burst out laughing.
"What? You didn't?" Jake asked and it was his turn to sound hurt.
"No− I mean yes! Yes, a lot, but… well… damn, I can't tell you."
"Tell me or I'll bite."
"Hmm? Maybe I won't then?" Mark leered. "No, wait! I… well… I had a dream, and… you said the same thing in that. Exactly."
"And what else did I do in this dream, hmm?" Jake purred as he returned to placing kisses on the column of the blonde's neck.
"Hmm… we did… a bit more than this…" Mark revealed.
"And was it good?"
"It was fantastic."
"And… are you ready to make it real?"
Mark hesitated. Was he? His mother had been right, after all; he was an adult… he really didn't have anything to lose, exactly, but it would be his first time…
"I'm not sure."
"Tell you what… I took my car here and I had wine… I could take a cab home, no problem, but I could also spend the night?"
"Jake, I-"
"Shh, I'm not done yet. I'll spend the night and we'll do whatever you want to do. I can sleep on the couch or we can cuddle on your bed if you want to. The point is that we won't do anything you're not ready for, okay?"
"Thank you… for being patient."
"I'm incredibly straight that way."
"Huh?"
"Well, this is going to sound sexist, but in my experience, guys are a bit… sluttier than girls… meaning that if a guy says no, some people just move on to the next one. If a girl wants to wait, the straight guy – if he's a decent human being who really cares about her- waits. It's as simple as that."
"You make gay men in general sound like they aren't decent human beings," Mark chuckled.
"Of course we aren't. We're men," Jake joked. "So... may I stay?"
"Yes, of course!" Mark's stomach was full of butterflies, but he was really looking forward to having Jake to himself for so long. Well… it was already early evening, but still. "I think I have an unused tooth brush, and you can borrow something of mine to sleep in, and-"
"Or instead of organizing everything, we could stay on the couch for a bit?" the man suggested.
"Okay… it's not a sleepover… I get it…" Mark chuckled.
"Oh, it is… but right now it's a make out session."
"Well, we have to get that out of the way, then, so we can get to the fun organizing part," Mark smirked.
"I'm should really break up with you…" Jake muttered. It was meant as a joke, but the blond's fingers dug into the man's back, as he held him.
"Don't say that… don't even kid about it right now… okay?" he mumbled.
"I'm sorry… you know I wasn't being serious, though, don't you?"
"Yes… but now you have something else to make up for."
"Wait, I'm not on plus yet?!"
"Weeeell… barely… I did think you were cheating on me, you know?"
"And what would make up for that?"
"Let me give you a little clue," Mark grinned and kissed him again.
_____________________________________________________
Much later that night, just past midnight, they were in Mark's bed, dressed in only t-shirts and underwear. Mark usually wore pajama pants too, but he hadn't put his on tonight for the stupid reason that he couldn't remember the pattern on them… and it might be something silly which he might not want Jake to see… balloons, for example, might not exactly be considered sexy. Why he couldn't recall the pattern was simply because it was something he didn't wear in public, so it hadn't mattered before. Besides, his mind was a bit busy with other things at the moment.
He briefly wondered if dating someone made everyone do inane things like this… and feel this awkward and excited all at once? And self-conscious, eager, scared, happy, embarrassed…
"You have the most wonderful expression on your face right now, but I have no idea what you're thinking…" Jake chuckled quietly next to him as he pulled him closer.
"That this is great…" Mark mumbled and cuddled up to him. "We've only kissed, though… did you want to do… more?"
"Only if you do."
"I do… and at the same time, I'm very happy just like this right now."
"Then we'll go to sleep… what is your mother going to say if you look all worn out tomorrow?"
"'Good job', probably," Mark muttered.
"Heh, to me or to you?"
"Whatever you do, don't encourage her? Please?" Mark begged.
"I promise. Night, Pooch. If you dream about me again, make sure to wake me up, okay?"
Those words, unfortunately, made it pretty hard for Mark to fall asleep at all, because what if he did have one of those dreams? How embarrassing would that be?
_____________________________________________________
"Where did you put my knife?" Mark asked, a bit agitated as he was keen on making breakfast for Jake without any help, and the man had seriously messed up his kitchen when he had cleaned up after dinner last night.
"In the drawer, I think? Which one?"
"The one with the grooved handle and large blade?"
"Here it is, grumpy pants," Jake chuckled and gently placed the handle into Mark's grip as he kissed his neck. "Please don't be angry with me? I didn't know where it was supposed to go."
"I know… I'm sorry…" Mark mumbled, feeling a bit ashamed of himself. He was doing it again, wasn't he? Getting annoyed for no other reason than that he was embarrassed…
"Can I help with anything?"
"I got it… but thank you!" the blond hurriedly added. "The bread will take about ten minutes."
"I can't believe I'm getting freshly baked bread for breakfast." Jake sounded quite ravenous.
"It's just pre-made kind!" Mark objected. "I'm not much of a baker… flour and stuff gets so messy."
"Well, it's more than I usually get for myself. Mind if I take a shower?"
"Of course not, I put some towels out for you before."
"You will make such a good husband one day," Jake joked. Mark's heart did a little flip when he heard that, though, and as the bathroom door closed he chuckled and shook his head at himself. He wasn't sure being in love really suited him; he felt like his IQ had dropped to just double digits, somehow.
A quick shower later Jake returned and after a moment Mark heard him chuckle.
"What?" he asked.
"It just occurred to me," the man said and came closer, "that I can walk around here naked, and you'd never know."
"Well… are you naked?" Mark grinned.
"Why don't you find out for yourself?"
Snickering Mark stretched his hand out, fingertips brushing a slightly damp, warm chest. He followed the string of coarse hair downwards until- "Aw, darn you are wearing a towel! Damn tease!" the blond complained with a laugh.
"It comes off easily enough?" Jake offered, but at that moment the egg timer rang.
"Ah, the bread is ready," Mark said and hurried back to his preparations.
"Darn," Jake sighed.
"Hurry up now, you need to go back to your place and change before we're due at my parents'."
"Well, I don't have to; my clothes can stand to be worn for a second day, I think… or are your folks really formal?"
"No, they're not," Mark said as he set down the freshly baked bread on the table. "But you are not, I repeat; not, going to let my mother see you in the same clothes you wore yesterday. I will never live that down."
_____________________________________________________
They kissed before it was time for Jake to hurry back home.
"You could come with me?" the man offered.
"I need to shower and change too," Mark sighed. "But I'd love to come to your place as well…"
"Maybe this afternoon, then? Just for a while, I mean I know Felix needs his grub."
"Yes, he'd get a bit annoyed…" Mark grinned. "But why not? Unless you have something else you need to do?"
"Nope," the man chuckled. "I'm all yours."
"Good to hear," Mark smiled back and they kissed again. Eventually Jake did make it out the door, though, but Mark had barely had time to turn around before it opened again after a short knock.
"Yes?" the blond asked. "What is it?"
"Just a small thing, but I keep forgetting," Jake said. "I really, really need your phone number."
To be continued…
A/N: Taken you long enough to remember that little detail, Jake… but at least no parents killed you, so it's all good!