Chapter 2: Expensive Coffee and Flirty Grins

Mark texted him the very next day.

Jack knew he would, after all, he had tried to lay on his Irish charm extra thick, so really it was only a matter of time.

Jack had been sitting on his newly put together bed, sipping his morning coffee and checking his Twitter feed when his phone buzzed silently beside him. A quick check confirmed that it was a text from an unknown number. He could barely contain the grin that spread across his face.

'Hey it's Mark', it read simply, and was basically a text so Jack could get Mark's number in turn. He laughed. His neighbor was such a dork, texting him the very next morning after their little late night (or would that be early morning?) escapade.

He grabbed his phone, ready to shoot off a reply, but hesitated. He wasn't quite sure what to say; starting conversations had never really been his strong point. Sure, Jack could participate in them well enough, but he usually opted to wait for other people to talk first. Besides, he had to get dressed and ready for work. Rather than replying immediately like he wanted to, he chose instead to save Mark's number as "dorky butt" and set his phone on the bedside table to go get dressed.

Thank God Starbucks was right down the street from Jack's crap apartment. That meant only a short walk later and he was there, since he didn't have a car yet to drive around in this country. His boss and coworkers greeted him as he entered, and the pungent yet fragrant scent of coffee beans filled his nose. Inhaling deeply, Jack let out a sigh of content. Sure, working as a barista at Starbucks sucked balls, but he did enjoy the smell of the freshly ground coffee filling the air more than anything. And of course the employee discount.

After putting on the signature green apron, Jack's phone buzzed again. He grabbed it out of his pocket and noted, with little surprise, that it was Mark. Rather, it was dorky butt. Jack grinned a little at the dumb nickname he had given him earlier, though immediately regretted it when his coworker peered over his shoulder and raised a brow.

"Dorky butt?" Cole questioned with a scoff.

Jack felt his face heat up. "Shuddup."

His coworker smirked. "Got a bit of a crush there?"

Promptly flipping him the bird, Jack marched off, only to hear Cole's laughter echoing behind him.

In the safety of the break room, Jack finally checked the newest message. Mark was asking him to come over and play some video games. While Jack would absolutely love to do that, he was busy being stuck at work. He replied to him just that.

Work went pretty smoothly for the most part, though Jack's mind wasn't really focused on the frappucinos he was making. Instead, he thought of Mark in all of his wonderfully thick glory, all broad shoulders and tanned skin and dark eyes and fiery red hair and-

"Jack!"

And shit. There he was.

He practically bounded up the counter, goofy smile plastered all over his face.

"Mark," Jack murmured, more than slightly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned, and Jack noted that there was an easy confidence to the way he held himself. "I told you I'd come visit the next time you worked."

Jack matched Mark's smile with one of his own.

"Besides, I just have to order the douchiest drink here."

Jack's grin deflated as he then glared playfully at the other man. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me." There was a twinkle of mischief in his deep chocolate orbs before he took a deep breath and said all at once in a rush, "I'd like a venti iced skinny hazelnut macchiato latte with an extra shot of espresso, light ice, and no whip. Please."

Jack felt his mouth drop in shock. What a little bitch. "Fine," he snapped without any real heat to it. He then proceeded to charge Mark a ridiculous amount for the drink (Starbucks is fucking pricey, after all) and handed him the receipt with an over the top sarcastic smile. "Here's your receipt, sir."

Mark chuckled at the blatant display of attitude, the deep timbre rumble of it sending shivers down Jack's spine. It was truly unfair how attractive some people were.

Jack's coworker rolled his eyes upon seeing the new, complicated order. "I've got this," he told Cole. Jack was determined to make Mark suffer for his horrible drink order.

Jack could feel the intensity of Mark's eyes glued to him as he shuffled about, swaying his hips to imaginary music. Jack chuckled to himself, seeing the other's molten chocolate orbs track his every move. He then made a show of turning around and bending over to reach for something from the bottom shelf that he didn't even need. Jack was damn sure to wriggle his ass a bit when he did. He heard a sharp intake of breath behind him and he smirked. He had already won.

When the drink was ready Jack slid it over to Mark, whose face was unabashedly red, and Jack showed off his pearly whites, blinking his eyes innocently as though he had done nothing wrong. Except he knew exactly what he'd done, and Mark knew it too. But going by the look on his face, Mark didn't seem to have minded too much.

Mark silently took his drink, not even bothering to grab a straw as he stumbled away, and Jack laugh out loud as the other tried to force his legs to move properly.

He stood there, victorious, arms crossed proudly in front of him. He had managed to knock Mark down a peg with nothing more than a little show. It wasn't even like Jack had been naked or anything. Hm. Naked. Now he kind of wondered what kind of expression Mark would wear upon seeing him fully exposed–

With a shake of his head Jack stopped that train of thought right there before it could derail. Work was not the place to be thinking of sexy times.

Mark seemed to realize he needed a straw, and dashed back up for it. He opened his mouth as though to say something, but closed it right up again. Jack was expecting him to say something stupid, like a witty or snide remark, but instead Mark seemed to think better of his words. Jack raised his brow at him as he opened his mouth again, saying the last words Jack would have expected him to at the moment.

"What time do you get off?"

He blinked. "Four," Jack replied, a little unsure as to where the other was going with this.

Mark nodded, averting his eyes with another blush. "Come to my place after, if you can."

Jack gave the other a cheeky grin. Mark was definitely thinking about sex. Jack gave him another once over, and decided yes, he would definitely fuck this strange but attractive man.

"Sure thing," Jack said, shit eating grin still firmly in place.

Mark nodded hurriedly, jerking his head rapidly as though Jack may change his mind, grabbed his drink and a straw, and practically ran out of the building. Jack laugh, watching him shuffle away down the road, trying in vain not to spill his drink. He turned just in time to see his coworker give him the look. He knew exactly what Jack was up to.

"What? Can't a guy have a little fun?"