A Step Forward

I ended up waking up an hour before Mark did so I could make him breakfast. Like he asked, I kept my hair down that morning but I put a head band on to keep it out of my face. I was never really the type of girl to have bangs in the way or anything like that, but if Mark liked it, then so be it. I was still feeling horrible from the secret Glenn told me even though Mark knew about it. All I could think about was how much it hurt him just to sit in front of Glenn on a daily basis with a straight face about it.

While I cooked, I turned on the radio and sang a few tunes to myself. I was so distracted by the music and cooking, that I didn't even hear Mark come into the kitchen. He stood in the doorframe, watching me toss my hair over my shoulder as the sun's rays hit my face and the grease from the bacon popped in front of me.

"Good morning," he finally said when I started putting waffles, eggs, and bacon on his plate.

I jumped a little and then looked over my shoulder at him. "Do you have anything better to do than sneak up on me?"

"Honestly, no." he said with a smile.

I shook my head and then handed him a plate full of fresh food. "Eat on up, you're going to need it for this flight."

"That's true," he said. "I'm not going to have much down time once we land."

"How come?" I asked.

He sighed as he grabbed a fork, "Well, I've got autograph signings before the show, pictures to take, fans to meet backstage, and of course, my storyline to go over."

I smirked, "Busy man."

"Yep," he said. "You won't be too busy though. I just need you to trim my hair before the signings and maybe touch up this face before the show is that cool?"

I nodded as I thought of all the things I was going to need to bring with me for his hair and face. Thank God it wouldn't be much. After eating our breakfast, we headed upstairs for some last minute packing. I was sort of excited about traveling with Mark. I had never got to see new places and towns around the country before so this was a new experience for me.

When we left the house to go to the airport, Mark stopped at the store to get a few things before takeoff. Lucky for me, he grabbed water bottles to keep me hydrated.

"Here's your blanket," he told me when we were on the plane. I got in my usual chair but this time I didn't fall asleep. Instead, he turned on a movie for us to watch and we shared a nice conversation.

"God you are so crazy," I said. We had been talking about some ideas I could use to get back at Shane and he thought it would be nice to tie him to the back of a motorcycle and drag him all over the state he was in.

"What? I used that on Hulk Hogan and as you can see he's still alright." He said.

I chuckled, "Oh my goodness."

He laughed and then decided to turn off the movie. "I like talking…it's entertaining."

I giggled and adjusted myself so that I could face him. Boy was my stomach getting heavy…and wider too.

"I sure hope I get my figure back after the baby is born." I said. "I'll die if I remain fat."

He laughed, "Being fat isn't a bad thing Leah."

"I know but…I was never a fat person." I said. "I always told myself that I would be a skinny girl forever."

"Well I hope you don't get too skinny…I like a little meat on my women." He said as he put his hands behind his head.

I glared at him with a teasing smile, "Your women?"

He smirked, "Yes, that's what I said."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh please…you couldn't handle a woman like me."

He chuckled and then leaned forward, placing his arms on his knees, "Actually Leah, you're the one who couldn't handle me…"

"Oh whatever," I said trying to block out the image of him actually screwing my brains out. Man I had issues…

"You know it's true." He said as he leaned back into his chair.

I didn't answer him after that, instead I smiled and tried to think of something else to talk about. I was starting to get a little hot and bothered by his tone of voice and the teasing little smirks.

I started playing with my hair and once again he started staring at me. "Do you have a thing for hair or something?"

He didn't answer me immediately so I waited, "No…just yours…"

"What's so great about my hair?" I asked as I glanced at the curly brown locks.

He was still staring at me with a mesmerized look. "You're beautiful to me…and it's confusing."

"Confusing?" I asked. "Are you saying I'm not really all that pretty?"

He chuckled, "Oh hell no. I'm just confused because I normally don't find brunettes attractive…but you…there's something about you that just makes me stop and stare…"

I blushed and looked down at my lap. "What exactly are you saying Mark?"

He smiled and then shook his head. "Nothing...just that you're really beautiful and it sucks that Shane lost someone like you."

I smiled and twirled my hair in my fingers, "Yeah I feel the same way about you. Michelle was stupid. You totally deserve better."

"We deserve better..." he said.

I wasn't certain what it was about Mark but he was very easy to get along with. At first I wasn't too sure what I was getting myself into but he was really turning out to be a great guy. It boggled my mind that a woman like Michelle would actually hurt him as much as she did. Maybe there was something about him that drove her to cheat on him. Whatever it was, she must have done something to bring it out of him because as far as I could see, Mark was a gentle giant.