A Girl Like You
Chapter 7
Truth Or Dare
It was the happiest Abby had felt in a long time.
By the beginning of October, the relationship between Mark and herself had grown stronger. They made love all the time, of course, but then there were the times when they would just lie down beside each other and talk about anything; music, their families and even their lives before the boat. They had come to know each other better than anyone else ever could. But Mark could tell that Abby was starting to get tired of running around and meeting in secret. Personally, he was getting bored of it too; not their relationship, God no, but the fact that they had to hide it from everyone. They had spoken about how they would break the news to the Count, but neither of them actually had the courage to do it, at least not yet.
"Hey, there's my girl!" Count exclaimed as Abby walked onto the deck a week later. "It's like I haven't seen you in days. Where've you been?"
"Um, Felicity's been keeping me busy." Actually, Felicity had caught her and Mark practically having sex in the pantry three days ago and, after she got over the initial shock, she seemed genuinely happy for them. She agreed not to blow their cover as long as they promised not to go anywhere near the pantry again. "You know, chores and stuff. She's given me tonight off though."
"Good. Come here and sit down." She joined the group of deejays who were seated in a circle on pillows and deck chairs and managed to find a spot on the floor between Carl, who moved to make room for her, and Mark, who was lounging on a large pillow. She rolled her eyes when she saw him and he pretended not to notice her, but they were the only ones who knew that their blood started racing just at the sight of one another. Well, them and Gavin, who noticed the blush that crossed Abby's cheeks as she sat down and tried to get as close to Carl as possible.
"What are we doing?" She asked once she was comfortable. She noticed an empty beer bottle in the centre of the circle and began to giggle. "Is there something going on here that I don't know about? I mean, I know you guys rarely get the chance to have sex with women, but..."
"No! We're playing truth or dare," Carl explained to her, blushing slightly."We spin that bottle instead of picking people ourselves. It's fairer that way." She nodded in understanding and spent the rest of the evening trying her best to ignore Mark, who sat slightly behind her. She could feel his breath on her exposed neck and suppressed a shiver every time he exhaled.
The night progressed with many laughs and embarrassments. Poor Kevin was the brunt of many of the jokes, mainly because of how thick he was (obviously) and John was given the worst dares of all, because they guys knew he was so shy. About once or twice, Mark leaned to flick the ashes from his cigarette into the ashtray that was behind Abby and pinched her bottom discreetly. She gave a small yelp the first time, causing Carl to look at her in surprise, but she assured him it was nothing. I'm gonna get him for that, Abby thought with a smile.
"Whose turn is it?"
"Mine," said Simon, raising his beer. He spun the bottle and it wobbled to a stop, pointing to Mark. After thinking about it, he finally spoke. "Mark, my lad, I dare you to say an entire sentence as loud as you can." Everyone turned to Mark in anticipation, waiting to see if the eternally silent deejay would go through with the dare. Even Abby never heard him raise his voice, so she was curious to know what he would do. He looked back at her and smiled conspiratorially.
"I DARE ABBY TO KISS ME RIGHT NOW!"
"Holy fuck, that was loud. Wait, what?" Count said, his eyebrows coming together. Abby looked at him, and then back at Mark in a panic. "What the fuck did you just say?"
"Mark, are you serious? Now?" Abby asked, blown away.
"It's a little too late to turn back," Mark whispered to her, taking her hand and helping her up to stand with him. "Aren't you tired of hiding? If we're happy, then why shouldn't anyone know?"
"Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?" Count yelled frantically. He looked among the group around him, but they all seemed as stunned as he was.
"Give me a second, Dad," Abby said with her hand up, as if trying to calm him down. She looked to the ground and then back up to Mark. "Are you sure?" He didn't need to speak, for she found the answer in his blue eyes. Then, to everyone's shock, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with no shame. When they pulled apart, they turned to the faces of their friends, who stared at them with their mouths hanging open. The Count looked like he was ready to pass out.
"Isn't anyone going to say anything?" Abby asked desperately as Mark moved closer to her and put both of his arms around her waist. The Count stood up from his chair and walked towards them, and Abby knew exactly what he was going to do. But before she could stop him, he reared up and punched Mark right in the face.
"Dad!" Mark dropped to the floor and curled up in a ball. Abby ran to his side to help him, stroking his hair as he writhed in pain.
"You fucking bastard! That's for taking advantage of my baby girl!"
"Hold him!" Gavin shouted as he moved to grab the Count before he could do any more damage. Simon, Harold and Dave grabbed his arms, while Kevin clung to one of his legs.
"Dad! Stop it!"
"What's all this then?" Quentin said as he emerged from below deck.
"Abby was seduced by this fucking sex-maniac! You couldn't wait until next Saturday, could you? You had to use my daughter to satisfy your lust and then you'll throw her away the minute another girl comes along!"
"That's not true." Mark's voice was muffled by his hand, which he held to his throbbing face as he slowly stood back up.
"How long has this been going on?" Quentin stepped between the two men. Abby stood in front of Mark to defend him in case Count got loose.
"We've been seeing each other for at least couple of months."
"A couple of months?" Count shouted.
"Yes, okay? We're together. We didn't plan this, Dad. It just sort of happened...like with you and Mom." The Count seemed to relax and the men loosened their grip on him. He slumped back into his chair and put his head in his hands.
"Abby, he's Midnight Mark! Do you know how many girls he's had sex with over the years?"
"Why do you make it sound like I was taken advantage of? For your information, I'm no virgin!"
"Oh, fuck," Count groaned. "I didn't need to hear that!" Mark stepped out from behind Abby and sat beside the Count. Quentin stood and announced that everyone should leave, knowing that they needed to talk.
"Whatever you need to know, you can find out later," he told them as he ushered the group away. "Count, if you hit Mark again, please try and keep away from his mouth."
When the three of them- Abby, Mark and the Count- were alone, there was an awkward silence until Mark spoke up.
"I'm sorry, Count. The only reason we've been sneaking around is because Abby knew you were going to react like this."
"But of all people, she chooses you. Why?"
"Who else would you have me be with, Dad? Is anyone ever going to be good enough for you?" She moved a chair in front of the two men and sat down. "He makes me happy. And it's not like we're going to get married tomorrow or anything. We're taking things as they come and letting them develop."
Mark nodded in agreement. "I care about Abby, Count. A lot. I think I love her," Abby's eyes met his and she gave him a warm smile. "And we understand that you're uncomfortable with this, but it's how it is. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, and we'd hate for you not to at least try to give us a chance."
Abby held her breath as Count rubbed his face with his hands, as if trying to wake himself up.
"I don't really know how to feel right now. Can you at least hold off on the lovey-dovey crap while you're in front of me until I think I can stomach it?" Abby hugged him and murmured a thank you, while Count turned to Mark. "I have a few things I have to say to you though. First: holy shit, I think that's the most you've ever said!"
Mark chuckled. "Yeah, I've heard that before."
"Second: if I ever find out that she's cried because of you, or that you hurt her in any way, I will personally castrate you and keep the remains in a jar on my shelf. Got it?"
"Yes, sir." Mark nodded with a gulp.
"Third: If you get her pregnant, I want the kid named after me."
"What makes you think that I'll get pregnant?" Abby demanded, slightly hurt.
"I'm just saying it runs in the family, so be careful. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to drink until I can't remember what happened here tonight." He kissed Abby's cheek and mumbled an apology to Mark for punching him before sprinting below deck. Abby sighed as she turned to face Mark when they were alone.
"That went better than I expected. I had thought he would actually try to kill you."
"No way. Can't you tell that the guy loves me?" He laughed and then winced, remembering the pain from his injury.
"Come with me. I think you're getting a black eye," Abby said as she grabbed his sleeve and tugged him down the stairs. They entered the kitchen where she ordered him to sit down while she got some ice for him.
"A black eye? Well that's wonderful," Mark grumbled sarcastically and Abby laughed.
"No one will notice; you wear your sunglasses half of the time anyway. Besides," she returned to him with a grin on her face," you should know that I happen to find black eyes very attractive on men." She gave a squeal of delight and surprise when he suddenly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him, so she was standing between his legs.
"Really? Is there anything else your dad would hit me for?"
"I think one shiner is enough for you. Do you really want to ruin that pretty face of yours?" Mark smiled as Abby leaned down and kissed him gently, only to be interrupted by a loud voice.
"Hey, you lovebirds!" Angus teased as he entered the room, the rest of the group following him. Abby tried moving away, but Mark kept her in place using his legs. She pressed the ice to his eye lightly, ignoring the whistles and jeers from the men that entered the room.
"Hope we're not interrupting anything, but we were wondering if you'd answer a few questions?" Dave asked as he took a beer out of the fridge.
"Let's have it," Abby said, still concentrating on Mark's eye.
"First off, Mark, how is she in the sack?" Abby took an empty beer can and threw it in Dave's general direction. Mark discreetly motioned to the group by putting his forefinger and his thumb together in a circle, giving them the 'great' gesture. They were men, after all. They spoke about these things. Abby noticed and slapped his hand down.
"Next question!"
