Authors Note: Sorry again for the long delay, sorry again for any mistakes. Still in love in real life (thus delay), still no native speaker (thus mistakes).
Chapter 36: Meet the friends
Shortly afterwards they were ringing the door-bell of a huge house. Ann had wanted to stop at her place to change and fetch her swimming suit but Mark had dismissed the idea saying she looked beautiful as she was and that Keira would lend her a bikini. Seeing they were more than half an hour late already to the time Mark had appointed with his friend, she had not contradicted that.
And now they were there.
The house was far bigger than she had expected. That Glen guy had to be rich.
And he was huge, as she noticed when he opened the door. Blood and bloody ashes, 7 ft giants everywhere. The guy was almost as tall as Mark. Squarer, though. With his hair cut so short it was almost non-existent, he gave a menacing appearance. But the huge smile that split his face betrayed her first impression.
"Hey Mark, good to see you." The guys clapped hands in the fashion only very close mates do. "And you did bring a lady with you! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Glen, this is Ann. Ann, meet my friend Glen."
"Hi", Ann shook Glen's hand.
"You're the lady with the Titan. I heard quite a lot about you already." Glen wiggled his eyebrows.
Ann shot a glance at Mark, who kept his expression blank. She replied, "Well, I can't say the same about you unfortunately."
Glen looked from her to Mark to her again. He grinned widely. "No worries, he said only the best."
He gave Mark a pat on the shoulder which was greeted by a good-humoured grimace. Mark bent over to her, telling her in a stage-whisper, "I should have warned you, he is crazy."
Laughing, Glen strolled back into the house, indicating them to follow, while he called out in his rumbling voice that seemed to echo in the pit of Ann's stomach. "Keira! Mark brought a lady with him! Come and say hi!"
He led them into the living-room. It was all that Ann could do not to stare open-mouthed. The room was furnished in white, the garden-front completely made of glass, making the room seem even bigger than it was.
"Wow", she was stunned.
"You like it?" Glen smiled at her.
"Definitely."
"Something different than Mark's shabby quarters, isn't it? Ouch!" Mark had punched Glen squarely in the ribs. "What was that for?"
"My house is not shabby!"
"No, it has a certain picturesque charm", Ann grinned. She felt strangely comfortable with the way Mark and Glen acted around each other.
Mark rolled his eyes, while Glen burst out laughing.
Keira came in. "Did I miss something?"
"Oh yes you did!" Glen needed a moment to catch his breath from laughing. "Did you know Mark's house had a certain picturesque charm?"
Keira grinned. "I'd say that's the nicest thing I've ever heard anyone say about the place."
She went over to Mark, hugging him warmly.
Ann found Keira a beautiful woman. She was lean and athletic and her long blonde hair fell nearly to her hips. Her big blue eyes were emphasized by a light natural make-up. Ann felt almost intimidated when Keira came over to greet her.
"Hey, I'm Keira. Don't let these two big fools get to you. You know how it is - the bigger here, the smaller there…" grinning she pointed to the places whose size she had compared, sparkling immediate protest by both guys. Smirking she turned halfway towards them, before giving her attention to Ann again. "I can never quite figure out which of the two points they are arguing."
Ann returned the grin and shook Keira's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ann."