A/N Thank you to everyone that has reviewed both this and my other
stories. Again I tell you, you don't know how wonderful that is to me.
Keep enjoying.
Chapter 2
Mark laid back on the pillow. He couldn't believe they had just done that. Them. Him and Alison. Benny's wife. What do I do now? "So, um, wow."
"Yeah." She said softly.
"Are you okay?"
"No, not really."
"Oh."
"No, it's not you, or that. It's just, it's the first time I ever cheated on him. Ever. Even after everything."
"Wow. Yeah, it's the first time I ever slept with someone who's married."
"I don't know if you could really call me married. Not for awhile now. Not with our marriage." She said sadly.
Mark put an arm around her and pulled her against his bare chest. "So um, what happens now?"
"I don't know. I can't think that far ahead right now. You understand don't you? I just don't know. Things in my life are very screwed up right now."
"I know. It's alright." He kissed her shoulder. They laid there in the dark for awhile, Mark just holding her. It was nice. Weird, but nice. Never in a million years would he ever have pictured himself in bed with Alison. Benny's wife Alison. Wow.
"I should go."
"You don't have to. You could stay here."
"No, I should, what was that?"
Mark listened for a second. "That's just Roger and Mimi coming home."
"Oh god!" She sat up in the bed, pulling the sheets up to cover herself.
"Relax. Give them fifteen minutes and they'll both be either asleep or so otherwise occupied, they'll never know you're even here."
"Oh." She laid there, letting him run his fingers over her skin. Listening to Roger and Mimi move around the apartment. Finally they heard a door close.
"That should be it. But you don't have to go."
"Yes I do. But thank you. For everything." She got up and got dressed. "I, I'll call you Mark. Bye."
Mark rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head. God tonight turned out weird.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You want some coffee baby?" Mimi asked Roger as he walked out of the bedroom.
"Yeah. Where's Mark?" He asked looking around the loft.
"I think he's still asleep." She grinned.
"Really?" He reached for his coffee. "He never sleeps later than me." He got a devilish grin on his face. "Hey where's that squirt gun? I owe him."
"I think you need to leave him alone." She smiled at him, laughing slightly.
"No, I owe him big time, and I never get a chance like this." He started digging through a drawer looking for the squirt gun.
"No, I really think you need to leave him alone this morning." She laughed again.
Roger looked at her. He could tell something was up. "What's going on Meems?"
"Well, I think he might have a hangover."
"He didn't drink that much at the bar last night." Roger told her, going back to his search.
"No, but I found the bottle of rum empty on the coffee table." She started buttering toast and handed him a piece.
"He drank an entire bottle of rum? Mark?" Roger asked shocked. "Have you checked to make sure he's still alive? That's an awful lot of alcohol for little old Marky." He laughed.
"Um, I don't think he drank the entire bottle." She was still grinning.
"That was a full bottle?"
"True, but there were two glasses on the coffee table." She smiled at him before turning and digging through the refrigerator.
His water gun search forgotten he just looked at her for a second. "Really? I wonder who came over. Collins?"
"I don't think so." She started to walk out of the kitchen towards their room. "Collins doesn't wear that color lipstick. And neither does Maureen. Or Joanne." She grinned and walked into the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The hour that Roger had to wait for Mark to get up about drove him crazy. Finally he heard Mark's door start to creak open. He was up off the couch before Mark could make it all the way out. By himself. "Good morning." He told him, glancing over his shoulder, trying to see who else was in the room.
"Hey." He said slowly.
"So." Roger grinned.
Mark just looked at him for a second before flopping down on the couch. "Oh god, what do you know?"
"Only that you had some chick back here last night. That and you drank a whole bottle of rum. So where is she?" He looked back towards the bedroom
"No one's here." He closed his eyes as he rested his head on the back of the couch.
"But someone was here?"
"Roger leave him alone." Mimi told him as she handed Mark a cup of coffee and the aspirin bottle.
"No, I want details." He bounced in the chair excitedly.
"God you're worse than the girls." Mark told him.
"Yeah and you never get booty calls, so spill it!"
"What? Last night was not a booty call!"
Mimi just laughed at both of them. "So who was here Mark?"
Just then the realization of exactly who had been there last night and who was here right now and how those two groups of people were truly intertwined hit him. Ewwww. This could be really messy. "Just a girl I know. I ran into her last night. We had a few drinks. That's all."
"That's all?" Roger questioned him.
"Yes, that's all." He told him standing up and walking into the bathroom to take a shower.
Mimi watched him walk away before turning back to Roger. "So? Was that all?" She asked him, knowing he could always tell if Mark was lying.
"No, that was defiantly not all." Roger laughed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hello?"
"Mark?"
"Hey." He looked around the room at Roger and Mimi on the couch before picking up the phone and dragging it into his room. "How are you?"
"I'm good. Actually real good. I've done a lot of thinking this past week. Soul searching."
"That's good. I'm glad to hear that." He said as he sat down on his bed.
"Um, do you want to meet me somewhere? For some dinner? I kinda needed to talk to someone."
"Yeah, I can do that. When?"
"How about seven? I know this great little Italian place. Not far from my office. My treat."
"Sure. Where is it?"
Mark got the directions and changed his clothes. When he walked out of the room Roger looked up at him form the couch.
"Who was that?" He asked as Mark brought the phone back out and set it on the coffee table.
"Nobody."
"Right." Roger grinned at Mimi. "So um, we're gonna go get some dinner soon. You want to come with?"
"I can't, I uh, gotta do something."
"More like gotta do someone." Roger whispered to Mimi who giggled and shushed him. "So um, where you going Mark?"
"Just to get something to eat with somebody?"
"Who?"
"Just somebody. I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hi."
"Hey." He sat down at the table.
"So I ordered us a bottle of wine. I hope you like white."
"Oh yeah, that's fine. So, um, how are you doing?".
"Okay. All things considering."
"Why? What's going on now?" Mark asked, concerned.
"I, uh, told Benny I want a divorce. He moved out yesterday."
"Oh. Wow. Are you okay?"
"Yes. I guess I just wanted to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For helping me find the strength to do that."
"How exactly did I do that?" He asked her confused.
Alison shrugged. "I always felt like there was something wrong with me. That I was the reason Benny is the way he is. That somehow, the problems in our marriage were my fault."
"You couldn't really have believed that? Did you?" He reached over the table and took her hand.
"Yes. I mean I know in the beginning we were both so 'career oriented.' And I'm sure that didn't help. All Benny wanted was to make more money and get farther ahead. That was why he started having so many problems with you guys. He lost his love for life and doing things just because it's what you love to do, not because it will make you rich and powerful. Unlike you guys." She smiled at him.
"Oh." Mark smiled back and picked up his wineglass. "Well, here's to your future." He clinked her glass.
"Thank you."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mark quietly opened the door to the apartment. As he stepped in he saw the glow of the TV, but Roger appeared to be asleep on the couch. Mark set down his camera on the coffee table and walked over and shut off the TV.
"Hey." Roger said softly. "What time is it?"
"Late. Go to bed."
"I couldn't sleep and Mimi was snoring. So how's your mystery girl? It is a girl right? Will you tell me that much at least?"
Mark grinned. "Yes. It is a girl. Happy now?"
"No." Roger pouted. "But I guess it will have to do for now. Considering for some strange reason you won't tell your best friend of about a hundred years who the mystery girl is. I mean you've been sneaking around with her for a month now, and I still don't even know her name."
"Forget it, I've got a Jewish mother. Your guilt will never work on me." Mark joked back.
"Yeah okay, I forgot." Roger looked around the room before his eyes settled on the coffee table. "So, um, I'm guessing you've got her on film huh?"
"Yeah, a little maybe."
"Now there's a movie I'd be willing to watch!" He sat up eagerly on the couch.
"Go to bed Roger." Mark told him, walking into the kitchen.
"Fine, I'll just have to watch it when you're not home!"
"You don't understand my tape system, you'd get bored of watching pigeons, bag ladies and Maureen before you ever found her." Mark grinned.
"Am I ever going to get to meet this chick?"
"Yes. Someday. It's complicated." He got himself a glass of water.
"What's complicated? What's the problem? We're not good enough for her?"
Mark heard the hurt tone to Roger's voice and he felt bad. "No Rog, it's not that at all. It just a complicated situation right now. I don't even know what's really going on with us. It's just, just complicated. It's not you at all. I'm sorry if you thought that."
"Okay. But you promise you'll tell me one of these days?"
"Yeah, I promise. Really." Mark felt bad he hadn't told Roger what was going on. He just had a feeling that once Roger found out he was seeing Alison, it would open up a lot of old wounds. And right now he and Mimi were doing so good. He knew it would be easier for them all if he stopped seeing her, but he also knew that he couldn't put Roger's life and happiness above his own. Not anymore at least.
"Oh I forgot to tell you. Guess who Collins ran into." Roger grinned at him.
"Who?" Mark asked, drinking his water.
"Benny!"
Mark started choking on his water. "What?"
"Yeah Benny! Are you okay?"
"Fine." Mark squeaked. "Um, water went down the wrong way."
"Oh. But get this," Roger grinned, "Alison kicked his sorry butt out! She told him she wants a divorce! After all his crap, she's finally dumping him on his ass!" He laughed.
"Great." Mark managed to utter, somewhat unenthusiastically.
"Man I would have loved to see that! Plus Benny thinks she's seeing someone. He told Collins he saw her getting into her car with some, and I quote 'pale ass white boy'. That's why she's finally doing it! Ha! Benny getting a taste of his own medicine! I hope she takes him for every cent he has."
"Uh huh."
"Yeah, hopefully, this won't effect us too bad. Collins said now that she took over the ownership of this building and all, and that now we pay rent and all we should be okay. But even if it does, between me, you and Mimi, we're making enough now, if we have to move, we'd survive. Might be a little small, but it'd be okay. At least we'd most likely have more hot water."
"Uh huh." Mark just nodded.
"Okay, I'm going to bed. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, night." Mark managed to get out.
"Hey Marky?" Roger waited for Mark to look at him. "Um, I know I've been giving you a hard time and all, but I am really glad you're seeing this girl. Whoever she is."
"Thanks." Mark told him as he watched Roger walk into his room.
Chapter 2
Mark laid back on the pillow. He couldn't believe they had just done that. Them. Him and Alison. Benny's wife. What do I do now? "So, um, wow."
"Yeah." She said softly.
"Are you okay?"
"No, not really."
"Oh."
"No, it's not you, or that. It's just, it's the first time I ever cheated on him. Ever. Even after everything."
"Wow. Yeah, it's the first time I ever slept with someone who's married."
"I don't know if you could really call me married. Not for awhile now. Not with our marriage." She said sadly.
Mark put an arm around her and pulled her against his bare chest. "So um, what happens now?"
"I don't know. I can't think that far ahead right now. You understand don't you? I just don't know. Things in my life are very screwed up right now."
"I know. It's alright." He kissed her shoulder. They laid there in the dark for awhile, Mark just holding her. It was nice. Weird, but nice. Never in a million years would he ever have pictured himself in bed with Alison. Benny's wife Alison. Wow.
"I should go."
"You don't have to. You could stay here."
"No, I should, what was that?"
Mark listened for a second. "That's just Roger and Mimi coming home."
"Oh god!" She sat up in the bed, pulling the sheets up to cover herself.
"Relax. Give them fifteen minutes and they'll both be either asleep or so otherwise occupied, they'll never know you're even here."
"Oh." She laid there, letting him run his fingers over her skin. Listening to Roger and Mimi move around the apartment. Finally they heard a door close.
"That should be it. But you don't have to go."
"Yes I do. But thank you. For everything." She got up and got dressed. "I, I'll call you Mark. Bye."
Mark rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head. God tonight turned out weird.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You want some coffee baby?" Mimi asked Roger as he walked out of the bedroom.
"Yeah. Where's Mark?" He asked looking around the loft.
"I think he's still asleep." She grinned.
"Really?" He reached for his coffee. "He never sleeps later than me." He got a devilish grin on his face. "Hey where's that squirt gun? I owe him."
"I think you need to leave him alone." She smiled at him, laughing slightly.
"No, I owe him big time, and I never get a chance like this." He started digging through a drawer looking for the squirt gun.
"No, I really think you need to leave him alone this morning." She laughed again.
Roger looked at her. He could tell something was up. "What's going on Meems?"
"Well, I think he might have a hangover."
"He didn't drink that much at the bar last night." Roger told her, going back to his search.
"No, but I found the bottle of rum empty on the coffee table." She started buttering toast and handed him a piece.
"He drank an entire bottle of rum? Mark?" Roger asked shocked. "Have you checked to make sure he's still alive? That's an awful lot of alcohol for little old Marky." He laughed.
"Um, I don't think he drank the entire bottle." She was still grinning.
"That was a full bottle?"
"True, but there were two glasses on the coffee table." She smiled at him before turning and digging through the refrigerator.
His water gun search forgotten he just looked at her for a second. "Really? I wonder who came over. Collins?"
"I don't think so." She started to walk out of the kitchen towards their room. "Collins doesn't wear that color lipstick. And neither does Maureen. Or Joanne." She grinned and walked into the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The hour that Roger had to wait for Mark to get up about drove him crazy. Finally he heard Mark's door start to creak open. He was up off the couch before Mark could make it all the way out. By himself. "Good morning." He told him, glancing over his shoulder, trying to see who else was in the room.
"Hey." He said slowly.
"So." Roger grinned.
Mark just looked at him for a second before flopping down on the couch. "Oh god, what do you know?"
"Only that you had some chick back here last night. That and you drank a whole bottle of rum. So where is she?" He looked back towards the bedroom
"No one's here." He closed his eyes as he rested his head on the back of the couch.
"But someone was here?"
"Roger leave him alone." Mimi told him as she handed Mark a cup of coffee and the aspirin bottle.
"No, I want details." He bounced in the chair excitedly.
"God you're worse than the girls." Mark told him.
"Yeah and you never get booty calls, so spill it!"
"What? Last night was not a booty call!"
Mimi just laughed at both of them. "So who was here Mark?"
Just then the realization of exactly who had been there last night and who was here right now and how those two groups of people were truly intertwined hit him. Ewwww. This could be really messy. "Just a girl I know. I ran into her last night. We had a few drinks. That's all."
"That's all?" Roger questioned him.
"Yes, that's all." He told him standing up and walking into the bathroom to take a shower.
Mimi watched him walk away before turning back to Roger. "So? Was that all?" She asked him, knowing he could always tell if Mark was lying.
"No, that was defiantly not all." Roger laughed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hello?"
"Mark?"
"Hey." He looked around the room at Roger and Mimi on the couch before picking up the phone and dragging it into his room. "How are you?"
"I'm good. Actually real good. I've done a lot of thinking this past week. Soul searching."
"That's good. I'm glad to hear that." He said as he sat down on his bed.
"Um, do you want to meet me somewhere? For some dinner? I kinda needed to talk to someone."
"Yeah, I can do that. When?"
"How about seven? I know this great little Italian place. Not far from my office. My treat."
"Sure. Where is it?"
Mark got the directions and changed his clothes. When he walked out of the room Roger looked up at him form the couch.
"Who was that?" He asked as Mark brought the phone back out and set it on the coffee table.
"Nobody."
"Right." Roger grinned at Mimi. "So um, we're gonna go get some dinner soon. You want to come with?"
"I can't, I uh, gotta do something."
"More like gotta do someone." Roger whispered to Mimi who giggled and shushed him. "So um, where you going Mark?"
"Just to get something to eat with somebody?"
"Who?"
"Just somebody. I gotta go. I'll see you guys later." He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hi."
"Hey." He sat down at the table.
"So I ordered us a bottle of wine. I hope you like white."
"Oh yeah, that's fine. So, um, how are you doing?".
"Okay. All things considering."
"Why? What's going on now?" Mark asked, concerned.
"I, uh, told Benny I want a divorce. He moved out yesterday."
"Oh. Wow. Are you okay?"
"Yes. I guess I just wanted to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For helping me find the strength to do that."
"How exactly did I do that?" He asked her confused.
Alison shrugged. "I always felt like there was something wrong with me. That I was the reason Benny is the way he is. That somehow, the problems in our marriage were my fault."
"You couldn't really have believed that? Did you?" He reached over the table and took her hand.
"Yes. I mean I know in the beginning we were both so 'career oriented.' And I'm sure that didn't help. All Benny wanted was to make more money and get farther ahead. That was why he started having so many problems with you guys. He lost his love for life and doing things just because it's what you love to do, not because it will make you rich and powerful. Unlike you guys." She smiled at him.
"Oh." Mark smiled back and picked up his wineglass. "Well, here's to your future." He clinked her glass.
"Thank you."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mark quietly opened the door to the apartment. As he stepped in he saw the glow of the TV, but Roger appeared to be asleep on the couch. Mark set down his camera on the coffee table and walked over and shut off the TV.
"Hey." Roger said softly. "What time is it?"
"Late. Go to bed."
"I couldn't sleep and Mimi was snoring. So how's your mystery girl? It is a girl right? Will you tell me that much at least?"
Mark grinned. "Yes. It is a girl. Happy now?"
"No." Roger pouted. "But I guess it will have to do for now. Considering for some strange reason you won't tell your best friend of about a hundred years who the mystery girl is. I mean you've been sneaking around with her for a month now, and I still don't even know her name."
"Forget it, I've got a Jewish mother. Your guilt will never work on me." Mark joked back.
"Yeah okay, I forgot." Roger looked around the room before his eyes settled on the coffee table. "So, um, I'm guessing you've got her on film huh?"
"Yeah, a little maybe."
"Now there's a movie I'd be willing to watch!" He sat up eagerly on the couch.
"Go to bed Roger." Mark told him, walking into the kitchen.
"Fine, I'll just have to watch it when you're not home!"
"You don't understand my tape system, you'd get bored of watching pigeons, bag ladies and Maureen before you ever found her." Mark grinned.
"Am I ever going to get to meet this chick?"
"Yes. Someday. It's complicated." He got himself a glass of water.
"What's complicated? What's the problem? We're not good enough for her?"
Mark heard the hurt tone to Roger's voice and he felt bad. "No Rog, it's not that at all. It just a complicated situation right now. I don't even know what's really going on with us. It's just, just complicated. It's not you at all. I'm sorry if you thought that."
"Okay. But you promise you'll tell me one of these days?"
"Yeah, I promise. Really." Mark felt bad he hadn't told Roger what was going on. He just had a feeling that once Roger found out he was seeing Alison, it would open up a lot of old wounds. And right now he and Mimi were doing so good. He knew it would be easier for them all if he stopped seeing her, but he also knew that he couldn't put Roger's life and happiness above his own. Not anymore at least.
"Oh I forgot to tell you. Guess who Collins ran into." Roger grinned at him.
"Who?" Mark asked, drinking his water.
"Benny!"
Mark started choking on his water. "What?"
"Yeah Benny! Are you okay?"
"Fine." Mark squeaked. "Um, water went down the wrong way."
"Oh. But get this," Roger grinned, "Alison kicked his sorry butt out! She told him she wants a divorce! After all his crap, she's finally dumping him on his ass!" He laughed.
"Great." Mark managed to utter, somewhat unenthusiastically.
"Man I would have loved to see that! Plus Benny thinks she's seeing someone. He told Collins he saw her getting into her car with some, and I quote 'pale ass white boy'. That's why she's finally doing it! Ha! Benny getting a taste of his own medicine! I hope she takes him for every cent he has."
"Uh huh."
"Yeah, hopefully, this won't effect us too bad. Collins said now that she took over the ownership of this building and all, and that now we pay rent and all we should be okay. But even if it does, between me, you and Mimi, we're making enough now, if we have to move, we'd survive. Might be a little small, but it'd be okay. At least we'd most likely have more hot water."
"Uh huh." Mark just nodded.
"Okay, I'm going to bed. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, night." Mark managed to get out.
"Hey Marky?" Roger waited for Mark to look at him. "Um, I know I've been giving you a hard time and all, but I am really glad you're seeing this girl. Whoever she is."
"Thanks." Mark told him as he watched Roger walk into his room.
