Chapter Four
February 11, 1991
8:05 AM
Mark stopped in front of the gas station, watching her run inside, her hand on a twenty, as he headed to pump the gas. He smiled, they'd opted to drive the twelve hours it would take to get to New York, rather than fly. Mark wasn't in the mood for planes anymore, and he missed driving. Surprisingly Kate had been more than willing to go for the idea of driving to New York and back.
So here they were, halfway between their apartments, getting the car gassed up, grabbing coffee and food for the trip. Mark smiled as he watched the numbers roll by on gas pump. Kate had openly offered to keep him company. Since the break up and arrest of her former boyfriend, Kate and Mark had spent a lot of time together. Mark hoped that was a good sign, because there was no one he'd rather spend time with than her.
He finished the gas and headed inside to pay for the twenty gallons, and shook his head at the sight of Kate; her arms were full of chips, licorice, popcorn, and soda. "Kate, babe, I said snacks, not teeth rotting food," Mark said as he paid the cashier for their gas.
"You said snacks, these are snacks," replied Kate as she put the food down on the countertop. Suddenly her eyes fell on a bag of Oreos; "OOH!" she cried as she grabbed two and stuck them with the rest of the food.
"No, no—" Mark shook his head, "Sweetheart, if you're taking two bags of those then you need to put something else back."
The cashier watched the lovers' small cute spat with a soft smile, it was obvious these two had it bad for each other, even if they didn't realize it; which from the looks of it, they probably didn't.
"But Marky—"
"Katie, I will not pull over when you get sick to your stomach, so either give up the Oreos or give up something else," he ordered.
With a pouted lip, she put two bags of chips back on the shelf, settling for Oreos, and handed the twenty to the young cashier, all the while her eyes on Mark, who was just grinning. Without really thinking about it, Kate reached out and slipped her hand into Mark's.
His smile only grew wider as he pulled her close and accepted their bag of treats. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he led her to the car. She separated from him momentarily to get into the passenger side of the car, and him in the driver's side.
o0o
"Oh it was amazing Kate, probably one of the best nights of my life," laughed Mark nearly four hours later on the interstate.
"And yet you left?"
"I had to," Mark whispered, sobering slightly, "Collins always said we were a family, but truthfully, I didn't really fit in, I had no one, I was alone—and I was always hiding from everything. I had to get out and try to find myself, instead of settling for death."
"I'm kind of glad you did," Kate replied as she looked at him.
Smirking, Mark lifted her hand and intertwined his finger's with her's, "Yeah, me too. So now, it's your turn for your life story!"
"Born and raised in Ohio," she relented as she slowly began her story, "Spent most of my life, from childhood to college on the stage, in the spot light. I had to get away from home, or I would have spent the rest of my life with mom and dad—so I moved six hours away and found the Tribune."
"You amaze me Kate," Mark replied as he gripped her hand and his steering wheel.
"Why thank you," she giggled as she pressed a kiss to his cheek and caused him to blush.
o0o
She watched him out of the corner of her eye, her eyes were on the road, but she couldn't help peak at him every few seconds. He was easily the most adorable man she'd ever met. He was fast asleep, curled in the passenger seat, snoring lightly. They were still five hours from New York; he'd gotten tired so he'd fallen asleep an hour ago. He'd already driven six hours, so she'd offered to take the other six, not minding.
It gave her a real chance to think. Mark was the type of guy every girl dreamed of bringing home to mom and dad. He was respectable, sweet, and loving; she'd dreamt of finding someone like Mark all her life. He was the perfect person for. Suddenly faced with the idea of this man being in her life, she felt her heart jump a little. She didn't know how to respond suddenly to being completely and unconditionally loved.
Reaching over with one hand, she gently ran a hand down his cheek, biting back a giggle as he moved into the gentle touch. As much as he may not want to admit it, Kate guessed the Mark was a very physical person; he needed to be touched and loved just as physically as mentally and emotionally. She'd noticed that instantly about him when they'd be standing side by side and he'd almost gravitate towards her. She felt her heart jump again, how could someone so amazing possibly love her. She hated to really think anyone loved her, after all she'd thought Kevin loved her—but she was sure Mark loved her as much as she loved him.
She withdrew her hand and decided to put some music on, allowing him to sleep a little longer. She popped open the tape compartment over head and looked through his collection. "Oh Mark, we need to take you shopping honey," rolling her eyes she reached down and across to the passenger's side. Pulling out her case, she unzipped it expertly with one hand and withdrew one of her newer cassettes. She popped it into the tape player and waited.
Her eyes drifted from the road to her Mark again, she chuckled, she'd known him for all of about a month and she already saw him as her Mark. Well he was—wasn't he; he didn't spend time with anyone like he did with her. They'd been on two unofficial dates, but they spent hours together both at work and now twelve hours driving to and from Scarsdale. She figured that was as good as any grounds to call him 'her Mark'.
o0o
Kate pulled over just as they reached the limits of Scarsdale, and switched spots with Mark, who was now wide awake. Mark sat in the driver's seat and looked over at her, with a cockeyed grin he reached out and grabbed her hand, "Come here, I'm cold," he whispered as he pulled her close. She slipped over the consol separating them, and sat next to him on the small seat, lifting both feet up on the seat, she smiled as he slid an arm around her shoulders, laying her head against his shoulder she sighed.
It was quite possibly the most wonderful feeling in the world, they were practically sitting on top of each other, she was all but in his arms, and he'd initiated the act. She knew he wasn't really that cold, but she could also see he'd just wanted comfort. That's when she decided she'd protect him, with all that she had within her. This was going to be a rough few days on him; she'd cover him, and protect him with all that she had.
She didn't really think before pressing another kiss to his cheek as he expertly drove the streets of Scarsdale New York. She felt him tighten his arm, so she casually slipped a hand around behind his back, another around his stomach, bringing them that much closer.
Twenty minutes later he pulled into a Holiday Inn, he looked at her and smiled softly, "Sadly I have to go check in," he whispered huskily.
"Kay, I'll be waiting," she replied softly.
Mark hopped out of the car and returned ten minutes later with a key card to their room. With their meager luggage they headed into their room. "Which bed do you want?" he asked politely.
She looked at him, and shrugged, "Which ever one I collapse on," she joked. "I'm going to grab a shower, then how about a bite to eat somewhere?"
"Sounds perfect," he replied as he plopped down on one of the beds.
Kate slipped into the bathroom to freshen up, leaving Mark to his own thoughts. He sighed, for nearly twenty minutes he'd been curled up with Kate at his side. He would have been lying if he said that hadn't done something to him. 'God she's beautiful' he thought quietly to himself as he closed his eyes and simply allowed his thoughts to drift over the beautiful woman he'd fallen in love with from the moment he knocked her on her ass.
Kate came out of the shower ten minutes later and chuckled softly at the sight before him. Mark was stretched out on the bed, on his back, hands behind his head, and a very obvious problem mounting in his nether regions. She grinned wickedly, and crawled up on top of him, straddling the growing problem, and then she pressed a kiss to his unresponsive lips.
That's when Mark chose to respond, his hands snaked around to her back, as he deepened the kiss. "Make sure you finish whatever it is you're going to start," he managed to gasp before another kiss to her lips.
"I'll have you know, I don't sleep with anyone I haven't known longer than a month," she grinned as she pressed a kiss to his chin.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but if you continue that, you'll break that rule, because I can't take much more of this," he chuckled.
"I love you," she said out of nowhere.
Two sets of eyes suddenly grew wide; Kate suddenly jumped back, realizing what she'd just said, and Mark slid away. Blue eyes met her beautiful green ones, "You—you--," he'd been imagining it; she hadn't really just said those words, words he was longing to hear.
"I—I," she stopped, it was true wasn't it. She loved the man standing in front of her. Not only loved him, but adored his every thought, movement and passionate thought.
"You—" he paused again, "Really?" he whispered.
Her eyes filled with tears, and slowly she simply nodded, suddenly he was pressed against her, his lips to her's, his tongue seeking refuge into her mouth. Without pause she instantly responded. This wasn't what she'd planned, he was hurting—or was he.
Finally they both pulled away from oxygen depravation and gasped with a smile, "Does that mean you feel the same way?" she whimpered as she furiously began to wipe her tears away.
He laughed as he suddenly pulled her into a hug, "Dear God, if you have to ask," he joked as he just held her close. "This, however, isn't the time to deal with all of this, let's get something to eat," he replied softly.
"That sounds like a good idea," she whispered as she leaned her head against his shoulder. She loved him; her heart soared at the thought of him feeling the same about her.
Dinner consisted of a meal at the local Denny's, the couple chatted, laughing, giggling and flirting. Mark held her hand through the entire evening. They returned to the hotel, full and exhausted from a day of driving and talking. Mark now knew all of Kate's official story, and vise versa. He headed into the bathroom to change while she also changed.
Kate was already slipping into one of the beds when Mark appeared, dressed in flannel bottoms and a t-shirt. Kate was in a spaghetti top and a pair of flannel bottoms as well. Mark looked at her and smiled slightly, suddenly she scooted over and patted the bed beside her, "No funny business, but I think we could both use the company," she whispered.
He nodded and moved over to the bed, sitting down he scooted under the comfortable covers, turned the light off and spooned up to the back over. One arm instantly wrapped around her waist, she leaned against his shoulder and sighed, completely content at this arrangement. Neither had any trouble sleeping that night, as they were wrapped in the other's love.
TBC
