Chapter 19
"You sure Trish gave you the okay to be here?" Mark teased when Steve showed up, Harry already in the kitchen with the beer, ready for a game of poker.
"As far as I know, she's planning on going over to Jas's tonight with Lashonna."
"As long as the women aren't in our hair, who cares?"
"Arie is there."
"Well, then her and Trish will be driving her insane because Trish told me- Oh wait, I'm not allowed to tell YOU."
~!~
Jasina had just finished stuffing the final shell when a knock sounded at her door, causing her eyebrow to raise. "Will you get that sweetheart?" She asked, going to wash her hands since they were full of cheese, smiling when she heard Trish's bubbly voice along with Little Steven's cries and Lashonna with Toni. She smiled and walked out of her kitchen, drying her hands off, and hugged Trish before taking the little man in her arms. "How's my godson?" She quipped with a grin. "What are you all doing here?"
"Harry and Steve are with Mark tonight for a guy's night only so..." Lashonna rolled her eyes dramatically, her teeth shockingly white against her dark skin. "We thought we'd come- Toni, don't touch the radio."
Trish smirked, shaking out her hair. "Besides, we figured you could use the company. Arielle, you and I have some digging to do sweetheart." She looked pointedly at Jasina.
"Trust me, I know."
"I am not talking about that." Jasina stated defiantly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You told Lashonna?"
"Honey, it's not like it's a big secret. Steve and Harry know."
Jasina was going to KILL Mark! What the hell gave him the right to talk about what happened between them with other people? "Is that right?" She finally said through gritted teeth.
"Whoa Arie, look how red your mom is!" Toni crowed, both girls giggling.
This was going to be a LONG night.
"Jasina, we know." Trish gestured to herself and Lashonna. "You really think the guys aren't going to gossip, they're just as bad as we are."
Arielle nudged Toni with a grin. "Mom and Dad were uh..."
"Storking it up?"
"Yeah that!" Arielle giggled, Mark having had a word with Lashonna about that.
Trish was trying not to giggle now.
Jasina groaned more before walking into the kitchen, shaking her head and popped the shells in the oven.
"So...spill girl! We want details!"
"This really isn't an appropriate time to-"
The girls were in Arielle's room playing with toys and talking.
"You were saying?"
"Look, he was sleepy and didn't realize it was me..." Okay that was a lie, but damn it, she had to say something to get them off of her back. "He probably isn't even talking about it anymore. He probably wished it never happened and I don't blame him."
"Oh yeah sure, he was only trying to get some with a figment of his imagination. According to Steve, Mark woke up and knew EXACTLY who he was trying to get jiggy with."
"Excuse me?" Lashonna began laughing, shaking her head.
"You know what I mean."
Mark was going to die; Jasina was going to murder him in his SLEEP for this! "He actually said that?" She turned beat red and slammed the utensil in the sink, the anger radiating off of her in waves. "I didn't realize this was a big fucking game to him." She spat, suddenly pissed beyond belief, wanting to ring his thick neck and beat his skull in! "Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm so pissed right now." It took a lot to spark anger in Jasina and right now, she was LIVID.
Lashonna and Trish exchanged looks, both folding their arms over their chests. Lashonna and Trish were polar opposites of each other so when they had been introduced through Steve, and hit it off, it was been a bit surprising.
"Look, you told ME what happened, most of it. You can't go getting pissed off just because HE did too."
"She's right, Jas."
Trish had a point and she hated her for it at that moment. "Look, I love him, but I'm also not going to beg him to come back to me or whatever. What happened between us was...it was nothing actually. It felt great don't get me wrong. I haven't had sex in over eleven years..." She seen their eyes widen and held her hand up. "Drugs don't exactly stimulate the body and I wasn't in the right frame of mind." She sighed, the anger diminishing from her body. "I don't know what to do." She whispered, pressing her fingers against her forehead, tapping it gently.
"Uh hello, you go right up to him, kiss him breathless then let him do the rest."
"Which means you'll need a weekend babysitter for Arie and a lot of condoms."
"Or you need to get a Mirena, that's what I'm using."
"How long do they last?"
"Five years I think."
"No, I am not going up to him and doing that. No, absolutely not. He doesn't want me. He may THINK he does, but I broke his heart and hurt him! I ran away from him, you guys." She groaned, this was so confusing and not to mention frustrating as hell as she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, crossing one leg over the other. Jasina couldn't stop thinking about Mark, his strong hands, that muscular body, and his lips...dear god. "See, I wrote him a letter before I left to move to Austin and I TOLD him that I loved him. That I still do. So what makes you think he wants more from me than just sex?"
"Oh well, we didn't say he wanted you for more then sex." Trish said bluntly, seeing Jasina's face fall. "Honey, look, I didn't mean it the way it came out. From what Steve would tell me-" And it wasn't too much because apparently his life had been threatened, something about screwdrivers. "Mark is a bit confused about all this himself."
"You two need to be adults, sit down and talk about this."
"Or we could just pretend like it never happened." Jasina retorted evenly, refusing to get her heart broken. Granted, she deserved it. She deserved the pain of getting a slice of heaven while the rest of her life was miserable hell. But...Jasina had made a mistake, several, but she had atoned for them and it was time to move on. "I'll talk about it if he brings it up." She stated finally before walking into the kitchen, seeing her shells were done and smiled. "Who's hungry?"
~!~
"So are you ever going to mention it to her?" Harry asked curiously, trying to understand why the hell he was losing so much money and if Lashonna would kill him for cutting a check.
Mark knew why the man was losing money; it was because he couldn't shut up. Steve was about broke too. "Not until she says something to me first."
"Cold day in hell. Damn it Mark!" Steve snapped when Mark threw down his cards. "You're cheating!"
"You know how women are. They won't make the first move, man." Harry sighed, knowing this was pointless in arguing with him. "Do you love her?"
"Don't bother, I already tried." Steve grunted, popping the top on another beer. "If ya ask me, ya two should fuck THEN see ya feel." He ducked when a beer can was chucked at his head. "What'd I say?"
"When you two are done?"
"Hey, get us another beer, Mark. It's the least you could do since we're both almost broke."
"Your girlfriend can foot the bill, she's rich."
"When are you going to marry Trish?"
"HEY, we're talking about MARK, not me."
"The man is a chickenshit, we've established that." Harry smirked when Mark growled, raising an eyebrow as if to contradict him. "Now when are you tyin' the knot with that beautiful blonde?"
"Son, if yer wife heard ya talkin' bout that to another woman..."
"Hell, Lashonna agrees with me that Trish is beautiful, but nobody takes my wife's place. Just marry her already."
Steve grunted. "I'll think it over..."
"Trish is probably already planning the wedding. The minute he works up the balls to ask, she'll have him down the aisle." Mark smirked, setting down the beer, dropping back into his chair and picked up his cards.
"Hey, at least I- Never mind...you've already been married."
"And divorced."
"Hey, SHE left ME. I'm not chasin' her."
"Unless it's in the bedroom?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't bother with her man. Just let her go. She's baggage." Harry stated as he looked at his cards, sipping his beer. "What?"
"That's really low to say."
"She's an ex-druggie who RAN away from her family. I'm biased when it comes to Mark and he shouldn't have to chase her. He's right."
Steve knew he had a point and shut up.
~!~
The girls were in bed, Stevie JR was asleep for the night and the women were all enjoying a glass of wine. "I think I want another baby." Trish mused thoughtfully.
"No you don't. It's easy to find a babysitter for one, try four."
"Yeah, but yours are all in their teens, except Toni."
"Hmmmm..."
"Motherhood suits you." Jasina smiled as she sipped her wine, having not drank since rehab, though she figured one glass wouldn't hurt.
One glass turned into sharing the whole bottle with Trish and Lashonna. They had to sleep over so while Trish and Lashonna took her bed, Jasina took the couch. She couldn't sleep though. What was she supposed to do? Risk asking Mark and get her heart broken? What if he wanted sex and nothing more? Jasina didn't even want to think about it as she turned on her side, eventually falling asleep.
Arielle answered the door the next morning, smiling when she seen her dad. "Is the weekend over?"
"No, but you forgot your school bag." He held it up, wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide the fact he was hung over. Steve and Harry were still passed out in his living room.
"Everyone's asleep, but me and Toni." She said, holding up a finger for silence, pointing to the bottle of wine, the very empty bottle, on the coffee table.
Jasina bolted upright on the couch, breathing heavily, her eyes wide and focused her vision before landing on her daughter and...Mark. Oh god. "What time is it?" She whispered, groaning as she stumbled off the couch, wearing a lavender colored nightgown. She didn't want to think about the dream that had woken her up, not to mention she heard her daughter answer the door. Jasina was a light sleeper. "Oh god my head..." She grumbled, popping two aspirin and downed them with water.
"Hard night?" He joked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Arielle decided now would be a great time to let them have a private moment, vacating back to the guest room.
Reluctantly, Mark shut the door behind him, knowing it'd be rude to just walk out. "You okay with keepin' her till Monday morning?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah, that's fine." She replied softly, cracking a smile, and wondered what would happen if she mentioned what happened between them. Damn it she had to stop being stubborn and just suck it up! That was easier said than done though as she raked a hand through her hair, feeling very awkward at the moment. "We need to talk." She finally said, staring at him through the sunglasses. "Not right now obviously, but...when would be a good time to...talk?" She asked finally, rubbing her temples with her fingers.
"Um..." Mark knew exactly what she wanted to talk about, raking a hand through his hair then smirked, deciding to toy with her a little bit since she was obviously as flustered about this as he was. "Talk about what exactly?" He asked innocently, the wickedness in his green eyes hidden by his sunglasses.
"The bedroom incident you jackass!" Lashonna shouted from the bedroom where she and Trish were listening, the door open now.
He buried his face in a hand, shaking his head.
"I'm going to KILL you both! Trish, I'm taking Little Stevie!" She called over her shoulder, hearing both women laughing their asses off and felt her cheeks flush red, wanting to hit them THEN Mark. He knew damn well what she wanted to talk about, the jackass! Lashonna had been right calling him that. "Never mind Mark." She was too humiliated right now as she poured herself a cup of coffee, shaking her head.
"If you wanted to talk about it..." Mark trailed off, frowning when he heard Trish go 'yes' and walked back into the bedroom, glaring at them. "You both need to shut the hell up."
"Or what?"
"I won't tell you how much money your men wound up losing to me."
"That's not funny Mark."
Jasina didn't follow, she was too busy cleaning her kitchen up from the mess the previous night.
"Your mom is stubborn." Toni commented, looking back at Arielle, who was also listening, rolling her eyes when Arielle said something about her father being the same way. "They just need to get together already. This is retarded."
"It's kinda complicated." Arie said, sighing when her friend arched an eyebrow and launched into the whole, messy tale.
Mark had to beat a hasty retreat when he finally did tell them exactly how much money the men had lost.
"You mean to tell me you took over three hundred dollars off Steve from a damn poker game!"
Lashonna and Trish were beating the shit out of him with pillows.
Mark almost dived into the kitchen, grabbing Jasina about the waist and used her as a shield, lifting her off the ground and laughed when the women froze. "Put 'em down."
"What the hell?" Jasina shouted, blinking, feeling her feet were no longer on the floor. "You two BADGER me repeatedly last night to talk to him and when I finally try to make a time where we can, you interfere. Get back in the room." She ordered, not amused, and smirked when Little Stevie began to holler, causing Trish to bolt along with Lashonna. "Do I even want to KNOW what you did to make them beat you with pillows?"
"I took over five hundred bucks combined from their men." He gloated, setting her back down. "They wouldn't leave me the hell alone, wound up not paying attention to their hands and couldn't figure out why the hell they were losin'." Mark snorted, shaking his head. "So...you were gettin' the million and one questions too, huh?"
"You wouldn't even believe." She grunted, shaking her head. "I regret telling Trish, I really do. She told Lashonna and then they proceeded to gang up on me along with Arie." She sighed and turned around, beginning to do the dishes, knowing she would have to wait for another time before asking Mark when they could talk about what happened. Though she could feel him right behind her, his scent lingering in the air and entering her nostrils, making her head spin slightly.
