A Girl Like You

Chapter 8

Who Would've Thought...

As the days passed, everyone seemed to grow comfortable with the fact that Abby and Mark were together. The Count even started to look Mark in the face again, but visibly cringed whenever Mark took Abby's hand or if Abby leaned against Mark's chest affectionately. Other than that, nothing really changed on the boat. They were both given a stern lecture from Quentin about how he hoped they knew what they were doing and Mark would have to keep up appearances by pretending he was still single for the listeners of his show, seeing how his general audience was women. They could do as they pleased, except in front of the fans.

Soon, Abby's birthday had arrived. Everyone bustled about the boat, decorating and making everything festive, while Felicity banned Abby from the kitchen for the day. Abby couldn't figure out why for the life of her they were making such a fuss.

"Dad, I'm only turning 23," she protested when the Count walked her to her room. "That's hardly a big deal."

"I want this to be special. I missed your last five birthdays, and I want to make up for it. Now don't leave this room until I send someone to get you. I have a surprise for you."

Abby sat in her room for hours, unable to come up with a way to cure her increasing boredom. Finally, frustrated and tired, she decided to take a nap and found it was nearly dark when she woke. She began getting dressed with the outfit the Count had surprised her with earlier when she heard a familiar knock on her door.

"Abby, are you dressed?"

"It depends on who's asking," Abby shouted back with a smirk. Mark opened the door and smiled when he saw her, only wearing bright red tights and a bra.

"Well, it looks like I arrived just in time."

"To help me get my clothes on or off?" He moved towards her and took the white dress from her hands and kissed her. When he pulled away, she pouted her bottom lip. "Am I allowed to come out of my room?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure I want to let you go just yet. You have no idea how appealing you look right now."

"Knock it off. There'll be plenty of time for that later and I hope you're up for it. You know you have to do what the birthday girl says." She pushed herself away teasingly and placed the dress over her head. "Now help me with the zipper on this thing."

They walked into the dining room together, and Abby's face gleamed when she saw her surprise. An older woman sat at the table speaking with the Count and an older man stood stiffly beside her, glancing up when Abby walked into the room.

"Mom!"

"Abby! Happy birthday, sweetheart!" Abby's mother Rita threw her arms around her daughter lovingly and Abby returned the embrace.

"This is my surprise, Dad?" Abby said as she approached Ted, her stepfather, and giving him a light hug.

"If you don't like it, I can always send them right back. No questions asked." Count teased and Abby smiled.

"And who is this?" Rita asked as she eyed the young man standing behind Abby.

"Oh, this is Mark." Abby pulled Mark forward so he was standing beside her. He shook both Rita and Ted's hand before standing nervously beside Abby. He never had to 'meet the parents' before.

"He's her boyfriend," Count remarked, offering Ted a beer. When he turned back around, he saw the surprised look on Rita's face and raised an eyebrow at Abby. "You didn't tell your mother?"

"No, as a matter of fact. Abby, how could you not tell me about something like this? You have a boyfriend, and you didn't think to let me know about it?"

"Mom, it all happened so fast, I'm still not sure exactly what's happening."

"Well, I have a few questions for you," Rita said, turning to Mark with a serious look. "What do you do for a living, young man?"

"He's a deejay; his show is on right after Dad's," Abby answered.

"Wait a minute, you're Midnight Mark?" Ted stood and stared in awe at the man before him and then turned to Abby with a smirk. "How did you manage that?" Abby shrugged as Mark placed his arm around her waist. Rita stared at the couple, as if trying to make sense of what they just told her, and then pointed an accusing finger to Mark.

"Is he the reason why you were getting in trouble in school, Abby?" Rita demanded. Abby's eyes grew wide.

"Mom, don't-"

"Every weekend, without fail, I would get a call from the dean at her college," Rita turned to the Count, not seeing Abby motioning her to keep quiet. "There would be constant complaints from the girls in her dorm. Apparently, she would keep them awake until 3 AM because she had to listen to Midnight Mark's show."

"Mom!" Abby looked up at Mark, who was grinning down at her, obviously amused. She blushed deeply and tried her best to frown. "Get that look off of your face, Mark. I liked the music you played. That's all."

"Sure she did," Rita rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Are we done here?" The Count interrupted. "I'd like to get things rolling. Everyone up the stairs, now!" The group climbed the steps that led outside. When they reached the deck, Abby was astonished at what she saw.

There were strands of lights everywhere, making it seems as if there were thousands of fireflies surrounding the boat. One long table was set in the middle, with a white balloon tied to each chair and five different coloured balloons tied to a chair at the head of the table. Abby looked at the people around her and saw all of the deejays wearing party hats with the exception of Gavin, of course, and Quentin. Each of them wished her a 'happy birthday' with a warm smile.

"Wow," Abby whispered, suddenly overcome.

"Do you like it?" Count approached her. He was startled by Abby's unexpected embrace.

"It's amazing," she looked up at him, her eyes shining. Count felt his own eyes begin to fill too. "Are you crying, Dad?"

"Hey, a man is allowed to feel, isn't he?" He hastily wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and led her to the head chair, where a little paper crown wrapped in tin foil was placed on her plate.

"Why do I get a crown?" She picked it up and studied it. It was poorly crafted, the points uneven and the little pieces of candy that served as jewels were beginning to slip away from the places where they were glued. Abby had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

"You're the Count's daughter. That practically makes you a princess," he said, placing the crown on her head. He squinted at Mark, who stood beside him. "You could've picked a better prince charming, though."

"Who says I was looking for a prince charming?" Abby winked at Mark, who gave a joking bow and sat in his seat. "The bad boys are always more fun." She laughed at the Count's sour face and sat in her own chair, her mother on her right, and her father on the left.

Felicity had cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone, the Count having specifically asked for a typical American meal. She had even made the birthday cake herself as a thank you for all the help Abby gave her while she was living on the boat. The music blared through the speakers, and there was even a makeshift dance floor in the center of the boat. Everyone was having a great time.

"By the way, Abby, George misses you," Ted mentioned when they were having their dessert.

"Does he?" Abby looked up from her piece of cake and smiled. Mark took notice, and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. George?

"Oh, yes," Rita continued for him. "Every night he would stand in the doorway of your room waiting for you. Ted and I just started letting him sleep in your bed because he would start crying when we would close the door."

"I miss him too," Mark noticed Abby's eyes begin to water. "Make sure you give him a hug for me when you get back home."

"How old is your brother?" Mark asked when Rita and Ted went to dance. The Count was on the other end of the table playing cards with Simon and Dave.

"What brother? I don't have a brother," Abby said, dumbfounded. "I thought I told you that."

"Then who the hell is 'George'?"

"George? He's my..." Abby faltered when she saw Mark's face and the suspicion in his eyes. She grinned slightly. "Are you jealous, Mark?"

"If your mother is talking about someone who isn't your brother sleeping in your bed, I'm assuming you had some sort of relationship with him. Now tell me about him."

"Well, George is big; kind of bulky, with long blonde hair and deep brown eyes. He looks the complete opposite of you actually," Abby said dreamily.

"How long have you known him?" Abby noticed Mark's upper lip twitch, and smiled even wider.

"Since I was fourteen. We used to do everything together; we would go to the beach, to the park...of course we would have to walk because I didn't have a car. I feel kind of bad that I forgot about him when I came here. I really do miss him," Abby said sincerely.

"Well, what the fuck are you doing with me, then, if you miss him so much?" Mark's temper and his voice became louder than he meant it to be but to his surprise, Abby began laughing. In fact, she started laughing so hard that everyone turned their heads to see what was going on. She waved her hand in front of her face and they looked away slowly. "What is so damn hilarious to you?"

"Oh my god, I can't! This is too much. Mark, you don't have to be jealous of George!" Abby spoke between gasps and wiped the tears from her eyes after a loud sigh.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because he's a golden retriever. You're jealous of my dog!"Abby began giggling again and Mark sat in shock.

"A dog? You got me all fired up because of a dog?"

"Sorry," she said as her laughter died down. She got up to stand in front of him, tilting her head as she expressed her apology and setting a hand on his shoulder gently. "I didn't mean to make you this angry. It's just...well, how many girls can say that Midnight Mark got jealous over them?" She smiled as Mark visibly began to relax.

"Last I checked, none. I don't know what it is about you, but you've had a hold on me since the minute we met," he confessed. He suddenly smiled a roguish smile and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her onto his lap. She let out a surprised shriek at his sudden action and he nestled is face into the curve of her shoulder. "I've told you I love you, right?"

"Only about an hour ago," Abby teased. Her eyes grew soft and full of tenderness as she stroked his hair. "Who would've thought that with all the guys in the world, I would fall in love with a womanizing, sex-crazed, gorgeous man like you?"

"And who would've thought that out of all the girls I could have my pick from, I would fall in love with a stubborn, free-spirited, amazing girl like you?"

"I did!" Felicity shouted from the dance floor.

"Thank you, Felicity!" Abby shouted back. She looked back at Mark and rolled her eyes. "I just wish she would've told me sooner, so we wouldn't have wasted so much time fighting."

"Oh no, love." Mark smiled as he took Abby's hand in his own. "Getting here was half the fun."

AN: Much thanks to everyone who read, reviewed and enjoyed!