Jason and You Makes Two

A/N: This is just an idea that hit me last night and thought why not give it a shot. Let me know if you'd like to see more of this one. Short chapters but that makes for easy updates. Off to work on Flaming. See you guys next time.

PS. Overlook any boo boos please. Didn't edit this one and don't plan to bother w/ a proofer. This is for fun so I didn't stress. Shouldn't be too bad, though.

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Chapter 1

“Welcome to McDoogle’s. Can I take your order?” Mark asked as he smiled good naturedly at a middle aged woman surrounded by a gaggle of overexcited kids screaming for kid’s meals. Sometimes he still had trouble believing he’d ended up working in a place like this for five years. When he’d left his hometown after graduation, he’d been full of piss and vinegar, sure he’d conquer the world in a single bound. Now he was stuck working register in the local Kid Mecca, a college dropout mid-freshman year with very few prospects for the future.

After taking the woman’s money and going to fetch her order, Mark turned to his shift supervisor and called out, “Break?” Chandra nodded her head that it was okay, so Mark pulled off his apron on his way through the back and dropped it on the back of one of the break table chairs as he headed for the back exit. There were several restaurants in the area and a Super America convenient store and Mark had every intention of finding something to eat in one of those places. He was sick of greasy, over salted fries and pre-pressed, paper thin meat patties. There was only so much of that stuff a person could stomach before losing the taste for it.

Tonight he had plans for one of those lunch packs that Star-Kist Tuna put out with the little crackers and single serving packs of mayo and relish. It wasn’t much, but Mark couldn’t afford much on his budget and he’d forgotten to fix lunch before he’d left his apartment. It only took a few minutes to get to his destination and a couple more to find what he needed and head for the checkout line. Mark tossed one of several cautious glances around the parking lot before setting his lunch down for the cashier to scan. The fact of the matter was, he wasn’t supposed to be here.

His boyfriend, Jason, was a bit ‘overprotective’ at times and insisted that Mark not leave work to run around during his breaks. If he found out that Mark was doing that tonight he’d be really mad and Mark wasn’t in the mood to play the twenty questions game. Mark hadn’t seen any hints that Jason might be around, though, and could only assume that his man was at home working on something for his online business. Mark tossed out the cash for his purchase and glanced at the clock near the door. He’d already burned a good ten minutes of his break with his little shopping trip so he gave the cashier a bright, reassuring smile – after all, he knew all too well what it was like to be trapped behind a counter and forced to be friendly to rude, grumpy customers - and grabbed his lunch before rushing out the door on his way back to McDoogle’s.

Unfortunately he wasn’t paying attention and slammed some poor guy in the face with the door on his way out. Immediately he felt like a complete a-hole and dropped his lunch in a panic as he reached for the guy’s arm to steady him. “Oh man! I’m so sorry about that! Here, let me make sure I didn’t mess up anything,” Mark gushed as he tried to pull the guy’s hand away from the spot he seemed to be nursing on his forehead.

“It’s okay,” the man replied, dropping his hand and giving Mark a dazzling smile. Mark’s heart sped up to an alarming rate as their eyes met and he couldn’t help but wonder what that was all about. Mark already had a boyfriend and was committed. Still, the guy was gorgeous and it was only normal for a gay guy to react this way when he ran into a hunk like this. He was about the same height as Mark’s 5’ 10”, only a little bit taller, but he was built like a brick shithouse and completely drool-worthy with his piercing blue eyes and neatly cut, sandy-brown hair. The golden highlights racing through it seemed to set off his tan perfectly and Mark could tell by the way his eyes crinkled at the corners that the other man probably spent a lot of time outdoors.

Suddenly, Mark realized that he was staring and immediately jerked his hand away from the guy’s wrist with a blush. “I really am sorry,” he repeated as he looked around nervously and then dipped down to retrieve the tuna pack he’d dropped earlier.

“And I’ve already said it was okay,” mystery man said with an amused, breathless chuckle as he reached out a hand toward Mark for a shake once he was upright again. “You really know how to make a first impression. My name’s Simon. What’s yours?”

Mark took the offered hand with a bashful smile and glanced down at his feet for a split-second to gather his composure before looking back up and replying, “Mark. My name’s Mark.”

There was an awkward moment after that as both men looked each other over carefully and chemistry seemed to leap back and forth between them. After a few seconds, a car horn sounded nearby and broke the spell. Mark immediately scanned the area for any unwanted surprises before looking back at Simon and stammering, “Look, I have to go. I’m here on my lunch break and have to get back. If you have any problems with your head . . . You know, like if you think you need to see a doctor or something, I work over at McDoogle’s and I’ll be glad to pay for any medical bills.”

A sandy-brown eyebrow raised in surprise at Mark’s offer but, before Simon could react, Mark turned and took off across the parking lot at a quick trot with one last glance over his shoulder at the friendly stranger he’d accosted. Simon was just walking into the store with a confused look on his handsome face and a smile on his lips, shaking his head in disbelief. That’s when Mark hit a brick wall. Well, more like a human wall named Jason, and Mark could only pray his boyfriend hadn’t seen him talking to another guy. It was bad enough that he’d been caught wandering around during break.

“What are you doing out here?” Jason asked with an angry gleam in his eyes as he grabbed Mark’s arm to steady him and took the tuna lunch pack from his hand. “How many times do I have to tell you that it’s not safe for you to go out by yourself?”

“I’m sorry, Jason,” Mark replied with a sigh and one final glance over his shoulder to see if Simon was seeing any of this. He really hoped not. Sure, he didn’t know the guy from Adam, but Mark thought he was really nice and knew they could’ve been friends if things were different. Mark didn’t want him to see the possessive way that Jason was grabbing hold of his arm as he led Mark quickly across the parking lot toward his workplace. “I just wanted something different to eat and forgot to pack my lunch. After this afternoon, I was a little distracted and . . .”

“I already apologized for that!” Jason snapped with a stormy look in Mark’s direction.

Mark just sighed and nodded his head as they approached McDoogle’s front door. “I know you didn’t mean to go there, Jason, but that doesn’t erase the fact that it hurt my feelings. You know I hate it when you call me things like that. Just because I’m not in the mood doesn’t mean that I’m putting out for somebody else. You’ve always been like this and I’ve never cheated on you. Not once. It’s not fair to me when you accuse me of something like that and I’m getting tired of it. I’m also getting tired of you popping up while I’m at work. My supervisor’s already asking me questions and threatening to write me up again if you don’t stop hanging out in the lobby so much during business hours.”

“I’ve already told you that you should quit that dead-end job anyway,” Jason shot back with a disapproving frown. “Just because you didn’t finish college doesn’t mean you can’t find something that pays better. Besides, I make enough money from my e-business now to support you without your working at all.”

“It’s not a dead-end job,” Mark grumbled, exasperation coloring his voice as they arrived at the front door and he placed his hand on the handle. “You know that I’m up for a raise soon. They’re even talking about making me an assistant manager in a few months if I play by the rules and clean up my act a little. That means no more pointless visits from my lover during working hours. Now, I have to get back inside to eat before my break’s over, so please just go back home and I’ll see you later.”

Jason didn’t look too happy about being dismissed that way but Mark really didn’t have a choice. For the past several months he hadn’t been real happy with the direction their relationship was heading and there was no way that he was going to give in to Jason’s demands that he quit his job and be completely dependent on the man. Sure, Jason had always brought up the fact that, by quitting, Mark would have more time to look for something better, but Mark knew that was just an excuse to get him to quit. Once he did, Jason would find ways to sabotage any efforts that Mark made to find work and Mark would end up a middle aged househusband with no income and no way out if things went downhill.

After studying Mark for a few seconds, Jason shrugged and replied, “Fine. I can’t force you. I’ll see you at home, babe. Love you.” Then he glanced around to see if anyone was watching and dropped a quick kiss on Mark’s cheek before walking away.

Mark watched Jason’s broad back for a second as he walked away and then turned to go back inside with a sigh of relief. Sometimes when Jason got into a mood he could be a real pain in the you know where, but that wasn’t the case this evening. Of course, he was probably walking softly after the argument they’d had earlier in the afternoon. Mark loved Jason. He really did, but his heavy handed ways and baseless accusations were really beginning to wear thin. That and he absolutely hated it when Jason cursed at him and called him a slut. Still, he held out hope that things would work out in the long run. If Jason could only learn to lighten up a little . . .

Just as Mark approached the break table to sit down, he realized that he no longer had his lunch. Jason had forgotten to give it back to him before he left. With a sigh, Mark reached over to the basket sitting in the middle of the break table and grabbed three packages of salad crackers and quickly opened them up. It wasn’t much, but it’d have to do until his ten minute break in a few hours. Once they were gone, Mark gathered the crumbs up into a pile and swept them into his hand before walking over to toss them in the trashcan nearby. Then he retrieved his apron, tying it around his narrow waist as he headed back up front to return to his register.

The first thing he saw was a teenager standing there with what Mark assumed was his date. The snooty looking girl wrinkled her nose as she eyed the menu with disdain and then leveled a hateful glare on Mark when she noticed his approach. ‘It’s going to be a long night,’ he thought to himself as he put on his friendliest smile and chirped, “Welcome to McDoogle’s. Can I take your order?”


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