Jason and You Makes Two
folder
Original - Misc › -Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
24
Views:
24,816
Reviews:
203
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Original - Misc › -Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
24
Views:
24,816
Reviews:
203
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Pesterme2 holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Chapter 10
A/N: Hey everybody. Just wanted to let everyone know that there will be an update on Aurora's Consort tomorrow. Was gonna post today but have to go collect the kiddies. lol Anywho... Hope everyone enjoys and big thanx to Khayman, Dannigurl, Nicky, Lisa, Nekoii-Desu, Aduial, and Aliases. Really appreciate it guys! *hugs reviewers and hands out free Simon clones* yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm................ *drools*
Big huggles to Lisa for proofing. *glomps Lisa w/out mercy*
*~*~*~*
Chapter 10
“How’s the job hunt going?” Chandra asked as she strolled into the living room and collapsed on the couch beside Mark. When he’d first shown up on Chandra’s doorstep nearly five weeks ago, she’d been happy to take him in, even though he’d arrived with little more than the clothes on his back and a couple of work uniforms. That first night had been a combination of Mark ranting and crying and Chandra cursing Jason to heck and back. By day two things had settled a little but they’d started running into other ‘issues’, like Chandra walking in on Mark naked in the shower and Chandra forgetting to close her bedroom door and Mark coming in unannounced to find her in her bra and panties. Talk about embarrassing.
After that, they’d set down a few rules, like no opening a shut door without knocking, no walking around in the main part of the apartment without the important stuff covered up, no leaving dishes on the table or laundry anywhere except the hampers in their rooms. They’d also split up household chores and had worked out a schedule where one of them cooked lunch every other day since they both worked second shift. Dinner and breakfast was a ‘grab what you can find’ kind of thing, but they usually sat down and had lunch together.
Mark liked it. He missed Jason pretty bad, but being away from the stress that living with Jason had entailed was like a breath of fresh air once Mark had adjusted to the idea of being alone again. His body was another thing, though. He still rolled over in the middle of the night searching for his lover and his body ached for another’s touch. The nights when Chandra’s boyfriend, Kevin, stayed over were the worst. Mark would lie awake, listening to them having sex and his cock would be throbbing for attention. Once, Mark had even gone so far as to jerk off to the sound of them going at it. The next day he’d been too embarrassed to look Chandra in the face, so he hadn’t done that again.
Either way, they’d managed to get used to each other during the past few weeks. Chandra’s boyfriend liked Mark and didn’t seem to mind their new living arrangements – something that Mark had found unbelievable considering the way Jason would have reacted to a similar scenario. Kevin had even made the suggestion that he move in too, to further cut costs. Chandra was still thinking about that one. After all, moving in your gay guy friend was WAY different than moving in your boyfriend. Not that she’d had lots of free time to ponder it anyway. She’d been training the new assistant manager, Katrina, for the past week on top of her other duties. Because of that, neither Chandra nor Mark had seen Kevin in a few days. The main manager at McDoogle’s, Charles, was having Chandra come in two hours early everyday so that she could show Katrina all of the beginning of the shift stuff and do training videos and testing. Needless to say, Chandra was exhausted.
As if reading his thoughts, Chandra let loose a huge yawn, bumping the side of Mark’s head with her outstretched hand. Then she grinned at him and said, “Sorry about that.” Mark just shrugged. It wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose. “I’ll take the silence to mean that things aren’t going too well.”
“Not great,” was Mark’s unenthusiastic reply. Reluctantly, Mark set the newspaper down on the coffee table with a dismissive wave and a frown at the help wanted section. “Seems like I’m under qualified for everything, and the few things I AM qualified for have work schedules that don’t mesh with mine. I’m beginning to think it’s hopeless.”
Chandra patted Mark on the hand in a reassuring gesture before leaning forward to scan down the columns of available jobs. After a minute, she sat back with a sigh and shrugged. “Not much there, huh? Same things as last week. Ever think of going to classes to become a nursing assistant? There’s a million openings for that job in here.”
Mark just shrugged without comment. She knew as well as he did that Mark couldn’t afford to do that. He was still struggling to come up with the money to pay for his car insurance when it came due in three weeks. If he couldn’t, he’d have no choice but to park his car, let his insurance drop, and turn in his tags to the DMV. If that happened, he’d be bumming rides to work and it would be even harder to find a second job, much less get to two jobs on a semi-daily basis.
Add to that, Charles did the daily scheduling for all the shifts at McDoogle’s and had been cutting down Mark’s hours since the incidents involving Jason. The only reason Mark hadn’t lost his job completely was because of his good track record before that. While Jason had stuck to their agreement and hadn’t come around again, Charles still hadn’t seen fit to put Mark back on full time. Mark kind of understood, though. They couldn’t have a gay couple - or any couple for that matter - making scenes and driving away customers. It was bad for business. End of story. He could only hope that all of that didn’t affect his chances for a new job. What if his current boss gave him a bad reference? His best bet was to give them Chandra’s name specifically and hope they called while she was on shift, which is exactly what he’d done on his resume.
When Chandra realized that Mark wasn’t going to answer again, she got up from the couch and wandered further back into the apartment on her way to her room. She’d already gotten used to Mark’s reserved attitude when he was worried about something and tended not to push too hard unless it was something major, like her concerns about Jason. Mark turned his attention back to the job listings while she shuffled through her closet, the wire hangers screeching erratically across the metal pole.
Truck driver. Truck driver. Insurance salesman. Cashier for second shift. Erotic dancer. Third shift security guard. Mark reached the end of the listing with much the same results. Then his eyes strayed lower to the ‘For Rent’ section and something out of place caught his eye. Entry level office assistant…Mark’s finger fast-forwarded to that one, the words ‘flexible schedule’ catching his eye. The paper had messed up and put it in the wrong section. It’d been known to happen. In this instance, it might work in Mark’s favor by cutting down the number of applicants that he’d have to go up against. Excited, Mark read through the ad again.
“Local office seeks secretary’s assistant. Experience proffered but not required. Responsibilities include odd jobs, some data entry, filing, & occasional handling of invoices. Flexible day schedule. Part time w/ potential for full time employment & benefits. Pay negotiable, depending on experience. Please apply in person at: Wyatt’s Construction, 3548 Rose Street , Denver, CO 80257. Office hours: 8am-6pm. No calls please.”
Immediately Simon came to mind. Of course, Mark knew that there were quite a few construction companies in town and that Simon’s last name wasn’t Wyatt. A flutter of excitement in his chest, Mark uncapped his red marker and circled the ad. Then he jumped up from the couch and went to his room to search for something to wear. He had the night off yet again and there was still close to four hours before Wyatt Construction closed for the day. The job sounded like something he could do and he wanted to get there as soon as possible.
While he put on his nicest slacks and button-down shirt, Mark’s mind began to drift back to Simon. Although he’d thought of him quite often, Mark hadn’t seen the handsome man since the day before he’d broken up with Jason. He had to admit that he’d been a little disappointed about that. It was strange. Simon had given Mark the impression that he really liked talking to him. Add to that, he and Simon had gotten along really well and were both gay, so Mark had looked forward to seeing him again now that he didn’t have to worry about Jason popping up out of nowhere. Not that he was willing to date or anything like that – he’d made a promise to Jason, after all, and had every intention of keeping it - but it would have been nice to have a friend to talk to and hang out with to distract himself from his problems.
Then Simon had just…disappeared from Mark’s life as quickly as he’d arrived. There was always a chance that Simon had been busy or had backed off so that Mark wouldn’t feel as pressured. Mark hadn’t quite managed to save up the money he owed Simon and if Simon wanted to go somewhere that required money, like a club or out to eat, it would get awkward really fast. Allowing Simon to dish out for his share would make it a date. Then again, Mark knew he was being presumptuous thinking that Simon was interested in dating at all. He was probably just a nice guy who’d finally come to the conclusion that Mark was a flake who was going to stiff him for the bill.
That was a depressing idea for some reason. On the other hand, just the thought of the words ‘Simon’ and ‘date’ in the same sentence sent Mark’s stomach into summersaults. Mark brutally pushed the images that line of thinking conjured aside as he went over to the small, plastic table set up near his twin-sized mattress on the floor (two necessities he’d splurged on at the local Goodwill) and grabbed one of the resumes he and Chandra had printed off the other day. Then he slipped it into a ratty pocket folder to protect it and went off in search of his keys.
“Chandra!” he called out as he stuffed them in his pocket and went to the bathroom to make sure his hair was still properly held back in a ponytail and that his cheeks were still smooth and stubble-free. “I’m going to go put in an application. I’ll be back in a little while.”
Within seconds, Chandra appeared in the doorway with a smile on her face, her dark eyes glittering with excitement. “Really? Where?”
With a chuckle at her enthusiasm, Mark sprayed a little hairspray over his hair and ran his hands over it to smooth down the flyaways. “It’s an office job, as a secretary’s assistant. I’ve never worked in one before, but they’re offering a flexible schedule so I might as well check it out. I circled it in red so you can look at the details later.”
“Good luck!” Chandra gushed, pulling Mark into a quick hug. “I hope it works out for you. I can’t wait to tell Kevin,” she added before wandering back in the direction of her room.
“Thanks,” Mark called to her back. By her single-minded determination, Mark assumed that she must be on her way to call her boyfriend right that second. Mark barely held back a roll of his eyes. He must seem pretty desperate to warrant that kind of reaction. It wasn’t like he even had an interview yet, much less a job. Still, she’d have called Kevin either way. She usually spent time on the phone with him before she went to work and her shift started in thirty minutes. She was already dressed in her uniform.
Just as Mark stepped out the front door, he heard her yell down the hallway, “Oh! Mark! Don’t forget to pick up your clothes when you get back! How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want to look at your dirty underwear in the bathroom floor?”
With a lop-sided grin and one last shake of his head, Mark shut the door behind him and headed for the car. As hard as he tried, he still had trouble remembering to pick up his clothes. Jason had always followed behind him like a mother hen and picked them up for Mark if he forgot. It was the same with the dishes and turning off lights. Jason had never complained, though. It was just one more adjustment Mark needed to make in his new life. The biggest one was being alone. Mark was determined to change that soon by going out and finding some new friends or maybe looking up some of the old ones he’d drifted away from during his time with Jason. The people at work were a no-go for the most part. They’d become even more distant to Mark after Jason had started stalking him at work after the break up.
Allowing himself to wallow in a bout of self pity for a moment, Mark set his resume carefully in the passenger’s side seat and sank back into his own with a sigh. Then he shook off his melancholy, patted himself on the cheeks to get his blood flowing, and leaned forward to slip his key into the ignition. With an ounce of luck, he’d at least land an interview with Wyatt’s Construction. Maybe even a job. If that happened, at least his financial problems would be easier to handle. Once he was on more stable ground financially, he could worry about all the other stuff. A little loneliness never killed anyone and he still had Chandra and Kevin to talk to for now. It would have to be enough.
*~*~*~*~*
Anyone who'd like to be added to the update list just let me know at jlori10@yahoo.com.
*~*~*~*~*
Please don't forget to review. You know, for inspiration and all that... I really hope to hear from you soon. *bounces excitedly* See you guys next time! *hugs*
Big huggles to Lisa for proofing. *glomps Lisa w/out mercy*
*~*~*~*
Chapter 10
“How’s the job hunt going?” Chandra asked as she strolled into the living room and collapsed on the couch beside Mark. When he’d first shown up on Chandra’s doorstep nearly five weeks ago, she’d been happy to take him in, even though he’d arrived with little more than the clothes on his back and a couple of work uniforms. That first night had been a combination of Mark ranting and crying and Chandra cursing Jason to heck and back. By day two things had settled a little but they’d started running into other ‘issues’, like Chandra walking in on Mark naked in the shower and Chandra forgetting to close her bedroom door and Mark coming in unannounced to find her in her bra and panties. Talk about embarrassing.
After that, they’d set down a few rules, like no opening a shut door without knocking, no walking around in the main part of the apartment without the important stuff covered up, no leaving dishes on the table or laundry anywhere except the hampers in their rooms. They’d also split up household chores and had worked out a schedule where one of them cooked lunch every other day since they both worked second shift. Dinner and breakfast was a ‘grab what you can find’ kind of thing, but they usually sat down and had lunch together.
Mark liked it. He missed Jason pretty bad, but being away from the stress that living with Jason had entailed was like a breath of fresh air once Mark had adjusted to the idea of being alone again. His body was another thing, though. He still rolled over in the middle of the night searching for his lover and his body ached for another’s touch. The nights when Chandra’s boyfriend, Kevin, stayed over were the worst. Mark would lie awake, listening to them having sex and his cock would be throbbing for attention. Once, Mark had even gone so far as to jerk off to the sound of them going at it. The next day he’d been too embarrassed to look Chandra in the face, so he hadn’t done that again.
Either way, they’d managed to get used to each other during the past few weeks. Chandra’s boyfriend liked Mark and didn’t seem to mind their new living arrangements – something that Mark had found unbelievable considering the way Jason would have reacted to a similar scenario. Kevin had even made the suggestion that he move in too, to further cut costs. Chandra was still thinking about that one. After all, moving in your gay guy friend was WAY different than moving in your boyfriend. Not that she’d had lots of free time to ponder it anyway. She’d been training the new assistant manager, Katrina, for the past week on top of her other duties. Because of that, neither Chandra nor Mark had seen Kevin in a few days. The main manager at McDoogle’s, Charles, was having Chandra come in two hours early everyday so that she could show Katrina all of the beginning of the shift stuff and do training videos and testing. Needless to say, Chandra was exhausted.
As if reading his thoughts, Chandra let loose a huge yawn, bumping the side of Mark’s head with her outstretched hand. Then she grinned at him and said, “Sorry about that.” Mark just shrugged. It wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose. “I’ll take the silence to mean that things aren’t going too well.”
“Not great,” was Mark’s unenthusiastic reply. Reluctantly, Mark set the newspaper down on the coffee table with a dismissive wave and a frown at the help wanted section. “Seems like I’m under qualified for everything, and the few things I AM qualified for have work schedules that don’t mesh with mine. I’m beginning to think it’s hopeless.”
Chandra patted Mark on the hand in a reassuring gesture before leaning forward to scan down the columns of available jobs. After a minute, she sat back with a sigh and shrugged. “Not much there, huh? Same things as last week. Ever think of going to classes to become a nursing assistant? There’s a million openings for that job in here.”
Mark just shrugged without comment. She knew as well as he did that Mark couldn’t afford to do that. He was still struggling to come up with the money to pay for his car insurance when it came due in three weeks. If he couldn’t, he’d have no choice but to park his car, let his insurance drop, and turn in his tags to the DMV. If that happened, he’d be bumming rides to work and it would be even harder to find a second job, much less get to two jobs on a semi-daily basis.
Add to that, Charles did the daily scheduling for all the shifts at McDoogle’s and had been cutting down Mark’s hours since the incidents involving Jason. The only reason Mark hadn’t lost his job completely was because of his good track record before that. While Jason had stuck to their agreement and hadn’t come around again, Charles still hadn’t seen fit to put Mark back on full time. Mark kind of understood, though. They couldn’t have a gay couple - or any couple for that matter - making scenes and driving away customers. It was bad for business. End of story. He could only hope that all of that didn’t affect his chances for a new job. What if his current boss gave him a bad reference? His best bet was to give them Chandra’s name specifically and hope they called while she was on shift, which is exactly what he’d done on his resume.
When Chandra realized that Mark wasn’t going to answer again, she got up from the couch and wandered further back into the apartment on her way to her room. She’d already gotten used to Mark’s reserved attitude when he was worried about something and tended not to push too hard unless it was something major, like her concerns about Jason. Mark turned his attention back to the job listings while she shuffled through her closet, the wire hangers screeching erratically across the metal pole.
Truck driver. Truck driver. Insurance salesman. Cashier for second shift. Erotic dancer. Third shift security guard. Mark reached the end of the listing with much the same results. Then his eyes strayed lower to the ‘For Rent’ section and something out of place caught his eye. Entry level office assistant…Mark’s finger fast-forwarded to that one, the words ‘flexible schedule’ catching his eye. The paper had messed up and put it in the wrong section. It’d been known to happen. In this instance, it might work in Mark’s favor by cutting down the number of applicants that he’d have to go up against. Excited, Mark read through the ad again.
“Local office seeks secretary’s assistant. Experience proffered but not required. Responsibilities include odd jobs, some data entry, filing, & occasional handling of invoices. Flexible day schedule. Part time w/ potential for full time employment & benefits. Pay negotiable, depending on experience. Please apply in person at: Wyatt’s Construction, 3548 Rose Street , Denver, CO 80257. Office hours: 8am-6pm. No calls please.”
Immediately Simon came to mind. Of course, Mark knew that there were quite a few construction companies in town and that Simon’s last name wasn’t Wyatt. A flutter of excitement in his chest, Mark uncapped his red marker and circled the ad. Then he jumped up from the couch and went to his room to search for something to wear. He had the night off yet again and there was still close to four hours before Wyatt Construction closed for the day. The job sounded like something he could do and he wanted to get there as soon as possible.
While he put on his nicest slacks and button-down shirt, Mark’s mind began to drift back to Simon. Although he’d thought of him quite often, Mark hadn’t seen the handsome man since the day before he’d broken up with Jason. He had to admit that he’d been a little disappointed about that. It was strange. Simon had given Mark the impression that he really liked talking to him. Add to that, he and Simon had gotten along really well and were both gay, so Mark had looked forward to seeing him again now that he didn’t have to worry about Jason popping up out of nowhere. Not that he was willing to date or anything like that – he’d made a promise to Jason, after all, and had every intention of keeping it - but it would have been nice to have a friend to talk to and hang out with to distract himself from his problems.
Then Simon had just…disappeared from Mark’s life as quickly as he’d arrived. There was always a chance that Simon had been busy or had backed off so that Mark wouldn’t feel as pressured. Mark hadn’t quite managed to save up the money he owed Simon and if Simon wanted to go somewhere that required money, like a club or out to eat, it would get awkward really fast. Allowing Simon to dish out for his share would make it a date. Then again, Mark knew he was being presumptuous thinking that Simon was interested in dating at all. He was probably just a nice guy who’d finally come to the conclusion that Mark was a flake who was going to stiff him for the bill.
That was a depressing idea for some reason. On the other hand, just the thought of the words ‘Simon’ and ‘date’ in the same sentence sent Mark’s stomach into summersaults. Mark brutally pushed the images that line of thinking conjured aside as he went over to the small, plastic table set up near his twin-sized mattress on the floor (two necessities he’d splurged on at the local Goodwill) and grabbed one of the resumes he and Chandra had printed off the other day. Then he slipped it into a ratty pocket folder to protect it and went off in search of his keys.
“Chandra!” he called out as he stuffed them in his pocket and went to the bathroom to make sure his hair was still properly held back in a ponytail and that his cheeks were still smooth and stubble-free. “I’m going to go put in an application. I’ll be back in a little while.”
Within seconds, Chandra appeared in the doorway with a smile on her face, her dark eyes glittering with excitement. “Really? Where?”
With a chuckle at her enthusiasm, Mark sprayed a little hairspray over his hair and ran his hands over it to smooth down the flyaways. “It’s an office job, as a secretary’s assistant. I’ve never worked in one before, but they’re offering a flexible schedule so I might as well check it out. I circled it in red so you can look at the details later.”
“Good luck!” Chandra gushed, pulling Mark into a quick hug. “I hope it works out for you. I can’t wait to tell Kevin,” she added before wandering back in the direction of her room.
“Thanks,” Mark called to her back. By her single-minded determination, Mark assumed that she must be on her way to call her boyfriend right that second. Mark barely held back a roll of his eyes. He must seem pretty desperate to warrant that kind of reaction. It wasn’t like he even had an interview yet, much less a job. Still, she’d have called Kevin either way. She usually spent time on the phone with him before she went to work and her shift started in thirty minutes. She was already dressed in her uniform.
Just as Mark stepped out the front door, he heard her yell down the hallway, “Oh! Mark! Don’t forget to pick up your clothes when you get back! How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want to look at your dirty underwear in the bathroom floor?”
With a lop-sided grin and one last shake of his head, Mark shut the door behind him and headed for the car. As hard as he tried, he still had trouble remembering to pick up his clothes. Jason had always followed behind him like a mother hen and picked them up for Mark if he forgot. It was the same with the dishes and turning off lights. Jason had never complained, though. It was just one more adjustment Mark needed to make in his new life. The biggest one was being alone. Mark was determined to change that soon by going out and finding some new friends or maybe looking up some of the old ones he’d drifted away from during his time with Jason. The people at work were a no-go for the most part. They’d become even more distant to Mark after Jason had started stalking him at work after the break up.
Allowing himself to wallow in a bout of self pity for a moment, Mark set his resume carefully in the passenger’s side seat and sank back into his own with a sigh. Then he shook off his melancholy, patted himself on the cheeks to get his blood flowing, and leaned forward to slip his key into the ignition. With an ounce of luck, he’d at least land an interview with Wyatt’s Construction. Maybe even a job. If that happened, at least his financial problems would be easier to handle. Once he was on more stable ground financially, he could worry about all the other stuff. A little loneliness never killed anyone and he still had Chandra and Kevin to talk to for now. It would have to be enough.
*~*~*~*~*
Anyone who'd like to be added to the update list just let me know at jlori10@yahoo.com.
*~*~*~*~*
Please don't forget to review. You know, for inspiration and all that... I really hope to hear from you soon. *bounces excitedly* See you guys next time! *hugs*