Jason and You Makes Two

A/N: Hey there! A day late and all that but had a busy weekend. Father's Day and all... a b-day party... etc etc etc. Anywho, here's the new chapter and hope you enjoy it. This is the last one I had saved back so I'll have to get busy huh? lol Big thanx to Aduial, Nekoii-Desu, Khayman, Lisa, and Nodoz for reviewing. The review count just keeps dropping on this story. *shrugs* Lack of interest? I really don't know. Anywhooo....

Shout-out to Lisa for proofing this one. I made a few changes during the last reading so there might be some mistakes. Sowry if that's the case! *grins* (I suck at proofing my own work!)

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Chapter 11

Mark stepped out the door of the Wyatt Construction's downtown office in a daze. All he had to do was pass a drug test and he was in. It still hadn't quite sunk in that he'd finally done it. Not only had he found a part time job that fit with his McDoogle's schedule, but he'd found one that actually paid more than his original job did. Nathan - that's what his new boss had ordered Mark to call him - had asked Mark what he thought would be fair starting pay for the job since Mark had no prior experience. Mark had quickly thrown out an amount that was two dollars more than the $8.00 per hour he made now, figuring that he should aim high and then allow Nathan to negotiate the number lower. Nathan had laughed at him. Not in a malicious way, but in a delighted, surprised kind of way.

Then the sandy-blonde had pinned Mark with his sharp, light-blue eyes and winked. "I'm making out like a bandit on this one. That is if the nice lady I talked to at McDoogle's isn't filling me full of shit," he'd said flippantly before sliding the typical new hire forms in Mark's direction. The fact that he had them there and ready made Mark wonder if he'd just hired the first person through the door. Either way, Mark wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "I'm taking you at your word that you'll pass the drug screening, so just fill these out and leave them with my secretary outside. The test should be back by morning and I'll expect you to be here the day after. All you need to do is give us a call tomorrow afternoon to verify. I'll need you for at least four hours your first day, so make sure you show up in plenty of time to get the job done."

It had been that easy. None of the usual 'What do you think that you have to offer our company?' nonsense or the frustrating 'We'll review the applicants and get back to you in a few days' speech. Nathan had simply scanned down Mark's resume and had seen his one semester of college. Then he'd made the comment, "Well, it's obvious you can read, write, add, and subtract. Can you type?" After that, he'd called Mark's one reference on the spot and had then gone down the list of job duties. There was a little more to it than the ad in the paper had suggested, though. Wyatt's Construction had recently landed three large contracts and Nathan's secretary was having trouble keeping up. Mark's job would be to pick up the slack so that Nancy wouldn't be overwhelmed.

There was some data entry and filing, like the ad had said, but Mark's main responsibility seemed to be traveling to the main work sites and picking up the documentation that Nancy needed to do her work thoroughly and whatever Nathan needed. Most of it could be faxed over, but certain things couldn't and up until now, Nancy had been spending about two hours per day making the rounds to gather those things. Now that was Mark's job. Or at least in two days it would be.

Nathan also wanted him to spend time with Nancy to learn all of the ins and outs of her job so that when or if they needed Mark to take on more hours that he'd be ready to roll. Mark looked forward to it and hoped that, eventually, it could turn into a fulltime gig. Nancy was a sweet mother of three in her early thirties. The brunette had sparkly, chocolate brown eyes and she was soft spoken and very considerate. Despite her rushed schedule, she'd taken time to congratulate and welcome Mark and had then double checked his new hire forms for accuracy before he'd left.

With one last, dazed look back at the glass walls of his new work place, Mark let a huge grin spread across his face. His reflection grinned back at him and a little giggle escaped. It felt good. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed. With a new bounce in his step, Mark took off to the lab for testing. He couldn't wait until Chandra got home so that he could give her the news. For half-a-heartbeat the urge to call Jason washed over him, but Mark pushed it aside.

He'd talked to Jason's mom several times in the three weeks since he and Jason had last spoken and Jane seemed to think that Jason was making some progress. Although she claimed that Jason had come a long way, Mark didn't want to take any chances by calling him before the agreed upon time. Mark wasn't sure which would hurt more, hearing Jason beg him to come back again or realizing that Jason was over their break up when he DIDN'T beg Mark to come home. It was a lose-lose situation.

Not wanting to ruin his good mood by obsessing over Jason, Mark forced himself to focus on his newest stroke of luck as he slipped into his yellow Chevette and started the engine. As he took off down the street, he tuned the radio to some decent music, tapping his thumb against the steering wheel along with the rhythm. The lab was located near the complex of doctors' offices less than a mile away and he was there in no time. Just as he pulled into a spot, it hit him that he ought to look up Simon to let him know that it wouldn't be much longer before he paid up. The guy probably thought that Mark was the biggest liar on earth by now.

The only question was how to do that. Simon hadn't shown up at McDoogle's for a long time. He still had the man's address but had no idea what his phone number was since Jason had shredded the napkin with the number on it and flushed it. He wavered for a moment and then decided that a visit to Simon's house was the only option. After all, it was the least he could do at this point. Mind made up, Mark slipped the gear shift into park and shut off the car. He was a little nervous about seeing Simon again, but in some ways he couldn't wait.

Three hours later, Mark was sitting in the driveway of Simon's home having second thoughts. There wasn't a vehicle in the driveway. Was he even home yet? Maybe he'd parked in the three bay garage attached to the two story, brick home. The place was massive in Mark's opinion - a world apart from the double-wide Mark had grown up in. Suddenly, Mark wasn't so sure that this was such a good idea.

What if Simon got upset over Mark showing up unannounced?

Then again, Simon had given him an open invitation.

Still, Mark wasn't so sure that Simon's invitation was still valid, considering. The sheer size of Simon's home told Mark right up front that he and Simon were in totally different leagues. Mark had thought the nice, three-bedroom townhouse apartment he'd shared with Jason was something, but this…

The lot the house sat on had to be at least three acres and was full of mature, beautiful oaks and meticulous landscaping. Even the picket fence running around the outer edges of the flawlessly manicured lawn seemed too perfectly white. All the place needed was a dog and a swing set. It was a little much for Mark to take in.

Sure, Simon had hinted that he came from a well-to-do family but he hadn't expected anything like this. Simon must think that Mark was pathetic, working at McDoogle's and having trouble saving up such a pitiful amount of cash. No wonder he'd offered to forget the whole thing. Thirty bucks to someone who lived in a place like this would be a joke. At that thought, Mark put the car into reverse and started to back out again.

Maybe he'd just mail the money to Simon. Why hadn't he thought of that to begin with? That Mark sent it was the important thing, right? It didn't matter that it had been longer than Mark had planned or what Simon might think of him as long as Simon got what was owed him in the end.

Mark had barely pressed his foot on the gas when a horn blared loudly behind him and Mark quickly switched over to the brake again and checked his rearview mirror. The first thing he saw was a black, three-quarter-ton truck. The next thing he noticed was that Simon was driving it. With a blush of embarrassment and a sigh of resignation, Mark put the car back into park and shut off the motor. Then he stepped out and stood there, staring at his feet and trying to hide his discomfort while he snuck peeks at Simon.

Simon leaned over to grab something from the floorboard of the cab of his truck before getting out as well. As soon as Mark saw how the man was dressed, his neglected libido went into overdrive. It wasn't just the hip hugging jeans Simon was wearing that got to him. No, that Mark could have lived with. It was the skin-tight muscle shirt Simon wore that was pure torture. It left nothing to the imagination and Mark could see every ridge and valley in Simon's defined chest and abdomen through the thin, soft cotton. There were also nipples. Hard nipples. And those big, strong, tanned arms…Oh, those arms…And was that a construction hat tucked under one of those arms….? Yeah. Yeah, it was. And the big cooler hanging from Simon's hand on the other side was making the muscles twitch and bulge and…Oh gawd…

"Hey, Mark. You hungry?" Simon asked as he drew closer, a twinkle in his piercing blue eyes that said he'd noticed how Mark was ogling him. Mark blushed again but decided to play dumb.

"No, thank you. I ate lunch a few hours ago. How have you been Simon?" he asked as he slipped his hands into his pockets, drawing them into fists and letting them puff out the pleats of his dress pants in the hopes that it would help hide his rapidly-filling erection.

"I've been okay. Busy! Very busy!" was Simon's jubilant reply. "I was called to an out of state job site for almost three weeks because the foreman we'd put in charge of the project had a family emergency and was forced to bail on us. Talk about a mess and talk about bad timing! I just got back two days ago and it's been crazy. My dad recently picked up some new contracts and we're running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to line up good workers and set up the sites. Luckily they're all local, so it won't be so bad once we've laid all the groundwork."

Knowing that Simon had been so busy was a relief, and Mark let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "The construction business must be booming," Mark said with a grin. "I just got a job at Wyatt's Construction a little while ago. They're having the same problem and the owner needed someone to help pick up the slack for his main secretary."

Simon raised an eyebrow at that before a hundred-watt smile lit up his face. "You don't say? So, you work for Nathan Wyatt now?"

"Oh! You know him?" Mark shot back excitedly before wishing he could smack himself on the forehead. It only made sense that Simon might know him since Simon's dad ran a construction company too.

"Yeah, you could say that. When do you start?" Simon asked conversationally, his bright smile never waning for an instant. "Maybe I can talk to Nathan and see if I could get a job there too. I've always wanted to work with a hot, little redhead."

The blush the spread across Mark's cheeks could have outshone the sun. He knew Simon was just teasing but he played along anyway, liking the interested gleam in Simon's eyes as he studied Mark's face. "Please. Now you're just teasing me. Didn't you say that you were one of the big dogs where you work? It'd be quite a pay cut to come hang out with me and working part time."

"Who knows?" Simon replied, leaning in for a moment like he was thinking about kissing Mark right there in the driveway. "It might be worth it if we got to know each other better. I've been looking forward to seeing you again."

Mark's heart sped up to an alarming rate as he took a step back and smiled up at his new friend. "I was half afraid you were avoiding me. I haven't seen you in quite a while." The second the words were out, Mark wanted to pull them back. They sounded needy or like Mark thought Simon owed him something. "Not that you have to come see me or anything," he added quickly, the annoying blush reviving at the way Simon raised a sandy-brown eyebrow. "I mean, we barely know each other and…" Mark let out a frustrated sigh as he realized he was just digging himself in deeper. "Look. I just came by to let you know that I'm not going to leave you holding the bag. I still plan to pay you what I owe you. It's just taking longer than I expected and I'm sorry about that."

A delighted laugh was Simon's initial response as he closed the small distance between them again, set down his cooler in the driveway, and laid a warm hand on Mark's shoulder. "I told you to take your time. How have you been? Get that promotion?" Mark couldn't hold back a cringe at that line of questioning and of course Simon saw it. "Stupid question, huh?" he asked, genuine concern replacing his earlier lightheartedness. "I mean, you wouldn't be out looking for part time work if you had. Are you okay? What happened, if you don't mind me asking? I thought it was pretty much a done deal."

"Where do I start?" Mark replied with a shrug and a self-deprecating smile, a little overwhelmed by Simon's sudden inquiry. "But to answer your questions, I've been okay, I didn't get the promotion, and yeah, it's been that bad. But I didn't come to dump my problems on you. I just wanted to…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The money thing," Simon said in a dismissive tone, waving off Mark's rambling with a carefree gesture. "Why don't you come in so we can hang out for a while and catch up. I've been wondering what you were up to. I even stopped by McDoogle's before I left for Nebraska but you weren't there. Same thing yesterday when I dropped in. I was planning to go see you tonight but I was going to clean up first." As if to demonstrate, Simon raised his free arm and looked down at his work clothes before wiping at a spot of mud near the hem of his shirt with consternation.

Immediately a giggle erupted from Mark. He'd never seen Simon look more edible than he did in that moment and knowing that Simon was planning to get cleaned up to come visit him made him unreasonably happy. On the other hand, knowing that the man had already tried to come see Mark twice made his heart race while butterflies did a little dance in his stomach. "You have a cute laugh, Mark. Coming?" Simon asked with a gleam in his eyes.

Mark's own eyes widened slightly as Simon pulled his hand from Mark's shoulder again to pick up his cooler and motion toward the door. Suddenly the possible double meaning in Simon's last question hit him and his breath caught in his throat. He pushed that thought away just as quickly. Surely Simon hadn't meant it that way. It was just a combination of Mark's own undersexed body and dirty mind making him hear things that weren't there.

Without hesitation, Mark said, "Sure, if you don't mind."

"I'd mind if you didn't. You're welcome to come here anytime you want," Simon shot back with a devastating grin as he led Mark toward the front door. Once again, Mark's mind went straight to the gutter and he couldn't stop his eyes from drifting down to watch the muscular cheeks of Simon's hind end shifting and flexing as he made his way up the cobblestoned path. Mark wondered what it would feel like to sink into that tight body while Simon begged for him to go harder and faster. A shiver raced down his spine and he quickly stamped down the thought.

Although he was free, Mark didn't really see himself as single. He'd made a promise and planned to keep it. It wouldn't be fair to use Simon that way if there was a chance that he might go back to Jason and, after five years together, Jason deserved a second chance. Still, that didn't mean that Mark couldn't be friends with Simon. He had every intention of doing exactly that. It would be hard to break old habits, but Mark was tired of being lonely and even more tired of letting his concern about how Jason would react to different situations rule his life.

That's why, when Simon unlocked the door and gestured for Mark to go inside, Mark gave Simon a warm smile as he took the handsome man's invitation. Simon returned it with one of his own as he closed the door and set his cooler and hard hat beside the entryway closet. "Have a seat over there," he said, pointing to an over-stuffed, leather sectional. "I'm just going to hop in the shower and get changed real quick. You want to stay for dinner? I have some leftover lasagna I was going to throw in the microwave."

Immediately images of a naked, wet Simon in the shower shot through Mark's head and his cock perked up even more. With his last rational thought, Mark managed to pull himself together enough to reply, "You cook too? What other surprises do you have hidden away in there?" Okay, so maybe that wasn't a completely rational response, and it didn't help that Mark's stupid eyes took it upon themselves to search out the crotch of Simon's pants as he asked that question. And naturally, Simon didn't miss it.

"Oh, I have a few big surprises tucked away for a rainy day," he replied, a naughty grin on his face and a sparkle in his blue eyes that left no doubt in Mark's mind that he'd really stepped in it this time.

"Umm…Yeah, I'm sure you do. Now, please go take your shower," Mark shot back in a voice bordering on desperation, the entire time wishing the floor would just open beneath his feet and swallow him. Simon laughed, a deep rumbling noise, before winking at Mark and roughing up his hair. Then he let Mark off the hook by walking away.

"I'll be back in a few, so make yourself at home," he called over his broad shoulder as he headed upstairs to get wet and naked.

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Ouch! Bad place to stop, huh? Sorry about that guys! Really, I am. Okay, I'm off to write some more and hope you guys leave a review for me. I'm a total review hound. bwahahaha.... Shutting up and see you guys next time. Later taters!