Jason and You Makes Two

A/N: I know I've been posting a few days later than this but I figured what the hell? lol A little angsty at the end but we're moving along and we'll be right on track for next chappy. Hope you likes!

Shout-outs and cyber cookies for everyone who reviewed last time. Always appreciated so thanx go to: Lisa, Anise, Cherry Coquette, Myranda Lynn, Khayman, and Nekoii Desu.

Also huggins to Lisa for proofing this one.

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Chapter 17

Mark glanced again at the pile of documents Nathan had asked him to read through as he tried to slow down the pounding in his chest. Nathan had called Mark out of the blue Sunday morning and had asked him to pick up the contract and look it over. Mark had read it over several times in the week that followed, but still couldn’t make up his mind. There were a lot of what if’s and maybe’s in there. In one place it said that if Mark failed to complete the program or dropped out he’d be responsible for complete repayment of all expenses incurred by the company for his education plus an additional 6% in interest to compensate Wyatt’s Construction for its trouble. The same applied if he left to work for another company before the contract date expired.

Another section required that Mark complete the specified program in a set time frame. Mark would also be responsible for providing his own books and school materials out-of-pocket, and there was the question of how much travel his car could take before it breathed its last breath. He would also be forbidden, under contract, from working for another company for nearly the next two decades, effective two weeks from the date Mark signed on the dotted line.

“What if something unexpected happens and I can’t finish school or work the required number of years,” Mark asked as he wrung his hands in his lap. They were sweating profusely and he was afraid that Nathan might see how badly they were shaking if he didn’t keep them clasped together. “Say, I fall off the side of a building and end up crippled, or I accidentally walk out in front of a bus?”

A delighted laugh rumbled in Nathan’s chest at Mark’s words as he grabbed a pen from his desk and started tapping out a quick rhythm on the glossy wooden surface. “I could add a clause that if you become disabled we’ll forgive half the debt, waive the interest, and allow for an extended payback period. Could you deal with that? I could probably help you find some sort of disability insurance to cover the rest if that’d make you feel better. Of course, that would be out-of-pocket and you’d be responsible for maintaining it.”

Mark glanced down the front page of the contract again as he let that sink in. Either way, it was a lot of responsibility and a lot to take in. Simon had told Mark that his dad was on the up and up, but Mark had still wanted to have the contract reviewed by someone who spoke the language. Simon had set him up to meet with a lawyer buddy of his the next evening at Simon’s house - free of charge, thankfully - and the guy had agreed that Mark would have a hard time finding a more straightforward or fair agreement.

When Mark had first entered college, he’d done so with the intention of earning a pre-professional Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and then finishing up in a Master of Architecture program. Nathan wanted him to take the intensive professional degree program called the B.Arch. After five years of study, Mark would be awarded with a professional degree in architecture and could sit for the Architectural Registration Exam, but he wouldn’t be qualified to teach architecture without going back for another three years. Not that Mark had ever planned to teach with his degree but…

“So, what do you think?” Nathan asked again, pulling Mark abruptly from his frenzied thoughts. “I’d really like to have your answer today, tomorrow at the latest. The new semester starts in barely a month and Daniel called in a favor to one of his architect buddies on staff at the college. They’ve promised you a spot as long as you can meet the admission standards, which I’m assuming you can since you got into the pre-architecture program at the big college you attended before.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Mark murmured as he looked down at his hands. “If you want me to start that soon, though, I’ll need to keep my other job at least until the semester begins so that I can pay for my books. Even then, I’m not sure I’ll have enough time to scrape that much money together.”

“Page ten of the contract,” Nathan replied with a raised eyebrow and a hard, no-nonsense gleam in his eyes. “You did read it carefully didn’t you? I mean, this is a long term deal, son, and I expect you to take it seriously.”

Mark’s eyes widened in shock as he hastily grabbed the contract from the desk and fumbled to the page Nathan had indicated to look it over again. Nowhere on the document did it say anything about that. “I promise that I read it from cover to cover several times, and even had an outsider look it over, but I didn’t see anything in here about books, Nathan,” Mark assured him, his confidence returning as he scanned down the next with the same result.

Nathan snorted and reached across the desk. “Let me see that thing,” he demanded gruffly, a deep frown splitting his normally cheerful face. He scanned the page and then rolled his eyes. “I swear. What the hell do I pay those lawyers for anyway? There’s three lines missing on this page. There should’ve been a book allowance of $600 per semester, a supplies grant of $150 per semester, and a stipulation that you have a paid week off each semester during finals with you making up the lost hours during school breaks. Tell you what, Mark, we can either sign it now and then I can have the lawyer check it over and we can add to it later, or I can send the whole damn thing back and tell them to do it over. The clocks ticking though, so I’ll leave it up to you.”

Mark squirmed in his seat as he tried to decide what to do. The additions would definitely make his decision easier, but he couldn’t help wondering what else had been left out. “If you find something else, will it just be added in or do I have the choice to change my mind?”

With a shrug, Nathan handed the contract back to Mark. “I’d have to say yes and no on that one. I should have this ironed out by the middle of next week. Until then we could get the ball rolling and get you enrolled at the architectural school Daniel suggested. In the meantime, you’ll be able to walk away at any time. Once we’ve started dishing out for books, tuition, and supplies, it’s a done deal.”

That sounded more than fair to Mark, but still he asked, “Can we write those three items in, and the part we discussed about the disability before we sign?”

“Of course,” Nathan agreed as he reached over and pushed a button on his phone. “Nancy, can you come in here please?”

“Sure, Nathan,” Nancy chirped through the speaker. Seconds later, she slipped into the office and grinned. “What can I do for the two of you? Perhaps notarize something?” The smug gleam in her eyes told Mark that she already knew that he’d take the offer.

“Would you please?” Nathan replied with a big grin and a twinkle in his eyes as he scrawled several new items at the top of the front page before pushing it back to Mark for approval. Mark read through the messy scrawl and found that Nathan had listed everything they’d talked about, including the option to back out of the contract up until the semester began.

“Let me grab my stamp real quick,” Nancy chirped as she bustled back out of the room, confident that things were going to plan. Nathan cleared his throat and offered Mark a pen. After a few second’s hesitation, Mark stood and retrieved it before opening the contract to the back page with shaky hands. “Wait for me!” Nancy called out as she made her way back into the room.

“I was beginning to think you’d got lost,” Nathan teased with a chuckle as snatched the documents back to his side of the desk for Nancy to look over.

“Not a chance,” she shot back as she glanced through them. “Now, let’s get this done before he figures out what he’s signing up for and runs away!”

Mark grinned and rolled his eyes at the woman’s ribbing. “I’ve survived this long, so I’ll probably make it out okay.” Unfortunately his words sounded much more confident than he felt in that moment.

“Better than okay,” Nathan assured him with a chuckle as he placed his messy scrawl on the dotted line and passed the contract back to Mark. “After all, we’ve even agreed to pay you a competitive salary once you’ve graduated. We should have cut it by at least 20% instead of 10 and charged you interest on the repayment of your loans.”

As he signed his name to the contract, Mark shook his head and sighed. “I hate to tell you this, Nathan, but I think the lawyers messed up on that part too. According to this baby, as long as I can put up with your guy’s ribbing for the next fifteen or twenty years and do a decent job, then I don’t have to pay back a dime.”

Nancy grinned at that and patted Mark on the shoulder in a consoling gesture. “You should’ve waited at least a few weeks into school before you let that one slip, young man,” she teasingly scolded while Nathan shook his head and grinned from ear to ear.

Once Nancy had checked both signatures over and put in her seal of approval, Nathan stood from his desk and came around to shake Mark’s hand. “Welcome to the company, Mark,” the man said gruffly as he squeezed Mark’s smaller hand in his own. “I look forward to working with you, and Daniel asked me to tell you the same for him.”

Mark blushed and nodded as he pulled his hand away, not sure what to say to that. Nancy busied herself with gathering up the contract and tucking it into a manila envelope before bustling out of the room again with a parting ‘congratulations’ and a smile. “Thank you again for this chance, Nathan,” Mark said, finally finding his voice as he forced himself to meet Nathan’s warm gaze. His nerves were finally starting to settle down now that he’d taken the leap.

Nathan patted him roughly on the shoulder before heading back to his desk. “All the thanks I need are for you to hurry up and get your license before Daniel keels over on me,” he teased. “Now, go take care of business. I want you to put in your notice at McDoogle’s by the end of the day.”

“Would one week’s notice be soon enough?” Mark asked, pausing in the doorway to gauge Nathan’s reaction. He really should have given them two, but he was so tired of his job there and was anxious to leave. Now that he’d agreed to Nathan’s deal, he felt anxious to move on, even though he’d miss seeing Chandra in the evenings once they no longer worked together.

“That’d be fine, unless you can manage something sooner,” Nathan shot back with a grin. “It’s not like you have to worry about job interviews anytime soon, so if you have one less reference then it’s no real tragedy, right?”

“One week, then.” Mark knew he’d feel even guiltier for quitting if he offered less than that.

“One week,” Nathan shot back with a resigned shake of his head, although Mark thought he caught a glimmer of respect in the other man’s eyes.

Mark turned to leave again and just as he opened the door, Nathan called out, “One last thing. I have a son close to your age and was wondering if you’d be interested in meeting him. He’s a great guy, the best actually. He just needs to meet the right man and settle down. I think the two of you would hit it off.”

For a second, Mark thought he might swallow his tongue as the air froze in his lungs and the color drained from his face. Almost immediately, vivid memories of that very same son slamming into Mark’s body over and over just a few nights earlier ripped through his mind. Did he know? No, the older man couldn’t know because Nathan didn’t play games. Mark didn’t want him to figure it out either. Not until Mark figured it out himself. It didn’t help matters that he was standing there stiff as a poker with his back to Nathan and the doorknob in his hand.

With every ounce of his will, Mark forced himself to face Nathan with what he hoped was a neutral expression. As soon as Nathan saw Mark’s expression, his own face fell. “Let me guess…You’re already seeing someone.”

Trying not to squirm, Mark wondered what the man would think of him if he admitted that he had two men who might fit that description. Mark forced a laugh and shrugged, “I’m not sure if you’d call it seeing someone, but yeah.”

“If the guy won’t commit then you should tell him to go to Hell,” Nathan growled as he sat down at his desk and leaned on his elbows. Those words were like a knife to the chest because, in all honesty, Mark knew that he was the one who couldn’t seem to make up his mind one way or the other. The older man’s next words did nothing to ease Mark’s guilt. “You’re a good kid and you deserve better than that. Still, if things don’t work out, let me know and I’ll introduce you to Simon. I can promise you won’t be disappointed.”

Mark opened his mouth to reply, but found himself at a loss for words yet again as his eyes quickly found their way to his feet. Nathan let out an amused chuckle. “No need for the long face, Mark. We’re a done deal, remember? Whether you agree to meet my boy or not has nothing to do with our agreement. No pressure, okay? Just thought I’d throw that out there and see what you thought about it.”

A dark blush spread across Mark’s cheeks as he forced a smile across his lips and looked back up at his boss. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied in a voice that came out a tad too shaky for his own peace of mind. Then he quickly made his escape before he made an even bigger fool of himself.

As he made his way out to his car, Mark made a mental note to mention Nathan’s generous offer of dinner and his son to Simon. The hot construction worker would probably get a good laugh out of it, but Mark didn’t think it was the least bit funny. After all, things were still up in the air between him and Jason, and Mark still didn’t know what he could offer Simon. What if Nathan found out about their quasi-relationship and thought that Mark had been playing with his son? Immediately Mark pushed it out of his mind as he slipped behind the wheel of his yellow Chevette. There was no way that Nathan would find out. Mark wasn’t going to tell the man and he knew without asking that Simon wouldn’t either.

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Mark sat there grinning while Chandra jabbered excitedly where she bounced beside Kevin. Her boyfriend’s warm, brown eyes seemed to be glued to her every expression and his ears to her every word. “You might’ve had a rough start, Mark, but you’re turning out to be one lucky bastard!” she chirped as Kevin finally ripped his eyes away from her to grin over at Mark.

“She’s right, man,” Kevin added before leaning forward to high-five Mark. “Congrats, Red. Don’t fuck it up!”

A roll of his eyes was Mark’s response. He hated that nickname even more than the one Jason had given him. Not everyone in the world could be born a blonde. “Don’t worry; I’m not planning on it.”

“Have you told Simon yet?” Chandra asked as she settled in and snuggled against Kevin’s side. When Kevin grinned down at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, Mark’s heart lurched in his chest. That was the kind of thing he missed most since being alone. As much as he liked living with Chandra, seeing her and Kevin constantly cuddled up since the guy’d moved in was getting harder with each passing day. Hearing them go at it at night was even worse, and Mark was starting to feel like a third wheel around them. If there was any way he could afford it, Mark would’ve moved out by now to give them their privacy.

“Yeah, I called him on the way to McDoogle’s earlier. To be honest, he didn’t seem all that surprised,” Mark said with a goofy smile as he remembered the way that hearing Simon’s deep voice had made him hard as a rock.

“You’ve got it so bad, man,” Kevin said with a chuckle and a shake of his blonde head.

Mark just shrugged. There really wasn’t any point in arguing the fact. He’d ended up sitting in his hot car for nearly ten minutes waiting for his cock to calm down before he went in to let the head manager, Charles, know that he was quitting. Surprisingly enough, Charles hadn’t seemed the least bit upset by the news, a fact that had made Mark want to quit on the spot. So much for employer loyalty after five freaking years. Mark had expected at least a token resistance from the man.

As if reading his mind, Chandra asked, “How’d Charles take the news you were quitting? Did he try to offer you a raise or did he promise to up your hours again?” From the way Chandra said it, Mark knew that she had expected the man to offer one or the other.

Mark shrugged. “He didn’t exactly fall all over himself to get me to stay. He even hinted that he could write me out of the schedule after the weekend if I needed him to.”

Kevin rolled his eyes and let out a snort of disgust. “No big shock there, man. Charles always has been a complete bastard, not to mention a hater.”

“He’s always been nice to me,” Chandra said with a confused frown. “Sure, he cut Mark’s hours, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice at the time.”

That stung a bit. Mark wanted to argue that the whole thing with Jason had blown over months ago and didn’t explain why Charles had yet to increase his hours again, but Mark let it go. Chandra could be a bit of a hard nut to crack when it came to that kind of thing. Instead he gave her a wry grin and murmured, “Either way, he’s probably having a party in his office about now.”

“Probably,” Kevin grumbled. “Back in high school, one of my gay friends worked for him and the asshole gave him hard time. Everybody thinks he’s this great guy, but he treated Jackie like a piece of shit. If Jackie tried to schedule a day off, no matter the reason, and somebody else needed off the same day, Jackie ended up stuck with the shift. The asshole even scheduled him to work prom night; told him that a gay guy didn’t need off for something like that, since he couldn’t take a date with him anyway.”

“Charles actually said that to him?” Chandra asked with wide eyes. “That just doesn’t sound like him.”

“Now that I think about it,” Mark murmured as he took in the way Kevin was eyeing Chandra’s surprised face with sad smile, “he stuck it to me over days off several times. I finally just gave up scheduling them since it hardly ever seemed to work out.”

Chandra frowned at that for a moment before opening her mouth to speak. Before she could get a word out, Mark’s cell started ringing and he held up a finger before rising from his seat and heading for his room. He knew it was Simon because, besides Chandra, Simon was the only one who ever called him. Chandra and Kevin waved him off as he passed and as soon as Mark stepped into his room, he pulled the phone from his front pocket.

“Hey Simon, what’s up?” he said in a teasing tone as he once again recalled his reaction to the man earlier.

A heavy silence met his ears.

“Simon?” Mark called out loudly. He was beginning to think that the man had forgotten to lock the keypad on his phone and had called by accident. It had happened a time or two, but usually Mark could hear the noises of a construction site in the background when it did. “Hello?”

“It’s Jason,” a deep, smooth voice said on the other end, and Mark’s entire world came to a screeching halt as his heart began to race in his chest and his blood thundered in his ears. He’d missed hearing his lover’s voice so badly. It was almost like a constant ache that he’d gotten used to over time.

“Jason…” Suddenly, Mark felt like his legs might give out beneath him and he quickly sank down to sit cross-legged on the carpet beside his mattress on the floor. “Hi,” he finally managed to sputter awkwardly as he fought to get hold of himself. Why was Jason calling now? There was still a week to go. Mark was the one who was supposed to call, not the other way around.

“How’ve you been?” Jason asked in a gentle but reserved voice that made Mark’s eyes burn and his chest feel tight.

“I’ve been okay. How about you?” The aloof and uncomfortable way they were speaking hurt bad. At one time or another in their relationship, things had felt happy, angry, passionate -everything that two people in love could feel – but never awkward. It was almost as if they were two near-strangers trying to strike up a conversation, but neither knew enough about the other to continue.

After several long breaths, Jason let out a hollow sounding chuckle. “I’ve been okay. Pretty busy with the new account, actually. How’s your job been going?”

Mark shrugged, although he knew Jason wouldn’t be able to see it. “Not great. I found another job a while ago and I’m quitting McDoogle’s to work for them full time. Charles cut my hours so much after we broke up that I didn’t have any choice but to find something else.”

“I’m glad to hear you’ve finally moved on,” Jason replied, an almost uninterested tone to his voice. Suddenly Mark realized what was off. It wasn’t that they were feeling awkward at all. Jason’s voice was so distant. It held none of the warmth or affection that Mark was used to hearing. Unaware of Mark’s thoughts, Jason added, “You were too smart for that place. I always wondered why a guy with your talent would settle like that.”

Those words finally broke the dam on Mark’s emotions and tears filled his eyes before quickly spilling over. “I thought you didn’t like my talent, so why would you care?” By some miracle, he managed to get the words out without his voice breaking, but he couldn’t hide a touch of venom as he spoke.

Picking up on the resentment in Mark’s voice, Jason sighed and then cleared his throat. “I never said that I had a problem with it. My only problem was that you got too caught up in those damn sketches. Don’t forget that it was your idea to stop. All I ever asked was that you not let yourself get so wound up in it. Hell, Mark…That one time, you went close to two days without even sleeping.”

Mark let out a slow, unsteady breath as he tried to get himself back under control. Now wasn’t the time for this conversation. They had other, far more important things to discuss. First on the list - why was Jason calling in the first place? Mark could already tell without asking that something wasn’t right. “You never did tell me how you were doing,” Mark said as he wiped at his wet cheeks and blatantly changed the subject. “I’m happy that work’s going well, but we both know that that’s not what I wanted to know. How’s your therapy going? How’re you doing physically…emotionally?”

A heavy, deep silence met Mark’s question and immediately a sense of dread began to rip through his entire body. “Jason?” he prodded in a shaky voice. “What’s going on?”

Jason remained quiet for several more heartbeats before letting out a heavy breath. “I’ve been making some changes in my life and trying to get my act together. That’s kind of why I called actually. I’ve been talking to my therapist, Sandy, and she thinks that I’m not ready jump back into things just yet. She’s afraid that if I do, we’ll just fall back into the old patterns.”

Again silence stretched between them as Mark felt like the breath had been knocked from his body. After a few hard swallows against the knot in his throat, he finally managed to choke out, “What are you saying Jason?”

“Look Mark,” Jason sighed, a suspicious roughness to his voice, “I know we were supposed to…I love you, you know that right? I’ll always love you, Mark.”

It felt like fire racing through Mark’s entire being as it finally dawned on him what Jason was building up to. A broken sob ripped through his chest as he fought to catch his breath. “Oh, God Jason. Please don’t. Don’t do this,” he moaned as he pressed his fist against the unbearable pain in his chest. “We promised. We…”

“I’m sorry, Mark,” Jason cut in, the distance from earlier was back in his voice despite the roughness of emotion Mark could still hear there. “I think it would be better for both of us if we just…It could be months before I’m ready…years…and even then…I really am sorry. Just remember what I said, Mark. I’ll always love you.”

Before Mark could gather himself enough to reply, there was a click on the other end of the line as it went dead. Mark sat there, staring in horror and disbelief at the cell in his hand as his mind screamed that he had to be dreaming. It had to be a nightmare. He loved Jason. He’d fought so hard to be true to that feeling. Now Jason was the one walking away? Without warning, an image of Simon flashed through Mark’s mind and pitiful moan escaped his lips. He hadn’t even told Jason about that. Even without knowing Mark had been unfaithful during their separation, Jason had still ended things between them.

Out of nowhere, two gentle arms wrapped around him and Mark immediately latched onto Chandra’s smaller frame as another sob wracked his body. “Was that Simon?” she whispered against the top of Mark’s head. Unable to speak, Mark simply shook his head as he held on for dear life. “Jason?” Mark nodded this time, but still couldn’t answer. “Can you get my cell and give Simon a call?” she said softly to someone over her shoulder.

“Sure,” Kevin’s worried voice replied from somewhere near the door. “What do I tell him, though?”

“Just tell him that Mark needs him,” Chandra murmured as she rubbed a soothing hand up and down Mark’s back. “That’ll be enough to get him here.”

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I know the forces that be have forbidden this but, here's a few responses. *evil grin* --Oops. Got busted. Moved them here: http://pesterme2.livejournal.com/