Mark Arbour
-
Posts
20,233 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Stories
- Stories
- Story Series
- Story Worlds
- Story Collections
- Story Chapters
- Chapter Comments
- Story Reviews
- Story Comments
- Stories Edited
- Stories Beta'd
Blogs
Store
Help Center
Writing
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Mark Arbour
-
April 17, 1794 “And what sort of problem do we have Mr. Andrews?” Granger asked. He didn't want to be interrupted, he wanted Calvert to fuck him; alas, duty came first. But did it have to be a problem? “Sir, I opened up the cask of salt beef for dinner and it was rancid. I was going to bring a piece to show you sir, but it was so horrible I didn't want to ruin your dinner,” Andrews said. “Thank you. I will look at it later. How many casks are rotten?” Grang
- 13 comments
-
- 46
-
-
-
-
April 13, 1794 Granger walked quietly toward the shapes. It was so dark it was possible that he wasn't even seeing shapes, but he had a feeling his eyes hadn't deceived him. He avoided the notice of the helmsman and the other men on watch; It was so pitch black that wasn't hard to do. As he got closer he saw Carmody standing next to Fitzwilliam. Granger stopped for a minute to let his eyes adjust, but it was too dark for that. He saw Carmody's hand moving in Fitzwilliam's trouser
- 15 comments
-
- 45
-
-
-
-
May, 1794 “Let's compare our positions,” Granger said to the two midshipmen, Calvert, and Carslake. They reviewed their sightings and subsequent calculations and discovered, much to Granger's delight, that they were all remarkably close. And not only that, they were remarkably close to the Equator. “Mr. Carslake, I must commend you on your efforts with our young gentlemen. They are becoming fine navigators,” Granger said. “Thank you sir,” Carslake said, while
- 9 comments
-
- 47
-
-
-
-
June, 1794 Granger stooped down to the sparkling stream and cupped his hands, scooping some of the precious water to his lips. It was so pure and clear, almost as good as the water at his favorite spring at Bridgemont, or at his swimming hole on Minorca. He drank his fill, gulping down water, but no sooner had he finished then he started drinking again. Dr. Jackson said it was the salt in their diets that made him crave water, and created this bloating sensation. For Granger, ther
- 8 comments
-
- 43
-
-
-
-
December 27, 1985 Palo Alto, CA Robbie was quiet on the way to see his psychologist, David Sizemore, which was fine with me. I just focused on driving, enjoying being able to do that again. The entire time in Paris we’d used public transportation, or hired cars or cabs, so it was kind of a rush to be behind the wheel again. It made me feel like I was in control of my destiny. I looked sideways at Robbie and could see how nervous and uptight he was. He was so tense th
- 10 comments
-
- 43
-
-
-
-
December 13, 1985 Paris, France “Why don't you guys wake up and join us for dinner,” I heard JP say. I looked over my shoulder to find him staring down at us sprawled naked on the bed, with a slight grin on his face. “Give us a little time to shower,” I said groggily. I looked at the clock and saw that we'd slept through the afternoon. I elbowed Robbie to wake him up. “Come on, time to get up and go out to eat.” “Eat?” he asked. His huge appetite was notorious. W
- 8 comments
-
- 44
-
-
-
-
-
-
December 10, 1985 Paris, France “Notre-Dame,” I said to the cabbie, just to get him on his way without having to give him my address. My mind was running in all kinds of different directions, making it hard to figure out what the fuck was going on. I wondered if Neil was dead, if I had killed him. I paused to consider if I would feel bad or even feel a little bit guilty, but those emotions didn’t emerge. If Neil was dead, good fucking riddance. I’d be glad that he was gone.
- 8 comments
-
- 40
-
-
-
-
-
December 3, 1985 Paris, France “What are you doing?” Robbie asked. I was sitting in the family room watching the morning news, or at least I was pretending to. Robbie grabbed his coat and slipped it on. He'd been gone a lot the last few days and he'd been increasingly distant. I motioned him to come over near me so I could whisper. “Mouse is here. He's talking to JP in the study. I'm spying.” We grinned at each other like co-conspirators. “Wanna meet me for lunch
- 9 comments
-
- 39
-
-
-
-
-
-
November 27, 1985 Paris, France JP stood there and I could read his mind. He didn't want to leave, but he felt like he had to because he’d promised everyone that he’d be home for Thanksgiving. Most of my family members would have forgiven him, but Tonto was not letting him off the hook. After she’d forced JP to cave, she’d turned her arguments at me, trying to convince me to come with him, but I had been so resolute in saying ‘no’ she’d finally left me alone. They obviously did
- 8 comments
-
- 40
-
-
-
-
-
October 5, 1985 Paris, France I woke up with a massive hangover, feeling like total shit. I briefly evaluated my bodily functions and realized that I urgently needed to pee. My breath tasted nasty, so I brushed my teeth and went back to bed to find Robbie sleeping. It was odd that he was fully clothed and facing away from me, but my mind was working too slowly for me to worry about it. I moved up behind him and wrapped my arms around him in a loving way, then was totally shoc
- 7 comments
-
- 43
-
-
-
-
-
September 20, 1985 Paris, France The Concorde took off from de Gaulle Airport just like any other plane, which was a bit disappointing considering that everything before we’d boarded the plane had truly been first class. Concorde passengers had their own check-in area, their own security line, and their own special lounge to wait in prior to boarding. The plane was narrow, with two seats to a side, and there was probably the same amount of legroom you’d have in coach on a norma
- 11 comments
-
- 40
-
-
-
-
-
-
December 12, 1985 Paris, France “We have to go down and get him out,” I said adamantly “You think I'm just sitting around playing with myself?” JP asked rudely, which was completely out of character for him. If he could lose it like that, it was the surest sign that the stress levels at the apartment were so high they were off the scale. “Within an hour I have managed to track down the best criminal defense attorney in France; I have rousted him out of his office, and he
- 7 comments
-
- 44
-
-
-
-
-
December 20, 1985 Claremont, OH It had only been five days since we'd been back in the States, but I was anxious to get back to Paris. JP had been adamant that we not leave so soon, and I’d relented. He'd always been a momma's boy, so this had to be killing him. Besides, I'd been happy here, with Jeanine keeping me company. I never thought I would be able to enjoy a woman as much as I enjoyed her. I'm not sure what it was, but she turned me on big time. We were sitting i
- 8 comments
-
- 46
-
-
-
-
February 24, 1986 Somewhere over Indiana “Are you excited to live in California with me?” I asked Darius as he jiggled up and down on my lap. The Falcon hit a slight bump, turbocharging one of his bounces and making him squeal in delight. We’d been in the air for about forty-five minutes, long enough for Darius to recover from having ear fuck from take off. Jeanine was in the back with JJ, trying to calm him down, but he seemed to be a lot crankier than Darius. “I wa
- 12 comments
-
- 56
-
-
-
-
January 13, 1986 Malibu, CA This was my first day of work and I was nervous, even though I was working for the man who was like a father to me and even though my commute entailed opening the new door in my house, walking a few paces through an enclosed walkway, and opening the new door into his house. Despite that, I still had butterflies in my stomach. I walked down the stairs and was surprised to find Greg waiting for me in my living room. “Morning,” he said grumpily. “
- 10 comments
-
- 40
-
-
-
-
-
-
February 19, 1986 Malibu, CA We just stared at each other, with Robbie really upset and with me hurt and angry because I'd expected him to be excited for me, and for us. I’d expected him to jump up and down, to tell me how much fun it was going to be to have another kid around, and how happy he was that our family was growing. That’s what I’d been expecting, but instead all I got was an unhappy stare. I knew if I spoke first, I’d just fuck things up, so I curbed my anger and w
- 14 comments
-
- 49
-
-
-
-
-
September 8, 1985 Paris, France “You understand how HIV works, do you not?” JP asked Marcel calmly. He looked frantic, like he needed to escape before he got infected, but JP's calming words relaxed him enough to prevent flight. “It means we are all in danger of infection,” Marcel said, and looked around as if a huge virus blob was going to attack him. “HIV is transmitted through the blood. For you to become infected, bodily fluids that are infected would have to
- 8 comments
-
- 42
-
-
-
-
August 29, 1985 Paris, France “Can you grab those boxes for me?” I asked Robbie as I lugged our suitcases toward the one little elevator. “As soon as I finish unloading these,” he said, looking at the stuff in the truck we’d hired to lug our things from the plane. Fortunately the driver was helping out too. I finally got frustrated with the whole system and reorganized it. Robbie and I carried the stuff to the elevator, while JP and Mouse tossed it off the elevator and i
- 11 comments
-
- 42
-
-
-
-
-
-
July 15, 1985 Claremont, OH The plane lifted off from Claremont, headed for Paris. We'd have to get fuel along the way, probably in Canada or Iceland, but that was just a small blip on the journey. The plane had been configured so there were two bedrooms with two beds, which would have been more than adequate except we had five people. I smiled to myself, wondering how that would work out. “So what are you going to do in Paris, JP?” Stefan asked. “I've been com
- 13 comments
-
- 44
-
-
-
-
June 29, 1985 Malibu, CA The limo pulled up in front of Stef’s house in Malibu, depositing us in front of what looked like a typical house in The Colony. We walked through the door to find the true spectacular nature of this place highlighted by the floor-to-ceiling windows that made the beach seem like it was part of the house. “Welcome!” Stef said, and gave us big hugs. “We do not have much time before we leave, so no surfing for you today.” “That's OK, Stef. Surfin
- 8 comments
-
- 41
-
-
-
-
-
-
June 9, 1985 Somewhere in Pennsylvania We had the top down most of the way, enjoying the beautiful June weather. I was on top of the world, newly graduated, reunited with the man I loved (or at least the man I loved the most), and headed to California, the land of beaches. “This time next week I'll be surfing,” I told him. “This time next week I'll be in counseling,” he said unenthusiastically. “Your dad loves you. He's just looking out for you.”
- 9 comments
-
- 39
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
June 8, 1985 Princeton, NJ Princeton’s graduation was really nice. I sat in between Jack and JP and looked down the row to where Stef was sitting and saw him bawling like a baby when Ace graduated, while JP just had tears in his eyes, tears of pride. Of the three of us, Ace was still his favorite. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Claire trumped us all. The funny thing was that Ace and I were just fine with that. Claire and I were close, much closer than people would probably expe
- 9 comments
-
- 48
-
-
-
-
May 10, 1985 New York, NY I found Robbie waiting for me in the lobby of the Waldorf in New York City. I'd talked him into meeting me here just so I didn't have to deal with Neil and his shit. Besides, in less than a month we'd graduate and be on to our next step, either with each other or not. “Hey,” he said cheerfully and gave me a big hug. “You beat me, and my car is faster,” I teased. I took his hand and guided him to the reception desk. It was cool to be here
- 9 comments
-
- 43
-
-
-
-
-
-
June 7, 1985 New Haven, CT It would have really sucked to have my graduation on the same day as Robbie and Ace’s, but I was due for a streak of luck, and I got it. My graduation was on the 7th, while Ace and Robbie both graduated on the 8th. So today I was running around like a demon, trying to get everything organized. The ceremony started at 4pm, which meant it would end around 7pm or so. I’d rented out my favorite little Italian restaurant, the whole thing, for my “party.” The
- 10 comments
-
- 42
-
-
-
-
-
-
June 22, 1985 Escorial Palo Alto, CA I lay in my room, killing time until dinner. I should say our room. We'd re-configured our space, so we had a bedroom and a study. Since we slept together, it seemed like a good use of space. We’d spent the day shopping for furniture for our two rooms, and ended up with a new king-size bed. It wouldn't be delivered until next week, when I was gone, but I was pretty excited about that. For graduation, Mom and Dad had given Ace and me ou
- 7 comments
-
- 45
-
-
-
-
-
-
