Thwarted - 5. Chapter Five

Mark needed coffee, lots and lots of coffee. He’d enjoyed every moment with Trey but he was tired as hell. He should have just stayed in bed but, despite being exhausted, he was restless and hadn’t wanted to wake up Trey with his tossing and turning. He grabbed a mug out of the cupboard and was just reaching for the coffee pot when someone knocked on his door.

“Fuck.” A look at the clock showed it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet.

He glanced at his bedroom to make sure the door was closed before going to answer it, ready to give whoever it was a piece of his mind. He checked the peephole and groaned at the sight of Jackie peering back at him. Knowing she wasn’t likely to go away he opened the door and glared at her.

“Do you even know what time it is?”

“Good morning to you too.” She held up a bag. “I brought donuts.” Jackie breezed past him, way too cheerful to Mark’s way of thinking.

“Come in why don’t you.” He shut the door behind her but couldn’t stop from muttering under his breath, “Wench.” Apparently he hadn’t been quiet enough.

“What did you just call me?” Jackie dropped the donuts on the counter and turned to him, hands on her hips.

“You deserve it after putting me through that damn date. Could you have found anyone more self-absorbed?” Recognizing the logo on the bag, he brushed past her and peered into the bag. “I’ll forgive you if you brought me an apple fritter.”

“You know I did.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “So… I take it the date didn’t go well?”

“Understatement of the century. It was nearly painful.” He grabbed a fritter out of the bag and waited for her to get her own and a cup of coffee before leading the way to the couch. “How could you possibly have thought he was anywhere near my type?”

“Sorry, I’d met Ted a couple times and he seemed like a really nice guy.” Jackie took a sip of her coffee before setting it on the coffee table. “I promise to do better next time.”

“There’s not going to be a next time.” Not like she’d actually listen to him, but it was worth a shot.

“If you’re not going to find someone, then I’m going to. Seriously, I’m not going to let you hole up in your apartment all alone.”

Mark glanced over at the bedroom door and barely kept from chuckling. If only she knew. He actually hoped that Trey stayed asleep until she left. Not that he had anything to hide, but he really didn’t want to subject the other man to Jackie’s questions and he was sure she’d have plenty of them. Unfortunately, whoever granted wishes either wasn’t listening or was just ignoring him because no sooner had he thought about Trey than the bedroom door opened. Trey took two steps out of the bedroom and froze.

“Umm, hey.” Trey glanced at Mark and all Mark could do was shrug.

Mark saw Jackie glance from Trey to him and back to Trey. He knew her well enough and prayed she wouldn’t start badgering him with questions. Thank god Trey had put on his jeans. Typical Jackie, uncaring of the awkwardness, she stood and walked over to Trey and held out her hand.

“Since my dingbat brother over there doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to introduce us, I’m Jackie.”

“Uhh, Trey.” Trey shook her hand, looking like a deer caught in the headlights and unsure as to which way to run. He took a step back towards the bedroom. “I think I’ll just go finish getting dressed.” He disappeared back into the bedroom and closed the door as Jackie walked back to the couch.

“Apparently last night wasn’t a total bust.” She grinned and picked up her coffee and took a sip before carrying it to the kitchen and dumping it down the sink. “This is obviously a bad time so I’ll just go and we can talk later.”

He didn’t know who had taken over his sister, but he was grateful for the respite. He dutifully stood and walked her to the door. He knew that Jackie speak for talk later meant he had better be damn good and ready to answer a few hundred questions. He opened the door and kissed her cheek before ushering her out.

“I’ll call you later, I promise.” If he didn’t, she would no doubt show back up.

“You’d better.” She glanced at the bedroom door, “I have to say, you do have good taste.” She smirked and walked away before he could even think of how to answer.

No sooner than the front door shut than the bedroom door opened again and this time a full clothed, minus socks and shoes, Trey emerged.

“I didn’t mean to chase your sister away.”

“You actually did me a favor. Knowing her, she wanted to dissect what happened on the date she set me up on.” He walked over and pressed a kiss to Trey’s lips. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” He nodded towards Mark’s cup still sitting on the counter. “Got another one of those.”

“Sure.” He moved away from Trey and fetched another cup before filling them both with much needed coffee. “Need anything in it?”

“Nope, black’s good for me.”

Mark nodded and picked both cups up, giving one to Trey. He motioned towards the bag sitting on the counter. “There’s an apple fritter in there if you want it.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Trey dug into the bag before carrying his coffee and fritter to the table; Mark following close behind.

He sat across from Trey as they ate and while he’d expected the morning to be awkward, it wasn’t. It was actually really nice to be sharing breakfast with someone. He could get used to it.