Thwarted - 7. Chapter Seven

Mark stepped out of the shower; wrapping a towel around his waist he headed to his bedroom and had just pulled on a pair of sweats when someone knocked on his door. Hoping it was Trey, he rushed out of his bedroom but before he could get to the door it opened and Jackie stuck her head in.

“Ready or not, here I come.” Her gaze focused on him and she stepped inside and shut the door. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Nope, nothing at all.” He tried to keep his disappointment hidden. Three days since Trey had headed back to the base and despite his attempts, Mark hadn’t been able to contact him. His cell phone went immediately to voicemail whenever Mark had tried.

“Where’s your friend?”

Mark sighed; he really didn’t want to do this right now. He didn’t know what he was going to tell his sister but knew he had to tell her something.

“Back on base. What are you doing here?” Like he didn’t know. Jackie had told him to call and he hadn’t.

“I want to know what happened between you and Ted.” Jackie moved to his couch and made herself comfortable. “You had a date with him, yet when I come over the next morning, someone else walks out of your bedroom. Who was he? How did you meet him? Have you known him long? You said base, is he in the military?”

“Christ, would you take a breath already?” Mark left her sitting on his couch and walked back into his bedroom to pull a shirt on. When he came back out, Jackie hadn’t moved an inch.

“So? What happened?”

Trust Jackie not to give up. He moved to the kitchen and grabbed a soda out of the fridge. He held one up for Jackie to see but she shook her head and he put it back in the fridge.

“Ted was an ass. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a more boring date.” Mark took a swig of his soda and walked back over to flop into his recliner. “He was so self-centered. I can’t believe you even thought I’d be interested in someone like him.”

“Self-centered? Really? He never came across that way with me. Maybe he was just trying to impress you and it backfired.” Jackie seemed thoroughly confused.

“Maybe he was, but he went about it the wrong way. I’m not going to go into all the nitty gritty details so you can forget it. Let’s just say that if I never hear from him again it will be too soon.” He wasn’t worried in the least after Ted’s exit from the restaurant. Mark set his soda on the coffee table and waited for her to bring up Trey again. He knew it wouldn’t take her long.

“Okay, so it didn’t work out with Ted. Where did you meet the hunk that was here the other morning? What’s his name?” She relaxed against the back of his couch and Mark knew he wouldn’t get rid of her until he told her something.

“His name is Trey. Yes, he’s in the Army. After the disaster of Ted, I went to Kerplunked. That’s where I met him and we spent most of the night talking.” He wasn’t about to go into detail because despite her nosiness, Jackie was still his sister and some things she just didn’t need to know.

“Obviously you did more than talking since he was here the next morning. I can’t believe you went to bed with someone you just met.” Jackie shook her head at him but all he did was shrug.

“I can’t explain it, Jac. We just seemed to click, like we’d known each other forever. I never felt like that before.” He couldn’t stop the smile as he remembered their weekend together. “We spent the entire weekend together and honestly, I didn’t want him to leave.”

“When are you seeing him again?”

Jackie talked like it was a foregone conclusion they’d get together again, and while he would have agreed after the weekend, now he wasn’t so sure. He’d feel better about it if he could get ahold of Trey. He didn’t want to come across as needy, but the fact he hadn’t so much as talked to Trey bothered him. Maybe he’d read Trey wrong and it had only been a one-time thing for the other man.

“I don’t know.” His voice came out little more than a whisper. “We didn’t make any definite plans.”

“So call him.” Jackie rolled her eyes. “You did get his phone number, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I got his phone number.” He couldn’t stop the exasperation from coming through. Did Jackie think he was that much of an idiot that he didn’t think of that? “It went straight to voicemail.” He didn’t add how just hearing Trey’s voice on the recording had sent shivers through his body.

“Do you think he’s avoiding you?”

Trust Jackie to get to the heart of the matter.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but…”

“Well, if he is, then he’s not good enough for you anyways.” Jackie sounded more put out by the fact Mark couldn’t get ahold of Trey than he was.

“Or maybe something came up.” He hoped so at least, the other options just weren’t acceptable. Trey hadn’t come across as the type who would ignore him.

“Well, I guess you’ll find out eventually.” Jackie glanced at the clock on his wall. “Shit! I have to go. I left Matthew with Brent so I could come make sure you were alive and Brent has to go to work.” She stood and walked to the door. “Call me, and this time, I mean it.”

No sooner had she closed the door behind her than his cell phone rang on the counter. He picked it up and smiled at the name on the display.