Page 30 of Revealing Mark

“What happens when you have to work?” I prodded. He couldn’t spend twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week babysitting me. Eventually he would tire of it and let me go back home. I just had to hope that happened sooner rather than later. “Surely, to keep this up, you need to work.”

He shrugged dismissively. “I work when I want to.”

I let my gaze drift around the apartment. “How do you afford this?” My curiosity had gotten the best of me. Everything screamed expensive.

When he didn’t answer, I turned back to him.

“There are some things I’m not comfortable talking about and that’s one of them.”

Why wouldn’t he talk about it? It piqued my curiosity. I bet Matthew knew.

Another thing I had noticed was that there wasn’t one photo in the whole apartment. No mom, no dad. I didn’t even know if he had any siblings.

The more time I spent around him the less I realized I knew about him, which was crazy. He had spent so much time around me and my family, I should know him as well as I knew them. How had I known him for so many years and yet I couldn’t answer any of the questions about his family? It was beyond strange.

“Any other subjects that are off limits?”

“Try asking and I’ll let you know.” He smirked and I felt a little breathless. Did he know the effect he had on me?

“Why are there no photos?”

I lived my life surrounded by pictures in my work and in my home life. I couldn’t imagine having no photos in my home. It wasn’t normal.

“Off limits.” His tone was tight and final. His eyes were unreadable, so I thought about my next question.

I began to walk around the living room, taking a closer look at the paintings and the expensive decor. It looked like the whole room had been perfectly put together with the color and texture.

“Do you have siblings?” I asked, moving to the next burning question.

“No.”

I stopped. I couldn’t imagine a life without Matthew and Sophie. I loved that we had shared the same childhood and upbringing. No one knew you as well as the people you grew up with. They had shared the same life experiences that shaped your life.

“Do you have parents?” I walked closer to him to study him as he chose whether or not to answer.

He had the best poker face. It was almost impossible to readanything from his features. For once, I wished I could read his thoughts so I would know what he was hiding.

“Everyone has parents.”

“But you never talk about them. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention anything about them. Why is that?”

“I don’t like talking about them.” His answer was firm and stiff. There was definitely more to it but I doubted he was going to elaborate.

“Why did you spend so much time at our house growing up?” I was determined to find out something. When I thought back to it, he spent every holiday at our house. I had never even noticed it at the time, it was only now I was beginning to see how unusual it was.

“I like your family.”

That wasn’t what I was expecting. He was side-stepping every attempt on my part to find out more about him.

“Why Jack?” he asked, taking me by surprise. “If you get to ask questions, so do I.”

“I liked him,” I answered with a one-arm shrug. “He said all the right things in the beginning.”

Maybe it was my need to have someone in my life that had pushed me to date someone who hadn’t made me feel the right thing. Besides, the only guy I felt anything for felt it would be betrayal to his best friend. It was all so confusing. How was I supposed to get it right when my heart belonged to the wrong guy?

“Maybe next time you should be a little more cautious. Don’t rush into things.”

“You’re starting to sound like my brother.”