Page 32 of Revealing Mark

It wasn’t long before Mark appeared in the doorway, wearing a leather jacket.

“I’ve got to go out.” He looked rattled. I wanted to ask but I knew whatever was going on, I would be the last person he would confide in.

“Sure.” I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I didn’t.

“Promise me that you won’t leave the apartment.” There was something in his voice that made me nod.

“Say it.”

“I promise I won’t leave the apartment.”

The tension eased from his features. “I might not be back for a while.”

“I’ll be fine.” I assured him so he wouldn’t worry about me. Whatever was going on needed his full attention.

I wanted to say something more but I didn’t. He left, and I stayed fixed to the spot as I listened to the front door close.

CHAPTER NINE

Mark remained at the forefront of my thoughts for the rest of the day. That evening, instead of catching up on the sleep I’d missed the previous night, I lay wide-eyed, worried about him. There had been something I couldn’t quite put my finger on that made me unable to relax enough to sleep.

I lay on the bed, flipping through channels, keeping an eye on the time. At midnight he still wasn’t back.

Sighing, I threw the covers off and decided to go have something to drink. I walked over to my bag and got my favorite mug out. It was weird but it was a little piece of home I had brought with me.

I wandered through the quiet apartment to the kitchen. The fluorescent light was bright and I blinked a couple of times. Where did I start? I felt so out of place and I had no idea where he kept anything.

I searched through the cupboards but he didn’t have any tea, and if I drank coffee now I would be guaranteed enough caffeine to keep me bouncing off the walls. Sleep would be out of the question.

My only alternative was some warm milk. I found asaucepan and poured some milk. I eyed the fancy stove, wondering how the hell you turned it on. Frustrated, I pushed a couple of buttons and waited.Nothing.

I was so busy trying to figure out the contraption that I didn’t hear the heavy footsteps.

“You need some help?” he drawled, and I let out a shriek, turning to face an amused Mark.

“You scared me.” I put my hand to my chest to catch my breath.

“What are you trying to do?” he asked, shrugging out of his jacket.

“Heat milk. But I need a programming degree to work it.” I frowned, turning back to the stove that I couldn’t get to work.

“Here, let me.” He came up behind me. The proximity of his body to mine made me hold my breath. His hand came around and he pushed a couple of buttons. “That should do it.”

“Thanks,” I breathlessly said, trying to act like his nearness didn’t affect me.

I needed a minute to recover when he moved to the side and leaned against the counter.

“How was your evening?” The strain was clear in his voice.

“Fine. I was just struggling to sleep.” I snuck a side-glance at him. He looked tired. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. I wanted to reach out and soothe the tension in his jaw, but it wasn’t my place.

“You sure?” He didn’t look okay.

“There are times in life we can do something about and then there are times when nothing will change the outcome.”

It was the deepest thing he had ever shared with me and it made me more concerned than before.