The Lover (It's Just Us Here Book 4)

by Christopher X Sullivan

  He opened the trunk. There was a giant box wrapped in eye-catching paper. “

  What is that?”

  “I almost didn’t have room in the trunk. Had to pay for a second luggage to get this thing here.”

  “Yeah, but what is it?”

  “You’ll see.” He kissed me on the lips, then easily lifted the box. Mark was a strong man so I couldn’t estimate how heavy it was. The box was five feet wide, about three feet tall and two feet deep.

  “Is there a body in there?”

  “You’ll see.” We walked down the street past all the other cars. I asked him if it was a life-size doll. “You’ll see,” Mark said.

  “It is, isn’t it? It’s some creepy doll.”

  “You think you know me so well... remember when you thought your birthday gift was going to be a nude picture of me?”

  Hmm... that’s right. Maybe it isn’t a doll in the box.

  Mark wouldn’t indulge my further guesses and taunted me until we got to the party.

  We walked through the fence to the backyard and introduced ourselves to Tim and Stacy. Tim welcomed us warmly. Stacy looked at the box warily. Charlotte caught sight of the box and sprinted from the riding pony and stood before her parents. The box was twice her height.

  “More presents!” she shouted. She had apparently already opened the rest of her gifts. She had received a motorized car and a small vanity in addition to a pile of other brightly colored playthings.

  I handed Stacy my gift bag. Stacy pulled out my hand-drawn book and showed it to Charlotte, who was not amused. Charlotte was bouncing on her mom’s knee and ready to rip the paper off that giant box. I leaned in and kissed Stacy on the cheek.

  “I’ll have a proper book printed after I fix a few things. Tell me what you think of this. It’s an original... so you know, someday it might be worth something.”

  She thanked me and said she would read it to her daughter.

  “PS, I have no idea what’s in the box.”

  Stacy narrowed her eyes at Mark’s gift. Charlotte tore out of her mother’s arms and grasped at the box, trying to find a way to open it.

  “I heard somebody likes to dress up as a princess. Is that true?” Mark asked.

  Charlotte giggled. She was wearing a princess dress and a princess hat; the riding pony was dressed with a princess harness.

  Mark turned the box on its side so that Charlotte could reach the entire thing. She pulled at the paper... only to find more wrapping paper. “See these numbers?” Mark asked, pointing to the numbers on the next skin of the wrapping paper. Charlotte nodded. “I want you to open this one first.”

  Mark’s big gift was actually three smaller boxes wrapped as one. Charlotte opened the first box, which contained a blue princess dress. Charlotte gasped. “Look Mommy! A dress.” Stacy clapped. Charlotte opened the second box. She gasped again. “Look Mommy! Two dresses.” Stacy frowned at Mark.

  “This is a dress for Mommy,” Mark explained. “For when you dress up. Do you like to play dress up?”

  “Yes,” Charlotte answered excitedly. She opened the third box. “What is that?” she asked.

  “This is a suit for a prince. So Daddy can dress up with you, too.”

  “Daddy!” Charlotte yelled. “You get a dress, too!”

  “Thanks for that,” Tim muttered.

  “Put it on, Daddy.”

  “How about later,” Tim said with fake cheer.

  “If Daddy doesn’t want to wear it, I’m sure Mark will play dress up with you,” I said to Charlotte. “He loves to play dress up.”

  Mark wiggled his eyebrows at me and I thought back to our earlier hijinks that led to a change of clothes. That was a very nice shirt he shredded. The perfect feel and the perfect grey color. What a shame.

  We mingled with the crowd. Mark and Stacy continued their tentative truce, though she clearly disapproved of the adult princess gown.

  “Where did you get the dresses from?” Ryan asked. His twins were running around and being chased by his wife, Amber.

  “Picked ‘em up at a costume store in Queens. I thought of Charlotte the moment I saw them.”

  “You and your clothes,” I said. Mark pulled me into a side hug and we shared a look. I felt very proud to have him with me. Ryan kept trying to butt into our moments like a third wheel.

  “What’s with you two today? You’re acting extra flirtatious.”

  “Am not,” I scoffed.

  “I just got in from New York a few minutes ago. We haven’t seen each other in a week.”

  “Damn. I wish Amber looked at me like that after I got back from a work trip.”

  “Like what?” Amber asked, arriving without Ryan’s knowledge. She was out of breath. “Will you guys watch the twins, I’m going to sit in the shade with Stace.”

  “Sure thing, honey. I love you, light of my life and mother of my children.”

  “I heard what you said, buck-o. Don’t try to butter me up.”

  “We’ve got to out-flirt these guys, it’s making me look bad.” Ryan kissed his wife so deep that Mark told them to get a room. “Back at ya,” Ryan countered.

  We already did, lol.

  I walked to the riding pony without making any cutting observations that would embarrass Mark. Mark followed me obediently. Ryan followed the twins. The twins ran from me and Mark to the playground with Mark chasing them.

  A couple I hadn’t met before approached me like we were friends. Must be one of Mark’s friends from college. Mark materialized at my side so we could present a united front.

  “Hey, Mark,” the young woman said. Her guy looked like he was in the same position as me—lost.

  “Hey, Kayla. This is my partner, Chris.”

  I looked at Mark and he looked at me. Partner. What a thrill to hear that word out of his mouth... and he spoke it so confidently. I loved him so much in that moment.

  “Wow. Nice to meet you, Chris. A lot has changed.” She laughed, an easy sound sparkling with true humor. “This is my fiance, Erik.”

  We shook hands with Erik and exchanged other inane pleasantries—the kind that I hated and Mark gobbled up like a hungry, hungry hippo.

  “So, how did you two meet?” Kayla asked innocently.

  “Long story,” I said, just as Mark said, “In the park.” We flashed grins at each other. I had never told the story of how we met, not even to Lynn—she got the story in bits and pieces.

  “How did you two meet?” I asked her, stalling for time. “And how do you and Mark know each other?”

  She didn’t answer my question and instead turned to Erik. “So. Would you have sex with him, or what?”

  Erik stuttered. “What are you talking about?”

  “This is the guy,” Kayla said. She nodded her head at Mark. “What do you think? He’s hot.”

  “I’m all yours, Kay. He is hot. But I don’t want anything up my ass.” They kissed.

  I was scandalized.

  Kayla saw my look of confusion and laughed. “Mark stole my first fiance from me the day before my wedding.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing how to respond to her frankness.

  She shrugged. “I’m over it. I hear Rob is still going crazy out in Portland or something. He should have came out in college and saved us both the trouble. But I found my guy in the end. And if he doesn’t want someone like Mark, then I don’t have to worry about him swinging that way at all.” She laughed playfully.

  “I’m happy for you,” Mark said with genuine warmth. “We’ve spoken since that fiasco,” he explained. “She forgave me way before Stacy ever did.”

  “Oh, Stacy hasn’t forgiven you,” Kayla said brightly. She was either an extraordinarily chipper person or was putting on a show for us. “I’m actually surprised to see you here.”

  Mark pointed to me with his thumb. “That’s all his doing.”

  “That’s not true,” I said, slapping his shoulder lightly. His arm snaked around my waist.

  Ka
yla wouldn’t let us get away that easily. “So how did you two meet? I met Erik through a girl at work. Set us up on a blind date.”

  “Chris and I met on a Monday. He runs every Monday. He’s very into schedules.”

  “I am,” I agreed.

  “And I happened to be there. And I tried to seduce him and he really set me straight.”

  “I don’t remember doing that at all. I was working and you interrupted me... as usual.” We smiled at each other. “Though you did have your shirt off, and if you thought that was going to impress me, then yeah, I guess I did put you in your place.” I laughed.

  “And then he helped me with my college course—Chris is a writer and I was in a business writing class. And that’s kind of how it happened. There were a lot of false starts along the way.” Mark glossed over the many times I had pulled away from him and he had managed to pull me back.

  “Oh, and you proposed to me at the Cubs’ game. Remember that?”

  “Tim helped you set that up?” Kayla clarified.

  “Yep. That was months in the making—”

  “Really?” I asked. “I didn’t know that.”

  “—And it wasn’t a marriage proposal. It was a ‘taking it slow’ proposal. Probably the first time that’s happened at Wrigley. And I almost didn’t get to use it. I was going to give you the tickets after our hike, but you were in one of your moods.”

  “I was in one of those moods,” I agreed with a mumble. “Huh. I didn’t know that. You really were working the long game with me.”

  “Well, my short game didn’t work at all, so what else could I do?” He kissed me sweetly. “And that’s how we met,” Mark finished simply.

  “Cute,” Kayla said.

  We chatted and watched the kids run around. I learned that Kayla was actually short for Mikayla. I now had a face to put to the story about Stacy’s sister. We separated and Kayla was very warm towards me—surprisingly so. Mark and I walked towards the kiddie area with the pony.

  “I didn’t know you planned that scoreboard thing so far in advance.”

  “What do you think? Scoreboards just grow on trees? That’s how I got most of those signatures... through Tim’s connections.”

  Ryan was holding one twin as Amber tried to get the other seated on the pony. Mark took little Jeremy and I took Ryan’s cell phone. I snapped a shot of Zachy on the pony, then they switched kids. Mark took an upset Jeremy and spun him through the air as we set up the next photo. Mark had the boy laughing in no time.

  Mark was so good with children.

  I hope he has a daughter. He deserves to play dress-up... Holy shit... am I thinking of Mark having a kid... with me?

  “Chris, are you going to take the picture?” Ryan asked blandly.

  “Oh! Yeah.” I woke up his phone and pressed the button—I had gotten lost staring at Mark for a moment.

  Ryan took the phone from me. “Do you two want to have kid duties for a couple minutes?” I couldn’t tell if Ryan was teasing me or if he was genuinely curious.

  I glanced at Mark—he was completely absorbed with his twin. I took Zachy’s hand and led him towards the bouncy house. “Can we go?” I asked Ryan, recognizing that the child wasn’t mine.

  “Sure. You’ll need to guide him with your arms so he doesn’t crash into anyone.”

  “You won’t get bounced on, will you?” I asked the baby. Zachy was only interested in the bright blue and yellow bouncy house and didn’t pay any attention to me. He slipped out of my hand and ran towards the red balloon step. I helped him into the bouncy house and followed after what had suddenly transformed into a demon child.

  That kid could crawl.

  “Zachy, come here please.” My plaintive request definitely did not work. I asked the other kids to watch out for him. Zachy crawled to a corner and tried to stand even though his footing was uneven. “Here, Zachy, let me help you. No, don’t lick anything in here.”

  Yuck! We’ll have to wash this kid after we get him out of here.

  Mark and Jer-bear found their way into the bouncy house. Mark and I teamed up to herd the babies and keep them from falling over. Zachy’s face was incredibly cute as he couldn’t find his balance and I had to keep him upright. Sometimes he laughed and other times he looked like he wanted to cry. I laughed with Mark.

  After a few minutes, we got the babies out of the germ trap bouncy house—actually, the twins were toddlers... not really babies anymore. I got Zachy on firm ground and he was ready to run. Jeremy wouldn’t leave Mark’s arms and acted like he was ready for a nap. I followed Zachy until he stopped near the pony.

  “You already rode the pony,” I informed him. The pony assistant (I have no idea what you would call a person who assists with riding ponies—a herdsman, or a groom?) helped Zachy onto the saddle. I held him firmly in place and we walked the small circuit. I felt bad for the pony—it must have been bored out of its mind. Zachy, on the other hand, was having the time of his life.

  I looked over at Mark who had become a giant pillow for the other twin. He’s good at being a pillow. I smiled at that thought.

  Then I pulled Zachy off the pony and he started to cry—legitimate big fat tears. I tried to pacify him, but it wouldn’t work. He wouldn’t walk. He stood there and let it all loose.

  I picked him up and bounced him as I walked over to his parents. He wailed in my ears. He opened his eyes and stared longingly at that pony. Jer-bear heard his brother cry and watched us carefully. Mark was talking to him.

  Of course Mark gets the calm toddler.

  I handed my demon baby to Ryan, and Zachy quieted immediately. He pointed at the pony and Ryan shook his head. Zachy looked like he was about to cry again, thought better of it and laid his little head against Ryan’s shoulder and stifled his sobs.

  Drama!

  He was cute... but he had also shrieked in my ear and I wasn’t ready to forgive him.

  Ryan and Amber decided to leave soon after that. Mark and I decided to leave with them. We said our goodbyes to Stacy, Tim, and Charlotte. Mark promised to play dress-up with her if Tim wouldn’t.

  We watched the twins get buckled into their SUV. I got a bear hug from Ryan and a dainty hug from Amber.

  “We’ll have to do that again,” Mark said. “I was a natural. I’m better than Chris at something!”

  “Watch it, buddy.” I leveled a comical stare at him. We laughed. He wrapped an arm around me.

  “We’ll set up a playdate for you,” Amber promised. “Maybe we’ll go out with Tim and Stacy, too.”

  “Mark would love to pick out dresses with Charlotte.”

  “Shut up,” Mark said, shoving me. “That’s a gay stereotype. I’m not all about clothes!”

  “Mark. You shop more than anyone I’ve met in my life. Period. You’ve shopped more for me than I’ve ever shopped for me.”

  Mark snorted. “You just pick out whatever is around. Whatever. As if it doesn’t matter. You know how many times I’ve heard you say that word? Whatever.”

  “I don’t care what I wear.”

  “That’s a fucking lie. What’s all this shit about your favorite shirt?”

  “He ripped my favorite shirt!” I exclaimed as Amber laughed. “We couldn’t get here on time because he had to rip through my shirt and throw me on the bed!”

  “TMI,” Ryan said.

  I blushed. I hadn’t meant to get so descriptive.

  We left. Mark picked on me for bringing up our sex life, but he held my hand as we drove home.

  “So can I take you out to the club?”

  The gay club.

  “Not tonight. Can we just cuddle tonight? I missed you.”

  “Sure, babe.”

  “You can take me there this week.” I know it’s important to you.

  “Tuesday or Thursday?”

  “You know me too well. I do like to be consistent.” I settled into the leather seat and exhaled.

  Mark was home. We had survived another milestone as a couple. Also, Stacy
hadn’t ripped out Mark’s throat... so maybe they were on the road to true forgiveness.

  All was right with the world... although it looked like I wouldn’t be able to avoid Mark’s club for much longer.

  Meeting the Rhinos

  The day after Charlotte’s party, Mark and I did our Monday run in the park, just like usual. We didn’t have any naked shenanigans. We spent the rest of the day together. I worked. Mark had too much energy and kept bouncing into my space. I told him to go work out, which he did. He bounded back into the apartment and wouldn’t leave me alone, so I gave him one of my old, unpublished romance novels to edit. That kept him busy for the rest of the day.

  Tuesday, I woke up in the arms of my lover and fretted over the fact that in a little more than twelve hours I would be in a gay club. Mark had influenced my schedule enough so that Tuesday and Thursday were set aside as our nights to go out. Wednesday was for working out. Friday was for working out with Tim and Ryan at their gym. Saturday was for tennis and lunch with the guys.

  I had my routine. Mark fit his life into mine. Tuesday was the day we (Mark) had planned on going to his damn gay club.

  I worked ferociously throughout the morning. Mark woke up as his normal Sleepy Bear self. He pawed at me when I tried to get him out of bed and make breakfast. I told him I now had three days of vacation built up and I wanted another one before we went out for the night. Mark grumbled and made oatmeal for himself and fruit and yogurt for me with a side of walnuts.

  “I liked your novel,” Mark said.

  “It was trash.”

  “No. It was good. I couldn’t put it down.”

  “Liar.” I shut the computer. “I need to get a lot of work done today. I’m heading out.”

  “Out?”

  “To my apartment. I’ll work there for a few hours... you know, like how most people have to work during the day.”

  “Hey! I am working. Beauty rest is part of my work.” He glomped onto me and wouldn’t let me leave. “I’m not going to be here this weekend. I want to spend as much time with you as possible.”

  I sighed. “I have stuff to do. Yesterday was a lazy day—”