Question Mark

by Culpepper, S. E.

  When Zane first got his schedule for the holidays, he’d put Mark off about it. They hadn’t seen each other for a month now and pretending there was a holdup in production was really difficult in the face of Mark’s disappointment. His boyfriend took the news as well as he could, but Zane had been very busy behind the scenes. In between takes, he was finding quiet little corners to call Mark’s family and his own mom to set up the surprise. Everybody but Mark knew what was going on.

  In the beginning when Zane hatched this little plan, he didn’t know if telling Reid was the right thing to do, but he’d underestimated Mark’s brother. If intrigue, pranks, or humorous deception were involved, Reid loved being right in the middle of it. The guy might not admit it very often, but he really cared about his little brother and wanted to see him happy. Since Zane was on the phone with him a lot over the past few weeks setting this up, they’d actually gotten kind of close. Sean was equally cool about it all, even offering to be the one to pick Zane’s mom up at the airport in Bakersfield and take her to Patty and Brad’s.

  Zane and Reid had planned for Mark to be at Reid’s house unaware his boyfriend was on the way. Later they were all having dinner at Mark’s parents. The hours in between, Zane and his boyfriend were going to be alone.

  Reid didn’t know it, but as thanks for the assist, Zane had come through with Sophia Kirkland’s phone number for him. When he got her on the phone and explained who Reid was, she dragged her feet.

  “I’m only a month out of a relationship with Tad...”

  “Well, you can’t trust a guy named Tad, anyhow. Reid is exactly what you need and if you’ve seen Mark and think he’s cute, then you’ll like Reid, too. No doubt.”

  It took a tiny bit more convincing, but when they’d hung up, she’d given him permission to pass along her number. Of course, he was possibly going to have to hogtie Reid and run through the rules of dating a classy lady, but Zane had high hopes for them. Something told him Reid could be ruthlessly charming if the circumstances called for it—he’d probably have been dead by now otherwise.

  Zane had a load of souvenirs from England for the parents and a bunch of autographed swag for Sean from Bill Austen, who it turned out was one of his favorite actors.

  So with the sun shining down, Zane hauled ass to Bakersfield, his truck purring over the distance, seeming happy to be of use again. Oddly, he was more nervous on this trip than he’d been the first time he came to see Mark up here. Every part of the memory of that day was good—well, the blue balls sort of sucked and the goodbye was awful, but…still.

  This trip was less about the present and more about the future. Zane saw so much potential and possibility stretching out in front of him and Mark. It filled him with a sense of responsibility, like he was being given a gift that he sure as hell shouldn’t take for granted.

  He wasn’t. He loved Mark and wanted to be with him for the long haul.

  When Zane exited the highway, his heart was pounding. He wanted to take the streets with the gas pedal to the floor, he was so overwhelmed with excitement.

  Mark! His Mark…just minutes away.

  Breathing hard and with his stomach whirling away, he hung a left onto Reid’s street. The Lexus wasn’t in the driveway, but Mark’s Ford was. Oh, man. It was time.

  Zane pulled past the house and parked out of view of the windows, watching carefully as he drove by to make sure Mark wasn’t peeking through the blinds. It made Zane bust up laughing when he saw that Reid’s porch was decorated with pumpkins and a huge cornucopia of gourds. Patty had left her calling card.

  Leaving his stuff on the seat, he straightened his shirt and jeans and forced himself not to sprint to the front door. There was music on in the house—Michael Bublé, it sounded like. Zane grinned.

  Ringing the door bell, he leaned back against the wall of the porch entryway and put his hands in his pockets. He was going for the super calm look, but wasn’t at all certain he could pull it off. The sunglasses helped block his eyes, which were probably shooting laser beams of anxious energy.

  It took a minute, but the music was turned down and he heard the sound of feet approaching the door. He hoped Mark didn’t look through the peephole. When the door finally swung open, Zane’s jaw almost dropped.

  Mark was wearing cargo shorts that hung low on his waist and flip flops. That’s it. Unless Zane counted the empty glass in Mark’s hand. If Zane wasn’t mistaken, his boyfriend had been making use of the weight bench in the guest room. That smile was the same and that voice as he whooped in surprise was so Mark.

  Zane forgot what he was going to say and moved just in time to catch Mark as he leapt forward. They held one another in a firm grip and Zane laughed as Mark repeated his name over and over in disbelief.

  When he finally pushed back to look up into Zane’s face he thumped him once on the chest. “You’ve been holding out on me, you bastard!”

  Zane pressed a kiss to his lips while Mark was distracted and what was meant to be quick ended up long and strong. They were both breathless when they pulled apart and Zane chuckled as he squeezed Mark tighter.

  “Happy Thanksgiving,” he murmured, going in for another kiss.

  “Mmm… Yes.”

  “Glad to see me?” he asked as he gave Mark’s rear a quick swat.

  Mark responded by pulling Zane inside and throwing question after question at him without giving him time to answer. As Mark was walking past to get him a drink of water that was never requested, Zane latched onto his wrist and tugged him close. He held Mark for a long time, knowing it was nerves that had them both so off kilter. Running his hands over the soft skin of his back, Zane dropped a kiss against his hair.

  He took Mark’s hand and led him back through the house to the guest room. He pushed open the door then turned and caught Mark’s mouth against his in another lingering kiss. “Questions later, baby…”

  ***

  The screen door at his parents house screeched as Mark stepped inside with Zane on his heels. His mom and dad practically slid into the entryway, their faces so bright and eager that Mark would’ve known they were a part of the secret planning even if Zane hadn’t told him on the way over.

  “The boys are here,” his mom announced to no one in particular and then nearly hurdled Mark to get to Zane.

  “Sweetheart!” she cried, arms outstretched for a hug. “How was your trip, you gorgeous hunk of a man, you? It’s so nice of you to set all of this up to surprise Mark.”

  Brad was a tiny bit more sedate as he patted his son on the shoulder then shook Zane’s hand enthusiastically. “Good to see you, Zane,” he said. For a second it looked like they exchanged winks but Mark wasn’t sure.

  “Are Reid and Sean here?” Zane piped in after being hugged around the neck one more time by Patty.

  “In the den playing cards…”

  Mark thought it was odd when they all trooped through the kitchen together and into the den. Normally his mom would already be back to flitting around the house, and his dad would be doing whatever random activity he was up to. It was the holiday thrill, Mark guessed, and everyone was eager to see Zane. Mark led the way into the den and froze two steps into the room, causing a pile-up behind him.

  Reid, Sean, and a woman who was a petite version of Zane were sitting on the floor around the coffee table with playing cards somehow glued to their foreheads. Empty cocktail glasses littered the surface of the table. They were all grinning…and maybe a little bit sloshed.

  Reid stood up, card still holding strong to his head, and gestured at Zane’s mom like, Ta-daaaaa! “How much do you love us?” he burst out, doing a couple weird tap dance steps—he was definitely tipsy. “I kept this shit quiet for two and a half weeks!”

  “Language!” their mom yelled from the hallway.

  Zane squeezed by him and Mark glanced up, totally dazed. He held out a hand to his mom and helped her from the floor so she could meet Mark. She took the card off of her forehead and snagged Reid’s and Sean’
s on the way.

  “I knew you boys were cheating!” she snapped happily and turned back to Mark. “Hey, love. Genevieve Whitlow. So good to finally meet you,” she said with her arms open for a hug.

  Mark stepped forward and said something in response but he wasn’t sure what. He was completely astounded by this woman in front of him who had the same blue eyes as her son. She was small and dainty with a mass of brown hair that was pulled away from her face in some kind of knot. She smelled like cinnamon rolls. Over her shoulder Zane was looking like the cat who got the cream and mouthing, “My mom!” to him.

  “I can’t believe you’re here, Mrs. Whitlow!” Mark choked, pulling back to look at her.

  “Are you kidding me? And call me Gin. I’ve been on the phone with your mom talking recipes for this shindig. Zane told me about his plan before he even knew if it would work out and I feel like I’ve been waiting ages to meet you. You’ve got a wonderful family—except for your brothers, anyway!

  The room sort of exploded with chatter then as Gin left Mark and pulled her son into a tight embrace. Mark’s family seemed to all start talking at once so he let the noise just spin around him and soaked in the amazing lengths everyone had gone to for his benefit. It was truly a perfect time to be overwhelmed with thankfulness.

  Patty put an arm around Mark and Zane and asked, “You boys hungry?”

  “Are they hungry?!” Reid boomed. “They spent the afternoon plowing each other’s fields! Of course they’re hungry.”

  “Reid!” everyone yelled except for Zane and his mom.

  Gin chuckled. “He’s probably right.”

  Just what Reid needed… A buddy.

  ***

  That night Mark lay curled against Zane’s side in his room at Reid’s, hardly daring to believe that they were together again. He thought of the evening spent with both of their families together, all of them cracking up and getting boozy. The next day was going to hold a meal of massive proportions and Mark wasn’t sure he’d be able to contain this mother-load of joy pounding in his chest.

  “I love you, Zane,” he finally whispered. “With my whole heart.”

  With hands and body, mouth and lips, Zane answered him. He loved Mark right back.

  EPILOGUE

  Christian wasn’t the type of guy who made it a point to hunker down and watch an awards show like The Golden Globes, but there he was, parked in the middle of his couch and nearly biting his nails at the wait. He’d even lowered himself to watching the red carpet show just to catch a glimpse of “Hollywood’s Sexiest Man Alive,” Zane Whitlow, and his date, Mark Newland.

  Christian had spoken to Mark only twice since that fateful kiss in front of the hotel and though he was forgiven, Christian knew that he’d pretty much ruined his chances at having a close friendship with Mark. No doubt Zane still considered Christian with a level of distrust as well. This he also understood. Yet… He was rooting for Zane tonight. Rooting for the two of them, actually.

  During the red carpet interview with Zane, Mark stayed quiet until they directly asked him a question. It was something benign like how excited he was to be there and what he thought of Zane’s nomination. Mark was quiet and sincere and Zane’s smile as he watched the guy talk spoke volumes. They were clearly in love and committed. They held hands and stood side-by-side in finely tailored tuxes—Zane’s with a black button up shirt and brilliant white neck tie, and Mark’s with a white shirt and black tie. Alone, they were gorgeous. Together, they were stunning.

  Christian had taken to spitting sunflower seeds across the room into an empty pizza box as he waited for the stupid comedy bits and awards for Best Writer’s Cousin’s Lasagna Recipe to get over with so they could get to the real deal.

  When they got to Best Performance by an Actress in Motion Picture – Drama, Christian’s ears perked up. Throughout the night shots of Zane and Mark had been flashing across the screen. They were seated close to the stage at a round table with some other folks Christian didn’t care about. Mark was slightly behind Zane as they watched the action on stage; they were always touching one way or another. Christian wondered what Mark was thinking about all the fanfare.

  An actress in a killer red dress did her little runway walk to the microphone and Christian spit out his last sunflower seed, sliding to the edge of his seat. All of his boredom immediately transformed into a rolling ball of energy in his stomach.

  “The nominees in the following category have taken audiences on emotional journeys running the gamut of addiction, mental illness, loss, and love. In their performances we were held spellbound, taken over by the power of art in its purest form—”

  “Oh, blah fucking blah! Get on with it!” Christian yelled.

  The screen changed showing clips from the films the actors were being nominated for and Christian drummed on his knees impatiently until they showed Zane’s scene. It was the one where Zane was licking a knife and talking to his victim and at the end he laughed with this haunting and creepy rasp in his throat. Goosebumps skittered over Christian’s arms. When the actress behind the mic appeared again, he bit down on his bottom lip.

  “The nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in Motion Picture – Drama are: Ryan Shephard, Ties Unbound. Samuel Hodgeson, Religious Rite. Zane Whitlow, Innuendos—”

  “Alright, alright!” Christian clapped. “Let’s go, buddy.”

  “—Dennis Broadbent, Chain Gang. And Justin Green, Factors of Truth. And the Golden Globe goes to…”

  Red dress fumbled around with her envelope and the screen split into five different squares. Zane’s square showed a calm face with Mark’s left hand squeezing his shoulder. On the ring finger of that hand, there was a white gold band. Christian went rigid.

  “Zane Whitlow! Innuendos!”

  The crowd around Zane shot to their feet, but a camera still managed to sneak in there and capture Zane’s reaction. He was clearly dumbfounded and as he turned to Mark with people clapping him on the back, Mark was beaming with pride, the smile on his face wide and thrilled. He grabbed Zane on either side of his face, the ring glinting under the lights, and they shared a quick kiss before the actor made his way to the stage. The dude was getting a standing ovation.

  Christian watched, unmoving and shocked as Zane accepted the statue and took his place in front of the microphone. He was wearing a band that matched the one on Mark’s hand. At the sight of it, Christian sensed something give way inside him.

  “Wow… I-I can’t really believe that I’m standing up here…” Zane paused as the crowd got going again.

  “Thanks so much to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and to my fellow nominees—I am honored to be counted among you…”

  Christian barely registered Zane’s thanks to the cast and crew, his agent and publicist, and all the dozens of other people. When Zane brought up his mom, Christian knew Mark would get some airtime, too.

  “…Without the support of my mom, who’s been encouraging me from the start, I wouldn’t be on this stage right now. Thanks, mom. I love you. Finally, I can’t leave here without thanking my amazing, supportive, and totally awesome husband, Mark. Baby, since the first time I saw you, I knew. I love you with all my soul. Thank you.”

  Mark was looking on with a giant smile and teary eyes. He mouthed an I love you back.

  So the two of them got hitched…

  Or whatever…

  Christian eventually turned off the television and sank back into the couch cushions. The room was dark and he was by himself.

  Still, there was a small part of him that was happy. For Mark…

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  S.E. Culpepper lives with her amazing husband and son in Florida and writes as often as she can. She loves hearing from her readers and makes it a point to get back to them. You can email her at seculpepper@seculpepper.com or visit her website at http://seculpepper.com.

  OTHER TITLES BY THIS AUTHOR:

  Private Eye (Liaisons #1)

  Available on amazon
.com, smashwords.com, Createspace.com, and Lulu.com

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