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(A/N: Make sure you have food and water ready. This is 7000+ words)

Chapter 22: No Small Serving Big Plate Nonsense

Hearing the noise coming from the foyer, Mrs. Moore walked in out of curiosity. She had heard complete silence for nearly half an hour but suddenly Mason and Mark were talking up a storm. As she padded into the room with sock-covered feet, she heard Mason ranting about what Mark needed to do to woo him.

Eleanor Moore has known that her two adopted sons were interested in men for several years now. Of course, there was the initial surprise. Aiden and Mason had entered the living room and sat her and her husband down, holding each other’s hands and wearing stone-cold expressions.

They had leant on each other for support as they admitted that they were gay and bi. But after the surprise passed, Eleanor remembered the promise she had made to herself when they first decided to adopt a child. That no matter what, she would love her kids. So, she embraced them and all that they were.

After everything that came since Eleanor was glad that she never questioned it. Aiden got married to Aaron Tyler and Mason had admitted to his crush on Mark Tyler not long after that. So, as a doting mother, she could encourage the next Tyler-Moore relationship. Aiden had often told her that she was the biggest supporter of Mark and Mason’s relationship. Eleanor Moore wore that title with pride.

So, with conversations of dates occurring between Mason and Mark, Mrs. Moore was over the moon. She made her presence known with loud steps and a giant smile. Mason turned towards her with wide eyes. Eleanor chuckled because Mason probably realized that she overheard some of their conversation.

“Mom-”

“So you guys are going out on a date?” She asked boldly, her smile widening at the matching embarrassed looks that Mason and Mark wore. Mason gave up the fight before it started, covering up his face with his hands. Mark looked even more panicked then because he realized that he was on his own.

“Aunt Eleanor, it’s not- well it is but-” After Mark stumbled over his words a couple more times, Mrs. Moore raised a hand to shut him up.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Mark.” She said, a gentle smile on her face. Mark relaxed a bit at the kindness she showed, but it didn’t last for long. In an instant, her gentle smile evaporated and was replaced by a hard glare. “But if I find out that you were playing games with my little boy you better pray that you will be allowed in this home ever again.”

Mark’s eyes were blown wide opened and he stood at attention after hearing anything but an empty threat come out of Mrs. Moore’s mouth. Mrs. Moore’s glare deepened when she didn’t get a response.

“Do I make myself clear?”

“Absolutely.” Mark blurted, an embarrassed blush growing on his cheeks. Mrs. Moore glare miraculously disappeared and her gentle smile returned.

“Good you boys have fun now.”

Mark nodded before getting his shoes and leaving the house as fast as he could. Mason stayed behind longer to look over at his mom.

“Mom, you didn’t have to scare him like that.” Mason sighed, feeling bad for the position Mark was put in. And, because he hadn’t helped Mark either. Mrs. Moore wasn’t smiling anymore. She looked at her son seriously, all of the honesty in the world being shown through her eyes.

“Mason, Mark is a handsome boy with lots of money and a friend who has never let him down. He may be so comfortable that he isn’t grateful for what he has. People like that will often take advantage of things without realizing it.” She explained, a distant look in her eyes that made Mason feel cold. Then she was suddenly looking through her son. “I don’t want him to take advantage of you.”

Mason thought back to how the man he loved had asked that he became his sex friend. Mason wasn’t sure if that was taking advantage or not, but he wouldn’t tell his mother that. So, he swallowed back his fear and sat the older woman a smile.

“Don’t worry mom, he would never take advantage of me.”

—————

Mason and Mark were seated on the train, their thighs pressed together due to a lack of space. They had gotten on during the evening rush hour and were lucky enough to find two seats that were free side by side. But, as the train shook and swayed and those that were standing moved with it, they unconsciously moved closer together to be further from the strangers.

With their bodies so close together, Mark thought that this was a great time to pick what restaurant they go to. They had gotten on a train to move towards the center of the city. But if they didn’t choose quickly, they could miss the station they needed for the restaurant.

Mason knew all of this just as well as, if not better than Mark did. But his brain really didn’t want to focus on food when Mark’s thigh was rubbing up against his. He had been thinking about sex all day and now that the prospect of it was taken away from him, Mason was thinking about it even more. Mark talked about dishes and prices, noodles and rice, but all Mason could think about was Mark’s thick thigh. He wanted to just reach out and squeeze-

“Mason?”

Mason looked up at Mark’s surprised expression, then looked down to see that he hadn’t just thought about it, he had squeezed. Mark’s thick, muscular thigh was under Mason’s hand. Without thinking about it, Mason squeezed again and Mark groaned at the feeling. Mason noted with a mental sigh of bliss that it was even firmer than he imagined.

But, at the reminder of his imagination, Mason tore his hand off.

“Gosh, Mark, I’m sorry.” Mason apologized, colour travelling up to his ears. “That was- I was just . . . ”

Mark was looking at Mason expectantly, waiting for the excuse for his actions. Mason had planned on coming up with one. This was, embarrassingly enough, far from the first time that he had to explain himself out of something that would let Mark know how much he liked him. But, as he stared up into Mark’s eyes, Mason was tired.

He’d been hiding any sign of attraction or affection for years but Mark has just admitted that he finds Mason attractive. Why should Mason hide anymore?

With that in mind, Mason just shrugged.

“I told you that I wouldn’t be able to wait very long.”

Mark groaned again and let his hand drop onto the clear glass next to him. Mason was gorgeous and sexy in just about anything he did, but he was not one to allude to sex, even in jokes. To hear Mason admit his attraction so blatantly was heating up Mark in ways that were not appropriate for a public train.

“Mason.” Mark whispered out through a hoarse voice. “Talking about stuff like that is not going to help me keep my hands off of you for several weeks either. So, why don’t we talk about food.”

Mason smiled to himself because Mark had talked about weeks this time, not months, which he considered to be progress. Mason decided that he would spare Mark and drop the topic.

“All right, food.” Mason stated, looking ahead instead of in Mark’s direction while he thought. “Um, did you want something light or a big meal.”

“Oh, I want the whole meal.” Mark told him with no hesitation. As he spoke, he began to rub his stomach, which had Mason giggling. “I haven’t eaten in hours so if you come here with that large plate nonsense, we’ll have to fight.”

Mason laughed at Mark’s complaints, seeing the food fire burning in the other boy's eyes. Mark had grown up with less money than many and going out to eat had been the food court in a mall or cheap Chinese. Now, he and his family had more money than they knew what to do with, but Mark hadn’t taken to all the perks of the high life. He hated contemporary restaurants.

The second he received a meal over twenty dollars with a serving so small it had to be considered a snack, Mark had abandoned high-end restaurants. Yes, he was forced to eat at some pricier places from time to time with family, but he often stopped at A&W after the meal.

Mark’s hatred of aspects of expensive dining never stopped being funny to Mason, and Mason continued to laugh anytime Mark complained.

“Fine, our bill will be no more than $100.” Mason stated, seeing the nod of approval on Mark’s face. But, just to mess with him a little, Mason made another comment. “I know you’re too cheap to spend more on me anyway.”

Mark’s eyes went wide as Mason laughed again.

“Hey, I am completely fine with spending money, especially on you Mason.” Mark argued, speaking even as Mason continued to laugh. “I just don’t want overpriced food that leaves you hungrier after you ate than before.”

“I know, I know.” Mason admitted, smiling as he came down from his giggle high. “I’m just teasing.”

And that was the issue. Teasing Mason was fun and playful and carefree and smiling at hours on end. And Mason’s smile was one of the most amazing things about him. It went so wide but never overpowered Mason’s eyes that would narrow only slightly. The more Mark looked at Mason, the more he noticed everything that had slipped his notice for years. Now, Mark was full-on staring and Mason was staring back.

Why wouldn’t he?

Mark has and always will be a sight to see. His clear skin was beginning to tan now that the sun was coming back and those rosy lips of his were parted just slightly, leaving enough space for Mason’s bottom lip to slip in. And those green eyes, piercing into Mason with an intensity he’d never seen before had Mason speechless. And those eyes were getting closer. Mason gasped as Mark pressed his hand on to Mason’s upper thigh less than an inch away from his groin, but Mason didn’t look down. He couldn’t. Not when Mark’s lips were getting so close and-

“So, what type of food should we get?” Mason asked, pulling back and looking at anything but Mark. Mark clenched his free hand and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening his eyes again, his previous desire now pushed back.

“I’m not sure.”

But even as Mark spoke, Mason was cursing himself out. Why in the world would he do that? He knew how soft Mark’s lips were and how good it would be to kiss him. Why would he deny himself that? Yes, they were on a public train with strangers who had varying levels of homophobia or support for the community. Yes, Mason would likely die from embarrassment the moment the kiss was over. But, it would have been a darn good kiss.

Mark was similarly upset, except he would have gone through with it anyways. Because he didn’t want to push Mason and saw this as a ‘no’ on a public kiss, Mark was able to put it behind him a bit faster. As he continued to ponder over what would be a good place to eat for an earlier dinner, Mark chuckled at the memory that came to him.

“Do you remember the last place that we went to with everybody?” Mark asked, smiling when Mason groaned.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Mason complained, though he went on to remind himself regardless. “We all thought that it was going to be good, then the grease suddenly hits your mouth and you have to struggle just to finish the fork.”

Mark laughed even harder at the description, giving Mason a sympathetic pat on the back.

“I felt so bad because you guys had ordered noodles and fried rice, etc, but my meat was pretty good.”

Mason scoffed with an annoyed eye roll.

“You only thought your meat was good because there was so much fat, the extra grease just blended in.” Mason said, making a subtle jab at Mark. Mark clutched at his chest with a small gasp.

“Okay, rude. I eat healthy food, too.” He pouted, earning a giggle from Mason. Then, a lightbulb went off in his head. “Wait, Greek food is pretty healthy right?”

Mason frowned softly with a tilt of his head as he thought.

“I’m not sure if it is healthy but it seems pretty healthy to me.” Mason explained, honestly. He didn’t have a ton of experience with Greek food so he could only really draw on those few memories. Mark shrugged as if it didn’t matter and sent Mason a wide smile.

“Either way, how about we get some Greek food.” He suggested, getting a nod of acceptance from Mason. Mark quickly checked the subway map and his grin grew even wider. “I think I know of a place not far from here.”

Mason smiled, his hand falling on Mark’s arm.

“Good. I was kind of getting tired of talking with all of these people around.” Mason admitted in a low whisper, his eyes sending Mark a provocative look. Mark’s eyes dropped to Mason’s hand before looking into his brown eyes again.

“Are you going to keep this up until we . . . do something?” Mark asked, his voice strained as he spoke. Mason’s grin widened, watching as Mark’s eyes fell down to his lips for the umpteenth time since they got on the train.

“Doing what?” Mason asked instead, playing dumb. Mark sighed in frustration.

“Don’t play dumb, you know what you’re doing.”

Mason chuckled at Mark’s accusation. The ever smooth, ever calm a laid back Mark was bothered by some flirting? Mason loved the effect his flirting was having on the other man much more than he would admit.

“I think you’re overestimating my intelligence.”

“And I think that you’re underestimating mine.”

Mason sent Mark a look from underneath his lashes that sent a shiver down Mark’s spine. It was as if Mason was touching far more than just his arm when he gave Mark that look.

“We’ll see.”

—————

After all of the discussions about expensive food that Mason and Mark had, Mason had expected to walk into a place where their best dishes were sold in styrofoam. But when he and Mark walked into the restaurant, Mason was suddenly very upset to only be wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Some calming jazz music was being played in the speakers and the first person Mason saw was a woman at the host stand. Her shirt was buttoned all the way to the top and her black hair was pulled back into a sleek bun that was ballerina perfect.

Seeing how much better she was dressed, Mason tugged at his shirt self-consciously. But Mark, who wasn’t dressed any better than him, walked up to the host with all of the confidence in the world.

The host, standing with immaculate posture, asked Mark what table he’d like. Mason nearly blushed when she looked over at him after Mark said, “It’ll just be the two of us.” It shouldn’t have mattered whether she guessed they were on a date or not, but it still got to Mason. If she realized that they were on a date, she would assume that they were dating. And that idea, no matter how correct given their current situation, made Mason very happy.

Mark then asked for a private table and the host sent another look and Mason blushed, fully this time. The woman started to lead them towards their table, shoulders back as she took large model-like steps. When there seemed to be a large enough distance between them and the woman, Mason started whispering to Mark.

“Why did you ask for a private table?” Mason hissed out, grabbing Mark’s hand to get his attention.

“Why not?” Mark replied, raising a brow Mason’s way. Mason sighed in frustration. He had hoped that Mark would get it without him having to explain it. But, with the curious look on Mark’s face, Mason realized that wasn’t going to be the case.

“Now she’s going to think that we’ll be doing . . . questionable things here!” Mason explained, glancing back over at the host to see if she heard them. Mark didn’t seem apologetic in the slightest. Instead, he smirked and lowered his mouth to Mason’s ear.

“Who said we wouldn’t?”

Mason had a hard time walking with that simple sentence ringing in his ears. Mark chuckled at his wide-eyed, red-faced appearance and the host finally turned back towards them curiously. What she thought when she saw Mark laughing and Mason as bright as a firetruck, no one could be sure.

She finally showed them to a cozy booth nestled in the back corner of the dining room. Although Mason thought that Mark had been joking, the sight of the tall table and dim lighting brought some ideas to mind. As if he could read Mason’s mind, Mark sent Mason a cheeky grin.

“Here are your menus.” Their host said as she placed the thick menus in front of them. “Your server should be with you in a moment.”

“Thank you.”

The host nodded briefly at Mason’s comment before she headed back to her stand. And just like that, the two of them were alone. Mason peaked up at Mark quickly before moving to open his menu. Seeing that Mason clearly wanted to avoid talking at the moment, Mark decided to open up his menu as well. The two of them were silent for barely a minute before Mason wanted to talk again.

His nerves wanted to shut him up and keep him quiet, but his desire to talk to Mark was so strong that he couldn’t ignore it. He tilted his menu don so he could get a better look at Mark.

“These dishes sound amazing. Lavraki, Pastistio, the Kotopoulo.” Mason said, reading off some of the exotic names. “I definitely want to try their Spanakopita.”

Mark smiled, happy that Mason wasn’t being silent anymore. Mason was such a talkative person that being around him as he was silent actually worried Mark. He hummed in agreement, remembering the last time he had a spanakopita.

“Yeah, this place makes amazing Spanakopita. We’ll have to order that as an appetizer.”

Mason grinned happily before going back to analyze his options. Because Mark had been there before, he chose his dish relatively soon. He dropped his menu on to the table and began to watch Mason as he waited. Mason continued to go back and forth over the items, but he eventually began to notice a stare centered on his face. He looked up, his eyes immediately coming in contact with Mark. Mark didn’t drop his stare and Mason began to get flustered.

“What?” Mason asked in a small voice. Mark’s lips stretched out into a slow smile and Mason bit back a happy sigh.

“You’re looking very hard at that menu, Mason.” Mark commented, avoiding the true answer to Mason’s question. He placed a finger in the center of Mason’s menu and pressed softly. “You want some help?”

Despite the innocent nature of Mark’s request, Mason felt as if his offer was anything but. His eyes had a teasing glint to them that promised a very different type of help. But, even if Mason’s suspicion were true, he didn’t discourage Mark. Instead, he nodded, lowering his menu and guard for Mark. With the way that the booth was built, Mark and Mason were sat diagonally from each other. But, thanks to the curve at the corner, Mark easily scooted closer to Mason until their knees were pressed together.

Mark leant his body against Mason’s and started to read the menu with him. So what Mark had a menu on his side of the table? Both Mark and Mason were enjoying this set up far more. Mark scanned the list for a moment before pointing at a dish towards the bottom of the page.

“Paidakia.” Mark stated a soft smile on his lips. “They’re lamb chops. I had them the last time they were here. They are fantastic.”

Mark turned his head to look at Mason and found that he could see the tiny lashes in the corners of Mason’s eyes. Usually, he couldn’t see Mason’s eyelashes at all. Mark’s eyes widened just slightly at the realization of how close they were. Mason noticed as well but instead of moving back, he brought up his hand and placed it on top of Mark’s.

Was that too far?

The lines between friendly, romantic, and the odd middle zone that Mason and Mark were trying to stay in were blurry as hell. Was hand-holding too romantic for two people that fucked? Mason held his breath as Mark looked into his eyes. What would Mark do?

Sensing that Mason needed some comfort, Mark flipped over his to begin to touch Mason’s. Their staring contest never broke as Mark’s thumb began to move up and down in Mason’s palm. Mark’s hand started to move towards Mason’s wrist and Mason let out a shuttering gasp.

“Mark-”

“Hi, I’m Johnny. I’ll be your server today.”

Mark dropped Mason’s hand with a noisy swallow and scooted back to his previous seat. Mason dropped his head while he pressed his hands against his thighs. Holy crap! Mason knew that there was some sexual tension between him and Mark—looking back on the first time they kissed, that was the obvious explanation. But, he hadn’t expected it to get so out of hand so soon. Every stroke against his hand felt so intimate. Mason blushed again at the reminder.

“Can I start you both off with a drink?” The server, a scrawny man with carefully slicked-back brown hair, asked. Mason cleared his throat softly before nodding.

“Yeah, I’ll get a sprite if you have some.” Mason told him with a bashful smile, still embarrassed that they had been caught. Caught doing what, Mason wasn’t sure. Looking back on it objectively, nothing had happened. Not really. There’d been no kiss, no hand against a crotch or chest or thigh. But that electricity that passed between them could not be denied.

Something had happened, just not only in a physical sense.

Mark leant forward, seeming to have suddenly recovered from his earlier embarrassment. Mason glanced at his tan forearms contrasting against the pale blue of the tablecloth. His eyes snaked up, passing past his chest which was lightly covered in curly hairs and stopped at his face. As he suspected, Mark’s embarrassment was long gone. Now that confident air, arguably one of the most attractive things about him, was on at full strength. Mason kept back his swooning.

“I’ll have a sprite as well. But, I think we’re ready to order.” Mark told the waiter, and Mason realized he was taking charge of the meal. Mason had already chosen his food and discussed some appetizers that he liked, so the idea of Mark telling his wishes to the waiter didn’t bother him. Mason leant back, letting his backrest against the black fabric of the seat.

“Alright. What did you two have in mind?” Johnny asked, his pen and notepad out. Mark took a quick moment to look down at the menu, then his stare went back up to their waiter.

“We would like a Spanakopita and some Keftedes as appetizers, one order of Paidakia for Mason and the Brizola for myself.”

Despite the impressive speed at which mark said these orders, their waiter seemed to catch it all, scribbling down quickly in his little notepad. Mark closed both his and Mason’s menus and put them down in a neat pile as he waited for the lanky man to finish writing in his book.

“Would you like to order dessert now or wait until the end of your meal?” Johnny asked, somehow being finished with writing down an order rattled off so quickly. Mason sat up at the sound of dessert. He hadn’t decided on one, but he kind of wanted to order it now.

He started to tell their waiter this, but Mark placed a hand on his wrist, easily shutting him up. Mark turned back to their server with a smile so sweet yet completely natural. Mark practically flirted just by looking at you, Mason noted as he looked away. It was one of those things he always knew but could never really tell Mark.

“Well actually be skipping dessert, thank you.” Mark was all poise and grace as he said this, voice as smooth as silk. Mason noticed that his voice was even smoother than usual and realized it was for the waiter.

With that, Johnny closed his little booklet and told them that he would return shortly with their drinks. Mark and Mason didn’t move as Johnny walked away. It was only when he was out of earshot that Mason pulled his arm out from under Mark’s touch.

“No dessert?” Mason asked, the sound of obvious surprise in his voice. “I thought you were willing to splurge on me, baby.”

Mason was half kidding, half-serious. While the only list of rules to win his love thing was a joke, he had expected for Mark to be okay with paying a bit more for a date. Hearing that Mark didn’t want to spend the extra money on dessert was a shock. And, he was looking forward to eating something sweet after their meal. But that option was taken away from him because of ‘Man in Charge’ Mark.

While Mason continued to mentally complain, Mark’s mind was drawn back to a previous even by the word ‘baby’.

Mark remembered the quick flush of embarrassment that had filled him when their waiter announced his presence. Mark was by no means an exhibitionist and instead preferred to keep anything more than some hand-holding behind closed doors.

Yet, when their waiter had arrived, Mark knew that he and Mason had been caught in the act. The act of what, Mark could not tell you. He knew it had been sexy, incredibly so. Mark could read Mason’s desire in his eyes like a book and knew that his own was probably just as clear. But there had been another emotion that Mark felt as he held Mason’s hand and felt his breath that wasn’t as familiar.

Not only was it not something that Mark felt with his past lovers, but it was foreign when it pertained to his friendship with Mason as well. He and Mason felt . . . close. Close in a way that wasn’t familiar. Mark wasn’t certain whether he liked it or not, but regardless, he knew he had to investigate the feeling further.

Coming back to Mason’s previous question, Mark shot Mason an excited smile. Mason was a bit surprised by the sudden switch from zoned out and contemplative to child-like excitement.

“I thought that when we leave the restaurant later, we could find dessert.”

Mason raised a brow, curious about the suggestion.

“So you don’t want some fancy Greek dessert?” He asked, a teasing tilt to his voice as he gestured to the warmly lit place that surrounded them.

“Not unless you want to.” Mark shrugged. Mason bit at his bottom lip and looked around the restaurant in thought. It was a beautiful place and he would be lying if he said he didn’t want to try their desserts. But, Mark was staring at him with those irresistible, green eyes and he didn’t want to upset him. Mark may have been planning this date for Mason, but Mason still wanted to make Mark happy as well.

“A separate dessert sounds fun.” Mason told Mark with a soft smile. His smile widened at the relief he noticed in Mark’s eyes. “I can’t wait.”

Mark and Mason made the unspoken agreement to approach this meal as if nothing had changed and they were simply friends. It seemed like an odd plan but after stumbling over their words for a bit, they realized that that approach allowed them to relax and be themselves. They shared some small talk as they waited for their drinks and appetizers.

Mason became a bit more aware of where they were and the fact that it was a date when he got his soda. Something about sipping from his drink and peaking over his glass at Mark felt kind of, sensual? Mason felt like a stereotypical woman carefully seducing a man by sexually having a drink. It was pretty stupid but Mason continued to look at Mark though his lashes every time he took a sip.

Then, their appetizers came and Mason’s focus went from Mark to the delicious food in front of them. The Spanakopita was piping hot and when Mason pulled out pieces, he could see faint strings of cheese. For a good fifteen minutes, all Mason could think was ‘this is so fucking good’. Mark thoroughly enjoyed the food as well, but he found the image of Mason losing his mind over the appetizer especially entertaining. After the initial shock of how good the food was wore off, Mason began speaking to Mark again.

“Okay, you were right, this stuff is amazing.” Mason told Mark, grinning as he bit into a perfectly chewy meatball. Mark reached in front of Mason to grab one for himself.

“It better be with its price tag.” Mark mumbled, chuckling as Mason rolled his eyes.

“Honestly, with the amount of money your parents give you each week, I’m surprised you complain so much.” Mason commented truthfully. It always amazed him how little Mark acted like the rich boy stereotype. Mark shrugged but didn’t elaborate. He didn’t have to. Mason had heard the story of how the Tyler family went from rags to riches a dozen times.

Yet, those lessons on being kind and grateful for everything he got had never left Mark, despite becoming rich when he was so young. The reminder of how sweet and genuine Mark was brought a smile on to Mason’s face.

Mark ate the last piece of spanakopita, but barely a minute later their entrees were being brought out. Mason’s eyes went comically wide at the sight of the large plates.

“Your Paidakia and Brizola.” The waiter, Johnny, said as he lowered the warm Greek dishes.

“Thank you.” Mark said, giving Johnny a quick nod. Mason mumbled ‘thanks’ as well before going back to the plates.

“These are not tiny entrees at all.” Mason said softly, swallowing at the amount of food on his plate.

“No, they’re not.” Mark agreed, a happy gleam in his eye. Seeing the size of the plates, Mason understood why Mark loved this restaurant so much. Not only was the food amazing, but the portions were incredibly generous.

Mason had ordered the Paidakia which were grilled lamb chops. On one plate, he was given four chops along with the sides. Mark had ordered the Brizola which was essentially a very large steak. It did look amazing but Mason wondered how Mark would get through the huge slice of meat.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay with all of that, Mark?” Mason asked, staring at the steak gleaming with moisture. Mark lifted his fork and knife, sending Mason a confident smirk.

“Don’t worry about me.” Mark said cockily. “I’m a fan of big meat.”

Mason choked out a startled laugh, surprised by Mark’s sudden comment.

“Oh my God. That was so bad!” Mason laughed, a wide smile on his face. Mark smiled as well as he began to cut through his steak.

“Nah you liked it.”

Mason smiled but did not give Mark a reply. It was pretty obvious that he liked it.

Halfway through eating their entrees, Mason brought up their nursing course.

“I’ve been really enjoying all of the classes so far. Mrs. Lorraine is a wonderful teacher.” Mason said happily, quickly taking a sip of his soda. Mark nodded in agreement as he swallowed down another piece of steak.

“I agree. It’s pretty obvious why her class is so popular.” Mark was about to take another bite of his food but stopped as a thought came to mind. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask. When did you decide that you wanted to become a nurse?”

Mason pursed his lips and glanced up in thought.

“Well, it’s hard to point out a ‘when’ since I have wanted to do it for so long.” Mason told Mark with a chuckle. “I know that I started to seriously consider it in grade 9.”

Mark let out a low whistle.

“Okay, that’s a long time.”

“When did you start thinking about it?” Mason asked in turn.

“I made the decision last year.” Mark had a wistful look on his face as he recalled the moment that he made the decision. “For a long time, I thought I could become a dancer. Then reality kicked in and I realized that I would have to think of something else.”

“Why nursing?” Mason asked, leaning on the back of his hand as he stared at Mark. Mark met his eye and his cheeks gained a warm colour.

“I love being around people so I wanted a job where I could do that.” Mark searched Mason’s eyes for a moment before his soft blush deepened. “Then I heard you talking to Jasmine about it once and I kind of liked the idea of doing the same thing as you.”

It was as if Mark transferred his blush to Mason. Mason ducked his head to hide his blush while a smile grew on his lips. Mark gave Mason some time to recover from his blush before he began to speak again.

“So, why did you pick nursing, Mason?”

Mason raised his head, a soft look in his eye as he thought about the question.

“Same reason as you, I guess. I love taking care of people.” Mason said earnestly. There was a lit-up look in his eye as he spoke. Mark could see that Mason really cared about others. Being a man who enjoyed giving to charities himself, that got to Mark. He knew that Mason was a kind person, but seeing how passionate he was about caring for others made him seem that much more attractive to Mark. Then, that light in his eyes started to dim. Mason suddenly seemed unsure. “But . . . ”

“But what?” Mark asked, his voice revealing the extent of his concern which he had tried to keep at bay. Mason bit at his bottom lip and Mark had to clench his fist to remain focused.

“But sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice.” Mason admitted, sinking into himself slightly. “I had first considered just working at a shelter or something, but I didn’t want to worry my parents when it came to the pay. That’s why I decided on nursing instead but, was that selfish of me?”

Mark was shocked to hear the confusion in Mason’s voice. He thought that Mason was so self-assured when it came to stuff like his career. He had never imagined that Mason was so torn. And, to find that Mason was asking him for advice stunned him as well. Did Mason respect his opinion that much? Mark decided to dwell on those questions later. For now, he simply wanted to ease Mason’s worries.

“Trying to please your parents is not a selfish thing, Mason. In fact, it’s actually the opposite.”

Mark checked Mason’s reaction to see if his words were having any effect on him. Mason appeared to be listening, with his eyes were still filled with uncertainty. Mark sighed and tried again.

“Mason, you don’t have to work directly in a shelter to help people.” He told the shorter boy clearly. Mason’s gaze shot up to his and he knew that was what he needed to say. “Taking time out of your day is so selfless all on it’s own. To then help others heal and get better is an incredible thing to do, Mason.”

Mason peaked at Mark through his lashes, sending the younger boy a hesitant smile.

“You think so?” He asked softly.

“Of course I do or else I wouldn’t be trying to do it.” Mason laughed and Mark smiled in relief. Finally, his spirits were lifted. “Hey, at least your parents support nursing, right?”

“Right.” Mason repeated, a full-blown smile resting on his face.

“And, that’s all you can ask for.” Mark said, placing on top of Mason’s. “Their love and support.”

As Mark said this, a sad distant look flashed in his eyes. He was no longer the ever calm and happy Mark Tyler. This version was hurt and, in a brief moment, unable to hide it. Mason put his free hand on top of Mark’s giving the other boy a gentle squeeze. This seemed to bring Mark back and the sad look was gone without a trace.

“Come on, finish your food.” Mark chided, a teasing look on his face. “I’m not paying triple digits for you to leave half of your food on the plate.”

Mason laughed loudly, pushing against Mark’s shoulder.

“Shut up.”

—————

Mark and Mason’s date had gone wonderfully. Even with some more emotional topics that came up during dinner, Mason never felt that it took away from their evening. Instead, it made the experience that much better. Since Mark had paid for dinner, Mason was happy to leave a sizable tip for Johnny.

After they left the restaurant, Mason got to find out what Mark meant by ‘finding dessert’. Mason laughed hysterically at the sight of a cute little ice cream shop tucked into a busy downtown Toronto street. They skipped out on expensive Greek desserts to get ice cream! It was incredibly funny to Mason and he continued to chuckle even as a large cone was placed in his hand.

He and Mark talked and laughed over the ice cream as they made their way home. Under normal circumstances, Mason would have been embarrassed by the way they acted on the train. They were laughing obnoxiously and swapped ice creams more time than was socially acceptable. But Mason was spending time with Mark and a grimacing woman could not distract him from that happy twinkle in Mark’s eye or Mark’s ice cream covered smile.

Mark was able to snag a couple of napkins and he and Mason wiped their sticky hands and faces as they walked up to Mason’s house. Mason chuckled softly and continued to swipe at the right side of his face.

Mason climbed up the short steps to reach his front door and turned to Mark once he was standing next to the knob. Mark stayed on the bottom step, staring up at Mason with a gentle smile.

“Thank you for this, Mark.” Mason said, a breathy quality to his voice. “It was a lot of fun.”

“Of course, Mason.” Mark replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “I . . . you got a little something.”

Mason let out a quiet “huh?” as Mark pointed to the right side of his face. Mason tried to wipe away the ice cream to no avail based on the frustrated sigh Mark released. Then, completely fed up, Mark grabbed the paper. He climbed up the last couple of steps and moved closer to Mason, his shirt brushing against Mason’s. He placed one hand on Mason’s shoulder and the other he used to wipe away the last smudge of ice cream.

Mark stared intently at Mason’s cheek as he worked, completely focused on removing the ice cream. But, Mason was frozen still. He could barely breathe because he worried that if he did, Mark would realize how close they were and move back.

Did taking things slow also mean that they wouldn’t kiss. Mason didn’t want to find out if it meant that Mark would avoid his lips. He kept his body perfectly still and had his eyes trained on the hollow at the bottom of Mark’s neck.

Then, with the ice cream gone, Mark finally took in their proximity. Mason’s warm breath was hitting his collar bone and Mark’s breath was shifting Mason’s hair. Mark’s gaze went down to Mason’s lips, rosy pink and glistening wet. He looked up at Mason’s eyes and saw that the large brown spheres were already trained on him.

“Mark.”

Mark’s eyes fluttered shut at the sound of his name whispered so softly. Mason said his name as a plea, but Mark didn’t know what Mason was asking for. Then, Mark opened his eyes again and in Mason’s eyes saw exactly what Mason wanted.

The soiled napkin fell out of Mark’s hand without a care as both of Mark’s hands cupped Mason’s jaw. Mason’s eyes went wide when his face was suddenly shifted up, but his eyes closed again once Mark’s lips fell against his own.

Mark placed one full kiss on Mason’s lips, savouring the feeling of their mouths pressed together before slowly pulling away. But, when he pulled back and saw Mason’s face, eyes still closed and begging to be kissed again, he could not help himself.

Mark brought down his mouth again, kissing Mason harder the second time. He snaked his tongue inside Mason’s mouth groaning at the intimate feeling. One of his hands went into Mason’s hair and Mason’s hands dug themselves into the back of Mark’s shirt. They brought their bodies inexplicably close as they exchanged heated breaths. The kiss seemed to last forever but to Mason and Mark, it wasn’t nearly long enough. Finally, once their lungs began to burn, they pulled back.

Mark had Mason’s face held in his hands and couldn’t stop staring at him. Every feature on Mason’s face seemed highlighted in that moment and Mark wanted to take it all in. Mason didn’t know what to feel when Mark stared at him like that. There was such an awestruck look in the younger boy’s eyes but Mason didn’t know what to make of it.

Mark used a thumb to stroke up and down Mason’s soft cheek and Mason’s eyes fluttered closed at the gentle caress. Mark’s gaze went back and forth between Mason’s big brown eyes before a hushed word fell out of his lips.

“Goodnight.”

Mason wanted to say something in reply, but he couldn’t manage the words. This evening had been wonderful and that kiss had been something else entirely. How could he put into words what this had meant to him?

So, Mason didn’t try. Instead, he nodded his head and kissed the palms of Mark’s hands as he pulled them away from his face. Then, he went inside.

Mason shut his front door with a soft click before falling against it. This was the second time in one day that he had to fall against his front door to collect himself, but now he did it for completely different reasons.

This day brought Mason tons of different emotions and he struggled to pick one to feel. Happiness for the wonderful time they had? Sadness that in a matter of months it may all be over? Anger because his first date with the man of his dreams was to build up to sex?

Oblivious to the whirlwind of emotions in Mason’s mind and heart, Eleanor Moore walked into the living room with her husband on her tail. She sent Mason a wide smile.

“Hey, how did the date go, hun?”

————————————

This was by no means a short Chapter.

I’m genuinely flabbergasted that it became this long. I really hope that it was good because it is so long I don’t even want to read over it.

I hope that explains one of the reasons why this took so long to post.

Anywow-that-was-a-long-ass-chapter!

What do we expect from genius Mark after this?

Anywhore,

Vote, Comment, Share, Follow, anything else you can do with this book and I will see you next Chapter.bye!!!👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾

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