Mister Perfect

HOLA PEEPS!!

I had some free time at work today, so by popular demand #blush I started to write the second chapter, which I just finished at home, in the midnight hours.

THANK YOU as always to those of you who send me feedback about my stories and always get in touch, it really means the world to us Nifty writers out there xx

As always, my email is still liciousryan@gmail.com if ya'll wanna get in touch.

I do love an online flirt haha.

Peace and love! Ryan

MISTER PERFECT CHAPTER TWO

"COME ON...YES...PASS IT...YEAAAAH!!! GOAL!!!! FUCKING FINALLY!"

Jackson stood up and banged his chest like a mad man in sheer celebration, as if he had scored the goal, they had just witnessed himself, and himself alone, and not one Marcus Rashford, the star player of their mutual beloved soccer team, Manchester United.

It had been a while coming, what, with the opposition goalkeeper been making save, after bloody save all afternoon, but FINALLY they had a breakthrough, which hopefully would lead to a win, after all this was said and done.

Marco high-fived his next-door neighbour and by now, one of the few best buddies that he had, as he took another huge sip of the Black Label beer that he had been slowly nursing the whole entire afternoon. He would finally start his new job the following day, and wanted to make a good impression as possible, and turning up hangover from the previous day, was obviously not the way to actually do that.

Over the course of the three and a half months ever since the Fuller family had moved in next door to theirs, they had almost become as close as family members to the other. Marco's wife Sarah, as well as Jackson's wife Elise, were over at each other's houses all the fucking time, so much so that both men had begun to feel neglected per say, as the two women had so much in common, but of course neither would ever dare say anything to question that...unless they fancied a night out on the couch, which neither of them did.

Marco giggled happily as he saw how infectious Jackson's smile was in the aftermath of the goal being scored, and once more he sent up a quick as fuck prayer to the Big Man upstairs...to just please keep his emotions in check, being all alone with this stunningly handsome man in one solid room...who in these three months had become more of a brother to him than his own was.

Forget about the ladies, the two of them had so many things in common...both loved to work out, both loved their beer and their sports, and together they could chat and talk about anything and everything, for hours on end. In each other, they had found a genuine, actual friend, one which the other would never admit that they actually would miss terribly if they weren't in each other's lives anymore.

Until the previous week, both Marco and Jackson were quite literally rescinded to mere house husbands, to no wanting, or even fault of their own, as both were laid off from their jobs in the mid's of the year 2022, and were desperately looking for permanent employment. Jackson was still struggling, everywhere he tried to get in for a position rendered the sexy ass thirty-year-old man either as over-qualified, or the typical "they had a black quota to fulfil" excuse...the poor guy was actually at his wit's end, although he would never actually admit it.

But Marco knew...he saw it each and every day in his friend's beautiful hazelnut-coloured eyes. All credit to Jackson, he hid things well, but when you had been unemployed yourself for months on end, then you tend to notice things that others didn't when someone you knew pretty well was going through the exact same thing that he was.

Man...

Jackson had been so fucking happy for him when he FINALLY got a call back from the warehouse that he had been to for an interview two weeks ago, and together the two men celebrated with an impromptu barbeque over at the Fuller's residence, where their two boys, Henry and Nick respectively took the time to teach their fathers how to do a near perfect cannonball inside their huge ass swimming pool.

The boys were inseparable, they were like fucking Siamese twins, they were always together, even at school, as well as at home these days.

Everything was going smoothly, at last. In in another world and in another dimension, things would have been just whoop-di-doo for the two men...

...but this of course, was sheer morbid reality, not a cheap thriller.

Marco hated looking away from his friend, and the happiness that was quite literally spread across his face like melted butter on a piece of freshly baked bread...his heart had about enough as it could take.

From the moment that Marco had met Jackson, he was instantly attracted to him. For the most part, he was straight...he married Sarah, because he truly loved her, and he wouldn't give either herself or little Henry up for anything in the world...

...but there was once or twice that he laid his eyes on a handsome man...and it literally felt like they were fucking everywhere these days...and each time when that happened, he realised that there was something missing in his life, and in his heart. He wouldn't have craved a man so badly, if he didn't.

His pulsed quickened as he felt Jackson place his arm around him as the goal was replayed on the 50 inch big screen TV over and over, pulling Marco towards him, and the latter literally flinched as he actually smelled the aftershave that Jackson was wearing...

...if perfection had an odour, Marco would swore under oath, that would have pretty much have been it.

"Gotta get another beer, man! After the disaster of last season, finally we have a manager who knows his stuff!" Jackson shrieked happily as he trodded off towards their kitchen and took out some ice cold new beers, tossing one towards Marco with a giant big smile on his face.

"Can you fucking imagine to actually be in that massive Old Trafford stadium actually watching Man United play right in front of your eyes?" he gushed, opening his beer and taking a big sip of the yeasty goodness, for good measure.

Marco giggled and pointed towards to the TV.

"Dude! In case you forgot, we ARE bloody watching them! In crystal fucking 4K resolution! For the amount that those tickets would cost, we would be lucky to see anything without binoculars!"

Jackson nodded and sat his ass back down on the expensive leather couch, and for a while, things were cooled down to a rather acceptable and comfortable silence as they watched their team play, creating one chance after the other, before Marco saw a movement from Jackson out of the corner of his eye.

"No jokes, you think we really could ever do that?"

Marco frowned, looking at his handsome buddy, with his left eye trying to focus on what was going on back at the soccer game.

"Do what?" he asked.

Jackson sat back, leaning his lanky frame and back resting on the couch, with both his feet resting on the coffee table in front of him, and his eyes were down casted towards his beer, as if there were suddenly much more important things than a game of soccer.

"No, I mean, actually to go England, if only to see the boys playing live. Just...I mean, just me and you, the boys. God, Elise hates soccer."

Marco smiled fondly before he nodded, his mind now totally on the dude in front of him. His eyes flickered appreciatively over Jackson's physique, now dressed in his classical red Manchester United t-shirt, his biceps were literally bulging underneath all that flimsy fabric...his legs were powerful, strong looking, a dust of black hair cascaded all over the olive-coloured skin of his tan...

...his eyes...his beautiful eyes and his that fucking smile of his that seemed to could have lit up the entire South Africa during a massive bout of Stage six loadshedding.

"First, we gotta win the Lotto for that, my dude. Maybe in our dreams. But seriously...we gotta do that, if we have the money someday. You're right...I mean neither Elise or Sarah for that matter wouldn't wanna be seen dead near Old Trafford."

Jackson took another sip of his beer, before the referee blew the whistle for the half time period of the game, in which he stood up and patted Marco on the shoulder as he walked past him.

"Gonna order us some Pizza Hut from Uber Eats, if that's okay?"

Marco nodded and stood up, walking towards the man who in the space of literally only three months had so easily become one of his best friends he had ever had. The connection between them, the sheer friendly chemistry and camaraderie...you rarely found that with someone, if anyone in your lifetime.

His heart missed a beat, it felt, as Jackson flashed him a million-dollar smile.

"I'm just gonna call the wife quickly...she's working late tonight again...well, I haven't for a fucking job, so I can't complain, I suppose. She loves Pizza Hut, especially their Hawaiian pizza, I just wanna check if we can't get her anything as well, she'll most probably he hungry as shit when she gets here."

Marco didn't quite know what to respond to that, so he just took another sip of his beer in a form of an answer. He felt guilty enough getting into their own bed with Sarah every night and having thoughts about his best buddy and next-door neighbour when she was laying mere centimetres away from him.

As a real estate agent, Sarah worked on commission alone, without a fixed set of income every month, and in these final weeks of Marco being unemployed she had to work nearly twice as hard to keep three mouths fed, and their household afloat as well as she could. But now that Marco had finally found himself a new job, and with that, extra income, the extra clients that she had managed to line up during that time...didn't simply disappear.

She was flat tired every night, so much so, that they haven't had sex in what...nearly two months now. And they were definitely more fighting about finances more than anything else these days, which hopefully now with the new job and everything would be finally coming to an end.

He honestly didn't feel that he had a marriage anymore. They were just...like two friends living together and raising a kid in the process...

...things just didn't feel the way it was, before he had lost his job.

Jackson's powerful voice fully and utterly rendered him out of his thoughts, and he turned towards his best friend, just in time as his wife had finally and emphatically answered her phone...

"Elise? Hey baby...look, I just wanted to know...oh...okay...well, okay, I'm sorry for calling you...Baby, how was I supposed to know you're in a meet...Baby? Elise? Hello?"

Marco grimaced inwardly as he saw the shock and the pain that was suddenly written all over Jackson's face...that same handsome, beautiful face that had only moments before, been so happy and so full of joy and laughter...

...now to being resorted to what he was now seeing before him.

Jackson slowly brought his cell phone down from where he had been holding it against his ear, before he placed it softly down on the kitchen counter before him.

"She...she's in a meeting. A fucking meeting. She's giving her presentation...like right fucking now...how...how was I supposed to know...?"

Marco stayed silent, knowing it was better not to interfere where it concerned Elise. That was completely between herself and Jackson, and he had no part in that.

Jackson's eyes blinked a little, before he sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, that was surrounding the island tabletop in the middle of the area. He looked...defeated. There wasn't a more accurate word. Marco didn't know what she had said to him over the phone, but whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn't pretty.

That much was crystal clear.

"Uhm...yeah, I'm sorry...I'm sorry you had to hear that...I was trying my best to limit the convo on my side out of respect for you, my dude, but once she started yelling and screaming..."

Jackson sighed and cleared his throat, if Marco's heart hadn't gone out to Jackson on the day that he had met him before, it sure did right now. The dude looked so pale and so fucking miserable that it faintly resembled a jar of Marmite.

Don't do it, Marco...don't do it...

Ignoring the little voice at the back of his head, Marco slowly walked forward and softly placed the palm of his hand down on Jackson's shivering shoulder, to which the latter looked upwards at Marco, and he smiled, clearly appreciating the support from his buddy.

"It will get better, yeah? You just gotta hope out and believe that something will turn up on the work front...God, look how long I was out of a job! Then finally something came along, and I know it's hard...it's so tough and one feels so incredible shit because you see your wife having to go through all this crap just so that you can eat and pay rent...stuff that a man is supposed to do. Just...just hold on a little while longer, okay?" Marco softly spoke his peace on the matter.

Jackson sniffed softly, and Marco could feel yet another tremor shuddering through the tall, lanky man's powerful body, before the latter sighed, and grabbed hold of his phone.

"You're right there, buddy! Lemme just order that food from Pizza Hut like I promised...you go check if the game is back on."

Marco smiled back at Jackson, softly squeezing his shoulder, where his hand still was situated after all this time, before he finally moved away from his friend.

Jesus Marco...what the hell are you doing?

What are you getting yourself into?

Why...why is your heart beating faster, and faster each and every time Jackson Fuller goes even so much as near you?

**

"When are you getting home, Hon?" Marco asked Sarah over the speaker phone function of his cell phone, all the while trying his best to actually make something for lunch that his monster of a son would actually fucking eat.

His new job at the warehouse had brilliant hours, to be fair, Marco had to be there every morning at eight a clock, and if his work was up to date, he could go home each day at about three in the afternoon, meaning he had more than enough time to fetch Henry from the aftercare at the school, and bring him home to fix a later lunch, and to check that he got out of his school attire, and actually do his homework, for a change.

There was just one, small little problem...

...Marco Alden couldn't cook to save his god damn life.

Henry point blank refused to eat the two-minute noodles that his father had tried to prepared for him so carefully, out of a packet as well, so there wasn't actually a way that you could go wrong with that...

...if you didn't set the stove on double the heat that it needed to be on, and the noodles were more burned to a crisp than anything else.

Due to both sets of parents now working, there wasn't even enough bread left to make Henry a decent lunch, let alone both peanut butter and jam, his favourite combination to have.

All in all, it was a very irritated seven-year-old boy who was shooting more than just simple daggers at his father, in complete and utter kiddie attitude, even going as far as to TAP HIS FINGERS and rolling his eyes, at the very moment when the front door bell rang out loud.

"No, kiddo, I'll get it, don't worry. And after I get rid of whoever this is, I'm so taking you to MacDonalds for a happy meal, just promise not to tell Mom!" Marco hissed toward his son, the way he saw Henry's eyes literally LIT up the moment his favourite restaurant was called by name, by far his best part of his crazy afternoon.

Still giggling as he opened the door, he gulped to get some much-needed air into his lungs, before his guest could see anything was wrong...he hoped to God that he didn't...before he looked up at Jackson.

The dude was wearing a plain white t-shirt, along with some blue shorts and flipflops to complete the stunningly male attractiveness that was all of a sudden dawning his doorstep. Jackson's eyes lit up, very much the same as Henry's did, when he saw that Marco had answered the door, and gently placed both his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

Marco's breathing quickened just a tad. It was such a simple gesture, but it was so...sexy and so typically male, that Jackson probably didn't even realise how insanely good he looked whilst doing so. He cleared his throat and stood aside to let Jackson in.

"Hey man! What up?" he asked as Jackson walked past him...again with the aftershave that smelled like angels had literally pissed all over him? Jesus Christ!

Before Jackson could even answer, Henry came rushing through from the kitchen, as fast as his little seven-year-old legs could carry him.

"Uncle Jackson!" he screamed on the top of his voice, something he would NEVER even DARE to do when his mother was around, and he went about to jump in Jackson's arms for good measure, clearly happy to see his favourite uncle and dad to his best friend.

Marco pursed his lips and his face swiftly and suddenly warmed up to God knows what temperature as he saw his son inside Jackson's arms...the little boy crowing with laughter as Jackson proceeded to tickle the crap out of him, before he put Henry down and sort of seemed to sniff the air, as if he wanted to place a certain smell, but just could not...

"Dude, did something die in here?"

Henry cackled with laughter and jumped in way more Marco could even try to respond...

"Daddy burned my noodles! He promised to take us to Micky D's once he had gotten rid of whoever..."

"OKAY...I think that's just about enough chatting with the grownups, why don't you take just finish up your homework before we go there, yeah? That's a good boy."

Marco pretended as if he didn't see the wide ass smirk was completely smeared over Jackson's handsome face as he got rid of his son, once more lost to his homework, before he turned to face his tormentor.

"So...any reason you stopped by?"

Oh wow.

Can you BE any more Chandler Bing right now?

Jackson ran his fingers through his hair, which didn't have gel inside it for a change, so that clean, freshly washed loose strings simply proceeded to fall over his forehead in a sexy heap...

..stay cool...keep calm...he can't know how you really feel about him...

"Yeah, I was wondering if you'd like some company tonight? Three guesses where Elise is going to be...first two doesn't count."

Marco nodded and signalled Jackson to follow him into the kitchen, where Henry was still doing his homework, his little tongue actually sticking out of the corner of his mouth, as he was so trying hard to concentrate. He reached into the fridge...only to remember that there was hardly anything in there, not even to mention two Black Labels for them to enjoy.

"Don't hate me...I'm totally out of beer," he whispered softly, so that only Jackson would be able to hear what he was saying.

Jackson didn't say anything, but Marco shuddered as he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. This time it was Jackson's turn to comfort him, in some sort of way, at least.

"What do you say we both take the kids to MacDonalds like you promised Henry, only me and Nick join you? And God knows...with Elise way I also need to do some shopping, which I really...no, really, fucking hate to do. Come on, what do you say? It's probably not gonna be so bad doing with your best bud, right?"

Marco smiled upwards at the tall Jackson...he couldn't help but.

Elise Fuller didn't know what he had in this man...she really didn't.

No...because if she did, she wouldn't have left him on his own to take care of his kid. She wouldn't have left him alone...ever. She would have stood by his side and fought his unemployment together as one person.

Damn it, Marco...you're in way over your head here.

"Deal! Henry, buddy...go and put something clean on...I don't really care what, as long it doesn't have any stains on it. Me and Uncle Jackson is taking you and Nick to McDonalds!"

"YEAH!" came Henry's not so subtle reply, as his homework was completely and utterly forgotten, before he stormed off to his room, all while screaming toward both men what he intends to eat when they actually get there, with which cool drink he wanted it, and which toy his father just absolutely HAD to make sure was in the Happy Meal.

"And women say we guys can't fucking multitask..." Jackson murmured, before both men broke out in a fit spat of infectious giggles, totally unable to stop themselves.

"Hey...I know we're just chilling and shooting the shit with our kids, but...and I gotta say this, otherwise I won't have the guts to later..."

Marco was suddenly quiet, as he wiped his mouth with his hand, from where they were still scattering out loud with laughter, before a bout of nervousness started to envelop him, at the sound of Jackson's seriousness and his choice of dialogue.

"You okay? Did I do or say somethi..."

Jackson eagerly shook his head in the negative connotation.

"Dude...no. Fuck no. You have to know, you have to...if it wasn't for you...and God knows I don't have many friends around here, but if it wasn't for you...this...us...our fucking friendship, I don't know where I would have been these last few months. You've kinda made being unemployed...fun? Nah man, I mean it. I hope me and you...I hope we carry on like this for a long ass time."

As Jackson finished his sentence, he lifted up his fist, and held it out towards Marco's stature, to which he quickly raised his own hand, balled it quickly into a fist of his own, and solidly and securely bumped it against that of his bestie.

"Same here, man...same here," Marco whispered, his eyes never leaving those of Jackson.

**

About two weeks later, and the two men were once more on their own by now...weekly shopping spree to get everything they could for their respective households, with their wives once more too busy to actually assist them in doing so.

They didn't complain when the money came in from said wives being so successful, so it was mostly a case of Catch 22...they were lonely as hell as their spouses had more powerful, more independent jobs than both of them, with Jackson still not able in getting permanent employment, and Marco's warehouse gig not NEARLY paying out with Sarah brought home in a single month.

The previous evening, the Alden family had the Fuller family over for dinner, and for the first time in this while friendship saga between the two families, both Jackson and Marco felt...out.

Like they really didn't belong there. Marco felt literally like a stranger in his own fucking home.

Both Sarah and Elise had steered the conversation during the meal, towards their respective jobs and duties and projects and all that crap, to which neither Marco nor Jackson, for that matter, could make any decent contribute to the topic. Neither knew anything about real estate or heading up a big corporation in the city, like Elise did for a living.

It got so bad, that Marco had actually excused himself and took a walk out into the garden, just to get away from those two ladies...in what seemingly turned into some desperate, albeit probably, an unconscious attempt to outshine each other on the job front.

It was sickening hearing Sarah and Elise going at it for hours and hours on end, and for the first time...probably ever...

...as far as he could even remember...

...Marco wanted to be anywhere else but here.

Here...with his wife, Sarah.

"Dude! We need to get mayo! Where the fuck do they keep that?"

Marco was shunned out of his thoughts as he was playfully shoved to the side by Jackson, who had a huge ass smile on his face, the moment that had managed to get at least six packs of Doritos chips inside both of his hands.

"I smell nachos..." he hissed, before Marco cracked up at the sight of a fuly grown thirty-year old man behaving like their sons' age over some bloody comfort food. It was just one of the things he...liked...about being with Jackson.

Liked...yeah, that was the word he was looking for.

"We can't make fucking nachos without cheese, tomato, salsa and all that other delicious stuff, we totally gotta get those first," he replied, and even his responsible notions, couldn't get the smile of Jackson's dial.

About half an hour later, both men had everything that were on their wives' grocery list, before they pushed their trollies towards the cashier point.

Both Jackson and Marco were so deep into their convo, that Jackson didn't see that his trolley, which had had a solid bend towards it's left-hand side, and always seemed to want to slid into that direction...

...when a young women seemed to want to slip past them on her own way into the store, the trolley slipped on some spilled liquid and completely and utterly smashed into her side.

Luckily for Jackson, he wasn't pushing he shopping trolley had a fast speed, so it could have been far worse that what had happened, with Marco's eyes huge as saucers as he saw Jackson kneeling down in order to check if she had any sort of visible injuries.

"Seriously, I'm not made of plastic, I'm fine!" she giggled over and over, before she looked upwards at Jackson, and suddenly, her mood and mind seemed to realise just WHAT she was looking at.

Marco inwardly groaned...look, he wasn't Shrek by any means...not with his blond hair, more than average six pack abs and strong muscles of his own...

...but he didn't come even CLOSE to the classic pretty boy features that Jackson had.

The lady positively looked as if she was ovulating right there and then.

"Okay, but are you sure, absolutely sure that I can't do anything to make up for all of this?" Jackson asked yet again, whilst Marco, completely and totally being ignored by this girl...he might as just as well not have been there in the first place, she clearly only had eyes for Jackson...

The girl reached upwards and twirled a flock of her hair around her left finger, before she blinked twice and stared at Jackson, probably as slutty as she could pull off in the middle of a busy grocery store.

"If you really wanna help me...you can totally give me your phone number..." she replied, with Marco suddenly and quickly very interested in the price of potatoes, as Jackson looked back frantically at him.

The girl must have noticed the look of panic, finally turning towards Marco, taking a good look over his entire physique, before she nodded and once more, leaned in towards Jackson...

"Oh, I don't mind if your friend comes along...I do love a threesome..."

Marco was just happy as fuck that he didn't have his phone in his hands right then, because that thing would have been smashed solidly by now...his hands were shaking out of control...and just once more the sheer, morbid reality of all of this was hitting him SMACK BANG in the stomach...and especially inside his balls.

There was literally...a higher chance...a MASSIVE chance, that Jackson would jump into bed with this...this pathetic excuse of a human being, rather than him.

Just...JUST because she was a female, and he wasn't.

Jackson had driven them here in his car...it wasn't like Marco could just fuck off home and leave him here to flirt with her, could he?

Jackson smiled as he clearly had to have realised just what was up, before he gave the girl a polite smile and turned towards Marco once more...signalling on his handsome face that Marco should HELP him in getting rid of this woman.

"I'm sorry, there must have been a misunderstanding somewhere...I'm very, very happily married...tell her, Marco!" Jackson then proceeded to hiss at his best friend, before regaining possession of his shopping trolley, ready to get the fuck out of there and fast, at that.

The girl's eyes flickered from Jackson, towards Marco, and then finally back at Jackson...

...before both men saw a light go off inside her brain. One that allowed her to actually add two and two together, and still somehow end up with FIVE.

"Ohhhh...I get it now...you two are...oh my God...so fucking sweet...and so fucking sad at the same time...I totally apologise! Really! Look, I'm just gonna get out of your way here, and let you two lovebirds enjoy your day in peace. Nice to have met you though!" she said, before she flicked her hair over her shoulder, the lose brown strings hanging perfectly down her skinny back, before she was gone from their lives as soon as she had entered it in the first place.

**

Both Marco and Jackson were as silent as the day was actually long.

That girl thought...okay, so when Jackson said he was married and when he took a look at Marco for nothing more than help to get rid of her...

...she took it at he had meant THEY were married...himself and Marco!

For what felt like hours...when in reality it was only about under a minute's time passing...both men looked at each other for the first time since that terrible mistake was made...

"Well...shall we go and pay for this...hubby?" Jackson asked, his incredible charismatic eyes shining as bright as the day was long, his lips quickly breaking out in one of his by now, well know shit-eating grins that Marco adored so much.

"You fucker..." Marco whispered softly, so that the other patrons couldn't hear them, but he himself had a hard time in keeping a straight face.

"Hey, if we ever did get married, then I wanna be as the big spoon, is that gonna be okay with you?" Jackson whispered back, groaning out loud as he felt a stab in his guts from the solid punch that Marco had given him.

"You can be whatever you fucking want, but you're always gonna be my bitch," Marco then answered back, as the smile on Jackson's face increased, if that was at all possible.

Together the two men paid for their respective groceries and walked outside to where Jackson's family car was parked, before getting in, and driving off home.

Half way there, the robot's red light flickered on, and Jackson swiftly made a stop just before his car over ran it...which probably would have meant a massive fine from the people at the DMV.

"I can totally see what she would think that, though..."

Marco looked upwards.

"Who, what now?" he asked, still deep in his own thoughts after the events that had happened earlier.

Jackson giggled and shoved Marco to the side with his shoulder, and playful at that.

"Dude, I mean when that girl thought that we, me and you were a couple. Can't you see it? We're together like all the time, because our wives are always working..."

"Hey, I actually have a job!" Marco butted in, but the equal wide smile on his face completely gave away the jest that he was just joking with his buddy.

Jackson rolled his eyes in response.

"You work half day, that's a hobby, that's not work!"

"You little fucker...just wait until I get you alone..."

"Oh yeah, what are gonna do?"

Jackson had Marco by the short and curlies there.

The latter leaned back and stared out of the window, and sighed deeply as Jackson finally for the all clear from the traffic light in order to actually continue driving. The slight wave of a windy breeze mattered through his blond hair, making it stand in all possible wind directions, but that was as far from his thoughts as it possibly could be.

"Jackson..."

"Yeah?"

Silence.

"Yo...earth to Marco? You said my name and then you kept quiet."

Marco pursed his lips...but if he didn't go for it now, the perfect moment in the sheer light of what that young woman had thought...he probably would never have the guts to ever do this...

"I know we're joking around and everything but..."

"Jesus, Marco, just spit it out, will you?"

Marco swung his body towards Jackson and looked the still driving man straight in his eye.

"Have you ever...I mean...have you ever...DO something with another...well, another guy?"

Jackson's eyes blinked, and he wiggled his nose as he checked his mirrors for any speeding cars behind him, before he stared out in front of him.

He wasn't talking, he wasn't saying anything...in fact apart from keeping his eyes solidly on the road, he might have just as well be dead as a doorknob.

Marco closed his eyes and turned away from Jackson, once more looking out of the window as they drove home in absolute silence.

**

Loadshedding.

Totally not what it sounds like.

LOL.

In South Africa, the electricity goes off, at about two hours, three or four times per day. I know...don't ask. We're already used to it.

Nevertheless, at about ten a clock that same evening, Marco was getting ready to go to bed, with a more than exhausted Sarah in dreamland for ages by now, and he took the opportunity to catch up on some of the latest sporting news in the world, before the electricity finally powered back on at just past ten, as he patiently waited for the DSTV to load on the decoder to that he could watch TV.

Tapping his fingers restlessly on the side of the couch, his eyes flickered outside of the window next to him, and to where he knew Jackson had to be. He closed his eyes and sighed, deeply and tiredly.

He couldn't do this anymore.

He didn't wanna break off his friendship, his blossoming friendship with Jackson, but at this point and time, he felt like he had no other choice.

Jackson's face, although the two of them had joked about the misunderstanding and had a good laugh about it, it still...it still happened. Marco's mind flashed back the point where Jackson had THAT look on his face as it sunk in what the girl thought of them.

Or wasn't it that bad? He just kept silent...he didn't correct her, but he also didn't fight it either.

Although he was quite sure it wasn't...on a serious level as yet, Marco knew, oh he knew...that he could pretty much, and VERY easily at that, completely and utterly fall head over heels for Jackson Fuller, and THAT's why this needs to stop.

He should have NEVER...NEVER asked Jackson that FUCKING question!

Jesus!

When they got home, Jackson just...he just said "have a great night, buddy" towards him...he didn't even help Marco carry the loads of shopping inside, which he was more than sure Jackson would have done, if he didn't bring up the "gay past" question towards him.

"Probably for the best...I'm sure gonna miss him..." Marco whispered to himself, before he turned off the TV, despite for the electricity to come back on, after all this time.

Darkness surrounded him, as the TV gave off the only source of light, before he stood up, and grabbed his phone...

...just as a WhatsApp message came screening through on the app.

Marco frowned...before he checked and saw that it was a message from Jackson.

Ohhhh boy...here we go...

...probably having written a truck load full of excuses why after today, they shouldn't be hanging out any more, or that he, Marco, disgusts him, Jackson, to his very core...

But there wasn't an entire letter written to Marco.

There was only one word, in fact.

Just one...measly little word.

When used in the right context...that ONE little word, meant more than all the others in the English language pushed together.

Just one word.

But it meant, the absolute world to Marco.

His thumb caressed his phone's screen over and over, as he read, and re-read the answer to his earlier question...

"YES"

**

THANKS FOR READING!

A blind man in New Jersey can feel the vibes between Marco and Jackson!

Will the next chapter be the one where they FINALLY share their first kiss?

Maybe LOL...

Please let me know what you thought, and if you would wanna read some more!!

liciousryan@gmail.com