As he pushed the trolley that had his one and only suitcase,
Paul scanned the crowded “Arrival Hall” for a sign of his blonde friend. “Damn
it, where in the fucking hell are you, Chris?” he muttered under his breath as
he exited the baggage claiming area and out into the main building of Oslo
International Airport.
“Paul!” he heard a voice called out from behind him.
“Finally!” Paul exasperated.
“Sorry, man, traffic was bad,” Christian said, panting slightly. He had to run all the way into the airport and into the Arrival Hall. But when he couldn’t find Paul, he’d exited the place quickly and searched around, even until the little souvenir shops nearby. “I tried calling you…”
“Yeah, well, Chris, have you ever heard of an unwritten rule
that you aren’t allowed to switch on your mobile while you’re on a plane?”
Christian frowned. “Could’ve get that little bugger working once
you got off,” he retorted.
~~ecaf~~
“The seatbelt sign is now on. Please straighten your seats and…”
the air-stewardess’s voice went on.
Mark sighed and buckled up his seatbelt before relaxing. Finally,
home. Relax, unwind, tea…And time for the leg to get better.
Yeah, sure, he couldn’t get back to where his family was – Colin
had flee from the United Kingdom when someone turn the tables on him and the
police had to hunt him down. But with the money that he’d earn as a
professional assassin and after being in the espionage business for the UK, he
had no troubles getting out of the country. He’d even brought their mother with
him and that was the last time Mark had ever heard of Colin and his mother.
Now, Mark was the only one left of the family of five. His brother and mother
were nowhere to be found… they could be in some foreign country where they’d be
safe.
Three months wasn’t a very long time. He wished he’d had more
time. He really didn’t feel like he wanted to be in a mission anytime soon.
That was such a close call.
The plane soon landed. As a first-class passenger, Mark got off
the plane first and went straight to the Arrival Hall to claim his luggage. A
green bag passed by, two black suitcases, several Umbro bags with different
tags attached to them, and finally a big black suitcase. Mark quickly hauled
the suitcase from the conveyer belt and waited for another three more minutes
before he spotted his silver briefcase that housed his laptop. Taking that case
from the conveyer belt as well, he headed out of the Arrival Hall and walked
passed the Departure Hall into the Waiting Lounge and straight into the fresh
cool air of Sussex.
A man in black walked right up to him and motioned for Mark to
follow him. Mark recognised that man as a worker for WebbeCorp. At times, he’s
Mark’s personal chauffeur. But Mark had never like people driving him around.
It made him feel a little weird. After all, he liked his little blue Peugeot
best.
“This way, Mr. Read,” the man said.
Mark nodded a little to show that he’d heard the man and sighed
inwardly. He really couldn’t wait until he’s at home with Sum41 strutting their
stuff on the stereos and a mug of cappuccino in his hands.
~~ecaf~~
“I’m now back here, back where I belonged, my own little four
walls, something that I’d earn…” Ben sang as he unlocked the door to his
apartment. Entering the place, he cringed at the condition that his apartment
was in. There were an empty glass on the coffee table, magazines strewn all
over the floor near the settee, the TV remotes nowhere to be found, the laundry
basket filled and overflowing with clothes and some dishes unwashed.
“This isn’t what I want it to be!” Ben sighed. “Right, off to
work.” He rolled up the sleeves of his t-shirt and turned on the tap. He’s had
a lot of work to finish…
Nearly two hours later, Ben stepped out of the steaming shower
with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. “Now, this is life…!”
he said aloud. His clothes were all in the washing machine, the dishes in the
dishwasher and the magazines stacked neatly in a small wooden shelf next to the
settee. It’s now all clean and tidy.
He walked into the kitchen in search of something for a midnight
snack but as he opened the cupboard doors…
… There was nothing.
“Bugger!” Ben said. “Forgotten about food supply.” He looked at
the clock nearby. “Two a.m. … Is it too late for some grocery shopping?” After
some moment, he walked right straight into the bedroom. He’d made his decision
already. “Nope, it ain’t too late for shopping. Right… I’ll just put some
clothes on, pop into some 24-hour store and bought some necessary things. I’ll
buy a whole three months’ supply of food tomorrow!”
Pulling on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he muttered, “Yeah,
just some food supply. More tomorrow.”
He picked up his keys from the bowl on the mantel and locked the
door behind him. Just as he was about to press the button for the lift, he saw
someone staggered passed by him. A brunette – a girl – and she were groping
around blindly and she kept walking.
“What the fuck?!” Ben muttered and made a quick dash for the
girl, as she was about to run and collide with Ben’s pot of some leafy plant that
his mother had given him when he’d moved into the apartment.
“Hey, miss?” Ben called as he grasped her arm. “Miss!”
Her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes slowly before
blinking rapidly, her sleepy eyes sensitive to the bright lights. “How… where…
where am I?” she asked.
“In the corridors, duh!” Ben said, grinning to himself. He knew
immediately what happened to the lady.
“Had I been sleep-walking again?” she asked.
“I guess so,” Ben said, his grin spreading slowly. He looked
amused. “Did you do that all the time?”
She blushed. “Er… yeah, sort of. Paul isn’t very happy with it.”
“I’d bet.”
Ben grinned wider.
~~ecaf~~
Mark sighed
as he slammed the door to his apartment close. Finally, no work for the next
three months. Wow… that’s a really long time. Well, not exactly, he’d thought
it would probably be at least six months. After all, he’d even – what – had
been willing to sacrifice his leg for the sake of the assignment given to him
by Simon. He wondered for a split-second what Ben was doing at the moment.
Kirsten… oh
my God, he’d forgotten about that girl! How was she anyway? After all, she’d
seen him and Mark knew that Kirsten would recognised him if she would’ve seen
him walking down any street. Besides, he’d murdered the man that she’d been in
love with and whom she had had an intimate relationship with just before he
died.
Mark was sure that the man had died
happy. After all, he’d had sex with such a beautiful lady right before his
death. He knew he would’ve been happy too if some other assassin murdered him
right after he’d had a blast with another girl.
He sat down on the couch and cradled
his head in his hands. God… she’s so pretty. He was shocked when Simon told him
that Kirsten had more than one man in her life but when he saw for himself how
beautiful and elegant – even though she was naked when Mark had saw her – he
wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, if he’d been one of those men whom Kirsten
had been with and even after she told him that she didn’t want him anymore, he
would’ve let her go. He wasn’t the type of man who liked to force his
girlfriends to stick to him only.
Mark had always told his past
girlfriends to be honest with him. If they ever got bored of him and his ways,
he wanted them to tell him. He’ll try to change one way or another and if
nothing works, he’s willing to end their relationship.
His mind wondered back to Kirsten. He
couldn’t help it when he started thinking about rated things that he could’ve
done if he’s with Kirsten. She was young. She was only 22 years old. Mark was
25 years old. He knew he would have a blast, even if it’s only one night with
her. Then again, it wasn’t against the rules to daydream about someone else.
Mark fell asleep on the couch in the
living room thinking about Kirsten.
“What the hell?” Mark muttered as he
woke up later the next day. He rubbed his face with the palms of his hands
before rubbing his eyes. He yawned noisily as he traipsed up the stairs and
into the bathroom adjoining the master bedroom upstairs.
“What was I doing downstairs on the
settee?” he mumbled to himself, splashing cold water onto his face.
He then walked into his bedroom and
picked up random tops and a pair of black jeans. He looked at the tops on his
bed that he’d got from his wardrobe and then shifted his gaze to the jeans.
“Which top goes with jeans?” he
muttered aloud. “Which top goes with the jeans, which top goes with the jeans,
which top…” he went on muttering as his gaze drifted from one top to the jeans
and back to the another top. He sighed agitatedly and looked back at his
clothes.
After nearly five minutes looking
through the pile of tops, he decided that he should go with a light brown
t-shirt. He opened another drawer and took out a towel before going back into
the bathroom. He needed to buy household goods if he’s planning to stay in his
apartment for meals. He didn’t even have anything to make breakfast and his
stomach was rumbling, demanding for food.
He grabbed his keys as soon as he was
dressed and went into the blue Peugeot. “Right… supplies,” he mumbled before
tuning into a local radio station. The rumbling in his stomach made him forgot
about his supplies. He needed breakfast.
Mark popped by a café nearby and
grabbed himself some decent breakfast and a cup of coffee before going to the supermarket
to shop for food. He quickly parked his car as soon as he saw a parking space.
Locking the car, he walked toward the supermarket. It killed him to walk
normally and pretend as if there’s nothing wrong with his leg but there’s
nothing he could do. He refused to use the crutches and his stubbornness got
the best of him. There was no way he’s going to use crutches. Not only did they
limit his movements, it’s just another burden to carry the crutches with him.
Besides, he believed that his wound
was getting better. The pain wasn’t as bad as before so he’d assumed that it
shouldn’t hurt to stop using crutches. He didn’t want to turn heads. He’d
turned enough heads when he roamed the streets most of the time. His tall frame
and his handsome face usually sent the girls gawking and drooling all over him.
With the crutches, it’s just going to get worse.
He shook all those thoughts out of
his head as he entered the supermarket and grabbed one of those trolleys. He’s
sure to buy a lot today.
Twenty minutes later, the trolley was
about three quarter full. A packet of rice, two cartons of orange juice, two
cartons of milk, some cheeses as well as some butter, a jar of jam, bread,
frozen chicken, apples, a packet of butterscotch candies, yoghurt, a bottle of
wine, two six-packs of Coca-cola and Pepsi, two bars of Snickers and one bar of
Kit-Kat Chunky Caramel, some Mars bars, a box of breakfast cereal, two packets
of biscuits, a bottle of sauce of some sort, frozen potato wedges and cabbage.
He had just added a box of teabags
into his cart and he was reaching over for a jar of coffee when he noticed that
his hand covered a smaller, paler hand. He quickly drew his hand away and
followed the other arm to its owner.
Standing right next to him was a girl
with a smaller frame. She had hair the colour of the sun and eyes the colour of
the most beautiful sea green he’d ever seen. Her pale complexion made her eyes
stood out. She smiled at him and drew back her arm almost immediately and
blushed.
Good Lord, it’s her! He nearly
screamed and had a crazy notion that he should abandon his cart and run out of
the supermarket while screaming at the top of his lungs. He should probably
scream his way while running down the street even. How can she be here??!! She’s
at least a thousand miles away from him… she’s from
Mark stared down at Kirsten. He
couldn’t find his voice. When he found his voice again and was about to say
that he’s sorry, Kirsten looked up at him and stared straight into his eyes. He
silently prayed that she wouldn’t recognise him.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, quickly
avoiding Mark’s gaze and stared down at the floor.
Mark opened his mouth, feeling as if
he needed to say something but quickly close his mouth again. He could hardly
feel his voice box, let alone use it. All he could do was stare at her – you
could even say gawking at her – while she kept her head down. He could only see
the top of her head. “I’m Mark,” he blurted out suddenly.
Oh God, he felt like kicking himself.
What’s wrong with him? He’d never even stuttered before or even lost his
voice before. He’d always been cool, calm and collected. In fact, she’d never
even ask for his name!! Why on earth was he feeling vulnerable? He didn’t like
feeling vulnerable. He didn’t like losing his control. Hell, just by staring at
her made him hard and aching, longing for a kiss and most definitely a night in
his bed. But he definitely respected her and although it’s killing him not to
kiss her, he would try his best to control himself. He really needed to
remember that there were in a supermarket and not in the private confinement of
his apartment.
She giggled then, a melodic sound,
beautiful and twinkling sound. God, how much Mark wished he’d be able to hold
her in his arms. His groin was aching and he’s very aware of his body’s
demands. He wondered if she’s feeling the same way. “I’m Kirsten.”
Oh gracious Lord, her voice had such
a sensuous edge to it. It was arousing him just as much just by listening to
her sweet melodious voice. She was so perfect.
Before he was able to process some
more information about Kirsten, he found her mouth settled on his strongly. He
was in too much shock to return the kiss but he recovered quickly and returned
her kiss just as powerfully. Mark was getting very light-headed from the kiss,
his head was swirling and he couldn’t think of anything but just to melt there
and then. He indulged himself in the sweetness of her mouth, not wanting to
ever lose her, not willing to let her go even though he’s beginning to die from
lacking of air. Hell, if he dies, he’ll die a happy man. When she’d kissed him,
he thought he’d just die and went straight to heaven. Good God, he’d nearly
keeled over from happiness.
Then, he felt her tongue pushing her
way into his mouth. So, she’d decided to add in something else, didn’t she?
Alright then, he’ll play her game. Their tongues met, and Mark took her in,
played around with her, teased her around and caressed her.
She finally broke the kiss. Mark was
still lingering, hoping for more but there was none. His breathing was ragged
and he was having troubles trying to breathe normally again. He was aching and
throbbing; burning for the need to throw her down, tear her clothes off and be
inside of her but he needed to control himself.
“What just happened?” Kirsten asked,
looking at Mark in the eyes. She giggled again when she saw that Mark’s mouth
was still slightly open, his eyes staring at her but she was sure that he was
actually trying to digest everything and if possible, instigate it all over
again. She nudged him a little to let him know that she’s asked a question. He
just shrugged when she repeated the question.
“Do you want that to happen again?”
she asked, blushing immensely.
“Are you planning to let it happen
again?” Mark asked. Ooo… he was glad that his voice was back and his brain
started to work again. His charms were now back in action! He nearly kneeled
and thanked God for that.
She gazed down at the floor again.
Mark’s hand shot out and tilted her head up. Now, this was what he liked it to
be – in control of everything that he’s doing. He pulled her close against him
– so close that she could feel his hard arousal – and wrapped one arm around
her waist as he brought his mouth down onto hers again and this time, he gave
her a long, hot and hard kiss.