don't you walk away

-13-

Mark walked into the sound booth and I saw him swaying to the music that was playing through the headphones.
"Well, let's take off from the start," I smiled as he continued. This and The Truth were some of my favorite songs that he'd written lately. His eyes were closed for the first part of the song, but when he got to the chorus and sang "I'll be here, smiling when I see your face", he made eye contact with me and I smiled the biggest smile I could offer. He grinned back and continued with the song. I saw Ponsi roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye and turned to face him.
"Got a problem, mister?" He chuckled and smiled.
"No, do you?" He shrugged and held his hands up.
"Not if you don't." We nodded in a silent truce and I went back to watching Mark in the booth. He got so into the music and I loved it. He really was changing my mind about his music.

Mark and I got back to his apartment later that night, after we went for dinner with Ponsi and his wife. We'd eaten at a fairly nice restaurant and I'd enjoyed my fettuccine alfredo a lot. The two of us were sat on his couch, enjoying rewatching the first season of The X Files. I got up to go get a drink from his fridge and he paused it. When I came back, I saw him staring down at his hands in thought. I sat next to him and set my drink down on the coffee table. I leaned over and put my head in his lap.
"What's up babe?" He started to play with my hair instead of his hands.
"Well, I was just thinking about how much I love waking up next to you." I smiled.
"That's sweet, but I look like a gremlin in the morning." Mark chuckled.
"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to move in. I mean-" I interrupted him.
"Half of my shit's already here? Yeah. I agree. As much as I don't want to expose you to my gremlin morning face, I love waking up next to you too." Mark smiled and leaned down to kiss me. "Why don't we start moving my shit tomorrow? It's late." Mark nodded. "Also, I'm kind of sleepy, so if it's alright with you, I wanna finish this episode and then go to sleep." Mark nodded. He pressed play and I turned onto my side so I could drink my soda and lay down at the same time. I sipped at it and the two of us relaxed, becoming absorbed in The X Files again.

When I woke up, I was in bed, which was funny, considering I remembered falling asleep on Mark's lap during The X Files last night. I sat up and stretched as I checked my watch. It was a bit past noon and I could hear Mark in the living room over the soft music coming from my phone. Mark had even played my music for me. I knew there was a reason I loved him. I was still in my clothes from yesterday, so I put on a pair of pajamas. I shuffled out into the living room and was greeted by Mark playing The Truth. I leaned against the doorway to his- no, our- bedroom. I watched him strumming the guitar softly and became mesmerized. I didn't realize he'd stopped playing until he turned to face me.
"Morning, babe." I smiled and walked over to him.
"Morning. Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Mark smiled up at me.
"Ah, you just say that because you get to wake up to me singing." He put his guitar back on its stand and I sat down on his lap.
"Well, that's half of it." He rested his chin on my shoulder and I turned my head to face him.
"Babe, come on, get up. We need to eat and then start packing up your place." I groaned and got up begrudgingly. I got dressed, even though I'd just put on my pajamas and did my makeup. Mark was sitting in the living room, on his phone, waiting for me. I finished up and grabbed my keys from the table by the front door.
"Alright, let's go." Mark put his phone away and the two of us walked out to his car.