𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 ♪ 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 ✔

68. Markson's encounter (10)

Like an actual intellectual, Mark sent Jackson a picture of his location, via gps since Jackson couldn't recognize what Mark had described of the area, not even the streets sounded familiar to him. Now the native is on his way to pick him up. Unluckily, Mark's current location was quite far so it'd take a couple of minutes to get there.

Mark couldn't do more than wait for his friend to arrive. So he spent most of his time staring into space, occasionally humming to a song that came up to his mind.

He heard light footsteps coming from the back. Thinking it was Jackson, he almost shot up from his not-so comfortable seat, wanting to already leave.

But it wasn't Jackson.

"Suxing," Mark said, shock evident in his tone. "I thought you went back?"

The said man sighed, averting his gaze to the pavement. "I did but then I felt guilty so I tried checking if you're still here. It's nearing midnight and I know that in this area, public transportation isn't always available. Luckily, you're still here. And safe."

Mark pressed his lips in a thin line, "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For your concern."

During the previous minutes, Mark was able to calm down from the confrontation.

After that, not much was said. Mark went back to his previous spot on the curb, slightly confusing Suxing. "Aren't you going to try and look for a way to get back? I can help you if you like."

Mark looked over his shoulder, Suxing standing behind him with his hands in his pockets. "Oh, my friend is going to pick me up."

"I see."

As minutes went by, Mark began to feel sleepy. His head and eyelids felt heavier and he cursed at Jackson in his mind for being late. But his weariness would be then replaced with uneasiness when Suxing suddenly sat beside him, giving them both a fair distance.

"Sorry... about earlier." Suxing started, "I should've known that you already have a boyfriend. And don't worry. Jackson's not the type of guy I'll win against."

Mark visibly jumped at this. "What?!"

"I mean, I'm not going to compete against Jackson." Suxing clarified, figuring Mark didn't understand him. He knew that Mark had some troubles understanding Mandarin.

"You think Jackson's my boyfriend?"

"Is he not?" Suxing slowly asked, confused of the other's reaction.

"No!" Mark exclaimed. "He-he's just my friend. My business partner. There's nothing going on between me and him. Why would you say that?" Mark stumbled his words along the way.

"How could I not say that?" Suxing gaze flickered from Mark then away from him then vice versa. "Is there someone else?"

"No! Definitely no! There's no third person."

"Just you and Jackson then?"

"No!"

"So someone else?"

"NO!"

Suxing, now utterly confused, looked at Mark with a perfect expression to describe how he felt. "So who is it then?"

Mark didn't know that his cheeks were gradually getting pinker. This topic made him strangely flustered. Luckily for him, Suxing couldn't quite see it because of the dim lights.

Before he could answer Suxing's question, he refrained himself from exposing anything personal. "Why are you even asking me this? I still barely know you and yet here you are, asking me about my relationship?"

"Well I didn't mean it but then you started fr-. Never mind." Suxing waved off, finally getting the hint. There was silence for a few minutes then Suxing let out a chuckle, facing the sky with his hands behind his back for support. "How long?"

Mark looked at him, his brow raised. Then Suxing continued, "For how long have you liked him?" He faced the foreigner, his lips curled up in a teasing smile.

"You like him but you haven't told him."

Mark stayed silent. He wanted to protest but he couldn't. Was it because what Suxing is tell him true?

"I can tell he likes you too, judging from how he acts whenever I'm around you."

Mark watched as Suxing lied down on the pavement, his hands placed behind his head. "What's stopping you?"

Once again, Mark kept silent. Not wanting to answer his question as this touched a very sensitive topic for him. Suxing also didn't force Mark to answer him. He was invading on his personal space a lot for tonight.

It was a quite atmosphere. You could practically hear the wind blowing at the steady pace. The night was getting colder and calmer. Not helping to Mark's weariness.

The sound of Mark's ringtone invaded that comforting moment. He fished out his phone and immediately answered it.

"Where are you?"

"I'm here but I don't see you."

"What do you see?" Mark stood up from his spot, making Suxing sit up straight.

"There's a red gate with a very angry dog."

Just then, Mark heard the barking of a dog. "Wait. I think I know where you are." He dashed to where the direction of the noise was. It wasn't that far away and saw Jackson right away when he got near the barking.

A huge wave of relief washed over Mark as he inched closer to the native. "There you are!" Jackson smiled as he ended the call, walking over to Mark.

"Sorry for troubling you." Mark breathed out.

"Yeah, you owe me dinner next time." Jackson's  smile faded into a frown as he saw Suxing following behind. "What's he doing here?" He asked Mark, pointing at Suxing.

"He kept me company." He replied. "Let's go. I want to sleep."

"You always want to sleep."

"I'm surprised you're surprised."

"I'm not. It's more like a, 'why am I not surprised' kind of thing."

"Well that shows you are surprised."

"I just said I wasn't."

Suxing watched as the two walked over to the car, completely forgetting he was there. But he didn't mind. He got to see Mark sparkle even under the dark alley. That was enough for him to feel satisfied on the inside. Even if he wasn't the one who made him like that.

____

guys my parents agreed on my choice for uni and im so happy. now all i have to do is work hard to pass there. i have 5 more months to go.