Ellis Brothers Trilogy - Mark

Carly had absolutely no regrets about doing this. She was glad she waited this long, but happy when she decided to do it. They barely left his hotel room all weekend, the novelty of the new step in their relationship keeping them occupied at all hours of day and night. It was difficult to think about Mark going back to New York Sunday night. She tried to put it out of her head as much as possible.

Mark was nice enough to stop by her dorm again, before heading to the train station. Gemma might have killed her if she didn't get to meet him. She gushed, like the fangirl that she was, talking about her favorite songs and albums and lyrics of theirs. Mark was very friendly, listening patiently and asking follow-up questions, telling her some stories about how they came up with certain ideas. Carly watched him with a certain amount of awe, being so receptive to a fan, being so patient. Gemma asked him for a pic of them together and permission to post it, which Carly thought was really considerate. Mark laughed, telling her it was fine. He said he didn't mind people posting things about him as long as they were true. Gemma's post went something like 'Just hanging out in the old dorm with my roommate's new boyfriend Mark, no big deal.'

Mark came out pretty frequently that semester. His brothers being preoccupied with their wives and babies at the moment, he had a good amount of free time on his hands. There were a couple of occasions when she snuck a trip back to New York too, not telling her parents she would be in town, and staying at Mark's apartment with him. He came out early one Friday, Carly wasn't even sure when, but when she returned to her dorm early that afternoon after working her shift at a coffee shop on campus, Mark was sitting on the steps.

"Hey," she reached up to greet him with a kiss and he pulled her in for a hug.

"Hey," he seemed nervous.

"What's going on?" His nervousness made her feel it too.

"I did a thing this morning," he told her, his eyes shifting between hers. She waited impatiently for him to elaborate. "I got a place in Boston. Just a month-to-month furnished rental. I don't really need to be in New York that much right now and... you know, just financially it made more sense than paying for all the hotel rooms. I mean, not that I can't pay for the hotel rooms, but umm..." he scratched his head nervously. "Just seemed like a smarter thing to do, if I'm going to be out here a lot." He finished rambling, looking for her reaction.

"That sounds great," she smiled, nodding. "I would love it if you were going to be out here a lot."

"You don't think it's crazy? That like I'm being some sort of a wacko doing this? Because the consensus between my brothers and their wives was that I might be a little nuts. And that you might freak out." Carly laughed.

"Umm, no, I'm not freaking out. Can we go see it?" She liked the idea. She liked Mark. She wanted him around. Things between them were so good and she craved more of him.

"Yeah, definitely," he kissed her forehead. "Just so you know, it's not like my place in New York. This is just a studio and it's a little barebones, like it just has a half-sized fridge and a full-sized bed, which, by the way, we need to hit up someplace to actually buy sheets for, but it has a fully stocked kitchen, which is a plus."

"That sounds great!" She tried to be encouraging because she sincerely loved the idea that he did this.

The Spring semester went by in a bit of a blur. Once Mark had a place in Boston, he was around a lot more than he was away. She stayed over at his place frequently, even on school days, and when the time came in April to do the housing lottery, Mark proposed that she live with him, off-campus.

"I don't know," she hesitated. "I mean... that's..." she looked down at her hands. "We've been together for four months and I know this won't be until the fall semester, but is that too fast? Are we rushing things?" He took her hands in his.

"I'm looking at it this way: I know I want to be with you, that's not gonna change, but I probably won't be able to stay out here as much as I have been this Spring. We are working on something new, we are going to be recording and shooting videos and all that in the fall and the place is just gonna sit empty. What's the point of that? It would make more sense if you just stayed there full time and we'd have a place to be together when I come to visit." She didn't like the idea of seeing him less, but she understood that this was his life and his job and she didn't want to alter that.

"I can't afford to have my own place off-campus, Mark."

"But you don't have to, cause think of it the way it is now. I am paying for this place for the month, it's paid for whether I'm here or not. I was in New York for two full weeks at the beginning of the month, when Garrett's kid was born, and this place was just sitting here empty and paid for while you were sharing a room in the dorm. It's a waste right?" He looked her in the eye, his hands out, palms up, looking for confirmation that what he was saying made sense. It made sense, she agreed, but it was still weird, as if she'd be taking advantage of him somehow, living in an apartment that would be essentially his. He sensed her reservations, taking her hand back in his. "How about this, I'd pay the rent, cause I'd be doing that anyway, and you can handle all the utilities, electricity, internet, whatever you need to actually live there full time, since those are things I wouldn't be using while I'm away. How does that sound?"

It seemed like it could be a good compromise. She'd still need to discuss it with her parents. She could, she supposed, go ahead with this whether or not they approved, but she'd much rather have their approval for this. Her selling point would be that it would cost less than if she were living in campus housing and that Mark wouldn't actually be there a good deal of the time, so he wouldn't be constantly distracting her from studying and whatever else she needed to do her senior year. Maybe this could even be something to hook them with - she'd have fewer distractions at her own place off-campus than she would with roommates in a dorm.

"So what I'm hearing here is you want permission from us for Mark to pay for your apartment off-campus?" Dad asked when she had called her parents to discuss this. He had the phone on speakerphone and she could just imagine mom and dad sitting in the kitchen with the phone on the table between them.

"I... umm... I'm not sure whether I'm asking permission exactly. But... I'm asking for your input, I guess, about what you think of this idea he had," she clarified. She was still struggling with whether she'd do it or not if her parents said no. She decided that it would depend on their reasons and how adamant they were about it.

"I don't know, honey," mom sounded contemplative. "I understand the appeal of this arrangement you described and I'm not naive enough to think that you two aren't already sleeping together, but I have my concerns. Primarily, what's going to happen if for some reason you two break up at some point next year and you are out of a place to live?" Carly sighed. She didn't really want to think about that, although the thought had crossed her mind too.

"I don't know, mom," she answered honestly.

"Maybe that would be a good life lesson in adulting," dad suggested, "of trying to deal with a shitty situation if it happens. If you choose to do this and then end up with no place to live in Boston in October."

She'd have to take a chance on this. Things with Mark were amazing. They clicked. She let herself make future plans for them, after college, back in New York. She second-guessed herself, of course, about feeling so strongly about him in such a short period of time. She was just now turning 21, was it really possible to have already met the love of your life at this age? Was it possible for them to actually stick together from now until... forever?

She's been lucky so far in that they haven't yet been away from each other for more than a couple of weeks at a time, but there would be longer periods of time, she knew there would be. How would she be able to handle it? Their summer was amazing. She had an internship during the day and Mark spent a lot of time with his brothers working on their next album, but they had nights together. They were in the same city at the same time all the time and it was amazing. The fall would look a lot different than this. There were no release dates or tour dates set yet, but they had a couple of songs finished that they would be shooting videos for and there was some pressure from the studio to finish. It's been over two years now since their last album came out and there was a demand for new content. Tentatively, they'd go on tour the following Spring.

The first prolonged time apart came that fall though, when they had studio time booked and Mark couldn't get out to Boston for over a month. Carly sat around their tiny apartment feeling more alone than ever. There was something extra lonesome in having a person that you loved and not being able to see him. He had stuff here. His toothbrush, his shaving things, his shampoo in the bathroom. The dresser drawer was filled with his underwear, socks, and t-shirts. She was embarrassed to admit it, but there was this one hoodie of his that she'd wear most nights around the house, that still faintly smelled of him and she wouldn't wash it until she saw him again.

****

"Where are you right now?" Mark asked her on the phone one night. It was nearly eleven and he had just gotten home. He had dialed her number as soon as he was through his front door, hoping that Carly wasn't asleep yet.

"In bed," her voice sounded drowsy, but she assured him that she hadn't been asleep, that he hadn't woken her up.

"Under the covers?" He walked straight to his bedroom. It had been a really long day. Things weren't coming together on a certain song the way that they had imagined it and the stress and pressure of wasting studio time were just adding to the frustration.

"Yeah," she replied softly. Mark toed off his sneakers and flopped down on his bed.

"What are you wearing?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," he wanted to imagine her in his head right then, with as much detail as possible. Carly hesitated.

"Just a t-shirt and underwear," she told him.

"Which t-shirt?" He hoped it was one of his.

"Just a plain white one."

"Mine?"

"Yeah." Her response had his cock at half-mast. He switched the phone to speaker and worked on getting out of his clothes.

"Describe your panties to me."

"Mark," she sighed.

"Tell me," he persisted. "Give me as many details as you can."

"Pink, with little purple and blue flowers. Cotton, bikini cut." Surprisingly, he knew exactly which pair she was describing. The frequency with which they saw each other over the summer had made him quite familiar with her wardrobe.

"I'm down to just my boxer briefs," he told her, laying back on the bed. "Grey." She was quiet for a long moment. They've never done this before, but he really wanted to right then, so he'd need to figure it out. "Why don't we make it even? Take the shirt off?" It was quiet on Carly's end. "Please? I miss you so much. This could be fun."

"I miss you too," she sounded sad. "I don't know how good I'd be at this."

"I've never done it before either so the playing field's equal," he admitted. He heard rustling on Carly's end.

"Ok, the shirt's off," she announced.

"God, I miss your perfect boobs, holding them in my hands, having my mouth on your nipples," his hand was already down his boxers, wrapped around his cock. "Touch them for me?"

"Ok," he closed his eyes, imagining Carly's hands wrapped around her own breasts.

"Twist your nipples between your thumb and index finger. I love it when they are nice and hard and sit right on top of your boob like the cherry on top of a perfect scoop of ice cream," he thought of that analogy on many occasions, without having voiced it before.

"I'm doing it, but just so you know, they were already hard." That made him smile. He was definitely fully hard.

"Mmm," he couldn't restrain the groan as he stroked himself slowly, his eyes closed.

"Are you... umm... touching yourself?" She asked shyly. Mark chuckled.

"Yeah, sweetheart, very much so. My dick is completely hard, just thinking about you touching your nipples and I have my hand wrapped around it right now." It sounded like a sigh on Carly's end. Or maybe a moan? "I want you to feel your panties for me, take your hand down between your legs and rub over them." He gave her a moment to follow through before he asked: "Are your panties wet?"

"Yeah," her voice was breathy.

"Why don't you get rid of them?" He suggested, already moving his boxer briefs down his hips. "I'll take mine off too. How are you doing?" He laid back down on his bed, his hand back on his cock.

"Good."

"Why don't you get your fingers nice and wet in your pussy and slip them inside, see how far up there you can get them?" Mark really wished he could see her doing this. Maybe another time. He'd just have to imagine it in his head this time. "Carly?"

"Mhmm?" It came out almost as a moan, which made his cock throb. He had no doubt that she was touching herself.

"Oh fuck, sweetheart, do you have your fingers in there?" He stroked faster.

"Uh-huh," this too came out in a way that made his balls tighten.

"Spread your legs open wider and slide those wet fingers up to your clit." The sound that came over the phone line this time was definitely a moan and he wanted to hear more of them. "That's it, sweetheart, rub that clit for me, then press them back into that tight, wet little pussy." She moaned again and he felt like he was getting close to his own orgasm. It would definitely happen a lot faster this way than when he jerked himself off in the shower without the audio stimulation of Carly touching herself. "Carly?"

"Mhmm?" Every sound that she made added to the electricity surging through his balls and up his shaft.

"Do you have a vibrator?" It took her a second to answer.

"No," she sounded like she had pulled herself together, her voice was more sober.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh," she confirmed.

"How do you usually... do it when you're alone?" This was a question he's never asked any other woman he'd been with. His hand continued to stroke his cock, though he had slowed a bit.

"Umm... just like this... with my fingers," she sounded quiet and he could imagine her blushing.

"Can you do what you usually do, but describe it to me?" He heard her take a breath. "It's just me, Carly."

"Umm... I... ah... on my belly and I have my hand underneath myself," Mark readjusted the image in his brain as he sped up his hand on his cock again, grasping the shaft tightly. "And I'm... moving my... umm... p-pussy against my hand, not the other way around," she explained.

"Oh, you're doing so good, sweetheart," he encouraged her. "If you had a vibrator, you could slip it inside and imagine you're riding my cock." Carly moaned in response. "I'm definitely getting you a vibrator," he resolved. His hand flying now. "And we are gonna play with it together when I'm back. I'm gonna work into your pussy while you suck on my cock."

"Oh God," Carly groaned, "Mmmm." Satisfied that he had made her come, he let himself release as well, shooting streams of cum into his hand and onto his stomach.

After they hung up and he cleaned up the mess he'd made, he found a website that would ship vibrators in a discreet, nondescript box and ordered one to be shipped to Carly in Boston.

****

It was January again when Mark tried to explain to her the concept of this video that they'd be shooting for one of his songs and why he wanted her to be in it. They had been together for over a year now and Wesley's younger son, Finnley, was attempting to take his first steps in the piece of raw footage that Mark had shown her.

"So everyone's in it, Lexi, Jordana, the kids. We are putting in some home videos of us as kids. It's basically about growing up and changes and stuff. They are just gonna take a few shots of us hanging out. You and me. At our place, at the park maybe." She was hesitant to agree to this. She wasn't exactly shy, but she also wasn't an actress and felt a little awkward about doing this stuff.

"In Boston?" She furrowed her brow, not understanding. THEIR place was in Boston.

"No, silly! Here, in New York. Just... you know, at the apartment." It was a bit of a surprise to her that he thought of his apartment, which he'd had for over a year before they even reconnected, as theirs.

"Wouldn't you normally like... cast actors to do something like this?"

"Not for something like this!" Mark exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "This is like... honest and true and us. For real."

She seemed to have no choice but to agree. She was really nervous though. She had her hair blown out at the solon and carefully did her makeup. She had asked Mark half a dozen times about what she was supposed to wear and the only thing he'd tell was 'just be yourself, wear what you always wear.' She went with a pair of jeans tucked into knee-high boots with her favorite, soft, kelly green sweater. They were going to shoot outside first, so she wore her wool coat and a scarf that she retied about seven times, trying to get it to look right.

"Ok, you're gonna start out at the top of the path," the director told them. There was no large crew or a big production when they got there. There was a guy with a camera on a rolling tripod, the director, Garrett and Wes, and the two of them. It was a cold but sunny day, the trees standing bare against the clear blue sky. "And just walk down towards us, at a strolling pace. Talk, laugh, hold hands, whatever. Pretend we're not here. Let's do a little rehearsal, without the camera rolling, ok?" They nodded. "Action!" The director yelled.

"What are we supposed to talk about?" She asked, smiling at Mark. It was just as weird as she expected it would be. He grabbed her hand in his.

"Anything. The song is going to be over all the footage they take, so it doesn't really matter." He grinned back at her.

"So we could like... discuss the grocery list? Like... oh we need to pick up some milk, I used the last of it for breakfast this morning." Mark laughed, nodding.

"Yeah, that would be fine," he pulled her hand up to his face and kissed her fingers. "Absolutely. I think we might be low on bread too."

"Alright, yeah, you got the idea," the director stopped them, shooing them back up to the top of the path with his hands. "Let's take it from the top, literally."

"This is really freaking weird," Carly laughed, as they turned around and walked back up the path.

"Oh, this is not so bad. You can do this," he leaned over and kissed her head. They turned around. His eyes lingered on her, looking her over appreciatively. "I love you." It wasn't the first time he said those words to her, but every time he said them, they made everything inside her tingle.

"I love you too," she smiled back at him.

"Ok, we're gonna roll this time. Action!" The director yelled at them and they started walking again. Mark's hand seemed to squeeze hers a little tighter than before.

"Ok, I might not have been entirely honest with you about this video and this song," he wasn't meeting her eye when she looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" Her eyebrows came together, eyes searching his face.

"I mean, yeah, it is about growing up and it is about us and... you know, Garrett and Lexi and Wes and Jordana and all that, that's all true." Carly felt her face relax a bit. Mark took a deep breath, shoving his free hand deep into his pocket. "But umm... so the song title is Change My Life," Carly nodded, it made sense. Mark stopped walking and she halted next to him, glancing at the director, who hadn't made any indication that they should stop, then brought her eyes back to Mark. "And there is this line in the song that goes 'I want you to change my life,'" he was suddenly on one knee in front of her, pulling his hand out of his pocket, "Carly, will you be my wife?"