The Mark

"I'll be at the end of your drive way around five," she spoke. Jack could swear he heard a smile in her voice as she talked. He thought he heard someone speaking in the background and waited when the other end of the phone sound complete muffled.

"Is everything okay, Carol?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "My sister is talking to me and bugging me about this guy she's been dating. It's a long story, but I'll be glad to tell you about it over dinner."

"Okay. Sounds great. Dinner with a little bit of conversation that lets me in on your secret life and then a little bit of opera to top off the night."

There were more sounds in the background and the sound of someone covering the mouth piece on the other end.

"What was that?" Jack asked.

"That was my sister again, being rude. I will see you at five, Jack; and please, be dressed for a very fancy evening. But don't wear a tux. It's not that type of a night, I assure you."

"Okay, no penguin suit for me tonight," he joked. He heard Carol's soft giggle on the other end and could have sworn he heard the sister in the back ground actually let out a laugh. "Did I miss a joke?"

"No, just my sister again, being silly. I need to get ready so I'll let you go for now and I'll see you at five, dear."

As Jack heard Carol hang up, he felt once again that there seemed to be a shift in Carol's attitude. It was almost like a switch was turned and she had gone from being a firecracker to a librarian. He closed his flip phone and went back to his bedroom to make sure he had everything as he thought on the subject. Instead, as he looked over the suit, he saw his clothes from the night before in the top of the hamper and thought of the events in the dark theatre the night before.

Jack fiddled around the house over the course of the afternoon, eating a large lunch so he could eat a small dinner and not have to afford to pay too much for his meal at whatever restaurant that Carol was going to take him too. After cleaning up the dishes and kitchen, he noticed that it was a little before four o'clock and time for him to get ready to look his very best.

After taking almost a full hour, jack felt confident that he could not get himself made up any better than he already was. After triple checking that everything was in its place in his home and on his purpose, Jack opened his front door and stood staring outside. The door was open to the vehicle and he could see Carol sitting inside wearing a long black evening gown. The sight of her beauty, however, was not what shocked Jack. It was the fact that she was sitting in the back seat of a stretch limousine and the driver was holding the back door open for him.

Quickly turning around and locking his door, Jack walked slowly to the waiting opening, keeping himself reserved until he climbed into the back seat. He began to reach for the door when he saw the driver tip his hat at him with a smile and close the door. Jack looked out the darkly tinted window at his home and wondered what his neighbors must be thinking, if any of them were looking out at the moment.

As the limo began to slowly pull away, Jack looked over at Carol and found her turned in her seat to face him. He turned and faced her as well, suddenly enjoying the quite solitude of the smooth and darkened interior of the limo. He reached up and caressed her cheek as he leaned in to kiss her. Carol leaned in as well and let their lips touch gently together. Jack felt his desire to rise again, but he contained himself and remained the gentleman he had promised her he would be.

Pulling back, he continued to look her directly in her eyes, occasionally letting his eyes drift to her hair falling behind her in their gorgeous curls and waves. As she looked at him in turn, he smiled.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, tonight," he told her. "I can't think of anyone I've ever seen as beautiful as you do this evening."

Carol's face blushed red, causing the light smattering of freckles on her fact to stand out. She turned her head as her face beamed with big smile.

"I know you're just saying that, but thank you, Jack. I'm hideous with all these freckles and pale complexion," she said, still hiding her face.

"I'm not saying that, Carol," Jack stated, reaching over and taking her hand in his. "I meant exactly what I said. You're a very beautiful woman as you are, but tonight, you did what I didn't think could be done. You made yourself even more beautiful than I have seen you so far."

Carol raised her head and looked into Jack's eyes, as if to see if he was truly speaking the truth. Her face quickly beamed with happiness; and without a single word, she reached over to him and pulled Jack into a tight embrace, holding him close to her as her head rested on his shoulder. She held him like that for some time, Jack returning the embrace, his hands caressing her back and playing through her long red hair.

"I really love your hair, too," he whispered. "I love its color, the soft feel of it between my fingers as I touch, like I'm doing now." Jack inhaled a deep breath through his nose. "I love the smell of the strawberry shampoo you use and how it mixes perfectly with your perfume."

He felt Carol's arms tighten around him in a silent acknowledgement of his words and Jack returned the strong embrace. The two of them sat like that for a few moments more before breaking apart. Carol took his hand in hers and held it gently while they rode down the city streets.

Jack took a look out the window and noticed that they were definitely in the upscale side of the town, where only the rich would be able to dine. He thought about the amount of money he was carrying and congratulated himself on taking out more money earlier that morning. This date was going to cost him a fortune. Looking back at Carol and her smiling face, he thought to himself that it would be well worth it.

The limo pulled up at non-descriptive building that Jack would have normally walked right by. The driver quickly climbed out and opened the door for Jack and Carol. Jack climbed out first and offered his hand to help Carol out of the vehicle. He let her lead the way to a set of double doors that looked like they would be locked tight at this time of day, but was surprised when they were opened from the inside before they reached them by two men in fancy suits.

Walking inside, the doors were closed behind them and a tall lanky gentleman greeted them with a bow.

"Good evening, sir, and lady. If you will follow me, I will show you to your table."

Doing his best, Jack looked like he belonged in a place like this, resisting the urge to turn his head every which way to look at everything that was so new to him. They were both seated at a small table where another man came up to their table just as the first man picked up the card that read "Reserved" in the fanciest script.

The new man introduced himself as John and he would take care of them during their visit. As the dinner progressed, Jack came to feel they had more than just John to take care of them that evening. One lady stood near their table and continued to walk up with a bottle of wine to refill their glasses. With each plate they finished, two more people, the same two every time, quickly picked up the plates. Jack was astonished that they were able to take away so many plates on occasion without making any sounds your normally heard when the staff would clean up dirty dishes. The whole time, Carol would occasionally talk about her sister.

"Remember my sister when I called you earlier today," Carol started. "She can be impossible sometimes."

Jack listened half-heartedly as he watched Carol. He felt that she definitely belonged in this setting in those clothes. He began to feel like he was far out of his league with her.

"She is so outgoing sometimes, but you'd never know it when it comes to guys, though," Carol continued. "She's had maybe four steady boyfriends over the past ten years, and each of them left her for another woman. It's a shame, really."

Jack continued to eat, doing his best not to scrape the fancy China with his actual silver silverware. He began to listen and pay more attention to Carol, knowing that if he wanted any chance to prove he was worthy to be with her, he could at least start by listening to what she was talking about.

"Right now, she's got it bad for this guy she met recently at a club and she's just constantly talking about him. I'm really hoping, though, that he doesn't turn out like the others. She deserves to be happy."

"I'm sure she does," Jack said smiling. "And I hope that this man she's met does turn out to be mister right for her."

Carol looked at him for a moment, holding her fork and knife above the food she was about to cut into. She looked hard into Jack's eyes again, just as she did in the limo earlier before her face became very soft and her smile brightened.

"I actually do believe you do want my sister to be happy, Jack," she said, putting her utensils down. She reached across the table and squeezed his hand for just a second before pulling it away.

They finished their last course and were nibbling on the delicate desert that was brought to their table. When they finished it, they both sat there for just a moment longer as the table was cleared. When Carol stood, Jack quickly stood with her but prepared to sit back down as he thought she was headed to the ladies room. When he took his seat, she looked down at him and let out a soft laugh.

"We need to leave, dear, if we're going to make the curtain call," she told him.

"What about the check?" he asked, standing worriedly about sneaking out on such an establishment without paying for the meal.

"It's paid for in advance, honey," she said, leaning in and kissing his cheek again. "There we go. You're marked again, if at least slightly noticeable."

Jack didn't even consider touching his cheek where her lips had touched him. He just returned her smile and offered her his arm. When she took it, he leaned close and whispered into her ear, "As long as it's your mark I'm wearing, I don't care if it's bright enough to outshine the sun. I'd gladly wear it."

They walked out the double doors they had entered and found the same limo and driver waiting for them. Once inside, they sat close together, holding hands and not talking as the driver took them to their next destination. Jack kept thinking of the night before when he and Carol had been sitting in a dark theater at the movies and what they had done there. As his thoughts grew with those dirty thoughts, so did his dick. Unbidden thoughts of Carol and himself getting that hot and heavy at the theatre they were fast approaching during the play did nothing to keep his erection from getting harder.

When the driver opened the door, Jack hurriedly climbed out and gave himself a quick once over to make sure that his loose slacks showed nothing of his arousal. Certain he was okay, he turned and helped Carol out and escorted her into the building. She handed their tickets to the staff and taker looked at them for just a moment and waved over another staff member.

"Eighth row, center," he told the young staff member that had come over. The young man nodded and asked them to follow him. When they entered auditorium, Jack fought to control his necks desire to break itself looking around. The place looked magnificent every where his eyes were able to see. When the reached their seats, Jack noticed that there was no way they would be able to have a night of passion in this theatre, being as closely surrounded by everyone.

While seated, the theatre quickly filled with others and within minutes, the auditorium was filled with soft murmuring from all around. Jack took the opportunity to look around and admire the expanse of the theatre. Instruments could be heard playing single notes as the orchestra began to warm them up; and soon, the lights began to dim as the curtain rose.

Through out the entire play, Jack found himself spell bound with the magic they were presenting on the stage. Every now and then, he looked over at Carol and found she was just staring in awe almost every time. There was one time, when Raul and Christine were professing their love for each other on top of the opera house, when Jack turned to admire Carol and he found her already looking at him, her eyes a little moist from holding back some tears.

As the play ended, Jack rose just as quickly as the rest of the audience, applauding the actors as the came forward and bowed toward the crowd. When the curtain finally fell for the last time, Carol sat back down and pulled Jack to sit beside her as everyone around them stood and waited to get in line to leave.

"I want to ask you, Jack, if you would come home with me tonight," she spoke softly. "You don't have to, if you don't wish. I know I asked you to be a gentleman tonight, and you can still be, if you come back to my place for a night cap."

Jack looked at Carol and took her hand in his. He brought it to his lips, as he had done for her the night before at the taxi. He closed his eyes as he kissed her knuckle gently and opened them to look into her eyes again. Placing his other hand over hers that he was holding he said, "I would love to come to your place for a night cap, Carol."

She smiled at his acceptance and gave him a quick tight hug. He returned her embrace and he enjoyed holding her near to him again. When they pulled away, they shared a kiss, allowing it to become passionate for just a brief moment. Jack looked at Carol and saw her face was flushed with the kiss and he could see that she was wanting more, but she seemed so much more shy this night than she had been the night before.

Jack looked around and saw most the crowd had thinned out and stood, helping Carol to stand with him. They made their way toward the front and out to the limo, waiting for them as if it had not moved since they went inside. Jack heard Carol tell the driver to take her home before she climbed in. Jack moved into the seat beside her, and Carol took his arm and moved it around her shoulders. He was about to lower his hand to her breast and play with it when he felt her snuggle up close to his side. Instead, he wrapped his hand around her shoulder and just pulled her closer into his side.

The ride was short from the theatre to a very tall building, still in the upscale neighborhoods. Jack climbed out and once again helped Carol. She thanked the driver and walked toward the double doors of the building. A man stepped out of the shadows at the doors and Jack quickly stepped in front of Carol to protect her. He felt more foolish than ever before when he saw the man was wearing a doorman's uniform as he opened one of the doors.

After they entered the building, Jack let her lead the way to an elevator, where Carol swiped a card and punched a code into the key pad beside it. The elevator doors opened and she slid the same card into a slot of the elevator and pressed the button marked with a capital P at the bottom of the row of buttons. Jack was about to ask why there were going down to the parking garage when he felt the elevator move up. Shortly after beginning its rise, it slowed and stopped. The doors opened into a very short hallway with two doors on opposite ends.

Jack followed Carol to the left and entered the large penthouse suite that she opened without a key or using the card she had removed from the slot in the elevator. As soon as they entered, Jack let out a deep exhalation.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "You live here? By yourself?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Carol said, walking into the living room that could fit all of Jacks home into it. "I'm very rich, thanks to the passing of my parents a few years ago."

Jack stopped staring around the room and looked at Carol's unhappy appearance. He quickly walked over to her and pulled her onto the couch that they were standing near.

"Don't be upset, Carol," he whispered. "I'm not upset about it, nor do I care about it. If you had taken me to an apartment in the slums of the city and told me it was your place, I may have been a little worried you would be kicked out after tonight's cost. But, I would have offered you my place, if you did."

When she looked up at Jack, he could see that she had been crying. "Jack, I just didn't want you to like me for my money. Now I'm worried that, since I didn't tell you in advance, you'll be upset with me for not being up front and honest."

Jack pulled her close to him and felt her body shake with her sobs. Carol's arms came around his sides as she clutched him in a deep needing embrace. He just held her close, and let her cry her tears, the whole time wondering just how he could be so lucky to have such a beautiful woman in his arms. As her sobs come fewer and far between, Jack felt her arms loosen around him. His own tight grip loosened, but he didn't let go until he felt her arms slide down his back and around his sides to his front.

When they sat looking at each other, he saw that around her red puffy eyes, mascara had run a little. She looked into Jack's eyes and wiped at her eyes. When she looked at her fingers, she saw the mascara on them and looked at Jack's overcoat and let out a gasp.

"I'm so sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to ruin your jacket," she exclaimed.

He looked down and saw that there was a large stain in the fabric where her make-up and tears had mixed and blended into the material. He looked back at her and saw her near tears again. He quickly leaned in and kissed her lips. When he pulled away, he continued to smile and even laughed.

"I am not worried about my coat, honey," he said.

She laughed at the thought of it as well and leaned in and kissed him with deep passion and longing. He felt her tongue caress his before he let his slide into her mouth to return the gentle touches. All too soon for Jack, Carol broke the kiss and stood up.

"The bar's over there," she said, pointing to what was obviously a nicely stocked bar area. "There's a small fridge under it with ice, if you want a night cap on ice. I'm going to go freshen up and I'll be back in a moment."

Jack stood up and watched her as she began to head toward a door off to the side. She stopped and turned around just as she opened the door slightly.

"Also, take off your coat and make yourself at home. The restroom's inside my room here; so if you need to use it before I get back, just knock before entering."

"Okay," he said as she turned to go into the room. Jack thought it was neat how her bedroom light had turned on just before she had entered her room, thinking that she must have a sensor on the switch that detected motion.

Jack went behind the bar and pulled out a couple of glasses and filled them with ice. Using the orange juice he found in the fridge, he quick fixed a screwdriver for Carol and poured some scotch into the other glass. After putting the bottles back in their proper places, Jack turned around to face the front of the bar and saw a sight that he truly did not expect to see this night.

Standing the doorway to her bedroom was Carol. Her hair was down, hanging over her shoulders and coming to rest on the swell of her breasts. Jack could see the contrast from her bright red hair and the black silk negligee she was wearing. The garment came down to just below her waist, allowing Jack to see the toned bare thighs he had caressed the night before at the movie. Below the, was a pair of dark silk stockings that shimmered in the light from the living room.

As Jack stared at the gorgeous woman from across the room, Carol walked toward him. Her steps were a mix of the walk a runway model would walk and a walk that reminded him of a female tiger stalking her prey in a documentary. As she neared the bar, Jack came out from behind it. When he reached to grab the drinks, she shook her head no.