Ellis Brothers Trilogy - Mar

"Oh my God, I don't believe it! It's actually Mark Ellis, just hanging out in the park, like normal people!" He looked up to see the source of the voice, taking in the woman standing a few feet away. She definitely looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on where he knew her from.

"Hi," he smiled, giving her a small wave, his brain racing to figure out the connection.

"Keep pushing!" Sawyer reminded him from the swing where he was sitting, the momentum slowing down. Mark gave his nephew a hard push on the back and the little boy squealed, leaning into the swing. The woman looked between him and Sawyer, her eyes growing wide.

"You have a kid?!" Her jaw seemed to drop.

"I have a nephew," he wasn't sure how much to say because he still hadn't figured out who she was. She looked over Sawyer more carefully.

"Ah, I see it now. Definitely Wes. Not that I remember Wes being that young, but definitely the resemblance is there. The dark curls, the freaky blue eyes. Is Wes around? Or are you just babysitting? Man, I can't actually imagine you babysitting. This is so crazy." His expression must have finally given him away. His eyes were narrowed, his forehead drawn, he was desperately trying to figure out whether this was just a fan who knew him from social media and internet content or whether he really knew her. "You have no idea who I am!" She shook her head grinning. Sawyer looked up at him, then back at the woman in front of them.

"I'm sorry, I don't. Refresh my memory," he admitted.

"Carly Emmerson? 6B?" She put her hands up on either side in a 'ta-da!' motion. As soon as he heard the name he knew exactly who she was. Yes, he really knew her. They were neighbors growing up, on the same floor of the building where his parents still lived. She was younger though, they didn't exactly hang out together or anything. He had graduated from high school before she had even started and she definitely had a huge crush on him.

"Wow, Carly!" He came out from behind the swing and gave her a quick, one-armed hug. "It's really good to see you! You've certainly grown up." She laughed.

"Yeah, a little bit," she tucked a strand of her smooth, dark hair behind her ear. Sawyer tugged on his jacket reminding him to push the swing again and Mark went behind his nephew to do it.

"Oh, Carly's this is Sawyer, Sawyer, Carly was my neighbor when we were little," Mark explained. "Sawyer is three and you guessed correctly about him being Wes's son."

"Three and a half," Sawyer corrected. Carly grinned at him and waved.

"That's so crazy to think that your brother has a kid, right?" Carly shook her head.

"Soon to be kids, plural," Mark nodded.

"Mommy has a baby in her belly," Sawyer disclosed. Carly's eyes widened looking at him.

"Yeah, Wes is on number two, set to arrive in just under two months and once he made that announcement, requesting another baby hiatus, Garrett and Lexi decided to finally go for it too. Their baby is due in April," Mark explained.

"Wow, that's a lot of babies," she seemed ever so slightly uncomfortable with this information.

"What are you up to?" Mark continued pushing Sawyer on the swing.

"I'm in college," she made a gesture with her hand as if it should be obvious. She looked too sophisticated to be in college, the way her outfit was coordinated, the wool coat and scarf over a pair of crisply ironed dress pants, the way her makeup was done perfectly as if not there at all, she looked like she'd fit in working at some law office.

"Here in the city?" Mark found himself hoping that she was still local and that he'd get to see her again.

"No, in Boston," her eyes seemed to scan him up and down. "I'm home for about a month, for winter break."

Mark glanced between her and Sawyer, trying to think fast. He was on babysitting duty for at least another hour. Wes and Jordana had a doctor's appointment and then had planned to do some furniture shopping for Sawyer, for his new 'big boy room.' He wondered whether Carly would still be interested in him now that she was past middle school age.

"I'd love to catch up with some time, while you're in town. Do you think we can exchange numbers?" Straight to the point. The smile she gave him was pure sunshine. She nodded.

"Yeah, sure," she pulled out her phone, swiping and tapping on it before handing it to him to enter his number. He did the same.

The following night they were sitting across from each other at Cafe Himalaya sharing dumplings and curry. Carly looked just as beautiful and put together as the day before. Her shiny dark hair lay smoothly down her back, her kelly green sweater brought out the green in her hazel eyes, and his eyes kept being drawn to her pink, plump, glossy lips.

"I honestly had the biggest crush on you when your first album came out. I used to brag about how I knew the Ellis Brothers at school," she blushed slightly, a wide grin on her face. "Do you remember? I even asked you out once," she shook her head.

"More than once," he definitely remembered. "You asked me out to your 8th grade prom and after I politely declined, like the week after that, you asked me again, saying that we should just go to a movie together, low key."

"God, that's right! My mom had to like sit me down and explain to me how even if you wanted to, you couldn't actually date me cause I was fourteen and you were eighteen."

"Well, that's no longer a problem," Mark did the quick math in his head, concluding that if he was now 24, she must be 20.

"Yeah, no, not a problem at all," she agreed.

He didn't have a whole lot of experience dating. He's had a few girlfriends, but it was largely complicated by the fact that he wasn't consistently in the same place for long. They were periods of time when they were writing and recording that they would be in New York, but there were also long stretches of time when they were on the road. It was tough to go several months without seeing someone you just went out with a handful of times; it didn't usually work out.

The longest relationship that Mark had was about six months long, around the time of Garrett's wedding. And while Garrett and Lexi were blissful newlyweds and Wes and Jordana were learning that they were going to be parents, his relationship with Asiya was falling apart. He didn't talk about it very much with his brothers, it seemed inconsequential then, in the grand scheme of their lives, but he actually thought he was in love. She didn't trust him though, constantly suspecting that he was hooking up with girls while away, unable to resist women flirting with him. She was constantly snooping and trying to catch him at something, trying to call him out on things that weren't actually taking place. He told her he loved her, that he would never do anything like that to her. She told him he was only saying that to placate her and stop her from finding the evidence. So they broke up. And the day after they did, she sold a story to some tabloid about him being a lying, cheating, asshole who couldn't be trusted.

To say that this ruined his reputation and made women disinterested in him would be inaccurate. It changed the sort of women who were interested in him, women who weren't interested in relationships or locking him down into anything. They heard rumors that he was a good-time guy and they were in for a good time. He went along with it.

Carly hadn't followed the band in a few years. She didn't say it in so many words, but she grew out of her crush, out of their pop sensibility, a few years ago. She was aware of the fact that they were much bigger now, selling out bigger venues, making more in record sales, but she hadn't been following them on social media or watching their videos. She hadn't heard anything from their most recent album, the long-awaited product of Wes's first baby hiatus, and she was really surprised when he played it for her.

She sat on the sofa in his apartment, her legs tucked in under her, a bottle of hard cider in her hand, her forehead creased in concentration. Mark paced, slowly, around the apartment, actually feeling nervous about what Carly would think. The song about the things keeping them up at night, which progressed from teenage years to years of their growing fame, to having someone else to think about, besides yourself, had ended and the next one started. It was one that Mark wrote most of the lyrics to himself, that came to him after he'd hooked up with a girl who didn't want to give him her number afterward because she didn't actually intend to date him. It was about things that he'd imagine he'd do with his son someday if only he'd ever meet the woman who would want to have a serious enough relationship with him. The first draft of it had been a bit somber and depressing, but Garrett and Wes liked the idea of it and helped him to edit it into something a bit more hopeful and funny, where each verse ended with 'but before all that, I gotta meet your mom.' He sang the lead on it when they recorded it and his heart pounded like crazy while Carly sat there listening to it.

It was just their second date. They had ordered in Chinese take-out and hung out at his apartment, talking and listening to the music that Carly had missed. Maybe this was a mistake, having her hear this song right then. When he glanced over at her, she quickly wiped a thumb under her eye and he looked away again. God, this was wrong, this would just freak her out. She was 20, in college in another city, they weren't starting anything serious here. The following song was the last one on the album, a much more upbeat one about being different. It had a catchier, more danceable rhythm reminiscent of their earlier stuff, which made Carly smile.

"Man, I'm really missing out, huh?! This is amazing," she was grinning at him, which made Mark smile too.

****

She was impressed. With the music, with the man, with his accomplishments. She was trying very hard to restrain herself from slipping back into the giddy little fangirl that she was years ago.

He seemed so nervous while she listened to his music, especially after they were done eating and there was nothing else occupying his hands. He paced around the apartment, making her a little uneasy. She had asked to hear their latest album and halfway through it, she was regretting it because it seemed to make Mark so anxious. He played with the small patch of hair just below his lip then sat down next to her on the sofa.

"You really like it?" It was weird to see him so insecure about something. She remembered him always being so self-assured and confident.

"Yeah, it's great. It's like..." she looked up and off to the side, "Your music is growing with you, it's changing because your guys' lives are changing."

"That's what we were going for," he nodded.

Carly wanted him to make the first move, to kiss her, to touch her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips when he took her home last time, but he didn't come in. She lived at home, with her parents and her younger brother, and although her parents would probably be excited to see Mark again, it wouldn't be a sexy, intimate visit. Here, at his place, things were different. The lights were dim, there was privacy, he was in a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, barefoot, looking incredibly sexy. She shifted her position on the sofa, leaning closer to him, resting one elbow on the back, her head in her hand.

"One time, my freshman year in college, we were playing a game of 'Never Have I Ever,' and someone said that they had never met a celebrity in real life and I drank. And of course, everyone who drank was grilled about whom they met and where. I told them that I used to live in the same building with the Ellis Brothers when I was a kid." Mark smiled at her, mirroring her position with his elbow leaning on the back of the sofa and his head in his hand. "Someone asked me whether I've ever actually talked to you guys or whether I just saw you around and I told them that I asked Mark Ellis to my 8th grade prom. Everyone was pretty impressed, even when I admitted that you declined."

There was a beat of silence between them, before Mark's hand came up to her face, gently cupping her cheek, and he leaned in to kiss her. It started out as a light, gentle kiss, but he pressed in closer, his lips moving with hers, taking it deeper. His lips parted and she followed his lead. Their tongues collided, tangling together. Years ago, she daydreamed about kissing Mark, she wanted him to be the first guy who kissed her. He was far from the first now, but it was still fantastic.

He pulled her in closer to himself, leaning back on the sofa and taking her with him. She found herself laying completely on top of him as they continued their passionate kiss. His hands moved to her ass, grasping it tightly, adjusting her center over himself. She could feel the definitive outline of his erection through both of their jeans. It sent tingles through her body, while a distinct pulsing sensation throbbed between her legs. She wanted him, she wanted more, she craved his hands to travel all over her body, touching her skin, and at the same time, she felt a flurry of nerves inside her.

She may not have followed him and his career in the last few years, but she definitely looked him up after running into him in the park that day, and his reputation for random hookups with a variety of women was incredibly intimidating. She wasn't a hookup type of girl. She didn't sleep with strangers she met at bars, she didn't even go to bars, she wasn't 21 yet! She had serious boyfriends, long-term relationships, multiple dates before anything of a sexual nature happened. But his hand that was now massaging her breast over her sweater, igniting all kinds of new feelings, was becoming more and more distracting.

Mark's hand found its way underneath her sweater, expertly unhooking her bra with one hand and then plunging underneath it to touch her bare breast. Carly gasped against his mouth at the skin-to-skin connection. Her nipples were already pointed as he went to touch one, rolling it between his fingers. Everything inside her buzzed with his touch. Her hands caressed his neck, pushing into his messy, honey-brown hair. He lifted his hips towards her, grinding his cock against her center. One of his hands held on to her ass, pressing her down towards him. The sensation that came to a crescendo at that point was far more intense than a tingle.

"Oh, God!" Carly exclaimed, bracing her hands against Mark's chest and lifting herself up, which of course served to press her lower region down against his hard cock even more firmly. Her heart raced, beating rapidly in her throat. Mark looked up at her with a satisfied smile.

"Are you ok?" His eyes sparkled. She scrambled to sit up on the sofa, off of him.

"Yeah, just a bruised ego," she admitted, covering her face with her hands. Mark sat up next to her, his hand coming up to rub circles on her back, igniting new heat to spread through her.

"Why?" There was humor in his voice.

"God, that was like... the equivalent of premature ejaculation," she muttered to herself. Mark chuckled.

"It's actually nothing like that, sweetheart," he was leaning in, kissing her neck and nibbling on her earlobe. Everything he touched sent shockwaves of pleasure through her body. "I want you to come as many times as possible."

Fuck, she nearly came just at those words. Her thighs tightened and she distinctly felt her panties dampen. She's never had a reaction quite this strong to any other guy, ever. He leaned over her laying her out on the sofa, kissing down her neck, lifting her sweater, and moving down to kiss and suck on her breasts. She let him pull the sweater up over her head and toss the bra aside and watched him as he took his own shirt off. She couldn't explain what it was exactly, but somehow, he looked a lot more like a man than any other guy she had seen shirtless in this context. He had tattoos, on his chest, his side, and his shoulders, intricate black and grey pieces that she'd want to explore closer. She whimpered when he leaned back towards her breast, taking her nipple into his mouth. Everything he did seemed to bring her to the very edge.

He unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, pulling them down and off and she was a bit relieved to see that he didn't go right to stripping his jeans off as well. She wasn't ready for that yet. She couldn't jump right into sex with Mark, even if he had already made her come. He seemed almost giddy when he slowly dragged her panties down her thighs, no doubt noticing how wet they were. She suddenly felt self-conscious about the fact that she didn't shave, only trimmed. She always felt like a bare pussy looked juvenile and prepubescent, but now she wondered if that's what Mark was used to, whether he preferred girls who shaved. If he did, he didn't let on to it one bit; his expression seemed to be all lust and hunger. He spread her open, pushing her thighs apart, fingers gliding through her slit, his face leaning in to taste her. She felt like she would come as soon as his mouth connected with her skin. It wasn't that immediate, but it didn't take long. He licked through her seam, moving from her entrance to her clit, he circled the sensitive bundle of nerves with his tongue, and as soon as his lips came down to draw her clit between them, she was shuddering again. The orgasm rolled through her like no other. She exhaled on a prolonged moan, her eyes closing and her head tipping back.

"You're so damn responsive, Carly, I barely have to touch you at all," his voice sounded amused. She couldn't form words in response.

Mark stroked a finger lazily through her wet slit. His mouth came back to her nipple, licking and sucking on the hard nub. Two of his fingers slipped inside her, pressing as deep as they would go, hooking slightly, then dragging back out along the inner wall. Carly tried to pull her brain together. She needed to do something, she wanted to reciprocate somehow, get her hand on his cock, before he made her come again. His fingers repeated their journey, moving a little bit faster, his tongue circled her nipple, and she just couldn't concentrate on moving her hands to his zipper.

She couldn't tell whether it was seconds later or minutes later that he had her coming again. When she opened her eyes, Mark was grinning wide.

"This is just fantastic," he told her. Carly quickly put her hands on his chest, trying to hold him off from doing anything else. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for her. She shook her head.

"Now you," her hands finally cooperated, going to his pants, unbuckling his belt, and tugging at the button and zipper. He was smiling at her.

"Let's take this in the bedroom," he offered, but she quickly shook her head. Her hands fumbled at freeing his cock from his jeans and boxer briefs. Mark stood up, dropping his jeans and pulling his underwear down. Carly's eyes widened at his size - he was definitely bigger than any of the guys that she'd ever seen naked before, not that she had a wide sample to compare to.

Mark sat down on the sofa at her feet, leaning an arm along the back, waiting for her next move. Carly quickly rearranged herself, sitting up on her knees next to him, grasping her hand around his shaft. He watched her. She watched her hand on his cock. She stroked the rigid shaft, adding a slight twist to her movement. Mark groaned in appreciation. She added her other hand in, cupping his balls, massaging them. She brushed the bead of precum off the tip with her thumb, circling the head of his cock in her hand. His hand found its way underneath her again, a finger sliding into her folds. With her legs pressed together, while sitting up on her knees this way, she could feel her own moisture coating her thighs.

"God you feel so good, sweetheart," he leaned over to kiss her head. "I want to feel myself inside you." She felt a momentary panic, but she shook her head and plunged him into her mouth. "Oh geez, Carly!" Mark cried out.