spring well underway, Mark found himself idle, watching the madness that was the first official ‘Annual Sandpipers Restaurant Family and Friends Picnic’.
It had been a long day of games, fun and good old-fashioned craziness. And much to Mark’s surprise, he had thoroughly enjoyed it. Right now, there was a heated game of croquet of all things—or something vaguely resembling it—playing out on the lush grass in front of them. A wild, disorganised and fiercely competitive affair, it had to be one of the most bizarre, madcap games of anything Mark had ever witnessed.
There were no rules—or at least none that he could make out—and cheating seemed to be a legitimate way of winning so long as you either didn’t get caught or could argue your way out of any disputes that arose. Hoops and mallets and fist-sized coloured balls were being abused in all directions. And although he was pretty sure croquet was never intended to be a contact sport, it didn’t appear to be stopping the gang from Sandpipers getting physical with one another.
So far he’d seen everything from jostling to tripping. But everyone seemed to be having a great time as the game descended further and further into chaos. It was certainly an absolute riot to watch.
Having begged out—pleading an old football injury to a chorus of light-hearted derision—Mark was able to just sit back and observe to his heart’s content. He couldn’t help smiling as the teams battled it out. But it was Raven he really wanted to stare at and enjoyed watching the most.
Something had happened over the last month. Something subtle but powerful in the way Raven held himself and had started to interact with the people around him—at least the people he knew. Gone was the tight nervousness and the avoidance to the point he wouldn’t look anyone in the eye for more than a few seconds. Now Mark often caught Raven’s dark eyes watching him, and bolder and bolder smiles every day. Hell, Raven was even relaxed enough today to laugh out loud with everybody else as Lark dashed past to ‘accidentally’ knock Dave’s mallet just as he went to make a tricky shot.
Mark couldn’t help feeling a swell of pride as he watched a grinning Raven help Wolf make his next shot around the tussle that ensued between the two. Raven was stronger and more resilient than most would give him credit for—Raven included, he suspected. He’d found his feet and an unlikely circle of friends within the odd mix that made up the Sandpipers Restaurant family.
And strangely enough, Mark understood completely. He felt as if he’d found the same thing in a lot of ways. What had started out as just another job with an admittedly good crew had gradually morphed into something more. He’d started to form a sense of connection with these people too—something he hadn’t felt since Lucy and Evan had moved away nearly twelve months ago.
As for his connection to Raven, the past few weeks had been pretty incredible in that regard too. They ran most mornings together now. And man, could Raven move. Not that he minded when Raven got into the zone and started outdistancing him. The view from behind was amazing. Mark had many a night-time fantasy involving Raven and his tight, black running shorts. Although, they never stayed on for long in his dreams. Not like in reality.
He had to admit his cock was becoming more and more unruly and insistent every day. But he could hold it…quite literally as it turned out, because it was the only action he was seeing right now. And he didn’t expect that to change anytime soon.
Mark quickly tried to divert his mind to other things before he ended up embarrassing himself in front of the entire restaurant staff.
He thought about the handful of formal dates they’d been on over the last few weeks. None of them had been as intense as the first—thank goodness. Mark felt like they’d finally started to relax while out together. They talked about ordinary, mundane
It had been a long day of games, fun and good old-fashioned craziness. And much to Mark’s surprise, he had thoroughly enjoyed it. Right now, there was a heated game of croquet of all things—or something vaguely resembling it—playing out on the lush grass in front of them. A wild, disorganised and fiercely competitive affair, it had to be one of the most bizarre, madcap games of anything Mark had ever witnessed.
There were no rules—or at least none that he could make out—and cheating seemed to be a legitimate way of winning so long as you either didn’t get caught or could argue your way out of any disputes that arose. Hoops and mallets and fist-sized coloured balls were being abused in all directions. And although he was pretty sure croquet was never intended to be a contact sport, it didn’t appear to be stopping the gang from Sandpipers getting physical with one another.
So far he’d seen everything from jostling to tripping. But everyone seemed to be having a great time as the game descended further and further into chaos. It was certainly an absolute riot to watch.
Having begged out—pleading an old football injury to a chorus of light-hearted derision—Mark was able to just sit back and observe to his heart’s content. He couldn’t help smiling as the teams battled it out. But it was Raven he really wanted to stare at and enjoyed watching the most.
Something had happened over the last month. Something subtle but powerful in the way Raven held himself and had started to interact with the people around him—at least the people he knew. Gone was the tight nervousness and the avoidance to the point he wouldn’t look anyone in the eye for more than a few seconds. Now Mark often caught Raven’s dark eyes watching him, and bolder and bolder smiles every day. Hell, Raven was even relaxed enough today to laugh out loud with everybody else as Lark dashed past to ‘accidentally’ knock Dave’s mallet just as he went to make a tricky shot.
Mark couldn’t help feeling a swell of pride as he watched a grinning Raven help Wolf make his next shot around the tussle that ensued between the two. Raven was stronger and more resilient than most would give him credit for—Raven included, he suspected. He’d found his feet and an unlikely circle of friends within the odd mix that made up the Sandpipers Restaurant family.
And strangely enough, Mark understood completely. He felt as if he’d found the same thing in a lot of ways. What had started out as just another job with an admittedly good crew had gradually morphed into something more. He’d started to form a sense of connection with these people too—something he hadn’t felt since Lucy and Evan had moved away nearly twelve months ago.
As for his connection to Raven, the past few weeks had been pretty incredible in that regard too. They ran most mornings together now. And man, could Raven move. Not that he minded when Raven got into the zone and started outdistancing him. The view from behind was amazing. Mark had many a night-time fantasy involving Raven and his tight, black running shorts. Although, they never stayed on for long in his dreams. Not like in reality.
He had to admit his cock was becoming more and more unruly and insistent every day. But he could hold it…quite literally as it turned out, because it was the only action he was seeing right now. And he didn’t expect that to change anytime soon.
Mark quickly tried to divert his mind to other things before he ended up embarrassing himself in front of the entire restaurant staff.
He thought about the handful of formal dates they’d been on over the last few weeks. None of them had been as intense as the first—thank goodness. Mark felt like they’d finally started to relax while out together. They talked about ordinary, mundane
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