My boring story...

[FrancescoYolo]

Please continue nice story.

[junebaby]

So obviously I had a super long weekend since I was down with the flu. Hilariously, Tom stayed over as well and we just kept passing whatever virus back and forth between the 3 of us.

Working from home 80% of the time was actually pretty boring, a far cry from when I had my WFH day in the middle of the week. I found myself staring blankly at the screen for hours, only stopping for meals, and the occasional fucking by Mike and Tom who didn't go to work the entire week due to whatever virus we had.

When I did return to the office on the next Monday though, I was treated to a slight shock as half the office had been partitioned off, and we were now a co-working space of sorts.

I did my weekly update to my GM and he sort of thanked me again for carrying nearly the entire department. I tried to probe if my job was in trouble but he reassured me that nothing was going to change, not until the end of the year at least.

I decided to head to the hawker centre for the vegetarian chicken rice again, and I bumped into Nick in the queue right in front of me. I didn't want to tap on his shoulder as it was 7th month so I just leaned forward to say hello.

Me: Hi Nick!

I don't know why he was so jumpy but it felt like he practically jumped out of his skin when he turned around. If he was any shorter, he might have gotten a face full of boob, not that I might mind, it would have been hilarious.

N: Oh hi June.

Me: Tapau? Or eating here?

N: Oh I'm actually with Rebecca.

Me: And the rest?

N: Somewhere else I guess? Do you want to join us?

Me: Sure!

Nick had gotten two sets, one “steamed” and one “roasted” while I decided to try their Thai sauce chicken rice. To be honest, it looked like any other fried chicken cutlet with Thai sauce. But I really wasn't there for the “chicken”, but rather their amazing rice and chilli. I joined them at their table and sat next to Rebecca.

R: Wah. Such a coincidence.

Me: I'm in the office on Mondays. Didn't know you liked vegetarian food.

R: Aiyah. It's good to cut down on meat. I've been having a lot of meat recently.

I noticed Nick shifting slightly uncomfortably across Rebecca.

Me: You still don't strike me as a vegetarian type. Besides, this is hardly healthy. I'm still wondering how they made the rice so flavourful. And the “roasted” chicken, it's like the deep-fried tofu skin thing.

R: Who cares. It's food. It's tasty. It's really tasty for fake meat. I like all meats…

Nick was still curiously uncomfortable. I wasn't 100% sure why but decided to try my luck anyway.

Me: True… Oh my god. You two are fucking.

Nick nearly choked. He looked at me.

N: Please don't tell Shirlyn.

Me: Hahaha. Don't you think she already knows?

N: What???

R: She doesn't. Yet. Besides, you still haven't sent your husband or fuck buddy my way.

Nick's eyes widened.

N: You slept with her husband? And fuck buddy?

Me: Erm…

Rebecca leaned over.

R: Nick's got a really nice cock. Thick and veiny.

Me: Glad you're enjoying it.

R: It's smaller than your husband's though.

Nick choked again. I laughed.

N: Could we not discuss this?

R: Why? Are you shy?

N: Sort of?

R: Oh don't worry. June doesn't judge. Right?

Me: Nope. I don't. But it's been like what.. a month?

R: Can't help it if he's so desirable right?

I looked at Nick. To be fair, he was rather good-looking. Sharp features, double eyelids, very clear skin, much better than mine probably. If he was a head or so taller, and perhaps a little more muscular, he probably could be a model.

Me: To each his own I guess.

R: You wanna fuck him?

It was my turn to choke. Obviously Nick choked too and turned a few shades redder.

Me: Say what?

R: Do you wanna fuck him?

Me: No?

R: Good. He's all mine then. But still, send your husband and fuck buddy my way.

Me: Urgh.

R: I'm serious. This guy can't satisfy me daily. But when I do get him… wow.

Me: I'm surprised you're the HR manager.

R: Why? Shirlyn fucked Mark. She's now the GM. You know I'm like this what. So what's the issue? Maybe I'm the next GM.

Me: And I wonder why there's so few guys in your office.

R: Yeah. Would be good to have more around though.

Me: Nick, are you ok with this?

N: Huh? Oh. Yeah. She just wanted a fuck buddy. I'm down for that.

Me: Interesting…

R: So refreshing to have a young guy every now and then.

Me: Erm.

R: Nick, how old do you think June is?

Me: Hey…

N: Early 30s like you?

R: Hahahahahaha! Guess again.

N: Late 30s?

Me: Very late 30s.

N: Oh. Can't tell.

R: She's damn hot right? Look at her boobs. So much bigger than mine.

N: Erm…

R: But I bet her pussy’s looser than mine though. The cocks she has are huge.

Me: Oi. Enough hor.

N: I don't think size has anything to do with looseness.

R: Ya. I'm still quite tight thank god. Even after the abortion.

N: Again I don't think.. wait what?

R: Ya la. I had an abortion. Didn't know whose kid it was so better abort.

N: And we've been doing it raw??? And you let me cum inside?

R: I'll try to remember not to miss my pill.

N: This isn't good…

Me: Chill Nick. I'm on the pill as well. It's really not that easy to get pregnant.

R: Talking about pregnancies…

N: You're not pregnant right?

R: Hahahaha! Do you think you have some super sperm or what? I mean you have a nice cock and relatively decent at sex but no la. Like June said, not so easy. In fact, please cum inside all you want. I don't get it with her husband and fuck buddy cos they always use condoms.

I rolled my eyes at her and decided to try to change the topic.

Me: You were saying something about pregnancy?

R: Oh ya.

I guess the gossip bitch was still hanging around.

R: Did you hear?

Me: No?

R: Jasmine lost the baby.

Me: Huh? Isn't it the second trimester already? Or third?

R: Ya lor. I heard second trimester still safe. But when they went for the scan, couldn't find a heartbeat.

Me: Oh no.

R: Ya man. I actually felt sorry for her.

Me: Er.

R: I mean we don't really like each other, but recently we've gotten better.

Me: She must be devastated.

R: I guess so. I probed Shirlyn about why they didn't come for the bbq, then she told me.

Me: Oh.

R: Aiyah. She can get pregnant again. Haha.

Me: Right.

I think Nick felt kind of left out from the conversation so he just ate in silence. In any case, the conversation did get really awkward, but at least now I knew that something had happened.

After lunch we all headed back to our own offices. For some reason, I was alone. Everyone else had left for the day. I did whatever work I could before leaving on the dot. I was going to head home but diverted to a shopping mall first to get some stuff and then drove over to Jasmine's place.

I honestly didn't know what I was doing there or what I was going to say but I felt maybe Alicia and Mark aside, Jasmine might need someone else to talk to.

After I parked the car, somebody had conveniently left the access gate open so I simply strolled in and took the lift up to her place.

Switching the absurdly large bag of groceries over my arm, I rang the doorbell.

I heard footsteps and the door opened.

A: June? What are you doing here?

I shrugged.

Me: Care package?

Alicia peered into the bag of fruits, chicken essence and birds nest.

A: Wow.

I heard Jasmine call out from inside.

J: Let her in. I'm fine.

Alicia took the bag and I entered. Jasmine was sitting at the dining table and I went over to give her a hug.

J: Thanks.

Me: How are you feeling?

J: I don't know. Sad? Upset? Disappointed?

Me: Oh.

J: I'll be fine. It's Mark-

A: Yeah. It's Mark.

Me: What happened to Mark?

J: It's my fault. He tried to comfort me and I sort of snapped at him. Told him to get out and don't come back.

Me: Eh?

A: She was just being hormonal. But some of the stuff she said might have triggered him.

Me: Ah.

J: I'm stupid ok?

Me: Didn't you text or call him after?

A: He's not replying to any of us.

Me: Ask Nat? Darren? Shirlyn?

J: Nah. Just leave it. It's my fault. I caused this.

A: You don't deserve him.

J: I know. Stop reminding me.

I don't know what gave Alicia the right to speak to Jasmine that way but perhaps what she said to Mark must have been really bad.

Now I felt bad that I didn't bother to check up on him all this while.

I stayed and chatted with them a little while longer before taking my leave. It seemed like Alicia was doing a pretty good job of taking care of Jasmine and chiding her at the same time.

I sat in my car and dropped Mark a text, letting him know he could look for me if he needed to talk. I wasn't expecting him to reply so I drove home and found Mike and Tom playing Diablo again. I went to shower then headed straight to bed.

I didn't have a very good feeling about the whole situation. But since Mark decided to disappear off the face of the earth for now, I probably should just let him be.

Maybe he'd text me tomorrow or some time over the next few days.

[fwchong]

Hope Mark is ok...do updates us and share with us...

[Moderater888]

Nice story junebaby, please continue.

[sparrowship]

She just wanted a fuck buddy. I'm down for that.

[junebaby]

Mark didn't reply me the entire week. I felt it was best not to press the issue anyway. I had let him know I would be there for him if he needed me. I was sure he would reach out if he wanted to.

Life sort of went back to normal for me, other than working from home for 4 days a week. I was seriously bored whenever I was alone. Mike and Tom obviously were back at work after we all recovered from whatever virus that was afflicting us. My daily routine was to clear emails, attend Zoom meetings when required and watch lots of shows on whatever streaming service I had subscribed to, and of course amazing sex with my two guys whenever they weren't killing monsters.

Another week passed. Still no response from Mark. Not to be morbid, but I actually wondered if he was still alive. I texted Alicia but she told me he probably just entered his cave and would come out when he was ready.

By the time it hit the 3rd week of September, I was getting pretty worried. Even though I did bump into Shirlyn and Rebecca sometimes during lunch on Mondays during the past few weeks, we never actually talked about Mark, or Jasmine for that matter.

Since I was working from home, or to be more precise, remotely, I decided to head out on Wednesday as I didn't really have much to do anyway.

I popped by Jasmine's place, bought them lunch, and we chatted for awhile as I sneaked in queries about Mark. However, as expected, he still wasn't replying to them.

My next best bet was Darren and Nat. I tried to figure out where their block was as the daytime view was totally different from the night. As luck would have it, I spotted a heavily tattooed female sun tanning by the pool.

Me: Hey Nat!

She sat up and removed her sunglasses.

N: June? What are you doing here?

Me: I came to see Jasmine and Alicia.

N: Oh. Yeah. It's quite sad.

Me: She looks fine though. Cheery in fact.

N: Well… maybe it wasn't meant to be?

Me: I wanted to ask about Mark.

N: What about him?

Me: Have you heard anything from him?

N: Nope? Should I?

Me: Oh. I thought you'd still be fucking.

N: Haha! I wish. He stopped when they announced the pregnancy. Jason's been trying to pick up the slack but…

Me: Right. So you didn't contact him? Or he didn't contact you?

N: Not really. I did text him to ask if he's ok, but he didn't reply.

Me: Oh. Aren't you concerned at all?

N: Nope? Should I be?

Me: He's your friend right?

N: I guess so? But it's more of his cock that I want.

Me: Didn't you guys have heart to heart talks?

N: We did. But at the end of the day, it's still the sex for me.

Me: Right.

N: I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere la. Don't think so much. Jasmine and Alicia aren't even this worried.

Me: I don't know how to explain this.

N: Is it because you never got to sleep with him? Hahaha.

Me: Of course not!

N: Just kidding. But you're like the only one among us who hasn't slept with him.

Me: What the.

N: Kidding again. But still, don't worry so much ya? He'll be fine.

Me: I hope so.

N: Anyway, since you're so free, why don't you join me for a tan?

Me: In the nude? I don't have a swim suit.

N: I bet there'll be a queue forming if you're in the nude.

Me: Funny.

N: Go home and grab one?

Me: If I go home, I doubt I'll wanna come out again. Just in case there's another storm like yesterday.

N: Oh yeah. That storm was madness. I went to buy food and got stuck at the hawker centre. I've never seen anything like it before. Darren couldn't even come and pick me cos he was in a jam.

Me: Yeah. I stupidly went out shopping at Orchard and I drove. Was stuck on the CTE for like an hour on the way back.

N: Yeah. Darren told me a tree fell or something. At Yio Chu Kang exit.

Me: 2 trees actually. From what I saw.

N: No wonder.

Me: Anyway, I guess I'll head off first.

N: All right.

Me: Let me know if Mark contacts you?

N: Sure.

I left and headed back home. Thank goodness the Sumatran squall decided to leave us alone and I got home without incident. I guess had one other person to check with. So I texted EoS. For some reason, he left me on 1 tick so I went about my day. Couple of hours later, it became 2 ticks but he didn't reply.

Just as I was about to turn in for the night, my phone buzzed.

E: Yeah. He did contact me.

I almost jumped out of bed.

Me: How is he? Is he ok?

E: No.

EoS’s single word reply really didn't help much.

Me: Huh? Oh no! What's going on?

No reply.

Me: Hello? Anyone there?

E: Was showering. About to go to bed. Text you tomorrow to tell you more if you want.

Me: Of course I do. Just text me anytime. Please?

E: Ok.

Me: Thanks EoS. Good night.

Thinking about it, I guess it did make some sense that Mark would go to EoS, after all, he did seek him out for advice previously. And if I recall correctly, EoS did have some experience with a miscarriage.

I guess I wasn't going to be able to sleep well worrying about Mark until I found out more from EoS.

[Tonibau]

Very interesting, keep it coming

[junior_cannibal]

For Mark to be more caved in than Jasmine about the miscarriage ain't surprise at all. Judging by his behaviour in the past.
Pregnancy for an older woman is usually complicated and miscarriage is fairly common. I had a ex colleague who had at least two, grew out it, persevere and now a mother of two lovely kids.
Not easy for the woman. It's time her man should be by her side and not go into denial or hiding. Otherwise, she will not have the courage to be impregnated ever again with this man.

[junebaby]

Originally Posted by junior_cannibal

For Mark to be more caved in than Jasmine about the miscarriage ain't surprise at all. Judging by his behaviour in the past.
Pregnancy for an older woman is usually complicated and miscarriage is fairly common. I had a ex colleague who had at least two, grew out it, persevere and now a mother of two lovely kids.
Not easy for the woman. It's time her man should be by her side and not go into denial or hiding. Otherwise, she will not have the courage to be impregnated ever again with this man.

Strangely, Jasmine seems more than fine. And EoS still hasn't told me how Mark is.

[junior_cannibal]

Originally Posted by junebaby

Strangely, Jasmine seems more than fine. And EoS still hasn't told me how Mark is.

Not surprised. After going through a lousy and taxing marriage, she would have emerged to be stronger.
Whereas for Mark, his past experience with relationship was a mess, when he met Jasmine, it's like finally seeing light in a dark tunnel. He needs to pull himself together. No one can help if he's not planning to move on.
Mental block is a serious shit.

[CarolCheng]

Very interesting story sis. Look forward to more updates!

[junebaby]

I had definitely mentioned it before. About Mark keeping everything inside until he finally exploded.

I thought that Jasmine getting pregnant and Mark being with her would actually be the catalyst for them to finally have a proper relationship.

I guess the miscarriage threw those plans into disarray.

I waited the entire Friday, then the weekend, for EoS to update me about what he knew was going on with Mark. For some reason or another, he didn't.

I contemplated bombarding his phone to try to get a reply but decided against it. I wasn't a psycho. Perhaps Mark was reading the thread and told him not to say anything, or perhaps EoS was busy with his own life and would update me in due time.

In any case, Mark suddenly disappearing was still a cause for concern, and surprisingly, the people who were supposed to be more concerned about him, like Jasmine, Alicia, and perhaps even Shirlyn, didn't seem bothered at all.

I headed to the hawker centre to tapau lunch early on Monday, obviously hoping to catch somebody to see if they knew anything. As luck would have it, I spotted Shirlyn walking along the sheltered walkway towards the hawker centre. I walked faster to try to catch up with her but for some reason, she was too fast for me.

I was still intent on catching up to her so I followed as she walked along the outer corridor of the hawker centre towards the shophouses along Amoy Street. I really wondered where she was going.

I gave up chasing halfway through as the humidity wasn't helping me and texted her instead.

Me: Hey, thought I saw you at Amoy.

S: Oh! Didn't see you. Going to meet a friend for lunch. What's up?

Me: Wanted to ask about Mark.

S: What about him?

Me: He's disappeared?

S: And?

Me: You're not worried?

S: Jas said not to worry and let him be.

Me: Right.

S: He's not some vulnerable young boy please.

Me: None of you know what he is going through.

S: Yeah. But I trust Jas and Alicia. Maybe you should too?

Me: Right.

I guessed Shirlyn was off to meet her secret lover or something so I headed to tapau my lunch instead, deciding to join the absurdly long queue of the nasi lemak stall that I'd never ever joined before. Hilariously, I spotted Rebecca and Nick at one of the side tables, her bare foot was stroking his calf. I tried to see if he was getting hard under his tailored pants but obviously I was too far away.

Someone tapped my arm and distracted me from that scene.

K: Hey… can help me tapau? Haha.

Me: Oh hi Kate. Sure.

She stood next to me in the queue.

Me: Have you heard from Mark?

K: Nope.

Me: Ah.

K: I, erm… sort of have been seeing Jas again.

Me: Huh???

K: You know we were together right? Then she resigned again. Then we stopped seeing each other. Then she got pregnant.

Me: Yeah.

I didn't really know what to say in response to that but deep inside I felt an uncomfortable feeling rising.

Mark disappeared and Jasmine has supposedly moved on already? That didn't feel right at all. But who was I to judge? Perhaps she sought comfort in a familiar person. But wasn't Alicia someone familiar to her as well? Thinking about Alicia somehow made me shudder a little as I recalled our times in bed.

Anyway, inner thoughts aside, we reached the front of the queue and placed our order. I passed Kate hers as we went our separate ways back to our offices.

I sat at my desk to eat the nasi lemak. The long queue really didn't mean anything. The rice and sambal was good, but the chicken was average at best. It looked good on the outside, but once I hit the inside, all I tasted was bland meat, with some portions looking pinkish and undercooked. I finished the rice and sambal and threw everything else away. I wasn't going to risk getting salmonella.

Towards the end of the day I dropped EoS another text to “remind” him that he was supposed to update me but I was left on a single tick again.

On hindsight, I probably could have gotten Mark's address and paid him a visit. But what if he wasn't home and what if his parents were unaware of his current situation? I surely didn't want to cause them any undue worry.

I got fucked by Mike and Tom as usual just before bed, after they had finished their nightly gaming session. Oh, did I mention that Tom had actually moved in? He said it was only temporary while he and his wife worked things out somehow. Selfish me told him he could stay as long as he wanted to as that meant easier access to his cock. Sadly, he wasn't able to work from home as much as I was at the moment.

Just before I went to bed my phone buzzed.

E: Sorry. Had a very busy weekend. I'm at Northpoint this Wednesday for work. Perhaps we could grab a coffee or something?

Me: Wah. You finally replied. Actually I do need to see a dentist. How much is it at your clinic?

He told me the prices and I got a shock.

Me: You're kidding right? That's nearly double what I usually pay.

E: No company insurance? MNC right?

Me: Ours is flexi-benefits. I don't think I want to spend that much on dental claims.

E: I can speak to the dentist to give a discount.

Me: Errr… that's not really nice.

E: You're really troublesome.

Me: Haha. I just feel I shouldn't be paying so much la.

E: Then you go find those newly opened clinics, they usually have opening promos.

Me: Safe or not?

E: Huh? They're all professionally trained dentists? What do you mean by safe or not?

Me: I mean… never mind.

E: Let me know if you wanna meet on Wednesday.

Me: Of course I do.

E: Coffee only. Nothing else.

Me: Hahahahaha. I thought you said coffee or something? But like where in Northpoint can I drag you to?

E: I wouldn't know. And I'd rather not.

Me: You're such an ass.

E: See you on Wednesday.

I was eagerly anticipating the meet up. At the most I'd just bring my laptop and find a Starbucks or somewhere with wifi and just work there till he showed up.

[junior_cannibal]

In the whole world, you are the only one that is super concerned about Mark. If he's reading the thread or is still in this forum, he should feel touched to have a friend like you.

[junebaby]

Originally Posted by junior_cannibal

In the whole world, you are the only one that is super concerned about Mark. If he's reading the thread or is still in this forum, he should feel touched to have a friend like you.

Some of the things he said to me before and from what I observed, can tell he's just keeping everything inside, only needed a trigger for it to explode. I guess this was the trigger?

[junior_cannibal]

Originally Posted by junebaby

Some of the things he said to me before and from what I observed, can tell he's just keeping everything inside, only needed a trigger for it to explode. I guess this was the trigger?

It's good character. There are others who don't share a lot about their thoughts or about what bothers them, yet they can digest and resolve them. There's another group like Mark who seems normal and chill about everything, always want to please others even if its at their own expense. However, as you rightly pointed out, when such containment goes beyond a certain level, it erupts.
As he refuses to speak to others, or even if he does, he may still choose to be stuck in the deepest part of it. It's like a spider web, will only get more entangled.
The more you show concern, the more he will avoid you. The possible reason why EoS can connect to him, maybe they are similar by being two extremes. Mark wants to please everyone while EoS basically cares less to be obliged.
TBH, so what if EoS tells you what exactly is going on with Mark? As long as if he still chooses to be entangled, what can you do? Jas is supposedly to be the closest to him chooses to be very chill about it, who are you to make a difference? There again, he's fortunate to have a friend like you.