Confronting Marcus

Dustin made his way toward Marcus, annoyed, even though the interruption might have worked out for the best. He may have let his desire get the better of him and pushed things with Jennifer further than he planned. Thankfully, Jennifer didn’t seem too upset with him, though that might’ve been because she was too distracted by the pleasure he was giving her to focus on the line he'd crossed. On the other hand, he was glad to see that suggestion worked so well and apparently on any part of his body too. Perhaps he should trick her into giving him a massage just so he could watch her lose herself to pleasure without lifting a single finger.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t continue that particular train of thought since he was now face to face with Marcus. He looked tired but happy from the day he had. Hopefully that meant that his suggestions sank in easier since he needed to drive an even deeper wedge between him and Jennifer.

“Hey Dustin, how was your day?”

Dustin almost said it would have been great if he came home five minutes later, but he instead said, “Good, though I wanted to talk to you about some things regarding Jennifer. Trust me, I didn’t want to say anything, but you need to know.”

Marcus immediately looked concerned and asked, “What happened? Is she hurt?”

“It’s complicated, but you need to believe everything I tell you despite the evidence saying otherwise. Both of your lives could be ruined if you don’t take what I say to heart.”

Dustin barely felt the resistance before Marcus anxiously nodded, “I do, so you can tell me whatever I need to know.”

Dustin shook his head. “You must have absolutely no doubts about my words and believe that I always do what is best for you.”

Marcus replied, “We’ve been friends for a long time. I trust you, so please tell me what’s going on.”

Dustin smirked, “Well, since you trust me so much, I’ll tell you that Jennifer seems very upset at you for whatever happened between you yesterday.”

Marcus thought the situation was much more serious, so he was a bit relieved even as he frowned. “She’s still mad about that. Do you know if she read the note and ate the meal I left for her this morning?”

“Marcus, you never made a meal or a handwritten note for Jennifer this morning. You immediately left for work after getting ready this morning.”

Marcus sighed, “I overslept and then got distracted by all the work for my new position. No wonder she’s still mad.”

“Yeah, I’m disappointed in you, man. You should be ashamed of yourself. You should have apologized and tried to make it up to her immediately. Honestly, a handwritten note and a premade breakfast with some of her favorite food would’ve been a heartwarming and sincere gesture that she would’ve loved.”

Marcus perked up. “That’s a really good idea. I should try to do that tomorrow.”

Dustin shook his head. “It’s too late for that. You’ve missed that opportunity, but you can still make it up to her in a different way.”

Marcus nodded. “Yeah, I could take her out to that Thai place she likes or the new restaurant that recently opened down the street. If push came to shove, then I could try to take an extra day off work next week and spend the day together with her doing anything she wants.”

“Those are all horrible ideas, Marcus. Those will just ruin Jennifer’s mood and strain your relationship even further. Frankly, your sloppy handling of the situation so far means that you need my advice for situations like this. Anytime you want or need to make it up to Jennifer in some way, you need to come to me privately. I’ll tell you the best way to handle it.”

Marcus agreed, “You’re right. What’s the best way to make it up to her right now?”

Dustin needed Jennifer even more upset at Marcus to ruin their relationship further and make it easier for him to take her from him. Unsurprisingly, he knew of a couple of ways to do that.

Dustin smirked, “First things first, absolutely no hugs, kisses, or sex until further notice. She needs space from the event, and doing any of those things will just remind her why she’s upset with you. If she tries to initiate, then do everything in your power to dodge her and make a weak excuse of why you can’t do it if she asks.”

Marcus nodded, “Makes sense.”

Dustin's smirk grew as he asked, “Is there any nickname that she hates being called?”

“Yeah, she hates being called Jen-Jen because her sister would mock her using it.”

Dustin was surprised to learn that Jennifer had a sibling but didn’t comment on it as he gave Marcus his suggestion.

“You should constantly call her Jen-Jen from now on. If she gets more upset from you using it, then you’re simply saying it wrong. I’m not worried; you’ve got this.”

Marcus smiled, “I can do that. Thanks for the advice, Dustin.”

“Don’t mention it. Seriously, don’t mention it to anyone.”

Dustin watched Marcus walk away and was content to stay as far away from the altercation that was about to happen.

Marcus walked into the living room with a smile, knowing everything in his relationship would go great as long as he had Dustin in his corner. He didn’t know where he’d be without his advice, but he wasn’t going to take it for granted. Marcus was going to do his best to follow his advice and ensure that the two of them were happy. He found Jennifer on the couch watching the credits of a movie as he approached her.

Marcus normally would’ve walked up to her and kissed her, but Dustin was very clear on how much of a bad idea that was. Instead, he was going to simply greet her, and if she asked why he didn’t initiate contact, then he’d just say he was tired. However, before he could say hello, Jennifer noticed that he was there and turned to him. Marcus saw her face shift as a wide range of emotions passed through them. Nervousness, anger, sadness, and maybe guilt, along with a few others that passed too quickly to see, crossed her face.

“Hey Marcus, how was your day?”

“Very busy. There are still so many new things to learn in my new position. Furthermore, it’s nice to have a bit more of a challenge to my daily workload. How about you, Jen-Jen?”

Marcus could see that whatever her response got stuck in her throat as she looked at him with shock and disbelief. Marcus hoped he didn’t say the nickname wrong; he was almost positive he got it right.

“Jen-Jen, are you okay?”

He didn’t need to be married to Jennifer to know that she was now furious as she glared at him.

“Why are you calling me Jen-Jen? You know how that makes me feel.”

“Jen-Jen, I figured that you were upset after last night, so I decided to call you a nickname to make it up to you.”

Marcus could see her get even angrier as she spoke, “So instead of gifting me flowers or making dinner, you decide that it's best to use a nickname you know I hate to make it up to me.”

Marcus didn’t know what to say. Dustin’s advice couldn’t be wrong, so he must’ve fumbled the way he said it. It must not have sounded sincere enough.

“Jen-Jen, please, I was just trying to apologize. Jen- Jen, you have to believe me.”

Jennifer sighed and looked at him with a mix of betrayal and hurt. Marcus's heart sank knowing that he was causing her even more harm. He had to make this right somehow.

“I don’t have to do anything. I don’t know what’s been up with you lately, but I don’t appreciate it one bit. I think I’ll head to bed early tonight.”

Jennifer got off the couch and headed to their room. Marcus didn’t know exactly what to say without making things worse, so he let her leave the room in silence. He sighed while thinking that the whole conversation could have gone better. Now, the situation with Jennifer was even worse than before. He only wanted to make her happy, but he ended up doing the opposite. Also, as if the universe itself was mocking Marcus, he felt his stomach growl. He grimaced, knowing that he definitely wasn’t getting any of his wife’s cooking tonight. The best thing to do was to let her calm down for now; he’d make it up to her tomorrow.