Mark Foster's Pearly Whites (book 2)

Isom's Little Secret

"Oh dear Lord! What the -"

"What? What happened?"

"No no no! Stay where you are, Isom. It's better if you won't see this."

I quickly closed the bathroom door, behind which someone did something unspeakable to the toilet seat.

When I drove Ponsi to his house yesterday, it was three o'clock in the morning. Before the party, we threw a coin and who'd loose, must remain sober the entire night to be able to drive the other one after it's over. Ponsi won.

He was the silly and naughty type of drunk; he would constantly make awkward sexual innuendoes and then laugh his ass of at each one of them. Since I didn't have a hangover, I decided to give Isom a hand in the "after party cleaning"

"Thanks for coming here today, Mark. Here, I made you a homemade lemonade."

"Oh, thanks, Carli. It's nothing, really."

The lovely blonde was holding a tray with two glasses full of yellow liquid. I took one and Isom followed me, getting a kiss from his girlfriend.

I smiled when Carli left.

"She's really nice."

I say and watch Isom's eye lit up.

"Yeah, She's precious. How did you enjoy the party, by the way? I kind of wish you'd get drunk too. It would have been even better."

I laughed along with him while slowly sipping on the sugary lemonade. Man, Carli, this is delicious.

"Well, it was cool and all but I'll tell you one thing; you never really start to appreciate alcohol, once you end up sober in a room full of drunk idiots."

He laughed again and slapped his knee, which made me laugh too. He's fucking great.

"True words."

We sit on the couch to finish our drinks and take a break form the massive cleanup. That's when I noticed that something isn't quite right with Isom. I mean sure, he must have a hangover the size of an adult mammoth but there was something rather uneasy about his expression. Like he's thinking about something really hard. And then, he spoke:

"Listen, Mark, I...I kind of need to tell you something. But it's - how should - well, it's kind of confidential. Do you get me?"

I nod and raise an eyebrow at him unintentionally. What's going on? I've never seen Isom this nervous and unsure. He continued.

"Yesterday...before the party...I purposed to Carli."

"What? Really? Congratulations, man, this is fucking awesome!"

I pat him strongly on the back and watch as his expression soften. However, something still wasn't ok with Isom.

"Yeah, I know, I'm happy as well but... She wants the wedding to be next month. Do you know what that means, Mark? Have you got any idea? People plan weddings for months! And she wants to get married by the end of January."

I didn't know what to say. Poor guy. I guess that month is a hell of short time for a wedding but I get Carli in a way. She met Isom when they were in college so it's understandable she doesn't want to hesitate. Isom continued, this time with a lighter mood.

"Oh well... I guess I am too irresistible for her to wait any longer. But why I'm telling you. Because of this wedding, we are probably gonna need to change plans. Listen, Mark, none of the guys know about this and I would like if it stayed this way until... well... until i feel like it. One thing I'm worried about is Foster the People. "

I raised my eyebrows at him.

" Foster the People?"

"Yeah! Look, I think that this band is really dope, now that you are in it. The rehearsals aren't a duty anymore but I am actually looking forward to them! I don't want this band to relent because I won't have time to write songs, do all the paperwork ect. Ponsi and Sean are talented and very competent but they need someone responsible to sort of... you know... keep an eye on them."

"You want me to be in control?"

I asked, praying that I hear the answer I want.

"Kind of. I am still gonna play with you guys, of course but I feel like we need you to have the main word. You inspire us to think about the meanings of songs and that's so important."

I hesitated. There are too many things I need to process.

"I don't know..."

"Please, man. It's not that it's gonna be such a difference for you but you will be more in charge of what's happening in the band. And the guys will hundred percent agree with me. Sean once said that he thinks you're one of the most talented and smartest people he has met and Ponsi? I've never seen him so happy; he's smiling a lot more, he's not so cynical and it looks like you two have a pretty good friendship."

I smile at that last remark. Just the mention of Ponsi being happy made me warm hearted.

I looked up at Isom again. He was waiting for my response. I was still a little unsure if I should or shouldn't accept his offer of being in charge of the band. To be fair, it's not really gonna be that big of a change for me. I already write most of the songs and I do try to get the members involved as well. So, should I?

"Alright, then."

I sighed and was immediately stunned by Isom, who cheerfully clapped his hands in victory. There was a pure satisfaction and excitement pouring out of his eyes and I had to lift the left corner of my mouth slightly. What a great soul.

"Thanks, Mark, you're the fucking man! I am so happy I finally got to tell someone, you know? It's awful keeping such a secret away from my bandmates. I promise I'll tell the other guys as soon as possible."

Isom laughed and then told me a funny story about some weird guy he met at the party yesterday.

I wasn't really listening, though. All I could think of was, if I should tell him about my relationship with Ponsi. As I was deciding I came across a tiny obstacle; what is my relationship with Ponsi? We haven't really discussed it yet. We hang out from time to time and we act like regular couples do but we never actually labelled ourselves as "boyfriends".

Ponsi is my boyfriend.

Fuck, that sounds weird.