Mr. Jagoda

beth closed her silk robe as she heard the knock on the door. she went to the window to see who can it be knocking on her door today. beth saw clark and smiled as she went to open the door. “hello neighbor.” she said softly opening the door wide. beth knew that she was one of the first friends clark made when he got to springhill. they both had some good talks, and well he wasn’t one of the people thinking beth is a total bitch. “i was just having my morning coffee and something sweet could get along with that.” she replied with a chuckle. “come in.” she signed him with her head. “do you want coffee?” 

Clark wasn’t even aware of the time, he had hoped that he didn’t wake up the female just to give her some donuts. Unfortunately he was the type to be up just before sunrise to start his day. He couldn’t remember when that started, but if he woke up anytime after 7, he felt like he had wasted the day, which was ridiculous. Smiling when seeing the familiar face. Stepping inside, he moved towards the kitchen to place the box on the counter for her while inhaling the scent of freshly brewed coffee. That was enough to give him his caffeine high. “I got an assorted bunch. I figured it would be better than having a box full of the same ones.” Clark turned around so he faced her, arms crossing over his chest. “I’m actually good on the coffee front. I had more than I normally do this morning and I’m wired. So, I apologize for anything weird I might do.” 

                         “ an uber ? ” conrad asks with a raise of his brows, “ don’t be silly - you could stay here. ” immediately his mind wonders back to the entire friends with benefits thing they had going on. maybe that wasn’t really even an option for the older man in this case. “ if- if you wanted to, anyways - you could. ubers are really popular now a days. when i worked at the college, everyone used it - in a town so small, i wouldn’t have thought it’d be so popular. ” he babbles on, almost a bit desperate to move that topic along. “ really ? everyone has a way they like their steak cooked - i’m a medium rare kinda guy.. some people like them well done & that’s just.. weird. it’s super dry & - bleh. ” he chuckles & is already busying himself finishing up dinner. he didn’t want to be nervous conrad tonight & that one thing that really eased his nerves was in the freezer. “ we could open that bottle now, if you want ? i’ve got ice in the freezer. ”

“I could, but would it be a good idea?” Clark found himself asking. He wasn’t trying to make things awkward between him. Sure, it took some convincing to get him to go back to what they were doing before, but knowing about his feelings.. he knew that feelings weren’t always the easiest things to get rid of. “We’ll see what happens.” Clark didn’t want to make this night bad between them. He was willing to forget about the last few months of them not being around each other and what the other admitted to him. Was he a dick for doing that? Maybe. He just wasn’t ready, and didn’t think he would be ready for a relationship or anything more than a few hook ups. “I’ll have it that way. I don’t see how anyone could eat it well done. They must have a jaw of steel,” he joked, adding a laugh to follow. “I can never say no to a drink. That’s why I brought it.” 

                         " well, i’ve mostly managed dinner without burning my place down, so - i’d say pretty good ! ”  he jokes. or well semi-jokes.. conrad was pretty clumsy & that absolutely transferred into the kitchen. blue eyes glanced down at the bottle in clark’s hand - he hadn’t even noticed it until he brought it up. “ whiskey - nice. i wouldn’t mind a glass or two, actually.. if you’re up for it after dinner ? here, i can put that in the freezer. ” he takes the bottle then & heads in the direction of the kitchen. “ you’re actually just in time - gotta flip these steaks.. & then dinner’ll be ready.. how do you like your steak ? ” he asks, sparing a glance back at the other before he was putting the whiskey in the freezer. 

“Hey, that’s always a plus,” Clark said as his eyes looked around Conrad’s place. It felt like it had been years since he had been in the other’s place, when it had only been a couple of months. “Yeah -- definitely that’s what it’s there for. I may just have to call an Uber to get home,” he said with a laugh as he brought his attention back over towards the other male while walking towards the kitchen with him. “I’m fine with however you like to cook them. I can’t say I’ve had many steaks in my life.” 

CLOSED STARTER FOR : @mrclarkja​

                                  it was no secret that conrad was happy to have clark back in his life. the older man was special him & he’d never even wanted to parted ways to begin with those few months ago. he understood why - he was getting in too deep with someone that s o obviously didn’t want anything more than what they were doing. honestly ? this sort of friendship was rare for conrad. he didn’t do friends with benefits - he couldn’t ( obviously so ), the concept was so lost on him. clark though, he was that first man that he shared physically intimate experiences with.. despite convincing the other that he was so over whatever feelings he might’ve began developing at the time - way deep down, he wasn’t 100% sure if that were true. it was fine though. he knew what this was & knew that it wouldn’t ever be anything more than that. he could come to terms if that meant he could have whatever clark would give him.                                  he’d been looking forward to this all day - having clark over for dinner. they’d hung out a few times already since having that conversation & deciding to start hanging out again. so far - he was very proud of himself with the way he’d been handling this whole friends with benefits thing. no strings - it was an interesting dynamic & one he was so set on sticking to.                                 a knock at the door had him wiping his hands clean & making his way over to the front door from the kitchen where he’d been getting dinner ready for the past half hour. “ hi, ” he greets with a smile ( not a grin - because n o, he wasn’t that excited ). “ com’on in.. how are you? ” he steps aside, shutting the door behind the other once he’d stepped inside, too.

Clark had made it clear that he didn’t want anything serious. When he started the whole experimenting and messing around with people, he had just gotten out of a relationship from when he was sixteen and being married for over ten years. He didn’t know anything about himself anymore. What he should’ve done in his teens and twenties, he was now doing in his late thirties and almost forties. So, when he found someone who was also experimenting, the other male held a special place with him. For multiple reason. He enjoyed Conrad, not just having sex with him, but also his company. He was an amazing guy. So, when he brought up feelings, it just had Clark shut down completely. But with some convincing after a few months, Clark wanted his friendship back with the other male -- even if that’s just what it ended up being. 

As he arrived to Conrad’s place, he had a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He would’ve brought wine, but he couldn’t stand it. When the other male opened the door, a slight smile appeared on his lips. “Hey -- I’m doing well. How about yourself?” Clark asked while walking into his home. His hand extended, moving the bottle back and forth. “I brought this. I don’t know if we’ll drink it, but I couldn’t come empty handed.” 

is that [JOHN KRISINKSI]? no, that’s just [CLARK JAGODA]. [HE/HIM] is [THIRTY-EIGHT] years old and is a [HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL/PERSONAL TRAINER IN THE SUMMER]. rumor has it they’ve been in town for [FIVE YEARS]. on a good day, they’re [EASYGOING & PATIENT]. but watch out! they can also be [FORGETFUL & IMPULSIVE ]. [FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE BY THE CURE] plays in my head whenever i think of them.