Page 11 of The Facilitator: Part 3
I worked out until sweat ran down my body. I ran, I lifted weights, I rowed, and then I ran again. Mile after mile on the treadmill while listening to music had myheart pumping and I felt good. When I slowed, I was pleased to see my heart rate decrease with me.
I showered and wrapped in a towel, I took my sweaty clothes back upstairs. Lauren had slept for a couple of hours when I’d decided to start dinner. Cooking was my way of relaxing, and she was shocking at it. I didn’t think she’d want a full-on meal so opted for something light. Fish in a lemon sauce with some new potatoes and asparagus.
I prepared the sauce, put the potatoes on to boil, and then headed upstairs. The fish and the asparagus would only take a minute or two.
Lauren lay on her side and held a tissue to her face. She was crying.
“Hey, baby,” I said, and she smiled up at me.
“I did sleep, I just woke in tears. I had a dream about him, how he used to be before his crash.”
“Then it was a good dream, hold on to that one.” I sat beside her on the bed and stroked her hair. “I have dinner on if you want to eat something.”
She nodded. “I’m hungry,” she replied.
“Good, come down when you’re ready. Dinner will be about twenty minutes yet.”
I grabbed a clean pair of jeans and slipped them on. Cooking with a towel around my waist wasn’t the safest.
I had been back downstairs for about ten minutes when I felt her behind me. She slid her arms around mychest and kissed my shoulders, the back of my neck, and a little way down my spine. I stirred the sauce while she did.
I chuckled. “You need to decide super quick. You either want to eat me, or food,” I said.
She looked over my shoulder. “Can I do both, but have you as dessert?”
In the time we had been together, Lauren had changed. I’d had to force her to tell me what she wanted sexually for a while. She’d choke on the words and blush with embarrassment. I loved she now asked, demanded. I hardened with every dirty word that came out of her mouth, everyfuckshe said when she was angry with me. In fact, some of our best fucks had been when she was furious.
“You can have me all night if you want,” I replied. “For now, go and sit, otherwise it won’t be fish in your throat but my cock.”
“Mackenzie!” she said in mock shock, of course. Then she laughed. She kissed my back one more time. “Thank you,” she said.
“For what?” I looked over my shoulder.
“For taking my mind off things. For making me laugh when I feel sad. For loving me. For earlier, for everything.”
“Go and sit, you’re getting too mushy.” I gave her a wink.
I plated our food and joined her. I poured us glasses of cold white wine and we toasted Sebastian. She dabbed a tear from her eye. She talked about him, how he had been before his crash. How outgoing and adventurous he’d been, she was anunbloomedflower in comparison, she’d said. He rock climbed, he dove from cliffs into the sea. He surfed and traveled to exotic places. All that was taken away in an instant.
“That’s why I want a list. I don’t want to forget to do anything,” she said, placing her cutlery on her empty plate and sliding it away.
“I look forward to seeing your list,” I said.
“I don’t think I’ll give you the list in its entirety.” She smirked and I could tell she had a plan forming. “I’m going to text you, like I did when I first met you.”
I smiled, remembering the thrill each time a text came in from her. I could picture the level of embarrassment she had, the red cheeks and flushed chest as she typed out the words to whichever fantasy she wanted to experience next. I’d made sure each happened, and I very much looked forward to doing it all again.
“And I want to visit the club,” she said, placing her palms on the table and not quite looking me in the eye.
She loved the club, she loved the experiences I had her encounter, but she hadn’t been in half the rooms. I had wanted her to; she wanted to just spend some time withus. I got that, totally.
“I’ll book a cottage,” I said, and she nodded. “But I won’t tell you when.”
Lauren loved surprises. Knowing she’d be thinking about what experience I’d line up for her, but not know when, aroused me. I had the perfect scenario to play out with her as well.
Chapter Five
A week later we were back to work, I hadn’t wanted her to, but Lauren had insisted. She wanted to get some normality back. She still mourned, but she also made a point to laugh each day. She’d told me Seb would have hated for them all to be so sad for any length of time. Each time she did laugh, however, guilt would cloud the smile. Many times I’d told her to do what she felt was right. Laugh or cry, scream, or chuckle. It didn’t matter as long as she was feeling something.
