Page 62 of Trust and Obey

She sniffed again, and I thought maybe there was a little true sorrow hidden in those tears. I still couldn’t afford to budge.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I think I’ll do that.”

I nodded again, then hesitated, wondering if I should give her a hug or something, but… No. I had to make this as clean of a break as possible.

I turned and walked back to my villa. Closing the door and locking it behind me, I leaned against it.

I had done it. I felt… free.

* * *

I was all smiles again by the time Kendall arrived with my breakfast.

He also looked like he’d had a rough night’s sleep. I found myself swooping in and welcoming him in with a kiss before I could think better of it.

“Go have a seat at the table,” I said before he could recover. “I’ll set up breakfast for us.”

He blinked. A reluctant smile tugged at his lips. “Are you trying to take over my job?”

I laughed. “I think I can handle it. Sit. Please.”

With a chuckle, he did as he was told. I rolled the food cart the rest of the way in, opened the little cabinet door, and withdrew the warm, covered plates.

Kendall had taken the opportunity to put a napkin in his lap. “What did you order? I didn’t look today.”

“Salmon eggs Benedict,” I replied with a secret smile of my own. “I’ve never had them before, but I have it on very good authority that they’re delicious.”

Kendall watched as I set down the plates and started pouring the freshly squeezed orange juice. “You’re in a very good mood today.”

“I should be. I told Lauren to take a hike, and wonder upon wonders, I think she listened.”

His eyebrows rose, and over a very excellent meal, I relayed the gist of our conversation.

However, Kendall wasn’t as confident as I was. “Are you certain she’s given up? That easily?”

“Yes, but at this point, I don’t have any more fucks to give. She’s shown her hand, and her cards suck.”

“Wow,” Kendall said, impressed. “How many more metaphors can you sneak in there?”

I grinned and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “I want to get out of here, with you. Shall we go for a hike today? Maybe find somewhere remote and cozy… and private?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him.

To my surprise, he didn’t immediately jump on that. “The weather report today is calling for rain.”

I glanced out the window. There were more than the usual number of clouds scudding across the sky, but it certainly didn’t look stormy. “Then, somewhere dark, private, and under cover?” Again, I wiggled my eyebrows.

That cracked him. Kendall chuckled.

“Yes, I think we can manage that.”

* * *

Because we were planning a shorter, less strenuous hike than last time, we didn’t need to bring a large amount of gear. Just some water bottles, a couple protein bars in case we got hungry, and Kendall’s emergency ‘brick’ which was a walkie-talkie/GPS device that at least one member of each excursion party had to bring per resort policy.

Kendall took me up a different trailhead than we had hiked a few days ago. This one had a shallower slope, though plenty of pretty scenery.

It also had a lot more people. To my disappointment, there were no opportunities for Kendall and me to find a private corner and celebrate Lauren’s leaving.

Not that Kendall seemed to be in the mood to celebrate. In fact, he seemed a little low. Withdrawn, even.

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