Chapter 24

It was a quarter past five. Lauren made her way on foot through the dim, cavernous upper level of the parking deck. She arrived at her car, a well-traveled Honda Civic, which was parked in the same space it always occupied. She backed the vehicle out, and began the slow, winding descent toward the ground level. With it being close to quitting time for the nine-to-five working crowd, the crawl to the bottom of the garage was time-consuming indeed.

The office in which Lauren worked was just a stone's throw from downtown. It was a six-mile drive to and from her apartment. However, the route was laden with stop lights, and the traffic was invariably heavy during rush hour. As a result, the drive normally took thirty minutes, and sometimes a lot more.

Finally reaching the gate at the bottom, Lauren produced her parking pass and showed it to the guard. The still-powerful late afternoon sun nearly blinded her as she moved out onto the street; she flipped her sunglasses down into place. It was a warm, dry day, and Lauren reached up to open the sunroof.

On the way home, she considered stopping at the grocery store, thinking she might be able to throw together a quick dinner for Mark and herself. Noting the time, she quickly scrapped that idea, sticking with her original plan of ordering out.

She was somewhat annoyed at Mark for ignoring her for three days, but she wasn't furiously angry. Her intent was to let it slide; she had pretty much said all she had to say. But if he feels guilty about it, she thought as a sly smile crossed her face, so much the better.

Lauren was a bit confused as to exactly where she stood with Mark. She liked him a lot; more than any man she'd known in a very long time. He unfailingly treated her with kindness and compassion; this was important to her, given her past relationship history. But with Mark, things had reached a certain level and stayed there a bit too long for Lauren's liking. She felt insecure. Imaginary lines seemed to exist in Mark's mind, lines that he would dare not cross.

Which is why she had been pushing the idea of a vacation together, over and over. In truth, she could do without the traveling. What she really wanted was to force the issue. Spending a few days with the two of them in close proximity might cause a light bulb to go off in his head. Or, it might cause a light bulb to go off in her head. Either way, questions would be answered. For Lauren, the proposed vacation was "the test."

Entering her apartment, she first filled up a small pitcher with water, which she used to nourish her house plants. I hope these plants can survive a few days without water, she thought, reflecting once more upon the trip she had her heart set on.

Next, Lauren shed her work attire and hopped into the shower. She recalled Mark's visit, several months prior, when she'd surprised him by wearing nothing but a bathrobe when he visited her following a spat. Let's do something a little different this time, Lauren thought, smiling devilishly as a plan began to take shape in her mind.

She stepped from the shower and dried herself off. She hung up the towel and, still nude, strode into her bedroom. She slipped into a pair of pink lace panties. Rummaging through her dresser, she found a scarcely worn oversize light pink T-shirt with the words "Part-Time Angel" written in script letters across the front. "Perfect," she said out loud, with a satisfied smile. She pulled the T-shirt over her head, the wetness from her still-moist golden mane leaving spots on the cotton fabric. But those would dry quickly. And her smile widened even more as she had second thoughts about the panties, and proceeded to remove them.

Lauren moved out into the living room, picked up the most recent issue of Cosmopolitan, and camped out on the sofa. She lay there in wait, the same saucy smile etched upon her face.

I will not buy her flowers, Mark told himself on the way over to Lauren's. Not gonna do it. And if that's a problem, I have other options for female companionship.

Running a few minutes late, he steered his BMW into her apartment complex. He found a spot in close proximity to her place, locked up the car, and paused momentarily before walking up towards the building. He shook his head as he thought one more time about the sheer lunacy of taking Lauren away on a trip for a few days. How could he even consider that? Hell, she hadn't even decided on a destination yet!

He found himself climbing the stairs, feeling almost as if he was in a trance. He hesitated once more before ringing her doorbell. Just what was he getting himself into?

He watched the door knob turn and the open, just barely enough to permit his access. "Come in," Lauren said from behind the door, still out of sight. As if to confirm her presence, her hand appeared, index finger outstretched, beckoning him to come inside.

Mark was used to Lauren's surprises, but this time, she caught him completely off guard. The door was scarcely closed when she threw herself at him and forcefully pressed her lips against his. "Mmm..." he tried to utter, but any further vocalization was denied by Lauren's ruthlessly invading tongue, which greatly inhibited the passage of air in and out of his throat. She threw her arms around Mark's shoulders, jumped clear up from the floor, and clamped her legs around his waist. This deft maneuver was executed perfectly by Lauren, who as a physical fitness fanatic, was lithe and nimble.

She broke the liplock barely long enough to utter the query, "Miss me?" Any reply from Mark was impossible as she proceeded to attempt to suck his tongue down her throat. With her legs still encircling his hips, and her arms wrapped across his shoulder blades, providing leverage, she began to grind her crotch into his. Mark began to wonder if straight-out standing-up sex was in the offing. But Lauren ended the kiss abruptly, running her hyperactive tongue up the side of his face, biting his earlobe, dipping the tip of her tongue into his ear canal. "I'm so horny," she growled into his ear.

Lauren released her four-limb clench on Mark; he helped her down. She backed up a few steps, briefly modeling the T-shirt for him, ensuring that he saw the inscription on the front. In one quick move, she drew the shirt up over her head, crumpled it up into a ball, and hurled it clear across the room with a flourish. Her eyes were searing with raw lust. She stood before him naked, her breasts still wobbling from the violent removal of the shirt.

She seized Mark's hand energetically, and pulled him along, making for the bathroom. Once inside, she directed him, "Get your clothes off." He took care of the top half, Lauren the bottom. While he struggled to unbutton his shirt, Lauren had his belt off and his pants hiked to the floor. She followed that by yanking down his briefs, leaving his quite erect cock wiggling just a few inches in front of her face as she knelt before him.

"Mmm ... what have we here," Lauren purred before engulfing his entire length with her mouth. But that turned out to be nothing more than a teaser before the main event. She administered a few quick sucks, and then retracted and stood up. "Into the shower," she directed, turning on the water and activating the shower head.

Mark would have been content to let her finish him right then and there, so good was her technique. But really having no choice in the matter, he clambered into the tub with Lauren, the water soaking them both. Facing away from him, Lauren got down on all fours, her perfect round ass pointing up at him.

It was definitely a cue, but he misread it. Kneeling down behind her, he ran one hand underneath her, sliding it forward along her torso until he had one breast cupped in his hand. His intent was a slow buildup, but Lauren was having none of that. She grabbed his wrist and pulled it away.

"I want to be taken," she growled fiercely, the sound of her voice diffused by the whoosh of the running water. "Now get your dick into my pussy."

He touched her pussy lips to gauge the situation; she was plenty wet enough, and the deluge coming from overhead had little to do with that. He got into position and thrust himself inside her, beginning with slow, deep strokes. "Harder!" Lauren yelled. And not wanting to disappoint the lady, he began to hammer into her with all his might.

Mark had been with Lauren enough to know what her triggers were. As he maintained his furious rhythm, he reached around with his hand, his index finger quickly finding her clitoris. He executed a series of quick north-south rubs on her clit as he kept slamming into her. Almost instantaneously, Lauren went off like a loaded pistol. "Oh, fuck yeah, Mark, that's it!" she squealed, rearing up out of her crouch, pressing her back into his chest, throwing her head violently back onto his shoulder, wailing with unrestrained rapture. Her entire body quaked to the point where Mark found it impossible to keep his coital rhythm.

He let her orgasm pass before resuming his fervent thrusting; he'd been given license to proceed without caution, and he continued driving into her with all his might. Since arriving back home, Mark had noticed a distinct spike in his sexual drive and stamina. He was amazed at how long he was able to hold out. And he continued to mix in digital clitoral stimulation, which produced a second orgasm for Lauren, then a third, before Mark finally could go on no more, and gave in to his own release. After his seed was spent, he continued to poke her with his deflating member, and the returning touch of his fingers sent Lauren into the stratosphere for the fourth time.

"Oh my God!" the exuberant Lauren shrieked as the waves of pleasure finally subsided, while Mark turned off the water. Lauren shivered with delight, shaking her head violently, myriad drops of water flying out of her hair, like a saturated towel being whip-cracked. "What's gotten into you, mister? That was fucking incredible!"

There was no viable explanation that Mark could come up with; at least, none that he could share with Lauren. "Umm ... maybe it was because I haven't seen you for a couple of weeks?"

"Well, you can ignore me for a whole month if you fuck me like that afterwards."

It was Lauren who got cleaned up and dried off first; she donned a robe and headed out into the kitchen. Mark lagged behind her; if nothing else, he was stalling for time.

Finally, he slid into his briefs and pants and headed for the kitchen. He found Lauren on the phone. "A half hour? That'll be fine. Thanks!" She hung up the phone and smiled at Mark. "I just took care of dinner."

"Which delectable Chinese dish will I be feasting on tonight?" Mark queried. Every time they got together after work, Lauren ordered Chinese, and took the liberty of selecting Mark's menu item. It had become a well-established tradition.

"No Chinese tonight," the simpering Lauren replied.

"What are we having, then?"

"Pizza."

"Pizza?" Mark laughed. "You ordered pizza? What's up with you, Miss Nutrition?"

"I got the veggie special. I wanted something different. Besides, I had a very light breakfast and no lunch. I have plenty of room under my calorie limit for one slice of pizza."