A Deal With Dark

Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

For the next week or so, Mark and I regularly texted each other. It started out with him apologizing for kissing me again and me assuring him that it was fine, and then it slowly turned back into regular friendship. It wasn't quite like before - I felt the need to avoid my phone around Dark, and when Mark asked me about my day, I was hesitant to tell him very many details when it involved spending time with Dark. But it was still nice to be friends with Mark again. I did want to see him in person, though, and that was difficult when we both felt the need to sneak around.

As it turned out, I wasn't the only one who wanted another face-to-face interaction. Mark and I had both mentioned how we wished we could actually spend time together without the fear of being caught by Dark and possibly endangering each other's lives. The longer we spent away from each other, the more I waned to see him again. And not just at the coffee shop like usual. Luckily, I wasn't the only one. And after a while, we figured out how we could safely do so.

Mark: What if we went somewhere neither of us have been before?

Mark's text came randomly one day, without his usual "hey" or any other context or introduction.

Me: What are you talking about, exactly?

Mark: If we still wanted to see each other again without worrying about him, we could go somewhere outside of LA where he wouldn't look for us or expect to find us. He may be able to do a lot of things, but he has no way of tracking us as long as we don't let anyone know where we'll be.

Me: Okay, sure. Do you have any place in mind?

Mark: There's this nice restaurant called Savor about 45 minutes outside of the city. It's a place I've always wanted to try - maybe we could get dinner and talk? There are plenty of other things to do around there as well.

Me: Sounds good to me. You're sure we won't be tracked or found by him?

Mark: Yeah, I'm sure.

So, it was decided. At the end of the week, I told Allison I'd be going out with "Derek" that evening and that she shouldn't wait up for me. As far as Dark knew, I was busy and we had no plans and wouldn't be making any. So I put on a nice dress, put the address of the restaurant in my phone, and headed out. Savor was apparently a pretty nice place, and it was connected to a hotel. Mark had made reservations, so I left plenty early to accommodate for the usual traffic. By the time I walked into the place, I had just a couple minutes to spare, and Mark was standing inside, waiting. He was wearing a nice button up and dress pants, and I had to admit that it was nice to see him in something other than sweats for a change. I also couldn't help but notice him looking at me for a bit longer than usual. My dress was a bit sexy and fitted - appropriate, of course, but it did get his attention. I didn't want to think that I was trying to do so, but every time I thought about our kiss the last time we were alone together, I thought that I wouldn't be upset if something like that happened again.

"This place is really nice, Mark. It almost feels like we're on a date, of sorts," I said, raising my eyebrows at him.

"I never said anything about a date. Can't two exes go out to dinner at a nice restaurant together without it meaning anything?" he laughed.

"I guess. I am questioning your intentions a little bit, though," I smirked.

Throughout dinner, we talked about everything. We talked about life, our jobs, how things used to be compared to how they were now. It was clear by the time we were finished eating that neither of us were ready to say goodbye.

"I don't want to go home yet," I admitted as our waiter took our empty plates from us.

"Neither do I. Maybe we could go get ice cream for dessert? Or grab a drink at the bar or something? I don't know." I knew Mark was trying to pick more public places so there wouldn't be any pressure, but it was clear that we both had other desires.

"I don't know if I really want to go anywhere else. I just want to be with you," I told him.

It was silent for a moment before either of us spoke again.

"There is a hotel attached to this place. It wouldn't be as homey as your place or mine, but it's the best we've got. We could hang out for as long as you want. Or just for a little bit, I don't care. Neither of us has to stay, I don't care if I have to pay for it for the whole night," Mark suggested.

"That's such a waste, getting a hotel for just an hour or two," I replied.

"Right now, it feels worth it," he said. He was right, it did. It took me a moment, but I agreed to his request and once the check was paid for, we headed over to the hotel next door.

I honestly thought that once we got to the room, we'd turn on the tv and look for a funny movie to watch like we usually did when we used to travel together for conventions and we had downtime. But that wasn't the case. The moment the door was closed and I sat my purse down on the bed, we just looked at each other and didn't have to say anything. I threw my arms around his neck and he wrapped his around my waist and we were kissing like we had been the last time we had been alone. But this time, Dark couldn't just show up and catch us. This time, we were fearless, and we didn't stop.

"I really have missed you, Mads," Mark spoke softly in between planting kisses on my neck. He was wearing my favorite cologne of his, the one that always made me weak.

"I can tell," I giggled, noticing something pressing up against me as we kissed.

"You knew I would like that dress!" he complained.

"And you know I like that cologne," I retorted.

"Alright, so we're both guilty," he decided. "What should we do about it?"

"Well, that depends. Did you happen to bring anything besides your phone and wallet?" I questioned him.

"I might have slipped something else into my pocket, just in case," he answered, pulling a small square package out of one of his pants pockets.

"Good," I smiled.

It all happened so quickly. Neither of us seemed to be able to control ourselves. In no time we were laying next to each other on the bed, breathing heavily and grabbing our clothes which we had stripped out of. Once we were dressed again, we cuddled up next to each other and put on a movie. It was nice, and I began to wonder if we should just stay there for the night. We had a room that we had already paid for, so why not? Except that both of us staying overnight somewhere could be suspicious. I wouldn't mind staying for the night and waking up next to Mark in the morning like I used to, but I wasn't sure if it was worth it. I thought about it as we watched TV and when the movie was over, we both looked at each other with a question in our eyes.

"I want to stay. I really do," I admitted.

"But?"

"But I don't know if it would be a good idea," I continued.

"It probably wouldn't be."

"So..."

"So I guess we should go home."

"You should at least stay and enjoy the room for the night. One of us should," I suggested. It wasn't like hotels were very cheap.

"You don't sleep well in hotels. I guess I'll stay," Mark decided.

"Yeah, I never have. You enjoy the room for the night. I better head home."

We shared one last hug and kiss before I grabbed my purse, told him I had a nice time, and left. That night, I had a hard time going to sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about the two of us and our night together and how part of me wished we could continue what we had going. But that couldn't be possible. Instead, I'd have to pretend that none of it had ever happened and hope that Dark would never find out that it did.