Ascending Lauren Ch. 27 - Sex Stories

Ascending Lauren Ch. 27

... hope she's enjoying the coast."

"She is."

"When we first spoke, you mentioned she was a bit shy. Making friends?

You have no idea, Corey thought. "She's opened up quite a bit since moving here, yes."

"Good, good. We still need to do lunch, all of us. Amanda is dying to meet her. How about two weeks next Saturday? A friend of ours has a gallery showing in Miami. We could have a bite to eat after. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a plan," Corey replied. Hobnobbing with the boss outside of the office could only bode well for his career and their budding friendship. Suddenly, his expression became somber. Sitting up on the bench seat, he took a drink and looked over at Dale. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Does everyone in Florida have such a liberal attitude towards sex?"

Dactyl lowered his sunglasses and looked over the brim at his employee as if assessing an answer that his HR person wouldn't give him grief over. He decided to gamble on the truth.

"The short answer is yes. Well, at least from Boca on down. West Palm has a lot of older folks, but most of them are still pretty hip. Sun, skin, beautiful women, bikinis, and coke tend to loosen people up. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

Dale laughed. "Suffice it to say, when they're not doing it, they're thinking about it. A bit different than Iowa, huh?"

"A tad."

The construction magnate chuckled, studied his guest, then leaned back, pushing his Persol's into place. "You, uh, looking ...

... to expand your horizons? Things can get pretty weird on the Gold Coast."

"What?"

"Is the little lady getting behind?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Well..."

Dactyl got up and grabbed a couple sandwiches from the refrigerator. "Relax, I didn't mean anything. Marriage is a fickle beast, you know? Sometimes things get stale. And down here, there's no shortage of ways to keep it fresh."

Corey furrowed his brow. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about that statement felt...unfinished.

"Let's eat," Dale gestured towards the hoagies. "I'm fucking starving."

Taking the cue, the older man sat down and unwrapped a sub. The two sat and munched hungrily, dreading the return to the office where they had several tough meetings that afternoon.

Meetings that would not go well.

+++++

Lauren Miller stood behind the sneeze guard of a cafeteria line, equipped with a large spoon and metal tongs. With a warm smile and a brief conversation, she greeted each homeless guest as they passed her station, extending acrylic plates for her to place vegetables and meatloaf onto. Most of the guests expressed gratitude for the food, returning the smile. However, some looked away in embarrassment and hopelessness as they accepted the food, weighed down by the circumstances that had led them to the Soup Galley Mission in downtown Miami that night.

It was here that Lauren found solace. After volunteering at Christmas with Corey, she made it a point to return whenever she could. ...