Free For Our Son: A BWWM Parenting Romance For Adults by Nia Anderson Page B

was leaning over the railing of an atrium watching the people
down below.
     
    "I could really use a drink right about now." He sighed.
     
    "Me too,” Grace agreed.
     
    Ryan looked over at her in shock. "You drink? I thought ever since
your high school days you swore off the stuff."
     
    Grace laughed. "Yeah, well, times change.”
     
    "Well, in that case, let me buy you a beer when this is all over,” Ryan
offered with a sly smile.
     
    "Make it a rum and coke and you’re on."
     
    The surgery took much longer than anyone expected but soon the Martin’s
came to tell Ryan and Grace that all had gone well in the operating room but
they wouldn’t know for a while if it was going to work or not. Ryan and Grace
said goodbye for the evening with promises to return bright and early the next
morning before their flight left to take them back home.
     
    "Are you up for dinner?" Ryan asked Grace as they left the hospital.
     
    "Yeah, sounds good." Grace nodded.
     
    They decided to walk because driving in San Francisco was no small feat.
There were one way streets everywhere. Often a two-way street seemed to turn
into a one-way street with no warning. They had already had one near miss on
the way to the hospital that morning. That was enough for them.
     
    With the stress of the surgery behind them, Grace and Ryan were able to
relax and really enjoy dinner and each other's company. They found that in the
years that they’d been apart, their lines of thinking and reasoning had
converged. They shared a lot of the same ideals and principles. Even their
politics were similar.
     
    Ryan made a small joke and Grace laughed. He watched her while she
picked at the shrimp in her pasta. He had forgotten what it was like to have
this much fun with a person of the opposite sex.
     
    Sophia was so rigid and terse. She hardly ever laughed. At first Ryan
had felt that she was a challenge. He had felt a sense of victory every time
he’d gotten her to laugh. But those times were few and far between anymore. And
each time, Ryan cared less and less that Sophia had found him humorous.
     
    On the way back to the hotel, the good feeling between Ryan and Grace
remained. They sang along to a song on the radio before they dissected its
lyrics and made up some of their own. Feeling comfortable behind the wheel, Ryan
steered with one hand. He put his other hand on the console between the seats,
but Grace had her hand resting there. When Ryan’s hand touched hers, Grace moved
away, disguising it with a need to search the glove compartment of the car.
     
    It was still early evening when Ryan and Grace arrived back at the
hotel. They were both too tired to brave anymore of San Francisco, even though
the city had a great nightlife. Grace clicked on the television and Ryan
rummaged around in the hotel drawers to see if there was anything of interest.
He found a board game.
     
    "Hey Grace, look at this." Ryan held up the game.
     
    Grace looked over to see a black box with the words ‘Sex Drive’ stamped
on it. "Ryan, put that down! You have no idea where that’s been." Grace
was disgusted.
     
    "It’s never even been opened." Ryan pointed out the plastic
wrap. "Until now, that is." He opened the box.
     
    Grace shook her head in disagreement, but she waited patiently for him
to tell her what the game was all about.
     
    "This looks funny. It’s a sexual trivial pursuit game. You like
learning things, right?" Ryan asked as he held up the first question.
     
    "Ryan, put that away,” Grace told him.
     
    Instead of listening to her, Ryan pulled out a card and asked her a
question. "What is a person who fears marriage called?"
     
    That question seemed innocent enough, so Grace answered. She got it
wrong. Her wrong answer made her more interested in the game. Pretty soon she and
Ryan were playing and laughing once again. The first categories they’d indulged
in were non-sexual and Grace felt at ease answering them. However, as the game
progressed,