“There are so many kinds of families,” Lucas said and I breathed a slight sigh of relief, finally catching the subtext of the conversation.
“You have got that right Lucas,” I confirmed. “You and I and Nan and Pop are one type of family. Some families have two dads, some have two moms. Some have one of each.”
“We all have a lot of love though, don’t we mom?” he asked sweetly.
“Yes bud,” I said reassuringly. “It doesn’t matter what your family looks like, the most important thing is that you have people in your life that care about you. And you my dear have so much love, I can see it coming out of your ears.”
Lucas smiled that gorgeous smile of his and started sipping his VIP smoothie. My sweet boy.
—
I spent the entire ride from Lucas’ elementary school to the studio preparing for this moment. I was not easily intimidated. I could take on people like Lee all day long without as much as flinching, but I was about to face someone that I knew would challenge me in more ways than one, Ryan Jacobs. Even thinking about him sent shivers down my spine and made me ache in places I was ashamed to admit.
I had known Ryan back in college along with another actor on the project Kai Warner. Ironically, we had all attended University of Chicago back in Illinois before eventually making our way out west. Ryan wasn’t exactly the one that got away, but our history was complicated.
I thought back to the night I lost my virginity to Ryan. We had just wrapped a stage production ofThe Importance of Being Earnest.I normally didn’t go near the theatre scene, but my advisor had told me that working PR for a local production might be able to help land me an internship that summer with a local PR company that I really wanted.
Ryan had been the star, giving sex appeal to a fairly tame role that would have made Oscar Wilde blush. And Kai, sweet Kai, had been our stage manager.
I had more hunch punch than sense that night and when Ryan had kissed me, there had been no going back. I still remembered the way that first kiss had sent an electrical current through me, it tightened my stomach and gave me a longing my high school boyfriend had never even come close to stirring.
“I said, where are you headed ma'am? Are you okay, you look flushed?” the security guard eyed me uncomfortably.
I was suddenly jarred back to reality. Embarrassed knowing the heat I was feeling in my core was making itself known on my face, I brushed off his second question quickly pulling out my credentials to show him. “Dr. Falconi franchise. I’m Tinsley Cole, PR.”
“Follow the signs for the green lot, make your second left and you’ll see a group of trailers. You won’t be able to miss it.”
“Thanks!”
Back then, I’d been grieving an unavoidable breakup with my high school sweetheart Seth. The kind where you both promised that college wouldn’t change you, that you’d save yourselves for one another and finally consummate your love when you reunited over the Christmas holiday.
Only to find out that he boinked the first co-ed that glanced his way at the community college. A revenge hook-up had seemed like the perfect plan to get back at him.
Ryan had been sweet and kind, he said all the right things and made all the right moves, he had no idea I’d planned to get back at my ex by being with him. The minute we kissed I knew this would be far more than just revenge. I’d felt my body react to him and I knew I had to have him.
“I want you,” I had told him the second the kiss was over. If I was being fair, I’d known he’d had a crush on me since our high school days so I wouldn’t exactly need to talk him into it.
“Seriously, where, when?” He’d asked shyly.
“Right here, right now!” I had slipped my slinky black dress over my head, thrown it at him, and laid back on the futon we’d been making out on. I watched with delight as his eyes devoured my body. I hadn’t been wearing anything under the dress and his pleased reaction nearly sent me over the edge.
Seth had spent years trying to get me to climax, whereas Ryan had me there within the first minute. He crawled toward me with an intensity in his eyes that left me dripping wet. I ripped his shirt off kissing and nipping at his chest, his shoulders, his neck. He sexily traced his hand up my leg expertly and guided his fingers towards my most sacred spot.
“Does that feel good baby?” He pressed, suddenly more confident.
But I couldn’t speak, I’d just cried out in pleasure grasping his perfectly chiselled arms and holding on for dear life. And then unzipping his jeans he’d guided his throbbing cock inside me and my whole world had changed.
We’d not been out of one another’s grasp that entire night, touching, licking, sucking, kissing, and making love. But it wasn’t just sex, we’d shared intimate secrets about our lives. We’d shared hopes and dreams. When we finally had fallen asleep in one another’s arms I’d felt sure that I had found someone that I could truly, finally connect with.
And then he avoided me like the plague. It seemed like he had gotten what he wanted from the situation and I, well my experience had gone just a bit differently.
At the end of the semester a few weeks later I had gone home to Joliet. I ended up finishing my degree online because of how busy I got both with the internship that summer and other things.
Through the years I’d heard about Ryan’s success with smaller roles in various romantic comedies and action movies but it hadn’t been until the Dr. Falconi franchise began that Ryan Jacobs became a household name as Dr Harris Rutledge, bad boy turned good.
You can do this!I said to myself. I was a professional. I had known about the connection to Ryan before I agreed to take on this role. But I knew myself enough to know the carnal urges that I would feel the second I saw Ryan. Hell, I was already wet just from reminiscing about one night spent together.
But how could I not be? Our night together had been one of the hottest and most sensual experiences of my life. I knew most people had horror stories around losing their virginity but for me, it had been a night to by which to measure all other sexual encounters.