For Our Son: A BWWM Parenting Romance For Adults (23 page)

Avery’s father had become a huge part of Erica’s life as well. As trust
was renewed and old wounds healed over, their friendship blossomed and the two
grew naturally closer. Griffin called Erica whenever he needed advice on
basically anything in his life, and the two spent endless amounts of time on
the phone each night. To any casual observer, they looked like a happy couple.

On top of this, Erica’s attraction to Griffin had grown by inordinate heights.
Everything he did seemed to turn her on, but she refused to let Griffin know
about her yearning. Despite what all her friends kept saying, she’d yet to see
any solid evidence that he was attracted to her as more than a friend.

As soon as her doorbell sounded, Erica gathered her things and headed
outside. She met Griffin in her driveway and found him leaning against his car
with the trunk popped open.

"Hi, all ready?” Griffin was trying his best to sound casual, but
his heart skipped a beat when he looked at her. She looked so fresh faced and
radiant, but he knew he couldn’t let on his attraction to her. On what felt
like a daily basis, he was forced to remind himself how important it was that
he didn't scare Erica off by revealing the true nature of feelings to her.

After stowing Erica's bag inside his trunk, Griffin steered his car
toward the freeway and the pair settled in for the two hour drive that awaited
them.

"Was Avery okay when you dropped her off at your mom's?" Erica
asked Griffin once they decided on a radio station that suited both their
tastes.

"Oh yeah, she’s fine. She balled her eyes out when I first told her
that I was leaving, but she got over it as soon as my mom offered her
cookies."

Relieved that the child wasn't going to blame her for stealing Griffin
away for the weekend, Erica nodded and allowed herself to finally relax.
"That’s good. I’d hate for her to be upset."

Griffin looked quickly over at Erica before returning his eyes to the
road. "She’ll be fine,” he said again. “We can’t spend every moment with
her." With this, he changed the subject. "So, how's that big project
coming along?" he asked in reference to an account Erica was in the
process of closing in at work.

"Fine actually. The CEO’s of the picky variety, but we’re making due
with it. My team is phenomenal. Seriously, they work so hard. I wish I could
give every last one of them a promotion."

"Well don’t give too much credit to them. They might help negate the
chaos, but they wouldn't be half as productive if they didn't have you at the
helm of the ship."

Reaching across the middle divide as if to solidify his point, Griffin
patted Erica’s hand in a soothing manner. It felt like the exact sign she’d
been waiting for, but the moment passed before she could over analyze it.

“I don't know,” Erica mumbled. She lifted her left shoulder in a slight
shrug and averted her gaze out the window. "I try, but trust me…it's not
anywhere near as easy as it looks. Sometimes it can get really hard balancing
everything.”

Something about the way she said it concerned Griffin. Perking up in his
seat, he asked, "You’d tell me if I was demanding too much of your time,
wouldn't you? I mean, I know your job is stressful, but..." Griffin
trailed off in search of the right words, but he never got a chance to find
them.

"No way,” Erica cut in. “Seriously, Griff. I don't want you to ever
think that you’re an inconvenience to me. I’ve loved spending these past few
months with you and Avery. You're a great friend."

Feeling his heart ache at the mention of the word ‘friend’, Griffin
tightened his grip on the steering wheel and mumbled a barely audible,

"You too.” He wanted much more than just friendship from Erica, but
she obviously didn’t. If anything, this conversation had proven that.

After an uneventful two hours, Erica and Griffin arrived at Desert Isle
Resort safely. Once they met up with their friends and booked the activities
they wanted to do, everyone went off to their separate rooms to get settled in.
The regrouped later that day for dinner, and by the time the sun went down
everyone was so exhausted from touring the city that they decided a soak in the
hot tub was in order.

"Oh, this feels so good." Sabrina sighed as she slid into the
lukewarm water.

"Right? This is bliss,” Julie said with her eyes closed.

"Where’s Erica?" Evan asked Griffin as he noticed her absence.

"She’ll be out soon. She was in the bathroom when I left the
room."

Just then, a poolside waiter came out to ask if anyone wanted drinks and
Erica surfaced from behind him wearing a skimpy yellow swimsuit that clung
tightly to her curves.

As everyone's order was being taken, Griffin sat mesmerized by her form.
It was until she slid into the water beside him that he was finally given some
reprieve from his inner torture.

"Earth to Griffin!" Lori yelled as she waved her hand in his
face. “Is anyone alive in there?”

Reluctantly tearing his eyes from Erica, Griffin looked toward Lori and
frowned. "Huh?"

"Your order, doofus,” Evan pointed out with a laugh. “Get on with
it.”

Raising his eyes to the waiter, Griffin shook his head as if to clear it.
"Sorry, uh…I’ll have water, no – make that a vodka tonic." He needed
something stronger if he was going to weather this storm.

Seeing Erica’s body outlined in that bikini had done things to Griffin –
primal
things.

Concerned by his awkward body language and failure to make eye contact
with her, Erica touched his arm and gently asked, "Griff, you okay?"

"Yeah, I’m fine,” Griffin responded in the most laid back tone he
could muster. “I think all the excitement must just be catching up with me.”

"Yeah,
sure
, that’s it,” Evan mumbled. Though he’d said it
under his breath, it promptly caused both Lori and Sabrina to start laughing.

"Well that drink should help you loosen up,” Erica said to Griffin
in a soothing manner. Turning toward her friends, she frowned and asked, “And
what’s so funny?”

"Oh nothing, not a thing,” Evan said. At that, he and everyone else
in the hot tub besides Griffin fought to contain their laughter. It was like
they were all in on the same secret. That secret being that Griffin was
obviously in heat.

Annoyed, Erica asked, "Well then what's going on here?"

"Nothing, nothing at all,” Sabrina said with a huge smile.

Looking over at Griffin again, Erica noticed that he was staring off into
the distance with a frustrated look on his face. Desperate to help, she ran a
calming hand down his arm and whispered, "Seriously, Griff. Are you sure
you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine,” Griffin snapped as he shook off her touch.

Shocked and more than a little put-off by his harsh change in tone, Erica
pulled away from him and straightened her back. “Sorry," she muttered.
“Won't happen again.”

Griffin sighed inwardly. He didn’t know how much longer he could stomach
this. Lucky for him, the drinks arrived and everyone promptly mellowed out.
Even Erica appeared relaxed as she joked and laughed with everyone, but beneath
the surface she was confused and hurt by Griffin’s actions.

Still, it wasn't until the pair were safely back inside their hotel room
that Erica finally broached the subject with him. After showering and settling
into her bed, she confronted Griffin head-on. "Griff, what was all that
about in the hot tub?"

"What?" Griffin asked as he towel dried his hair. He, too, had
just taken a shower.

"Oh I think you know good and well what I’m talking about. You
snapped at me for no reason. Why? I mean…we had such a wonderful day, and you
just…you ruined it."

Erica didn’t look at Griffin as she spoke. Instead she concentrated on
the comforter that covered her. Admitting she was miffed was humiliating but
necessary.

"Look, Erica, I’m sorry, okay? Lets just forget about it. I really
don’t want to fight with you on vacation,” Griffin said as he moved to stand at
the foot of her bed.

Erica sighed. Shaking her head, she muttered a quiet ‘whatever’ under her
breath and shifted downwards in bed. She then proceeded to turn off her lamp
and close her eyes. As far as she was concerned, that was no apology. She and
Griffin had come so far in such a short amount of time. Thus, his little
outburst had really hurt her feelings.

Fighting the tears that sprung to her eyes, Erica willed them not to fall
and discretely went to grab a tissue from her nightstand under the guise of
having to blow her nose.

Griffin, however, had not moved from his spot at the end of Erica’s bed.
Feeling suddenly guilty, he walked over to the side she was lying on and knelt
down in front of her.

"Get away from me,” Erica said as she swiped at her tears. The last
thing she wanted was for him to witness her crying over something so trivial.

"I’m sorry,” Griffin whispered. “Please don't cry."

"I’ll be fine once you get away from me."

"Er...don’t…”

Looking up at him sharply, Erica sat up again. "Don’t
what
,
Griffin? Don’t be human and show emotion? I have feelings too you know."
Shaking her head, she looked away from him and let out a dry laugh. "You
know what? Just forget it. It doesn’t matter. None of this matters. I’m just
overreacting."

Just as she was about to lie back down, Erica heard Griffin whisper her
name. Looking over at him again, she saw that his expression was full of
remorse.

"I’m sorry. I…" Griffin was about to say that he loved her, but
he caught himself just in time. Instead, acting on impulse, he dragged a finger
down her cheek to wipe away a stray tear there before it could dry. "I
want you," was all Erica heard before Griffin’s warm lips neared in on
hers and she was pulled into an impassioned kiss.

Upon pulling back for air, Griffin looked deep into Erica’s eyes for any
sign of revulsion, but what he saw instead warmed his heart. Quite the
contrary, her expression was full of yearning as she reached out to him.

"Kiss me again,” she demanded in a dream-like state. “
Please.
”

That was all Griffin needed to hear. Just like that, an entire six
months’ worth of pent up sexual tension came roaring to a head as he ravaged
Erica’s mouth with his own. Without breaking the kiss, he climbed onto her bed
and straddled her. It was a series of actions that caused Erica to have a
moment of clarity as she realized what they were about to do.

Pushing Griffin off of her, Erica breathed out, "Griffin, wait.
Griffin!” Erica had to repeat his name twice, as his hearing seemed to be
temporarily impaired.

"What?" Griffin panted.

"Are you sure you want to do this?” Erica asked him, concern heavy
in her voice. “Because the last thing I want is to complicate things between
us…"

"It won't,” Griffin said rather desperately. “Don't even worry about
that."

At this, Erica nodded and silently ordered herself to stop over-thinking
the situation.

Hopping out of bed, Griffin searched the ground for his pants and
extracted his wallet from the back pocket once he located them. Letting out a
breath of relief, he triumphantly held up a condom for Erica to see.

Smiling, Erica outstretched her hands to him. Climbing back on top of
her, Griffin let all his inhibitions fall to the wayside as he proceeded to make
love to her in a way he hadn't since the last time they were together.

Yanking Erica’s nightgown over her head, Griffin marveled over her body
and started to kiss his way down her neck. When he finally moved upwards again,
Erica wrapped her legs around his hips and allowed him to enter her fully.
Afterwards, they fell asleep in each others arms with satisfied smiles on their
faces.