Ryan and I hadn’t spent any real time together in almost two weeks. The physical chemistry and attraction between us was palpable. All evening, we were constantly touching, whether it was holding hands, his arm resting on my chair and touching my shoulder lightly, or his hand settled intimately and possessively on my waist.
Ryan played his part well. He charmed my mother and they talked real estate for a good twenty minutes at least. Ryan was looking into some investment property in the San Juan Islands that would also double as a vacation home and wanted to get my mom’s opinion. I think he was only being polite and trying to make conversation, but I adored him for wanting to gain my mother’s approval. Of course, her area of expertise was SE Bellevue, but that didn’t stop her from offering her opinion on vacation properties and trying to sound like the expert.
I caught her watching us frequently. She gave me only one knowing glance, which signaled her initial surprise, but it quickly turned to pleasure that Ryan had showed up.
As the night wore on, I became hyperaware of the way Ryan and I were interacting. A gentle touch on my hand or shoulder told me that he wanted to be close to me. He would glance over at me to share a laugh or to make sure I wasn’t left out of his conversation. Sometimes, while listening to others, he would just look at me and we would share a moment. I caught my mom watching us at least on one of those private moments. I thought I noticed a look of appreciation in her eyes, but also something I couldn’t quite put a place. Was it relief? Her shoulders seemed to relax over the course of dinner.
As for my dad, well, it looked like he had found his new entertainment buddy. He cornered Ryan, wanting to discuss the merits of MS’s popular gaming platform.
It was funny, but as an employee of MS, people always assumed that I knew everything about MS technology and software. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have anything to actually do with the technical development, deployment, or support of the software—it was the mere association of my name to the company that automatically made me an “expert.” So, with this same phenomenon, my dad proceeded to ask Ryan about the various gaming center capabilities and whether or not Ryan could help troubleshoot some of his setup and configuration issues. Of course, Ryan’s job had absolutely nothing to do with gaming capabilities or technical support issues, but he was so patient with Dad. He had a sincere discussion with my father about some of the more popular product features and even offered to come to my parents’ home to help with some of the setup and configuration. Surprisingly, Ryan knew more about this stuff than I would’ve guessed, but then again, he was a guy. Video games were like cars and stereo equipment—they all seemed to have some common language that I wasn’t aware of.
My parents had learned the other night that Ryan worked at MS, but they didn’t know the extent of Ryan’s position and influence there. Needless to say, they were impressed. Ryan was modest as usual, but with enough grilling from my parents, the breadth of Ryan’s responsibilities soon became clear. Being an executive at MS certainly fit the bill of good husband material.
Of course, it wasn’t lost on anyone that Ryan and I both worked for the same company. In the Puget Sound area, working at MS was viewed as a coveted job and a badge of success. As a couple, we would become almost a cliché; we would be viewed as the ultimate Seattle couple, successful DINKs (Double Income No Kids) working at Megasoft. If we were to get married, we would live in a turn of the century craftsman home in Queen Anne, drive luxury German cars, have two kids (a boy and a girl, of course), a dog, and a nanny. That definitely appealed to my parents, and, admittedly, to me.
I only half-listened to Ryan’s conversation with my parents; he was being such a good sport. As I observed them, I couldn’t help feeling a little smug and proud of my date. Honestly, how could anyone not like Ryan? He was charming, sexy, kind, brilliant, and confident.
After dinner, we did everything expected at a wedding reception. We laughed as Anna smeared cake on Ethan’s face. I nervously gave my maid of honor speech and when I finished and sat down to modest applause, Ryan kissed me chastely on the lips and looked at me adoringly. We danced the night away to Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and other classic big band tunes.
I noticed Ryan was different tonight than any other time I had spent with him and realized that it was the first time he was completely unguarded with me. He didn’t hold back with his affections as I had sensed him do so often before. He was more talkative tonight than ever before, too. He no longer had anything to hide. We were now free to get to know one another better and to be completely open with each other.