Unfriending the Dr by Piper Sullivan

Persy

“Sorry I’m late.” Megan’s words came out rushed as she removed her sweater and tossed it on the chair to her left along with her purse and sat with an anxious smile. “Hope you weren’t waiting long?”

“Not long,” I answered, distracted by Ferguson’s visit and my conversation two days ago with Ryan. “Everything all right?”

“Oh yeah, everything is fine. I’m late because I walked here so I could burn a few extra calories and feel no guilt about that mac & cheese burger I just ordered.”

A reluctant smile spread across my face. “No wonder Titus loves you so much. You have the palate of a six year old boy.” I shook my head. “How you stay so skinny is a secret I’d like you to divulge one day.”

Megan shrugged. “Run around a hot kitchen all day, burns all the calories.”

“You’re pregnant,” I remind her. “It’s okay to eat a little more.”

She nodded. “Emphasis on little. That burger is enough to feed me and the baby until he or she turns one.” The waiter arrived with our drinks, sparkling water for me and lemonade for her, and Megan waited until he was gone to pounce. “You didn’t call me here to talk pregnancy and calories, did you?”

“No,” I admitted on a sigh. “Ferguson. He wants to meet Titus, says he wants to be part of his life.”

“And you don’t want that?”

“Hell no,” I growled. “I don’t want him anywhere near either of us.” It was bad enough he’d walked away from me, but to walk away from our son was unforgivable.

Megan took another sip before she looked at me, straight on, and sighed. “Do you want to rant? Do you want to hear what you want to hear, or do you want the truth?”

I smiled. This was a new part of Megan’s personality since the accident, and I appreciated her straightforwardness. “The truth. Always.”

“Good. It’s up to you whether or not you want to hear him out, force him to lay out his plans for how he thinks being in Titus’ life will work. But just remember that you don’t owe him a damn thing. He gave up his rights to the kid, easily I might add. He’s been fine without him all these years, so if you told him to piss off and never return, that would be well within your rights.”

“I know,” I sighed. Megan was right, I didn’t owe Fergus a thing.

“But,” she added with a knowing smile. “There is the matter of an adorable violet-eyed boy who might want to know his father.”

“Exactly.” Every so often Titus did ask about his father, and I couldn’t bear the thought of him hating me if he ever found out I denied him that right. “The problem is that letting Ferguson into my son’s life because he’s curious about his dad, doesn’t feel like the right thing to do either. He’s already shown that he has no problem walking away, and this time it will hurt Titus.” And if he did that, I couldn’t be responsible for my actions.

“What does Ryan think about the return of Ferguson?”

“He’s jealous for absolutely no reason. Can you believe he was actually upset I didn’t tell him Ferguson had called me?”

Megan let out a snort-laugh. “No reason? You had this man’s baby. You loved him enough to contemplate leaving the country for him. It’s not no reason, Persy.”

“That was a lifetime ago,” I said dismissively, because that’s what it felt like to me. As if an entire lifetime had passed since Ferguson was in my life. “The moment he decided to leave, it was over. When he gave up his rights to Titus for a woman he just met, any love I had left over for him died that day.” But none of that mattered to Ryan. “Ryan’s been keeping his distance,” I admitted.

“Protecting himself in case you decide to go back to Ferguson.”

I gasped. “I would never!”

“I know that, but I’m not in love with you. He’s a man and your best friend who you tell everything to, but you didn’t tell him that your ex had been calling, not until he showed up.”

Shit. She was right. “I need to talk to Ryan.”

“You do,” she agreed. “But not until I demolish this burger and possibly half of yours.”

Forty minutes later I was in my car, driving faster than necessary on the small town streets, eager to get to Ryan. I needed to explain everything to him, to make him understand. I walked with determined steps inside Ryan’s shop, only to find he wasn’t there. “Where is he?”

Clyde shrugged. “At home, I guess.”

“Thanks,” I groaned and retraced my steps back to the car before I drove like a bat out of hell, the few blocks that separated the shop and our side-by-side homes. The lights were off, but the muffled sounds of a television told me he was home. I knocked and rang the bell, on and off until Ryan opened the door.

He towered over me, his expression blank, his feet bare. His jeans hung low on his hips and the t-shirt he wore was so thin I could see the color of his nipples through it. “What’s up Persy?”

“We need to talk.” I pushed forward until he backed up and stepped inside the dark house. “Are you sick or something?”

“Nope, just taking a day for myself. You know, what self-care people are always going on and on about.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Ryan let out a bitter laugh. “That’s rich coming from you.”

“I never lied to you, Ryan.” I had nothing to lie about, and he was the one person I was always honest with, probably more than I was honest with myself.

“Okay, you didn’t lie,” he conceded and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “But you didn’t tell me everything. Why?”

“I already told you that I didn’t think it was important enough to mention.”

Disbelief was written all over his face. “Right. Are you considering going back to him?”

I frowned at the question. “That’s not even a possibility, Ryan. Not at all. He’s here for Titus, not me.”

“And if he was here for you too?”

I shook my head. “I don’t want him, Ryan. I thought that was clear by where I was spending my nights until you started pulling away.”

“It’s clear you enjoy spending time with me, sleeping with me, but that’s it.” He shook his head. “I’m just trying to figure out where I fit in all this.”

“Ferguson has nothing to do with you and me, Ryan. But he’s curious about Titus and Titus is curious about his father, so I have to at least consider this.”

“No you don’t, Persephone. He gave him up, signed the papers and everything.”

“I know that, Ryan. But I have to think about this, sincerely, for the sake of Titus.” His aloof expression worried me, and I took his hand in mine. “I promise that I will get to the bottom of the real reason Ferguson has shown his face in Jackson’s Ridge, but I need you to know that it changes nothing between you and me. Nothing at all.”

“I want to believe you, Persephone.”

“Then do. Choose to believe me because I’ve never lied to you before and I would never do anything to hurt you. He isn’t worth losing you, Ryan.” That was the absolute truth.

“Okay.”

“You believe me?”

He nodded. “I do. But I don’t trust him, not as far as I can throw him.”

I smiled at his jealous words. “If you don’t let him change things between us, he won’t.” Then, because I could, or maybe it was because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to for much longer, I fitted my mouth to his, savoring the taste of coffee on his lips, the hint of chocolate from the stash of candy he kept hidden in his bottom drawer. He held me close, big hands grasping my ass and pulling me close while I devoured his mouth.

Ryan moaned.

I moaned and deepened the kiss, hoping like hell this wasn’t the end of us as a real us.

As more than friends.

More than lovers.

I held on to him for a long moment, kissing Ryan like he was the air I breathed, because in that moment I realized that I wanted this more than I let myself acknowledge. Wanted him more than I knew was possible.

Slowly, I pulled back. “You don’t have to trust him, Ryan. Trust me.” After a quick peck, I straightened my clothes and headed back to Jackson Ridge Medical Center.