of as soon as we get home."
"Promise?" Glittering, desire-filled eyes begged.
"Promise," Ryan vowed, bending to kiss Jamie’s lips one last time. "I think I can satisfy your body and your mind." Her flashing blue eyes made Jamie believe every word, and she was able to relax and settle into a long, leisurely, loving hug.
It was close to eight when the last band finished. A long string of announcements called the group to some semblance of order, and the energy started to pick up. "Let’s walk around a little bit," Ryan suggested.
They stopped to make sure that Ryan’s friends from the gym were awake enough to look out for themselves and then made their way down the hill. "Look, Honey," Jamie enthused when they went past the large playground in the corner of the park.
"That’ll be us in a few years," Ryan laughed as she came up behind her partner and clasped her hands around her in a loose embrace. They both smiled at the scene as they watched women play with their young children on the various pieces of equipment. Several couples had babies in strollers or packs and, as Jamie expected, Ryan was drawn to them like a bee to honey. When they got close, Ryan pointed out a pair of women playing with a young boy on the swings. "Hey, that’s Stacy and Melinda from the AIDS Ride." They dashed over and greeted the couple enthusiastically.
"Stacy, Melinda, how are you?" Ryan cried, wrapping each woman in a warm embrace. Jamie offered an equally friendly, but slightly less demonstrative welcome, smiling as her partner dropped to the sand to greet Jared, the adorable little six-year-old who was trying to touch the sky with each push of the swing.
"That’s high enough, Jared," Melinda said, afraid that his small body would slide out of the seat if he went much higher.
A devilish look came over Ryan’s features as she looked up at the mothers and asked, "Mind if I give him a little excitement?"
"Uhh…I guess not…umm…" Stacy hesitated.
"She’s careful with others," Jamie assured them. "She’s only really wild when she’s on her own."
"Okay," Melinda decided. "Go for it."
"Hey, Jared," Ryan said in her most conspiratorial tone. "Wanna make your mamas’ eyes bug out?"
The small boy nodded an enthusiastic yes, even though he looked a little hesitant to align his fortunes with this tall stranger. Ryan lifted him as she sat in the canvas sling, then placed him on her lap, facing her. "Okay, pal, hold on tight," she advised as she began to pump her powerful legs. In seconds they were going higher than Jamie had ever seen a human go on a swing. Three sets of eyes stared in shock as both Ryan and Jared threw their heads back and laughed hysterically. The little boy held on as tight as his thin arms would allow, but Ryan had taken the extra precaution of wrapping her arms around the chains and then securely locking her hands around his back.
"Mama! Mommy! Look!" he cried, reassuring himself that his parents were sharing in his joy.
Both women smiled and waved at the wildly laughing boy, with Stacy saying to Jamie, "Would this be a good time to tell her he sometimes gets sick to his stomach on the swing?"
"Nah," Jamie decided, unwilling to take one moment of joy from her partner. "She’s got on leather—I’ll just hose her down."
"Did you have a good time, little girl?" the small blonde asked her tall companion when they departed the playground.
"Yep." Ryan was beaming from ear to ear, a look of such satisfaction on her face that Jamie nearly cried. "You go lots faster if you swing with a buddy. You spur each other on." Wiggling eyebrows showed that Ryan thought this maxim could apply to other situations also, and Jamie was beginning to wish they were at home to explore some of them. But the remarkable sights that they continued to observe made her glad they had decided to stay.
Not the least of her pleasure came from the wide variety of friends and ex-lovers that Ryan introduced her to. It was very