I glance at the clock to check the time: just after seven. I hate being on a schedule when it comes to this, but I also don’t want to miss our opportunity.

We’re about a five-minute drive from the clinic and it will only take fifteen minutes to shower and get ready, so that leaves us with a good twenty minutes. More than enough time to get the job done.

Aundrea’s hot mouth is back on my erection, and I close my eyes with pleasure. She sucks hard, pumps fast, and doesn’t stop until I’m close to my release.

My hands weave through her hair, gently coaxing her up and down. She doesn’t need much coaxing. This woman knows exactly what she’s doing with her mouth.

“Babe, cup. I’m close.” She stops suddenly, reaching over to get the cup the clinic provided to us. I continue to stroke myself as I wait. I don’t look away from her naked form, her back arching perfectly as she gets the cup.

With the lid off in record time, I lean up, spilling my release. Aundrea gives me a few soft kisses on the side of my face as I do.

“That was so romantic.” I laugh.

She giggles, falling onto the bed next to me. She falls quiet when I cup her face tenderly, and a flush creeps over her checks. “God, you’re beautiful.”

The air between us heats up again.

I drive to Olaf Café to meet Amy the Sunday following the implantation. It’s a newer café in the heart of downtown Rochester, which is why I refuse to move from this city. This area has the best coffee and food. Period.

With only a few other cars in the parking lot, I spot Amy’s Corolla easily. I walk quickly through the sprinkling rain. As nice as it was this morning when I opened the windows, I still love the rain. Especially on warm spring days like today. There’s something about the brisk air mixed with the smell of rain hitting the asphalt that puts me in a good mood.

Moving past a middle-aged couple in the entryway, I shake off the rain.

“Good morning!” the hostess greets. I’ve seen her before. She’s young, maybe eighteen or nineteen, and has this adorable pixie cut. It suits her features.

“Morning,” I reply.

“How many?”

“Two, but I think the woman I’m meeting is already here.”

“Right this way.” We weave through the small seating area and past the electric fireplace that’s glowing in the corner to the faint sound of alternative rock. The café has about fifteen tables inside and eight on the covered patio. On rainy days like today, I love nothing more than to come here, sit outside under the canopy, and listen to the sound of rain. It’s relaxing and helps me think, so it’s perfect that we’re meeting here.

Amy looks tired, with dark circles under her eyes, but she smiles when we approach.

“Can I get you anything?” the hostess asks as I take my seat across from Amy. We’re at my favorite table in the corner. It’s perfect for people watching on the street outside. The rain is soft and light so it doesn’t blow in our faces.

“Yes. I’ll take a tall house blend with extra cream and sugar, please. Oh, and a water with lemon. Thank you.” Even though I know the menu by heart, I look at it anyway.

“How are you?” I ask.

“I’m doing good. We stayed up way too late last night packing.”

“Packing?”

“Yeah, Ethan and I are going to go spend some time up north with my parents. Just a week or so before the summer programs start.”

“That will be fun!” I smile.

After a few minutes, she asks about Wendy. “You’re in a good mood. I take it everything went well?”

I raise my eyebrows.

“You can’t stop smiling.”

I’m smiling? I grin even wider—until it’s almost painful.

When I don’t answer right away she says, “Spill it.”

“Wendy’s perfect. The implantation went so smoothly. She had to rest for the first day, but that was it.”

“Dre! That’s so exciting.” She tears up.

“It’s crazy that it’s really happening!”

“What do you mean? You didn’t think it would?”

“I thought we’d get some time to prepare. If I’m being honest, I’m a little freaked out.” Not in a bad way. More like the exciting moment when you don’t know whether you should be screaming at the top of your lungs, crying, or jumping for joy.

“I get it. It’s a big step to take, but trust me, there’s no better feeling in the world than when you meet your child for the first time—when they look up at you.”

I want that feeling.

“Once I got my life back on my own timeline, I’ve been focused on having everything go as planned. It just goes to show you things never go the way you expect them to.” I let out a small laugh.

“This wasn’t in your plan?”

“It’s not that having a child wasn’t in our plan. I’ve wanted a family since the moment I was told I may never be able to carry my own children. I wanted to leave the doctor’s office that day kicking and screaming I was so mad. Mad that I’d just learned I had cancer and needed all this treatment, and mad that something I hadn’t really known I wanted, until that moment, was being taken away. First, I was in denial, but then it was pure anger. I figured that if I couldn’t carry a child then I wouldn’t freeze my eggs. I’d just adopt and be content with that.”