Did you miss Chapter 28 or is it just a numbering error?

I am way behind on my reading and the parts I have skimmed look very interesting.

Chapter 29 - Hiking

The hike was organized by their hotel. They could leave all their stuff in a locker room and only had to carry the equipment they needed for the hike. They had booked a 5-day trip on the Gran Recorrido trail, or GR221 for short. They had chosen the expert option, so their trip included some long stages.

A taxi took them to the starting point of their trip. Their group consisted of eight people and their guide Juan. They started with a brief introduction. There were four boys from Spain, Carlos, Ricciarda, Manuel and Jose. And two girls from Germany, Claudia and Alex. While Juan's English was pretty good, the Spaniards could barely speak English. So if they wanted to socialize, they had to focus on Juan, Claudia and Alex.

After the obligatory equipment check their first stage started. It was the easiest stage of their trip and it would lead them from Andratx to Ses Fontanelles. Lynn and Peter immediately fancied the landscape on their first stage. They got some stunning views of the landscape. It was just a wonderful hiking stage.

They talked a lot to Claudia and Alex on the first day. They learnt that Alex was studying maths and english in an intent to become a teacher. Claudia worked as an accountant at a big car company. When Lynn told them that she was an orthodontist they talked about their treatments as a child. Both had a very similar treatment. First removable braces, followed by fixed braces and retainers. Their orthodontist had done a very good job as both of them featured a stunning smile.

Peter saw that Alex was sometimes looking at his face or probably more on his braces. She did it in a way that he did not felt starred. However neither Alex nor Claudia asked him anything related to his braces. Probably she wanted to be polite and not ask an almost stranger about his orthodontic treatment.

Juan had equipped them all with two man tents, sleeping bags and camping mats. They would spent their nights on some local camp sites. Food and beverages were delivered to the camp site. This made their life easier as they didn’t have carry all the supplies around.

The whole group went to bed very early. Everyone was feeling the exhaustion from the hike. Peter and Lynn used their braces travel kit and brushed their teeth and braces. Then they got into their sleeping bags and fell asleep almost immediately.

On the next morning Peter woke up early and he noticed that Lynn was awake too. They kissed and cuddled for a while, but were soon interrupted by Juan. The second stage would be hardest. So Juan wanted them to start early.

Although they had to hike a long way, they were again stunned by the beautiful landscape of Mallorca. Claudia and Alex also told them how much they liked it. Like on the first day they were feeling their exhausted muscles, yet still enjoying this trip.

Nothing special happened on the third and fourth stage. Until the evening when Alex finally found the confidence to ask them about their braces, “How come that you both have braces? I have never seen an adult couple with braces. And you two look so confident wearing them.” Lynn and Peter told them their story. How Lynn had broken her jaw and that Lynn had discovered Peter’s bite issue. They left out how anxious Peter had been at the start of his treatment.

Claudia asked, “Have you never regretted getting them as adult? I did not enjoy my treatment at all and I was so happy when they came off.” Lynn looked at Peter giving him the signal to start first, “No regrets so far. I want my bite to be fixed and make my girlfriend and orthodontist happy. Of course keeping them clean is a little bit annoying, but I am getting better and faster every day at brushing.”

Lynn said, “As an orthodontist braces are no big deal for me. They are part of my daily life. However I am still not happy about the circumstance that led to braces in the first place. This crash was completely avoidable, if only the car driver was watching.”

Alex said, “Must have been a complete idiot. But you two are dealing so well with the braces. And they look so good on you. And I must admit I really like the way Peter’s braces look. Especially those dark blue elastics.” Lynn replied, “That is what everybody says. They look so natural on him.” Peter smiled displaying his full set of braces while Lynn continued, “My braces are self ligating so I technically do not need elastics. But I am think to add some color on them. What do you guys think?”

Peter said, “I think you should do it. They will look good on you.”. Claudia and Alex agreed with Peter, “You two could have matching colors.” Soon after that all four decided to go to bed and get a good sleep.

On day five Peter and Lynn felt a little tired of all this hiking. They were still enjoying it, yet they also wanted to have a pause and relax. Sauna would be a nice alternative to hiking.
When the stage ended they all thanked Juan for guiding them so well. And of course Juan told them that they had been a fantastic group. He also informed them that there would be a party the next evening for the participants of the hiking trip.

Chapter 30 – The party

They had late breakfast on the next day. They felt pain in almost every muscle. But they were also proud of their achievements. This had been their longest hiking trip by far and they had mastered it.

They spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel room only interrupted by two Sauna rounds. In the evening they prepared themselves for the upcoming party. Lynn informed Peter that she was not feeling too well, most likely a ladies issue. She would leave the party early, but wanted Peter to stay longer and enjoy the companion with Claudia and Alex. The party would be their last complete day on vacation, they would fly back home the next evening.

Before they left for the party, Lynn told Peter, "This trip to Mallorca was a really good idea. You know, I was skeptical at the beginning, but I was wrong. Thank you so much." Peter put his arms around her and kissed her, "Thank you so much. You are the most important person in my life and I am glad you like it here." Lynn felt so happy at that moment and then Peter added, "And those two weeks with the braces were amazing. I really enjoyed wearing them. Giving me this opportunity was a great idea." When Lynn heard this, she knew he wanted her to take off his braces. But she didn't want to ask him directly because she was afraid of his answer.

They were the last to arrive at the party. Juan greeted them and handed them a Spanish liquor. The whole group toasted with Juan on their fantastic trip. The liquor tasted good, but was rather strong. Lynn and Peter switched to a local beer for their next drink.

Like on their hiking trip the Spanish guys kept to themselves. So they gathered around a table with Alex and Claudia. Alex had enjoyed the Spanish liquor so she spend a round of it. Soon Peter and Claudia did the same and only about one hour in the party they were a little bit tipsy. Only Lynn refused the liquor as she was not feeling that well.

The DJ started to play a couple of dance songs. Lynn asked Peter if he wanted to dance with her and Peter happily agreed. Claudia and Alex wanted to dance too, so they asked the Spanish guys if they wanted to join them. Soon the whole group was dancing only interrupted by some rounds of liquor.

Peter and Lynn had never danced together. It took them a while to get adjusted to each other, but after a few songs they had come to a grip. Then the DJ started to play a slow love song. They danced closely together and exchanged some short kisses. After the song, Lynn apologized for leaving the party early as she was still not feeling well.

Peter thought about leaving the party with Lynn, but decided to stay. He enjoyed being together with other people after the long and boring Covid days. Partying was something he had not done for a long time and he wanted to enjoy talking, drinking and dancing for a while longer. So he stayed at the party and Lynn went back to the hotel room.

Lynn's departure ended the first round of dancing. The whole group now stood around a table, chatting, laughing, and drinking. The alcohol helped the Spaniards get over their shyness and speak English. It was a fantastic party and Peter loved it, he just missed Lynn.

For the next round of dancing Peter had chosen to dance with Alex. It turned out that Alex was an amazing dancer. She told Peter that she had been a professional dancer in the past and had spent most of her youth practicing.

After a slow song, Alex looked at Peter, "I've never seen your braces up close before. I love the sparkling look and they suit you so well. I wish I had a boyfriend with braces." Peter looked a little embarrassed, "Everyone tells me that. To me they are just ordinary braces." Alex said, "Sorry, I'm starting to get drunk. I shouldn't have said that. It is just that I like braces on boys so much. But they are extremely rare on boys. And your braces look amazing, I am so jealous of Lynn". Then a Spaniard came over and offered them another round of drinks.

Before joining the next round of drinks, Peter excused himself to go to the bathroom. The beers were doing their job and he felt the urge to pee. He quickly checked his braces in the bathroom mirror and made sure they looked nice and clean. When he came back Alex smiled at him and handed him his next drink.

Peter awoke with a terrible headache. He had never had such a hammering headache before. He slowly became conscious. He was completely naked and lying in bed with a girl. He was shocked when he realized it was Alex and not Lynn. His mind was racing and he thought, "What have I done? This can't be real. Oh my God, it is real!"

He woke Alex up and asked her in a panic, "Alex, what have we done? Have we slept together?" Alex slowly woke up and quickly realized the seriousness of the situation, "I don't know. I hope we didn't." Her eyes wandered around and she stumbled across a used condom. Peter saw it too and the truth slowly sank in.

Peter jumped out of bed and put on his cloths that were lying on the floor. Alex did the same. They sat on the edge of the bed, "Alex, how could this happen? I love Lynn and now we did this." Alex dried some tears from her eyes, "I have a terrible hangover. I cannot remember anything. The last thing I remember is looking at your beautiful braces on the dance floor and then you woke me up.

Peter is still panicking, "This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Oh my God, I have to tell Lynn. It will hurt her so much. I am such an idiot." Alex said, "Don't tell her. If she leaves you, it will be completely my fault. It is just your braces, they have a strong effect on me. I think I have lost my mind." Peter left the room mumbling, "I have to tell her or I'll never be able to look her in the eye again. I hope she will forgive me.”

Honesty may be the best policy, but if Peter wants his braces off, he might need to carefully consider the timing of his confession.

If Peter confessed and I were in Lynn's position, I'd be thinking about creative uses of the tubes on Peter's molar bands, probably for a minimum of 18 hours a day 

Chapter 31 – Telling the truth

When Peter came to his room, Lynn was still asleep. He took the opportunity to shower and brush his teeth. As he brushed and flossed his braces, he thought about what to do next. He had to tell her. He could not live with the secret. Lynn had always been honest with him, and he wanted to be honest with her.

Then he put on a new set of rubber bands. The bands that had given him so much fun. But this morning they had no effect on Peter. The only thing Peter felt was shame. He had done a terrible thing to the person he loved the most. He had always thought of himself as a decent guy. But now he was faced with the reality that he was an idiot like so many other guys.

Lynn was also awake now. She heard Peter working in the bathroom. She couldn't remember him coming back from the party. And then she saw Peter. He was pale and had tears in his eyes, "Lynn, I have to tell you something.”

Peter seated himself on a chair while Lynn was sitting on the bed. Peter struggled to find the correct words, “I am so sorry, I got really drunk last night. I cannot remember what happened last night. But when I woke up this morning I was in bed with Alex. I am such an idiot.” Lynn jumped up and slapped him in the face, “You are an idiot. It trusted you.” Then she lay on the bed and started to cry.

Peter wanted to put an arm around, but she refuted. Then he said with a teary voice, “I love you so much and what I have done was completely wrong even in a drunk state. If you want to leave me, then I can totally understand it.” Lynn turned to him, “Please leave me alone. I do not want to see you until our plane leaves. I have to think.”

Both Lynn and Peter had a terrible day. They were wandering around the hotel with circling thoughts. Peter hoped that Lynn could forgive him and Lynn was not sure if she wanted to forgive him. Why do guys always think with the dumbest part of their body?

They did not speak to each other on the plane. And tried not to look at each other. The silence between them was also noticed by other passengers on the plane. Some almost stared in their direction. Even strangers could sense that something was really wrong between them. Mostly Peter looked completely devastated, he was still pale, and it was not the hangover that made him look like that, it was the guilt he felt.

Peter tried very hard to remember what had happened last night. But the memory of last night didn't come back. It was as if someone had erased his memory. He still had no idea why he had slept with Alex. The whole situation was hard for him to deal with. And when he saw Lynn's expression, he was sure that she was going to dump him.

Peter thought about his confession, it had been kind of lame. Maybe he should have waited a little longer, at least until his hangover was over. He had done that without planning, in a terrible state, and the result was his lame confession. A little more thought might have saved him from being dumped. But now he was sure it would happen.

Lynn had been thinking about their situation all day. Anger at Peter's behaviour was a constant companion. She considered many solutions to her problem. Dumping him was the obvious solution, but perhaps there were better options. After all, she still loved Peter and he had saved her life in the storm. Sex with another girl was something she couldn't understand. She had always been a good partner for Peter and then he did this terrible thing.

Before they left in separate taxis, Lynn said to Peter, "Come to my place tomorrow night. I need to think about our situation and I will give you my decision tomorrow.” She had already decided to forgive Peter, but she wanted him to suffer a little longer. He deserved it so much.

Peter had the worst Saturday night and Sunday morning in his whole life. He thought about his whole situation and he was sure that Lynn would leave him. Lynn the best girl he had ever met in his life. And he had totally messed up with her. Again, he was just an idiot.

On Saturday night, he started drinking a beer while feeling totally miserable. The second beer soon followed, and when he reached for the third, he had to stop himself. After all, being drunk had led to this whole situation. Drinking was not part of the solution; in his case, it was part of the problem. He knew he should have left the party with Lynn.

Peter was also looking for a reason why he had wanted to sleep with Alex. The problem was that he could not find one. Lynn was his partner and he loved her very much. He thought about the alcohol and maybe that was the reason for his behavior. Watching his drinking habits was something he planned to do in the future.

Peter drove to Lynn’s apartment on Sunday evening. His body was trembling and he expected Lynn to leave him this evening. The short trip to Lynn’s apartment felt like an hourly drive.

Lynn invited him into her apartment. Peter again told her how sorry he was and that he was a complete idiot. Lynn interrupted him, “Peter, I love you. And I will forgive you under one condition.” Peter was surprised and started to smile, “I will accept any condition. If only you can forgive me.”

Lynn turned to him and said, "You promised to be faithful to me. And you broke that promise. I will also break a promise. I promised to take off your braces after our vacation. I will not keep that promise. And I will treat you as a normal patient. If you need a device, I will put it on, and I will not worry about whether my boyfriend likes it or not.” You could hear a needle dropping in the room. Then Lynn added with a determined look on her face, "That's my condition!"

Peter felt so happy that she wanted to forgive him. Even though Lynn's conditions were very hard. He had expected his braces to come off after this weekend. Having to wear them longer was a big deal to him. He imagined wearing them at the office and having his co-workers see them. What would they think of a grown man wearing braces? He had always thought of braces as something for kids. As he ran his tongue over his braces and looked at Lynn with her braces, he realized that the "kids only" thing might not be true.

As a child, Peter always thought braces were a scam. His previous orthodontist had given him the impression that his treatment was all about making money. Peter only wore his braces because his mother constantly monitored his compliance. When he met Lynn, he had seen an orthodontist who cared about her patients. He knew that Lynn treated her patients to help them, and now Lynn wanted him to continue with his treatment.

Peter had fun with this braces experiment. Part of the fun was that he could take them off after two weeks. His removable braces were so much easier to use. He could take them off whenever he wanted and the best part was that no one could see him wearing them if he did not want to show them. This would all change if he kept his fixed braces.

Lynn had mentioned other devices in her condition, he was worried about what that would mean for him. Would she add expanders to his treatment? Or worse, would he get headgear? Lynn had told him that he didn't need any other appliances. But maybe that was only true for this " boyfriend treatment" and not for the " regular patient treatment" she was offering him. He didn't know what she had planned for him, and he was afraid to ask. If he decided to keep his fixed braces, he would learn about additional appliances later.

The upside was that he would be able to wear the rubber bands longer. They were so much fun to wear and play with. However, he was not sure if the fun would wear off over time. And when the fun was over, he would only have to deal with the negative aspects of braces. Like having to clean them after every meal or people staring at him. He remembered when Lynn had been humiliated by that kid in front of Steve's office. He had so many negative thoughts about wearing braces.

Lynn could see his brain working and it looked like his mind had left the room. At first she waited patiently for his answer, she knew this was a big decision for him, but she was offering him something of great value, her heart. And he only had to do one small thing for her. So after a while she lost her patience and said, "Peter, I am waiting for your answer. No girlfriend or braces?" This stopped Peter's thoughts, he looked at Lynn and knew what he wanted.

Having to keep them longer seemed like a fair solution to his problem. After what seemed like a minute, he stuttered, "I'll accept braces. I deserve them and it is a fair deal." Lynn looked at him and said, "Yes, you deserve it. Make an appointment with Ann in two weeks and don't forget to wear your rubber bands."

Then Lynn put her arms around him and started to kiss him, "Welcome back boyfriend Peter. I still love you." Soon their clothes were on the floor and they were using their whole bodies to please each other.

I'm so happy you let things work out between Lynn and Peter. However, I do believe that good old Pete will be paying for his mistake for some time to come.

Chapter 32 – Braces at the office

Today was the day of revelation for Peter. The day he would finally wear braces in front of people he knew. The government had lowered the Covid restrictions and his boss had taken the opportunity to invite the whole team to a face to face meeting. He had not told anyone that he would get braces, so it would be a big surprise for all of them.

Peter was standing in the bathroom looking at the mirror. He saw his shinny braces in full view. They were super clean as he had made sure to brush them with extra care. Nobody should see stains or food stuck in his braces. He imagined how his colleagues would react to his braces and he almost panicked. In the end he mustered all his courage and went to office.

At the entrance he greeted Lisa the receptionist. He did not stop to talk to her as he was afraid of her reaction. The meeting room was one of the bigger ones in the building. Tim his youngest colleague was already there. Peter greeted him and took a seat next to Tim. Stories of his vacation were exchanged, before the other colleagues arrived.

Important business information were presented by his boss. The company was struggling with income looses due to Covid. They were told to work extra hard and save money wherever possible. This was followed be the usual motivational speech. Those speeches that bosses use to motivate people, yet it sucks the life out of their brains.

Every colleague had to present the projects they were currently working on. It was Peter’s turn to present his projects. Standing in front of his colleagues with his new braces was very exciting for him. He was able to hide his nervousness. Yet it felt like everyone was staring at his braces. He was glad that he did not had a lisp, yet this still was so embarrassing. Reaching the end of his presentation was a great relieve for him.

The meeting ended soon after Peter’s presentation. Some colleagues left for other meetings. And others gathered in the meeting room to talk mostly about Covid. Everybody had a story to tell. Most of those stories sounded similar. Peter also joined into the discussion and told them how good it had been to finally go on vacation. But no-one asked him about his braces.

Peter’s office was on the second floor of the building. He shared the office with Tim, Andrea and Felix. The rest of the morning was spent on going through all his mails. He had received a lot during his vacation. It took him the rest of the morning to answer the most important mails. The rest of the mails had to wait until the afternoon.

Still the topic of braces was left out during this morning. It was strange that no-one wanted to talk about them and it felt awkward. There was an elephant standing in the room, yet nobody did care.

Tim asked him, “Hey Peter, do you want to join me for lunch. The canteen is open and I like their food.” Feeling hungry Peter agreed, “Sure, I need something to eat. I am starving.”

Before going to the canteen Peter excused himself to the bathroom to pee and to remove his rubber bands. The canteen was on the top floor of the building. From there they had a good view around the city. Today was burger day at the canteen, so both Peter and Tim opted for burger with fries.

After dinner they went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. It was there that Tim broke the ice: "Can I ask you a personal question? When and why did you get braces?" Finally, someone wanted to talk. It was a huge relief for him. It had felt strange not to talk about something so obvious, "Thank you for asking. I was wondering why no one had asked. I got them before my vacation. My girlfriend is an orthodontist and she wanted to fix my bite.”

Tim looked closely at his braces, “Your bite looks okay to me, but I am not an expert. So how does it feel to have braces and why did you get metal brackets instead of the clear ones?” Peter was happy to finally talk about his braces, “My insurance does not pay for my treatment. My girlfriend Lynn pays for them. Guess that is the reason why I got the metal ones. And so far I did not have any problems with them.” This was not the complete truth, but Peter did not wanted to tell him about Charles and the two week braces test drive.

Tim hesitated a bit, “You are so brave. You know my bite was good in the past and no dentist ever recommended braces. However I have noticed that my teeth started to shift recently. I want them fixed, but I am thinking about aligners instead of fixed braces.” Peter encouraged him, "You can always book a consultation with an orthodontist. Consultations are free and they can tell you if and what braces you need.” Handing him Lynn’s business card, “This is the office of my girlfriend. She is very friendly. Make an appointment with her when you are ready.”

As a late thought, Peter had brought his travel toothbrush to the office. The bathrooms in the building were spacious and clean. Brushing his teeth in an office bathroom was something Peter had never done before. Standing in front of the sink and brushing his teeth was not a pleasant experience. Especially when a colleague walked by while he inserted his rubber bands. He had to find a more private bathroom. Lisa the receptionist was always well informed, maybe she could help him.

At the end of the working day Peter stopped at Lisa’s desk at the entrance of the building. He smiled giving her a good view on his braces. “Oh, hi Peter good to see you again,” Lisa said with an almost flirting look on her face. Peter noted this look, “Good to see you too. It is amazing to meet people in real life again.”

Lisa looked straight into his face, “You got braces. I have to say they look good on you.” Peter got a little bit annoyed by this looking good in braces comment. Recently he got lots of comments like this, “That’s the reason why I am coming to you. I need to brush my teeth after lunch. And I want to brush them at a more private bathroom than the one on my floor. Can you help me out?”

“I know what you are talking about. I haven’t told anyone, but when I started working here I had those clear aligners. I also had to brush my teeth after every meal. There is a toilet in the basement. No-one uses it and I used it during my treatment,” was Lisa’s reply while displaying her perfectly straight teeth and added, “You are so brave. I always tried to hide my braces. That’s why I had chosen these clear aligners.” Before leaving Peter said, “Thanks for that tip Lisa. See you tomorrow, I have a meeting with a customer, maybe we can have lunch together.”

The first day in office with braces hadn’t been as bad as Peter had expected. In fact meeting his colleagues after the long break was a nice experience. The only odd feeling he had was when someone noticed his braces, yet refused to talk about them. After talking about them he had always felt like a huge burden was taken off from him. A decision was made, he would no longer wait until someone mentions his braces. He would actively talk about them.

Chapter 34 – Surprises

Lynn told him to wait in the chair, she had to get something. Different thoughts went through Peter's mind. He was not sure what was going to happen next. As Lynn left the room, he thought he caught a glimpse of a smile on her face. Sitting in the chair not knowing what would happen next was exciting and it felt like he would be sitting there forever.

Lynn came back with a brown box in her hands, "I want to show you something. Maybe you would like to try it." She opened the box and Peter could see two headgears and a facebow inside. Peter did not know if he was shocked, surprised, or both. He almost hyperventilated and said with panic in his voice, "I thought I didn't need one of these.”

Lynn now had a big smile on her face and looked like she was enjoying this very much, "I thought you wanted to try headgear. You keep asking me about it. And maybe you'd like to feel it in your mouth. And just for fun, of course, not for treatment. Do you want to?" The panic in Peter slowly subsided and he was able to think about this offer. He had always wondered what a headgear would feel like. He didn't want it for his treatment, but should he try it? Peter replied, "Yes, I want to try it.

Lynn had really hoped he would agree to try them. She imagined the fun she would have with him tonight and later in bed. As always, he would look gorgeous wearing them, as he did with every orthodontic appliance. A lot of fun was definitely in store, and she could hardly wait to see him with the headgear on for the first time.

"OK, let's start with the facebow," Lynn said as she tried it in Peter's mouth. She had not yet attached it to the tubes on his molar bands. She took it out and started to twist the inner bow and tried it again in his mouth. After five rounds, she was satisfied with her adjustments. She left the facebow in and told Peter to hold it with his fingers.

She then presented him with his cervical headgear. The headgear had a dark blue neckband and blue safety modules, "I have chosen a headgear for you with the lightest force module and we use it at the lowest possible force level. So no risk of damaging anything." After some inspection, she was pleased with the second hole on the headgear strap. The second hole prevented the headgear from falling out, but it did not apply any real pressure.

Lynn then commenced with his highpull headgear. The headgear was also dark blue with blue safety modules. After a few adjustments, she said, "You can use the first hole if you want to wear it with your cervical headgear. And use the second hole if you want to wear it alone. So how does it feel?" Peter thought for a moment, "This is an intense feeling. I can see the facebow out of the corner of my eye. And I can feel the facebow and the straps around my head. At least nothing is poking me. He thought for a moment and added, "I think it feels okay.”

Then it was time to practice taking the headgear in and out. He had to put the inner bow of his facebow all the way into his mouth. Then he had to insert one side of the inner bow into the headgear tube on his molars. Then he had to put some pressure on the other side of the inner bow and insert it into the other tube. He had already attached one side of the neckband to his facebow. While holding the facebow with two fingers of his left hand, he moved the neckband around his head with his other hand. He found the second hole and attached the other side of the facebow.

Peter took a short break and looked at his face in the mirror. Wearing headgear was certainly the next level of orthodontics. His respect for patients undergoing this treatment increased dramatically. For him, this was just an experiment, and when he saw the smile on Lynn's face, he knew it was worth it.

He then commenced with his highpull headgear. This part was easy as the facebow was already hold in place by his neckband. Lynn watched him during his practice session. She had never seen someone putting on headgear for the first time at that pace.

Taking the headgear out was no problem for him. So when he had the headgear on during his second practice round Lynn said, “Keep it in and lets go upstairs. You need some headgear break in time.” Peter followed her upstairs to the apartment.

The door to the apartment closed behind them and they were standing next to each other. Lynn threw her arms around him and looked into his face, "Let's see if you can kiss me with this on". Peter hesitated a little but finally moved his lips and facebow to her face. It felt funny as he almost had to navigate his lips around his facebow while still trying to meet her lips. It was the strangest thing he had ever done, but somehow he enjoyed it.

When Lynn's lips touched his facebow, she could taste a metallic taste. Like Peter, she had never kissed someone who wore headgear. She wondered how many of her patients had that experience. Perhaps only a small percentage of them, was her quick guess. Luckily, she was one of them and she loved doing this with Peter. And as always, he looked good, and a shy look on his face made him look even better. Her surprise for him was fantastic.

Neither of them had eaten much during the day. The decision to eat soft food was made because Peter had gotten a new and stronger archwire. And they both loved to cook and eat pasta anyway. So while Lynn cooked the spaghetti, it was Peter's turn to make the sauce. He added some vegetables and spiced the sauce.

When they were ready to eat, Peter took off his headgear and placed all the pieces on the table next to him. Then he and Lynn took off their rubber bands. After that they were finally prepared to eat. Peter could already feel the pressure of his thicker wire. He ate carefully, trying not to bite down too hard. Pasta was definitely the right choice for lunch. Since this was his first wire change, he could add this to his list of things to experience as a braces wearer. Given his new-found love of braces, it was a fun experience.

Lynn and Peter talked while drinking the bottle of red wine that Lynn had opened. The bottle had been a gift, but they both liked the taste of the wine. During the conversation, Lynn asked, "Do you know who got braces yesterday?" Peter said, "I don't know. Maybe Daniel?" Lynn laughed, "No, I think he is sneaking out. At least he hasn't made an appointment yet." She paused dramatically, "It's Steve. His old orthodontist screwed up his retention phase and his teeth started moving back into their original position. Now he's back in metal braces."

Lynn laughed and added, "And I convinced him to wear regular metal braces. At first he wanted the ceramic ones.” Peter interrupted her, "I don't like the clear ones. They always look like you haven't brushed your teeth. And they do not make the braces invisible, others can still see them." Lynn was still smiling, "Those were exactly my points. And he agreed very quickly.”

"Wow, I was not expecting that. His teeth looked straight," Peter said, looking at the headgear on the table and adding, "Did he get any extra devices?" Lynn smiled, "No extra devices. Just a standard treatment. Probably 6 months to straighten his teeth and then 6 months of retention with his fixed braces. Followed by night guards," she added as an afterthought, "and I think he is afraid that braces will give him another year without a girlfriend." Peter looked at Lynn and said, "I think you can still get a girl with braces.

They had to brush their teeth before bed. After leaving the bathroom, Lynn pointed to the table, "Put your headgear back on. Let's see if we can do more than kiss." They had only been intimate once after Peter's affair with Alex. Peter rushed to his headgear and tucked it in. Lynn then led him into the bedroom. The headgear turned out to be no problem for their bedroom activities and they had fun that night.