That Saturday Mrs Orton and Mike had their weekly gym session like normal. He did not bring up the late night sex scene, and she did not mention anything about her recent dating experiences. Everything was routine until two weeks after that.
He entered through the basement and shrugged his heavy back pack to the floor. He had lifetime of homework due the next day, but first his hunger needed satisfying. He headed upstairs to the kitchen. Turning the corner, he saw Mrs Orton sitting at the dining room table.
“Oh! hey Mrs Orton. I didn’t know you were here. I was just grabbing something from the fridge really quick.”
“You’re hungry. Sit and eat some left overs with me.” She said. he took a plate from the cupboard and heated up some lasagna. Then he took a seat at the table.
Mrs Orton had her hair down. Dark red lipstick covered her ripe lips, golden hoop earrings hung from her lobes. She wore a beige blouse, one of her rare articles of clothing with a neckline that dipped low. Showing off her white melons. Mike tried to keep his eyes up. She also wore skin tight jeans. They accentuated her flared hips. On her feet were tan wedges, her legs were crossed. Her fingernails and toenails were painted red, matching her lips. Bracelets clinked together when she moved her hands.
“Done with school for the day? Where’s Vicky?” she asked. Taking a sip of wine, leaving her lip stick on the clear glass.
“She is on campus late today.” He took a bite of lasagna.
“Well thanks for keeping me company. Especially today. I was dreading eating alone.”
“Why is that?”
“Because today is the one-year anniversary when I officially divorced Vicky’s Dad.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Mike didn’t know what else to say.
“Don’t be sorry. It was for the best. I’m sure Vicky has told you about him.”
“A little.”
“He was an empty shell. He wasn’t like that when we first married. I blame it on his addiction to prescription. He didn’t even have a job for the last several years of our marriage. And he was so emotionally distant it was sad. But you don’t care to hear about all this.”
“No, I do. I’ve never heard this from your perspective. Please go on. That is, if you want.”
So she kept talking. And Mike mostly listened. As they talked longer, they leaned forward towards one another. When he felt he could he stole glances at her hanging orbs of temptation. For the first time she dropped the role of ‘motherly’ figure and he felt as if he was one of her girlfriends that she was venting to, or almost like they were on a date.
“Separating from my husband was the best thing for me. But at the same time it was hard. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel somewhat lonely from time to time.”
“Mrs Orton, you are a beautiful woman. And your smart, you have supported yourself financially all these years. Honestly you are like the biggest catch for some lucky guy out there.” She blushed, and looked down.
“So Mrs Orton, Emmm… I guess you have a date with that guy you’ve been seeing for a while now”
“Please, stop calling me that. I think we know each other well enough that you can call me Jen.”
“I don’t know. That feels kind of weird. How about Jennifer?”
“Fine. Just no more of this Mrs Orton stuff. It makes me feel old.” She said, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs. “But yes, l did have a date tonight. I called and told him I was sick.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I feel fine. I just didn’t want to see him. In fact, he haven’t seen him since…” her voice trailed off.
“Since you slept with him.”Mike finished for her. Her eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“My room is right below yours, remember?” She put her hands on her face in embarrassment. Then he heard a soft sob come from her. He reached up and took her hands away from her face. Mascara was streaking down her face from tears.
“Hey what’s wrong?” Mike asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s obviously not nothing.”
“I cannot believe I’m telling you this. But that was his first time since the divorce. I’ve been trying to be a good Christian woman. But what really is upsetting me is not that I gave into temptation. It’s just, just, well if you were listening you know for yourself how anticlimactic it was!” He just looked at her, not knowing what to say.
“I know you just see me as Vicky’s Mother, but I am a woman just like any other. I have desires, needs. I even got a Brazilian wax for Christ’s sake! he don’t know. Maybe I am being unreasonable.” Mike knew he should be mentally and physically present for this. That Jennifer needed this for her emotional health, but at that moment he could not help but think of waxed pussy underneath those jeans. His eyes by instinct went there and he was sure she could feel him burning a hole in her pants.
“Mrs Ort… Jennifer.” He corrected himself, “I do not just see you as Vicky’s mother. Like I said before. You are a beautiful woman. In fact, you are damn sexy. Do you not see how the guys drool over you at the gym? But you are more than just a hot body. There are not very many women that could go back to work and support a household like this. Trust me, you will not be alone forever, and I don’t think you are being unreasonable. Don’t lower your standards because you deserve the best.”
Her watery blue eyes stared back at him. Even with mascara streaked down her face she looked incredibly sexy. Mike knew that’s what she needed to hear. Every woman wants to be beautiful, but they also need to feel sexually desired from time to time. In the silence he finally noticed that he was cradling one of her hands in his. Her other hand rested on his thigh. Thier chairs had somehow become so close that our knees were touching. And the distance between thie faces was so small that had she wanted, she could have easily leaned in to kiss him.
She realized their closeness too because she immediately withdrew her hands and sat straight in her chair. Mike had gone too far. What was he thinking?! She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat.
“I think you had better go back downstairs.”
“Can I help clear the table?” he offered.
“No, no. I will take care of it. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Mrs Orton.” She did not correct him, and he went downstairs.
Mike laid in bed and listened to her lite footsteps on the floor. He heard her bedroom door close and then everything was quiet. Vicky arrived home a few minutes later.
“Hey, how was your day?” she asked.
“Fine. Yours?” Mike replied.
“Same. Just the usual. I’m going to get ready for bed, then will you cuddle me till he fall asleep?”
Surprisingly, Mike and Mrs Orton still carpooled to the gym that Saturday. But it was back to the adult to child conversations. He guess they were going to pretend like that night never happened. But the awkwardness between us was almost palpable.
“Do you need a spot on the squat rack?” Mike asked.
“No thanks. I should be good.”
Great. Now the rest of their time in her basement was going to be weird. He wish he could go back in time and just have things how they used to be. The next day at church the sermon must have been inspired.
“The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!” the pastor’s voice echoed throughout the chapel, “The natural man is full of carnal desires. But we must not give in to sin.”
He spoke of lustful desires as fallen creatures and how the spirit of God could help to forsake them. Occasionally Mike looked over at Mrs Orton. Once or twice he thought she was looking at him too, but she looked away so quickly that he couldn’t be sure.
The next week, Mike was mowing the lawn. He had his shirt off, trying to beat the heat and get some rays at the same time. The freshly cut grass felt good on his bare feet. Mrs Orton stepped out the front door and looked like she was about to say something to him so he turned the mower off.
“Please don’t forget that tomorrow is trash day. I’m going out to lunch with Rich. I’ll be back soon.” Rich was the man who had pounded Mrs Orton for five whole blessed minutes a couple weeks prior. Apparently they were still seeing each other and she wanted Mike to know.
She drove away as he started up the mower again. It went on like that for the whole rest of the week. Anytime he went upstairs for something she would slip away to her bedroom. Any contact they did have was brief and professional. If that’s how it was going to be that was fine. After all, what else did he really expect?
Mike kicked his shoes off, and quickly shed his clothes. Reaching into the shower he adjusted the nobs to the correct temperature. He was sweaty after a good work out. It was Friday, so he had gone by himself. It had been a few days since he have had sex with Vicky. They were due soon so he shaved the downstairs to make sure he was clean when she got back.
Her best friend was getting married and she was at an overnight bachelorette party. It had actually put some pressure on their relationship. When were they going to finally get married? But he wasn’t going to worry about that tonight. He had the basement all to himself and he was planning on relaxing.
He dried himself off and slipped on some underwear, then pulled a t-shirt over his head. The front door open and he heard Mrs Orton enter. He wonder if she was going to be home all night. Oh, well. he wasn’t planning on going upstairs at all that night.
He flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. Then deciding he needed some ice-cream, he got back up and went to the mini fridge they had down stairs. Cookie dough ice-cream was one of the few things he made sure they always had in stock. Now with a bowl full of ice-cream he settled back in on the couch. He got comfortable for the beginning of his all night Netflix binge.
He heard, “click, clack” on the floor above him. “Had Mrs Orton put heels on?” Mike asked himself. He thought Maybe she did have a date that night. What should he watch first? He scrolled through the recent releases section. The Graduate caught his eye. It looked like an older film that he had never seen before, so he clicked play.
About twenty minutes into the movie, and a quarter into his bowl of ice-cream the door at the bottom of the stairs creaked open and Mrs Orton peered her head in. Seeing Mike lounging in his underwear she shielded her eyes with her hand.
“I’m so sorry. I was just wondering if you could come upstairs and help me with something.” She said, keeping her face down.
“Oh, uh sure. Just give me a minute.”
“Please, take your time. It’s no rush.” She closed the door and went back upstairs.