When she was finished, she towel-dried her long blonde hair and tossed her head from side to side, the damp locks falling about her shoulders as she combed her fingers through it. She went to one of her dresser drawers where she kept her lingerie, wondering what to wear to bed tonight. She selected an emerald-green chemise, the hem and bra cups trimmed in delicate white lace. It was very feminine and she loved the feel of the cool green satin against her skin. She checked herself in the full-length mirror, adjusting her girls in the smooth satin cups. Yes, she’d definitely have to go up a bra size soon, even this short little nightie was too tight up top. The triangular-shaped pieces of satin that covered each breast were stretched tightly over the heavy mounds, emphasizing her protruding nipples.
“All right, you’ve got that out of your system, now just settle down and get your head back in the game, girl,” Tanya said to herself as she puffed up some of the pillows she had stacked against the headboard. “This is for Elliott. It’s going to work out okay with those boys for him. They just need some care and understanding. They seem to be nicer than I expected. It must be so hard for them, living where they do. It’s not really their fault. Deep down, I’m sure they’re quite nice. I’m sure they’re good boys. They just need a chance. They just need a little understanding, considering what they have to go through every day. I can do that. I can do that, and it’ll help both them, and Elliott.”
Having had a good talk with herself, she grabbed the latest bestseller she was reading and settled into bed, hoping the book would take her mind off of the things she’d been thinking. It worked and within a few minutes, she was totally engrossed in what she was reading. All that changed around 10:45, when her cell phone she’d placed on her bedside table pinged, indicating a text. “Who can that be at this time of night?” she thought to herself as she reached for her phone. She was surprised to see the name Jamal on her screen. She opened the message:
Mrs. Cox, I’m sorry to disturb you so late, but it’s important. Can we talk to you for a minute? We’re right outside in your driveway.
“What the heck?” Tanya thought as her eyes went to her bedroom window. She got out of bed and hurried over, peeking out between the blinds. She saw the shadowed shape of Jamal’s van in the driveway, the moonlight glinting off the dark paint. She looked again at the message. He had said it was important. Perhaps one of them was hurt. Maybe they’d been in some kind of gang rumble and Gunner or Zeke was injured, and they were turning to her for help. She had no idea why they’d think of her, but she knew, if even for Elliott’s sake, she had to do something. Her fingers flew over the keypad on her phone.
Okay, I’ll be down in a minute.
She hit the SEND button and then reached for her heavy white terrycloth robe she’d thrown over the easy chair in the corner of her room. She cinched it tight, making sure her sexy nightie was well-covered. For some reason, she felt compelled to check herself in the mirror. She reached up and fluffed up her blonde hair until it looked nice, framing her pretty face handsomely.
Tanya went down the stairs as quietly as she could, not wanting to disturb Elliott. She turned the light on inside the front entryway and slowly opened the door. As soon as the sliver of light illuminated the porch, she saw the doors to the van open and the shape of three dark silhouettes move towards the house. She recognized the outline of Jamal’s broad muscular torso leading the way, the other two boys right behind him.
“Jamal, what is it?” Tanya asked, standing in the doorway to block their way. “Is someone hurt?” She could see the faces of all three now, and none of them looked the worse for wear.
“Not really, no,” Jamal replied, his eyes looking past her inside the house. “But it is important. We need your advice on something. I promise we’ll only take a few minutes of your time, and then we’ll be out of your hair. Please, like I said, it’s important.” He gestured over her shoulder to the interior of the house.
Tanya saw the look of concern on all of their faces and she felt sorry for them. Maybe one of their parents had gotten into a domestic dispute, or one of their siblings had been picked up by the cops. She decided the least she could do was talk to them for a few minutes. “Okay,” she said in a hushed whisper, opening the door wider and stepping to the side. “But you have to be quiet. I think Elliott’s asleep.”
Jamal gave the others a quick glance and Tanya thought she saw the flicker of something in his dark eyes. “Okay, we’ll be quiet. Maybe if we could just sit at the kitchen table and talk, we’ll be out of here in no time.”
“All right.” Tanya led the way and the three boys followed. She turned the light on over the table and sat down at the end, Jamal taking a seat to her left while Zeke sat immediately to her right, with Gunner in the seat next to him. The table sat six, with the chair next to Jamal and the one at the end opposite her vacant.
Tanya noticed the boys all looked at her chest as they sat down, causing her to glance that way herself. Her robe had gaped open a bit, revealing the uppers swells of her tits. She tried to make it look casual as she pulled the robe closed. “So what’s wrong? What do you need to talk to me about?” Her voice was even and hushed as she looked at each of the boys in turn before settling on Jamal, who she knew would do the talking for all of them.
“Well, you know how we told you we had to leave because we had dates tonight?” Jamal paused as Tanya nodded. “It didn’t go well, and that’s what we wanted to talk to you about.”
Tanya looked quickly at the other boys, who nodded solemnly in affirmation of what Jamal had said. “What do you mean, it didn’t go well? And why would you want to talk to me about it?”
“You’re not like any of the girls we know, Mrs. Cox. You’re a sophisticated, beautiful woman who, although we haven’t known you very long, we respect.” Jamal paused, noticing that Tanya was somewhat surprised by his words, her face letting him know she appreciated what he was saying, even if it had caught her unawares. “The girls in our neighborhood are nothing like you, and we just can’t figure out why they act the way they do. We wanted to talk to you, to see if you would have any idea why they act like that. Do you think you could help us?”
“What… what did they do?”
“Well, this is something we couldn’t talk to our own mothers about, but we felt maybe we could talk to you.” Jamal paused again before Tanya nodded for him to continue. “The girls… the girls we were with, they, uh, they kind of left us high and dry.”
Tanya’s eyebrows arched together. “High and dry? What do you mean?”
“You know, they kind of led us on, and then… well, they didn’t follow through with anything.” Jamal could see the light go on in Tanya’s eyes as she understood what he was talking about. “Why, why do girls act that way? Do mature women, like yourself, act that way, Mrs. Cox?”
“Well, I don’t know what to say, Jamal. I don’t know these girls and I don’t know how they feel about you boys. I do know that a lot of young girls can act that way. Maybe they’re a bit curious, but also nervous and shy at the same time. I know it mustn’t seem very nice, but you have to realize that they’re just young and unsure of themselves.”
Jamal nodded, taking in Tanya’s explanation. “Yeah, you might be right. But women who are older, like yourself, they don’t act like that? They wouldn’t do something like that?”
Tanya realized she may have gotten herself into a bit of a pickle with what she’d just said. “Well, that’s not exactly what I’m saying. I think you have to look at each person individually. It’s really hard to say what’s going on in those young girls’ minds.”
“But it’s so frustrating for us. When this kind of thing happens, it makes us angry, right, guys?” Jamal looked over at his two buddies, who had noticeable scowls on their faces.
“Fuckin’ right,” Zeke said, shaking his head angrily.
“Hey! Watch your language. We’re talking to a lady here!”
Jamal’s reprimand didn’t go unnoticed by Tanya. “That’s all right,” she said, waving her hands in a calming motion.
“See how ticked off he is. When stuff like this happens, it’s not good, and when we get angry, we kind of lash out, we end up taking out our anger on other people.” Jamal sat back slightly in his chair and turned his eyes toward the stairs, letting Tanya know he was talking about ‘people’ like Elliott. “And I don’t think any of us wants to see what might happen if we become even more angry, right?”
Tanya met Jamal’s eyes, seeing both the frustration and the anger lurking inside, and yet, she could see the caring in them at the same time. “No… uh… we, we don’t want to see that happen. I can see how upset all of you are. But it’ll be okay.”