Her eyes widened as she huffed out a gasp of warm breath.
I let my other hand drift down between her breasts to the tie of her robe, not wanting anything between us. I hooked my finger through the knot, ready to pull it open when she gave me permission. “There’s something I need to tell you. Since I came back… being around you, I want—”
“Ma?” Conner yelled as the front door flew open and then slammed closed again.
I leapt up, my eyes locked on Helen, who looked like a deer in headlights. Her gaze dropped to my very obvious erection and then back up to my face. “Go,” she hissed as she pushed herself up and rearranged her robe so she was covered again, but there was no hiding her wide pupils or the red stains on her cheeks.
“I’ll be back in a second. You good?” I whispered, and she nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. “We’ll finish this conversation later,” I promised before I slipped from the room because Conner did not need to see me with a boner on my knees in front of his mum.
And there was that voice again.“You’re fucked up, boy. That’s why this happened. These are the consequences.”And I was starting to think he was right because the thoughts I was having about Helen were definitely fucked up but, I couldn’t bring myself to care about what anyone else thought but her.
Helen
“Why are you wearingthat, Ma? It’s weird.” Conner waved his hand up and down, obviously meaning my robe.
“I took a bath and came to get some clean clothes from the laundry. Is that okay with you?” I rolled my eyes while hoping that he didn’t notice how flushed my face was because it felt like it was on fire.
“You know, you’re going to need to start knocking or I’m going to have to start remembering to lock the door,” I declared as Conner flopped onto the sofa. The sofa I’d just been sitting on while Jackson’s fingers had been in unmentionable places. God, I was so wet between my thighs that I’d need a shower when Conner left.
Conner.My attention switched back to my son, who looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Why? It’s not like you’ll have a man round.” His eyes narrowed. “Euh. Are you seeing someone? What about Dad?”
I walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge to cool off, while pretending to see what we had in for dinner because that was the reason Conner would turn up unannounced.
“We’re divorced, remember? Your dad has a girlfriend that none of you boys seem to mind about, so why can’t I have someone?”
I turned around to find Conner standing right next to me. “If you’re seeing someone, I want to meet them.” He looked older than the twenty-nine he was, towering over me protectively.
I patted him on the arm. “I’m a big girl.”
Suddenly, I was wrapped in a hug. “No, you’re my mum, and I… we worry about you. The dating game has changed since you were young. You’ll get eaten alive.” While his hug was nice, his words hurt. I pushed away and stepped back.
“Thanks for the reassurance, Conner. If it makes you feel better, I’ve already been ghosted.”
“What?” His mouth fell open. “Did you know about this?” He looked over my shoulder, and I turned to find Jackson standing there, looking all calm and collected, while I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience because, before my wonderful son interrupted us, I was sure he was about to kiss me and possibly make me come and I wasn’t sure how I felt about either of those things.
“About?” Jackson replied.
“Ma, dating… getting ghosted… wanting to lock the front door so she can fuck wherever she wants—”
“Conner,” I screeched. “I didn’t say that. I just suggested you might want to start knocking.”
“This is a lot. Mothers aren’t meant to be meeting new people and banging them on any surface they see fit. They are meant to be unhappily married and knitting or some shit.” Conner rolled his eyes, reminding me of him as a boy, and I couldn’t help laughing. “I’ve lost my appetite. I love you Ma, but this is a lot. Thanks for the invite to dinner, but I’m going to go. I need to speak to Cal and Jasper. I think it’s time we had an intervention or some shit.”
“I didn’t invite you to dinner.”
“Do we need to have a talk about STIs? They’re rife in old people.”
“Conner,” I warned as I glanced over at Jackson, who had his hand over his mouth, looking like he was trying to stifle a laugh.
Conner opened the pantry door, taking out a large, unopened bag of pasta before going to the fridge and removing a jar of pesto and a block of cheese. Holding them to his chest, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You don’t want me to starve, do you, Ma?”
I couldn’t help but smile, despite how annoyed I was with his interfering. “No, baby boy. Now bugger off and no more just walking in like you live here. Deal?”
“As long as you promise to be careful… I mean it. I worry about you and I don’t want some dickhead breaking your heart.”
“I promise.”
“How are the muscles feeling?” It shocked me how unflappable Jackson seemed, while the memory of his hands on my body made my skin heat and my words stutter.
