His mother tapped softly at the door and Jim sat up a little. The door opened a crack and her head appeared, framed by the light from behind her. She stepped in, leaving the door open slightly, so the light outlined her form as she moved toward the bed. Jim could see the shadows of her legs in her filmy night dress.

“Are you okay, honey?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m okay Mom. Just tired.”

Julia crossed the room in silent steps, her dress rustling against her as she moved. She sat down gingerly on the edge of her son’s bed and reached out a hand to touch his forehead. Her fingers were cool and soft on his skin, and Jim could smell the fragrance on his mother and feel the heat of her body next to his as he lay in bed.

“You never go to bed this early, and I was worried. Trouble with your girlfriend?”

“No Mom. We just aren’t seeing each other that much. She’s nice enough, I guess, but, well, I don’t know.”

“Just want to play the field some more, huh? Don’t worry. There’s plenty of girls out there interested in a handsome young man like you.”

Jim digested this and didn’t say anything. He wasn’t so sure he was handsome, and wasn’t so sure there were lots of girls interested in him. His mother touched his cheeks and then his shoulders. He sat forward a little more and she took him into her arms, hugging him against her and pressing his head into her breasts.

“Umm, that feels nice, Mom. I like it when you hold me like this.”

“Oh baby, I love to hold you, too. You’re such a sweetheart.”

She kissed him on the cheek, then on the lips, and Jim woke up a little. The more his mother hugged and touched him, the better he felt. She ruffled her fingers through his hair and stood up to go. He could once again see the outline of her legs under her gown as she moved toward the partly open door, and as she turned to look at him again, he caught a glimpse of the shape of her breasts back lighted in the doorway.

He wasn’t surprised when he found he had a hard-on after she left, but was surprised that it was thoughts of his mother that had caused it. He played with himself idly, enjoying the feel of his hand stroking his hardness, making it last until the moment of release would bring warmth flushing through him.

The next morning was a Saturday and Jim was up early to shoot some basketball in the park. His sister was still sleeping in, and his mother was at the kitchen table drinking coffee when he walked in wearing his long shorts and loose fitting jersey. He kept his shoes by the door, as all of them did, at his mother’s insistence. She hated the idea of wearing shoes inside the house, thought it barbaric, and gradually they had all come to accept her thinking.

Julia had her robe strapped loosely around her waist and one leg was crossed over the other. The robe was open a little where her legs crossed, and Jim looked at her smooth thighs in the golden light of morning. She looked up at him and smiled, waving a hand toward the coffee maker in invitation, then turned back to the newspaper in front of her.

Jim poured himself a cup of coffee, tore a piece off the sweet roll that was beside the coffee maker, and sat down across from his mother. His father had been gone for just over two years, and the family had managed to adapt. His sister Jan was in college and seldom home, so it was mostly just him and his mother in the house. Jim had finished high school but was staying out of college for a year to work, save a little money, and consider his options. His grades weren’t the greatest, and he still hadn’t decided what he wanted to study. His mother was supportive and didn’t pressure him to make a quick decision.

She tossed the paper aside as he sat down across from her and smiled at him. He looked at her shoulder length hair with its light brown color and golden highlights. Her hazel eyes sparkled in her pretty face. She didn’t have on any makeup, and there were a few lines at the corners of her eyes, but she was nice looking for forty.

“What’s up for today?” she asked, leaning her elbows on the table as she set her cup down.

“Just some hoops,” Jim said, looking at his mother as she leaned toward him. Her robe slipped open a little and his gaze shifted from her face to the space between her breasts. He could see the soft rise of them on her chest just beneath the silky fabric of her slip.

Her eyes stayed on his face, but she saw his eyes look down. Then she turned her head to see how much she had exposed herself. She could tell he was looking at her and could see that only her slip was visible, or perhaps the valley between her breasts. She made no move to draw her robe back together as she sat back in her chair. It actually came open a little more.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m just going to laze around, take a shower and then a long hot soak in the tub, and then sit in bed, maybe watch a movie. Will you be back for lunch?”

“Yeah,” he said, thinking of his mother’s quirk of showering and then soaking. She couldn’t’ stand to sit in dirty soapy water, calling it another barbaric Western practice. He grinned at the thought. “I’ll probably just play a pickup game or two and come back and take a shower myself.”

“Sure, I’m just feeling kind of lazy and self indulgent today. I’ll leave some sandwiches out for you.”

“Thanks Mom.”

“It’s no problem honey. Just say hello when you get back, so I’ll know you’re here, okay?”

Jim swallowed the last of his roll, took a last sip of coffee, and tied up his shoes at the door before he stepped out, got on his bicycle and pedaled off to the nearby park. The summer was over, but it was still warm enough to be outside in just T-shirts and shorts, and the ride was pleasant. He played for a while, got bored, and rode back. He wasn’t that sweaty, but decided he’d shower anyway.

He picked up the sandwiches sitting wrapped on the counter and wolfed them down, only then realizing that he was hungry. After finishing them, he showered quickly and slipped on clean shorts and pulled a fresh T-shirt over his head. He heard the sounds of the TV from his mother’s bedroom and poked his head in to say hi.

Pushing the door in, he peered into the room. His mother was propped up on the bed with the TV on. Her knees were up and spread slightly apart and one of her hands was between her legs. Jim heard moaning sounds coming from the TV screen but he couldn’t get a clear look at it.

“Mom?” he said. “Are you okay?”

Julia sat up straighter and hurriedly pressed the remote. The sound died and the picture changed. Her hair was wet on her forehead, hanging down in loose streaks. She looked a bit flustered as she turned to face her son. A weak smile played at the corners of he lips.

“Fine honey. Come here and sit with me a while.”

She patted the bed beside her and Jim padded over to her side. He turned to see what was on the TV, but it was just some commercial. He wondered what she’d been watching when he came in.

“What were you watching Mom? It sounded kind of weird.”

“Just a video. A kind of love story. It’s kind of sexy.”

“Oh,” he said. “Is it like, uh, porn?”

“What do you know about that?” Her eyes became a little wider.

“Not much. It just sounded like maybe that’s what it was.”

She looked at him closely as he sat facing her. She still had on her robe, wrapped loosely around her. Her thighs were exposed where her knees were up, and the top was open just enough for him to get a peek at the top of her bra inside. She put her arms around him and hugged him for no apparent reason. He felt the warm softness of her breasts and his pulse quickened a bit.

“What was that for?”

“Just because I love you honey. You know, ever since your father left and your sister went away to college it’s been a little lonely around here with just you and me.”

“Yeah, but it’s nice in a way. Just the two of us.”

“Oh Jim, you know I haven’t seen any other men since your father. And sometimes that’s hard for me. How would you feel if I started, well, started dating?”

Jim felt a surge of jealousy. He wanted his mother all to himself. He realized that after his Dad left it hadn’t occurred to him that his mother would start actually dating, having strange men in their house, maybe sleeping with them. It made his heart pound, and he struggled to find the words to express his complicated feelings.

“Why can’t it just be us? You know, just the two of us? I like it here with you,” he said into his mother’s arms.

She pulled away from him a little and put one hand under his chin, raising his face to look into hers. Her expression was unreadable and Jim shifted away from her searching look.

“You’re sweet,” she said. “I like it here with you too. I’ll tell you what. Let’s go out together sometime. Dancing or to a movie. Would you like that?”

“Sure Mom. It sounds great. Sort of like a date.”

“Sort of, but it’ll be like a secret date.”

“Secret? Why?”

“Well, who would you like to tell that you’re dating your mother?”

“It’s not like a real date.”

“No, but close enough I think.”

She kissed him on the cheek and then on the lips again. Jim felt the tip of her tongue brush against his lips and he couldn’t believe it. It shot a thrill through him to feel his mother so close, and so erotically stimulating. He knew what he’d be thinking about tonight as he jacked off.

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