Tom Prentice Ch. 05

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Tom and Laney did indeed find a bunch of their friends at the lake, and it was almost midnight before the group completely broke up, couples having left intermittently over the course of the last half hour.

Tom had greatly enjoyed the evening with Laney, both dancing when the mood struck them, and making out under the stars when they decided to take a break from the music. Of course, Tom spent a lot of time wondering exactly what Laney had planned for the lingerie and her mother's négligée.

They were headed back to the city when Tom said, "Are you still planning on coming to my place for the night, Laney? I don't want to assume anything. I'd hate for you to think that I was taking you for granted."

Laney undid her seat belt and slid over beside Tom before she answered. "I sure am planning on it, Tom. You seemed so fascinated with the lingerie I had on last time that I thought I'd give you a mini fashion show, that is... if you're interested?"

She laughed quickly as Tom snapped his head to the right and immediately said, "Of coarse I'm interested, Laney. I... I just didn't think that you would be... serious about it. I sort of thought it was probably clothing you were going to wear tomorrow."

"I might wear some of it when I leave, but you made me feel so sexy when you saw me in the blue lingerie when I stayed after the graduation dance, that I thought I would see what you thought of some of my other outfits."

Tom turned quickly to get his attention back to the road and let his imagination run wild for a few seconds before softly replying, "Oh yeah, I'm definitely interested."

He put his arm around her and held her close for a few seconds before saying, "I think maybe you should put your seatbelt on, though, in spite of the fact you feel awfully good sitting right there. It would definitely be safer."

Shortly after Laney re-buckled her seatbelt Tom said, "I was meaning to ask you about what you said to your mom just before we left. I heard you mention Peter, and that your mom should call him. What's that all about?"

Laney gave a little laugh and replied, "I'm not sure if I should answer that, Tom. My mom might be embarrassed or upset if she knew I told you about Peter."

She seemed to think about it for a few moments before continuing, "There's no real reason she should be though, so I'll tell you about him. He's an older guy that works in the office were mom works. I think he's about 55, maybe. Anyway, his wife died years ago, and he and my mom have a thing going."

She turned towards Tom before explaining, "They get together every couple of weeks, although sometimes it's less often than that. She used to go over for a few hours in the evening so that she could be home with me at night, but the last couple of years she quite often stays overnight at his place."

Tom glanced at Laney before saying, "Are they serious about each other? Do they plan to get married, or move in together?"

"No, Tom. It's not like that." She hesitated for another few moments before continuing, "I think you could consider them as friends with benefits, if you know what I mean. I've met him a few times when he's come to pick up mom for a banquet or party to do with their work. He's nice, but I know they're not serious about each other."

"My mom never really dated much in all the years since I was born. I'm glad she's got Peter to make her happy. I can always tell when they've been together, because my mom is always happier for the next few days." She reached over to caress Tom on the arm before continuing, "Sort of like I was happier for the next few days after I spent grad night at your place."

It was too dark for Laney to see that Tom was embarrassed by her comment, but he did say, "I made you happy, did I?"

"Oh yes, Tom. You certainly did." She giggled and then remained silent for the next couple of minutes, while both of them thought back to their night together after the graduation party.

They drove in silence for those few minutes before Laney said, "I bet my mom did give him a call, you know. Tonight would be the perfect night for her to do that, when she knows I'm not planning on coming back home. I'm going to try calling her."

Laney pulled out her cell phone and after waiting a few moments for her mother to answer she closed it and laughingly said, "She isn't home, Tom; I got the answering machine. I bet you if I phoned Peter's place I could get her, though."

She laughed again and continued, "I better not do that. She'd probably be upset if I phoned at just the wrong time. I'm sure we wouldn't appreciate her calling me at just the wrong time, would we?" Tom could only grin and nod in agreement.

A couple of minutes later they pulled up at Tom's home and quickly dashed inside. Tom made sure he brought the case that Laney had given him earlier.

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It was early afternoon on Saturday when Tom returned Laney to her own home. They had slept in, something that was necessary if they had intended to have anything like a normal night of sleep. It had been well after 2 a.m. when they had turned off the bedside lamp and spooned together to get some well-earned rest.

As they rushed into the house they met Grace in the kitchen. "Slow down, you two!" She laughed and continued, "You're both old enough to know that you don't run in the house."

Tom and Laney had been having an informal race to see who could get to the living room first. Laney had a chick flick that she wanted Tom to watch with her, and he was hoping to watch a bit of the NASCAR race that had just started. Once Grace had busted them they agreed to watch part of the race and then check out the movie.

When the two of them got comfortable on the sofa Laney whispered in Tom's ear, "Did you notice the nice pink color on mom's face, and how she started smiling at us even though she'd just been on our case? She's always like that after she visits Peter."

Tom smiled as he replied, "Your mom always seems to be smiling, and I think her color is the same as usual. You being able to pick up on that must be a woman thing." He laughed and ducked as she pretended she was going to hit him in the shoulder.

"Men! What my mom and her friends say is true. Men just can't pick up on the little clues in a woman's appearance."

The two of them managed to spend the afternoon and early evening happily taking turns with the remote so that Tom was able to watch most of the race, including the thrilling finish, before he watched the movie with Laney. Grace surprised them with a homemade pizza for supper that the three of them enjoyed together while the movie was paused.

Tom had plans to accompany his grandparents to church services the next morning, something that they had let him know they would very much appreciate, so he didn't stay too late. Just before he was getting ready to leave Grace came into the living room.

"I was wondering if you would be... interested... in joining us for Sunday supper, Tom. I'm planning on roast beef and apple pie." She laughed as Tom reacted to her stress on the word 'interested'.

Tom knew what she meant and quickly replied, "I would be happy to join you two lovely ladies for supper, if you're sure about it. I don't want to put you out."

Tom had been watching Laney as this brief conversation took place, and it was obvious that Laney saw nothing unusual about it.

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On Sunday evening when Tom returned home from his wonderful Sunday meal he opened the folder that contained his copy of the loan agreement with Grace and added a page that noted that she had paid the months 'interest' in full. The page would be more than big enough to handle a lot of similar entries.

When that was done he leaned back and thought to himself that the arrangement seemed to be a real win-win situation. In some ways he felt he was getting the better part of the deal, because being able to enjoy the meal as well as the company of Grace and Laney seemed like a double payment to him.

He became a bit pensive though when thinking about September when Laney would leave for University. That could be a real test for their relationship.

To be continued.