Mum's Valentine Dilemma

Josh sat and stared at the wall for a long time. What did all that mean? It was a joke, wasn't it? His answers were truthful but meaningless in the context of the fact that beautiful Gemma was his mother and he would never 'snog' her let alone marry her and have babies together.

Whatever his feelings on the matter.

He worked for another hour and was just going to bed when his phone rang. It was James Mum' again.

"Err Josh. Are you able to come back tonight? Your mum is in a bit of a state and shouldn't be left and I need to get back for ... err ... James."

His concern ramped.

"What's the matter? Is she hurt? What happened?"

"No, she's all right ... just a bit wasted. That's all. I'm worried that she might ... umm throw up and choke on her ... you know ..."

"Christ! That's sounds like more than a 'bit wasted' Mrs B. that's full-on fresher's (first year under-graduate) behaviour. Why was she drinking so much? That's not like her at all."

Emma didn't answer and he paused as he thought about what to do. He would miss playing football tomorrow, but so what, and he could finish his dissertation at home so no worries there.

"Ok, I'm on my way. I'll be about an hour. Can you look after until then?"

"Ok, but hurry. I promised James I'd be back by bedtime."

He disconnected and started to throw stuff into his holdall.

'Why does she need to be back for James' bedtime? Does he need tucking in or something?'

He did the journey in 45 minutes just grateful that Plod liked a quiet night and wasn't setting up speed traps on the A34. Emma was waiting for him at the front door and showed him into the lounge where Gemma was sprawled on one of the sofas, snoring gently. He smiled with affection because this was only the second time he had seen her like this; the first being at a local music festival at Cornbury where she had imbibed far too many Pimms and had thrown up outside the tent they shared. Happy Days!

"Ok, Mrs. B. I can take it from here. You get off and put James to bed. Tell him I said 'Hi'."

She looked at him strangely.

"Don't you need a hand getting her undressed? I can help do that at least."

Josh looked startled.

"Undressed? I was just going to carry her up to her bedroom and leave her, as she is, on top of the duvet."

"No, no, no! First rule of dealing with drunken women: Clothes off including bra. Otherwise you get too hot and it chafes. She will thank you for it in the morning."

Josh looked at her askance but nodded.

"Ok, if you say so. But you can help with that? I ... umm ... wouldn't want to ... err ..."

"Oh, don't be such a baby. She's your mother for Christ's sake. You must have seen her naked before. James has lots of times ... not Gemma ... me, I mean."

It was at this point that Josh realised that Emma was almost as wrecked as Gemma.

"Ok, Mrs. B. I'll handle it from here. You go off and tuck James ..."

She interrupted him with a look of horror, her face going white.

"What did you say?"

Josh was by now thoroughly confused.

"What? You said you needed to be back for James' bedtime. I assumed you want to tuck him in."

Emma looked relieved and giggled.

"Ahh ... 'tuck' James ... not what ... ok, anyway I'll help you get her upstairs."

Josh didn't actually need any help carrying the comatose body of Gemma up to her bedroom and he put her gently onto the bed as Emma fussed in the background.

"Come on! You need to get her undressed."

Josh looked at her with trepidation in his eyes.

"Right! Undressed!"

"Come on. We haven't got all night. The blouse first and make sure you hang it up. She won't thank you if it's creased."

Josh did as he was instructed and undid the buttons before holding her up to slip her arms out of the sleeves. All the time he was conscious of how close he was to her skin and he tried to not look as her bra-clad breasts came into view. He laid her back onto the bed and undid the waist button of her jeans and slid them down her long legs. He tried not to look or to revel in the feel of his hands on her beautiful body but he caught Emma smirking at him a couple of times as he accidentally wandered off course.

Eventually Gemma's slim, toned body was clad only in her underwear and Josh felt his incipient erection, which he had managed to keep under control as he undressed his mother, lengthen and harden to full mast at the sight. The bra was a pale pink push-up affair and the matching knickers consisted of a wide waist band but very little else. He felt sure that her buttocks would be naked if he was to roll her on to her tummy. Not that he wanted to as his gaze was captured by the way in which the gusset moulded itself to her mons. He could tell she was shaved and his cock lurched at the thought.

Like a nagging bad angel on his shoulder Emma continued to chide him.

"Get on with it. I haven't got all night. Get her bra off. It's front-fastening by the look of it. No need to fumble like a virgin round the back."

Josh scowled at her.

"I have taken a bra off before now."

Emma's drunken giggle did not improve his mood.

"I didn't know you were a cross dresser. He-He ... I didn't know you were a cross ... oh never mind ... grouch!"

"Ha-bloody-ha. I think I can do this myself. You can go if you want."

"NO! Umm ... I mean 'no' I need to see you finish the job so I can tell Gemma how conscientious you were."

He reached forward and found the clasp and deftly flicked it open and looked back at Emma. She motioned for him to continue and slowly pulled each cup away from the firm flesh beneath. He tried desperately to remain calm and not perv but as more of the perfect globes became visible, he could not help but gaze in wonder.

'FUCK! They are beautiful.'

The nipples, hardened by the cool air of the bedroom, were deep coral red and might have seemed too large for the modest B cups were it not for the fact there was practically no areola surrounding them. His mouth watered at the sight and he released the breath that he had been holding and heard a similar exhalation from behind him as he manoeuvred the strap down one arm and pulled the skimpy item out from under her.

He felt Emma come close behind him as he stood up from the bed.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she? She was lucky she couldn't breast feed you at 15 otherwise her tits would be wrecked like mine. I could easily have turned lezzie when we were younger if she had been interested. But it never happened and she's now happily in love with a bloke, so it won't happen now."

Josh had an irrational pang of jealousy and turned to her with a look of confusion.

"She's in love? She never said she had met someone. Who is he? Someone I know?"

She grinned mischievously at him.

"Yeah, you know him. You have known him all your life ... and his life too"

He was still puzzled.

"Who? I can't think who you mean."

She smiled affectionately at him.

"YOU! You plonker! She's crazy in love with you. She won't admit it to herself but I can see it as clear as day."

Josh looked at her incredulously as his mind tried to grapple with her last statement. His mother, Gemma, was in love with him, Josh, her son. He felt he had to defend the indefensible.

"You're having a laugh. You're drunk and you're winding me up."

She shook her head.

"I may be drunk but this is no wind up and ..."

She reached around him and stroked his erection through his jeans. He flinched but did not pull away.

"... judging by that I would say the feeling is mutual. Now, my work here is done. Give her plenty of water when she wakes up ... I'm sure you know what to do for hangovers ... I'll leave you two together."

She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear.

"I'm rooting for the pair of you but if you hurt her or let her down. I'll cut your balls off."

Chapter 7

Gemma woke about 5.00am with a raging thirst and a pounding head and was scrabbling on her bedside cabinet for a drink of water when a pair of strong arms held her up and presented the glass to her lips.

"It's got Disprin in it so drink it all down. You'll feel better in the morning."

Uncomprehendingly she did as she was instructed before realisation set in as to why she felt this bad and who the person was who was helping her.

"Josh? What are you doing here? Ohh ... Jesus my head hurts ... "

He laughed hollowly.

"That's why I'm here. Emma thought you needed looking after overnight so I came home. Now go back to sleep, we can talk in the morning. I'm right over there in the chair if you need me. Sleep tight. I love you."

She was still confused and held onto his hand as he gently laid her back down on the bed.

"Josh ... no ... hold me a bit longer. What time is it? You need some sleep too. Get in with me and cuddle me. Please! I'm all over the place ... my brains not working."

Josh smiled to himself. She was such a lightweight when it came to drinking and it was no surprise that she was having trouble thinking. Who was he to argue with her if she wanted a cuddle but, following Emma's bombshell revelation, he did ponder her request for a short while but shrugged and slipped off his jeans and T shirt before sliding under the covers. He expected Gemma to roll into his arms for a cuddle but instead he heard a small snore as she had already succumbed again to the effects of the brandy and champagne. He chuckled to himself but stayed where he was in the bed and gratefully fell asleep.

Gemma woke again a few hours later as the daylight was seeping in through the curtains. Her befuddled mind was startled to find that she was being spooned by a large body and wrapped in two strong arms. She relaxed when she recognised the owner of the body as much by his smell as anything ... his Joshy smell that she had known since his birth and had become even more appealing as he developed into adulthood.

Other things became apparent.

She was naked except for her knickers and, because she could feel the hair on his bare chest against the skin of her back, he was semi-naked too! Despite her hangover this was an instant shot of arousal.

Josh's huge erection was resting between her buttocks (but at least he had his underpants on).

His lower arm was under neck and her hand was clasped by his.

His top arm went over her waist and created a diagonal up to her shoulder such that his forearm nestled between her breasts and her breathing caused a delightful fiction with every inhalation and exhalation.

One thing her brain did tell her ... she was loving every single square centimetre of contact with her son and felt heat in her loins at the thought of what it would be like if undergarments were absent. She snuggled deeper into his embrace pulling his arms tighter around her; luxuriating in the sense of love and protection it gave her.

She started to think back to conversation with Emma ... or at least the bits she could remember before she really started hitting the brandy.

"Ok, it's official. He wants you to have his babies."

"What? He didn't say that. Give that here. Let me see."

Emma passed the phone over and Gemma read the exchange before handing it back dismissively.

"He's just joking. He thinks you are winding him up."

Emma grinned knowingly.

"Au contraire sweetie! If he was joking he would have said the opposite and implied you were to be avoided. Anyway, many a true word spoken in jest so he would have meant the complete opposite."

"So whatever he said you would still interpret as the fact that he wants to have sex with me."

Emma grinned.

"Yep! Just face it, your son has the hots for you which is good because you have the hots for him. So, let mother-son bonking begin."

"What? I don't have the 'hots' for him as you call it. We have a very close relationship but that is as far as it goes. Anyway, how could you condone the thought of me and Josh making love. It's illegal ... isn't it?"

Emma shook her head.

"Legal or illegal it doesn't change the fact that the pair of you are so smitten with each other that you ought at least to be honest about it. If not to me, then to each other."

Gemma pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

Emma moved over to where her best friend was sitting and grasped her hands in both of hers. She looked Gemma directly in the eye.

"Gem, sweetie, I have known you since infants school, nearly 30 years, and I like to think I 'know' you. I see the way the pair of you are around each other. It's like there is no one else in the room. You are in your own bubble. It's ... it's beautiful to watch ... and I'm as jealous as hell!"

Gemma saw the genuine emotion in her friend's face and the hint of a tear in her eye.

"But ... but it's wrong. A son shouldn't love his mother that way and vice versa."

"Gemma, it may be illegal but it's not wrong if it's founded on love ... and yours' is founded on so much love. It's not like one of you is taking advantage of the other. It's a mutual thing. You love each other so much that sex is the natural extension of that love ... and babies too."

Gemma looked at her friend like a rabbit in the headlights. Her alcohol-addled brain could give her no comeback to her friend's argument and the realisation that she may just be right was a sobering thought. She didn't want to be sober so took a big swig of brandy ... and then several more.

She could feel Josh's breathing changing and the whisper of his breath on the back of her neck became more pronounced as he gradually woke up. She didn't want him to move just yet so clasped his arms more tightly around herself. She felt him lift his head to look at her but didn't look back at him as she didn't want to see any disapproval in his eyes.

Or, any questions.

Her voice was croaky.

"Don't move, please."

She need not have worried as he bent and gently kissed her shoulder before tightening his own grip around her, accentuating the flesh-to-flesh contact which Gemma adored. She felt like she ought to say something more but her throat was dry. Josh broke the silence.

"How are you feeling? Do you want me to get you some more pain-killers?"

Her voice was croaky.

"In a bit. I just want to stay here like this for a moment. It's a long time since anyone held me and I just want to make the most of it. You don't mind do you?"

He laughed quietly.

"Why would I mind. I don't often get the chance to hold a sexy girl like this."

She smiled.

"Flattery will get you anywhere but you don't have to stay here with your old, hungover mum. I'm sure you have better things to do."

She could hear the chuckle in his voice.

"Is someone a bit delicate and needing a bit of self-esteem bolstered? Firstly, you are not old and just at the moment I'm not sure I should be calling you 'mum' given the circumstances. Is it all right if I call you 'Gemma' or 'babe' or 'hun' until we get up and dressed? It's a bit weird to be holding you like a lover and referring to you as 'mum'."

Her eyes flew open with shock.

Lovers!

Is that why she was so content to be in his arms?

Her voice was hesitant.

"Is that what you think? We're 'lovers'?"

He was silent for a while, composing himself, but his voice was firm and level when he replied.

"No, not yet, but I'd like us to be."

She gasped and turned her head to look at him. His gaze was unblinking and he nodded to reaffirm his words. She couldn't look at him and speak so turned away again.

"But ... I'm your ..."

He interrupted.

"I know, I know ... you're my mum ... older than you ... etcetera ... etcetera. Trust me, darling Gem, I have been through those arguments over and over since Emma first opened my eyes to... 'us'... last night. I keep coming back to the fact that I love you more than anything in the world and probably have done since ... I don't know when. Put it simplistically, I'm a man first and your son second when it comes to my feelings for you. I'm a man who wants to be your lover."

They lay silent for a while and the gentle shaking of her body told him she was crying. He rolled her over and lay back so she was nestled tightly in the crook of his arm and kissed the top of her head.

"Well, that's not quite what I expected when I made my first declaration of love to a beautiful woman."

She giggled through her tears and snorted.

"Insensitive beast! These tears are exactly what you should have expected. You young whipper snappers know nothing."

She snuggled back into him.

"It doesn't worry you that if it all goes wrong then our relationship as mother and son will be completely obliterated? When normal relationships go pear-shaped there is enough angst and vitriol to last a life-time ... if we ... fall apart then ... I don't think I could bear it."

He cupped her chin and brought her face up so their eyes met. He smiled lovingly at her and she melted inside.

"That tells me that you have thought about it too. I've only had since last night to process it and Emma said you wouldn't admit to yourself but it sounds to me that you have. Are you fighting a rear-guard action here with reasons why not to do it?"

She closed her eyes and nodded slowly.

"She was very persuasive as to why we should do it. Helped by the copious quantities of alcohol she forced me to drink (hollow laugh) I might add. As a result, I am forced to admit that I am very much in love with my son. I just don't know if I ... we ... should take the logical next step and become lovers. I love your touch, the feel of your hands on me, the way you look at me, the sound of your voice, the feel of your arms around me, your kindness and consideration, your sense of humour, your laugh ... every bloody damn thing about you! I just need time to think about whether I'm strong enough to take the next step. Are you ok with that? Giving me time, I mean?"

By way of an answer Josh kissed her gently but this time it started to morph into something more as their tongues caressed and their bodies squirmed against each other. Josh broke away before things got out of hand and smiled at her incipient pout. His tone was serious and Gemma was grateful for him taking the lead.

"I'm not sorry I started that but if we had gone on much longer then I probably wouldn't have given you any time to think about it. I think it best if I go back to Southampton and let's not talk or message until I come back for Valentine's in a week. Hopefully that will be enough time for you to think about it and I wouldn't want to put any pressure on you one way or another. Just know that I will love you whatever your decision."

Chapter 8

True to their word there was no communication between them over the next week with exception of Gemma sending a text to suggest that she cook them a nice meal rather than go out on the evening in question. Josh agreed but his spirits slumped as he thought it was an early warning that she was going to say 'no' and didn't want there to be a scene in public. It was with some trepidation that he put his key in the lock and opened the door after his drive up from Uni.

He was surprised that there was no sign of cooking in the kitchen and Gemma was not downstairs although lights were on and music was playing. He called out.

"Mum? You there?"

"Yes, darling, I'm in my bedroom deciding what to wear. Come and help me chose."

He shrugged and made his way up the stairs to the master bedroom where he found Gemma standing in front of the full-length mirror. From the back he could see she was wearing the silky kimono she had worn on the evening of the Erotica party. Reflected in the mirror he could see her smile at him as she held a long, dark blue, cocktail dress up in front of her tall, lithe body.