My Mother's Best Friend

Christine had to grab her bag from the guest bedroom first, taking her hand and leading her towards my bedroom at the far end of the house. Mum had organised that for me when I was a teenager, giving me a little privacy and some quiet away from two little girls. I had my own bathroom next to my bedroom, and Christine headed there to get changed. I undressed to my underwear in my bedroom, slid into bed and waited for Christine to appear.

Appearing through my doorway in a tiny vest top and a pair of panties, what was immediately apparent was the lack of a bra as her nipples were obvious through the thin fabric of her top. Shutting the door behind her, she smiled shyly at me for a few seconds.

"How do I look?" she finally asked.

"I've always thought you were beautiful, Christine."

Sliding into bed with me, we didn't hesitate to share our first kiss. The attraction had been mutual for years, and I think it was simply time to admit that there was a spark and that it would be worth exploring. Her mouth opened enough to accept my tongue rather quickly, and when she whimpered, I'm fairly sure she felt me poking her a few seconds later as she needed to break the kiss to laugh lightly.

Caressing her cheek, her eyes gazed at me, and I wasn't oblivious to her feelings for me. I knew I was returning a similar gaze as we shared another soft kiss.

"Thank you for your presents," she whispered, "I'll wear the necklace and earrings for our date... I can't believe you got those tickets."

"Bought them as I wanted that as our first date," I confessed, "I mean, with every other first date, it's nothing more than a coffee to get to know each other. But already know each other well. And I wanted to do something special for your birthday regardless."

"I already know that I want to see where this goes, John. Your mother supports this. She knows you'll make me happy."

"I'm just glad she's happy for this to happen. I thought it might be awkward for all of us."

"And you don't care that I'm now forty?"

"Frankly, in my eyes, it just makes it even better. You are a drop-dead gorgeous forty-year-old woman, Christine. And I think you're aware of the feelings I've had for you that I've had for a long time now."

"I'll admit that I've certainly had a lot of thoughts these past few months too. Very few decent men in my life."

Snuggling against me, she fell asleep rather quickly as I simply savoured those moments of holding her in my arms. She had a soft and supple body, and I'll admit I was already thinking of many other things we could do in my bed, or I might just end up spending a lot more time at her place in the future.

Waking together in the morning, I was greeted by a glorious smile before we spent a few minutes making out like a pair of revved-up teenagers who wanted to do a lot more but didn't want to wake up the parents still asleep down the hall. Finally getting out of bed, she slid into a pair of tiny shorts. I put on a t-shirt and shorts, walking out together to the kitchen to find Mum already up and about. Greeting Christine with another hug, Mum offered to make breakfast as I made us each a hot drink.

My sisters walked out to join us a little later, just in time for breakfast, neither shy in asking about my upcoming date with Christine. After finishing breakfast and Christine had said goodbye to my mother, I walked Christine outside to her car. We shared another kiss and cuddle, fully aware that my mother would be watching. I don't think Christine cared a jot while we were making out.

"The performance is early next year, after Christmas," I reminded her, "Maybe we could get together a couple of times before then?"

"Like pre-date dates?"

"Like a first, second and subsequent dates..."

"I don't need wining and dining, John. For doing something so wonderful for me, come around for dinner one night this week. And bring an overnight bag." She paused before resting a hand on my chest. "Though you don't actually have to pack anything for the night if you don't want."

"What night?"

"Honestly, you can come over every single night this week." The smile on her face had my cheeks hurting from smiling at her in return. "John... I've been waiting for you to ask me out for the past few years. It was only because you were with..."

She went quiet when I kissed her again, earning a soft moan as she ended up backed up against her car. The only thing that stopped us was the laughter of my mother as she opened the screen door. "Let the poor woman go home, John!" she called out, "But I'm glad you're finally showing each other how you really feel!"

"Mondays are always hectic, and I'll probably be home late anyway," I said, "Why don't I come over on Tuesday night?"

"And you can stay as long as you want," Christine whispered, "I'm tired of being alone, John."

"I might just pack a few days' worth of clothes."

Heading back inside after Christine drove off, Mum was waiting for me, giving me one hell of a big hug, not saying a word for a couple of minutes as I hugged her back. She finally leaned back and the smile on her face surprised me. "Thank you for that," she stated, "To be honest, I was on the verge of asking you if you were ever going to get around to asking her out."

"The only thing that was going to stop me was the fact she's your best friend."

"What changed your mind?"

"Getting those tickets, to be honest. She's talked about wanting to go see a performance for years. It's the first time in years that the show's been out this way. I just knew I had to get tickets somehow, and it would be a perfect birthday present."

"One thing, John. And please take my advice. Don't worry about things moving too fast. You already know each other very well. You'll avoid some of the early pitfalls of dating. And I've never been blind to the infatuation you've had for each other. Just treat her right. That's all I ask."

"I promise, but I'd never hurt her."

I was lying back in bed later that night, reading a book, a practice I'd returned to after having spent an afternoon with Christine a few months back. While so many people were now reading novels on e-readers and other electronic devices, Christine loved going to little bookshops, and I'd spent an afternoon following her around. I ended up buying a couple of novels I'd been searching for, and since then, I'd been following in her footsteps in buying paperbacks.

My phone beeped on the nightstand beside me, opening it to see a message from Christine. It was a picture message of her lying back in bed, her face on display though her body was hidden.

Thinking of you right now, handsome. I bet you're wondering if I'm naked under the sheets...

I was immediately typing a message in reply.

Consider me very curious though I'm now feeling a large sense of anticipation about Tuesday night.

It said she was typing within a couple of seconds of reading my message.

What do you prefer, John? Nudity or some sexy lingerie?

I didn't have to give that question much thought.

While I'm a man who loves a woman in lingerie, I know how I really want to see you when we're in bed together.

It took a couple of minutes for the next message to arrive.

Is this what you want, honey?

It wasn't obvious that she was naked under the sheets, but a bra and a pair of panties were now resting on the sheets next to her.

I'd ask you to pull back the sheets. But I think I can wait a couple more days.

Mum was all smiles over dinner the next evening. Even my sisters seemed happier. When I asked about Christine's mood at work that day, Mum rested her knife and fork against her plate and the smile simply broadened.

"John... I haven't seen her this happy since the early days of her last relationship."

"We like Christine," Anna added, "Better than your ex-girlfriend anyway."

The girls were in bed rather early as always on a school night, leaving me to share a drink with Mum in the living room. Mum always relaxed with a glass of wine after dinner and the girls had kissed her goodnight. I relaxed on the couch with a bottle of cider, the television off as Mum and I always managed to find something to talk about. Although we still had that overarching parent-child relationship, I liked to think of my mother as a close friend and confidant now that I was an adult. And she treated me in a similar way, opening up about certain things now that I was old enough to understand.

Packing a backpack with some clothes the next morning, I dumped that with my work bag by the front door, joining Mum in the kitchen for my usual morning coffee before I took off.

"Has she told you what she's cooking?" Mum wondered.

"No. I'm guessing it'll be a surprise."

"I've had dinner with her numerous times. She's a dab hand in the kitchen. Her lasagna is fantastic. But as I'm sure you know, she loves spicy food, so she's very good with Asian dishes."

"I love spicy foods as well. We've enjoyed an Indian on more than one occasion."

Once I was at work, I spent most of the day watching the clock. Not something I usually did, but the excitement slowly built during the day. By the time it reached quitting time, I would normally stick around, chat with some of the guys, and shoot the shit before I finally got into my car. Not that evening. I was almost burning rubber as I left the car park.

Knocking on Christine's front door, she opened it to reveal she was wearing a lovely sundress, a little bit of fabric over her shoulders with her arms otherwise bare, the hem barely down to her knees, and she was barefoot as her entire house had floorboards that she mopped and swept religiously. Inviting me in, we were making out as soon as the door was closed and I'd dumped my bags on the floor, pulling her into my body as my hands caressed her back, slowly working their way down to her perfect arse. Perfect in my eyes, and that was the only thing that mattered.

"I have dinner cooking," she whispered upon pulling back, "But you can join me in the kitchen and definitely keep your hands on me."

"And after dinner?" I asked quietly before kissing her again, earning a whimper as her body pressed into mine again. I had a feeling we were not going to hold back in our desire for intimacy. We'd been waiting long enough.

"While part of me just wants to drag you to the bedroom and do incredibly naughty things, I was hoping that we might just move to the couch, enjoy a drink and a chat first. I feel like we know each other so well already, John..."

"You know I love talking to you."

Dinner was a Thai green chicken curry. I knew why she prepared it. Something we'd enjoyed before when I'd joined my mother for dinner at Christine's. While she was putting together the finishing touches, I poured her a glass of wine as we chatted about our day. Christine loved working for my mother. Though Mum was her boss, I knew how much work Christine did for her at the same time. And I was pleased the two had managed to establish such a close friendship.

"Do any of the guys ever insinuate anything?" I teased.

Christine stopped stirring and glanced at me with a smirk. "Hell, I think we feed into it sometimes. Kath always takes an hour for lunch given the hours she puts in. I'll join her sometimes and I'll make sure I walk out of her office looking slightly dishevelled and rosy-cheeked."

I couldn't help roaring with laughter as I just knew that would set tongues wagging. "I'm glad Mum plays along."

"Your mother has had to put up with a lot of shit to get to where she has. Worked her socks off, and there were some real dinosaurs when she started working there. Thankfully, the company has improved over time, and they've all been replaced. There are still a few dickheads around, but we can deal with them without any major concerns."

We continued making chit-chat during dinner, and I made her smile constantly as I couldn't help savouring every morsel. Christine was a fantastic cook, and even though she'd lived alone for quite a while, I knew she was someone who would happily spend time preparing dinner even if it was only for one person. I hadn't really cooked all that much before I'd moved out of home and had taken upon the responsibility more often once I was living with my ex-girlfriend. To be honest, she was the type of person who could burn cereal.

"What happened with the ex-girlfriend?" she finally asked once we were snuggled up on the couch together, "I'm just curious. Did you have any idea what she was doing?"

"No idea as there were none of the usual signs once I'd taken time to think and look back at our relationship. I think it was the first time she'd done it at our place. I reckoned they spent time fucking at her office or elsewhere."

"Did you ever speak to her afterwards?"

"Once I moved out? No. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of giving me the usual bullshit excuses as to her infidelity. She was a willing participant. She made a series of choices that ended up in bed with him."

"Her loss is someone else's gain..."

"What about you?" I had to ask, "After everything with Dave..."

"He left his scars. Nothing visible but that is sometimes even worse." She snuggled into me tighter, resting a hand on my chest. "I'll be honest about one thing, John. I've been aware of your interest in me from almost the first time we met."

"Yeah, I'll admit to nursing a teenage crush. But I never thought anything would come of it. There's the age gap. You're my mother's assistant and now best friend. And then we were usually in relationships anyway."

"Your mother never liked your ex-girlfriend. She had a feeling it wouldn't last. I won't say that I was waiting in the wings for my chance though after what happened with Dave, I found myself thinking that I would only date men that I could trust. And given I don't want to date my father or uncle, that left..."

"Me?"

"Yep."

"And you're not worried that I'm the son of your boss and best friend?"

"Your mother will support us completely. And you've met my parents, and they absolutely adore you already. They noticed our interactions on my birthday and thought that we were interested in each other."

"I guess they were not wrong."

"The one thing I know is that we already know each other so well, John. I'm not going to complain if you take me out for dates, but I'm hoping we can avoid some of the unnecessary bullshit."

We finished our drinks before Christine stood up and offered her hand. Grabbing my backpack on the way, she led me towards her bedroom. A lamp on either side of the bed was placed on a nightstand to provide some illumination. The bed was neatly made. The room was otherwise tastefully decorated with a couple of pictures on the wall, the dresser nearby with a mirror on top and a couple of pictures to either side. I noticed one was of my mother and Christine at what was likely a work event.

"John, I'm going to be honest. I haven't had sex in months, but even though we know each other so well, I still don't want to leap into that too quickly."

"We can take our time, Christine," I said, taking both of her hands in mine, "We've both been hurt. We're both carrying wounds from previous relationships. And I'm guessing we both want this to last."

"I'm forty years old... I know what I want and I'm not going to deny myself any longer."

As we started to kiss again, she smiled as my hands moved to the back of her sundress, slowly lowering the zipper before I easily slid it off her shoulders and it slipped down her body to pool around her ankles. Leaning back enough to check out her underwear, I did feel my eyebrows raise as it was sexier than I thought she would have worn. Sheer so I could see just about everything. Dark pink nipples that were aching to be pleasured. And there was definitely a dark tuft of pubic hair on display beneath the thin fabric of her panties. I'd seen her in a bikini and two-piece swimsuit more times than I could count, but it was different when being in an intimate setting.

After she'd helped undress me down to my underwear, her hands slowly exploring my body, we moved together onto the bed, getting under the sheets as we continued making out, my hands taking in all the soft skin possible. I have no idea how long we made out, but she felt my erection poking her more than once, and when my hands caressed her arse, she couldn't help giggling.

"Been far too long since anyone even had their hand there," she said softly, "Can you handle just cuddling me tonight?"

"And many nights in the future. I don't want to rush this either."

Spooning back against me a little later, one of her hands holding mine to her chest, we continued to chat late into the night about anything that came to mind. She was the first to fall asleep, kissing her cheek once I realised. I knew I lay there with a smile on my face for a little longer before I drifted off.

*****

Christine

By the time it reached Friday, Christine couldn't help feeling giddy about how her life was changing so quickly already. Her first night with John had been everything she'd hoped for. Falling asleep in his arms that first night, she'd woken up in the early morning to find she'd rolled over and was now cuddled into his chest.

Over breakfast in the morning, she asked if he wanted to stay the rest of the week. The question seemed to surprise him before that handsome smile formed and he readily agreed, admitting he had packed enough clothes, admitting to hoping that things would go well the first night and he'd find himself invited back over.

"I'm not sure how I'd feel staying over at your place," she admitted herself, "I mean, your mother is going to be aware of everything, but I don't particularly want to walk out into the living room or kitchen of a morning after we've, um, been intimate. And your mother is going to know what we've been doing, and I will feel awkward."

"Christine, I can assure you that I'll be happy to spend as much time here with you as possible."

She almost blurted out that she'd be happy for him to move in with her within a matter of days.

John had stayed with her on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and Christine was happy to cook dinner each night as it wasn't a chore in her mind. Having lived alone for so long, she found it relaxing though now that she was cooking for the man that she knew that she was already falling for, she wanted to show off her culinary skills. John showed his appreciation through the noises he made when eating, raining down plenty of compliments, and she couldn't stop smiling as he always offered to help clean up.

The first couple of nights, all they did afterwards was sit on the couch, share a couple of drinks, and spend a lot of time talking. Although they'd known each other for a decade, and their interactions were well beyond the superficial, it was a time to really talk about important matters. John told her that he did want to get married. He did want children and a family. He took fidelity seriously. He was also a modern man in the sense that he supported his partner working and having her own career, that raising children, emotional labour and running a household was for both people to take on board.

She gave into temptation on Friday night, her underwear ending up on the floor next to her bed alongside his underwear. Her list of lovers wasn't extensive, both admitting to only being intimate with partners they were in relationships with. And she learned John had taken on lessons as she was certainly the beneficiary.

His attention on her breasts wasn't a real surprise as he admitted to being a breast man over being an arse man. She'd met most of his girlfriends and remembered most of them had enjoyed some rather nice assets on their chests.