Project Grad: Kayla Cum Laude

GLURP- GLUG- GLURP

Kayla took a deep breath as she pulled her lips off of Brian's dick. It was a good thing the surround sound muffled out all the sucking noises. The giant silver screen behind Kayla cast all kinds of colors around them. She could barely tell what the movie was, just that Brian's eyes were glassed a little after the third beer.

"That's it babay." Brian drawled and nudged her head down again. "Happy Birthday to big daddy."

Kayla obliged today. If you would've known her a few years ago- make that a decade and a half ago, she would've put forth a lot more enthusiasm. Now, because of the way Brian's pubes started to match the silver of the screen, Kayla found it less desirable.

Luckily it didn't take much. Kayla hummed "Happy Birthday" through her lips and did her go-to tickle-the-balls routine and made short order of Brian. His legs started wobbling and squeezed around her shoulders. He would said he did it to keep her in place. Kayla knew it to be the path of least resistance.

"Just like the good old days huh?" Brian laid back in his seat. He his the recline button, giving Kayla the cue to hop aside.

"Yeah, brings back the memories." Kayla replied absently as she took the seat next to him. She thought back to how they had met.

They worked together at a movie theater. She was still in high school. Brian was an assistant manager. At first there wasn't really any attraction. He had even caught her once with another co-worker getting frisky in a cleaning closet. Kayla liked to remember that she was nice to him and that's why he let her off easy.

Brian liked to joke it was because she was hot and that he couldn't say no to a pretty woman. They would both agree that was the reason for their relationship.

The door behind them cracked open, casting a light across the screen.

"Mom?" A young man's voice called out.

"Yeah J?" Kayla popped her head over the theater chair. Brian paused the commotion on the screen.

"Hey I need this thing signed for grad night." Jackson pulled out a paper and handed it to her.

"Uh, do I just sign it?" Kayla glanced over it.

"Yea... you can read it if you want." Jackson added quietly.

"Oh okay. I'll take a look at it then. When do you need it?"

"I have to turn it in tomorrow at school." Jackson replied.

"Okay." Kayla put it on the armrest between her and Brian. It was enough to send Jackson back off.

"I can't believe he's graduating high school already." Brian reached for the remote. "Feels just like yesterday I saw him in your arms for the first time."

Kayla reminisced back at the comment. She had Jackson young. Like sophomore year young. Her parents ended up kicking her out, Jackson's biological father distanced himself after he was born, and she was stuck trying to support this child from a friend's home. That was until Brian heard about her plight and offered her to stay with him.

At first it was weird, but Kayla was grateful and recognized it was just what she needed for her and her baby. Brian was in his late 20's at the time and fairly stable. When Kayla was 18, the relationship had already been a little serious. It was very much a relationship of consequence.

"Yeah and now my baby is all grown up." Kayla pretended to look at the permission slip like a spinster peering through glasses. She naturally spoke slow.

Brian yanked it out of her hand at the silly site. "Please, you're just 34. Talk to me when you're like me." He put on his readers to actually read the paper. Kayla noticed how he didn't mention his age these days, especially as he was pushing 50. "Looks like they're wanting volunteers for Project Grad Night."

"What's that?" Kayla genuinely didn't know. It hadn't been a thing when she was in high school, not that she was around to know because she didn't finish.

"It's this thing they do after graduation night to 'celebrate' the graduates." Brian added the air-quotes. "Basically they don't want them to be drinking and partying elsewhere."

"Oh that's a good idea." Kayla thought about it, thinking back to her fair share of the latter. "We should help out." She smiled at Brian.

Brian feigned a smirk and handed the paper back to her. "Yeah I'm not staying up till the butt crack of dawn to corral a bunch of high school grads." He pulled a pen off the side table along with the remote, handing her the pen. "If you want to have that kind of fun, go for it."

Kayla looked at him with some mild disappointment. Brian never really wanted to do things with Jackson, even from the beginning. Yes he provided, but that was the extent. Somehow they still had a decent father-son-like relationship. There were even times when Kayla would be jealous that Jackson would go to Brian first, before her. It was that tinge of envy that made her put pen to paper.

-

As the sun shone in early the following morning, Kayla got out of bed after a restless night of sleep. She had a strange dream about being back in school, being laughed, but they weren't just normal students. She tried to recall more but as she pulled up her silk shorts, with each step to the kitchen she remembered less.

She put on the coffee for Brian and herself. As she grabbed a bowl to get Jackson's breakfast ready, a tradition she loved since he was little, the young man himself rushed into the kitchen.

"Hey there." Kayla said sleepily, waving the bowl.

"Can't." Jackson grabbed his backpack that hung from the dining chair. "I'm gonna be late for the bus."

"Oh... well... Here I can pack you something really quick." Kayla started towards the fridge and began grabbing a few things. As soon as she closed it, Jackson stood nearby with an empty bag to collect the lunch.

"Thanks!" He said. "Gotta go!" He rushed past her and Kayla noticed the permission form still on the table.

"Hey! Don't forget your paper!" Kayla managed a stifled shout. She watched incredulously at the speed Jackson ran back to get it and back out. She didn't even get a chance to offer him a ride to school.

As the commotion settled, she put the bowl back in the cupboard and quietly started making some breakfast. Her shoulders slumped forward and her cami strap occasionally fell as she worked the skillet. That time when he would gladly wait for breakfast was long gone. The more Kayla thought about it, this distance only grew in the last decade.

She would never forget the day Jackson had asked her to not stand outside to see him get on the bus. That was 6th grade. It wasn't until the following year that Brian told her that Jackson confided the reasoning to him. The other kids were teasing him endlessly. Saying things like, "Damn Jackson," or, "I'd hit that!"

She knew she was attractive then, only in her mid-20s, and she made the honest effort in being less visible like that. But it was to little avail. There was the time when she had dropped off some home-made cupcakes for Jackson's class party. Even that brief appearance elicited all kinds of comments. But she never heard it from Jackson, just after the fact from Brian. "I like your mom's cupcakes Jackson-" one peer said. "Yeah they look delicious. Think she'd let me have a lick?" And the one that made her shudder a little: "If she needs help next time, I can glaze them."

Recalling all these things, Kayla began to wonder if it was the right move, to do this volunteer thing. She had laid low all this time for a reason. She even dressed down in public, deliberately aging up, so as not to be confused for Jackson's sister. Something in the pan was starting to burn.

She served the skillet into a plate and kept looking down. Kayla stared squarely down her cleavage. 36Ds, as plump as a decade ago. In the reflection from the hallway mirror, she caught her side profile. Tanned, toned thighs snug in her silk shorts. A small, proud side of cried out at the crime of even attempting to hide all this.

Brian stumbled into the kitchen, breaking her gaze at herself in the mirror. He plopped down at the table and rubbed his eyes open. "You're already up?"

"I've been up." Kayla grabbed a plate and cup of coffee. She set them down in front of him. "He's already gone."

"Oh." Brian sniffed the coffee, slowly waking.

"I thought you didn't like butt-cracks of dawn?" Kayla tussled his balding head.

"Ah.. stop..." Brian waved her off, reaching for his coffee but instead ensnaring a finger at the hem of her shorts. He pulled Kayla towards him. "I'm don't, but...," He pulled her shorts down to her thighs, revealing her luscious butt. "This is one butt-crack I like at dawn." He licked between her cheeks.

"Oh my gosh," Kayla smacked him with her cheeks and pushed his head away. She pulled her shorts up and pointed at the plate. "Eat your breakfast." She laughed.

"Okay," Brian obliged. "You eat yet?" He pulled his robe open, nude underneath. "I got the sausage ready for you." He laughed as his morning wood bobbed.

Kayla rolled her eyes and left to take a shower. With the warm water rolling over her, she was lost in her thoughts again. It had been a long time since she felt sexy. Maybe even longer when that validation came from someone other than Brian. As the soap suds multiplied, so did Kayla's doubt. Maybe she never really experience that confidence from herself.

-

Kayla couldn't shake the feeling all day. She even found herself shirking attention at Target. A group of boys stopped talking and watched her walk past the electronics section, only to make their observations when they thought she was out of earshot.

It wasn't the fact that they did that that bothered her. What was eating away at her conscience was that at some point she had not only stopped desiring the attention, but actively avoiding it. Moments earlier she didn't even consider stopping in the clothing section to find something cute. What was the point?

She remembered her original errand in coming to the store, to get Jackson's tie for graduation. This was going to be a big moment in his life, and by proxy, theirs as a family. Why couldn't she participate in that? She had every right. And the dresses across the aisle beckoned her to confirm that.

She tried on the paisley corsage dress. The girl at the dressing room desk even raised an eyebrow to that. In the mirror, Kayla could imagine this being something her grandmother would wear. How could she have even considering taking it off the rack?

Persisting in finding something good, Kayla went back out to the other racks. She flipped through everything, finding some things missing her size and other things too dull in color. Until she came across an off-the-shoulder, short-sleeve ruffled dress in light blue. It sparked something.

In the same moment, she heard a commotion behind her and the sudden quiet when she looked back. The same group of boys had arrived in the area adjacent to her. When she looked at them, they looked away.

If it was just once, Kayla could've shaken it off. But this was the second time and she felt compelled to say something. "Hey!" She kept her voice low, but with a stern tone.

One of the boys made the mistake of looking her way. Before he could avoid the attention, Kayla called out to him. He pointed to himself and then looked at his peers who continued to conveniently look away. He had no choice but to listen to this lady's demand.

"Hey." Kayla adopted a softer tone as the boy approached. He clearly looked like Jackson's age, but maybe more of a miscreant. "I need an opinion." Kayla held up the two ties she was getting for Jackson. She intended to get both, but wanted to see if this boy could pick the one she preferred. "Which one do you think is better."

This was a strange form of punishment, the boy likely wondered, for gawking at women at the store. "Uh..." He started, his face clearly indicating whether it matter or not. "That one." He pointed to the tie that Kayla liked.

She smiled. "Cool." Kayla put them back in the cart. "You have a good eye." She thought for a second to thank him for giving her the confidence in her choice. But that would have been weird. And the reality of it was that she was already confident in her choice, but it was satisfying to seek out the validation on her own terms.

"Uh thanks." The young man broke her inner thought process.

"Hey what do you think of this?" Kayla ruffled through her cart and held up the light blue dress. She could read the surprise on his face. "Too much?" She scrunched her face in asking.

"I- uh..." He looked back towards his friends, who had since moved further down the aisle, "I don't know really."

"Yeah." Kayla looked at the dress. "Maybe I need to try it on." Her eyes widened. "Hey you wouldn't mind if I got your opinion again?" She didn't let the hesitation in his face linger. "It would just take a few minutes, just right over there." She pointed to the dressing room area. "Come on."

Kayla took off and beckoned him to follow. The young man walked reluctantly a few paces behind her, looking around for a way out from whatever this lady had roped him into. He had learned his lesson in giving unwarranted attention.

"Um I'm sorry ma'am." The girl at the dressing room counter halted them. "Only one person allowed at a time." She pointed to the rules placard behind her.

"Oh it's fine." Kayla didn't miss a beat even as she spoke slowly. "He's my son, he's just gonna wait in the hall." The statement raised the eyebrows of both the attendant and the young man. But when Kayla looked at him, he nonchalantly nodded.

The attendant remained skeptical and gave her the key and number. Kayla took in the small thrill in beckoning the boy back with the all clear. The dress was cute, but would she look hot in it? She pointed to the spot right outside of the door for him to wait.

As she stripped down, Kayla felt the rush of anticipation grow. She was surprised she could feel it between her legs. When was the last time she felt turned on like this? She couldn't help but feel there. Wet. Looking down the louvers of the door, she could see the shoes of the young man shifting around, anxious.

Kayla pulled on the dress and smoothed it out as she admired herself in the mirror. Her nipples were hard, indenting on the ruffle that covered her bust. It hugged her curves magnificently. It would look perfect in the pictures. She didn't even think what Brian would think of it. But it did remind her of the guy on the other side of the door.

She opened the door slowly, peeking her head out to ensure it was only him behind it. Kayla held a hand up to motion him to move further aside so that he could look within the door way. When he held the door open, she posed. "Well? What do you think?"

His mouth was ajar. It was a good thing his reaction couldn't be seen from beyond the hallway.

"Is the color good?" Kayla whispered as she looked at her self again in the mirror. She caught his nodding in the reflection. "What about the fit?" She pulled down at the side of the dress, around mid-thigh, wiggling her butt in the process. He nodded again.

"Speechless huh?" Kayla smirked, "I guess that's good!" She turned to him and winced a little. "Oh you know what, maybe it's not perfect." She pulled at the the top of the dress near her shoulder, pulling it out. "It's kinda tight up here."

Kayla looked down at her chest and felt his eyes follow. "It kind of looks fine with the ruffle, but I don't know." She pulled the ruffle up, revealing the hard nipples it was hiding. "Too tight right?"

She relished in watching him gulp while she held the ruffle up. He was mesmerized and Kayla couldn't break the gaze. Instead she looked down to see he had pitched a tent in his pants. Being speechless was one thing, but this was the confirmation Kayla realized what was she actually wanted.

Enjoying a few more glances at herself in the mirror and back at his stunned reflection, Kayla reached for the door again. "Thanks for your help. You can go." She closed it and started to peel down the dress, watching his feet slowly walk away.

--

Later that afternoon, Kayla parked her car in the driveway just as Jackson's friend dropped him off from school. She waved to Maurice as he put it in drive and took the road. "I hope you're thanking him for these rides, J." She reminded him to be gracious as his backpack was slack on his shoulder.

"Yeah I am." Jackson replied, lacking convincing.

"That's good," She registered how tired he looked, "Go on in, I'll fix you something."

Inside, Jackson set out his notebooks and textbooks on the kitchen table. Kayla drove home the fact that school came first. That he didn't, in some way, stray the way she did. But she had never explicitly said that.

"Uh, they gave me this in final block..." Jackson handed her a plain envelope simple marked: "To the parent of..."

It was a letter from the Parent Teacher Association outlining the duties of Project Grad volunteers. She had been cleared to participate. "Oh wow J, Did Brian tell you? I'm going to be helping out with graduation night."

"What?" Jackson nearly choked on his snack.

"Yeah, I figured it might be the last chance I have to be involved in your school stuff."

"Oh." Any semblance of Jackson's rebuttal deflated. "I guess you're right." He couldn't rob this of his mother.

"I'm so excited!" Kayla replied. "I got this great dress for graduation! And it says here in this letter we get volunteer t-shirts!" She was jubilant, but in a sophomoric way. "Do you think I will have to go to this orientation thing or will I be okay just going in the night of?"

Jackson read the letter. "It looks like they tell you everything you need to know here. You could just get there early so you get your assignment."

"Oooh. I get an assignment?" Kayla scanned over the letter again. She would go on to read over it a few more times over the next couple of days.

There would be stations the students cycled through, each station having two volunteers manning the activity. It was the volunteer's job to ensure everything moved smoothly for the grads. Judging by the list of activities, Kayla was confident Jackson could avoid her if he wanted, and she was okay with that.

The remainder of the week before graduation was a whirlwind. While Kayla was so excited to participate, she realized something she had completely overlooked: It will have been almost 16 years since she returned to her old high school.

-

The feelings were certainly overwhelming when she entered the gymnasium that evening. The graduation went on without a hitch and they got great pictures in front of the auditorium. And while the light blue dress certainly turned many heads to Kayla's delight, she was glad to be out of it and in some khaki short shorts and her volunteer shirt.

She approached the volunteer check-in desk to be greeted by two older ladies. "Name?" One of them looked up.

"Uh, Kayla."

"Jackson's mom?" Her name tag read Wanda, with some reserved surprise at Kayla's appearance. The truth of it being, Kayla probably could have passed as a second or third year senior.

"Yes." Kayla stood at attention, perky and willing.

"Okay, you are going to be starting out at the food bar, serving snacks. Here is the master schedule. We've highlighted your name throughout. Just make sure you clear a break with your station partner and stick to the time table."

"Oh okay..." Kayla hesitated. "And the food bar is..."

"Right there behind you in the far left corner in the gym." The other lady, Mary, piped up.

"Right, got it." Kayla looked back and nodded. "You know I used to go to school here!"

"Really?" Wanda feigned surprised. "Us too. Class of 1973."

"Oh cool." Kayla didn't even try to do the mental math. "Class of 2002 for me." A small white lie considering she didn't actually graduate. Wanda and Mary smiled and nodded as Kayla backed to go to her station.