Serendipity For Two

Traci still couldn't quite come to grips with what the pair had done, although she had to admit that she certainly enjoyed herself.

"That certainly wasn't something you learned from your parents, young man," Traci giggled.

It was RJ's turn to blush.

"I'm really going to miss you, Trace," RJ said.

"The same here, RJ."

The two slept together for a bit with Traci snuggled into RJ's chest and his right arm wrapped around her. He woke up grinning at 3:10 AM and rubbed his hand up and down Traci's back. She woke up to see the young man's smile, and returned it brightly.

"I need to go, babe. Mom would have a shitfit if she gets up and I'm not home, especially if I'm right next door," RJ said. "Why don't you come over about noon? I'm going to leave for school in the late afternoon."

Allie made a big lunch for the four. They laughed and talked for several hours before RJ had to leave. When he got up to go, he leaned in to Traci and then pecked her on the lips before moving to hug his parents. When he and Traci kissed, Allie gave her husband a surprised look, but didn't say anything.

"I'm probably going to miss him as much as you guys. He's a great kid. I can't thank you enough for pairing us up, Al," Traci said after RJ left.

"He seemed to enjoy his time with you, too," Allie said. "You got anything you want to tell me?"

"I... uh... no," Traci stammered, blushing. "RJ say anything?"

"Not a surprise, he has said nothing, but he did blush when I asked him."

"Allie, you're my best friend. I would never take advantage of RJ," Traci blurted out.

Allie looked over to her grinning husband. She sighed and switched the conversation to something different.

During his previous three years at college, RJ always had an active social life. He was known as a good guy who was always a good date, in addition to being handsome and solidly built. He went out three or four times early in his senior year, but for the most part, usually spent time by himself. His roommate chided him about becoming an old man.

"Come on, bud, party at the DG house tonight," Mark Linn, his roommate said. "Hell, don't you have relatives over there, a couple of sisters and a few cousins? Shit, you're practically guaranteed to score tonight. Now get off your ass and let's go."

"S'okay, Mark. I'm good. Got to study," RJ said.

"God, you've turned into a pussy-whipped fucker. Who is this hometown honey, anyway?"

"I'm not pussy-whipped. And there is no hometown honey," RJ growled.

"Yeah, I'm buying that."

After his roommate left the apartment, RJ flopped down on the old sofa in the main room and picked up his phone.

"U there?" he texted.

"Yeah. What's up, Handsome? No date?" Traci replied.

"Not in mood. Miss my trivia partner," RJ texted.

"So you're going with trivia partner?" Traci texted as her phone rang.

"Hey, babe, you know a gentleman never tells," came the voice on the other end of the line when Traci answered.

"Uh, umm... well I didn't tell either, but I think your mom knows, and if she knows, so does your dad."

There was silence on the line for several seconds before Traci heard a whispered, "Fuck."

"She sort of asked me if anything was going on, and I guess I got flustered and blushed. She wasn't born yesterday. She knows," Traci asserted.

"Are you embarrassed at what we did?" RJ asked quietly.

"Truthfully, no," Traci answered immediately. "But it makes me look like I'm... preying on young men. Makes me look... desperate."

RJ could hear tears building in Traci's voice.

"Don't think that for a minute, lady. I'm not some dumbass 16-year-old virgin hornball. You didn't prey on me any more than I preyed on you. You can't help it if I'm charming and delightful beyond my years. And I can't help it if you are beautiful, smart and sexy."

RJ didn't go home again until the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. Allie was disappointed when he told her he had a date for Wednesday night.

"Traci?"

"Who else? Something wrong, Mom?" RJ asked.

Allie hesitated. Then cleared her throat.

"I didn't put you two together for sexual fun and games, RJ. I'm sorry if she took advantage of you..."

"Slow down, Mom," RJ declared. "I'm only going to say this once. Traci certainly didn't take advantage of me, and I didn't take advantage of her. We only slept together the night before I left... and it was completely mutual. And it wouldn't have made a difference if she were 20 or 50.

"She's your best friend for a reason, Mom. And I totally get it. She's a helluva woman... age doesn't count for shit."

Allie nodded without speaking.

"Try to have her home early, RJ. Remember, she helps me cook Thanksgiving dinner for this crew."

It was RJ's turn to nod without speaking.

RJ went up to his room, changed his clothes and went over to get Traci for their date. As usual, the date went well. The pair didn't end the night in bed together.

Traci was over at the Loman house on Thanksgiving morning by 10. The Lomans usually had a full house of all four grandparents and the families of Roger's sister and Allie's brother. Traci had been helping out for the last several years. She was known and liked by the entire clan.

"Hey, ba... Traci. Up and at 'em early with Mom, I see. Starting to smell good in here," RJ said as he walked up behind Traci and put a hand unpretentiously on her shoulder. She smiled seeing him and watched him walk over and kiss his mother's cheek. Roger watched the scene play out from the safety of the doorway.

"Come on, RJ, help me get the two leaves in the dining room table," Roger said with a barely hidden grin toward his son.

Once out of earshot of the women, Roger looked directly into his son's eyes.

"Tell me you know what you're doing, RJ," Roger said. "She's your mom's best friend, as close as Mom has to a sister. And she's... old enough to be your mother."

"I got that, Dad. You guys can stop worrying, though. Right now we're just really good friends, but I don't see it going anywhere. I mean, she's a beautiful older woman. She can do a lot better than a stupid 21-year-old."

"Don't sell yourself short, RJ. You're far from a stupid 21-year-old. As long as you don't hurt Traci, I'll support you in whichever direction this goes. And yeah, she is a beautiful older woman. I think even your mom would agree with that," Roger said.

"Thanks, Dad."

Roger and Allie both made sure to watch their son and Traci throughout the day. Both noted that whenever she wasn't in the kitchen with Allie, Traci seemed to always find her way to RJ's side, and the two seemed to find time for quiet conversation and laughter throughout the day. Allie had to admit to herself that RJ and Traci made a cute couple.

"So what's going on with Traci and RJ?" Allie's mother, Sarah, asked her daughter after the meal was finished.

"Uhh... what do you mean, Mom?" Allie answered uncomfortably.

"They almost look like... young lovers. You know what I mean?" Sarah asked.

"Not really sure what you mean, Mom. They are good friends, I can tell you that," Allie answered.

"Whatever," Sarah said, giving her daughter a look of disbelief.

RJ placed his suitcase inside the door when he got back to his house at Christmas break three weeks later.

"Back in a bit," he called to his parents and headed next door to Traci's.

"They grow up so fast," Roger joked to Allie as the pair sat watching television in the family room. His wife raised her eyebrows, then gave her husband a frown.

"I might have started something I can't stop," Allie said.

"Why would you want to stop this?" Roger chuckled. "Just let it play out. It will fade off. He's 21. She's 39. They live in different worlds."

"But right now they are existing in the same world. It doesn't bother you that our son is sleeping with my best friend? How weird is that? She's not some lust-addled teenager, Rog," Allie said.

"Hey, lady!" RJ announced as he walked into Traci's house.

Traci jumped off the sofa, walked most of the way over to RJ and jumped into his welcoming arms. They exchanged a passionate kiss as RJ whirled the woman around like a toddler. They both felt their heart rates soar.

"Do you feel that?" RJ said to the woman.

"Yes," she answered softly.

"Then we need to do something about that."

An hour later, the pair were laying cuddled together on Traci's bed, running their hands up and down each other's bodies and giggling like teens.

"We still need to do something about this feeling, Traci," RJ said.

"I know you're a kid, RJ, but give this old lady a chance to snuggle and recover..."

"I'm not talking about another go-round," RJ interrupted. "I'm talking about us."

"Us" Traci whispered.

"Us," RJ whispered back.

Traci sat up, worry etched on her face. She sighed, which caused her large boobs to move up and down seductively. RJ gently rubbed each nipple before taking the top sheet and pulling it up to Traci's shoulders.

"Too much distraction, babe," he chuckled.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Okay, what do you want to say?"

"I know this," RJ said, spreading his hands out and making a circle over the bed, "wasn't what my mother had planned when she set us up, but this..." he again circled his hands, "...is where we are at, and I, for one, couldn't be happier. I really think we need to figure out if this..." another circle "...is something that has a life of its own. I want us to be a real couple, not just two people standing in close proximity."

Traci squinted her eyes and tilted her head while studying RJ closely.

"Wait. You want me to be... your girlfriend?"

RJ nodded, unable to speak as his heart pounded heavily in his chest.

"Oh shit, RJ. Your mother would kill me. Hell, I'm old enough to be her," Traci rasped.

"But you're not her, and I think the age difference could work itself out... if this is true love."

"Love," Traci whispered.

RJ explained his growing feelings for Traci and the fact that the separation while he was in college had done nothing to diminish those feelings. He told Traci that he felt they needed to be a real couple to figure out if those feelings were real.

"Assuming that you feel the same as me, which I think you do. I think this has substance and is way more than simple lust," RJ said.

"Oh my God, RJ," Traci sobbed. "This is so much more than lust. I haven't felt like this since... well, you know."

Traci didn't have to say her ex-husband's name for RJ to know to whom she was referring.

RJ told Traci that he would come home every other weekend during his last semester, and that he would take a job in their city after he graduated.

"I can't ask you to give up your future for me, RJ. You've got your whole career ahead of you..."

"Actually, I've got my whole future ahead of me, Trace, and I think I want to share that with you. I can find other jobs in other cities, but can I find another woman like you?" he questioned.

She blushed, and he smiled.

"You know there are a hundred ways this could go wrong?" Traci asked.

"I'm willing to take that chance if you are," RJ answered. "First, though, we have to tell my parents."

Traci got a worried look on her face. RJ kissed her gently on the lips.

"Allie's going to be the toughest get," Traci said. "Even though she's my best friend, she's still your mom, and nobody is ever going to be good enough for you... even me. Especially me."

The pair made plans to meet at RJ's house the next day at noon. When RJ went home later, he told his parents he had an important announcement he needed to make at noon the next day. He asked his mother if she wouldn't mind making a lunch for four.

"Of course not, sweetie. Can I assume Traci is our fourth?" she said with a smile.

"She's quick, RJ. You know that," his father said in mock seriousness as she punched him on the shoulder.

Allie was completely flummoxed when RJ told his parents his plans the next day over lunch.

"You can't be serious, RJ!" she practically screamed. "This is wrong in so many ways, and you both know it! You can't date my son, and you can't date my best friend! Say something, Roger!"

"Good lunch, Al," he said calmly to his wife. "By the way, I wish you two the best."

"Th-that's all you're going to say? Your son is going to date a woman almost my age. And Traci is going to date a kid, a goddamn kid," Allie blurted out.

"If you hurt him, Traci, I'll kill you. And if you hurt her, RJ, I'll kill you in your sleep. And no sex, no sex, no sex! Oh, my god, Roger. Do something!"

Allie got up in tears and ran from the room. The master bedroom door slammed shut a moment later.

"You two do realize you've ruined my Saturday, right?" Roger asked.

"Sorry, Dad, but we wanted to get things out in the open. No slinking around like rats. We're not embarrassed. We understand this might... be difficult," RJ said.

"Mr. Understatement," Roger said, reaching into his liquor cabinet to get his good single malt scotch. "Celebrate with me, then one of us is going to have to face her."

"I hope this goes every bit as you two want it to go," Roger said.

The trio sipped their scotch in silence. Then Traci got up, went to Allie and Roger's bedroom and quietly knocked on the door.

"Al, let me in. We need to talk."

Allie unlocked the door and Traci went inside the room.

"Al, you know I would never do anything to hurt RJ. He's family," Traci whispered. "I tried to talk him out of this. Not because I don't want this chance to love him, but I think he would be better off with someone closer to his own age.

"There are all kinds of ways this could go wrong. But what if it goes right, Al? He's a great kid. I think I love him. What if we don't give this a shot? Could I be giving up the best thing in my life?"

"I know you're right, Trace, and I want you to find that amazing love. This is just so weird, right? But you're right. He is a great kid. Roger and I are so proud of him.

"And if I think about it, it's putting two of my favorite people together. It's just that this might change everything.

"Okay, Trace... but if it doesn't work out, be gentle... and don't get knocked up."

Traci's mouth opened but no words came out. The pair hugged each other and cried a bit. They left the room with their arms around each other.

"Where's my glass of single malt? Don't I get to celebrate, too?" Allie asked.

While Roger was pouring for all four of them, Allie walked over to RJ, planted a kiss on his cheek and said, "So help me, you'd better not hurt her."

RJ looked at his mother with wide eyes.

"Understood."

Real life smacked RJ and Traci in the face during graduation weekend. Traci and his parents made the two-hour trip to the university, and the night before graduation the four wound up at a Texas Roadhouse for a celebration dinner. At one point during the meal, RJ leaned over and kissed Traci lightly on the lips. As usual, Allie looked somewhat uncomfortable while Roger just grinned.

A few minutes later, Traci and Allie got up to go to the restroom, and two women from the next table got up after them and followed them inside. Almost from the minute the unknown pair entered, their talk was about the "obviously horny cougar who was all over that handsome kid." Traci blushed crimson, but didn't have the stomach to rebut the talk. Allie, on the other hand, waited mere seconds before exploding.

"I'm that handsome kid's mother, and this is his girlfriend, and if you two have a problem with that I can smack that stupid look off both of your faces!" Allie threatened.

The two women, who both appeared to be in their 20s, looked shocked but didn't offer any resistance, immediately leaving the lounge. Allie looked at a teary-eyed Traci and grabbed a Kleenex to dry her eyes.

"You can't let stupid people pick your direction in life, sweetie."

"Maybe she's right. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all," Traci sniffled.

"Whose opinion counts more? That of some bimbo or RJ?" Allie said, glancing sideways at her friend.

Traci was quiet for the remainder of the weekend. RJ, caught up in events, didn't notice.

After graduation, RJ got a job in the IT department at Mixon Healthcare Corp. As he was settling in to his new work life, he was not quite paying attention to all of the other facets of his life, in particular, his girlfriend. Traci knew she cared deeply for RJ, but her misgivings since graduation weekend had grown steadily. She desperately needed to talk with her best friend... but her best friend just happened to be her boyfriend's mother. It took her a week to figure out what she needed to do.

"Do you have a few minutes you could spare, Roger?" Traci asked from the other end of the phone during a workday.

Roger answered affirmatively, although he wasn't sure why Traci was calling him.

"Allie's my best friend, Roger, but I can't talk to her about this," Traci said. "I mean... I'm really confused."

"Talk to me, Traci. I'll do my best... for a lowly man," Roger said with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Traci explained what happened during the graduation weekend, and that she felt she was holding RJ back from a bright future. RJ could probably have taken a job in almost any city across the country, but he stayed close to home because she lived here.

"I love him, Roger. I don't want to be a boat anchor around his future," Traci said as she started to sob.

"He loves you, too, Traci. He doesn't see you as a boat anchor. If you leave him because some people can't handle the age thing, that doesn't speak well for you, the same way it wouldn't speak well for him if he left you because his friends couldn't handle the age difference. Put the shoe on the other foot... and think on it hard, Traci. Let love make the call... not insecurity, not other people's feelings. If you walk away now for those reasons... how are you going to feel five years from now, 10 years from now?

"How can you pass up a chance at true love because of a number?

"Traci, I love my son to death, and I want only the best for him... and I think that's you. Yes, you being older than him and his mother's best friend are two factors in the mix, but ultimately it's about love... and you and him. For both of you, I'm asking that you be strong and give this your best shot."

Roger didn't hear a response. The silence stretched on for several more seconds.

"Traci? Are we good?" Roger asked.

"Yes," she whispered.

RJ heard some of the cruel jokes and whispers when he and Traci went out in public. He knew it was coming, and he knew that he couldn't get into a fight every time something was said. He realized he would have to pick and choose his time and place. He knew he was strong enough to handle the negative voices, but he worried for Traci.

"If this ever gets too hard on you, you'll let me know, right Trace?" RJ said one night when the two were eating. "I love you, but I don't want to be the cause of any pain for you."

"And I don't want to hold your career back, RJ. Don't be limiting your future for this old lady," she said.

RJ heard exactly what Traci was saying.

"Do you consider my parents to be old, Trace?" he asked. "Should I be reserving space in a nursing home for them?"

She looked sideways at RJ. She quickly figured where this was going.

"You know, at 22 you're smarter than me, RJ. I know your folks aren't that old, and yes, I know they are three years older than me. But I see the looks we get when we're together... and sometimes I hear the whispers," she said.

"Fuck those idiots!" RJ cried, quickly realizing that he lost his cool in front of Traci.

"I'm sorry, Trace. I lost my head.

"Did you ever consider that those women just might be jealous of you... not because you're dating a younger guy, but because you're prettier at your age than they'll ever be at any age? As for the other guys, they're not ridiculing you, babe. They're wondering how they can steal you away from 'that stupid kid.' Haven't you ever noticed how many heads turn when you go someplace, especially since you started dressing a little hotter?"