Unexpected

Seeing this specimen of maleness beside me, I began to compare him to Julius. Julius was a short, soft man, with a receding chin. Comparing Julius to my son, I wondered why I ever wanted him. He certainly wasn't a considerate lover. Of course, that thought made my eyes wander to Rick's pants. I wonder if Rick is a considerate lover?

It wasn't long before Rick was knocking on his friend's door. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't an almost eight-foot 400-pound black man in expensive name-brand clothing.

Rick reached out and shook the hand of the largest man I'd ever seen. Rick was not small, dwarfing me, and Rick's hand was enveloped by the large hand.

"Steve this is--"

I don't know what made me do it, but I interrupted Rick's introduction, stepping forward, and sticking out my hand. "I'm Ang."

Steve's monstrous hand shook mine gently, making me feel positively infantile. "It's nice to meet you, Ang," Steve said with a surprisingly high-pitched voice. "C'mon in."

Steve led us to his expansive living room and got us all drinks.

"So, Ang. Rick mentioned your boyfriend kicked you out?" Steve said in his high-pitched voice.

I nodded and explained the situation. I also included my suspicions that he cleaned out my accounts and maxed my credit cards.

When I finished, Steve sat in thought for a moment. "Okay. Unofficially, he can legally do what he's done. If it's his house, he has the right to kick you out. If he was joint on the accounts and cards, then he can take the money out of it, as you agreed when both names were put on the accounts. If you want to go after him, you can. You shouldn't have a difficult time of it, and I'd be willing to help but for that, we'd need to do some paperwork and make it official."

Hearing that Julius hadn't done something illegal made my heart fall. I was hoping that I'd have been able to drag him through the coals, today.

Rick sat forward. "Steve, how long does Ang have to make a decision?"

Steve sighed. "The sooner the better. And I do recommend going after him. Though he legally can take the money, he doesn't have the right to it."

I nodded. "Let's do it."

Steve nodded and smiled. "Okay. Come by my office first thing Monday. I'll have everything ready, and we can start the process then."

It didn't take long for us to finish up after that. I wrote down the details of his office, and Rick and I left.

As we walked down Steve's driveway, I took Rick's hand, intertwining our fingers. I held his arm to me and leaned my head on his bicep.

He squeezed my hand and walked me to my door, opening it for me.

When we were back on the road, Rick asked. "Are you okay with that?"

I glanced over at him and gave him a weak smile. "Yeah. It's the best that we can do right now."

Rick smiled, as he drove. "I could always go kick his ass for you."

I was surprised by the malice in his voice, and I did not doubt if I said yes, Rick would do as he said. The warm feelings I had been having for my son increased tenfold.

I reached out and took hold of his hand again. "No. If you did, you'd be in prison. That doesn't solve the problem either way."

He glanced over at me and smiled, before pulling my hand up and kissing the back of it, before turning his eyes back to the road once more.

When his lips gently touched the back of my hand, it felt like butterflies were going wild in my stomach. I didn't know what to think. I hadn't felt like this since I was in high school going on my first date. Of course, I was nervous about going out, but more so I was worried if my date was going to treat me like the pastor of my parents' church had. I shuddered at the thought. It had taken a lot of therapy to be able to get to the point of going on a date with a boy.

***

Rick

I drove my mother and I back to my house and helped her bring in her purchases from earlier.

Once the door was unlocked, I followed Ang down the hall to the room that was now hers and placed the bags on the bed.

"So, uh, I'll leave you to get settled in," I said as I turned around. "Umph!--"

Ang slammed into me, wrapping me in another hug. I wrapped my arms around her, and held her again. I couldn't imagine what she was going through. It was bad enough when I learned my wife was sleeping around. But if I were to find her sleeping around, and then get left in another town with no way back to my home... Talk about abandonment issues.

"Thanks, Hun. I needed that," she said as she let me go.

I stepped back holding her at arm's length and looking into her puffy face. "Going to be okay?"

She nodded.

"Good. I'm going to try and get the lawn cut before it rains again. Then later I'll make some dinner. Okay?"

Ang smiled and nodded again. "Thank you, Rick."

I leaned in and kissed her on her cheek, before heading out into the sunny afternoon.

It was hot and as soon as I had the lawnmower out I stripped off my shirt. With a yank on the pull cord, the mower buzzed to life. I worked steadily for an hour walking up and down the property. In the heat, it didn't take long for the sweat to start pouring off of me.

Despite the heat, I enjoyed the work. It was nice to be able to be outside and in the sun. Working in an office all day was nice, but without the physical aspect, it made it hard to stay in shape. I enjoyed doing some physical labour, which is one reason I worked for a landscaping company all through school. It was working for the landscaping company that let me get through school.

When I finished the front yard, I stopped for a moment and used my shirt to wipe the sweat from my brow. I had that tingle between my shoulder blades that one gets when someone is watching you. Looking around, I finally spotted them. Ang was looking out the window of her room watching me work.

When I spotted her, she gave me a smile and wave, before leaving the window.

By the time I finished mowing and trimming the lawn, I was in desperate need of hydration both inside and out. I'll grab a sports drink before I grab a shower, I thought heading for the door.

When I stepped into the kitchen through the back door of the house, I was met by Ang. She had a blue sports drink, my favourite, and a towel ready for me.

"Thank you," I said, accepting the offered objects, and downing most of the bottle of juice.

"You looked like you might need that."

I chuckled, nodding my agreement. "Yes indeed. If you give me a half-hour I'll start dinner."

"Rick," Ang said, placing her hand on my arm as I turned to head down the hall to my room. "How about I make dinner? You've done so much for me already."

I couldn't help but smile. "Ang, if you want to cook me up one of your dishes, I'm not going to say no. I just didn't know if you'd be up for cooking with everything that's happened."

She smiled and reached in to hug me. With her arms halfway around me, she stopped and scrunched up her nose. "On second thought, I'm going to put a pin in that, and hug you later. You stink! Go shower."

I let out a big belly laugh and turned for my room without another word.

***

Ang

I watched Rick's laughing form retreat up the hallway, with a flutter in my tummy. I felt like a little girl again watching her crush. Though Rick did stink, it wasn't a completely unpleasant smell. He had a masculine, earthy smell. I'd noted the smell earlier when I hugged him, but now it was so much more potent.

I turned heading for the kitchen to see what food he had. I glanced through the fridge, and pantry, and came up short. It was clear that Rick hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while. I also noted that one of the few things he had in abundance was pizza pockets and frozen burritos.

I closed the freezer door and looked around the house with new eyes. "He's such a guy," I said to the room.

There were virtually no decorations in the house, and the few pictures on the walls were of family or generic landscape scenes. All of the wall hangings were few and far between.

As I looked closer, a few things became apparent. First was that cleaning was not Rick's top priority; the house wasn't dirty, per se, but needed a dusting and a good vacuuming. The other thing was that there had been more decorations at one point. There were spots on the walls where the nail was still in place, but there was no picture.

As I continued to scan the house, it dawned on me. "Liz did the decorating. When they divorced he removed every trace of her."

Wandering back to the kitchen, I found the mixings for a simple pasta dish and set to work.

As the sauce was coming to a simmer, Rick walked up behind me, and wrapped his large arms around my chest, pulling my back into him.

Love, warmth and the contented feeling of safety flooded through me at his hug.

Releasing me he said, "That smells great."

I glanced over my shoulder at him and smiled. "It's almost ready. Can you please get the plates and stuff ready?"

He nodded and did as asked.

We sat down at the table and ate in companionable silence. Once the dishes were in the dishwasher, Rick grabbed us each a beer, and we headed to the living room.

He flipped on the news and sat on the couch.

Normally I would have sat on the other side of the couch from any man, even Julius unless I was in an amorous mood. Tonight, though not feeling frisky, sat beside Rick. He smiled over at me, before turning his attention back to the news anchor.

The news is the same depressing stuff here as it was where I formerly called home. That thought made me think of what my life was going to be like moving forward.

"Rick, what am I going to do?"

Though my voice didn't break, it felt like my emotions might overwhelm me at any moment.

Rick glanced down at me, and after a second, he turned off the TV and wrapped his arms around me again.

"Ang, tomorrow you are going to go speak with Steve at the office and retain his service. Steve will make sure Julius pays for what he did. And my offer to beat the living shit out of him still stands too."

Despite how I was feeling, Rick's words made me smile, if only for a moment.

"I have to go into work tomorrow, but I'm going to put in for some emergency time off. Then we'll make plans to get your things, and move you in here."

I looked up from within the cocoon of his arms. "Why are you doing this for me? We haven't seen each other in five years until I showed up on your doorstep. It isn't like we have a close relationship. Hell, it isn't even like we have a normal mother-son relationship."

Rick sighed and squeezed his hug a little tighter. "I'm doing this because I've been an ass-- No, that's not true. I mean, I have been an ass. I shouldn't have let Julius push me away from you. Ang, we are the only family each of us has left. I'm not going to let you live on the street. I hated him, not you. I love you. I always have, and I always will."

My cheeks had been wet from my crying, thinking about my situation, but hearing Rick speak so honestly and with true love for me, new tears flooded from my eyes. "I love you too, Baby."

"Now, do we need to call someone, work or friends or someone who might be missing you tomorrow?" Rick asked me.

I shook my head, the tears brimming from sadness again. "No. Julius didn't let me work. And I didn't really have friends. I associated with his friends and their wives or girlfriends, and in a few cases both."

I could feel, more than hear, that Rick let out a growl; it was a deep rumbling in his chest.

A few moments later, Rick said, "So you can get to Steve's office tomorrow, if you take me to work, you can take my car. I'll give you some cash and my credit card as well. Get anything you need, and if Steve needs any sort of payment, I'll make it. Okay? Then you can pick me up when I'm done work."

I didn't know what to say. Rick's actions were going above and beyond what anyone could expect even from family. "Thank you, Rick."

He gave me another squeeze, and kissed the top of my head, before releasing me.

When he was sure I was okay, he turned the TV back on, and together we chose something to watch. I snuggled in beside him and rested my head on his broad chest.

Even with the roller coaster, my emotions had been on in the past few days, and especially the last hour, I felt content cuddled up with my son, with his arm around me.

We stayed like that until we decided to go to bed. Rick headed for his room, and after my nightly ablutions in the bathroom, I headed for my room.

I climbed under the light blanket and sheet and settled in.

No matter what I did, I didn't seem to get comfortable. I may have drifted off for a moment, but watching Julius' tail lights disappear down the road filled my mind, waking me up again.

I let out a sobbed once, climbed out of bed, and made my way to Rick's room.

I stopped in the hallway outside his door. With a sigh, I knocked lightly.

"C'mon in."

I opened the door and stepped into the doorway.

"Everything okay, Ang?"

I tried to answer, but my emotions were running wild. I knew that if I uttered a sound, I would start balling again. I shook my head.

He smiled kindly and lifted the blanket so I could get in beside him.

I almost ran and climbed into his bed. I snuggled right up into his chest, and he wrapped his arm around me again. Only when I was secure in his arms did I feel that safety again, and was able to relax.

Once I was calmer, I whispered, "Thank you."

In response, he kissed the top of my head, and I drifted off to sleep.

***

I resisted the urge to give Rick a more than appropriate kiss when I dropped him off at work. When he walked away, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder at me with an odd expression on his face, before smiling at me and heading in.

With a sigh, I pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Steve's office.

While I drove, I thought back to that morning. I woke up before Rick, and again his arms were around me, one hand firmly on my breast, and his morning wood pressed up against me.

I knew I should be feeling disgusted and repulsed, but I wasn't. I felt warm, safe and desired. My nipples were hard, and pussy wet, feeling Rick against me. No man had ever made me feel like this. I didn't know I could feel like this.

When I read romance novels and some occasional smut, I thought it was all just fantasy; fiction. Now, knowing that I could feel some of what was described in those stories I wondered why I ever settled for anything less.

It didn't take me long to get to the lawyer's office and strode into the well-appointed building.

I was met by a young girl at the reception desk, who introduced herself as Pam. When I mentioned my name, she replied, " My father's been expecting you." She stood up. "Follow me please."

She led me right into the power office, which I expect all successful lawyers have.

The monstrous black man smiled and stood. "Ang, it's good to see you again," Steve said in his high-pitched voice, walking around the desk to shake my hand.

Again I was astounded by how infantile I felt next to this man.

Normally I wasn't comfortable around men. Ever since I was molested as a child, I'd had issues. Steve seemed to sense this and kept his distance.

Steve covered off the basic points of the situation to make sure that he had everything correct. When I confirmed that he did, we signed some papers, and Pam took Rick's credit card to charge the retaining fees.

"So, Ang. Tell me more about your relationship with Julius. Explain to me what it has been like the past few months. Any big changes that have happened. And remember, I need to know everything, no matter how small or insignificant. It could be the detail that matters to take Julius down."

I sighed and took a moment to collect my thoughts. I did as asked and recounted our relationship, not leaving anything out. As I went over it, I realized there wasn't much to our relationship. No real depth or feeling. Speaking it all out, I realized that I was simply Julius' live-in maid and cum receptacle."

When I stopped speaking Steve asked again, "Were there any large changes, purchases, or anything recently?"

I thought again for a moment when something popped into my head. "I got us both new cars. Our old ones were on their last legs. Instead of dumping more money into them, I bought new."

Steve sat forward. "You said, 'I got us both new cars.' Are both cars in your name?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, I knew what he was getting at. "Yes, as a matter of fact, they are!" I let out a laugh. "He couldn't get the financing because of a bad business deal, so both cars had to be put in my name. My portfolio more than covers the car payments and insurance costs."

Steve laughed right along with me. "Because they are your cars, you can just take them. I'll make some calls and get them both picked up and brought here. I'll give you a call when I have them."

"Julius wants to do it to me, I'll do it to him, and see how he likes it. I bet he's going to love taking the bus!" I laughed again.

Taking the cars wasn't going to be much, considering what he'd done to me, but it was a start.

I spent another hour with Steve. We went over all of my banking and credit information, logging into the banking apps on his computer. We verified that he did take all the money and maxed my credit on all the accounts he had access to.

Finally, Steve said, "Well, Ang. I think you have a strong case against him. I'm going to do some more digging. I've been doing this a fair while now, and I've learned to trust my spidey-sense. I have a feeling that Julius is up to something illegal, and I want to find out what. I'll do what I can to get your money back, and make him pay for everything."

Hearing that there was another person on my side, made me want to cry. I forced back the tears and thanked Steve.

I smiled at Pam on my way out, making my way to Rick's car. It was nice of Rick to lend me his car, but I couldn't wait to get mine back.

Sitting behind the wheel I took a moment and went over everything that happened over the past few hours. I felt good about what was happening.

Starting the car I pulled out to get some things as a surprise for my son.

***

Rick

Walking out of the store, I was met by the sight of Ang leaning against the hood of my car. The summer sun was hot, and she was wearing short shorts and a loose blouse. A slight sheen of sweat coated her skin, and she looked absolutely gorgeous. I had to stop and admire her for a moment, while I tried to control a part of my body which didn't know the beauty before me was related.

"How'd it go this morning?" I asked.

She smiled up at me, and stood, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me down to give me a light peck on the lips.

"It was great," Ang replied, releasing me. She tossed me the keys and walked around to the passenger side of the car. When we were both in, she continued, "Steve is going to take Julius for everything. I have no doubt. And I'm taking both of our cars!"

I looked over at her smiling face, and she recounted the situation.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Steve already had them towed!" she explained happily.

I took a deep breath, content in the knowledge that we were doing what could be done to make things right for my mother.

We were almost back to my place when a thought popped into my head. "So, Ang, since we both had a shitty birthday yesterday, why don't we go and do something together today? Just you and me?"

I glanced over at her awaiting her response. She smiled up at me. "I'd like that. It'd be nice to do something with someone who truly loves me."

I couldn't help but smile. Turning my attention back to the road, I asked, "Do you want to head back home first or..."