“I guess that’s true.”
She smiled at him.
“So, what is it? What do you miss most?”
“You really want to know?”
She nodded.
Aiden took a deep breath and watched as his mother shifted in her seat. The warm glow of the candlelight bathed the room in a surreal light.
“It’s tough to say. Maybe, the… I don’t know how to word it… The passion, maybe?”
“Passion? Really?”
“Yeah, like you know, how sometimes you can get really in sync with someone and everything becomes so… raw, emotional, you know, all of it.”
“Interesting. That wasn’t the response I was expecting.”
“No?”
“Not at all. Especially with you being so reserved just five minutes ago.”
“Yeah, sorry,” he said.
“Don’t be. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to share that with me.” A subtle smile crossed her lips as she took a slow sip.
“As your mother, I feel obliged to bring this up but… I assume you were being safe?”
“Safe? Oh, of course. I mean, I…”
“… Yes?”
He fidgeted again.
“I mean… I can’t believe I’m telling you this but, it’s kind of my thing.”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow.
“They are your thing? Condoms?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Oh no, Darling, I’m glad you did but you are going to have to elaborate.”
“I don’t think I should-“
“Please.”
Aiden’s face reddened. He took a deep breath.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay… So, I love the build-up and passion, I told you that.”
“Mmm-hmmm.”
“Well, the thing is, unless it is otherwise stated, there is this lingering question of ‘how far will this go?'”
Aiden’s breathing deepened. Evelyn noticed.
“We could be kissing, or using our hands, and everything can be getting incredibly… heavy. But when the girl asks if I have a condom, or goes to put one on me, it basically means one thing…”
“She wants you inside her.”
He looked up at his mother, her eyes reflecting the flicker of the fire in the hearth. Aiden nodded.
“For a moment, there is this raw inevitability, this certainty of what will come next. All intentions are laid bare.”
If Aiden was sitting closer to her, he would have seen the ripple of goosebumps as they traveled up her neck.
“I must be drunk. I can’t believe I just told you that,” he said.
“Are you drunk?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Probably.” He looked up at her. “Are you?”
Evelyn let her eyes travel the room, not focusing on anything in particular, but sensing things out.
“Perhaps.” Her eyes settling back on her son. “But it seems to me a good thing that you are staying here tonight. I haven’t had a man stay over in some time.”
She grinned at her son who rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, I think you’re drunk,” he chuckled.
She set her glass down, empty, off to the side on the end table. She let her hand linger there, her arm stretched out along the tufted backrest of the chaise lounge.
“No. Not quite, but not far off.”
“Well, you are being awfully-“
“Playful?”
“… I was going to say more along the line of sassy.”
“Sassy? Me?” She smiled as she let her finger circle the rim of her empty glass. “I’m just having a bit of fun.”
“I can tell,” her son said.
“I can see the appeal, by the way,” she said.
wpDiscuz