Melina Winslow knew her emotions weren't right, it wasn't right to dislike your own daughter, but she did. Melina thought her daughter was becoming a selfish, spoiled brat.
She knew it wasn't entirely Helena's fault. Her over-indulgent father spoiled her rotten and had gone overboard since their divorce 2 years ago. Whenever Helena would bat her soulful brown eyes at her daddy and give him that puppy-dog pout, Doug would give her anything she wanted. Her latest request had been for the money to go on a back-packing tour of Europe. Helena had left yesterday and wouldn't be home for a month.
Normally, all that would have been fine with Melina. Helena was a straight-A student and could afford to miss the last week of school; she had no final exams and was graduating with honors. What bothered Melina ... a lot ... was the fact that she had not bothered to call her boyfriend Chase McCloud and let him know she was canceling their date for the Prom. It was too late for Chase to get another date now, which was a damned shame as far as Melina was concerned. Chase was one of the truly good guys out there, beautiful manners, hard-working and as far as Melina knew, he had not pressured her daughter into having sex. Not that Melina had any illusions about her daughter being a virgin, she was sure Helena had taken care of that a while back.
Melina brushed a stray blonde forelock from her blue eyes as she waited for Chase to arrive. He had called last night to make final arrangements with Helena for when he would pick her up. Melina didn't know how to break it to him, so she told him Helena was out ... true enough ... and asked him to stop by today. He'd be here any minute. Just at that moment, the doorbell rang.
She answered the door and gave Chase a welcoming hug. At 6'4" with dark, wavy brown hair and broad shoulders, Chase was a real catch. He was going to medical school and the McClouds, while not rich, were well-off and prominent in the community. Chase wouldn't lack companionship for long if he dumped Helena and after today, Melina knew that was certainly in the offing. The 20-year old could do far, far better than her self-centered offspring.
"Please Chase, sit down," Melina offered. "May I get you anything? A Coke? A beer?"
"No, thank you very much, Mrs. Winslow," Chase smiled. His teeth were even and straight which made sense, his father was a dentist. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about? Where's Helena, isn't she here?"
Melina knew the best way to tell the young man was straight out. "No Chase, I'm sorry, but she isn't. She left yesterday for Europe and won't be back for a month. I'm sorry she didn't have the courtesy to call and tell you, I didn't know until you called or I would have insisted."
Melina saw from the look on Chase's face he was genuinely stunned and hurt. She took his hands and gave them a squeeze. "You're a very lovely young man and if I'm being honest, I think you're too good for my daughter. She has far too much of her father in her and that isn't a good thing."
Chase nodded. "If I'm being honest, I never cared for Mr. Winslow. I think he's a cheat and a con artist ... sorry, but I'm speaking my mind. Not only that, but what man in his right mind would leave you? You're the most stunning woman I've ever seen, sometimes ..." Chase took a deep breath "... sometimes when I'd see you out by your pool in a bikini, I'd be looking at you and not at Helena."
Melina laughed. "Goodness, how flattering that such a handsome young buck as yourself should be looking at an old woman like me," She smiled. "I'm completely flattered, thank you."
"You're not old, I happen to know you're 37 and you don't look even that. You have a beautiful face and smile, a sexy body and stunning eyes, great legs and ..." Chase stopped himself before he made a fool out of himself. "Even what you're wearing today looks great on you."
Melina felt enormously flattered at the attention of this handsome, rakish young man. She was wearing a pleated skirt and gauzy top, lacy lingerie underneath. As she had been outdoors most afternoons enjoying the sun and swimming, her skin was nicely bronzed. Daily swimming had trimmed off any excess flab; her body was in the best shape of the past 20 years. She crossed her legs and soaked up Chase's subtle flirtations.
"I think I would like that beer now," Chase smiled at her. It seemed to Melina that he didn't want to leave just yet which was fine with her, she enjoyed the company. She went into the kitchen and brought out two chilled mugs and poured beer into both with a small amount of head. "I worked in a bar when I was first married to Mr. Winslow," Melina explained.
"Thanks, Mrs. Winslow," Chase said as he took a mouthful of beer. "I still say Mr. Winslow's an idiot."
"Please stop calling me Mrs. Winslow, I'll be going back to Charteris in a few months," Melina explained. "Call me Melina or Mel, if you like. Cheers," She clinked her glass against his.
"I love your name, it's so unusual and elegant," Chase told her.
"You don't stop with the flattery, do you?" Melina sighed. "It's rare to find someone so attentive."
"It's not hard to pay attention and be attentive if you care about them," Chase told her. "It should work both ways, of course. I can't believe Mr. Winslow didn't treat you with the care and kindness you deserved."
Some wild inspiration clicked on in the recesses of Melina's brain. She finished her beer and looked over at Chase. "Listen Chase, what I'm proposing might be totally insane, but what if
I
was to be your date for the Prom? I know I'm older than you, but I could get a nice dress and we could go to dinner and I'm a good dancer. No one there would know me and I could be your `mysterious older woman'. What do they call a woman like me these days? A MILF?"
"Oh, you're definitely that Mrs. ... Melina. I'd be thrilled to have you as my date, but you don't have to do this, really," Chase said as he finished his beer.
"I know that I don't but I think I want to. I could use a night out with a handsome young man and I'd like to see if I've still got it. Come on, let's cause a scandal, what do you say?" Melina grinned.
"You're on," Chase said as he got up. At first, he shook her hand and then he kissed her cheek. "We'll go to dinner at 7 and the Prom starts at 9. Have I given you enough notice?"
"Plenty of time. So, I'll see you here tomorrow night at 6:30, will that give us enough time to get to the restaurant?"
"Yeah, not a problem. This is going to be a blast, see you tomorrow night." Chase hugged her and Melina felt a thrill go through her she hadn't felt since her days in high school. She cleaned up a bit and got on the phone, she wanted her hair done and a manicure and pedicure and new dress and new shoes, she had to hustle. It was the most excited she had felt in years.
When Chase arrived the following evening for their date, Melina hoped that she'd brought her A-game to the table. When the doorbell rang at 6:30 on the dot, she opened it. All Chase said was "Wow".
With her hair beautifully styled to frame her lovely face, diamond earrings handing from her ears and her face made up, Melina stunned. Her toned and tanned body was clad in a clingy, powder blue evening dress that was floor length, but cut low. She was also wearing a diamond bracelet and choker. Melina could see the admiration in Chase's eyes as he tried to pick up his jaw from the floor.
"You are quite possibly ... no, I take that back ... you ARE the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life," A tuxedo-clad Chase smiled as he handed her a dozen long-stemmed, red roses.
"Prettier than Helena?" She teased as she put the flowers in water.
"Oh God, yes, you are," Chase said and then laughed at his own humble attempts at flattery. It wasn't insincere; he truly had never seen anything so exquisite in his entire life. Melina moved so well in the dress and as she put on her coat, all he could think of was spending the night dancing with her and in her company would be something he would never forget.
Dinner was at a local French bistro where Melina charmed the staff by speaking near-perfect French. Everything about her impressed her young date and in the candlelit room, she was even more stunning.
What Chase didn't know is how into him Melina truly was. She found him suave, debonair and not at all full of himself, rare for someone so young. If her husband had been this gentile and considerate, she wouldn't have divorced him.
When they walked into the large hall where the Prom was being held, everyone gasped. They certainly were the most controversial couple in the room.
"Did you see who Chase came with? Where's Helena?" One young man said.
"Who cares, his date's smoking hot!" Another youth exclaimed.
"Yeah, but she's like, old," His date said. "She's got to be at least 30."
The last comment made Melina smile. She didn't even feel 30, she felt young and alive and as the music started and Chase swept her to the dance floor, she just enjoyed the feelings.
Melina noticed something immediately. "Chase, you're a wonderful dancer!" She told him as they moved on the dance floor.
He grinned at her. "Thanks. I took dance classes for the past few years to prepare for this."
Melina gritted her teeth. "I'm just sorry that Helena stood you up. She doesn't know what she's missing."
Chase grinned again. "Don't worry about it; it certainly isn't your fault. Besides, have you heard me complaining about the substitution?"
Melina and Chase spent an entire evening dancing and laughing. He was a lovely, attentive date and got her drinks, made sure she wasn't tired, he complimented her at least 3 times on how beautiful she looked. She was happy that she'd chosen to do everything right this night, the package had been expensive, but Chase was making her feel it had all been worthwhile.
The night ended far too soon to suit Melina. She intended to do something about that. Chase and she walked into the moonlit night, it illuminated her face beautifully. For a moment, she thought Chase was going to kiss her, but he didn't. She intended to do something about that as well. She pulled him close, spun him around and kissed him, with passion that had been building throughout the night. Chase began to kiss her back and as expected, he was also a wonderful kisser. Was her daughter out of her
fucking mind?
"There's more where that came from if you're interested in the full Prom experience," Melina said as she finally broke their kiss. "Take me home and I'll let you see what's under this dress."
"Melina, are you sure?"
She nodded. "If you don't want to, I understand."
"Are you insane? You're the most beautiful woman I've ever been with, of course I want to. My family's out of town, we could go to my place," Chase suggested.
"I can be more creative in my own bed," Melina purred, running a finger across his lips. "Let's go, handsome. I've been waiting all night and I don't want to wait a minute longer."
Melina was glad that Chase was a sensible young man or else they likely would have broken speed limits getting back to her home. Once inside the door, any pretext of subtlety went out the door. She dropped the dress to the ground and stood in front of Chase clad in sexy mauve and black lingerie, her body on display in that and heels. She walked towards him again and kissed him, hard.
"Take me upstairs and
