Tim pulled up to the driveway of his house. "This is it. Last day of work done...off to college next weekend" he audibly said to himself. At 18, he'd graduated high school just a few months ago. He'd worked throughout the summer to help offset the bewildering cost of college - one hamburger at a time.
Opening his car door and shutting it with a *thunk*, his mind was racing. For the first time, college seemed *real*. What would it be like? Was he prepared? He didn't want to let him mom down. She was a single mother who'd given birth to him at a tender age of 16. It could not have been easy. And yet, she'd sacrificed (and sacrificed) to put food on the table and make sure he had a path to success. She was the best mother he could have hoped for.
Walking up to the door of his house, he felt strange. Even as a teenage mother, his mom had somehow completed high school, went through both college and law school, and was now - only in her mid-30's - a burgeoning lawyer. Walking the cement path from his car to the front door, he reflected - not for the first time - that his mother was an amazing woman. If superheroes had favorite superheros, undoubtedly his mother would be a common one. She'd even managed to buy the worst house in the nicest neighborhood. Juggling that many responsibilities, even a superhero would struggle to do that.
That house was no longer the worst house in the nicest neighborhood, though. His mother had put significant work into it and, just now, it looked just as nice as all the other homes. Thinking of the shoes he had to fill, he shook his head in disbelief. Tim didn't know that he could ever match his mother's admirable successes, but he *definitely* knew that he did not want to disappoint her.
Approaching the front door, he stuck his key in the lock and turned it. With the key unlocked, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
"SUUUURPRIIIIIIISEEEEE!" A whole crowd of friendly faces greeted him as the door swung open - including his mother.
"Ooooh honey! We're all so proud of you! We all wanted to throw you a little surprise party! You're off to one of the best colleges in the country after this weekend is over. I'm so proud! Come here." He greeted his mother's open arms racing towards him with an strong hug.
Breaking the hug off, his mother grabbed him by the shoulders, her eyes watery with pride. "Okay honey, so everyone here wanted to see you off! And everyone brought gifts that you're probably going to need! So have fun, okay?"
"Okay, mom. Love you!"
Tim scanned the room. Many of his mother's friends were in attendance. Quite a lot of them had been a common fixture growing up - most seemed like aunts. Exclusively women, he noted that a number of them were from the law firm which his mother now worked at. Mostly of the upper crust, the women were universally well-dressed. And several of the women he'd had crushes on for years were in attendance.
"Okay, Tim. Go and let everyone know how much you appreciate their gifts."
Per his mother's instructions, Tim made his rounds around the room. As he did, he could see that the room was bounding with balloons, sweets, and gifts. He noted the gifts would be unusual in any other setting: everything from backpacks to pencils to space organizers adorned the table.
As he made his rounds, he thanked every woman in turn. But when he arrived at Mrs. Langley...well...he hadn't even noticed she was here before. And truth be told, as soon as he realized that his mother's friends were in attendance, he'd been looking for her.
As beautiful as ever, Mrs. Langley was quickly approaching 40. At her age though, Tim found her more attractive than any girlfriend he'd had in high school. Her platinum blonde hair always seemed to shine against her gentle, perpetually-beaming skin. Almost always, he saw her in a dress that terminated above her knees. Protruding from beneath her dress, the skin of her shins always seemed to shine like mirrors. And her eyes...her lake blue eyes... Just now, those lake blue eyes were even more striking courtesy of her royal blue dress.
As always, her outfit was completed with a club soda in one elegant, manicured hand. She worked out like a fiend was very conscious of health. She rarely drank anything besides club sodas.
"Hello, Tim. Congratulations! A very good school, I must say." Her tone seemed...different than the other women. Not yet 40, she was not only a fearsomely beautiful woman, but she was already a formidable attorney. Perhaps aided by her marriage to one of the firm's top (and much older) partners, she'd had a meteoric rise through its ranks.
"Thanks Mrs Langley!" Tim didn't know what else to say, so he said the only thing that wouldn't seem strange. All he really seemed to notice that was like most of her dresses, this one terminated above her knees...but it was unusual in just how far above her knees it did so. This particular one terminated a healthy few inches above her knees - and one side of the dress's cut even soared up her outer thigh to reveal much of the toned, supple skin under it. The two straps holding the dress up plunged downwards to reveal a fair amount of her cleavage. Mrs. Langley's breasts were perky - she'd likely had them worked on at some point - but they were not so augmented as to be obvious. With the thin spaghetti straps also showing ample collarbone, Tim chose the safest option of all: he only truly dared admiring her collarbones for any significant amount of time.
"So, tell me Tim...what are you going to study? Political science? Become a lawyer like your mother? Or premed?" Each word seemed to drip with seduction. But it was likely just Tim's rampant boyhood fantasies bubbling to the surface.
"Aerospace engineering." Drowning in her strikingly-blue eyes, he'd seemed to have lost the power of speech. He said as little as he could lest he seem like a buffoon in front of her.
"Aww, yes! An engineer. Ooooh, women *love* engineers!" As she said it, she teasingly motioned her shoulder towards him.
"Really? I never thought girls liked the nerds much." He'd been so shocked at her statement that his power of speech hadn't failed him.
"Honey, girls don't. *Women* do, I assure you." The way that the word "women" dripped off her tongue was likely the most inexplicably-sexy thing he'd ever experienced.
"So M-M-M-Mrs. Langley... w-w-what gift should I thank you for? The backpack?" For a moment, Tim scanned the gifts in a futile attempt to find one whose name he could say half-as-sexily as the way she'd said "women." In a few short seconds, though, his inspiration fizzled out - he'd decided better against it.
"Awww...yes. I'm sorry, Tim...I didn't actually get you anything. I guess I owe you, huh?" When she'd mentioned owing him, she again motioned her shoulder towards him - and she even winked.
"What did that wink mean?" Tim wondered. A few vivid fantasies came to mind...but then he quashed them. "Silly, she's just being nice." he thought.
"Well, it's okay Mrs. Langley. There's so much here, I don't think that I even need anything else."
"Oooh, I can think of a few things, darling. My treat - I owe you. By the way, it looks like your mother wants to talk to you." With the same hand holding her obligatory club soda, Mrs. Langley pointed at the direction just behind him.
Turning around, Tim wondered "What was that all about? Was she flirting with me, or am I just making things up? And she can think 'of a few things'?"
With his vivid imagination, her "I can think of a few things" sent shivers through him. Best not think too much on it, lest he start becoming stiff at this party. That would make for an awkward event.
His mother approached him with arms open. She was having a good time - she was getting a bit drunk.
"Timmy! Listen. Tonight, the girls are throwing a party in my honor. Just wanted to let you know, okay? It's gonna be at Tiffany's house."
"Mr and Mrs. Langley's house?" Tim asked, noting the coincidence.
