Sylvia's Mother

Brenda was grinning like the Cheshire cat when the two of them came back downstairs. "Did your shower warm you up?" she asked.

"Ah...yeah...it sure did," Jason, who knew he was blushing furiously, replied.

"Never mind," her blushing mother snapped. She had put on white terry pajamas with lace around the cuffs and around the neck and down the front, which was held together by loop fasteners which allowed just a hint of her smooth flesh to be visible.

"Sexy outfit, Mom," Brenda chortled. "I made you guys some soup." She held up her hands. "And before you start in on me about cooking again, it's canned soup. All I had to do was add water and warm it up."

"That sounds delicious," her mother said. "I could use something to warm me up right now."

"Yeah, me, too," Jason said.

"Well, sit down, then," Brenda said. "It's ready."

They ate the soup, and some toast, then they cleaned up the dishes. "What are we gonna do now?" Brenda asked.

"How come you're home early?" Jason inquired.

"The rain messed things up," Brenda replied. "Besides, all the work was done, usually we ride in the afternoons, but with the weather like it is, we couldn't do that today."

"That's too bad, Honey," her mother said. "It's a shame your last day turned out like this."

"Oh, well, I'll make up for it the next time we come up," Brenda said. She brightened. "Max, the manager, says he thinks he might be willing to hire me as an instructor next summer."

"That would be wonderful," her mother said.

While the women were talking, Jason wandered over to the stereo, picked out some CD's and put them in the player. The soft sounds of romantic music began filling the room.

"What, you planning on dancing the afternoon away, that it, Jason?" Brenda asked.

"Well, it's better than sitting here watching it rain," Jason replied. "Want to dance, Brenda?"

This time Brenda was the one who blushed. "Me...you...you want to...to dance with...with me?" she stammered.

"Why not?" Jason asked. "What's the matter?"

"I...I can't dance," Brenda replied. She looked toward her mother, who was grinning at her.

"Go ahead, Honey," she said. "You can do it."

"Ah...I..." Brenda gasped, looking back at Jason.

Jason stepped toward her, put one arm around her waist, and took her hand in his free hand. "Just relax, listen to the music, and let yourself feel the beat," he said. "It's easy. Heck, if I can do it, anybody can."

Brenda did follow his instructions and, after a few moments of moving stiffly around the floor in his arms, she seemed to relax and began moving in time with the music.

"See?" Jason said. "Once you let the music lead, it's easy, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Brenda said. "It's just that I'm not used to this kind of music, you know?"

"If you'd asked me to dance to the stuff they play at school dances, I would have been the one saying he couldn't do it," Jason told her.

They spent the rest of the afternoon dancing and having a good time. Jason especially liked it when he got to dance with Karen. He loved having her in his arms and feeling her body moving under the soft pajamas she had on. He'd just re-loaded the CD player with a new batch of CDs when the back door opened.

"Anybody home?" Sylvia called.

"Yeah, what's goin' on?" Paul yelled.

The two of them walked into the living room and found Jason, Brenda, and Sylvia's mother. Jason and Brenda were dancing, but stopped when Sylvia and Paul appeared.

"Hey, far out!" Paul exclaimed. "Party time! But you gotta put on some good music, not that crap!" Without asking permission, he walked to the CD player, shut it off, and began looking through the collection of CDs until he found some he liked. He loaded them in the machine and turned it on. Loud rock music began thumping through the house. He had the volume turned up so far the walls were shaking to the heavy bass sounds. "There, that's better, that's party music!" he exclaimed. "If you wanna dance, you gotta dirty dance!"

Jason and Brenda had stepped apart. They looked at each other, then at Karen. Their pleasant time together was obviously over; disrupted by Sylvia and Paul. Jason wasn't sure, but he thought he smelled alcohol when Paul brushed by him. And there was another smell, too, one he'd smelled on the other boy once before. "He's been drinking and smoking pot!" he thought, suddenly a bit frightened. "God, I wonder if Sylvia's drunk and stoned, too." He watched Paul, who was leering at Sylvia's mother.

"Hey, Momma, you're lookin' fine tonight," Paul exclaimed and started toward his girlfriend's mother. "You wanna do some dirty dancin' with me?"

"Ah...no...I...I'd rather...I'd rather not," Karen replied warily. She started backing away from him, but Paul kept moving toward her. She bumped into a chair and couldn't go back any farther and when she did, Paul grabbed her around the waist, pulled her against him, and began rotating his hips in an exaggerated sexual movement.

"Yeah, Momma, this is better than that slow dancing crap, ain't it?" he chortled. He slid his hands down, cupped her bottom, and pulled her tighter against him.

Karen pushed against him, trying to get out of his embrace. "Please, Paul, I...I don't want to...to do this!" she told him.

"Sure you do, Momma," Paul replied. "Let yourself go, you'd enjoy it if you did."

"No!" Karen replied, a little more firmly. "I don't want to dance with you. Especially not like this!"

"Don't be such a prude, Momma," Paul said, continuing to hold her against him and rotate his hips. "Give it a little time, you'll get off on it." He laughed. "I sure as hell am. You're one hot chick!"

Jason was furious. It was bad enough that Sylvia and Paul had shown up drunk and spoiled what had been a nice afternoon. But the way the other boy was manhandling Sylvia's mother was more than he could take. Without thinking, he walked quickly across the room, grabbed Paul's arm, and yanked him away from Karen. "She said she didn't want to dance with you!" he yelled.

Red-faced, Paul turned and faced him. "Oh, the geek's gettin' brave, is he?" he said. He clenched his fist and began drawing back his hand. "We'll just have to take care of that. After I get finished with you, asshole, you ain't gonna be in no shape to fuck with me."

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" Karen exclaimed. "Both of you."

"This ain't none of your business, Momma," Paul growled. "Nerdo, here, put his hands on me. Nobody puts their hands on me."

"PAUL! STOP OR I'LL CALL THE POLICE!" Brenda yelled. She was holding the cordless phone in her hand and had her finger poised over the keypad. "You want me to do that, Paul? You want the cops to come here and find you drunk? Your aren't 21, are you? Maybe they'll search that Jeep of yours outside, too. You want them to do that, Paul?"

"Aw, fuck," Paul exclaimed. He turned away from Jason and started for the door. "You fucking assholes are a pain. I'm outta here. Have a nice, fucking life with your pain-in-the ass family and Nerdo, Sylvia." He stormed through the kitchen and out the back door, slamming it behind him. Seconds later, they heard the roar of his Jeep's engine as he peeled out of the driveway.

Jason was shaking. He had been sure he was going to get seriously hurt. He looked over at Karen and Brenda. Both of them were pale and looked as if they were shaking, too. Then he looked at Sylvia, who was glaring at all of them.

"What is the matter with you people?" she yelled. "All Paul wanted to do was have a little fun and you all went and spoiled it! I hate you! I hate all of you!" She turned and bolted out of the room. Seconds later, they heard her running up the stairs.

Jason took a deep breath. "Thanks, Brenda," he said. "You saved me a beating, I think."

"What was the matter with them?" Karen asked. "They...they were acting so...so..."

"Jesus, Mom," Brenda said. "They're both drunk and stoned is what the problem was. Couldn't you smell the booze on Paul's breath?"

"Well...I...I guess so," her mother replied. "Do...do you really think Sylvia was drinking and smoking pot, too?"

"I'd bet all the money I'll ever earn the rest of my life against her passing a drug test right now," Brenda snorted.

"Maybe...maybe I ought to go up and see if there's anything I can do," her mother said. "Sylvia was very upset."

"Let her go," Brenda said. "She'll cry and carry on for a while, then she'll probably pass out. It won't do you any good to talk to her in the state of mind she's in right now."

"Are...are you sure?" her mother asked. She looked at Jason.

Jason nodded soberly. "I think Brenda's right," he told her. "If she's drunk, nothing you say to her tonight will register. And she's so angry, your going upstairs would probably make it worse."

"All...all right," Karen said, sounding defeated. "I...I just wish our last night here hadn't ended like this."

"Me, too," Brenda and Jason replied in unison.

"Does anybody want a cup of hot chocolate before we go to bed?" Brenda asked.

"Personally, I could use a stiff drink," her mother said. Then she chuckled. "I guess there's been enough drinking already, though, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess," Brenda said. "I'll make the hot chocolate."