Margaret Rose Austin -- Meg to her friends -- grinned as she stood in her kitchen and listened to the hullabaloo from across the lounge. It was her son Todd's 18th birthday, and he and his buds were noisily discussing their plans for the evening, in terms that suggested they'd forgotten there was a respectable middle-aged lady just across the hallway. Not that she minded so much; she'd known most of the boys almost since the day they were born. Heck, she reflected as she washed up the greasy plates from the chili dogs and brownies she'd made for them, she'd grown up with most of their parents. It seemed that tee-total Brad had agreed to drive them into Denver, and there were several raucous jokes surrounding the city's Mile High nickname. It was a predictable enough decision, even on a Friday night the entertainment options were a little limited in Arapaho Falls, one of the small sleepy dormitory towns strung along Interstate-25.
A sixth sense told Meg that a pair of eyes had settled on her. Half-turning she saw Todd's closest friend, Jared Rosen, leaning against the door jamb, a can of Coors in one hand, his eyes already beginning to glaze over. In high school Meg and Jared's father had dated, very innocently, for a few months. Mo Rosen was maybe five-seven and stocky with, back then, black hair and dark flashing eyes, but Jared favored his mother's looks, a hair over six feet tall, slim but toned from basketball training, with a flop of sandy blond hair; so different from his dad, in fact, that a few folk with a nasty turn of mind had been known to question the relationship.
Jared grinned blearily at Meg and, raising the Coors in a salute, slurred, "I wanted to thank you for the food Missus Austin -- great dogs." Meg smiled and said she was glad he'd enjoyed them, and turned back to the sink. A moment later she gasped with surprise as she felt Jared's arms snaking around her waist and pulling her back onto him, his groin pressing against her buttock through her jeans. His mouth close to her ear, Jared mumbled, "Y'know Miz Austin, you're a fucking hot lady for your age."
Meg turned in his arms to face him. He was not that much shorter than him, five-nine, and his grinning face was inches from hers. He smelt of beer and sweat, and for one horrible second Meg thought he was going to kiss her. Placing her hands on his chest she gently but firmly pushed him away and, in amused tones, told him, "And you're fucking drunk Jared. Now get off with you and leave an old lady in peace -- it sounds as if Todd and they guys are ready to haul butt".
Her young admirer stood swaying for a moment, looking confused, then, seeming to remember where he was, and why, he nodded, said, "Yuh, right, thanks Miz Austin", and stumbled off after his pals. Turning back to her washing up Meg was surprised to realize how fast her heart was beating. She chuckled to herself; despite the ridiculous nature of the brief encounter she had been slightly flattered by Jared's attention, and charmed. It seemed like a long time since her husband, Ralph, had noticed she was anything more than an auto-food server and clothes washer, and it was nice to be called hot, even if it was by a boozed-up kid only a few weeks older than her son. She just hoped for the kid's sake that he wouldn't remember the embarrassing little scene the following morning.
Meg headed down to the general store on Saturday to stock up on a few items for the next couple of days. Jared's uncle, on his mother's side, owned the place and his nephew usually worked there on weekends, between attending college; but as Meg had heard Todd arrive home sometime after 2am the night before she didn't expect to see her young admirer on duty that day. She was surprised though: there he was, standing behind the deli counter, or rather half-sprawled across it, looking as if he was profoundly wishing for death. His skin was pale and clammy, his hair greasy, and his eyes deeply sunken with dark rings beneath them. It was also clear, from the way his cheeks flushed at first sight of Meg, that he hadn't forgotten the previous evening's events. He tried to busy himself with something, maybe hoping she wouldn't notice him, but a wicked streak took her on a bee-line straight over to the deli. In a loud, hearty voice she boomed "Good morning Jared, did you have a good time last night?"
The boy groaned and winced, but managed to rasp, "Yeah, thanks Missus Austin, it was a lot of fun. Thanks again for the dogs and brownies." They stood in mutual silence for a moment then, just as Meg was about to begin her shop, Jared burst out, "Look, er...I'm sorry about last night, I mean,,,well, I guess you know what I mean. You mst have thought I was a real dumb-ass."
Deciding to let him off gently, Meg gave him a soft smile and touched his arm. "Not at all Jared, it was a nice thing for you to say. Really." Attempting a Scarlett O'Hara lilt she added, "Why, Mister Rosen, a lady is never too old to appreciate a compliment sincerely given." Seeing his mouth fall open in surprise at her flirtatious tone, she couldn't help giving him a grin and a wink as she moved off. When she looked back along an aisle a minute later Jared was staring straight at her. She gave him another friendly smile which, despite his obvious suffering, he bravely returned. For the next few minutes the kid kept hoving into Meg's view and his eyes were locked on her. His look seemed almost wistful, but she convinced herself she was being fanciful, if not downright foolish. Jared's uncle himself was manning the cash till as Meg arrived to pay, and she teased him, "Shame on you Kenny, making that poor boy work when he's obviously not well."
Kenny Bloom grinned maliciously and explained, "Yeah, well, Jessie didn't show up this morning so we're short-staffed. Still, I guess Jar's learnt his lesson now, I'll give it another ten minutes then send him home."
For reasons she couldn't easily have put into words, Meg found herself thinking a lot about Jared that weekend. Oddly, his drunken embrace had felt nice: his groin pressing into her rear, with a distinct hard ridge at its center; and the smell of a man other than her Ralph. That Saturday night, for the first time in some years, she stood naked in front of her full-length bedroom mirror and critically examined herself. She reckoned she was still bearing up pretty well for a woman of 45. She had yet to resort to coloring her hair, and it hung to her shoulders in big natural chestnut curls, with just the odd single strand of gray interspersed. Her attractive D-cup boobs hadn't really started heading south yet; her belly was pretty flat, with just a couple of stretch marks, and her long shapely legs, which had helped to make her the most popular cheerleader in high school, still looked pretty good. Okay, she could stand to lose a few pounds from her thighs but...she shook her head and chuckled quietly to herself. There was no way a sober Jared would look at her twice when compared to his perky, if somewhat snotty, girlfriend Laurel, but even if fuelled by alcohol his attentions to her the previous evening had cheered her considerably.
Sunday passed quietly, and Monday was a public holiday so Meg allowed herself the rare luxury of a lie-in while downstairs Ralph prepared for a day's fishing with his buddies, and Todd departed for a day in the Rocky Mountains National Park with his girlfriend Sara. Meg planned to get up the wrong side of 10am, fix herself some waffles and syrup with lashings of syrup then, after a long shower, maybe potter about in her herb garden. She had just dressed after her shower when the phone rang.