Something Shady
by
Trigudis
Note: The following story takes place during Jimmy Carter's presidency.
"My mom's hot, isn't she?"
"What?"
"Don't play coy, dude, I saw you checking her out."
Billy Shane knew that Chip Klein, his good friend, "had" him, and that further denials would make Billy look silly. "I tried to be discreet."
Chip chuckled. "But it didn't work. And don't think my mom didn't notice either."
It was a warm Saturday morning and they were driving toward Gilman, a Baltimore prep school where Chip had graduated and had played lacrosse. Billy, a public-school graduate, was now playing for the University of Maryland, while Chip played for Hopkins. Gilman was closer to their homes, which is the reason they practiced there on weekends.
Billy, behind the wheel of his parents' blue, '75 Olds Cutlass, said, "Aren't you embarrassed talking about your mom that way?"
Chip shrugged. "What once embarrassed me is seeing friends like you and the dads next-door gawking at her. Then I kind of got used to it. Mom, being a divorcee, loves the attention."
The forty-something Sherri Klein did indeed love the attention. It gave her an ego boast, something she desperately needed after Lester, her ex-husband, left her for another woman. It had taken her a while to get over the 'what's wrong with me' phase. In time, she realized that nothing was wrong with her. Lester had craved some extra-curricular fun, a craving that turned into an affair that destroyed the marriage. Unlike President Carter, Lester committed adultery in more than just his heart.
Speaking of craving, Billy had one for Sherri Klein, though he had never expressed it quite that way to Chip. He admired her sexy, middle-age woman charms, just like, per what Chip had said, the neighborhood dads, as well as their horny, teen-age sons who harbored older woman fantasies.
Nearing the playing field during the next few moments of silence, Billy reflected on what he had seen before picking Chip up for their practice. Sherri had answered the door wearing yellow shorts, a white top and black flats--casual house wear, not designed to seduce or even to stimulate. Even so, Billy had felt plenty stimulated, fixing his blue eyes on Sherri's long, beautiful legs, not to mention her cute, shapely derriere. From front to back, Sherri Klein, in Billy's eyes, was the epitome of foxy, forty-something womanhood. She was a sight to behold, one that refused to let him look away, no matter how discreet he tried to be.
"So, does your mom date?" Billy asked, pulling into the parking lot.
Chip grabbed his stick from the backseat. Then he said, "Why, you wanna take her out?"
Billy went along with the joke. "Sure, as long as she pays. We're poor college guys, remember."
"Ha ha. To answer your question," Chip said, "she does date, though nobody steady. Now, let's get out on the field."
*****
Sherri Klein tried to be discreet also. And, unlike some of her gawking male admirers, she did a much better job of keeping her salacious desires under wraps. She and Lester had shared custody of their son after their divorce. But Chip was now eighteen, so custody was a non-issue, especially since he chose to live with both parents. As Chip said, at present, there was no steady man in her life. In fact, since her divorce, she had met just one man that she liked enough to sleep with. But that four-month romance had run its course. She kept looking, though she was far from desperate to find that special guy to remarry.
Lately, however, she'd been experiencing a gnawing sexual hunger that wouldn't quit. She thought that whoever said that a woman's sexual desire peaked in her forties might have been onto something. At least it appeared true in her case. Billy Shane was one of her more salacious desires. Did he get a sense of what she felt when he was here? She didn't think so. She sure got a sense of what HE felt. When he was at the house, she could barely repress giggling at Billy's awkward attempts to be discreet. Had he come over for some other reason, with Chip gone, she might have become flirty. It would be a gross understatement to say that his thick swirl of straight blond hair, covering most of his ears and forehead, and those baby-blue eyes didn't exactly soothe her sexual hunger pangs. Cute kid. Ravishingly cute. And that close to six-foot, youthful, athletic body suited up in his lacrosse uniform...Well, the whole package got her to touching herself after he and Chip left for practice.
Thinking this way was crazy, fantasizing about carrying on with her son's friend who lived just blocks away. Yet she WAS thinking this way, and her intuition told her that if she made her desires known to Billy, he might go for it. Living dangerously had never been her style. All her life, she had played by the "norms" and "rules" of polite society. She still was and she still might continue; that is, if her salacious desires didn't overwhelm her and turn her into something she'd never been.
It wouldn't be much of a challenge to get him to come over. She could call and ask for help moving furniture. Or, she could call to engage him in conversation about the way he thinks Carter is handling stagflation. Billy was an economics major, after all. Then she'd steer their little chat into far more personal territory. What a plan. Cra-zy. She laughed out loud. She was amusing herself. The realm of fantasy was a safe place to be. Fantasy alone never got anyone in trouble. Acting on fantasy--now that's where things could get messy. If found out, it would embarrass Chip, as well as Lorraine, her daughter, a college junior at Arizona State. The neighbors would snicker and gossip. She'd be the target of ridicule, though Lester might find an affair like that cute, if not a turn-on. Anyway, she couldn't do it, couldn't really see herself and Billy lying naked somewhere, screwing their brains out. Or could she?
*****
Billy sure could. Moreover, he wasn't sure what he'd do if given the opportunity. If Sherri wasn't a friend's mom, he wouldn't hesitate. But she was and Chip was no ordinary friend or acquaintance. They'd known each other since grade school. They were both athletic, both Colts fans. Doing what Billy envisioned would be a betrayal. No, it wouldn't break any laws, no legal ones, anyway. Ethically, well, that was a different story. How would he feel if a friend screwed HIS mom? Not good. He had scruples. He had morals. But he also had this thing for attractive older women. Not that he ever experienced a romp in the sack with one. But he wanted to, he sure as hell wanted to, and Sherri Klein was high on his A-list of would-be prospects. Plus, she was available. Well, being divorced and all. He had a girlfriend, Allyson, a freshman at Frostburg State. They weren't exclusive in the sense of "going steady." Besides, since their colleges were over three hours away from each other, they didn't see each other every weekend.
He might have put these thoughts about getting it on with Sherri on his backburner if not for running into her at, of all places, Sy Glass Sporting Goods. He was there to pick up some lacrosse balls, while she was looking for exercise equipment to "firm up."
Billy made no pretense about looking her over in her tight plaid slacks and low heels. Then, looking into her emerald green eyes, he said, "You look pretty firm already, Mrs. Klein."
She drew a warm smile. "Thanks, Billy, but my tummy could use some work."
He thought it was sexy the way she patted her stomach. "Your tummy, huh."
"Yeah, so Chip recommended one of those roller things, an ab wheel, he called it. I saw one advertised on TV. He mentioned using light dumbbells also."
The store did have those 'roller things,' free-weight sets and loads of other stuff. Sy had been in business just after World War Two, housed in an old building in the city, with its creaky wood flooring, aisles of shelves stacked with various sports uniforms and all manner of sporting equipment. It had a unique smell to it, something akin to rubber mixed with the scent of aging lumber. Sy's was one of the dwindling independent places of its kind still around, places that competed with big retail establishments like Sears.
Jeffery, Sy's twenty-something son, came over to help. For a young guy who apparently was being groomed to run a sporting goods business, he didn't look very athletic. Of average height, he didn't show much muscle on his thin frame, looked as if he never touched a weight or engaged in serious athletics.
