A Dinner Dance with Our Mothers

The next morning my alarm woke me at 7:30. I showered and shaved and went downstairs to the kitchen.

Mum was already up, making breakfast.

"Good Morning Mark" she said cheerfully, "I've made your breakfast."

I had a Saturday job as a cashier at the local petrol station from 9 till 4 so I had to go out. My father was away on business in Germany and he wouldn't be back until the middle of next week, so there were just the two of us at the table. When we had finished breakfast I got up from the table to get ready for work.

As I was about to go out of the door, mum called after me "Don't forget we're going out with Geoff and Claire at 7:00 tonight."

"I won't," I replied and I left to walk to work. The day seemed to drag by, it was really boring so I was glad when my relief arrived at 4 so I could go home. I sat down and watched the TV for a while and almost forgot the time until my mother came downstairs.

"How do I look" she asked? "I wouldn't want to embarrass you having to be seen out with an old lady like me."

"You're not an old lady mum" I said, "You still turn heads and may I say you are looking particularly lovely tonight."

She was wearing a dark green blouse and a slightly flared knee length black skirt with tan tights and black medium heeled shoes. That comment about how nice she looked wasn't just flattery, she really did look very attractive indeed. Mum is 38 years old, although she could easily pass for her late 20's or very early 30's. She has dark auburn shoulder length hair (she hates it if I call it ginger) and beautiful green eyes. She is a little shorter than Claire at just over 5'4" and is a little more curvy with really nice breasts.

When she makes an effort, as she had tonight, she looks stunning and tonight that blouse emphasised what lovely pair of breasts she had. She looked really great.

I don't think I had ever really thought about my mother sexually before, most of my thoughts in that direction were aimed at Geoff's mother, Claire, but what I had said to Geoff last night came back into my mind. I had told him to stop looking at Claire as his mum and see her for what she was, a beautiful woman. Now I did the same and although deep down I had always known my mother was beautiful, tonight she was breathtaking. I could even make out the bumps her nipples made, under her top. It was no wonder that Geoff fancied her.

I suddenly realized I was staring and I quickly looked away. Luckily I don't think she noticed, if she had, maybe she just thought I was looking at what she was wearing.

"You are looking really lovely, Mum" I said. "But I had better go and get ready too, hadn't I?"

When I came down, mum checked me over and said "Yes I think you'll do." She handed me her car keys. "It's my turn to have a drink tonight, you went out for a drink last night so tonight you are on the soft drinks because I have just nominated you as the designated driver for this evening."

We got in the car and I drove up the road to Claire's house. Geoff must have been watching for us because he opened the door as I stopped outside. "Oh No" he said as he greeted us with a big grin on his face, "Don't tell me we are going to have to endure your driving tonight?"

"Someone has to drive and as you haven't got a licence, mum thought it might be better if it was me" I replied, poking at what I knew was a sore point for him. While I had passed 'the test' first time, he had failed his first driving test and was still taking lessons.

He ushered us in saying that his mum was still getting ready. We had been chatting for a few minutes when I heard Claire moving around upstairs, then her footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned to look as she entered the room. She was wearing a very pretty dress that came just below her knee, and a lovely cream jacket. Her hair and makeup were immaculate. She also had on dark - Probably tights but I hoped they might be stockings - and medium heels.

Claire in black stockings had been a recurring fantasy of mine. If they were stockings I wondered for a moment if she would be wearing a suspender belt or if they were 'hold-ups'. [Oh No! I have to stop thinking like that or I will be in real trouble tonight]

"WOW" I exclaimed, "If I had known you would look that good I would have asked you out ages ago."

"Easy there tiger" said mum, "Remember your manners."

Geoff was grinning all over his face. He took hold of my mum's hand and said, "It's alright, that's exactly the same reaction I had when you stepped out of the car Mrs Peters. I just managed to restrain myself a bit better than Mark did. May I say you are looking absolutely stunning tonight."

Mum looked quite pleased and even blushed a little at his complement.

"Are we all ready to go" Claire asked?

Geoff joked that she was the one we had all been waiting for. Then he said "As it appears Mark is tonight's 'designated driver' perhaps we should all be wearing crash helmets." I laughed and said that this was all mums idea and I thought it was part of a dastardly plot to make sure I didn't drink too much.

Claire smiled at me and raised her eyebrow as if accessing how I was dressed. Immediately my insides did a flip: -

[Oh God! 'Control Mark - Control'. That's not a good start. Think about something else quick. 'The maths exam' - 'Doing the handover readings at the petrol station' - 'Washing my socks' - Anything except her! Oh no she is smiling at me - She knows! She must know. Why did I agree to this . . . . Geoff was right. Has he noticed and now he's laughing at me? . . . . No, it's OK - it doesn't look as if he has noticed!]

"Before we go out I think we should establish some rules for the evening" said Claire. "First of all, Marie and I would rather not have everyone thinking that the only date we can get is with our sons. Let us keep some dignity at least. We therefore insist that the terms 'Mum', Mrs Peters and 'Mrs Harris' are out. Those words are banned for the evening. Is that understood boys?"

Geoff and I both nodded.

"Tonight we are Claire and Marie, who are on a foursome date with you two handsome young men, Mark and Geoff. Is everyone OK with that?"

We all nodded our agreement. [I didn't dare speak. Talking about it with Geoff last night was one thing, but this was something else, this was actually happening, I was going out - with Claire - on a date . . . She had just said it was 'a date'.]

"Good" said Claire, [Oh God she's looking at me] "Now, if we all see this evening as 'a date', I suggest that from his moment we should consider our normal 'Mother and Son' relationships are suspended, we are all just friends. Geoff your date for tonight is Marie, while Mark is with me. We expect both of you to behave like gentlemen and a gentleman certainly wouldn't leave his 'date' for the evening to 'chat up' another lady would he? A gentleman also wouldn't 'kiss and tell' either, so just in case a little discretion should be required; as I understand it the relevant saying is, 'What happens in Vegas - Stays in Vegas'. Is that clear to everyone?"

Once again we nodded, but Geoff and I looked at each other. I could see he was as surprised as I was by his mother implying that tonight might be more than just a dance with our respective mothers. The thing that really shocked me was that my mother had nodded quite enthusiastically and didn't even appear surprised at what Claire had said. Had they talked about these 'rules' beforehand I wondered?

The next surprise was when we got to the car. Claire opened the front passenger door and got in while Marie got into the back with Geoff. As I helped Claire to fasten her seat belt our hands touched and she smiled at me again. [Stay calm: Think about your driving. You'll get through this evening. It's too late to run so you have to.]

Mum had booked a table for tonight's dinner/dance at 'The Castle Hotel'. Their restaurant had a very good reputation but it was a little way out of town. I think we all felt a bit awkward for a few minutes, [some more than others], but once we were seated at our table with a drink we relaxed and it just felt natural somehow, us being out together.

Because I was driving I was restricted to soft drinks, but the other three started the evening with quite a strong drink. The most surprising thing to me was that Mum ordered a Vodka and Orange. She doesn't usually drink spirits.

During the meal, while I was on a weak lager shandy (more lemonade than lager), the other three went through two bottles of wine and by the end of the evening, were well into the third bottle. Marie had drunk at least four glasses of wine during the evening, as well as that Vodka and Orange when we arrived. This too was very unusual because she usually restricted herself to just one or at most two glasses of wine with her meal.

There was a decent sized dance floor and a very good four piece band who were playing traditional ballroom dance music. I was suddenly very glad that mum had made me take those ballroom dancing lessons when I was at school, because between courses we all spent some time on the dance floor and after a couple of dances I really began to get back into the swing of it. I wasn't just shuffling around the floor, I was actually leading my partner. At first we swapped around a bit, sometimes dancing with our own mothers, but very soon it was obvious that Geoff and Marie had 'paired off' and had become a couple for the evening, not only on the dance floor but at the table too, even moving their chairs so they were sitting closer together and I was pretty sure they were holding hands under the table.

That was fine by me because it meant I was now spending more time with Claire as my 'date', although I didn't dare hold her hand. We were also doing quite a bit of dancing and I was loving the feel of holding her body close to mine, although I did have to keep my mind on my dancing - not to mention 'washing my socks'.

I did notice that a couple of times Geoff and Marie didn't separate between dances, staying on the floor with their arms around each other. Once I even saw them kiss, but I said nothing, it had nothing to do with me. Mum wasn't exactly fighting him off and I wondered how Claire would respond if I kissed her like that. I didn't dare try to find out though, I would have to have had far more to drink and been a lot more sure of her reaction before I would risk kissing her in a public place.

There were several 'all female' couples dancing together and I noticed Mum and Claire received a few envious looks, I assume because they had male partners who could actually dance. One lady who was part of one of these 'female couples' did keep glancing at me and whenever she caught my eye she smiled at me. She was quite attractive, if a little older than Marie and Claire. She and her dance partner were obviously with the men at their table, but the men they were with didn't get up to dance at all. On one of our 'Mum Swap' dances, mum noticed her interest and whispered to me "Don't you dare."

It was well after 11:00 by the time we left the dance and as Marie and Claire collected their coats, that same lady brushed past me and I felt her slip something into my jacket pocket. When I went to get the car from the car park I looked at what it was. It was a folded piece of paper from the hotel notepad. Written on it was 'Sarah' and a mobile phone number. That went straight back in my pocket out of sight.

Claire suggested coffee at her house and as Marie said; we had nothing to rush home for, my father was away on business until Tuesday, so there was nobody at home waiting for us. Once again Claire got into the front seat with me, leaving Geoff and my mum to get into the back, but unlike on the outward trip, Geoff slipped his arm around her as they settled in and straight away Marie rested her head on his shoulder.

We were about half way home when Claire pointed to a sign pointing to a side road and told me to turn up there. Yet another surprise!

I knew that road, it led through some woodland and ended up at a viewpoint known as 'Shepherd's View' where there was a lovely view across the valley. 'Shepherd's View' did have something of a reputation though, it was the place where couples went when they wanted some 'personal time' alone. The local joke was that probably 30% of the local 'first born' babies had been conceived up at 'Shepherd's View'.

I glanced in the interior mirror to see if mum was going to object to us going there, but she wasn't even looking. Her head was still on Geoff's shoulder and they now had their arms around each other. As I looked he leaned in and they kissed. She didn't seem at all put out by this as her arm went around his neck and she was definitely kissing him back.

Claire put her hand up and moved the mirror away. "It's not considered polite to watch others Mark" she said, "I think it's best if you keep your eyes on the road." There was a big smile on her face.

There were a couple of cars already parked up, but Claire guided me into an empty area a little away from the main car park between some trees. There was a bench for people to sit on as they admired the view. She seemed to know the layout and I did wonder how well she knew 'Shepherds View' and how many times she had been here. She leaned over to me and whispered "Switch off and turn out the lights. Let's give those two in the back a little privacy, we can sit on that bench and look at the view."

As we walked over to the bench she took my hand. I glanced back at the car, but Claire gave my hand a tug and said, "Whatever may; or may not be happening back there is happening between two adults and is none of our business."

We had been sitting on the bench, holding hands, for some minutes when Claire said "I know you are quite shy Mark, but I am beginning to wonder if you didn't really want to go out with me this evening."

I looked at her, she was looking at me with that familiar teasing smile that always made my heart flutter.

I took a deep breath. [She must know, she had to be aware of what being near her did to me]. "You have me at a bit of a disadvantage Claire" I said, deciding to take a chance that she had drunk enough to let me get away with saying something I wouldn't normally dare say. "You, Geoff and Marie have been drinking all evening and I expect that's why Geoff is able to go a little further than Mum . . . . Sorry, Marie, would normally allow. I, on the other hand, have been on soft drinks because I am driving and so I don't have the advantage of my inhibitions being clouded by alcohol. You have teased me about being shy before. I'm not too bad with most people but, as I think you know all too well, with you for some reason I go all to pieces. I don't think you can seriously doubt that I wanted to be with you tonight though. I haven't been able to stop thinking about being with you ever since you mentioned us taking you out. Nothing short of being unconscious in hospital would have stopped me being with you tonight."

I looked back towards the car; which was now gently bouncing on its springs.

Claire's hand turned my head back so that I was looking at her. "Mark" she said, "Ever since you were about 13 years old, every time I have been anywhere near you, you have followed me around like a puppy, hardly ever taking your eyes off me. I only had to speak to you to make you blush. Do you honestly think that in over five years I haven't figured out how much you like me? For at least the last 2 years Geoff has been looking at Marie in the same way. Marie and I both know that he is at least as crazy about her, as you are about me."

I started to turn my head away in embarrassment, but again she held me so that I remained looking at her.

"Marie and I have been best friends since school" she continued, "We tell each other almost everything. We both know how you feel about me but we said nothing because we expected you would grow out of it. When Geoff began to look at Marie in the same way you look at me, she told me straight away that she thought he was developing a bit of a 'crush' on her too."

I glanced towards the car, which was still rocking, "That looks like it's more than 'a bit of a crush' to me" I said.

"Before we came out" she said, "You agreed certain changes to the 'status quo' for tonight. One of which was that our usual 'Mother and Son' relationship was suspended. You did agree to that, didn't you Mark?"

"Well . . Yes" I said.

"So whatever is happening in that car is happening between Geoff and Marie. You agreed to those changes, or did you think they only applied if something happened between you and me. Is that what you are saying?"

"Well No" I stammered, "But I didn't realise that Geoff was going to . ."

"Marie is a grown woman Mark. Geoff isn't doing anything Marie doesn't want him to do" she said, "Whatever is; or is not; happening in that car is happening between two adults, in private and it has nothing at all to do with us, or with anyone else."

"Both you and Geoff seem to have developed something of a 'thing' about older women in general and Marie and I in particular" she said. "So tell me honestly Mark, if you and Geoff had gone to that dinner dance hoping to meet a couple of ladies who were hoping to meet a couple of young men to dance with. Perhaps that one who has been giving you 'the eye' all evening and her friend. If Geoff was now making out in the back of the car with one of those two ladies, would you be making all this fuss?"

[Oh Sh*t, she knew. I was in big trouble now]. "No, obviously not" I said, "But . . . . "

"I suppose those ladies are married, maybe they also have children" she interrupted my protest, would that have made a difference?"

"Well . . . No, but . . . . "

"But what?" Claire asked. "Before we left the house you agreed that normal rules were suspended and that for tonight Marie's date was Geoff and my date was you. That was what we all agreed, wasn't it?"

I could see that I wasn't going to win this argument, it was time to concede gracefully. "Yes" I said, "That was what we agreed."

"So with the usual relationship being suspended, you agreed that this evening, Marie, who is a mature married woman, would be going out, on a date, with a young man who wasn't her husband. You did agree that was what was happening didn't you?"

I nodded.

"You also know that I am a widow and, although I hate to have to admit it, as I am the same age as your mother, I am old enough to be your mother, but you still agreed to take me out for the evening, didn't you?"

I nodded again, accepting that Claire was systematically destroying my arguments.

"Now" she said, "I am sure you know that when a man takes a lady out on 'a date', you did agree this was a date, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"Good" she continued, "Now on a date sometimes unexpected things happen. Didn't it occur to you that that could be the reason I asked for your agreement that a gentlemen doesn't kiss and tell" she asked? "You did agree that a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell didn't you?"

"I did wonder at the time, what you were expecting to happen" I said.

"I didn't expect anything to happen Mark" she said, "But knowing how you felt about me and how Geoff felt about Marie there was always a possibility that something might happen. As Marie wasn't any more against the idea of going out with Geoff than I was about going out with you, there was always the possibility that something could happen. Marie knows how you feel about me, Mark. As I said, we tell each other everything."

"Think about it. We all know what people would say if it became known we were dating each other's sons, so we insisted that talking about tonight with anyone else was not a good idea. This situation is a little too personal to be spread around the village and so, although our village is definitely not 'Las Vegas', the principle still holds good. 'What happens in Vegas' . . .?"