PART I OF THE "A SERIES OF MATTERS" TRILOGY
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The "A Series of Matters" Trilogy is foremost the story of the love between a mother and son and what they go through to be with each other. However, it is also a story about heroes, villains, and the grey characters that fall in between. Naturally, conflicts are going to arise so I caution you there is violence in these stories.
For those who are unfamiliar with my work, if you are expecting a quick sexual escapade with no deeper meaning, that's cool and more power to you, but you won't find that here. There is sex in my stories and plenty of it, I don't hold back on the details, but there is also more. If you are looking to make an emotional, as well as sexual, investment in the characters and get caught up in a gripping saga , that is what I have strived to provide.
CHAPTER 1: A GAME OF CHANCE
It was a hot summer night in Philadelphia and Colin, as usual, was out with Sheryl. He probably wouldn't be home until late. With nothing better to do, Aileen went to the small alcove of their apartment where the computer was set up and signed on. Perhaps she would play a couple games of gin rummy, but what she hoped for most was that Ben would be online.
Aileen Reilly had been divorced for almost ten years. Even though she hadn't had a serious relationship since her divorce, it was only in the last year or so the absence of a significant other in her life had really made itself felt. The reason was because she did have someone significant in her life, her son Colin. They spent a lot of time together and did numerous activities, and it was always a blast being with him. She loved her son and was totally dedicated to him. His company had always been all she needed to be happy. But Colin was seventeen years old now and every day Aileen felt him move a few steps closer to leaving her and going out on his own. She was beginning to feel a loneliness and isolation she hadn't known since before Colin was born. She knew her boy had to grow up, but it saddened her that in doing so it made them grow apart.
Nearly two years ago Colin had met Sheryl and she eventually became his steady girlfriend. Their relationship had blossomed over the past couple years and they were now seriously involved with each other. It didn't surprise Aileen that her son would find a girlfriend so devoted to him. Colin was a handsome young man. He was over six feet tall, lean and muscular, and he had strong facial features with russet colored hair and insightful brown eyes. But aside from the way he looked, Colin also had the sweetest personality a boy could have. Aileen took pride in her son having grown into such a fine young man.
Sheryl monopolized most of Colin's time now and it resulted in making Aileen feel she had lost her best friend. Her main purpose in life, however, was to see Colin happy and if being with Sheryl did that, well then Aileen couldn't disapprove. It still didn't stop her from feeling lonely though.
Aileen held a nine-to-five job as a bank teller, which kept her busy enough during the week, but on the weekends she was off work and frequently found herself with nothing to do. She had a few friends, though no one she was especially close to, and once in a while she would do something with them. She had an older brother, Patrick, who ran a successful local pub and restaurant, but he was always busy with his own family or his business. While she enjoyed being in the company of Patrick and his family, she didn't want to infringe too much on their hospitality.
One way she found to alleviate her boredom was to play gin rummy via the internet. She enjoyed the card game but she hadn't really had anyone to play with in real life. She used to frequently play with Colin, they played gin rummy and a whole slew of other games, but ever since he began dating Sheryl, he didn't seem to have the time. So, online she found a place where there was always someone wanting to play a friendly card game anytime she felt like it.
Online is where she met Ben. He became a frequent and then favorite companion to play cards with. They would communicate with each other by way of the game's chat room during their play. They talked to each other about what was going on in their lives, frivolous things at first, but then more intimate. They became good friends.
It wasn't after too long that they began communicating more by instant messaging than during a card game. Ben was twenty-two and Aileen was thirty-six. Aside from similar tastes in movies and music, Aileen often wondered what Ben saw in her that made him always seem so eager to be talking with her. She didn't understand why he would want to spend so much time talking to someone so much older than him, but she really enjoyed his company and was flattered by his attention. Ben's company had become a decent substitute for Colin's.
Tonight, when she saw that Ben wasn't online, she felt a bit disappointed, but then about twenty minutes later, she saw Ben's screen name, Bender069, pop up indicating he had just signed on. Aileen felt a thrill run through her from seeing her friend now online. With her own screen name, IrishRose36, she instant messaged him.
IrishRose36: Hey Hon, how are you?
Bender069: Doing pretty good here, how about yourself?
IrishRose36: I'm fine, and happy to see you.
Bender069: Me too.
IrishRose36: So what have you been up to?
Bender069: Just got finished taking a nice long shower after a hard day's work.
IrishRose36: You got all nice, clean, and fresh just to come and talk to me? LOL
Bender069: LOL Yeah, I did.
IrishRose36: Ha, it's Friday night, I bet you are getting ready to hit the town.
Bender069: No, I don't have anywhere else I'd rather be than here talking with you.
IrishRose36: You flatterer. You need to find a girlfriend and take her out.
Bender069: What about you? Why aren't you going out with a boyfriend?
IrishRose36: Because I'm not interested in that. Besides who would be interested in me? I'm old and fat.
Bender069: No you are not! I saw that picture you sent me, you're beautiful! What man in his right mind wouldn't want to go out with a tall redhead like you?
IrishRose36: You forgot fat.
Bender069: You're not fat, you're voluptuous.
IrishRose36: LOL that's just a polite way of saying "fat".
Bender069: Bullshit! My cock is hard right now just thinking about you.
Aileen froze in the middle of typing a response when she read what Ben said. She was shocked. While they had discussed their love lives with each other, neither of them had said anything so direct like that before. Their conversations always stayed friendly and polite, but what Ben just said indicated their relationship might be going in a new direction. Aileen wasn't sure how to respond. Should she feel offended? She didn't. In fact, she felt somewhat...aroused. Before she could type something Ben typed more:
Bender069: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward. Please don't be mad.
IrishRose36: It's ok, I'm not mad.
Bender069: Good.
Aileen hesitated a moment, not really believing what she was going to ask, but thought,
What could be the harm in it?
IrishRose36: Is it really hard?
Bender069: Yes
IrishRose36: Because of me?