This is part one of a series titled
Knowing Me
A big thank you to my editor, Talynnda
*
Suzanne gripped the handrails and pulled herself up the steps of the pool. It was amazing how beautiful she looked. The way her back arched, her breasts thrust forward, her glistening hair trailing over her shoulders was beautiful. In my mind, I tried to freeze the picture right there. A perfect snapshot of her perfect form.
Squeezing the water from her long blonde hair, she strode toward me and picked up a towel from the lounge chair next to mine. If I would have realized that I was staring at her, I would have been self-conscious. But I was too wrapped up in her perfection to notice. It's not like I hadn't ever seen her before--she is my mother after all. Although my grandmother had raised me, my mother had lived nearby and when I was a child I had often dropped in to visit her. I guess I've always had a thing for her: always been a little bit in love with her. Everyone fell in love with Suzanne. She had the glamour of old-time movie starlets like Rita Hayworth and Lana Turner. She was gentle and funny and smart and compassionate. I remember when I was little how fascinated I was by her ultra-shiny honey blonde hair and her sky blue eyes. She always smelled so fresh and clean, and when I was lucky enough to snag her attention for a while, I would sit on her lap and bury my face in her neck, breathing in her scent. It wasn't sexual back then--it was the infatuation of a little boy who craved attention from a mother who wasn't yet prepared for motherhood. Suzanne wasn't what you'd call a "kid person". She loved me, but I wasn't really like a son to her. I was more like a cute little neighbor boy who would come by to visit once in a while. When she gave birth to my twin sister and me at age 18, she just wasn't prepared to handle the demands of being a mom to 2 newborns and our 2-year-old sister. I knew she would never be like a real mom to my sisters or me. Perhaps I should have been angered by that, but I tried to understand her. I loved her, flaws and all.
I saw some of the men she dated when I was younger. Since my father's suicide, which happened a month before I was born, she hadn't had another long-term relationship. But she loved the company of men, and there were times when I'd come to visit and she would be on the couch with a man, half undressed. Or they would be in the bedroom and I could hear what they were doing. Even in my grade-school years I had a sense of what she would do with those men, and I was jealous. Not jealous of the sexual gratification they were getting from her, for I was too young to care about that yet, but jealous of the attention she gave them. I wanted to be the center of her universe. She was a beacon of shining light to me, but I was just one of thousands of stars in the sky for her. In those moments when she would shower me freely with her love and attention, I would just light up. She made me shine.
Now she was standing before me, 39 years old, and looking as stunning as ever. The little boy in me was charmed by her innocent, playful flirtations. The man in me was seduced by her graceful movements, her lean, toned body, and her firm round breasts. She was all the things a woman should be, all at the same time. My mind was spinning, wanting to love her like I had as a child, yet longing to touch her with the desire of a man.
That's when she noticed me staring. My gaze was fixated on--where else? Her breasts. It wasn't even a particularly revealing swimsuit. It was a dark blue one-piece, rather modest, with low cut thighs and a neckline that only showed a small amount of cleavage. But I was hypnotized. I ached to put my face to her chest, to breathe in her intoxicating scent once again, to take her nipple in my mouth.
She leaned down a bit and looked me in the eyes, breaking the spell I was under. Her eyes sparkled and crinkled at the corners as she turned her mouth into a little smile.
"Hello! Earth to Joey! Come in Joey!" She waved her hand in front of my face. "I hope the fantasy I'm starring in is a good one!" I looked away, turning red with embarrassment.
"Sorry," I said, "didn't mean to leer at you like that." I gave a self-conscious laugh.
She sat down on the lounge next to me and reached for my hand. "It's okay--I'm flattered."
She was smiling and from the way the words came out of her mouth I could tell she was flirting with me. All my life she had been playful with me, but I had been a child, and her playfulness hadn't been aimed at getting me into bed. She had simply related to me on the same level that she related to other males, but in a G-rated sort of way. She flirted with all men, and I didn't usually take it seriously. Lately, though, there had been an edge to her teasing, a seriousness that showed in her eyes. It never lasted long, though. I could never examine it long enough to be sure. Her seductiveness was like a dragonfly--it zoomed in when you weren't expecting it, a little motion you could see from the corner of your eye, and on its path to god-knows-where, it would stop right in front of your face, hovering in space as it examined you. Then, in a flash, it would be gone.
"Really, I shouldn't have ogled you like that. It was rude."
"Joey, look at me."
I turned and faced her. Although she was still smiling, she had a more serious look on her face now.
"Baby, you have needs like all men do. I can't fault you for looking at me, especially right now. After all, it's been a while since you've been with anyone, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess it has."
My wife had left me one month before, and we hadn't had sex for weeks before she left. It occurred to me that my sexual frustration might be contributing to my deepening feelings for my mother.
I should stop torturing myself
, I thought.
Nothing will ever happen between us
. I considered moving out. I didn't need to stay with my mother--I could afford a place of my own. But my soon-to-be ex-wife was staying in our condo until the house she wanted was ready, and I really loved that condo. I was planning on moving back in as soon as Heather moved out. It seemed silly to rent an apartment for just a few weeks. Besides, I really liked staying with Suzanne. Now that I was an adult she really enjoyed spending time with me. She showered me with the attention I had always craved from her, and her flirting made me feel energized and invigorated. I found myself hoping that Heather's house wouldn't be ready any time soon.
I was feeling flirtatious now. I smiled playfully, and Suzanne smiled and winked at me in return.
"Perhaps you haven't been practicing enough self love lately. Have you been neglecting yourself?"
"Mom, I'm 21 years old. I know when my sexual frustrations have built up to the point that I need a release. Trust me, I haven't been neglecting my needs."
"Okay then. And if you want to fantasize about me, then you have my permission. Not that you need it, of course."
"Well, it's nice to know that I have your blessing." I gave her my cutest grin.
She took a breath, rubbed the back of my hand roughly, then said, "Let's go into the house and get some lunch."
-------
The rest of the afternoon flew by. It was a Saturday, but I needed to catch up on work from the office, so I sat at the computer and tried to concentrate. My thoughts kept returning to Suzanne.
I gave up trying to get any paperwork done and resigned myself to a night of watching T.V. I went into the den, and not long after I had sat down on the couch my mother came in to join me. She stretched out on the couch beside me and put her head on my shoulder.
"You've been sitting at that computer half the day. I figured it would be nice to spend some time with you tonight."
"Yeah, I had a lot of work to do. But now I'm ready to relax. I was hoping to find a good movie to watch."
She took the remote from the table and idly flipped through the channels. I was hoping that she would flirt with me again tonight. I didn't think there was a chance that we'd ever go all the way, but her playful teasing energized me, and I always looked forward to it, unpredictable as it was.
Lately she had been trying to act like more of a mom to my sisters and me. It was difficult trying to get used to her acting like a mom. I could talk bluntly and honestly with her about subjects that would make a sailor blush, and she would talk right back to me without a hint of embarrassment. She gave me sex tips, talked about sex toys, and extolled the virtues of masturbation. Talking about sex was always easy for us. But then sometimes she would go into "mom mode" and lecture me about my work hours, tell me to call my sister, or spit on a tissue to wipe my face. To an outsider she could look like either a typical mom or a hormone crazed nymph. It just depended on which day it was. And I never knew which Suzanne she would be at any given time.
This is where we stood at this moment--a woman who wanted to be a mother but didn't know how, and a man who desperately wanted his mother's love but had no idea what a normal mother's love really was. We were both so fucked up.