Match Made

"It'd only be a movie and something to eat," Brittany Hill grinned at her younger brother.

Tom frowned at her. In all the time he'd known his sister, which was eighteen years, he'd never worked out the way her brain worked -- parallel thinking, she called it, out of the box said his Mom, others called it kooky or zany if they were kind, looney tunes if they weren't. "You're asking me to take Mom on a date?"

Brittany nodded and smiled like her brother was the one who was slow on the uptake and he'd finally got a point that was obvious to everyone "Just to cheer her up, after the break-up."

Their Mom had been down after their last stepdad had moved out six months ago (their actual father had been out of the picture since they were pre-school), so Tom could see the cheering-up argument, it was the date argument he was a little bit confused on. "Um, like a proper date?"

"Yes, a proper date, flowers, compliments, it'd do you no harm if you wore shoes not sneakers," Brittany spoke like she was talking to a six-year-old instead of someone three times that age.

"You know what a date is?" Tom asked his sister tentatively, though he was sure even his sister's parallel thinking wasn't this far off the highway

"Yes, of course. It's a chance for her to have fun and relax and be herself, not just a Mom."

"But she is my Mom," Tom countered.

"Well, this will be your chance to get to know her as a person, you're eighteen now, not a little boy," Brittany sounded exasperated, "Get to know what she likes, talk to her, compliment her, these are the things that happen on dates."

There was another thing that happened on dates in Tom's experience, which he felt he should also mention, "Yes, but you know the ultimate purpose of that? It's, um, for, um..." He tried to think of a delicate word, it was his sister after all, "...so they get to know each other for copulation."

Brittany rolled her eyes, "Typical guy," she said, which Tom wasn't sure was a compliment or not. He didn't say anything in the hope she'd explain some more, which after a moment she did, "she's your Mom, of course, it's not a sex date, this is a fun and get-to-know-you date."

"There's a difference?"

"There's a difference," Brittany said.

"So it's not a date, it's just me and Mom going out?"

"Just ask her on a date," his sister replied crossly, "and then you can call it whatever you want."

*

"I know you want me dating again, but I don't think agreeing to a date with Tom makes sense," Ceri Hill looked across the table at her daughter, Brittany. Her daughter might be in her second year at University, but sometimes her ideas could still be so off-the-wall that they seemed the product of a five-year-old's fevered thought process.

It didn't help that Brittany looked at her Mom like it was the older blonde who was mad and not her. "Why not? He's young and single, someone who's great to be with, funny, sensitive, intelligent -- you've told me these things yourself."

"And my son," Ceri said, "Even if it's not a real date, it just feels weird the two of us going out together, on our own."

"I wouldn't want to be a gooseberry," grinned Brittany as if that had been the real point her Mom had been making. "You'd have more fun without me."

"I'm sure we would," Ceri replied dryly, she and Tom had the same sense of humour and when he said something he was always in step with her -- whereas with her daughter, love her though she did, she could never be sure what was a deadpan joke and when she was serious. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that Brittany was serious and past experience meant that Brittany would keep going like a terrier going after a rodent, even if it meant sticking her head in very small holes and trying to dig away. "Why a date? Couldn't I just go and grab a movie with him as Mom and son."

Her daughter rolled her eyes as she was wont to do when someone said something that was sensible to everyone else but which didn't conform with Brittany-logic. "It's got to be a date. I mean it's not a date, date, with kissing, but still, it's got to be a fun date, with jokes and compliments and getting to know each other." Her daughter leaned forward conspiratorially, "He's not going to say this, but after he broke up with Tansy it's given his confidence a bit of a jolt. He really needs just a relaxed date, out with a woman to talk with."

"I can do that as his Mom," Ceri replied, "If he needs to talk."

"It's not really talking to his Mom, more to be told he's special and clever and someone to laugh at his jokes in a social setting. I mean I could do it, but you know I never get his humour," Brittany replied. "It'd help him and give him confidence for the future."

Ceri gave a sigh, she could tell Brittany was going to pester her until she agreed. However, she did know that her son had had a bad break-up with his last girlfriend and while outwardly he seemed fine, perhaps an evening between the two of them would help him get any feelings off his chest. "Okay," she replied, "I'll do it, though it's obviously just us going out not a date."

"Just say yes to him and you can call it what you want," said Brittany, a smile creeping across her face.

*

Tom still thought it was weird, even though he knew it wasn't a real date, just him and his Mom hanging out and spending some time together. However, he had agreed with his sister he'd ask his Mom and he was a man of his word, however mad that word was.

His Mom was in the kitchen, and she turned around expectantly as he entered as if she was waiting for him. He paused, not sure how you ask your Mom out on a date -- even a fake one. His Mom smiled, standing silently, looking at him. Looking at her, he realised his stomach was moving with the same mild anxiety he'd had when he'd asked his ex-girlfriend out previously and, indeed, the same slightly nervous, slightly excited feeling that he also had with the girlfriends before her. "Hey Mom," he spoke slowly, forcing himself to sound confident, "Do you fancy going on a date sometime, you and me?"

He was fully expecting her to challenge the word 'date' and then, having done what he'd agreed with his sister, he'd happily explain it wasn't actually a date, date, just the two of them going out and having some son-Mom bonding, as soon he'd be graduating and then leaving for college. Instead, she gave him a nervous smile, reaching up to twist a strand of her long blonde hair around her finger, "What do you have in mind?"

Luckily, even though Tom wasn't expecting his Mom to treat it as a date he had been expecting she'd be happy to spend some time with her, "I was thinking we could go to that new art exhibition that has opened downtime and then grab something to eat in the restaurant down the street."

His Mom gave him an attractive smile, "That sounds like fun, I'll go on a date with you, when?"

"You free Saturday?" Tom asked, he knew the exhibition stayed open late that night and it would give him time to book the restaurant -- a previous experience had taught him there was little worse than taking your date to a swanky eatery and discovering it was fully booked for the evening.

"Saturday works for me," his Mom grinned.

"What about I pick you up at six?" he said, almost feeling like he was making a real date.

"That works for me," his Mom smiled, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too," he replied, and he found he was.

*

It was strange how excited Ceri had been since her son had asked her on a date, even if it obviously wasn't a real one. She told herself; it was that the art exhibition had good reviews and the restaurant had a well-deserved reputation for the quality of its food. It was because she very seldom went out in the evening anymore, she reasoned, even when she'd been with her ex-husband, he was a stayer at home. It was a change from her normal Saturday nights of watching lame comedies and dull dramas, she internally argued.

But she couldn't deny as she counted down the days and then hours, that there was another reason for her excitement, even if she couldn't quite rationalise it, something primaeval and exciting, that was just buried beneath the surface and was threatening to come out. She tried to force it down and ignore it, persuading herself that it was an evening of culture and fine food she was looking forward to and she'd have enjoyed it equally, whether it had been with the half-crooked old man down the street or one of her married friends who wanted an evening away from husband and family. The fact it was her eighteen-year-old son, attractive and handsome as he was, that was a coincidence, nothing to do with why she was looking forward to it.

Still, she booked in with her stylist in the morning -- her hair needed a trim and she might as well have some curls put into it at the same time, and just a touch of blonde dye to make it a little lighter than it really was. She was half-disappointed, half-excited that Tom wasn't in when he returned home, obviously her having her hair done was nothing, but it was good that the first time he'd see it when they went on their date -- not that it was a big deal.

Brittany was at the kitchen table eating breakfast cereal for a late lunch when her Mom returned. "Tom's just gone out to do some errands and get his car washed," she explained.

Ceri nodded and looked at her watch. It was two-thirty, which gave her plenty of time to get ready -- especially as it was casual so it didn't really matter what she wore and how long did it take to put on some make-up? Still... she loitered wondering whether to tell her daughter she was going to see what was on the TV or... "Did he say anything about what he was doing? What time he'd be back?"

Brittany grinned, "Your 'date'?" She placed extra emphasis on the word as if she was making clear it wasn't the exact opposite of a proper date. The young woman slurped another spoon of cereal, making her Mom wait until she'd finished chewing and swallowed it before she continued, "He'll be here for that, he even put his suit in the cleaners -- that's one of his errands."

"He's wearing a suit?" Ceri smiled at her son taking it seriously enough that he was dressing up, he was normally a jeans and t-shirt guy. Then she straightened her face, she didn't want Brittany to get any sort of wrong impression -- though obviously why would she, Ceri was her Mom, Tom her brother, nothing would go on. Still, it meant that she'd need to make an effort as well. "I better think about wearing a dress, I wouldn't want him to make the effort when I don't."

"You want a hand in choosing something?" Brittany looked briefly at her watch. "I need to be out of here at five, I'm going to Sal's and then we're heading over to Frankie's -- I'm going to crash at hers."

It didn't matter that Brittany would be out all night, she was several years past curfews though Ceri was still glad her daughter told her, so she wouldn't be surprised when she and Tom returned together to an empty house. She decided to take Brittany up on her offer, however, the younger woman was more likely to know what dresses Tom liked, well ones that he liked his Mom to wear anyway. "Sure thing," she told her daughter and headed up.

The two of them went upstairs. Ceri opened her cupboard and pulled out a dress. It was a bit staid, but she was going out with her son for a meal, so she didn't want to embarrass him, "What about this?"

Brittany pulled a bit of a face, "I mean it's a nice dress for church," she said, which together with her expression didn't sound like she was suggesting it.

Ceri put it back and pulled out another. It was a bit more flowery and colourful, but perfectly suitable --in fact, the last time she'd worn it was to Tom's last parent's evening. Brittany again didn't look that impressed, "It's not a going out to an exhibition dress, it's a bit... well boring."

"What do you suggest?" Ceri stepped away from the wardrobe, as she had a feeling that her daughter was in the mood that she'd critique anything that her Mom chose, so she might as well short-cut the process and let her daughter find something she liked -- after all, if Ceri didn't like it she could always quickly change into something she preferred when Brittany left the house.

She waited as Brittany perused her wardrobe, now and then letting out a tut at her Mom's fashion choices. Eventually, she found something she thought worked and pulled it out, presenting it to her Mom. Ceri blinked in surprise at what her daughter had chosen. It wasn't a dress she wore very often, the last time had been her anniversary with her ex-husband and she was pretty sure the time before that was when she was still engaged to him. Her daughter held it up, "This?" she phrased it as a question rather than a statement, but Ceri also knew it was a suggestion, especially as Brittany immediately added, "You should try it on."

"It probably won't fit," lied Ceri, who hadn't put on more than a pound in weight in eighteen years. Still, she could see that Brittany was still holding out and whilst it probably wasn't the right dress, she was sure she'd change out of it as soon as her daughter left the house, she had a sudden thought of her son seeing her slinking down the stairs in it, and it wasn't a bad thought. "I'll try it."

She pulled off her pants and undid her blouse. It wasn't a dress you wore with a bra and she unclipped that, not that she was embarrassed about her daughter seeing them, it wasn't like Brittany hadn't seen her topless before or even nude when they went swimming together. Still, she turned slightly away as she got into the dress and pulled it up. Turning into the mirror, she gave it a look, It was a tan, just a little darker shade than her skin, though a few more weeks of sun and they might be closer and tight around her shoulders down to her wrists and across her stomach. But that wasn't why she frowned, the frown was because of how loose it was over her breasts, slipping down and to the side so that it almost to her nipples and whilst it was long in the back and across the sides of her legs, at the front it tapered up in a triangle so low it ended at the top of her thighs, almost threatening to expose her as she walked. It was perfect for a date, less so if that date was her son...

But she had to admit it looked good and felt great.

"What do you think?" Brittany asked.

"I'm not sure," Ceri replied, though there was a trace of reluctance in her voice.

Her daughter nodded, "Yeah," she said and took a step back to look at her Mom like the older woman was a model and Brittany was her fashion designer. "I think it needs you to wear some stockings and suspenders, you've got a pair that match, don't you?"

That wasn't actually what Ceri meant, but she nodded and opened her drawer, rooting through it for the pair she knew her daughter meant. She pulled them up and stood in front of the mirror again, admiring the translucent pair, which made her legs seem like they were more bronzed and pulled out the tan of the dress -- okay they were perhaps a little daring, but it wasn't like Tom would see more than the bottom of them. "I'm not sure if this isn't a little... well, sexy."

"You're a sexy woman Mom, you should flaunt it," Brittany replied, "I don't think Tom will mind, anyway you might meet someone else whilst you're out."

"I wouldn't want to cheat on your brother," laughed Ceri, turning to look in the mirror again. She slid her hands down her waist and gave herself a sultry glance; she had to admit it was tempting...

*

"I'm heading out for the evening," Brittany said to Tom as he entered the house, his freshly cleaned and pressed suit over his arm, as his sister had bullied him into doing -- he'd personally have gone for jeans and T-shirt, "Mom's getting changed for your 'date'" the way she said it made it sound like she didn't think it was one, which was a little unfair as she was the one who talked him into it. "See you tomorrow," she grabbed the keys to their Mom's car, luckily leaving him with the keys to their own shared one, which he had cleaned and valeted -- also at her prodding. She gave him a wave as she walked out the door, "Ciao"

"Hey, I'm back" he called to his Mom as he ascended the stairs, "Excited for our date?"

"Yes," his Mom called back from her room, "I'm just getting changed."

"Me as well," he replied.

He placed his suit on his bed and then headed to the bathroom to shower, shit and shave. As he scraped the day's stubble off his face he glanced in his reflection, his jaw was square and his eyes a piercing blue. He was aware women and girls considered him handsome and despite his recent break-up, he wasn't boasting to himself that he knew that he could have half the senior year if he wanted. So why was he so excited about a date (which wasn't a date) with his Mom? Okay, she was theoretically hot and he'd seen more than one of his buddies giving a lustful half-glance at her as she delivered lemonade up to his room. But she was also his Mom, so it couldn't be that. It wasn't that the break-up had been particularly bad -- at least compared to some-- there'd been some harsh words and a few tears (from her, not him), but both had known they were heading towards a split and the final argument was only the end of a longer process. Nor was it that he had a shortage of things to do on Saturday night -- there was plenty on TV, many of his buddies were free and thanks to his evening work in a local coffee shop he had enough money for the movies or bowling rink or even for a few beers.

It was a mystery to him why he was so looking forward to the date and had been all week...

In his room he got into his freshly pressed and cleaned suit, his shirt ironed that morning and his shoes buffed and polished. Glancing at his watch Tom realised he was ready early "I'm done," he called to his Mom through her door.

"Still getting ready," his Mom replied.

"I'll wait downstairs." He looked at his watch again, quarter to six -- fifteen minutes if his Mom was on time. He settled himself in front of the TV and tried to concentrate on it and relax.

In reality, one-quarter of an hour is the same length as any other, but to Tom, it seemed it was the longest fifteen minutes of his life (and that included the time outside the Principal's office when he was thirteen after an incident with boy's restroom sinks). Every second seemed like he had been waiting an eternity and whenever he looked at the watch it seemed that only a minute had passed since the last time. Fifteen minutes passed and he straightened up, waiting. Another minute passed and his Mom didn't come and Tom felt his fingers tapping at the couch armrest, impatience and excitement combined. He forced himself to relax, moving his hand to his leg, though he found himself gripping his knee to stop his fingers doing a dance on their own. Another minute, another glance at his watch. It was like waiting for Christmas morning as a kid, even though there was no reason for him to feel that way.

"I'm ready," his Mom said and started to descend the stairs.

It had been worth the wait. His Mom was wearing the sexiest dress he'd ever seen her in, actually it was probably the sexiest dress he'd seen out of a Hollywood award ceremony full-stop. It was a light brown, tanned like a beach-bronzed model, with a cleavage so revealing that he could see more than the shape of her round bosoms and so tight around her stomach that it seemed almost like it was moulded to her. He felt a funny feeling in his stomach and another more familiar one in his groin, he paused before standing up, trying to regain his equilibrium and remind himself that his Mom, gorgeous and hot as she looked, was still his Mom.

"You look, um, beautiful," Tom blushed a bit as he spoke. He had been planning to compliment his Mom when she came down, after all, part of the point of the date was to cheer her up and what woman doesn't like being told how good she looks, but it was underselling it -- she didn't just look beautiful, but sexy and hot... and desirable. He pushed the word he had thought into the back of his mind, "Shall we go?" He picked up the car keys.