Author's note: This was originally published elsewhere before being heavily reedited and uncensored to reach its full potential.
***
Two scoops of whey protein. A single egg white. A dash of cocoa and a cup of whole milk. Harry gave the concoction a swirl with his spoon before capping the mason jar. He shook it vigorously, considering whether he should have gone with two egg whites instead of just one.
"I could have made you breakfast, you know."
He'd been too focused on his morning mix to hear his mother come down the stairs. Harry turned around, smiling and trying to keep his eyes from wandering. Julia wore a white cotton robe and nothing else. Her long, chestnut brown hair spilled over her shoulders, and she had a somewhat amused look in her jade green eyes.
"I don't like to have a full meal before working out," said Harry. "Besides, don't you have things to do this morning?"
Unlike him. He'd pretty much spent the first month of his gap year working out and reading.
His mother shrugged. She crossed her arms underneath her large, shapely breasts, inadvertently pushing them up against the fabric of the robe and showing off her cleavage. Harry was almost tempted to say something about it, but he was only wearing a t-shirt and boxers, and felt like it would be more than a little hypocritical.
"My interview with the nature blog isn't until later in the afternoon, and I could always skip morning yoga," she said. "Besides, I like doing things like this for you, sometimes."
She glanced away from him, a small flush spreading across her cheeks.
Doing 'things like this'. It was her way of mothering him. He alternated between enjoying it and enduring it. She liked to smother him with attention. He'd chafed at it when he was younger, and still did in many ways. But he was nineteen now, and it felt... different, in a way he couldn't quite place.
"Mom, please," said Harry. "I can feed myself. I appreciate you cooking when you can, but really... I don't want to be any more of a burden on you than I already am."
Julia smiled and stepped toward him, shaking her head.
"You silly boy." She reached out and ruffled his hair. "How often have we had this exact conversation before?"
Harry sighed.
"More often than we probably need to," he said. "Sorry. I just feel a little guilty about everything you do for me. I'm not exactly pulling my own weight at the moment."
Julia was a tall woman, but still an inch or two shorter than he was. She stepped in closer to him, pulling him into a soft hug. A shiver ran through every inch of Harry's body as his body made contact against his mother. He could feel her against him, her soft breasts and body. He could smell the remnants of her perfume from the night before.
Breathe, he thought to himself. Relax. Don't think about things like that.
"I already told you," said Julia. "I'm fine with you taking a year off before college, or whatever you decide to do next. It gives me more time with you before you run away and I never get to see you again."
Harry snorted. He shifted against her, trying to put some distance between his crotch and hers. She felt dangerously good, and he hated himself for being so aware of her attractiveness.
"Oh, please, Mom. I'd at least come back each week to do laundry." He rubbed his hand across her back. "Besides, I'll need a good photographer once I start making a name for myself. It's convenient having you so close."
His mother squeezed her arms, inadvertently grinding herself into him more tightly. Harry focused on his breathing. He could feel himself getting hard and did everything in his power to keep his thoughts in safe territory.
The problem with his mom being beautiful, intelligent, athletic, basically perfect, was that Harry couldn't keep himself from noticing her. All men noticed her. She was 39 and looked a decade younger, young enough to make her occasionally be mistaken for his sister by strangers.
The two of them had a strong, loving, and at least for him, emotionally murky relationship. He loved his mother, and she loved him, and in general, Harry was content to pretend it was that simple.
"You're so dead set on following the same path as your father," said Julia, with a sigh. The hug continued, and one of her hands began to play with his hair.
"And that's a bad thing?" Harry asked, quietly.
"Not a bad thing. You already look so much like him. It's kind of spooky, sometimes."
She giggled and gave him an affectionate smile. Her robe slid open a little more as she shifted forward. Harry's cock hardened the rest of the way, impressively hard, though his mom made no sign of feeling it.
"I never got to share in any of it," said Harry. "The mountains he climbed. The deserts he crossed. I just... need to do it. To go the full distance."
His mother looked at him. Harry felt the exact instant when the moment turned tense, almost pressurized. His erection was poking into her. He was still rubbing his hand on her back, and the two of them were breathing almost in rhythm.
Julia cleared her throat and stepped away from him, deftly closing her robe and glancing at the sink. She smiled and nodded to his protein shake.
"Well, then you should try to eat a full breakfast every morning," she said. "Your dad never trusted those shakes."
Harry rolled his eyes. Everybody compared him to his dad, and he often fell into the trap of doing it, too. For some reason, it always frustrated him to hear it come from her. His father had been dead for almost ten years, and yet he still cast such a long shadow.
"Of course he didn't," said Harry. "By the time he was nineteen, he'd already been up Mount Everest twice."
He couldn't stop an edge of resentment from entering his voice, but if his mother noticed, she didn't let it show. She walked over to the other side of the spacious kitchen, grabbing a granola bar and a fresh orange for herself. A light beam from the window illuminated her from the side, which combined with her clean, white robe made her look like borderline angelic.
"Harry, we're going to have a new maid moving in tonight. She'll be here in the evening, after I get home."
"Bethany isn't coming back to work?"
Their old maid, Bethany, had done a respectable job cleaning and maintaining their upscale and orderly house, even though it bordered on being a mansion. Bethany had been 67 and extremely passive aggressive toward Harry over the condition he usually left his room in.
"She's taking care of family," said Julia. "The new maid is... your cousin."
"My... cousin?" asked Harry. "Wait, I have a cousin?"
"My brother had a child with his high school girlfriend. The relationship was brief, and he was never involved in his daughter's life. I've never met her before, to tell you the truth, but I stayed in touch with her mother."
"This is kind of a lot to take in," he said.
"I know. Just do your best, honey. There's... something else you should know upfront."
She frowned. Harry could tell that his mother had more to say, and he stepped up behind her, almost a little too close. He couldn't help himself sometimes. There was something magnetic about her, and she never seemed to mind when he invaded her personal space.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Your cousin..." She hesitated, turning to face him and leaning back against the counter. "She's a teenager. Close to your age. And she has... issues."
Harry shrugged.
"Okay," he said. "You sound worried?"
Julia shook her head slightly.
"I am worried," she said. "She's going to be staying in the guest room while she's here, but honey, it's like I said. Her situation is complicated and she's a little wild. From what her mother told me, she's also manipulative, moody, and impulsive."
Harry waited, expecting her to say more.
"And you're worried about how I might react to her?" he asked.
He was almost tempted to ask outright if she was worried that he might hit on her, or vice versa.
"Just treat her like you treated Bethany," said Julia. "Your cousin will be staying with us, but this will also be a job for her. Her mother insisted on it. Don't do or say anything that she might interpret in the wrong way, and just... be prepared."
"Got it," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Good." Julia gave him a quick peck on the cheek, her lips hot where they made contact. "I'm going to take a shower, and then I'm heading straight out. Have a nice day, sweetie."
Harry groaned. He hated when she used her pet names for him. Well, some of the time.
***
Harry carried his breakfast shake with him as he headed downstairs, trying to decide whether he liked the taste as he sipped at it. His thoughts lingered on the conversation, and his own concerns related to it.
Though he still enjoyed living at home with his mom, he was nineteen. It was impossible for him to not occasionally consider the appeal of getting a job and moving out. The basement was one of the primary reasons why he hadn't.
Spanning several rooms, it was close to what someone might expect to find at a high-class fitness center. Harry walked into the gym area, scanning his eyes over the workout equipment, the heavy bags, and the treadmill.
The other half of the basement was composed of a small, locker room style area that included a massage table, a Jacuzzi, and a sauna chamber, though Harry and Julia rarely used any of them.
He set his shake down and started his morning workout routine. It was the only thing that had been a constant feature of his life for the past few months. After graduating high school, everyone had expected Harry to head off to college; his friends and his mother included.
Instead he'd stayed behind, taking a "gap year" to clear his head, or at least that's what he'd told everyone. His mother had been the first to guess the truth, noticing how much time he'd spent training his body, and doing research into different exotic locations on his computer. Harry was fully intent on following in his father's footsteps, as hard as they would be for him to fill.
He was glad that his mom had accepted it so easily. Harry had spent most of his life being compared to his dad. His mother's respect meant the world to him and knowing that she was behind him in his decision buoyed his confidence. Even if he was still a long way off from knowing how and where he was going to try to make his name in the world.
Harry's focus was on his workout. An hour or so went by, his body slowly warming up and getting sweaty, his workout playlist booming from the basement's overhead speaker. He was in the middle of throwing punch combinations at the heavy bag when he heard someone clear their throat.
"I take it that you're the man of the house?"
