"Where's Lita been? Haven't seen her around lately." Mom had said.
"Um... Lita kinda broke things off." Michael admitted.
"Jeez, you guys have been together since high school. I thought you made a cute couple." Mary commented. "What happened. Did you get into a fight or something?"
"No. Not exactly. Look. I'd rather not talk about it." Michael replied.
"I'm just curious. Seems rather abrupt if you ask me." Mary stated.
"I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable talking about it with you. We started having sex." Michael blurted out.
"And that's why she broke up with you? I don't understand." Mary enquired.
"I'm really bad at it. We tried a bunch of times, and every time was the same. A disaster." Michael admitted.
"Oh My!" Mary gasped. "Bad enough so that she broke things off with you?"
"Bad enough so that she started hooking up with Brad from work behind my back. They're a thing now." Michael confessed.
"What was happening? If you don't mind me asking." Mary said concerned.
"I just... as soon as we start. I'm done... every time... it was frustrating for both of us, but then when Brad convinced her to hook up with him. Well, that was it. That was the end of Lita and me." Micheal explained.
Mary looked at her son. Barely 18, he was a jock. Sandy blond hair and a football player's body. But sometimes looks weren't enough. As her only child, she was concerned for his future welfare. It didn't sound like it was a one-shot thing, and that was exactly what worried her. Maybe a visit to the Doctor would reveal something.
"Perfectly healthy." Was all the Doctor had had to say. "Everything working, just the way it should. Everything exactly where it should be. No problems that I can see."
"Mom. Maybe it's just the way I am." Michael wondered.
Mary was a fierce redheaded firebrand. Sparkling green eyes, a smattering of freckles framing her nose, pert C-cup breasts, a swimmer's body. Literally, that had been her passion since her teens. It kept her in shape and kept her sane. Michael had been born when she was just his age now. The baby daddy couldn't handle it and the arguments were frequent and often about next to nothing. It became clearer and clearer that it wasn't working out. So, she'd packed up and left, taking Michael with her.
It had been the two of them ever since. Mary had dated through the years, but it seemed nothing caught any traction. The adage once bitten twice shy, was certainly apt in her case.
When the weekend had come, they'd decided to spend a day at the beach. Mary packed a cooler with lunch and some sodas and they drove down to the State Park. As they lay there on the blanket Mary kept looking over at Micheal checking him out.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Mom." Michael suddenly said.
"Like what?" Mary replied.
"Like I don't know. It's kinda creepy." He offered.
"I'm sorry. It's just that..." Mary started. "I've been thinking. You're problem with Lita. If it isn't physical, then it must be... in your head."
"I guess. But it is what it is, Mom. Let it go." Michael sulked.
"But it is in your head, then you should be able to... learn the right way. Like learning to play football. You don't start out knowing anything." She speculated.
"Yeah, Mom. But I already know I suck at it." Michael explained. "Anyway, who's going to be patient enough to put themselves through having to deal with that."
And therein lay the crux of the conundrum. Who in their right minds would subject themselves to what promised to be a protracted period of...call it what you will... bad sex. An ugly girl, perhaps. But that wouldn't be fair either. Not to anyone.
It was while doing laundry that the idea first dawned on her. Michael was in the living room watching TV when she approached him.
"You wanna WHAT?" Michael shrieked.
"Give you a handjob." Mary said embarrassed. It had sounded so much more clinical in her head. "See what happens. Think of it as Training..."