Chapter 18

Claire took a big swallow of tea and scooted a little closer to Ethan.

“But the real reason I wanted to talk to you Ethan, was to apologize. I’m truly sorry for the way I…and others…reacted to your relationship with Mom. It was wrong, it was selfish and it was uncalled-for. It was just such a shock and I wasn’t prepared for it. I didn’t understand…”

“My parents reacted the same way.”

“Yes, I know, and that is my fault. I told your mother, overreacting. It was such a shock. I didn’t know how to handle it.”

“It was a shock for us too, at first.”

“What do you mean?”

“We didn’t just meet and hop into bed. We just were two people who liked each other, and we grew closer. We were hesitant because of our ages. It was gradual, but eventually it just felt natural.”

“Another thing I’m ashamed of,” Claire said. “I was concerned about my feelings, and appearances, and what people might think. And until Mom was very sick, I never even considered that you both really, really cared for each other. And that you were suffering a loss just like we were!”

Ethan didn’t respond; he let the words dangle.

“I am sorry for your loss, Ethan,” she said. “And I’m sorry we kind of shut you out her last few weeks.”

“I’m sorry for your loss too,” he said softly.

Claire touched the corner of a napkin to her eyes. Then she laughed and said, “You know what she told me? She said she’d lost some weight but never even considered she might have been sick. She said she just figured it was because of all the sex you two were having!”

Ethan laughed and said, “I’ll bet that’s not how she phrased it.”

“You’re right!” Claire said. She looked in Ethan’s eyes, which now were moist. She dabbed his eyes with the napkin.

She looked at Ethan and it was hard not to think about him in the video and to picture him naked again: his hairless chest, taut nipples, and muscled ass. And his young hard cock that she’d watched slide in and out of her mother.

When Claire would think back on what she did next she would be amazed and confused by her action. Without warning she leaned her head close to Ethan’s and pressed her lips against his.

As she kissed him she felt the pliable texture of his mouth. She parted her lips ever-so-slightly and let just the very tip of her tongue slip through, testing him, and daintily licked his lip. He was not exactly kissing her back, but he sure wasn’t resisting either.

When she pulled away and again looked at Ethan, she couldn’t read the look on his face.

“Oh, Ethan, please forgive me! Please forget that ever happened. That was very inappropriate. I’m very sorry!”

“It’s okay. It’s a strange, difficult time for all of us.”

“I’m ashamed; you must think I’m terrible!”

Ethan touched Claire for the first time. He put his hand on hers.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not complaining am I?” he said, grinning.

Claire smiled, relieved, and they hugged. But her mind was a ball of confusion. What would Margot think if she knew what she’d just done? Or her husband? Or anyone? It was hard to believe she had done it. But she did. And it had felt good.

—

Claire had never cheated on her husband. She knew he had had an affair or two, and they’d worked things out. Since being married, she’d never kissed another man, other than a peck on the cheek of some relative, until Ethan. And she couldn’t kick the thought that even though it was just a kiss, she had now cheated.

Over the following week her spare time was taken up primarily by two things: Thinking about the kiss and watching the video on her mother’s phone. Over and over she watched her mother and Ethan fucking and sucking in the hot tub. It never failed to get her wet, and if she was alone and the coast was clear, she masturbated. The more she watched it, the more she believed her mother had left it on the phone for her to find. She was looking forward to the weekend. And Margot would kill her if she knew what she was thinking.

Friday morning after her husband left for work, Claire packed her bag. Last weekend it had been old clothes and jeans for doing dirty work. But this time was different. She packed her tightest jeans and shorts to show off her ass. She packed a couple of her sexier, more revealing tops, and some flimsy lingerie. And her black bikini—with her body it always got a second look—in case she ended up in the hot tub.

She locked the house, tossed her bag in the car, got in behind the wheel and headed for Lena’s house.

[End]