Bedtime chatter

They tumbled onto the bed in a tangle of damp limbs and towels, laughing when the comforter bunched under them and one of the pillows went sailing to the floor. Lisa squirmed and flopped onto her back, while Natalie stretched out beside her, fanning her wet hair out over the bedding.

“What the hell was that?” Lisa sighed, dragging her hand down her face. “I was not expecting a shower to turn into… that.”

Natalie rolled her head toward her, humming despite the knot of nerves still somewhere in her chest. “Neither was I,” she admitted. “Honestly, I didn’t even think we’d end up doing anything when you said you were coming to town. I thought-” she gave a small shrug “-I don’t know what I thought. Maybe that we’d just hang out. Talk. Probably drink too much wine like we usually do. I mean, you came up worried about Aiden, and wanting to check on him and how he’s doing.”

Lisa snorted. “Yeah well, hang out, talk, drink… and apparently hang out naked, talk, and drink you, while we have sex in your shower.”

That made them both snort and chuckle, but Natalie’s feeling of relaxation faltered for just a second at her own mention of Aiden. She’d been so focused on Lisa, on taking control and surprising herself, that she hadn’t let herself spend any time on the thoughts of him. But now his name and his face slid right back to the forefront.

She turned her face, masking the change in her demeanor. “Yeah… didn’t see this one coming,” she said, forcing the levity back into her voice.

Lisa turned onto her side, propping her head on her hand. The towel slipped a little from her chest, but she didn’t bother fixing it. Her eyes were almost searching Natalie’s face. “I really did come up here for him, Nat. I was so sure something was off. I didn’t expect…” She trailed off with a little shrug, gesturing between them.

Natalie gave a small nod. “I know. And that’s why I didn’t think this would happen. You’re his mom. And me…” She broke off, pressing her lips together as though she wasn’t quite sure how to put it.

Lisa reached to touch her hand, squeezing lightly. “And you’ve become his friend. You’ve been there for him when I couldn’t, because I’m not here. And I appreciate that.”

Natalie exhaled slowly, staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah, well… sometimes I wonder if I’ve been there for him too much.” The words slipped out accidentally. The memory of his voice, of his hands massaging her, and the various nights that kept replaying in her head all cut through the moment. She wiggled against the blanket, but for all the wrong reasons.

Lisa’s hand found hers, and her thumb brushed over her knuckles absentmindedly. “No. I know he’s lucky to have you. Whatever’s going on with him… I’m glad he has you here when I’m not. He trusts you, and that means everything to me.”

Natalie’s throat tightened. Trust. The mere mention of the word stung. She cleared her throat, closing her eyes for a second as the guilt racked through her in ways she could never admit. Especially not to Lisa. When she opened them again, Lisa was watching her with a questioning expression.

“Yeah. Lucky,” she replied.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Lisa tilted her head, but her eyes didn’t let go of Natalie’s.

“It’s not. It’s just…” Natalie rolled onto her side, mirroring her, though she couldn’t quite meet her gaze. “Sometimes I forget he’s only twenty. He feels older somehow. More grown up.”

“That’s Aiden,” Lisa chuckled softly, brushing back a damp strand that had fallen around her face. “He’s always been an old soul, even as a kid. You should’ve seen him lecturing me at twelve years old about saving money for retirement. I’m dead serious.”

Natalie smiled at the mental image, but the warmth in her chest ramped up as she remembered the way he’d looked at her lately.

“Part of why I came,” Lisa admitted, tracing patterns on the comforter between them, “was because I thought he might’ve pulled back from me. That maybe he wasn’t letting me in the way he used to. I’m his mom, so for a moment a part of me was worried he didn’t have anyone,” she continued and her expression softened. “But he does. He has you. And I don’t feel so bad anymore.”

“I don’t know about that,” Natalie said quickly, forcing herself to laugh lightly.

“But I do,” Lisa said, squeezing her hand. “I can tell when someone means something to him. He acts different.”

Natalie swallowed, feeling the weight of Lisa’s words in her chest. She could feel Lisa’s sincerity and trust, and yet, behind her eyes, Natalie swore there was something else, a faint glimmer of awareness. A womanly intuition that made it harder to breathe. She hoped she was wrong and that it was just her own insecurities manifesting themselves.

“We’ll figure him out,” Lisa said after a moment, with certainty. “You and me. Maybe all three of us can spend some more time together while I’m here. I think it’d do him good.”

“Sure,” Natalie murmured, though her stomach flipped. The thought of the three of them together, Lisa, radiant and warm beside her, and Aiden, the unspoken tension wedged behind everything, left her tangled in desire and dread. “Maybe that’s exactly what he needs.”

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