Dinner time

I find Mom in the kitchen, bent over the stove with clouds of steam rising around her. Ashley leans over the counter behind her, facing away from me. The sounds of nineties pop emanate from a speaker on the counter, and Mom's hips wiggle back and forth to the tune of an N-Sync song.

"Hey, Mom, Ashley," I say. I walk over to the counter and stand beside Ashley, catching an eye full of her ass in those cotton shorts. My sister looks up and smiles at me with her brilliant smile, and I hear Mom call out.

"Hey, Dom! Dinner is almost ready. Help me plate this?"

"Certainly," I agree, and walk around the counter to grab a plate for her. Mom smiles at me as I bring it over to her.

"Thank you, dear," she says, and I nod. Mom wears a familiar set of clothes: a black cotton tank top that barely covers her toned belly and a pair of black cotton yoga pants that cling to her every curve.

I help her transfer a few pieces of sizzling chicken onto the plate and then grab two bowls for our side dishes. Mom hums in silence as we work. Ashley moves around the kitchen table on the other side of the counter, placing napkins and utensils, until we are all finally ready.

I carry the plate of chicken over to the table and place it onto a heat mat just as Kelly walks downstairs. I look up to see my younger sister is now dressed in an oversized t-shirt with her wet blonde hair hanging loose around her face in dark strands. "About time," I joke, and she sticks her tongue out at me.

Mom brushes against my rear as she carries over the other plates, and we all sit down to eat.

"Well, how was today?" Mom asks, as she passes the plate of chicken around the table. "Kelly?"

"Dom drove me to school this morning. Dan tried to start shit again, but Dom stood up for me." The look in her eyes is one of adoration, and she gives me a tight smile.

Mom looks from her to me, then back again. "A fight on school grounds? Dom! I hope not--."

I interrupt her, saying, "No, Mom, don't worry. We just had a friendly chat. I am hoping it was the end of it."

"I doubt it," Ashley interjects as she spoons green beans onto her plate.

"Hmm," Mom murmurs in agreement, but she says no more of it at dinner. We spend the rest of the time talking about the progress we have on our projects, our newfound income, and the stability we now have. Mom's shoulders visibly relax as we talk, and I realize how much it has been weighing on her. It seems obvious now, though. Of course, she would be stressed about it; the poor woman has been under the impression we are one step away from losing everything. I decide to talk to her about it after dinner.

Eventually, the conversation steers back to our earlier pool hang-out with Esmere and Colette. Kelly talks on my behalf, which I am fine with. I use the free moment to look at the girls around me and consider the sudden changes in our relationships. The happiness on their faces is evident, and I wonder how much of it is me and how much of it is due to the nootropic. And does it matter? Isn't the nootropic version of me just me, enhanced?

I set aside the thoughts as we finish eating and clear the table. It doesn't matter. I am where I am, I don't have any choice but to continue, so I may as well accept it as it is. Make the most of it while we can. I sigh.

"Everything alright, dear?" Mom asks as she hits the handle on the kitchen sink faucet. Water streams out of the faucet head. Kelly disappears upstairs to work on her homework, while Ashley chimes in that she will be back soon for our movie.

I grab one of the dirty dishes and stand beside Mom in front of the kitchen sink. Our hips touch and I give her a friendly hip-bump, eliciting a giggle from her. "Everything is fine, Mom. Just feeling thankful is all."

"Thankful? Of everyone here, I think you're the one that should feel that the least right now." Her voice drops as she focuses on scrubbing one of the grimy pans. Grease and grit fight against her and she sighs after a minute, before pushing it over to me. "Mind helping?"

"You know I don't," I answer. I scrub the pan with a steel wool pad while she cleans another dish. "The truth is that I couldn't do what I am doing without you three. I couldn't be so motivated. So I think I have just as much to be thankful for."

"You're sweet." Mom shoots me a side-eyed smile, and I hip-bump her again. "Hey!" she shouts, laughing. She places a now clean plate onto a bamboo drying rack on the counter, then turns to face me. "Thanks for the help, dear. And everything else."

I continue scrubbing the pan, but I look at her. Her face, only a scant foot from mine. Our eyes meet, and my hand stills on the pan. I feel the urge to lean in and feel her soft lips press into mine. Before I can, though, I am surprised when Mom does it for me. Her soapy hand slides onto my neck and she pulls me down towards her, until her lips interlock with mine and a sigh escapes my lips. "Mom," I murmur. I kiss her back, hard, feeling a desire that I have only felt around her when on the nootropic. My lips push against her, and I leave the pan and sink behind to place my wet hands on her hips.

She molds herself against me as we kiss, our breath coming heavier and heavier with each furtive twist of our lips against the others. My cock surges to life and bulges against my shorts, and I know she feels it pressing against her waist. My tongue creeps out to taste her lips, and I am surprised to immediately feel her surprise in kind. We meet in a tumultuous union, and my hands sink around her waist and down onto her ass. Mom moans into our kiss as my hands sink into the soft, toned flesh of her ass, spurring me on. My hands explore further, harder, deeper. Her butt becomes putty in my hands, and I feel her grind herself against me, rubbing my cock with her hip.

The heavy thud of footsteps grows in the stairwell, and Mom breaks away with a sigh. She gives me a hungry look, her cheeks flushed and shining like a ruby in the sun. "Dom, I don't know what you're doing to me... I..."

Her sentence is interrupted by Ashley popping into the kitchen. She gives Mom a look. "Soap is supposed to stay in the sink, you know?"

I look down to see Mom has soap all over her waist. Thankfully her ass is turned towards the sink, so Ashley doesn't see the soapy handprints covering it. "Blame your brother," Mom shoots back, rolling her eyes. "He couldn't help himself."

More than you know, Mom, I thought.

Ashley looks at me and grins. "Well, ready to watch this movie?"

"Sure," I say, and turn back to Mom. "Need me for anything else, Mom?"

She gives me hungry look that I hope Ashley doesn't see. "Not right now, dear. Go enjoy your movie."

"Do you want to join us?" Ashley asks. "It's a horror movie about..."

"Nope!" Mom interjects. "No horror for me, thank you. You two have fun."

I follow Ashley out of the room, but I stop to look back at Mom for a moment. She leans against the counter still, her expression blank, eyes distant. After a moment, she blinks and looks up at me. A smile breaks her lips. I blow her a kiss and follow Ashley into the living room.