Knee-Deep in Trouble

Everything was terrible.

No. That wasn't true. Ethically, Joey knew that everything was terrible. He should be horrified. He should be hating every second of his new life. He should... he should... he should....

But he didn't.

The problem, as best as Joey could figure, wasn’t that he was changing people. The problem was him. Joey knew it was wrong, knew he should do everything in his power to put a stop to it, but a part of him was enjoying it.

Yes, he had tried. Bianca, the beautiful waitress he'd altered, hadn't accepted a second explanation that contradicted the first. She'd made it very clear that the belief Joey had planted in her was there to stay. Was it possible that Joey could find a work-around? Perhaps. Was it possible that there was something inside him preventing him from trying?

Joey knew the answer, but didn't want to admit it to himself. Not yet at least.

"Traffic is very heavy," Joey's mother said from the driver's seat in the car that hadn't moved more than three lengths in the last ten minutes, "There must be something wrong on the bridge. I think we'll be here for a bit," she turned and smiled at him, reminding him of the way a starving man might look at a steak, "But at least that gives us some time to spend together. Alone."

All of his life Joey had been overlooked and overshadowed. He was skinny. He was short. He was shy. Joey’s older sister excelled in every class, starred on the basketball team, and was admired for her beauty by everyone she met. When Joey entered high school at South Point, he had been met by the welcoming message from all of his teachers that he would be measured based on their expectations, and their expectations had been set by Juniper Granger.

His parents, too, were in all ways of looking at it, amazing people. Outgoing, successful, good looking. Everything Joey was not. Sometimes, he wondered why he was so different from the rest of his family. His dad, with his chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, well defined abs, was practically an Adonis! And his mother... well his friends had all made it very clear which mother of the friends group had been the source of the most 'fap action' (as Jake had so eloquently put it) when they hit puberty.

But nobody noticed Joey. There were no academic awards coming his way, nor were there athletic trophies. He'd never had a girlfriend, never had a girl even look at him that way. And career aspirations? He could barely make it to graduate high school, no less plan on how to build a life for himself.

But now everything had changed. Everything was different.

Leaving the restaurant, for example. It was an entirely new experience having a girl chase after him, wanting his attention.

"Joey!" Bianca said, standing just outside the entryway of Sage & Cedar, "You can't sneak away from me that easily. Hand me your phone."

Joey stared blankly at the dark-haired beauty, then slowly reached into his pocket and handed her his phone.

"Unlock it, silly," she laughed, handing it back, "You don't do this a lot, do you?"

"No," he said, unlocking the phone and passing it over.

Her thumbs flew across the screen before she smiled and handed the device back to Joey.

"There. I've put my name in there. Bianca Batista," She leaned in conspiratorially, "I put my middle name as 'sex' so you have a shortcut to remember me," then she straightened, "and I texted myself from your number so I have your contact too."

"Um, thanks?" Joey wasn't sure how to respond to the gorgeous woman throwing herself at him, aware that his mother was glowering at him off to the side.

"Don't wait too long to reach out. A guy your age needs lots of sexual gratification, I'm sure, so you know..." she paused, then grinned, "reach out and touch someone!"

Her laugh was musical, her smile contagious. She leaned in, gave him a peck on the lips, turned, and returned to her job.

"Hmph," his mother grunted, took him by the hand, and pulled him along after her as she walked away from the upscale eatery.

Despite being fairly sure that he had completely screwed up four women's lives that week with a power he barely understood, Joey felt like a million bucks. Kissed by Madison Ashford. Pursued by a beautiful waitress. Enticed by a gorgeous teacher. It was the kind of life that Joey could have never anticipated for himself. Women didn’t even acknowledge his existence! And now, suddenly, Joey was all they wanted!

And then there was his mother.

That was the worst one. As they sat next to each other in the idling car, her right hand found its way to his knee, resting there in a way that she had never touched him before. Joey was pretty sure that she was the most changed of all the women. He thought through what he had told her, what he had explained, Joey was fairly certain that she might think of him as her perfect man, and add to that what she'd accidentally picked up in the restaurant, Joey was convinced she would never see him as her son again.

The proper response would be to run away, to hide from his mother, to never talk to her again. Joey knew this. But as she softly rubbed his knee in her unmoving Audi, Joey thought about all the people in the cars around him, people from whom he normally felt a cloud of anxiety-driving-judgement. Eyes that bore holes in his fragile confidence. And as his mother let her hand slowly creep up his thigh, Joey realized that none of those people knew that she was his mother. They were strangers, every one of them. Diners in the restaurant, too, all had no idea the relationship that Joey held with this stunning older woman. All those eyes may still be judging, but they were judging something else about Joey. He was no loser, he was the type of man who could attract a woman like that.

And while Joey knew what he should be feeling, Joey, perhaps for the first time in his life, felt incredible.

"You know," Joey's mother cut into his thoughts, her hand now at mid-thigh, "I don't have to be the only one doing the touching," she slid her hand up his thigh a full inch, "You're always allowed to touch me. Whenever, however, and I'm right here. If you'd like to take advantage now, it might be a bit more complicated when we get home because of," she paused, then the tone of her voice became tired, "your father."

At the mention of his dad, Joey moved his leg, shaking his mother's hand away. That was something Joey was going to have to figure out. His dad would not be happy with this new thing between Joey and his mother, whatever it was.

Joey didn't hate his dad. He didn't even dislike him. His dad was... fine. He went to work every day, supported his family, was crazy about Joey's mom, and in so many ways had been a good father to Joey. Did he get Joey? No. Did Joey get his dad? Not a chance. It was like they were looking at each other from across a chasm, no ways across, shouting each other's needs and feelings, only receiving the echo of what was said. Joey didn't wish his father ill.

That said, he was terrified about what would happen if his dad figured out that Joey's mom had shifted her romantic focus to the younger Granger. It was uncharted territory, and Joey's dad wasn't the kind of guy you would want to test when it came to something he cared about. Joey remembered clearly the summer he turned thirteen, watching his father lay a large man out for not taking 'no' for an answer from Joey's mother during a winter vacation in Mexico. The speed and ferocity of his reaction had been terrifying, leaving Joey with a deep respect for his father.

"It's okay, you know," his mother said soothingly, walking her hand back over to his knee on two fingers, a playful gesture that meant much more than an innocent game, "If you want, I can keep things secret from him. I know how he can be," she frowned, "all muscles and aggression. I don't know what I ever saw in him. But I wouldn't do anything to put you in danger."

Butterflies had settled in Joey's stomach by the time her hand had settled back on his leg. He was just about to bat it away when his eyes caught the car next to them. A young man in his twenties, ill-fitting suit, dirty car, was staring at him with a grin on his face. He caught Joey's gaze and nodded. It was a nod of respect.

For the first time, a stranger had shown Joey respect.

Taking a deep breath, swallowing his guilt, Joey let his mother’s hand linger. Then, watching the eyes of his audience, he slowly moved his own left hand over to his mother's knee. Only her knee. Nothing else.

She shivered softly.

The viewer grinned.

Joey felt incredible.