Vixen’s Vine

Grace was right when she had said it was only a quick walk, the three of you only having to walk a few blocks after leaving your bags in the car when you arrived in front of the bar in question. The hours had ticked by at this point and it was now getting closer to evening, the sun starting to set behind the buildings and fill the sky with colour. You were surprised how fast the time had gone by since you had left school but the time that Grace had Mom spent together at the gym had made up a rather lengthy workout session for them and just about a couple of hours pay for yourself.

Being only 18 for slightly over a week at this point, you hadn’t expected to go to any fancier looking places like this unless you were trying to think of a way to impress Emma but you still found yourself being pulled inside by Grace as you were staring up at the sign displaying ‘Vixen’s Vine’, a name you could appreciate given who was dragging you through the door.

Mom looked just as flummoxed as you were when Grace grabbed her with her other hand to get the two of you inside. You and Mom looked at each other with worried looks before smiling when you realised you were both having the same thoughts, feeling a little more comfortable when you saw you were in the same position.

The other worry you had which Mom wouldn’t was about you getting barred entry. You had no idea if they would id you as soon as you got inside but after walking inside without anyone calling you out, you allowed yourself to relax.

Grace ended up dragging you all the way to a booth situated in a more secluded spot, picking the last one available that didn’t already have people inside.

“Right, you two sit down while I go and get us some drinks. And hopefully something to eat, I haven’t had anything since this morning and I don’t know about either of you but I’m starving” Grace announced, wandering off towards the bar before you or Mom barely had a chance to take in your surroundings.

The booth was big enough to fit around six people but with just the three of you planning to sit down, you put yourself opposite Mom with the table between you, like sitting on opposite sides of a semicircle. You were still close however with the table being rather small between you and there was very little leg room without you touching. Or that was the excuse you planned to give her if she made a comment on your touching.

“I don’t think I fit in around here” Mom said as she scanned the room, a comment you felt you had to rebuke.

“You fit in a lot more than I do. Who wouldn’t want a beautiful woman like you as a customer? And besides, you deserve a night out. Do you even remember the last time you came to a place like this?” you asked, throwing in a compliment she rightfully deserved.

“We went to that restaurant on Saturday” Mom replied, knowing that wasn’t the answer you were looking for.

“You know that doesn’t count. I meant, when was the last time you did something for yourself and not for the family? I know you were dragged here by both me and Grace but why not let your hair down? I won’t be drinking, unless Grace has any plans, so you can rely on me to get you home. Maybe even give you a reward once we’re back home” you urged, making your caresses under the table much more deliberate.

You could tell Mom was about to chastise you for trying something while you were in public and although the blush rose on her cheeks, Grace returned before she could speak her mind.

Grace sat down at Mom’s side with 3 glasses and a bottle precariously in one hand with the stems between her fingers, the bottle filled with a dark shade of red which meant your ‘no drinking’ plan was now thrown out of the window. Luckily her other hand contained a plate of chips and dips that you could snack on instead to keep yourself busy.

Mom however wasn’t as reserved, taking a swig of the wine from the glass Grace had filled in front of her as if she had taken your earlier words about loosening up to heart. While Grace wasn’t aware of the conversation that had taken place, you could tell she approved, matching Mom and taking a drink from her own glass.

The earlier tension you and Mom had when entering was now nowhere to be seen as the two of them got chatting in earnest. At first, Grace directed the conversation towards the workout and how Mom was welcome to come see her anytime she wished, not lingering too long on the topic in fear of scaring Mom off again.

After that though, it turned into one of their usual catch-ups. You did try to actively join the conversation this time instead of sitting on the sidelines but your social skills still needed a bit more work to fully join in when it came to talking with two best friends who knew almost everything about each other.

Grace ended up moving to occasionally refill their glasses and you refrained while focusing more on the food, only needing a refill when they were on their third. Grace was handling the **** a bit better than Mom but the grin on her face told you that you were about to regret coming out with them.

“So, how are you and Emma getting along?” Grace asked, perking up Mom as soon as the words left her mouth.

“Oh oh I wanna hear this too!” Mom said excitedly, her energy telling you you should probably think about cutting her off the wine, knowing she was a lightweight and already three glasses deep.

“We’re doing good. Great even” you replied, taking a bigger swig of your wine now that you felt you needed it.

“You know we want more details than that. Come on, tell me about the last time you two were ‘together’ “ Grace urged, trying to coax more information out of you.

You couldn’t exactly say the last time you were together more intimately was when you, Emma and Grace had all shared a shower but you also didn’t think she would let you get away with being too vague.

“I didn’t think I’d ever have this conversation with either of you but given that you're not gonna let this go…” you started to explain.

“I don’t think he would have let Emma go either” Mom interrupted, laughing at her own joke and having to use Grace’s shoulder for support when she swayed a little too far.

“Well we haven’t gone too far yet, just to dissuade your concerns. When we did though, she looked as beautiful as her mother” you continued, trying desperately to turn the subject away from yourself.

You still expected Grace to come back at you and not drop the subject and while your attention had been focused on Grace, you saw that Mom hadn’t righted herself since she had fallen against Grace. Her face was almost pressed against Grace’s neck and although you couldn’t hear her over the ambience of the bar, it was pretty obvious that she had figured something out.

You kept your expression neutral as you saw her sniffing Grace’s neck and while Grace kept her eyes locked on you as if asking for help, you didn’t think you could do anything too obvious. You were about to raise your voice to try and bring Mom back to the topic but before you could, Mom in her tipsy state, brought herself closer and ran her tongue along Grace’s neck, making Grace pull back and bring a hand to where your mother had licked as she stared wide-eyed.

“Why do you taste like Max?” your Mom blurted out, narrowing her eyes at Grace.