Right after you left

“W-well at first I was hoping to get some things done as soon as you and Sarah had headed off for school but Lucy seemed to want to spend more time with me and at first I thought…” Mom started to rattle off, speeding through her words as if she wasn’t sure what information you would want or not.

“Hey, settle down. Just take your time and talk slowly. Let the words come to you instead of just blurting out everything.” you urged, hoping to hear more of a cohesive story from her.

“...Okay... So, Lucy did make me stay with her. I could tell she was doing it to try and get a rise out of me but when she saw I was getting used to being naked I think she got a bit bored” Mom replied, letting you see a slightly smug expression when you looked at her from the side before it quickly faded.

“Anyway Grace. She turned up probably about an hour after you left. I heard a knock at the door but Lucy had to answer it for me just in case. God it was embarrassing. I wasn’t sure what to do. I mean how do you prepare for that? I just sort of waited in the living room with the curtains closed and I was ready to cover myself with a sofa cushion if things got to be too much.” Mom explained, slowly thinking back to what had happened and you could even feel her pulse start to quicken through your hug as she described the events.

“You didn't, did you?” you teased, seeing if she would reveal if she broke the rule you had set for her this morning.

“No, I didn’t.” Mom quickly replied as if that was obvious before carrying on, making it clear that she was following your orders without fail even if they did embarrass her.

“I could hear her and Lucy talking in the hall but it felt like ages before she finally popped her head around the door. I don’t know what I expected to happen but she had the biggest smile on her face when she saw me. It was like it was her birthday or something. And seeing what you had written on me was what seemed to tip her over the edge” Mom said, making you realise you hadn’t checked to see if the writing was still there given that the apron had been covering it up since you got back.

“I think she was planning on doing something but as soon as she saw the words she sort of rushed over to sit at the side of me so she could get a better look. I don’t think she’s ever looked at me that intensely before but… just something about how happy she seemed to be acting made some of my anxiety go away. It was still terrifying, don't get me wrong. It just felt… I don’t know…” Mom continued, struggling to find the right words for her experience.

“Freeing?” you suggested, wondering if Grace’s exhibitionist kink was having a more powerful effect over her than you had first thought.

“No, not quite. It made me feel closer to her if that makes sense? Like after all these years I was able to break down a barrier that I’d kept up in front of her and now I was putting all of my cards on the table. I guess it’s a bit like us now but with Grace the feeling was a lot more sudden” Mom admitted, revealing some of her feelings to you that you hadn’t been able to hear out loud before.

The mood seemed to have changed now that Mom was being so honest and the position of you teasing her like this didn’t seem to fit. Instead, once she had finished speaking, you moved back slightly and turned her around so that she could face you. Just standing there also didn’t feel right so you closed the gap again and lifted her up so she could sit on the countertop, only getting a little squeal out of her as she was unexpectedly lifted.

With her now facing you, you could clearly see the words you had left on her skin and you briefly ran your thumb over them, seeing that they wouldn’t come off so easily now that the ink had dried.

“Do you think Grace had the same thoughts you had? About you feeling closer?” you asked, letting your hands rest casually on her hips as the conversation continued.

“I couldn’t tell at first with how giddy she was but… I think so. We sat a little closer than we normally did and I could tell she was genuinely happy to hear about everything that had happened and about my happiness as well.” Mom explained, pausing for a second as if something came to mind unexpectedly.

“What is it?” you asked, getting Mom to look back at you as she stopped getting lost in her thoughts.

“She did say she was going to the bathroom at one point and she was gone a while… I did go to check on her but when I reached the top of the stairs… I saw her coming out of your room. I don’t think she saw me as I quickly went back down into the living room before she could suspect anything” Mom replied, looking troubled at her friend acting strangely.

“Ah that’s fine. I know about that” you said, quickly trying to think on your feet.

“Oh okay… What was she doing?” Mom asked the obvious next question.

You only had a moment but you were torn between telling Mom the truth or letting Grace get away with the impromptu show that she had given you and Emma. As much as you wanted to see Mom’s reaction to that piece of information however, you decided it was best to keep it a secret for now.

“I mentioned to her this morning that I’d left my work ID card in her car yesterday. If she was coming around anyway then I thought she could leave it on my desk. I guess it didn’t really matter as she would probably be taking me to the gym anyway but it was a just in case sorta thing. She probably did use the bathroom and just got sidetracked with my request” you tried to reply as casually as possible, covering for what Grace had actually done in your room.

Or more specifically on your bed. While she filmed it. To send to you.

You kept a plain smile on your face and Mom didn’t have a reason to suspect that anything else had gone on other than what you said, letting you see a look of acceptance cross over her face that did make you feel slightly guilty about hiding the truth.

To hide your thoughts, you tucked some of Mom’s hair behind her ear and felt her lean into your hand as you did so, letting you pull her slightly towards you so that you could kiss her properly for the first time since you had gotten home.