Ben’s Mother

**FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT. I LOVE TO HEAR FROM MY READERS**

AND DON'T FORGET TO HIT THE LIKE BUTTON!

Lara had just finished tidying up the kitchen when she heard the front door slam shut. She inwardly groaned to herself. I've told Ben not to slam the door when he and his friends come over for their weekly Call of Duty and pizza party. Lara wiped her hands on a dish towel and started toward the living room to say hello.

As she approached, she heard snippets of their conversation. The boys were not exactly quiet. Using your inside voice was a class that they all would easily fail. The one currently talking was. Greg was definitely the most handsome of Ben’s friends. He was six foot two, sandy blonde-haired, two-time reigning all-state linebacker. His face gave off James Dean vibes coupled with his cool personality, and he never had issues attracting a girl. He didn’t come over as much since he had started dating a girl named Trista. From what Lara gathered from the snippets of conversations she heard from Ben in the others when Greg was absent, Trista kept the booty on a short leash. Lara paused, feeling a strange tug of curiosity as to how and why he was not with Trista and leaned slightly closer to the door.

"Guy's, it was funny the first two dozen times, but can you all cut it with me wanting to get with Ben's mom," Greg said, his voice grating with annoyance. “I've got a girl. I don’t want my best friend's mom.”

One of the other boys, perhaps Jason, chimed in. “Yeah, and before you had that girl, you were always over here doing whatever Ben's mom asked. Even fucking volunteering. Now, the first time Trista goes out of town without you, who should go and organize a CoD tourney at Ben's house? Not Ben, that's for sure. But the guy that wants to bang his mom.”

Ben groaned loudly, "Jason, shut up. That's my mom you're talking about."

The other boys burst out laughing, and one of them, Steven, added, "Yeah, but seriously, Ben, you're lucky. She looks like she could be in one of those movies or something."

"Steven, I will seriously kick your ass," Ben said, clearly irritated, "She's just my mom, okay? You’re being fucking weird."

Lara's heart sank as she realized what was happening. She bit her lip, torn between wanting to laugh at the absurdity of the situation and feeling a pang of sympathy for her son. She could imagine how mortified he must be.

"Greg's always had a thing for your mom," another friend, Sam, teased, nudging Greg with his elbow. "You’ve been crushing on Ben’s mom since, like, forever."

Greg's voice turned defensive. "Fuck you, man! I gotta girl, unlike you."

"Uh huh," Sam snickered. "And you and your girl had a banger of a fight because you couldn’t stop staring at Ben's mom during the last parent-teacher conference."

"Shut the whole fuck up, Sam!" Greg shot back.

Ben stepped between his friends, the frustration in his voice palpable. "Look, I know my mom looks good for her age. And all of you fuckers used to give me a hard time about it. But seriously, can we drop and play some CoD? Fuck we haven't even ordered pizza yet."

Sam, who always loved to stir the pot, had to get in one last barb. "I agree. I vote for meat lovers pizza myself. However, I would also like to point out that Greg always meant it more than the rest of us."

Lara took a deep breath, knowing it was time to step in. She opened the door and walked into the living room with a bright, casual smile as if she hadn't just eavesdropped on the whole conversation. "Hey, boys, how was school?"

The room went silent; Greg and Sam looked like deer caught in headlights. Greg's face turned beet red, and he quickly averted his eyes. Ben's expression was a mix of annoyance and relief.

"Uh, hey, Mom," Ben mumbled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "We were just... just debating which pizza to order."

Lara nodded, her smile unwavering. "Oh, and did someone suggest pineapple because I could hear raised voices from across the house."

Greg snorted. "I'm certain Jason was about to."

"It's a legitimate choice!" Jason retorted.

"Like hell, it's disgusting. I'm with Sam. Meatlovers and a couple of double pepperonis." Greg said.

With that, Ben logged onto the Dominoes app and placed the order.

"See, you boys can be civil," Lara said as she turned to leave. She noticed Greg sneaking a glance at her; his cheeks flushed a little as he noticed being caught. Lara couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself as she walked away.

As Lara returned to her room, her thoughts drifted back to the big, sandy-haired boy. It had been four years since Lara's husband had passed. And his illness had meant that it had been even longer since she had been intimate with a man. Greg Hart, with his cool demeanor and confidence reminded her of Ben's dad when they had started dating. The boys weren't wrong about the looks he gave her. Lara had known for a while that he had a crush on her. Even Greg's mother had said she thought so too.

"He isn't too hard on the eyes, either," Lara said before mentally scolding herself. Quit it, Lara; you're more than twice his age.

Even if Greg had a schoolboy crush on her, she didn't have the figure to compete with the girls his age, especially Trista. I'll leave the delusions of grandeur about attracting a younger partner to middle-aged men.

Lara decided not to go check on the boys tonight. She would give them their space. Especially Greg Hart. But if the teasing continued past today, she might have to have a word with them about boundaries—after all, she was Ben's mom first and foremost.