We were sitting at a window table in a cozy restaurant called The Spinnaker and marveling at the beauty that is San Francisco at night. The Spinnaker is located in the chic community of Sausalito, which is just across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. Years ago Sausalito was just another struggling fishing community on the bay but since the late 70's when land prices soared out of sight it became a playgrounds for the rich and famous of the City. We had driven across the bridge for dinner and were just finishing off the last of our wine and waiting for the check so we could head back to the apartment. My name is Jeremy Scott and tonight I am an invited guest of my roommate, Ashley Lawton and her mother, Jaime.

Ashley and I are both nursing students at San Francisco State University where Ashley is a junior and I'm just two months shy of graduation. Ashley and I also share an apartment off of 19^th street near the university, a building that has eight apartments on two floors that has, for some reason, always been rented to the universities' nursing students. My guess is that the landlord has always felt more comfortable renting to nursing students that he feels are more responsible than the normal radical student population. On the other hand he is an old man and maybe he just enjoys the company of all the pretty nursing students, present company excluded.

I daubed at my mouth with a napkin and looked across the table at our host. "Mrs. Lawton I want to thank you for inviting me to dinner, it's always a pleasure to have you visiting with us." As I said this the waiter slid the check in an expensive leather folder under her right hand.

"Jeremy I've told you a thousand times, its Jaime and you're more than welcome honey."

I had first met Mrs. Jaime Lawton two years ago after her daughter had answered my ad on the student union bulletin board for a nursing student roommate. Ashley had immediately liked the apartment but not the idea that she would have to share it with a male. However because we were both nursing students and had a number of mutual friends in the nursing program we sat down and talked our way through most of the issues and she agreed to move in the following weekend. Her mother took two days off from work and drove up from Los Angeles to help her daughter get settled into her new digs and to bring some things she wanted from home.

Jaime is the senior vice president for marketing for a large aerospace corporation in Los Angeles and according to Ashley makes a seven-figure salary. She divorced Ashley's father almost six years ago and for the life of me I don't know why he ever let her go, to my way of thinking she is quite the woman. The story goes that Jaime was married just after high school and Ashley was born some six months after the wedding so I figured that made Jaime around forty. She is a statuesque woman and reminds me of a fashion model, standing at least five foot eight without heels and with a body that is proportionate to her height, her breasts excluded. The first time we met she came to the apartment and used her daughter's room to change from a business suit into a pair of shorts and a tee shirt and I immediately fell in love with her small breasts and long legs. Jaime is a redhead with sea green eyes and her creamy white skin is covered with beautiful tiny red freckles. As we helped move Ashley's things into the apartment I kept watching Jaime and I thought that she was one of the sexiest women I had ever seen but I never said anything to Ashley, after all that was my roommates mother I was ogling!

I turned 22 this summer and since graduating from high school I've had had only two real girlfriends and both of them were during my freshman year at State. Oh I've dated on occasions and it's not that I'm ugly or gay or anything like that, in fact most of the girls in school actually think I'm kind of cute. My real problem is that I just don't have a lot of confidence when it comes to women so I'm content to let them make the first move, if there is one to be made, and then take it from there.

Jaime signed the tab and slipped her credit card back into her purse and we left the restaurant. We had a short wait while the parking attendant brought her rented Lexus to the front door for our twenty-minute drive back home. I sat in the backseat and let Ashley sit up front with her mother and listened as they chatted about school and her old friends on the drive. Jaime had decided to stay at our apartment on this trip, something that she did on occasion, and I had once again gallantly offered her my room but she insisted that she would be fine on the couch and that was that. Once we found a parking space for the car, no easy task in the City, we walked back to the apartment and Ashley put on a pot of coffee then went into her bedroom to change clothes. Jaime and I sat at the kitchen table and had a light conversation about school, living in the City, what I wanted to do after graduation, yada, yada, yada. Then all of a sudden, like a sirocco blowing across the desert, she hit me with 'the' question.

"Tell me something Jeremy, after living together for two years why haven't you and Ashley... uh... well, you know, dated."

Although I knew what she was asking, it definitely wasn't about dating it was all about sex. The question had caught me off guard and I stuttered while trying to think of a good answer. It was obvious that Ashley hadn't told her mother that she was gay and it certainly wasn't my position to 'out' her to her mother. "Uh... well, I guess that we just decided it was prudent to stay good friends and roommates. I mean she has her friends and I have mine and well it's best that roommates not become too involved, especially now that I'll be finished with school in a couple of months and she still has another year to go."

"Alright Jeremy I understand that, but you do find her attractive don't you?"

Duh! Of course I did, after all Ashley was almost a clone of her mother, only she was the younger version and had bigger boobs, but she just wasn't into guys. "Uh, well sure I do. I mean Ashley is a beautiful person, both inside and out, but I think its best that we just remain friends." I was hoping that would end the conversation but Jaime wasn't about to give up so easily.

"Hummm, well I guess that kind of surprises me Jeremy. I mean for Christ's sakes look at her... she's in excellent shape and what a body! Christ she looks just like I did when I was twenty, except for her breasts, their amazing! 36D's and absolutely no sag to them at all... of course she's still young but what I wouldn't give to have breasts like hers! God knows she sure didn't inherit them from me, just look at these." She cupped her small breasts through her blouse and held them up towards me.

"Uh, well I think you have a wonderful figure Jaime and in fact I tend to prefer women with small breasts!"

"Really, how come?"

"I really don't know but I've always been attracted to small breasted women. My girlfriend in high school was practically flat-chested and most of the girls I've gone out with here at school have had small breasts too. It's just something that attracts me." At that point in our conversation Ashley walked back into the kitchen.

"My God Jeremy, are you actually discussing breast sizes with my mother?" She giggled as she said it.

"Well she started it," I protested, "telling me that you're a 36D and that she wished she had your boobs!"

"MOTHER! That's private information, how could you?"

I could tell that she wasn't really mad at her mother even as much as she chastised her.

"Well you're both nursing students so why can't we have an adult discussion about human anatomy" Jaime asked.

"Oh God mother, you're horrible. The next thing you'll think of is to have a strip show so Jeremy can decide which of us has the best set of tits!"

"Hey... that sounds like a great idea too me!" I called out. They both turned and starred at me and not in a good way. I lower my head and looked down at the floor. "Sorry." I whispered and they both laughed then Ashley got up and poured us all more coffee.

It was just after midnight when Ashley announced that she was going to bed. "Sorry gang but I have clinical practice tomorrow at San Francisco General so I've got to get some sleep. You go ahead and stay up as long as you want, I'll close my door."

Ashley left for bed and Jaime and I continued to talk until almost one in the morning then she decided to change for bed. "Jeremy would you please pour me a half of cup while I get changed."

"Sure." Jaime got up and went into the living room and grabbed her pajamas and walked down the hall to the bathroom to change for the night. I washed out her cup and poured a half of cup of new coffee and had just set it down on the table when she walked back into the kitchen. When I looked up and saw her my knees went weak and I suspect that my jaw dropped open and I only hoped that I wasn't drooling. Jaime had changed into a pair of dark green satin lounging pajamas that clung to her body and showed off her figure perfectly. The top of the outfit buttoned up the front and there were these small gaps in the material and I could see her creamy skin showing through. I knew that she wasn't wearing a bra and the movement of her breasts, even as small as they were, captivated my attention as she walked across the kitchen and sat down.

"Are you alright Jeremy? I mean you look a little pale."

"N... no I'm fine." I stuttered as I tried my best not to look through the gaps in her pajama top. As we sat there finishing our coffee with me trying hard not to stare at her chest the conversation seemed to become a little stilted. I took a deep breath and finally got my thoughts together then we sat and talked as we finished our coffee. I washed the cups and set them in the rack to dry then told Jaime goodnight and went into my bedroom and stripped out of my clothes. I always sleep in my Jockey style shorts and a tee shirt and tonight wasn't any different as I crawled between the sheets. I laid in bed a long time thinking about Jaime and just couldn't fall asleep and the next time I looked over at the clock I saw that it was after two in the morning. Thirsty, I pulled back the sheets and put my feet on the floor and walked over and eased the door open. It was totally dark in the apartment so as quietly as possible, trying not to wake Jaime, I eased across the living room and into the kitchen. I didn't turn on a light I just opened the refrigerator and looked until I found a bottle of water and I had just grabbed it when I was startled by a voice.

"Not able to get to sleep either?"

I turned around as saw Jaime standing in the doorway. "Uh... no, not really."

"Could you please grab me a bottle of water too?"

I was a little uncomfortable standing there in my underwear but I reached back into the fridge and found another bottle and cracked the top and handed it to her then we both walked over to the table and sat down. Jaime seemed pensive which was unusual and I asked her if she was all right.

"Yea I guess so... well not really. Look Jeremy can I ask you something personal, something very personal?"

God what now I thought? "Uh sure, why not."

"Well first off I want you to know that I had really planned on talking to my daughter about this but I'm just not comfortable letting her know how much I've been worrying. Tonight when I listened to you two talking about school and nursing issues I thought that you would be the perfect substitute for my daughter."

For the first time since I had met Jaime she wasn't being assertive, or as sure of herself as she normally was and as she talked she wasn't looking at me either. "Okay."

She took a deep breath and then started. "Well this is kind of embarrassing Jeremy, especially for a forty year old woman, but... well I've never known exactly how to properly check my breasts for lumps. I know that sounds silly but my mother never taught me and, well the reasons are... well it's really unimportant, the thing is last week I was feeling around and I think I've found a small lump but I'm not positive. Look, I know this is a little weird but would you please check me for lumps and then show me how to do a self-breast exam the right way?"

To say I was floored would have been the understatement of the Century. Here was a woman I had been having dirty thoughts about an hour ago and now she was asking me to check her breasts, still... "Uh well I guess I could but I have to tell you Jaime that this will be just as embarrassing for me as it is for you."

"I understand that Jeremy but God I just can't go on worrying like this any longer."

My mind was saying that this was a dream come true and yet Jaime was asking for my help so I had to make it a clinical experience and as such I needed to be professional, super professional. I took a deep breath. "Alright Jaime, which breast did you feel the lump in?"

"My left breast"

I took another deep breath and tried to sound and look as professional as possible although I felt anything but professional at the moment. "Look Jaime the self breast exam or SBE is a five step process and to do it properly you should use a bathroom or dresser mirror first. Once that part of the exam is complete you should lie down on a bed and finish the exam, but for tonight we can probably do it all in the bathroom and just skip the bed part, if that's alright with you?"

"Sure, I guess so... let's get started."

We left the kitchen and walked down to the bathroom and when we were inside I turned on the light and closed the door. "Okay Jaime, please slip out of your top." She unbuttoned her pajama top and slipped it off her shoulders and set it down over the towel rack. Her breast were as amazing as I thought they would be, creamy white with tiny freckles scattered about and silver dollar sized pink areolas with erasure sized nipples that were almost perfectly centered. "The first step in the BSE is to evaluate yourself in a mirror. You look at the size, shape and color and that there is no visual distortion or swelling. You also look for dimpling, puckering or bulging of the skin. Your evaluation should be done at least once a month and remember that the best time is about a week after your period, I assume that you're still having periods."

"Uh huh, but why after my period?"

"Because that's when your breasts are least likely to be tender or swollen. Mostly it has to do with hormonal changes and some swelling because of your menstrual period but don't worry about why, just do it a week after your period. Once you're familiar with your breasts you'll notice if there are any changes, now go ahead Jaime and look at yourself."

"Okay, like this?"

She stood in front of the mirror and evaluated her breasts while I watched. She touched them, moved them and looked at them. As she moved about my mouth watered just at the thought of sucking on those beauties. "Okay that's good, now for step two. Raise your arms straight up and look at yourself and check for the same changes."

Once again she evaluated herself in the mirror. "I don't see anything that looks abnormal Jeremy."

"Me either and that's good Jaime. Now for step three. While you're looking in the mirror squeeze each nipple between your finger and thumb and check to see if there is any discharge." She took her nipple between her fingers but she wasn't doing it right. "Nope not quite like that, here let me show you."