Chapter 4

Mom chuckled. She actually chuckled.

Pete’s face heated and he looked away.

“I’m flattered,” she said, “but you know we can’t.”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” When he looked back, she was smiling again. “We’re just two ships who collided in the night.”

“With one helluva collision.”

“But neither of us sank.” She smirked.

“But one of us went down.”

She grinned and rolled her eyes. “Let’s not stick with this metaphor, okay?”

“Yeah, because we sure weren’t bumping uglies.”

She laughed. “Stop, okay?”

“Sure.” He smirked because he couldn’t resist. “What do you want to eat?”

“That’s enough, Buster.” She paused and pursed her lips. “Maybe we should dine in the restaurant after all, so you’ll behave.”

“Actually ... there’s this place in town you might like. They specialize in traditional Scottish foods.”

She smiled. “That sounds nice.”

The strolled slowly back from the hotel, tired and satiated. The conversation had flowed smoothly, mostly about the conference, and the vibe was close to one of the dinners when he visited home. They fell quiet for most of the walk. Mom seemed lost in thought, while Pete realized he had nothing to say.

“Say,” Mom said when they were in sight of the hotel, “you never told me why you broke up with Karin.”

“That was months ago.”

“I know. But you were vague. ‘It just didn’t work out,’ if I recall.”

“It just didn’t.”

“Uh-huh.”

He grimaced. “It wasn’t one thing. More ... a bunch of small things that added up, you know?”

“I understand the concept. It just seemed so sudden.”

“That’s because you only saw the outside.”

“Oh.”

The walked in silence for a couple of minutes. As the hotel neared, Mom turned to him.

“Did anything ever happen with that girl from the restaurant?”

“Restaurant?” Pete’s mind raced, trying to remember what he’d told her.

“A few weeks ago you mentioned going to that fancy French restaurant.”

“Ah. Bethany.” At breakfast the next morning, they’d discovered they had nothing to talk about. “No, nothing came of that.”

“Mmm.”

“I’ll find someone. Eventually.”

She smiled. “I’m sure you will.”

They strolled into the lobby to find several of Mom’s coworkers standing and talking in a cluster. A tall, slim man with a salt-and pepper beard pulled back a step, smiled, and waved at them.

“That’s Tom,” Mom said quietly.

“Handsome.”

“You think so?” She smirked at Pete.

“A guy can notice.” He returned the smirk. “Even if he’s straight.”

She chuckled. “Good to know.”

“That a guy can notice, or that I’m straight?”

“Both, of course,” she teased. “Well, you being bi might be hot.”

“You want to watch me with another guy?”

“Well, maybe not.”

Tom pulled away from the crowd and walked over.

“Diane,” he said when he closed. “Glad I caught you.” He extended his hand to Pete. “You must be Pete. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Pete said as they shook.

There was a warmth and confidence in Tom’s eyes. He smiled at Mom. “I’m glad I saw you. Several of us are going to a whiskey tasting room and I’d love it if you could join us.”

“Well,” she began, “I’m not much of a whiskey drinker...”

“Oh, go, Mom,” Pete urged. “Be adventurous.”

She smiled at Tom. “Sure. Why not?” Then to Pete, “Don’t stay up.”

He laughed and watched as they walked off.

Pete thumbed through the Netflix directory. Nothing looked interesting. He pulled up some games on his phone, but quit after about fifteen minutes. He couldn’t sit still on the couch so he finally gave up.

Mom was out on a date. Well, it wasn’t really a date. Not in a big group like that. Still ... he couldn’t stop thinking about it. About her.

Was he jealous?

No, actually. He pictured Tom screwing Mom. Her writhing in ecstasy under him. He smirked. He didn’t have to imagine that last part. And he wasn’t jealous thinking about Tom doing it to her.

What he wanted to do was talk to someone. But who could he talk to about screwing his Mom? Especially when he didn’t feel guilty at all.

Nobody he actually knew. And he didn’t trust the internet at all. Too many ways to dox a guy. Especially on something like this.

In the end, he decided to go for a walk.

Pete finished the last of his whiskey and slid the glass back across the bar. The bartender spotted him and strolled down.

“Another?” he asked.

“Beer.” Pete wasn’t driving, but he’d already had two doubles, and he didn’t want to fall on his face.

The bartender grabbed a glass mug and held it under the tap. When it was full, he placed it in front of Pete.

“So who was she?” the bartender asked.

“She?”

“The one that broke your heart.”

He snorted. “She didn’t break my heart.”

The bartender raised an eyebrow.

“I just shouldn’t’ve slept with her.

“Ah. One of those.” The bartender grabbed a towel and started wiping down the bar right next to Pete.

“But...,” Pete said, “I don’t regret it. I ... I liked it even.”

“Mmm.”

“Yeah.” Pete sipped his beer. He could feel the tingle throughout his body from all the alcohol.

The bartender finished wiping the bar and hung the towel over a brass rail.

“I should regret it,” Pete said. “But I don’t.”

“She married?” The bartender asked.

“Oh, God no. That was the other one.”

“Other one?”

“Yeah. The first one. I don’t regret her either, but...” He waved his hand. “She’s history.”

“And the second one isn’t.”

Pete shook his head, which actually made him dizzy.

The bartender grimaced, and then poured a tall glass of water. He set it in front of Pete.

“Here.”

“Thanks.” Pete pushed his beer away and grabbed the water. After a sip, he sighed. Then he smirked.

“She’s gonna be around for a long, long time,” he said.

“The second one.”

“Yeah. She’s...” He wasn’t drunk enough to say my mom. “She’s someone I’ve known for a long, long time.”

“Does she regret it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Pete had no answer to that.

Pete awoke, cotton-mouthed and needing to pee. It wasn’t much past midnight, so he stumbled out of bed and took care of his necessities. He tried to remember where the ibuprofen was. That’s right. The little table in the main room.

He shuffled out, wondering if Mom had had a better evening. Tom seemed like a nice guy. There was low light coming from under her bedroom door. Was she still awake? Or had she just left the light on?

He’d love to talk to her if she was up.

He found the ibuprofen on the counter near the breakfast table. He was close enough to Mom’s door to listen.

He couldn’t hear anything. Well, not much. There was ... something though. Quite faint.

He crept up to the door itself and cocked his head.

Buzzing. He could hear a faint buzzing.

He smirked, but immediately felt guilty. Things must not have gone as well with Tom as she’d hoped.

Pete awoke late in the morning, long after his mom had left. Next to last day of the conference and he had no idea what he wanted to do. Way back when, when they were planning this trip, he’d gone through some tourist guides for Edinburgh. A lot had sounded interesting, but now...

He kept thinking of the bartender’s question. What was the problem?

Yes, it was incest. But they’d already done it. Already crossed that barrier.

So why not cross it again?

His pulse quickened at the thought.

He just couldn’t come up with a good reason other than she’d said no.

He’d never leaned on a woman for sex. If they weren’t interested, or if they changed their mind at any point, he’d backed off. He knew too many women who’d been scarred by guys who didn’t. He wasn’t going to be one of them.