“I’m so sorry, Mom,” Kevin said immediately when Penny opened the door.

“Honey,” she said with a big smile, “I told you five times on the phone! Don’t be ridiculous!”

“I know, Mom. But it’s 2 a.m. Obviously my call woke you up. And now...”

“Just shut up and come in! Put your stuff anywhere.”

Kevin was instantly warmed by his mother’s welcoming demeanor, as well as the loving hug she gave him as soon as he was inside.

“Thanks,” Kevin said as he took a deep breath. “I really appreciate you being available for me.”

“Kevin, this is always your home. It doesn’t matter what time, day or night.”

“I know, Mom. Thanks again.”

They sat in Penny’s living room, just adjacent to the front door.

“I just want to know what on earth happened to make Jess tell you to leave in the middle of the night.”

“It’s a long story, Mom. I don’t know, it’s comp...”

“Complicated,” Penny gently interrupted. “I know, I know. Everything’s complicated. Kev, I’m your mother. Just tell me. I can already see that you’re being evasive.”

“Mom, I just got here and I’ve barely said two words. How can you possibly know I’m being evasive?”

“I just said it, Honey. I’m your mother. I know you better than you know yourself. There’s something going on that you don’t want to tell me. She wouldn’t kick you out for nothing. You know I’ll figure it out. If you don’t want me to pry, just say, ‘Mom, stop,’ and I’ll stop.”

“No, Mom. Like I said, I just got in the door. It’s super late. I don’t want to go into it right now but I’ll tell you about it in the morning.”

“Fine. I just love you and I want you to be OK. I love Jessica too, of course. You know that.”

“I know, Mom. And she thinks you’re great. But it’s comp ... You know.”

“Well, Jess is a great girl and she’s been a good girlfriend for you.”

“fiancé, Mom. She’s my fiancé.”

“Oh, right. fiancé. My bad. You’re right, it’s late. Let’s go upstairs and get you settled for the night. The guest room is kind of in disarray, but I’m sure it’ll be fine for tonight.”

“Why, what’s up with the guest room?”

“I’ve been turning it into my workout room. Since it’s just me here now, I’ve been making the house what I want it to be. I obviously didn’t need three bedrooms. Of course you know I made the old guest room into my office a while ago. And now I’ve been turning your old room into my exercise area.”

“Is my bed still there?”

“No, I’m afraid not. When you moved in with Jess, you made it sound pretty permanent. So your bed is against a wall in the basement, in pieces. There’s a loveseat in the room now and it pulls out into a bed. It’s not great, but like I said, you should be fine tonight.”

“Yeah, that’ll certainly do.”

Soon Kevin and Penny were upstairs in Kevin’s former bedroom.

“The pull-out isn’t the most comfortable thing,” Penny said.

“Don’t worry about it, Mom,” Kevin replied.

“Didn’t you bring anything to sleep in?”

“No, I didn’t think of it. My boxers are fine. I brought clean clothes for the morning, though. I’ll figure out what’s next then.”

“You don’t sleep in pajamas anymore?”

“Not really, Mom. No.”

“Me either,” Penny said with a playful grin.

Kevin hadn’t noticed that his mother was wearing her robe when she greeted him. She stood in the doorway now, smiling. She let her robe drop from one of her shoulders, hinting that there was nothing underneath, which was true. She then made a playful little bow and giggle.

“Mom, seriously?”

“Come on, Kev. I’m just joking around with you. We’re obviously both adults. It sounds like you and your girlfriend don’t wear anything to bed. I’m just saying that I’m in that club too!”

“Mom ... Jess is my fiancé. And ... I don’t know what else to say to that comment.”

“Oh, don’t be so stuffy. Wear boxers, or nothing, or whatever you want in bed, Honey. You know where I’ll be and what I’ll be wearing if you need anything.”

Penny laughed, then turned and crossed the hall to her own bedroom. She closed the door, but Kevin noticed she left it ajar.

Kevin got undressed ... down to his boxers, then turned off the light and crawled onto the small sleeper-loveseat bed. Hard as he tried, sleep wouldn’t come. After nearly half an hour had passed, Kevin’s thoughts returned to his much younger days. He recalled how, after his father left him and his mother, she allowed him to crawl into her bed whenever he was feeling lonely or restless in his own bed.

Sometimes he would just go to sleep next to her and not wake up until morning. Other times she would already be awake, or would wake up when he came in. Then they would lie awake, sometimes for hours, just talking. Keven tried to remember when he stopped getting into Penny’s bed; and why. He knew he had been at least fifteen, maybe sixteen when he stopped.

“Wow,” he whispered almost silently to himself. “Did I really do that until I was sixteen? She let me?”

More memories came to Kevin’s mind. What his mother wore to bed then ... nightgowns sometimes, nightshirts, occasionally a short t-shirt along with panties. He recalled the safe, warm feeling he had in his mother’s bed. He remembered how she smelled. There was a hint of whatever perfume she wore then. If it was a warm night, there might be a hint of sweat, which combined with her perfume or body spray could make an intoxicating combination.

“Oh, no way,” came out in another faint whisper.

Memories of cuddling up behind his mother were filling his mind. She always felt so soft, so curvy. He would put his arm over her waist when she was facing away from him. Then he could really appreciate her scent. Sometimes his hand would absent-mindedly wander over his mother’s hip, or up her arm and shoulder, or her stomach while she slept. His face would nestled in her long brown hair.

“I have to stop this.”

He felt a very familiar stirring in his boxers, up to the pit of his stomach. Other images came to mind. And memories of sounds. Sighs. Nearly imperceptible whispers. Tiny moans and grunts.

“I know she didn’t close her door all the way tonight. Did she... ?”

Almost automatically, Kevin threw his covers off and got out of bed. Well aware he had done this many times years ago, he walked out his door, then across the hall to his mother’s room. He stopped and listened at her door. He heard her rhythmic breathing. She was asleep.

Kevin pushed open the door and stepped inside. His mother was in bed, lying on her side, facing away from the door. She seemed to Kevin to be asleep, although she had left her bedside table lamp on low. He thought maybe she anticipated him coming in to talk.

“Mom?” he said softly. “Are you asleep?”

She didn’t stir. Keven walked to the edge of the bed closest to the door, opposite where Penny was lying. He repeated his query. No answer. Kevin stood there for a few moments considering his situation. His mother surely had to be asleep. She was covered up to her shoulder by a sheet and a thin blanket. The curve of her hip was clear in the landscape of her body.

Kevin decided he had nothing to lose. His mother did say he could come to her if he needed anything. He lifted the sheet and blanket and crawled in. He had been trying hard to guard his mind from any sexual thoughts. But the moment he smelled his mother’s special, personal fragrance, he felt himself growing.

He thought of scooting up behind her the way he did when he was younger, then putting his arm over her. But he couldn’t bring himself to take that step. However, the thought of it, combined with the scent he smelled was too much to ignore. He was almost completely hard by now. It wouldn’t be the first time Kevin touched himself in his mother’s bed. Unfortunately, just as he was about to slip his hand inside his boxers, Penny stirred, then looked over her shoulder and saw him.

“Honey!” she said as she turned over to face him. “Are you OK?”

She reached back to her night table, picked up her glasses and put them on.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Mom. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Oh, you didn’t,” Penny lied. She had turned over to face him. “I just dozed off for a second. What’s going on, Kev? Can’t sleep?”

“No, no I couldn’t sleep. But really, Mom. You were nice enough to let me stay. The last thing I want to do is disturb you. I’ll go back to the guest room.”

“Stop, will you? What’s more important than my son needing me? Nothing. Now, are you ready to fill me in on what happened with Jessica that made her tell you to leave?”

“Mom, please. Why is that so important to you?”

Penny gave him a genuinely quizzical look.

“Why? Honey, because I’m your mother. You’re here, now you’re in my bed, which is totally fine by the way. But when my son’s girlf ... fiancé kicks him out in the middle of the night, I’m going to want to know why. Think about it. If I showed up at your house like this, you’d want to know why, wouldn’t you?”

“Hmm ... I guess I can see your point. But I’m not really comfortable talking about it right now.”

“Is it something embarrassing?” Penny said, as if she hadn’t heard her son’s comment, almost as thought she was intrigued by the possibility. “You know I’m going to figure it out. Was it ... Oh ... was it something sexual?”

“Mom, really?” Kevin said with a brief eye roll.

“Aha, I’m on to something. I can tell by the look on your face. I know you too well for you to be able to hide anything from me for very long. Was it...”

“Mom, I’m not hiding anything from you. I just...”

“Oh,” Penny said with a small gasp, “did you say something ... in bed? Oh, no...” Penny paused, her eyes now open very wide. “Did you ... Did you say someone else’s name? Did you call her by another girl’s name when you were fucking her?”

“Mom!” Kevin exclaimed. “Damn, can you be a little more explicit?”

“Of course I can. You know that.” She smiled. “You did! I can tell! That’s it, isn’t it?”

Kevin noticed that in her excitement about being on the right track, Penny wasn’t paying attention to covering herself. The covers had scooted down a few inches, revealing her soft breasts almost to the nipples.

“Ugh! Fine, Mom. Pretty much, yeah. It’s ... it’s that.” He paused. “But it’s worse than that.”

“What does that mean? How can it be the that, but worse?” Penny pondered aloud. “Whose name did you call her?” She looked up to the ceiling as she thought. “She doesn’t have a sister. That would be my guess, if she did. I know I’d be pissed if I was in bed with a guy who called me by my sister’s name. Or his own sister’s name. Whose name could you have ... Kevin, you didn’t!”

“Mom, can we please...”

“You said, ‘Mom!’ I’m right, aren’t I? Of course I am. Look at the expression on your face. Kevin!”