You Couldn't Handle Me Ch. 06

There were a few small containers, but on top was a crisply folded piece of paper. I pulled it open and read it, recognizing Mom's handwriting.

Tom,

I've heard some of the other moms talk about sending these care packages over, so I thought I would do the same. Despite what has happened between us lately, I wanted to let you know I still care. I wanted to send this stuff over, a few memories of home.

Enjoy.

Love, Mom

XOXO

I looked at the contents of the box, confused. I few a few small little containers, and inside them were treats, like cookies and other home cooked sweets. I saw a few boxes of things that were sort of easy, go-to meals for me at home, guilty pleasures, like those little cups of soup, stuff like that. It seemed like an innocent gesture, which had me confused. What was her angle here? What was she trying to accomplish?

I took one of the cookies and stuck it in my mouth, chewing it as I was about to put the box on the floor. It was as I was doing this that I noticed what looked to be some paper on the bottom of the box. Taking all the stuff out, I pulled out what felt like a small stack of glossy photos, like 8 x 10's. Curious, I turned them over.

I should have known better. I really should have.

The least I could say is that they weren't nudes of her. I don't know if I could handle that. But they weren't far from it. It was clear Mom had put her new camera, her Christmas gift from me, to good use. I suppose I should have seen that coming. And looking at these photos, it had become clear Mom had lots of new bikinis I didn't know about.

The first picture was Mom rising from the pool, the water cascading off her chest as her breasts poured out of her orange bikini. Her breasts had never looked bigger, her flesh had never looked smoother, and her cleavage had never looked deeper. She looked at the camera, her lips curled ever so lightly in a Mona Lisa smile, her wet hair dripping water and hanging behind her.

The next photo was a full body shot. Mom, hands on her hips, standing proud for the camera. This was another shot of her in her orange bikini, and damn if she didn't rock it. This honestly could have been in one of those swimsuit issues magazines. She had a sheen of water covering her, and it added a layer of fierce sexuality to her already blatant sexiness. Her eyes were smoldering and her plump lips were pouting. Her massive breasts, and boy, did they look extra massive, were jutting out proudly, barely contained in the thin orange bikini top. The material clung to her round flesh and her rock hard nipples were apparent. Smooth flesh could be seen to the left, right, and under each patch of material, and the sole string connecting the two patches strained under the load her springy breasts exerted. Each thin strap of her top dug into her shoulders.

Her tan looked golden and glorious, and the orange of her bikini really suited her. Her flat belly looked toned and fit and perfect, and her sexy belly button made me gasp. I know I had seen her in a bikini before, but I had put her so far out of mind, I had erased my lust for her for so long, rationalized that she was my mother and lusting for her was wrong, that seeing her again, seeing her so exposed, made my lust for her body seem extra raw and sizzling.

Her bikini bottoms were tinier than I had ever seen her wear before. A thin, tiny patch of orange material covered her cunt, barely covered it, but that sucker covered what it needed to and literally nothing else. From the angle she stood at, I could see the side of her butt, meaning she was probably wearing a thong, or something resembling it.

Her long legs looked firm, golden brown, and long. Even her bare feet added to her appeal, something about how exposed she was while still seeming like she was barely trying.

The next picture, again showed her by the pool, but this one was very different. She was lying on her back on a deck chair, getting some sun. The picture was taken from the side, so that was all I could see of her. But it was clear she was wearing a different bikini, and if I thought the other one was small, this one was microscopic. From the side, it looked like she was almost naked. She was on her back, and her perky tits jutted upward. The only interruption from the expanse of smooth flesh I was seeing were two tiny strings, one down her smooth, round breast, the other at her hip, holding whatever bits of material she wore in place. But I couldn't get a full on view, so I couldn't figure out exactly what kind of bikini she had on.

I flipped to the next picture, the last one, and this one was a far cry from the others, namely that she had clothes on. But this one might have been the sexiest one yet. It was her in the kitchen, wearing a yellow sundress. It was a decent dress, I had seen it on her before, and it was not as slutty as the other pictures. The dress went down to a few inches above her knees, and left the rest of her smooth legs bare. Her arms were naked as well, the two small straps holding the dress running over her shoulders. The dress was not too low-cut, but with her rack, every top highlighted her breasts.

In the picture, she was in the kitchen, and she had an apron on. She was bent over the counter, stirring a mixing bowl. She was turned towards the camera, her mouth in a wide open smile. Her face was very done-up, wearing thick, red lipstick, eye-shadow, mascara, you know, the works. Her hair was done up in a way different than I'd ever seen, in a way I'd almost say was old-fashioned. She looked like a retro mom from the 50's. But, her lush frame and her blatant sex appeal made an incredible contrast with her supposedly conservative attire.

I gulped, looking at these photos. Mom couldn't do an innocent gesture without finding a way to twist it. This was the main reminder of what I could get at home. Not the food or the home cooking. No, the attraction to coming home was Mom. Mom alone. Mom, and her insane body.

I don't know the logistics of how Mom took these pictures. I doubt someone else took them, she must have done them by remote or automatically or something. Whatever, it didn't matter. The damage was done. The photos were in my hand. I only hoped I had the strength to not keep these pictures tucked away and not put them in some drawer.

I shook my head, trying to shake the images I had just seen from my mind. I closed the little container of cookies and pushed them away.

I had just lost my appetite.

***********

My main plan for dealing with Mom was to not deal with her at all. Don't acknowledge her games in any way. Cause if I did, she would get her claws into me. She tried to call me, or contact me to chat online, but I always ignored her, or kept myself busy with Carmen. It wasn't that tough to avoid her tendrils.

But, I did keep up with her in other ways. We were friends on Facebook, so checking my own page forced me to see some updates on what she was up to. And what I saw forced me to act.

The first thing that stunned me was that Mom added a new folder of pictures. I was thankful that they were completely decent, non-sexual pictures, as non-sexual as pictures of her could be, at least. But what shocked me was the location and the context of the pictures.

First of all, these were pictures from here, in town, where I went to school. It had been a few weeks since she had visited, but these pictures were only dated from this past weekend. But what was more shocking was the location of the photos.

She was on a set. Like, a film set or a TV set or something. I saw cameras and boom mikes and stuff you would find on set. I saw her take pictures with people on the set, men and woman, and they looked like a reputable crew. My eyes jumped to the title of the album and the caption under it. The title said, 'Commercial Shoot' followed by the date. The caption read: 'I ran into a casting agent while visiting my son at school. He said I'd be perfect for this part in a commercial. I filmed it this weekend. They said they liked me, and they said they would have more work for me. OMG. So excited. I hadn't thought about acting since college. Thought that ship had sailed.'

In the pictures, the set seemed to be a kitchen, and there seemed to be a part for a dad, a son, and a daughter. I am guessing they were selling some sort of food or something. Mom posed with the other actors, and she stood out. She looked like a star compared to them. Even dressed casually, wearing a cream colored blouse and jeans, she looked stunning.

I was shocked by this revelation. Mom had done some work? Not that she was lazy or anything, but I had never seen Mom do anything but be a mom, so thinking of her having a job was surprising to me. But, she had been in town, and she didn't even try to make a move? That seemed odd to me.

But what I saw next was even more distressing.

There were more pictures of her, this time they were pictures not taken by her. They were also pictures of her in town, and the locations of them were even closer to me. They were in fact on campus, or at least near campus. They were in one of the frat houses, at a party.

I was stunned by this. Stunned. I saw my mom at a frat party. This was insane! I saw her dancing, surrounded by throngs of guys and girls. I saw Mom with drinks in hand, dancing with a bunch of douchebag frat guys. I saw Mom with those guys she had talked to, Erik and Scotty, dancing. I even saw her playing beer pong. This sounded crazy, for sure, but Mom did not look out of place. No one seemed to mind this woman twice their age was partying with them. No one seemed to find it strange. I can see why though. Mom was dressed to kill. A clingy black dress hugged her hot body, showing off her form for all these college kids to drool over.

Some of these pictures, the pictures of her dancing, she looked awful close to these guys. Her dancing did not look appropriate for a woman her age, and some of these idiot jocks were taking liberties, putting their hands on her back, or her legs, or creeping dangerously close to her ass. Some of the pictures were showing her dancing, her skirt flaring up, almost revealing what she was wearing under her dress.

I was incensed. Mom, on campus, intruding into my life. My safety zone, away from her. Hanging out, going to parties on campus, with students from my school. My peers. I knew people in these photos! People I knew, people my age, and Mom was hanging out with them. Mom was dancing with them. Flirting with them. I hoped to God she didn't do anything more than that.

I was furious. In my anger, I knew I had to talk to her. I didn't care about my plan. I had to give her a piece of my mind. I saw she was online, so I rang her up on the webcam chat, and a few seconds later she picked up.

"Hey, stud, about time." Mom said, smiling wide.

"Uh..." I began, taken aback by her being so casual. "Do you... have something to say?" I said, barely containing my anger.

"Oh, yes!" Mom said, bouncing up and down happily. "When you so callously abandoned your own mother in a strange city, I happened to run into a casting director. He said I caught his eye, and I'd be perfect to be in a commercial. I mean, I've heard that story for years, but I didn't think it would happen to me. But I took his card, thought it over, then decided to, you know, go for it. I got the gig and shot the commercial last weekend. It's a cell phone commercial, and I got a few lines too. I thought it was pretty funny, I think. And they liked how I did it, and said they saw some spots for me in the future. They said I had 'it'. I mean, I had always thought about acting over the years, but I had given up on that. Not many women start getting jobs in their 40's. Who knows? Let's see where it goes, huh."

Her happiness was evident, but at that moment, nothing could have made me madder. She was looking at me, waiting for a response.

"I don't care." I said simply, causing her smile to drop.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I said I don't care about that. Congratu-fucking-lations." I spat out. "Why were you on campus? Why were you at a frat party? Why were you dancing like a skank around people I know? This is my school! My place. Not yours."

"Oh. Well, I was invited. I was in town, and I had a great day and wanted to relax." Mom explained.

"You were invited? Who invited you?" I asked.

"Oh, those guys Scotty and Erik. They were pestering me on Facebook until I gave in." Mom said.

"I saw the pictures. You were... all over them. Did you...?" I began.

"Ew. No, of course not. You should know, Tom, I'm not that easy. I did play with them a bit, and they were fun. Gosh, to think college guys are still so easy. College is still the same. I'm 42 and I fit right in." Mom marveled.

"Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" I asked.

"I don't answer to you." Mom explained. "And besides, I would have been happy to tell you, but you've been dodging my calls for some reason."

I gritted my teeth. Mom was making it like her dressing like a slut and going to a college party was my fault.

"You know why I'm dodging you, Mom. Teasing me, coming after me is one thing. But bringing other people into it, in my house, that's another thing." I said angrily.

"I could say the same thing." Mom said. "You did bring that ugly little cunt in..."

I slammed my fist angrily on the table. My blood was boiling. Being nice, protecting her feelings, wasn't working. It was time to get vicious.

"You know what..." I began. "You wanna know why I moved on? Why it was so easy? Just look in the mirror. You're a twisted, scheming cunt! And you can act like you're still in college, that you're still one of the cool kids, but you're not. You're a mom. A married woman. You can keep deluding yourself, going to school parties, acting in a commercial and thinking that'll make you some big fucking star! HA! Keep fucking dreaming! You're best days are behind you, Mom. You're slipping. You're skills are fading fast. When you look in the mirror, do you notice age catching up to you? Do you see just a few more wrinkles? Some crow's feet. Maybe those big boobs of yours are starting to sag just a bit more every day. You're desperate, trying to act like you still have what it takes cause you know your skills are slipping."

"So, with all that said, why would I choose you? All the pros are on her side, and all the cons are with you. Which should I choose? A twisted, scheming, delusional old slut whose best days are behind her? And who is also my mom? Or, a 22 year-old, future doctor, who plays no games, is super-straightforward, super hot, and... every time I'm with her, I feel good about myself!? I feel like I'm doing the right thing. There is no teasing, no angling for the upper-hand, it's just peace. I'm happy with her. I can be open with her. With you, it's your little nutso games. Dad barely sticks around cause he can't deal with you. Face facts, Mom! Why would I choose you over her? Tell me, Mom. Tell me!" I insisted.

I immediately felt bad. I know I had gotten really mean, and it felt really weird talking to my mom so harshly, but she needed to hear it. I felt a little bad when her face dropped and I saw some genuine hurt cross her face. I didn't honestly believe half the stuff I had just said. I did feel more strongly towards Carmen than I did Mom, and I knew it was best for me in all ways to choose Carmen. But, attacking Mom's looks and appeal was a blatant lie. I mean, if anyone had conquered the wear and tear of time, it was Mom. If anyone had found a way to use time to their advantage, to add to their already amazing looks, it was her. I did it because if there was anything that could get her to slow down her attacks on me, it was self-doubt. I think I had struck a blow against her, but she steeled herself, kept it together, and responded.

"You'll pay for that." Mom began. "You can lie to yourself all you want. It'll make it so much better when I break you. And as for why should you choose me? Well, here's the thing, you're gonna be the one to do it... so you tell me." Mom replied.

I heard Luke fumbling at the door, about to enter.

"Goodbye Mom." I said, ending the call, cutting her off.

************

I felt bad for getting so angry, but she didn't stop. I didn't want Mom to change me again, to make me something I was not. I wanted to be cool, calm and collected. Not a yelling, screaming prick. I resolved myself to stay away from Mom, avoid her games, and refocus on Carmen.

I think she noticed I was getting a bit distracted. I played it off, saying Mom and me were having some issues, and I left it at that. She asked me what had happened between us, and I dodged the question. Eventually, she backed off, knowing I didn't want to share that with her. If I had my way, I wouldn't share that info with her for, like, ever.

Me and Carmen were in her dorm, watching a movie, curled up next to each other. We kept the room dark, the glow of the TV shining on us.

"You know, I thought this was, like, the best fucking movie when I was a kid." Carmen began.

"Was this one of those movies you watched every day?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, totally." Carmen said. "I knew all the songs, I had like, every fucking line memorized." She said.

"I'm sure your parents fucking loved this movie." I replied with a laugh.

"Oh, I'm sure." Carmen confirmed.

"What do you think now?" I asked.

"It's still pretty good, but uh..." she began.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a kiddie movie." I finished.

"Yeah." Carmen confirmed. I felt a buzz in my pocket and pulled out my phone. I got a text from Mom. I was about to ignore it, but I had to read it.

"Please call me for a chat. We need to talk. No games. Important."

I tried to ignore it, to forget about it and not let Mom ruin this romantic evening with me and my girlfriend. She had been silent since our last argument, and I would be lying if I wasn't curious how she was. It could be one of her games, sure, but something about this felt different. Carmen noticed my distraction.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nothing." I began. She just looked at me, knowing there was more to the story. "It's just Mom. She said it's, uh, important. But she might be screwing around."

"You'd better answer her." she said.

"After the movie." I said with a nod.

"McGee, I don't want you to have missed out on, uh, an emergency cause you wanted to finish a stupid movie with your super awesome fiancée. Go talk to her. The singing ducks will still be here." Carmen said. Smiling, I give her a small kiss then stepped down the hall to my room.

Luke was gone for the weekend, so I had the room to myself. I booted up the computer and opened up the chat program. It only rang once before she answered.

The picture booted up, and there was Mom. She looked very toned down, her make-up subtle, her hair down, her typical smug smile replaced by a slight, almost sad one.

"Hey." I said. "What's up? Is everything okay?"

"Um..." Mom began. "It's just, I've been thinking about what you said before. And you're right. I've let this whole thing get away from me. I've crossed a few lines, said some bad things about Carmen. And... I just wanted to apologize. I mean, I'm competitive, and I guess that got the best of me. I mean, you were right about a lot of things. I should stop chasing pipe dreams, like, you know, college parties, acting, it's all silly. You were right. I should act my age. I'm, you know, a MOM... I'm not the hot girl on campus anymore."

"Mom..." I began, feeling more guilt at how harsh I had been to her, especially with how hurt she seemed to be. "I should apologize too. I was pretty ruthless and I said some things that were pretty over the line. I don't know, I... I think I just got caught up in the whole thing too."