Chapter 10

Few months later

*****

Lance had been struck by surprise when his mother invited him to accompany her to her friend's birthday party, which would also double as a get-together of classmates of a girls community college that Carol and the celebrant had both attended. Lance was supposed to wear a tuxedo, certainly not something he did often. But the worst part was the bow tie. Carol had only given him a few hours notice, asking him to wear this and that, and look such and such. So the poor young man began prancing about in front of a computer screen an hour before the 8pm attendance time. Apparently, the DIY YouTube videos were not so easy to follow. His mother soon noticed his dilemma.

"Maybe you should stand exactly the way the guy's standing, instead of facing him," she suggested.

"Seriously? That would mean I'd have to turn my back to him, so how do I get to see him?"

"Get a mirror. And we're only minutes from being late," she flung over her shoulder as she walked away to put finishing touches to her own attire.

Lance sighed as he dismantled the poor excuse of a bow tie he had spent the last ten minutes making, ready to start over again. Good thing that that bundle of problem called Anna was away at a sleepover, otherwise he'd have died of mockery-related complications by now. By the way, even if he were to get a mirror, like his mother had suggested, it would make no difference. So what on Earth was he supposed to do?? Oh bow ties, bow ties. He would ban them if he had the power!

**

Lance and Carol stormed the party looking like a classic pair. In an effort to annul that perception, Lance quickly fell back a little and allowed her to take the lead while he scanned the place for faces he could recognize, perhaps there were neighbors or family friends who had also brought their sons/daughters. His mother was busy with greeting and hugging friends when he sighted his unintentional target. Their eyes met and they saw each other at the same time, but she quickly averted her face. He smiled and bit down on his lip. The hunt had begun!

He had not thought of her tonight prior to seeing her here, but now that he had... she could try to hide, but he would always find her. He squared his shoulders and strode over, keeping his eyes on no one but her.

Cara could feel her body tensing up involuntarily. The hairs on the back of her neck were reacting too. She knew he was coming for her. She had not seen him move, but she just knew. The closer he got, the greater the electricity. Would she ever escape this boy's grasp and influence? Did she even want to?

"Hello beautiful," he suddenly whispered in her ear, making her jump.

"Hi," she responded, trying to keep a straight face and a formal atmosphere, but she couldn't make eye contact. That would be too dangerous. She knew just what those eyes of his were capable of doing to her body.

"Why standing alone?", he asked, deliberately breathing on her neck, causing wrong chills to spread through her body down to the wrongest of all parts.

"Nothing," she replied, her voice remarkably lower. She just could not control herself around him.

"Wanna sit down?", he said, holding her hand and leading her to a set of co-joined chairs at the far end of the now slightly crowded place. Without hesitation, he crossed his legs, turned to face her and threw his arm around her shoulder. She had not wished to sit down and neither did she want her friend's son's arm around her shoulder, but when it came to Lance, she was utterly powerless.

The only time she had rejected any move of his was when he proposed to her. She would have loved to accept, but the fear of his mother was the beginning of her wisdom. The dejected look on his face, due to the rejection, almost tore her heart to pieces and brought tears to her eyes. She lifted him up from his knee and led him into her room where she gave him a mindblowing rollercoaster of sexual adventure, just to make it up to him and also for her own pleasure. It was such a long adventure that the waiting pool boy was forced to come knock on her bedroom door.

"So where's Lisa?", Lance demanded, leaning so close that she could smell his cologne.

"Asleep.. at home," she answered, shifting uncomfortably as her body began to react to his scent.

"Nice," he breathed, not taking his eyes off her as he picked a full glass from a passing waiter's tray. He took a sip and she made the mistake of watching him. The sip itself was innocent, but it was the seductive swipe of his tongue over his upper lip that increased the heat levels in her underwear. She tore her face away immediately.

"Want some?", he asked, bringing the glass to her lips.

"No, I'm fine. Thank You."

"Maybe you want it in a different way."

Before she could fathom out the meaning of his statement, he took another sip of the drink and leaned in to her. She turned her face away in time, unwittingly presenting her neck to him. Before she could say Jack, she felt his cold lips on her neck, just below her ear, and she gasped in surprise. But he wasn't done just yet. He stuck out the tip of his wet tongue and ran it up and down her neck, slow and caressing. She couldn't help but close her eyes and moan in ecstasy, bending her head to give him better access. When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was Carol staring at her, in shock! Quickly, she pushed Lance away from her.

"Stop! Your mother.. she's seen us," she whispered breathlessly.

"Oh fuck," Lance muttered beneath his breath. He didn't dare look in the general direction he guessed his mother would be. Instead, he nervously straightened his clothes and his hair, wondering why he had been so careless and oblivious of everyone except Cara.

All of a sudden, Cara got to her feet and grabbed her purse from where she had dropped it beside her.

"You're leaving?", Lance asked. But she did not respond. Quietly, she walked away from his presence.

Carol was the first to reach the deserted balcony and Cara approached warily. It was partly dark, but she didn't need any form of lighting to tell her that the older woman was very angry with her. She was simply standing there, a glass in her hand and staring straight at her.

"Look Carol, it's not what you think," Cara began.

"Hold it," Carol cut her off. "I don't care what you think I think, but I'd like to make this very clear. Stay.. Away.. From.. My.. Son. Keep your filthy talons away from him totally. You hear me, Cara? Stay Away."

With that, she stomped back into the building, leaving Cara standing there alone in the semi darkness. She knew she could not go back and act like everything was all perfect and fine, and worse still, she would not be able to keep Lance at bay. The solution was to quietly head back home and try to fall asleep. Taking out her keys from her bag, she walked to where she had parked her car, pulled open the door and slid into the driver seat.

***

When Carol and her son arrived home from the event, the house was as silent as a graveyard. Neither said a word; they just went about their business with different thoughts running through their minds. Lance knew for sure that they would talk about the incident at the party, but when the talk would take place, he had no idea, though he was smart enough to know that he should not try to force it. He would just have to wait. But the suspense was something else!

When he woke up the next morning, he walked past the kitchen and heard his mother and Anna talking. He didn't bother to listen, rather he went to the sitting room and turned on the TV. He had not forgotten the events of the previous night and they were the only things currently on his mind at the moment. Last night, before going to sleep, he had sent Cara a message to ask how she was, but there still was no reply. Clearly, he was in trouble with two of the most important women in his life. Cara was much easier. At least, she would listen. But his mother would gladly listen to herself and draw final conclusions... Anna breezed past him with a not-so-innocent kick to his leg, but he ignored her. He had bigger matters to focus on. He turned to see his mother walk in and sit on the couch opposite.

"Hey, I think it's time we talk about last night," she said quietly, looking directly at him.

He nodded in response, but could not maintain eye contact.

"When did it start?", Carol suddenly asked, her tone soft.

"Couple months ago."

"Okay. What exactly has she done to you?"

"Done?"

"Yeah. I mean... has she touched you or, you know..."

"I'm 20, Mom."

"I know. But you're obviously being taken advantage of and as your mother, it's my responsibility to keep you safe and sane."

"Nobody's taking advantage of me, Mom," Lance grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"You're the victim, so you're not supposed to be thinking clearly, but..."

"What?! Victim? Come on, Mom. If anything, I'm actually the... Look, I.. I.. it's not very easy to explain, you know..."

"I understand. Time heals all wounds. With time, you'll be fine. Just remember that it was never your fault. There was nothing you could have done differently. There are just.. bad people out there who are out to do nothing more than destroy lives. But it's good I caught it in time, before she could do irreversible damage. Don't worry, she can't hurt you anymore nor can she make you do things you don't want to do. Everything will be alright, son. We'll get through this together."

Lance watched her in open-mouthed surprise throughout the speech. It was clear that she was barking up a very wrong tree and poor Cara was actually the one ending up with all the blame. For crying out loud, he could not believe that his mother saw him as a helpless five-year old being abused by a pervert next door. Was this not the same woman who was once pressurizing him to get a girlfriend and even get married? He would have loved to set the record straight about him and Cara, but Anna had just returned from wherever she had gone to. So he kept his mouth closed and ran in his head the possibility that Cara might have decided to take all the blame for herself when she met his mother at the party after the incident.