Page 54 of Glitz & Goals

I sit up on the bed. “It would be pretty awkward to keep going now that you’re aware. Sorry, I didn’t even hear you come in.”

“You were preoccupied.” A slight smile creeps onto Mom’s lips. She’s still flushed, but she’s taking this in stride.

Mom’s always been pretty sex-positive, even though we don’t talk about the details. I mean, ew, she’s fucking my dad. I don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty. But she’s always been upfront about sex and bodily functions. When I was a little kid, she would read me picture books about bodies and how they worked. We never had to sit down and have a “birds and the bees” talk that other kids complained about because she justmade it part of the conversation. I don’t remember her being pregnant with Viktor, but when she had Vanessa, she was honest about what the experience of being pregnant was like.

She may look like a Disney princess, but Mom doesn’t beat around the bush. When I ask for advice, she doesn’t push for the details.

“I’d like to get dinner,” I tell her. “And maybe we can… talk? About some things?”

She lowers her hands from her cheeks. “Are you hoping for some advice?”

“About a guy I’m seeing. Not about, uh.” I wave my hand at the dildo. “Not about sex.” I’m good on that front. It’s the emotional part that’s new territory for me.

Mom nods decisively. “In that case, maybe we should order in.”

* * *

I order curry. Mom gets a spicy noodle dish that makes my nose hairs curl just from the smell. We split an order of fresh spring rolls.

Mom doesn’t ask a single question until we’re settled at the kitchen table. Even then, she waits for me to take the lead.

“So, I’m seeing this guy,” I begin.

“I gathered that much.”

I nibble one of the spring rolls. “I’m not even sure I should bother saying anything. It was just going to be a fling.”

“A hookup?” Mom asks. “Or friends with benefits?”

“The first one,” I tell her. “We skipped the friends stage.”

“Ah.” She bobs her head in understanding. “So it started as a one-night stand, then?”

I suck my teeth. I’m not sure that’s how it started. Not for Grady. I remember what he said in the elevator in the Mona Lisa that first day.

“I think he always wanted it to be more,” I say at last. “But I thought, come on. Really? Of course, he just wanted to get in my pants. What guy would prefer a committed relationship over a casual fling?”

Mom smiles down into her noodles. “You’d be surprised.”

“Well, he’s certainly surprising.”

“I don’t think I ever told you about how your father and I got together, did I?” Mom looks up at me from under her long lashes. “It’s a little risqué, I suppose, and I didn’t want to overshare.”

“But now you’ve seen me deepthroating a silicon dong,” I deadpan.

Mom cackles. “Exactly. Fair’s fair.”

“I always assumed that you guys started dating when you met at the bookstore,” I say. How risqué could they have been in a bookshop?

“We did, technically. Francine invited him to participate in blind date with a book.” Mom pauses a beat. “We were reading smut.”

It’s my turn to cackle. “You didn’t!”

“I did. At the time, I’d only had one pretty disappointing sexual encounter back in college, although I did a lot of recreational reading. Noah didn’t want to date since he had you, and he wanted to focus on being the best dad he could be along with his NHL career. I asked him to give me lessons instead.”

“Whoa. Like, sexy lessons?”

Mom nods.

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