Crush On Mommy

Katie folds laundry on the bed when Scarlett slips in, quiet as a ghost. Katie catches the look in her eyes and sets a shirt down. "Something's up," she says. Scarlett stammers, cheeks hot, words stuck behind her teeth. It takes minutes of gentle prodding before she spits it out: she likes someone and has no idea how to say it. Katie's chest warms. She hasn't been around long, but she wants Scarlett to know she can come to her with anything. Scarlett asks how you can tell if the feeling's mutual. Katie figures it's some college guy and shrugs. "Guys are simple. Talk to him, you'll know." Scarlett hesitates, then blurts the real secret: it's a girl. Katie swallows her surprise and tells her to do the same thing—talk, find out. Scarlett stays cagey. Katie digs: another student? A professor? One of her friends? Scarlett shakes her head, voice small. "I met her at your wedding." Katie's smile dies. She stares at her stepdaughter as the truth lands. Scarlett is crushing on her. The shock lasts a beat. Then Katie tells her it's not wrong to feel it. You can't pick where the heart lands. Scarlett looks up. "Do you feel anything back?" Katie tries to laugh it off, but her hands betray her. She pulls Scarlett in hard. The kiss is sudden, greedy. Fingers claw clothes, shirts hit the floor, mouths drop to nipples, then lower. Katie spreads Scarlett on the mattress and buries her tongue in wet heat while Scarlett grips her hair and moans. They switch, grind, devour each other, chasing every withheld glance and accidental touch that's brought them here.