Jennifer hadn’t noticed until tonight, but Ty was easy on the eyes. Every time he flashed a smile, she couldn’t help but blush at the dimples she’d seemingly unnoticed for months. She’d only hoped that she hadn’t made her attraction to him evident. After all, she and Danny found a bonus son in Ty. And Jennifer wasn’t fond of the idea of crossing unconventional boundaries over an innocent crush.

“Sorry about that,” Jennifer said, chuckling. “the kids can get a little crazy during game night.”

“No need to apologize. It’s cool. a little competitiveness is always a good thing.”

“Yeah, but my kids drive me crazy with their competitiveness! I’d hoped that when they became teenagers, they grow out of it. But no such luck. What about you? Did you grow out of your sibling rivalry when you became a teenager?”

“I didn’t grow up with my brother and sister in the house. They were raised by their moms.”

“Oh,” Jennifer said, fluffing the couch pillows.

She hadn’t realized how little she knew of Ty’s personal life since they’d become friends. Their conversations were usually limited to current movies and pop culture.

“So, what about your….dad?” Jennifer asked, sitting on the couch.

Ty paused for a second from cleaning up, then joined Jennifer on the couch. B. He let out a heavy sigh, then said, “My Pops left my mom and me when I was five. He had another family and abandoned us. Like we wasn’t shit. Few years ago, I found my brother through Instagram. Last year I found my sister on Facebook.”

“Wow. I’m so sorry to hear that. That must’ve been really tough on your mom.”

“It’s all good. Yeah, it was. We moved from Atlanta not too long after that. Bounced around a few different cities till we settled here in Glendale. We struggled for a while. But she is the strongest woman I know. Can’t nobody compare to that woman’s strength, you feel me? Nobody,” Ty said, rattling his keys in his pocket.

Jennifer could see that the pain was still fresh for Ty as his eyes grew misty. She rested her hand on Ty’s shoulder.

“Still…No child should have to ever experience that. Ever.”

“You right. They shouldn’t. But anyway, enough about that. You wanna catch up on the last season of Catfish? They finally put it up on Hulu.”

Jennifer removed her hand from Ty’s shoulder. After dealing with Alyssa, she’d finally learned a thing or two on dealing with teenagers. If they wanted to talk, they’d talk. When they were done talking, that was that. There’s nothing worse than pressuring them into talking about something they don’t want to, especially to adults.

“Sure,” Jennifer replied. “You mind if I cut on the ceiling fan? It’s a little hot in here,” she continued.

“Yeah, that’s cool with me,” Ty replied.

Jennifer pulled off her gray sweater over her head, revealing her tank top. As she reached for the remote for the ceiling fan, Ty observed her voluptuous breasts through her shirt. He hadn’t noticed how nice they were before tonight. Earlier, he couldn’t help but keep his eyes on her throughout their game time with the family. She was seemingly youthful for her age. He hated to admit it, but she was beautiful. Not in a mom kind of way, but in a way that made him sexually stimulated. What was happening? He couldn’t possibly be attracted to Jennifer. After all, she was Danny’s wife.

“Oh good, I heard about this one!” Jennifer said, propping her feet up on the couch. “This is the episode where the lady tries to figure out if she’s being catfished by her long-lost sister!”

“Oh yeah, my homeboy told me about this one too,” Ty said, inching a little closer to Jennifer.

Jennifer inched a bit closer to Ty, inhaling his AXE body spray. She glanced down at her nipples, noticing them poking through her shirt. She’d hoped that Ty wouldn’t notice them, saving herself the embarrassment. But Ty did notice. And he liked what he saw.

“You okay?” Jennifer asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m cool,” Ty said.

A moment later, Ty found himself within centimeters of Jennifer’s arm. He watched as she looked intently at the TV. Jennifer turned to him, noticing how he’d been staring at her for the last few minutes. Suddenly, Ty leaned into her lips and kissed them. Jennifer kissed Ty back but pulled away almost instantly.

“Yo, my bad. I shouldn’t….I shouldn’t have done that,” Ty said, pulling away.

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m a….I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’m the married one,” she replied.

They sat briefly in silence before Jennifer continued, “But can I be honest about something?”

“Go ‘head,” Ty said.

“I….” Jennifer sighed, “I kind of wanted to do that all night. I know this may sound crazy, but I’ve…developed some feelings for you in our time together.”

“Wait, for real?”

Jennifer nodded, lowering her head.

“Damn. Um…to be honest, I been kinda feelin’ the same way myself.”

Jennifer perked up and turned to Ty. “You have?”

“Yeah. I mean, you a baddie for real, I can’t lie. Like, if you was my age, I’d be shootin’ my shot, you feel me?”

Jennifer chuckled. She was fortunate to have spent enough time around the children to learn and understand the latest slang among Gen-Zers.

“Thanks. I appreciate the compliment,” Jennifer replied.

Before she could say anything else, Ty gently grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. The two began to kiss again, locking tongues. Jennifer leaned back on the couch while Ty lay on top of her. Jennifer could feel Ty’s hard-on lying against her thigh. He trailed kisses down her neck while licking the visible parts of her breast. Jennifer unzips Ty’s hoodie and caresses his torso. The feel of his abs turned Jennifer on all the more.

“You sure you want this?” Ty whispered in Jennifer’s ear.

“Yes. Yes,” Jennifer whispered back.

“Iight. But we can’t do this here. I’ll take you to my spot. Come on,” Ty said.

Jennifer agreed and slipped her sweater back over her body. Although she knew this was the most outlandish thing she’d ever done in her life, she couldn’t resist the impulse of wanting Ty that brewed inside of her.

End of Sample