Seven twenty-two PM. The girl exhalations weren't matching with her heartbeats, the hands which she held the phone were humid and she fought the temptation to touch her justly hardened hair with gel.
She looked to a mirror on the aisle. Even if the sleeves of the tuxedo covered half of her hands and the trousers camped around her ankles, Luna knew that her mother had chosen an excelent suit for her... But how would the woman dress on the evening? She could only flounder between her fantasies and the curiosity, while she dressed herself and as when she was picking her date.
As she tidied up for the last time her bow tie, Luna decided to stand in front of her parents room and knock three times on the wood.
—Yes? Who is it?
—Eh... I'm...
—Ah, Luna! Hold on a sec...
Heeled steps, a quick and clumsy handling of the latch and suddenly, the door was open. Rita held with one hand the knob, while with the other she tried to keep her dress on by the cleveage.
—Wow. I knew that tuxedo would fit you fenomenally. In fact, you look so cute...
—Mom...
—...that if I had twenty years less, I would kiss you to death...
—Mom! Stop, please... I'll have my 19th nervous breakdown...
The blush invaded completely the girl's face, hiding it behind her hands and evading her gaze to her mother. But the woman just smiled to the girl.
—I'm joking, I'm joking. I knew this suit would fit you perfectly. Originally, Leni sew it as gift for Bobby... But he had already received another from Carlota...
The gossip peroration seemed to overwelcome it's stay for some minutes on the rocker's mind, who couldn't unglue her eyes from the arm held, censored cleveage.
Being the subtle girl she was, Rita realized her daughter's gaze on her body.
—Luna... behave yourself. Would you want to button up my dress, if you don't mind?
The rocker girl came out of her trance, gingering and hurrying up her hands towards the buttons. The occasional touch with the skin didn't help the girl to concentrate on her task. Yet, Rita didn't appear to be uncomfortable on that moment. Could she even enjoying it...?
—Thank you, dear. What do you think? It fits me quite well, don't you think?
After standing up from the bed, Rita spun on herself a couple of turns to showoff from all sides her dress. It wasn't quite long -combined with the swirls it ended showing plenty skin; "those thighs go from here to the North Pole", thought the young woman-, highlighted her curvy features on it's nice tightness and the neckline only reached her diaphragm.
—Y... yes... It takes my breath away...
—How sweet! Thanks, Luna!
The rocker saw herself being wrapped in a warm hug that landed her face on the soft, perfumed chest of her mother. When she realized where she was, she couldn't help to return the gesture -wrapping her hands around the woman's waist- and rest her head on the cleveage.
"Oh, Mick. I hope this hug never ends... I'm so good here..."
A shy kiss on her forehead from Rita expelled Luna from her daydream, confining herself to look from the woman's neckline.
—Luna... I think it´s time for us to leave.
"That expression... Is she upset with something...? Oh, righto."
Just after she had broken out from the hug, Rita reached her hands with her own. The touch of them over Luna's bewildered the girl. As she averted the look from her hands, she set it for a long time onto the woman's face. Although the discomfort that the meeting had turn up, she smiled, maybe from nervouness or shame. But she didn't look negatively upset.
—Loonie... wanna spend the night here or do you want my help?
It's been years since the rocker wasn't called like that. A single shiver ran through her spine; "Why does she offers me to stay home? What would happen if that's...? No, focus Luna! I need to know how to date Sam... how to proclame my feelings for her... This is growing to like me too tho...". She let a shy smile to distort her lips commissures.
—I want... I want to be with Sam...
—Then lets go. I'm driving, but I want you to open my door before getting in...
—Why?
—Because it's supposed that you are inviting me out...
—Eh... No... You did it...
—C'mon!
She was still taken aback; the woman got out from the bedroom cheerfully hopping, leaving her standing near the bed. Before being called again, she took an intense whiff the once perfumated air on the room, musing to herself:
—Oh, Mick! If I don't ease myself soon, I'll be the sultan of swing...
—C'mon, Luna! I'm leaving without you!
—I'm coming, Rita!
—So... You called me "Rita" before getting on the car, didn't you?
—Forgive me, mom... It slipped out...
—Oh, no! I have no problem whatsoever with you calling me by my first name... If it was a slip, it was something that happened to me too with my father when he gave me those ultimatums before going to school... I'm not telling you how he punish me for it...
—Why not? Is it too terrible?
—No, no. It's something silly...
—Your beers, ladies.
Due to the pub's lighting, the waitress could barely see their faces. Although Rita could smuggle Luna without bigger complications to the establishment, it was only a matter of time when she would receive the suggestion to leave. After having drank something; after all, clients are always willing to pay here, even if they are minors...
—Thanks, dear! Here you go.
—One buck as tip? Thanks, I guess...
—Here!
Luna reached to the young woman another dollar bill. If she could have seen the waitress expression, her grimace of disappointment changed into a slight grin.
—The girl's first beer?
—Nah. She has been drinking a lot since a long time ago.
—Wooooooo! Well, I leave you. If you need anything else, you give me a call, ok?
—Thanks... Mindy. We are fine by now.
The waitress walked to the bar while turning her back to the women, who stared her moving away. Luna looked quickly into her mother's eyes, still scrutinizing the bar. Followed their path, laying their sight on... Mindy's, that's how she called her, hips?
Luna fixated on the young woman thighs, barely covered by a skirt that left just enough room for the imagination. "Odd... Would she know Lori by the way?". Uncomfortable, she looked again at her mother. Still on the bar, they were squinting, forming a mildly pleasured grin.
The woman's lips were slightly wet by her tongue and immediately focused on the beer to imbibed. Her sip extended until leaving the glass half full with air.
—Ah! That was quite good. Luna, aren't you going to start drinking?
—Eh... Sure, sure. Mom, do you think that...?
—...she had such a nice pair of legs and moves that ass quite gracefully?
She had to hurry that sip, coughing after the bit that got stuck.
—Luna! Are you ok?
—What the fuck, Rita! What about that way of speaking?
—Luna! What about yours?
The shouts -barely heard due to the music and the incessant talk of the parishioners- gave way to the unearthly silence that raised between the women, looking at each other tensely. And then shamefully. Luna gave the first step to resume the conversation:
—Is that... what you said...
—I see. That... Do you think I was a bit corny?
—Think? You were quite corny, mom...
Luna emphasized markedly "you were".
—Luna, while she or someone else haven't listened to me, everything is alright...
—Alright? What about sexual harassment and everything else...?
—Luna, Luna... I can have these opinions if I don't act on them. Now, if I said something like I did before spanking her butt, I would indeed disrespecting her. If I told that to her face I would do so too, if she doesn't reciprocate... —She tippled again, feeling her throat dry— What I'm trying to say, is that you need to have some naughtiness... Tell me, Luna, what is the thing you enjoy to see the most on Sam...?
—What I was going to ask you about was what if the waitress had the same age than Lori...
—Ah... That. I would recognize her if she was one of your classmates. But if she works here, on this shift and dressed that way, it's quite plausible she is over legal age... Considering Lori tecnically is too...
A shudder went through both women's spines.
—That went so wrong... Now I see why you were worried.
—And you realized it just now?
—I hope she doesn't have Lori's age or less... Now, let's talk about how you'd call me a few moments ago...
Rita hurried up her glass. This time, her tipple wasn't quite clean; some dregs of beer escaped through her commissures and went down her chin, flowing down her neck until no more liquid could feed that trace. Luna watched attentively to her mom's words, although her sight deviated towards the beer she drank. She gazed at her own glass and emulated her briefly.
—Yes, what about that...?
—Look, young lady. Your grandpa and I had a deal; every time I called him by his name, I had two options. One, I gave him a quarter or a kiss to the cheek...
—Wow, how horrible...
—...but, if I didn't have the money to pay and I had already kissed him on the cheek, I had to give a kiss on his other cheek. Then on his forehead, on the ones and finally, on the lips... And that was only the beggining. Then, only one cheek was valid, the one on the nose was bypassed and the forehead one only was kept because I grew taller...
—So... you kissed grandpa on the mouth?
—Yes. Although I learnt to carry plenty spare change on my pockets... The good thing is that he used the money to invite me out for ice creams.
Somewhat smiley, relieved by her mother's revelation, Luna began to check her pockets... Yet, she had no coins. The dollar bill was her last bit of money. She began to sweat cold, but also felt her nipples harden. What the hell was that?
—What's wrong Luna? You look as pale as Lucy... Well, that girl is always pale...
—Well... are we going to do the same as you did with grandpa...? I have no money...
Covering her mouth with her hand, the woman guffawed. She calmed herself after half a minute of laughing. Wiping a tear, she answered:
—Luna, no! We won't do that... Although, I didn't thought about it too neither... Now you know what could be worst, beyond a reproach...
—I see...
—...I would take out the one on the forehead and replace it with one to the neck.
The diagonal, sly grin barely lasted brief seconds. Enough for Luna to feel uncomfortable yet again.
—And... and what if... if I wanted to pay...? Pay that way... with kisses...?
—Luna! I must take you home immediately... You are talking nonsense again... Did you get drink this quickly...?
Depite her smile, Luna could perceive the worried note on her mother's voice while she warned about going back home.
—What about when you told me about eating me to kisses if I wasn't your daughter, Rita? Isn't that something terrible too?
—Luna!
—Don't be a hypocrite, Rita! Why the hell are we doing this...? What do you want to tell me? This is so confusing...
—I'm trying to teach you how to flirt! You need to lose the fear. And I think you are getting the nick of it slowly... But we can't go as far and serious like this...!
—Luna? What are you doing here...? Hi, Mrs. Loud! You look astonishing tonight!
Sam Sharp had arrived to the women's table.
End of Chapter Four.