Book 2: Chapter 9 (1/2)

“Come along… more shopping to do!” Mother ordered, moving into the next shop.

I could only give a tight smile as I watched mother walk in front of me. She was dressed in a nice dress and makeup like I usually didn’t see her. It was only on date nights that she would dress up this nicely. Date night was what she called these nights, not what I called them. To me, they were just going shopping with my mother.

We had started this custom a month ago after I gave her a stern talking and said some embarrassingly bold things to her. Well, since that time, mother seemed to be dieting and working out. She looked a lot better than she did a month ago when she had spent the previous year wallowing in self-pity. I didn’t want her to stop this positive behavior, so the price was that I had to be her pack mule on weekends, carrying all of her stuff around. At least she didn’t make me pay, as my first paycheck was still a few days away.

Thus, I was walking around with about eight bags full of clothing and various other items mom was buying for herself. Well, she was using dad’s credit card. Since he had spent the better part of the last few years cheating on her with various women, what went around, came around. Plus… Mom always spent a little money on me as well, so I was usually happy with this arrangement.

“Eh… mom… this…” I stopped as I saw the shop mother was entering at this moment.

It was a Halloween costume shop that had seemed to spring up out of nowhere. They sold outfits to wear to the Halloween parties that would start in a couple of weeks. These kinds of celebrations had been growing more and more popular in the last few years, especially as more and more Americans moved to Japan.

“Your father has an office party every year, and I’m going to it and I need something nice.” Mother explained.

I grimaced at Mother’s words, which had a bit more weight than one might think. In previous years, Father often acted inappropriately at these parties. Mom would have to bear it while dad flirted with drunk female coworkers. She hadn’t gone to the party the previous year after catching him feeling up the new secretary the year prior. Although I wanted Mom to be more active, her going to this party really worried me quite a bit. All of the work I had done to pull her out of her depression could be obliterated in a single night.

“Come on… I don’t want to pick something that is inappropriate for my age.” Mother spoke coyly. “You can at least let your mother know if she is embarrassing herself. All these Halloween outfits are so skimpy these days.”

“Ah… y-yes…” I couldn’t help but flush as mom grabbed my arm and hugged me, her chest pressing against me while she spoke pleadingly.

In the end, I rolled over and obeyed, and so I found myself sitting in a crowded shop that smelled like plastic. This shop was a bit better quality than some, as it allowed you to try on the outfits before you bought. Mother brought in several outfits and tried them all on, one at a time. She made sure to come out with each one, spinning around and sometimes even posing for me.

“Mom! Your… eh… they’re about to fall out!” I cried.

“Mom, I can almost see you… ahem…”

“Mom, this doesn’t even cover anything!”

“Fuhuhu…” Mother laughed as if she wasn’t even aware that a sexy cat outfit that showed most of her ass was something I wouldn’t even let my girlfriend wear in public, let alone my mother.

I only realized near the end that Mother seemed to like me growing flustered. She was trying to get a rise out of me on purpose. My eyes furrowed as she went into the changing room for what she swore would be the last one. Meanwhile, I sat in my chair with a glower. I absolutely wouldn’t react to the next outfit. In fact, no matter how shocking, I’d let her wear it. Let’s see how she reacted when I tried to send her to the Halloween party wearing something completely indecent!

“Your girlfriend is really sexy.” The man handling the register spoke up. “I always wanted to date an older woman myself, but it never came up.”

I froze, a feeling of embarrassment washing over me. A girlfriend? She was my mom! This fucking guy…

Just at that moment, my Mother walked out. She was wearing a stunning back dress which showed just a hint of her long white legs and hip. There was a very fancy theater mask, which only give her a hint of animal features. The mask hid my mother’s face, while the dress drew attention to her body. Her large breasts gave a wonderful show of cleavage, and her nice hips made her legs look like they went on for miles. My mouth fell open, and for a moment I forgot I was looking at my mother.

“Is… this fine?” Mother’s voice came out incredibly modest under my gaze, completely unlike the bawdy tone she was using earlier when she was teasing me.

It was like the voice of a virgin girl. It was exactly like a shy girlfriend wanting the opinion of her man. My face felt like it was on fire. I shook my head, trying to get a hold of myself. This was just my mother, after all. I stood up, although I found myself needing to cover a certain piece of my anatomy.

“You look… beautiful.” I said, my voice coming out jaggedly.

Mother blushed, and the tinge of red ran all the way down her neck to her cleavage, causing my eyes to fall on those things once again. I gulped as I stared at her chest. The last time I had been this aroused was when my mother was unconscious and had accidentally flashed me her body.

“Sweetie, I’ll get this then.” Mother’s voice caused me to snap out of it.

She seemed extremely pleased with herself as she walked up to me and then put 1000 yen in my hand. “I’ll buy it then. While I pay, go buy me some iced tea.”

“Y-yes…” I blushed again, especially under Mother’s knowing look.

I didn’t feel like I could face mom again at that moment. Alas, she seemed to have read the mood and gave me an excuse to leave. As I ran out of the store, the store clerk gave me a wink, which only seemed to make things worse.  With my thoughts a bit muddled, I headed through the mall area towards the stand that sold Boba tea near the water fountain.

As I approached the stand, I saw the last person I wanted to see. Cursing, I ducked behind a pillar. Jack was standing there, a slightly sadistic smile on his face. As I glanced out, I realized he hadn’t noticed me. This was because his eyes were on someone else. I followed them to two people. They were being pretty noisy, and their voices echoed through the mall so I could hear them.

“Please… it was a mistake…” The girl with tears in her eyes tried to explain frantically.

“You cheated on me!” The man shot back. “I can’t believe you!”

The girl reached out for the guy but he dodged her. He then began walking toward Jack.

“Thanks for letting me know.” He said stiffly before brushing past.

The girl followed after him. Finally, she drew close enough that I could make out her face. My mouth fell open as I realized that I recognized this girl. This was none other than Gina, the girl I had been blowing off all week. The chances of meeting her here and now were astronomical.

“Please… don’t…” She was bawling as she tried to chase after the man.

“You fucked some other guy!” He shouted, spinning and raising his hand as if to strike her.

She winced, but in the end, he stopped himself from slapping her. Glancing around at all the people giving the pair looks, he finally settled down. In the end, he just gave her a hateful look and then turned his back to her.

“Get lost!” He barked as he walked away.

Gina remained standing there, her eyes following the man with a helpless look. Then, fury exploded on her face as she shot to Jack who was still standing there with a grin on his face.

“You bastard! You said you wouldn’t say anything!” She shouted.