Wolverhampton Warmth

Tobias had known Mrs. Williams since he was twelve. His best mate Craig's mum, always welcoming, always had snacks, always called him "darling."

What he didn't know was what she did when Craig wasn't home.

He'd let himself in—Craig was expecting him—and heard sounds from the living room. Curiosity killed him. He peeked around the corner and found Mrs. Williams on the sofa, skirt hiked up, very clearly enjoying herself.

"Oh God!"

She screamed. He stumbled backward. And then they were staring at each other, both mortified.

"Tobias. You can't tell anyone. Especially Craig."

She'd adjusted herself, but her face was still flushed. Diane Williams, forty-seven, thick and beautiful, with a secret he definitely wasn't supposed to know.

"I won't. I swear."

"Promise me." She stepped closer. "Please."

"I promise."

She relaxed slightly. "Mr. Williams hasn't touched me in two years. Sometimes a woman has needs."

Tobias didn't know what to say. His brain was still processing what he'd seen.

"Maybe..." She looked at him differently now. "Maybe there's a way to ensure your silence."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're a grown man now, Tobias. Twenty-two years old. And I'm a woman who hasn't been properly satisfied in years." Her hand landed on his chest. "Perhaps we can help each other."

"Mrs. Williams—"

"Diane. After what you just saw, you can call me Diane."

She kissed him before he could respond. And God help him, he kissed back.

"This is insane," he breathed.

"Probably." She pulled him toward the stairs. "Coming?"

Her bedroom was unfamiliar territory. She stripped efficiently, revealing the body he'd been secretly admiring since puberty. Full and thick, with heavy breasts and wide hips, the body of a proper Caribbean woman.

"Your turn," she commanded. "Let me see what I'm working with."

He undressed, self-conscious under her gaze. Her eyebrows rose appreciatively.

"Craig's father wasn't half this blessed." She pulled him onto the bed. "Come here."

What followed was the most educational hour of Tobias's life. Diane knew exactly what she wanted and exactly how to get it. She directed him like a conductor, praising what worked and adjusting what didn't.

"There. Right there. Harder."

When she came, she muffled her cry in the pillow. Then she rolled them over and rode him until he saw stars.

"Now you understand why women our age are worth your time," she panted afterward. "Young girls don't know what they want. We do."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Diane." She smiled. "And we're going to practice until you get it right."

Their arrangement continued for months. Whenever Craig was out, Tobias would receive a text. Always innocent-looking. "Craig left his jacket here." "Need help moving furniture." But he knew what it meant.

The furniture never got moved. But other things did.

"You're learning," Diane praised him one evening. "Soon you'll make some young woman very happy."

"I'm happy right now."

"Flatterer." She kissed him. "But this can't last forever. You'll meet someone your own age."

"Maybe I don't want someone my own age."

She laughed. "Every man says that until they do."

She was right, eventually. Tobias met someone. Fell in love. Got engaged.

"I'm happy for you," Diane said at the engagement party. "She's lovely."

"She learned from the best," he whispered. "Everything I know, I learned from you."

Diane's eyes went soft. "Go be happy, Tobias. And remember—our secret."

"Forever."

They never touched again. But sometimes, at family gatherings, Craig would catch them sharing a look he couldn't quite interpret.

Some secrets, he'd decided long ago, were better left unexplored.