just_1_word | 35.7. Uncertain
35.7. Uncertain
[Follows THIS and THIS]
Rob was staring forlornly at his ex good pants lying on the end of his bed beside the new pair he had just ventured out into the city to buy for the date with Leila tonight. Adorned in nothing but his black boxers and white socks (not exactly material for the New York fashion scene), he tried to figure out the best tactical course of action to take. The new ones didn't look half as good or comfortable as his old ones. In fact, they looked a lot like they might expose a good portion of butt crack if he had to bend over for anything. And how was he supposed to know if he was going to bend over on the date? Even innocently? Of course, non-innocent bending over would probably mean he was naked, but that would mean he was thinking about sex and he wasn't going to let his mind travel down that path. A first date shouldn't respectfully end in sex, right? It would be more romantic if it didn't. But the thing was, he just had to think about having sex with her a few nights prior and he practically had a boner. Again, those new pants didn't look at all conducive to that issue.
He scratched at his bare stomach, wondering if he could maybe fix the zipper on his well-loved older pants (and also wondering if he should maybe jerk off before he left to save himself any unexpected surprises of the boner variety) when his cell phone started buzzing on the nightstand. A small flip in his gut had him wondering if it was Leila calling to pull out. Maybe she had second thoughts about what he had told her and didn't want anything to do with him afterall? Was he supposed to try and talk her out of it if she was? He grabbed up the phone to answer the call. "Rob Laird," he answered, reflexively bracing himself.
"Rob, it's Mom," came the familiar voice down the phone line.
Rob exhaled in relief, smiling. "Hey, Mom," he replied and pushed the new pants out of the way so he could sit on the side of the bed. "How y'all doing back home?"
"Not too bad, darlin'. I just wanted to call to make sure y'all hadn't been hit by one of those New York taxis. Which is really a Mom's subtle way of saying she misses her boy and wanted to make sure he's wearing clean underwear," Mrs Laird admitted.
Rob could hear the amusement in her tone and he smirked in response. "I'm doing good, Mom. It ain't no Iraq. It's a breath of fresh air. Well, at least as fresh as air can be in New York. Bit of a culture shock, but I can't complain. How's Dad?"
"Still trying to work out why his boy would give up Arkansas for a place like New York, but I keep reminding him you could've ended up in a much smaller place all on your lonesome without the bright lights to distract you. Y'all aren't gonna forget where home is," Mrs Laird said knowingly. "What have you been doing to keep yourself occupied? Are you making friends? How's the new brig?"
Rob glanced at his clothes on the bed and cleared his throat. "Well, uh... I'm going on a date tonight," he admitted hesitantly.
"A date date?" Mrs Laird asked, unable to mask the surprise in her voice. "Well, that's real nice, darlin'. Is this Pete's doing? He mentioned on the phone he thought you were getting antsy."
Rob closed his eyes briefly and stifled a long-suffering he sigh. He would say he couldn't believe his mate had said that to his Mom, but he could. That was Pete through and through. "No, Mom. I met her when I was out the other night. She's a real sweet girl and we just had a nice time. We're going to dinner..."
"Oh, is that hesitation I hear, baby boy? I know you better than I know myself some days," Mrs Laird reminded him, her voice softening.
"I ain't hesitating about the date," Rob clarified quickly. "Ain't nothing like that. I'm just nervous. Wondering if I should be even doing this at all. I'm still married, Mom. It ain't exactly the best scenario, is it?"
Mrs Laird hummed softly in thought on the other end of the line. "Well, have y'all told her you're in the process of a divorce? Did you talk to her, darlin', or did you just decide to ask her to dinner?" she reasoned.
Rob looked at his reflection in the mirror. "'Course I talked to her, Mom," he said quietly and found himself smiled. "We talked a real lot. I told her a lot. Most things... the most important things. I wasn't expecting to get beyond that. I thought it would scare her off, but it didn't, and we got along real well. I like her a lot. I'm excited. I guess I'm just scared of being hurt again. But it ain't like I expect her to do the hurting. More like, me to be hurting myself for making more wrong moves."
"Darlin', you made all the right moves. You've always been a good boy. None of the hurting was your fault, and I ain't even gonna raise that girl's name or I'll start yelling again. If I ever see her in Littlerock, she'll all be knowing exactly how I feel," Mrs Laird resolved with a small, protective growl. "But you don't let that stop you, baby. You deserve a second chance, nevermind the divorce. You ain't the first lad to face a divorce, Robert, and you ain't gonna be the last. I hate to say it too, but you ain't the only one to be cheated on either. You be the stronger person here. But be happy doing it. You treat that girl real good, sweetheart. Do I at least get to know her name?"
Rob was smiling at his Mom's tirade. Needless to say, she had been furious about what Ellie did to him. "Yeah, 'course. Her name's Leila. She's Australian, has a couple of cousins living in the city, so she found her way here too. She's a photographer. I ain't sure what's going to happen, Mom. I just know I like her and want to spend more time with her. Time that I just hope I have..."
"Then don't be clogging up the time you do have with bad thoughts, darlin'. Enjoy yourself. I promise Dad and me won't rock up in the Big Apple to meet her for at least two weeks," Mrs Laird joked.
Rob laughed and couldn't help but wonder how Leila might swallow the news his parents wanted to meet her. His forehead creased, the prospect too much for him to process right then. He had to get through the date with his foreskin in tact first. "Well, that's real kind of you, Mom. I'll find out if she likes homecooked apple pie," he joked back and cradled the phone against his shoulder. "Thanks, Mom. I kinda needed a lil boot up the ass. I was starting to doubt I'd made the right choice."
"Does it feel right in your gut, darlin'?" Mrs Laird asked.
Rob nodded. "Yeah, really right."
"Then you have your answer, sweetness. Y'all let your Momma know how it went, okay? I love you, son," Mrs Laird told him, making kissing noises down the phone.
Rob was still smiling as he scratched his head. "Love you too, Mom..." he murmured and then ended the call with a bracing, heavy exhalation. Now if only he knew how to sew...
doesntwaltz referenced with permission
Word Count | 1,278
[Follows THIS and THIS]
Rob was staring forlornly at his ex good pants lying on the end of his bed beside the new pair he had just ventured out into the city to buy for the date with Leila tonight. Adorned in nothing but his black boxers and white socks (not exactly material for the New York fashion scene), he tried to figure out the best tactical course of action to take. The new ones didn't look half as good or comfortable as his old ones. In fact, they looked a lot like they might expose a good portion of butt crack if he had to bend over for anything. And how was he supposed to know if he was going to bend over on the date? Even innocently? Of course, non-innocent bending over would probably mean he was naked, but that would mean he was thinking about sex and he wasn't going to let his mind travel down that path. A first date shouldn't respectfully end in sex, right? It would be more romantic if it didn't. But the thing was, he just had to think about having sex with her a few nights prior and he practically had a boner. Again, those new pants didn't look at all conducive to that issue.
He scratched at his bare stomach, wondering if he could maybe fix the zipper on his well-loved older pants (and also wondering if he should maybe jerk off before he left to save himself any unexpected surprises of the boner variety) when his cell phone started buzzing on the nightstand. A small flip in his gut had him wondering if it was Leila calling to pull out. Maybe she had second thoughts about what he had told her and didn't want anything to do with him afterall? Was he supposed to try and talk her out of it if she was? He grabbed up the phone to answer the call. "Rob Laird," he answered, reflexively bracing himself.
"Rob, it's Mom," came the familiar voice down the phone line.
Rob exhaled in relief, smiling. "Hey, Mom," he replied and pushed the new pants out of the way so he could sit on the side of the bed. "How y'all doing back home?"
"Not too bad, darlin'. I just wanted to call to make sure y'all hadn't been hit by one of those New York taxis. Which is really a Mom's subtle way of saying she misses her boy and wanted to make sure he's wearing clean underwear," Mrs Laird admitted.
Rob could hear the amusement in her tone and he smirked in response. "I'm doing good, Mom. It ain't no Iraq. It's a breath of fresh air. Well, at least as fresh as air can be in New York. Bit of a culture shock, but I can't complain. How's Dad?"
"Still trying to work out why his boy would give up Arkansas for a place like New York, but I keep reminding him you could've ended up in a much smaller place all on your lonesome without the bright lights to distract you. Y'all aren't gonna forget where home is," Mrs Laird said knowingly. "What have you been doing to keep yourself occupied? Are you making friends? How's the new brig?"
Rob glanced at his clothes on the bed and cleared his throat. "Well, uh... I'm going on a date tonight," he admitted hesitantly.
"A date date?" Mrs Laird asked, unable to mask the surprise in her voice. "Well, that's real nice, darlin'. Is this Pete's doing? He mentioned on the phone he thought you were getting antsy."
Rob closed his eyes briefly and stifled a long-suffering he sigh. He would say he couldn't believe his mate had said that to his Mom, but he could. That was Pete through and through. "No, Mom. I met her when I was out the other night. She's a real sweet girl and we just had a nice time. We're going to dinner..."
"Oh, is that hesitation I hear, baby boy? I know you better than I know myself some days," Mrs Laird reminded him, her voice softening.
"I ain't hesitating about the date," Rob clarified quickly. "Ain't nothing like that. I'm just nervous. Wondering if I should be even doing this at all. I'm still married, Mom. It ain't exactly the best scenario, is it?"
Mrs Laird hummed softly in thought on the other end of the line. "Well, have y'all told her you're in the process of a divorce? Did you talk to her, darlin', or did you just decide to ask her to dinner?" she reasoned.
Rob looked at his reflection in the mirror. "'Course I talked to her, Mom," he said quietly and found himself smiled. "We talked a real lot. I told her a lot. Most things... the most important things. I wasn't expecting to get beyond that. I thought it would scare her off, but it didn't, and we got along real well. I like her a lot. I'm excited. I guess I'm just scared of being hurt again. But it ain't like I expect her to do the hurting. More like, me to be hurting myself for making more wrong moves."
"Darlin', you made all the right moves. You've always been a good boy. None of the hurting was your fault, and I ain't even gonna raise that girl's name or I'll start yelling again. If I ever see her in Littlerock, she'll all be knowing exactly how I feel," Mrs Laird resolved with a small, protective growl. "But you don't let that stop you, baby. You deserve a second chance, nevermind the divorce. You ain't the first lad to face a divorce, Robert, and you ain't gonna be the last. I hate to say it too, but you ain't the only one to be cheated on either. You be the stronger person here. But be happy doing it. You treat that girl real good, sweetheart. Do I at least get to know her name?"
Rob was smiling at his Mom's tirade. Needless to say, she had been furious about what Ellie did to him. "Yeah, 'course. Her name's Leila. She's Australian, has a couple of cousins living in the city, so she found her way here too. She's a photographer. I ain't sure what's going to happen, Mom. I just know I like her and want to spend more time with her. Time that I just hope I have..."
"Then don't be clogging up the time you do have with bad thoughts, darlin'. Enjoy yourself. I promise Dad and me won't rock up in the Big Apple to meet her for at least two weeks," Mrs Laird joked.
Rob laughed and couldn't help but wonder how Leila might swallow the news his parents wanted to meet her. His forehead creased, the prospect too much for him to process right then. He had to get through the date with his foreskin in tact first. "Well, that's real kind of you, Mom. I'll find out if she likes homecooked apple pie," he joked back and cradled the phone against his shoulder. "Thanks, Mom. I kinda needed a lil boot up the ass. I was starting to doubt I'd made the right choice."
"Does it feel right in your gut, darlin'?" Mrs Laird asked.
Rob nodded. "Yeah, really right."
"Then you have your answer, sweetness. Y'all let your Momma know how it went, okay? I love you, son," Mrs Laird told him, making kissing noises down the phone.
Rob was still smiling as he scratched his head. "Love you too, Mom..." he murmured and then ended the call with a bracing, heavy exhalation. Now if only he knew how to sew...
doesntwaltz referenced with permission
Word Count | 1,278