Chapter 61
Time passed in the thick silence of noon. In our private house, the air was so stifling that it could be cut. Khoi and Nam, two hungry wolves, sat huddled together, their eyes glued to their phone screens. The terror of text messages began. I stood behind them, looking at the screen, feeling like a general watching his two armies attack the fortress.
Khoi, with his fake romantic nature, began with pleading words:
> **Khoi:** “Miss My… what are you doing? I miss you so much… Please, let us see you for just a moment.”
Nam is much more rude:
> **Nam:** “Miss, don’t be silent. We know you want it too. Come here with us, please.”
> **Khoi:** “I swear we won’t do anything too outrageous. Just come over and let us hold your hand. I’m going crazy, teacher.”
I saw my mother pick up her phone, look at it, put it down, and continue pacing. She was fighting. A fight I knew who would win.
Nam, seeing that his mother did not reply, began to lose patience. He typed a message full of obscenities:
> **Nam:** “Your pussy… I miss it…”
But immediately, it realized its stupidity and hastily withdrew that message, replacing it with another one:
> **Nam:** “I’m sorry, I said something wrong. But I really miss you. I miss you like crazy.”
I laughed. “How stupid. Are you scared after just a little threat?”
Khoi also glared at Nam. “Calm down. Take it slow. She’s not like your bitches.”
It said so, then continued to compose another message, this time even more pathetic:
> **Khoi:** “Teacher, if you don’t come over, we won’t be able to sleep. We won’t have the energy to go out tomorrow. Please pity us…”
Looking at their pathetic begging gestures, I felt both amused and excited. My mother, just by being silent, was enough to make these two wolves kneel down and beg. Her power was terrifying. And I, as an accomplice, as the provider of the “stage”, also felt a sick pride. They were my loyal dogs, and my mother was the best meat.
But the miracle didn’t happen. My mother didn’t reply. She just watched, leaving two cold blue “read” marks, like a cruel mental torture.
“Fuck, you’re not answering,” Nam growled, his voice full of disappointment. He threw the phone on the sofa, stood up and paced around the room. “Or are you angry? Huy, was my texting stupid?”
I shrugged. “Who knows. My mother is unpredictable.”
Khoi looked even more miserable. He sat huddled up, his hands covering his head, his hair a mess. “Oh no. She’s really angry. It’s your fault, Nam. I told you to take it slow.”
“Why the fuck? Don’t you want to?” – Nam snapped back.
I looked at my two friends, the two alpha wolves who now looked like two starved puppies, and felt a cruel pleasure. The more desperate they were, the more I enjoyed it. Because I knew, my mother was playing a cat-and-mouse game. She was enjoying the feeling of being wanted, of being begged. She was letting their desire, and hers, boil to the brink of extinction.
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The tropical sun at three o’clock in the afternoon was like a layer of golden honey, thick and sweet. It was not harsh, just enough to make the smooth white sand shine with a warm ivory color, enough to make the turquoise sea sparkle with millions of diamonds. The wind was strong, carrying a distinctive salty taste and the sound of the waves lapping endlessly, the perfect soundtrack for a model family outing.
And we were a model family, at least on the surface.
My father and Uncle Minh Cuong, Khoi’s father, had taken the best spot. Two folding chairs were spread out under a large umbrella, an ice chest full of beer cans was placed right next to them. The sound of beer cans being opened rang out, a decisive “click”, like a gun firing to start a day off. Two middle-aged men with bellies that had begun to bulge, wearing shorts, legs crossed, began to chatter about business, dirty jokes that only men could understand. They were kings, and this was their kingdom.
As for me, Khoi and Nam, the three wolf cubs, were restless. We were wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, exposing our youthful bodies full of vitality. Khoi was thin but toned, his six-pack abs were faintly visible. Nam was like a bear cub, with big, muscular shoulders and thick hair. As for me, I stood the quietest, my arms crossed, quietly observing the two main “actresses” of the day.
My mother, Ngoc My, was a dangerous chili pepper. She chose a two-piece red bikini, a challenging and powerful color. The top was a camisole, just a small piece of cloth tied behind the neck, revealing her smooth back and slender shoulders. It was just enough to cover her round breasts that were about to burst out, and the cold sea breeze made my mother’s nipples harden, clearly provocatively visible through the thin fabric. The bottom was cut very high, almost touching the pelvis, exposing her round, white buttocks and revealing a part of the deep, inviting groove at the back. Under the sunlight, my mother’s porcelain skin seemed to glow, contrasting cruelly with the red of the bikini. My mother did not look like a mother, she looked like a demon patrolling her territory.
In complete contrast was Ms. Hue Lan, Khoi’s mother. She wore a navy blue one-piece swimsuit, a color of modesty and elegance. Its design was very smart, with delicate pleats at the waist, just enough to cover the excess fat of a woman who had given birth, but further accentuated her still very full bust and plump buttocks. Her skin was darker than my mother’s, a healthy skin tone of someone who often exercised. If my mother was a fiery stage, Ms. Lan was a quiet garden, with a thoughtful, shy beauty, and a vague sadness somewhere in her eyes.
“It’s so hot, if you don’t put on sunscreen, your skin will burn! Let us help you!”
Nam, as usual, was the one to break the silence with a crude but effective remark. Without waiting for anyone to answer, he and Khoi hurried over, two tubes of sunscreen in hand.
The two fathers on the chairs just glanced down, grinning.
“Kids these days are really enthusiastic,” said Uncle Cuong, his voice full of pride for his son.
My father just nodded, took a sip of beer, his eyes never leaving his wife’s fiery body.
The game begins.
Khoi, of course, chose my mother as his target. He poured a white mass of cream onto his palm, then pressed it against her bare back. “Let me help you,” he said, his voice as sweet as honey. His hand began to move, spreading the cream evenly. But it was not a simple act of helping. It was an exploration. His fingers slid along my mother’s spine, then slowly spread to her sides. I saw his hand “accidentally” slide down too far, his fingers lightly pressing on the soft flesh of her waist, then sliding down to the top of her plump buttocks.
My mother let out a soft “Ah”, but it was a fake “ah”. She turned around, pretending to be angry, and lightly hit him on the shoulder. “You bastard, are you applying cream or something?”
That action, instead of being a warning, was more like a green light. Khoi grinned, his hands acting even more recklessly.
*”This flesh, just last night was writhing under my hands. Now, it is exposed to the whole world, for other boys to lust after,”* I thought to myself, a feeling of both pride and jealousy swirling in my chest.
Nam was much more rude. He declared loudly: “I will help both of you to make it fair!” Like an octopus, he placed one hand on my mother’s back, squeezing one of her buttocks hard, causing her to cry out again, this time for real. His other hand, without hesitation, placed on Ms. Lan’s thigh.
Miss Lan jumped, her whole body cringing. She was clearly not used to this rudeness. “No… no, I can do it myself, Nam…”
“Hey, why are you being so polite?” Nam grinned, his hand still not leaving, even rubbing harder. “Miss Lan’s skin is so smooth. Uncle Cuong is really lucky.”
A vulgar remark could not be concealed. Miss Lan blushed, but did not know what to do.
Here it is. My chance.
I chose a completely different tactic. I slowly walked towards Ms. Lan, my voice soft and caring, completely ignoring Nam’s existence.
“Let me help you with your shoulders. They get sunburned easily.”
I didn’t wait for her to answer, gently pushed Nam’s hand away. “Go help Ms. My and Khoi.”
Nam was surprised, but seeing that I made sense, he ignored me and focused on his main “prey”.
I poured some cream onto my hand. I didn’t rub it in too vigorously. I went to Lan, who was still sitting, and started at the nape of her neck. My fingers rubbed very slowly, very gently, like a professional masseuse. I felt the tension in her shoulders slowly relax. I didn’t touch any sensitive areas, just the shoulders and nape, the “safe” areas. But this care, this delicacy, was a more powerful weapon than any rush.
“You make me feel so comfortable,” Ms. Lan whispered, her voice a little surprised.
*”Bingo,”* I thought to myself. *”Mother is a fiery stage, everyone wants to jump in. And Miss Lan is a quiet garden, needing a patient gardener. Stupid Nam doesn’t understand that.”*
My mother, on the other side, was now completely surrounded. Khoi and Nam, one in front of the other, were turning the creaming into a public orgy. Mother laughed loudly, flirting, joining in their antics.
“Hey! Are you two going to put some cream on me or eat me alive?”
“We want to smear and eat at the same time, ma’am!” Khoi boldly replied.
The two fathers on the shore burst out laughing again.
“Kids these days are so naughty. They are like a bunch of monkeys,” said Uncle Cuong.
“Leave them alone,” my father replied, his voice full of complacency. “Take advantage of the time when we are young and healthy. Let them make a little noise to entertain the family. Like us, now we can’t even say anything when we want to make a scene, haha!!”
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The cream application session had turned into a greasy attack and obnoxious laughter. The expensive sunscreen, instead of protecting, acted as a lubricant for sinful acts. Khoi and Nam’s hands were no longer “innocent”. They had become brazen. Right on the beach, in front of their fathers who were laughing and talking loudly, they began to become bolder.
Khoi, after finishing “creaming” my mother’s back, had no intention of stopping. He walked forward, his hands still covered in cream, and started rubbing my mother’s stomach. “This place needs protection too, ma’am,” he said, his eyes fixed on my mother’s heaving breasts. His fingers slid back and forth over her flat stomach, getting closer and closer to the bottom of her bikini top.
Nam was even worse. After I pushed her away from Miss Lan, he focused all his attention on my mother. He stood behind her, his two hands holding her butt, squeezed it hard and laughed heartily. “Miss My’s butt is big and round, you need to apply more sunscreen or the sun will ruin it.”
My mother was starting to realize something was wrong. Her smile hardened a little. This was going too far. It was no longer a playful flirtation, it was turning into an outright sexual assault. She glanced back at the two fathers. They were still laughing, but if these two boys continued, they would soon realize something was wrong. Panic began to creep into my mother’s eyes. She needed to get out.
“It’s too hot, you go in the water first!”
My mother said, her voice a little urgent. It wasn’t the seductive invitation I thought it was. It was an attempt to escape. She stood up, her body red and shiny with sunscreen, and sprinted toward the sea like a hunted deer.
But the two wolves didn’t think so. They saw their prey running away, and their hunting instincts kicked in.
“Hey, wait for us!” Khoi shouted, then rushed after her with Nam.
My father and Uncle Cuong on the shore had another laugh. “Your wife My is still very energetic,” Uncle Cuong said. My father just nodded, his face full of pride.
I stood still, not moving. I saw my mother swimming very fast, with decisive strokes, trying to shake off the other two. She was a good swimmer, but she was no match for the youthful strength of two animals in heat. They quickly caught up, one on the left, one on the right, forcing my mother into the middle.
I saw my mother change direction, swimming towards the large rock jutting out into the sea.
*”You miscalculated,”* I thought. A cold smile spread across my lips. *”She thought the cliff was an obstacle, an escape route she could go around and swim back to shore. Little did she know that, for the two wolves, it was a perfect trap. She was trying to put out the fire, but she accidentally ran straight into a fuel tank. Perfect.”*
Mother’s chaos is my opportunity.
I turned to Ms. Lan. She was standing alone, holding a bottle of water, her eyes fixed on the group of people chasing each other on the beach with a puzzled look. She probably thought it was just a childish prank that had gone too far. The loneliness and isolation were evident on her face.
I slowly walked closer.
“Miss Lan, it’s too noisy here,” I said sympathetically. “Why don’t we walk along the beach and find a quieter place to swim?”
I paused, raising my hand to rub my ankle, a practiced gesture. “There are a lot of people here, and the waves are big. I’m afraid I’ll hit my foot again.”
Miss Lan looked at me, then back at the chaos in the distance. The shouts and laughter of my mother and the other two boys echoed. Perhaps the chaos made my offer more appealing. My quietness, my “concern”, was a complete contrast.
She hesitated for a moment. “Yes, okay. Let’s go.”
An easy win.
Lan and I started walking in the opposite direction. We passed the two fathers.
“Where are you two going?” my father asked.
“We’re looking for a more secluded place to swim. The waves are too big here,” I replied meekly.
Uncle Cuong nodded. “Huy is really thoughtful. Please take care of Lan for me.”
“Yes sir,” I replied, snickering inwardly.
Lan and I continued walking. I didn’t look back. I knew the main stage had been moved to another place. My mother, Khoi and Nam had disappeared behind the cliff. Nothing could be seen from here. I could only imagine the carnal feast that was taking place there.
But I’m not interested in it anymore.
Because now, I have my own stage. A quiet garden, a new prey, and a play that only I direct.