Flirting with Fifty

“Maybe five? That way we could go home, I can shower, and we can have a bite to eat before we have to go. Would that work?”

“Absolutely.”

That evening as Paige wiped down her kitchen counters and made sure everything was tidy before she turned off the lights for bed, she found herself humming and smiling. It’d been a great day, a great weekend. A great week. Turning fifty had been surprisingly painless. She honestly didn’t mind getting older. She was calmer now than she’d been when she was younger, more sure of herself. She knew what she wanted, knew what she didn’t want, and was finally learning how to stand up for herself.

Even better, she thought as she entered her bedroom, was that her daughters knew how to stand up for themselves. Her daughters were not doormats. They were strong, capable women and Paige couldn’t wait to see where life took them.

Changing into her pajamas, Paige caught a glimpse of her body in the mirror. She was slender, but her skin showed age from all the suntanning she used to do, and her breasts were smaller, diminished from breastfeeding as well as staying lean. She didn’t mind her breasts, or the wrinkles on her tummy, because no one but her saw them. But how would she feel if Jack saw more of her? Like all of her?

She stepped into her pajama shorts and pulled on the matching knit top, happier covered, not comfortable thinking of herself naked . . . with Jack.

But just thinking of Jack made her insides shift, and her pulse quicken. What was she going to do about Jack?