Chapter 656: The Caring Mother Wants Me To Stay

I glanced down carefully. It was Heather’s hand. While she continued eating with her other hand and maintained a calm expression on her face, her fingers slowly began moving higher up my thigh beneath the cover of the tablecloth. The touch was deliberate, warm, and full of quiet meaning.

I looked sideways at her. Heather met my eyes for only a second, then returned her attention to her plate as if nothing was happening. But the silent look we shared was enough. We both understood each other completely.

Dinner was only the beginning. There would still be dessert later tonight, after everyone else eventually left us alone.

Around the table, Max and Michael kept talking, Maya and Asha continued eating quietly, and none of them noticed the slow, secret movement of Heather’s hand under the table as she traced higher along my thigh.

The real hunger of the night was still waiting beneath the polite surface of the meal.

Soon we had eaten everything Maya and Asha had prepared for us. The plates were nearly empty, and the rich smell of the curry still lingered lightly in the air around the dining table.

Michael leaned back in his chair and wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin.

"It was really good," he said with clear satisfaction.

Heather nodded in agreement as she looked toward Asha.

"Yeah, it was so tasty... and the dessert was really well made, Asha," she complimented warmly.

Asha’s cheeks colored slightly at the praise.

"Thanks, ma’am," she replied softly.

Heather then turned her attention to her son, her tone shifting into that familiar caring but firm motherly voice.

"It’s so late now, Max. You have to sleep. We have a train to catch tomorrow," she said.

Max immediately looked reluctant. His eyes flicked toward Asha for a second, still playing a quiet little game of glances with her across the table.

"But Mom... I love it here. I don’t wanna leave," he complained, clearly not ready for the evening to end.

Heather wasn’t in the mood to negotiate.

"No, baby. Just brush your teeth and go to sleep," she said firmly, already pushing him toward an early night.

While Max reluctantly started to accept his fate, Maya glanced around the table and then looked directly at me. There was a clear meaning in her eyes.

"I think we should go now," she said. She obviously wanted me to leave with her, to step away from this apartment and follow her back to her own place for the rest of the night.

Before I could respond, Michael spoke up casually, as if the decision had already been made.

"Bro, I’m gonna crash at your place tonight," he said lightly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I immediately shook my head.

"Bro, my aunts are here at my apartment. I don’t have any space," I lied smoothly. In reality, my aunts had already left that morning. The only person still in my apartment was Nadia , the same woman I had been ignoring for far too long. But Michael didn’t need to know any of that.

Michael raised an eyebrow and stood up anyway.

"I don’t have a problem with that. Let me at least go greet your aunts then," he said, already preparing to follow me.

I stood up as well and shut the idea down before it could go any further.

"Bro, sit down. My aunts are in a bad mood right now. You really don’t wanna go there at the moment," I said firmly. "Let’s have a sleepover some other day."

"Okay guys... let’s meet tomorrow," Max said, sounding a little sad as he stood up from the table. He gave Asha one last lingering glance before turning and walking toward one of the bedrooms to settle in for the night.

With Max gone, the rest of us got up from the table and started moving toward the main door. Heather came along with us, playing the role of a polite host seeing her guests off. I already knew better. There was something else on her mind, and this entire send-off was just a convenient ruse to get the others out of the apartment.

Heather stopped in the doorway while the rest of us stepped out onto the balcony hallway. The night air was cooler now, and the building had grown quieter.

Maya turned toward her with a respectful smile.

"Thank you for having us, ma’am," she said.

"You’re welcome, Maya," Heather replied warmly.

Michael, still full of restless energy, immediately turned his attention to Asha.

"Hey, Asha... you wanna go get some ice cream? I heard there’s a nice place nearby," he said, clearly trying his luck.

Asha didn’t even hesitate.

"Sorry, I don’t go out at night," she replied politely. Without waiting for her mother or giving Michael another chance to speak, she turned and walked straight toward her own apartment, disappearing inside and leaving him standing there.

Michael stepped closer to me and lowered his voice so only I could hear.

"Bro... did you see that?" he muttered.

"What?" I asked flatly.

"There was so much sexual tension between Asha and me. Off the charts. She’s just playing hard to get. I’ll be back tomorrow. Bye," Michael said with complete confidence in his own delusion. Then he turned and started walking toward the elevator, already lost in his fantasy version of what had just happened.

That left Maya, Heather, and me in the hallway. Maya looked at me with clear expectation in her eyes.

"Okay, sir... let’s go. Heather ma’am should get a good night’s sleep," she said, already trying to pull me away with her in front of Heather.

Before I could respond, Heather spoke up in a carefully casual tone.

"Umm, Alex... do you have a minute? We forgot to talk about Max’s college. Maya, can I borrow him for a minute? It completely slipped my mind," she said, acting as though the conversation about her son’s future had simply slipped her mind during dinner.

Maya looked between the two of us. The understanding in her eyes was immediate. She knew exactly where this was going.

Heather pushed the door open a little wider and looked straight at me. The polite hostess expression was gone. What replaced it was pure, quiet lust.

"Come on, Alex. Max should be asleep by now. Let’s have a talk," she said, holding the door open for me.

I didn’t need any more convincing.

"Sure, Heather. Let’s have that talk," I replied. Then I glanced at Maya. "Good night, Maya."

Without waiting for her response, I stepped back inside the apartment. Heather gave Maya a small final nod and then shut the door firmly behind us.