Cheaters Never Prosper

"Really? You moved out of your 50-room 'house'? Say it ain't so!"

"There were more than 50 rooms in that palace, smart ass," she quipped smiling at him. "Now I live in a very nice, very comfortable three-bedroom home, and I even drive my own car."

"Do tell!" Luke said pretending to be shocked. "No chauffeur? Wow. Don't tell me there's no butler or wait staff or..."

"Okay, okay," she said holding her hand up. "I already apologized and told you you were right. You don't have to pour salt in the wound."

"I actually feel sorry for you, Maggie. You don't deserve this. Any of this."

Maggie scoffed quietly and said, "Unfortunately, I do deserve it. All of it. It's true you know. We really do reap what we sow. I sowed the wind marrying Keith and now I'm reaping the whirlwind of affairs and lies and soon...divorce. But you know what?"

He waited for her to tell him.

"I'm happier now than I've ever been. Or at least since I was young and single."

"Then I'm happy for you," he said changing his verdict. "So...how about you, Mags? Are you seeing anyone yet?"

Maggie sighed and said, "Don't get me started on that subject."

"No, don't get me started," he countered. "You're a very attractive woman."

Maggie laughed and said, "Good thing I wasn't drinking anything when you said that! I'd have made quite the mess."

"I'll make you a little wager if you're willing to take a risk," he told her.

"Oh, this should be interesting. Okay, I'm listening."

"I bet I can find no less than 25 guys under 30 willing to go out with you before midnight."

Maggie laughed again and said, "How much are you paying them? And free drinks count as payment."

It was Luke's turn to laugh. "No compensation, Your Honor. I'll just say, 'See that hot-looking woman over there? Would you go out with her?' I'm actually confident I'll get more than 25, but that seems like a reasonable number. So are you in?"

"What do I get if you're wrong?" she asked.

"I'll buy you dinner anywhere you want to go—except for that snooty country club of yours."

"Ha! I haven't been there since I left Keith. Okay, fine. But what if you're right?"

"Then you have to agree to go out with one them or I guess you could buy me dinner," he said with a smile.

"Luke? Are you flirting with me?" she teased.

"Maybe. But I count as the first guy on the list. So...24 more to go and then you're goin' down, Mags. Or should I say...goin' out? This implies, of course, that you have to stay until midnight."

"Wow. I'm not sure I can stay up that late, Luke," she said admitting her 'advanced' age.

He just smiled and said, "Let the games begin!" He called over to a young guy who just walked and said, "Yo, Lance! Come here for a minute, would you?"

The 20-something walked over, smiled at Maggie and said, "What's up?"

"Question for you? Would you consider dating this young lady sitting here at the bar?"

"Oh, my goodness!" Maggie said. "I thought you were going to conduct your scientific survey privately."

"I guess you saw me checking her out when I walked in," Lance said. He smiled at her said, "Sorry, but you're smokin' hot. Hell, yeah. I'd go out with her in a minute."

Maggie shook her head like she was disgusted with the whole thing, but it was obvious she was not only enjoying the attention, but getting a huge ego boost out of it, too.

"Two down and...23 to go," Luke said as he made marks on a small chalkboard behind him. "You may as well just give up right now, Mags. I know who's hot and who's not and you are definitely hot."

It was 10:15pm when Luke rang the bell near the bar. "Ladies and gentlemen? I have an announcement to make."

"Yeah, you're buyin' a round on the house for ringin' the bell, dude!" someone hollered out bringing loud cheers and whistles.

When it quieted down, he stood up on the bar and said, "I made a bet with someone tonight that I could find 25 hot, young guys willing to go out with her before midnight. Well, it's now um...lemme see..." He looked at his watch and said, "Oh, right! It's 10:15 and I'm already at 25—26 if you count the last guy's friend who said he'd date her, too. So Maggie?" He pointed over at her and every head turned to look her way. "Stand up over there. Yeah, we see you ducking down."

After several attempts to make him stop, she reluctantly stood up. "That is the beautiful young lady I'm talking about."

Before he could finish there were many loud cat calls and things like, "She's smokin' hot, man!" or "Sexy MILF alert!" One drunk younger guy even hollered, "I'd do her!"

A part of Maggie was dying from embarrassment, but another part was eating up the attention.

"So, Maggie? Per our bet you either have to accept a date with one of these good-looking gentlemen or suffer through an evening with me." Luke looked around and said, "All you guys who said 'yes' raise your hands. Come on, get 'em up there so she can see you. Let her know who you are."

Hands were up all over the room and there were a lot more than 25 of them. A couple got sharp elbows in the side from girlfriends standing right next to them.

"So who's it gonna be, Mags? Which lucky guy are you gonna choose?"

"Pick me!" someone hollered. "Fuck him! He's gay! Choose me, Maggie! He's a total loser. I'm your guy, baby!" and other assorted cries rang out.

Maggie started walking toward the main group of people and guys were doing more crazy things like bowing or kneeling with their folded hands together praying for her to choose them. Maggie walked passed each of them smiling and telling them how cute they were before going over to the bar and reaching up for Luke's hand. When he took it, there were loud moans all around the room.

"BS, man! This thing was rigged!" someone called out before everyone started applauding and cheering. Someone else yelled, "Bartenders always get the hot chicks!"

"You sure about this?" Luke asked her. "You've got all these hot young guys and you want to spend time with me?"

She smiled and said, "After being such a total bitch to you for so long, it's the least I can do. Besides, I already know you're capable of carrying on an intelligent conversation. With this crowd, that seems very much in doubt."

"Suit yourself," he told her. "How about this Wednesday? Weekends are pretty much out of the question for me now."

"That sounds nice, Luke. I'll look forward to it."

"Just remember, you're paying, Mags. And no country club!"

"I promise," she said. "You know, it really is getting late...at least for me. But thank you for making an old lady feel young again for a little while, at least."

Luke shook his head and said, "You just don't get it, do you?" He saw her give him a puzzled look and he said, "These guys weren't kidding, Maggie. It wasn't an inside joke or a rigged game. They've never seen you before and every single one of them said you were smokin' hot. They meant it when they said they'd go out with you. Give yourself some credit. You're a very desirable woman." He smiled brightly before saying, "Well, now that the ice-princess inside you has melted, that is."

She made an 'I'll get you for that' kind of face, but deep down, she knew he was right. The hard-ass, ice-cold woman Maggie Hutchinson had become was melting inside. Between him being right about her and her daughter, her lifetime of snobbishness, and this evening, she'd genuinely been touched and it made her feel the way she'd felt all those years ago when every man she saw flirted with her. Only now, she wasn't the aloof beauty queen she'd been back then. The flirting was nice, but it was the meaning behind it that spoke to her heart and touched her soul—something she thought she'd lost long ago.

But there was something else going on. Something deeper. While she enjoyed the attention, she honestly had no interest in any of the so-called hot, young men even though she saw many of them who just that—hot and young. But there was one younger man, one very good-looking, very thoughtful, very nice younger man who had caught her attention and she was now seeing him in a whole new light, and that realization both frightened and excited her.

Luke walked outside with her and hailed a cab. "I'm glad you stopped by, Mags. And I'm glad you said the things you did. I always knew you were beautiful on the outside, but tonight you showed me an even deeper, more impressive beauty I hoped was there but feared may have permanently disappeared."

He opened the rear door of the taxi and Maggie said, "Apologizing was hard. I won't deny that, Luke. But living with my old self..." She looked at him with feigned sternness and said pointing a finger at him, "Not one word about being old." She continued by saying, "Was more than I could stand. I couldn't live that like anymore. Life's too short to waste on the phony trappings of social status or worrying about who's who or who has money and whether it's old or new. My God. It's just...exhausting. I only wish I could undo so much of the mess I've made. I guess I should also thank you for giving me the courage to at least try and make amends for some of it and start over." She put an arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good night, Mags. Let me know where we're going, okay?" He closed her door and waved goodbye as the cab pulled out into traffic and took her away.

Luke got his answer two days later when Maggie texted him, "I've never been to a Red Lobster before. Would you mind going to one with me?"

"Wow! Talk about getting outside your comfort zone. Okay, sure. That sounds great. What time?"

He got an almost instant reply. "How about 7?"

Luke laughed as he typed out, "So no chauffeur to pick me up?"

"Sorry, just little old me."

Before he could reply she sent a follow on. "If you make a snarky comment about 'old'..."

He told her he was looking forward to it and texted her his address. He couldn't remember the last time a woman picked him up for anything and thought to himself that it was kind of nice.

Wednesday evening, he finished shaving then took a long, hot shower before getting dressed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved Henley shirt before putting a small amount of product in his hair and giving it a quick tousle with his fingers. He rinsed off his hands then strapped on his watch and jammed his wallet into his back pocket. He loved not wearing a suit almost as much as he enjoyed not being a lawyer.

Right on time, the doorbell rang at 7 o'clock. He opened the door and said, "Come in!" before really even looking at her.

Maggie stepped inside and as Luke closed the door he whistled. "Oh, my God. You look sensational," he told her and she did.

It was May in Seattle and although it wouldn't be warm for another months, the weather was gorgeous with cool mornings, warm afternoons, and pleasant evenings.

Maggie was wearing a sleeveless, rib-knit, white top with a scoop neckline, and a pair of jeans that fit just right. She carried a matching cardigan sweater just in case it cooled down early or was chilly inside the restaurant. Her long, blonde hair was soft, silky, and had a couple of gentle waves in it. She was wearing gold earrings with a chunky gold necklace and on her nicely tanned skin, it was a very clean, very sexy look.

"Is this okay for Red Lobster?" she asked.

"That'd be okay for anywhere as far as I'm concerned. You look amazing, Mags."

She thanked him and asked if he was ready and they were out the door and on their way.

"So why Red Lobster?" he had to ask.

Maggie smiled and told him, "Because that's the place my former friends and I always used as the perfect example of the kind of place 'those people' went to when we were mocking those not of...proper breeding."

Maggie laughed as did Luke before he asked, "So are you saying you're now one of those kind of people?"

Her smile faded as she answered him. "Truth be told, I'm not sure who I am anymore, Luke." She took a quick look at him and said, "All I do know is I'm no longer that pretentious snob I was for so many years." She sat quietly for a while then told him, "I really have no idea how to start over. I just know I want to so I'm trying to figure all that out as I go." She looked back over at him and said, "I envy you, Luke. You figured it out early on. It took me a very long time so see through the phony veneer. You got out before ever getting in and putting yourself through hell." She smiled and said, "Well done."

"Just take it a day at a time, Maggie, and you'll find your way. Besides, the old you would have never accepted me no matter how rich or famous I might have become because I'd be..."

"New money," she said finishing his sentence before heading out.

She turned into the parking lot in the city of Federal Way and as she found a spot to park said, "I know it's going to take time to unlearn everything I've internalized, but is this place safe?"

Luke tried not to laugh as he told her to wait and let him get her door. He opened it for her and said, "Yeah. It should be okay. I don't think they let the gang members in except on Friday nights."

She hit him playfully then put her arm in his as he led her into a whole new world.

"It's...very dark in here," she said as they walked in.

A perky 20-something met them and said, "Hi, welcome to Red Lobster. I'm Tiffany and I'll be your server. If you can just follow me?" She led them to an empty table and asked if she got get them an appetizer or something to drink.

Luke smiled as he ordered mozzarella cheese sticks and two beers.

"What did you just order us?" she asked squeezing his arm as though it might bite.

"Relax, Mags. This is how the other half...er...other 99% lives." She hit him playfully again before picking up a menu.

"I'm guessing these don't get updated on a daily basis, do they?"

"Good guess," he told her as the girl brought their beers and cheese sticks.

She started rattling off specials then said, "And since Sunday is Mother's Day, we're offering a free meal to any mom from now through Sunday so if you want to use yours today, just let me know."

Luke saw the horror on Maggie's face as she realized the girl thought she was Luke's mother. The girl stood there smiling as Luke put his arm around Maggie's shoulder and said, "Mom? Did you want to use your special tonight or wait 'til Sunday when we come back?"

She elbowed him sharply in the side before saying, "Uh, I'll just wait 'til my...son over here...brings me back. This is our favorite restaurant, you know." She smiled the phoniest smile ever as the girl walked away then elbowed Luke again.

She turned toward him and said, "Okay. That was just plain rude. That may have been the meanest thing anyone has ever..."

Luke leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Maggie's eyes opened wide in disbelief but she didn't pull away. "Done to me," she said her voice trailing off to a whisper. "What was that all about?" she asked in voice that belied her normal level of confidence.

"What? A son can't kiss his mother?" he said trying to be very serious.

"Ooooh!" she said pretending to be angry. "I had no idea you were so mean, Luke Miller." He could tell she wasn't really mad and something told him that one little kiss hadn't bothered her in the least.

They sipped their beers and Luke asked her if she'd ever drank beer before. She pretended to be indignant and said, "I'll have you know I drank beer several times in college at various sorority events."

"Oh, wow! Several times?" he said feigning total seriousness. "How proletariat of you!"

She picked up a greasy cheese stick and flung it at him. "You are just awful!"

The girl came back with their meals and Luke said, "Oh, Tiffany?"

"Yes?" she said in her perky little, sing-song voice.

"This isn't my mother, by the way."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea." She looked at Maggie and told her how sorry she was.

Maggie then turned toward Luke who said to Tiffany, "If she was my mother, I'd never do this." This time he kissed her and noticed Maggie closed her eyes and kissed him back.

Tiffany quietly told them, "Um...enjoy your meal," as she slunk off.

When the kiss ended Maggie said quietly, "Wow. This gives new meaning to 'being a good son'."

Maggie was relatively quiet through dinner as she picked at her lobster scampi linguini. Luke was nearly done with his huge plate full of wood-grilled lobster, shrimp and salmon and she'd barely eaten a quarter of what was on her plate.

"Is it that bad?" he asked before taking another sip of his beer.

"No, it's actually quite good. It's been a very pleasant surprise." She was pushing food around on her plate as she said quietly, "One of many surprises."

"Was I out of line?" he asked her.

"What? Out of line for..."

"For kissing you."

"Oh. That. Um...no. It's just that..."

Luke reached over and took her hand and said, "I kind of like you, Mags. Is that too weird?"

She still didn't look over but she did stop moving the food around as it was a little hard to do so when someone was holding your hand. "Why would that be weird?" she asked.

"It's not. At least not from my perspective. I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Why would I feel uncomfortable? I mean, it's not like like I'm a middle-aged woman out with a gorgeous younger man who was once engaged to my own daughter. Or even worse that he kissed me twice in public in front of a room full of strangers. So no, I don't feel the least bit uncomfortable, Luke."

In spite of her words, she'd given him her hand and when he squeezed it, she squeezed his back. He put his arm back around her shoulder and leaned over and told her, "Did you know you're the most beautiful woman I've ever been on a date with?"

"I am?" she asked before turning slightly his way and asking, "Did this somehow become a date?"

"I don't care what we call it, I'd just like to get to know you, Mags. The new you." He squeezed her hand again and said, "The real you."

Maggie's heart was pounding in her chest and she was trying to understand what was happening. She'd had these...feelings...for him for some time now, but she'd never said a word to him or even done anything to encourage him. And yet here he was holding her hand and...he'd kissed her twice and although she couldn't make sense of it, she was sitting there silently praying he'd kiss her again.

"You would?" she said her voice shaky and weak.

"I would," he told her.

"Well, I guess that would be okay...but, Luke?" She finally turned toward him again. Her eyes had a look that spoke of some kind of fear in them. Not that she feared him, but that she feared something much deeper.

"What?" he asked as he raised her hand to his mouth and softly kissed it.

"Why? Why me? There are hundreds...maybe thousands of beautiful young women out there...so...why me?"

He looked deeply into her eyes then leaned over and kissed her softly again for several seconds before saying, "Because none of them are you. That's why."

"You're good," she said quietly. "You're really good." She looked at him seriously and said, "I just don't want to get hurt again," the look in her eyes fading.

"I can't promise you won't get hurt, Maggie. I can only promise that I will never intentionally do anything to hurt you."

"So we can do this one day at a time?" she asked softly staring into his handsome brown eyes.

"Just like life. One day at a time. One step at a time. Mags? I really do like you. A lot. All I want is a chance to learn to...like you...even more."

Her eyes were moving quickly between his as she said, "I like you, too, Luke. A lot."

"Then may I see you again?" he asked smiling over the air of formality.

"I'd like that. Very much," she said as leaned toward him and initiated a kiss for the first time.

"So!" they heard a perky voice behind them. They turned to see Tiffany standing there asking if they'd like dessert.