Love Me Like You Do Ch. 01

A new story that I hope that everyone will like. I am trying to write something that has the potential to go on to become multi-part story. If you liked this story, I would appreciate your feedback. Please do leave your feedback in the comments section or use the contact option in my profile.

NOTE: Thank you to Wayne, MagicalFantasyKitty & Linnet for all your editorial help. I think it really helped me shape this story in a better way.

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It was a dry, pleasantly warm summer day. Catherine woke up, annoyed. The first thing she saw was the almost blinding golden light shining through the Tiffany glass window. She immediately wrapped herself up in the sheets and shut her eyes. The alarm on the nightstand next to her bed began to go off noisily. It was 8 am and the day was just another dull routine for her.

8 am already, Catherine thought, groaning in the process.

She continued to lay in bed for a while, not wanting to start her day. Suddenly, the door to her room opened abruptly and a 16 year old, nicely shaped brunette girl walked in. It was her daughter Jenna.

"Mom, come on. Get up already. It's like 8:30 and you're not even up yet!" said Jenna.

"Actually, it's 8:23," her mother replied sleepily, pointing towards the clock displaying the time. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" asked Catherine.

"It's Saturday mom,"

"All the more reason to be in bed then."

"Come on! We don't have time for this again,"

"Just a few more minutes," said Catherine with a tone of annoyance in her words.

"Mom! Come on, you need to get out of bed. You can't stay here all morning, time won't wait for you."

Jenna walked over to the bed and pulled the covers from over Catherine's curved body. Catherine made a grumpy face at her daughter and Jenna snickered while they battled over the hot covers.

"Up grumpy gus, now!" said Jenna.

"Okay, mother." Catherine replied jokingly. "You don't have to be mean about it,"

Catherine very reluctantly got out of bed and got up, walking past Jenna, going into the bathroom.

"I'm going down to start breakfast," said Jenna.

"Okay, I'll be down in a bit, I guess." said Catherine.

Catherine walked over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her mid-length brunette hair, the same color as her daughter's, was a mess. She had morning bed hair and looked like a crazy Muppet. She was 35 but she had slowly begun to notice little signs of aging popping up on her face, wrinkles and some of the sort. She was getting older, day by day. She wasn't as slim as she used to be, but she was yet to be chubby either. The only things in the mirror that she didn't see aging were her firm, ample breasts. They were still young looking and decent sized. She was not a bad looking woman; she had just begun to stop taking care of her appearance ever since she had separated from her husband.

It had been six lonely months since she had found out that her husband, Harold, had been cheating on her. She had been totally oblivious to it. In her mind she had mostly blamed herself and how she had acted around him. Their sex life had dwindled and there was no spice (or sugar) left in their marriage. They rarely had sex and even when they did, Catherine mostly lay there lifeless while her husband fucked her viciously. She had still loved him even though there was no intimacy left in their long relationship. But the bastard had moved onto greener pastures and when Catherine had found out about it, she had completely broken down into a spiral of hatred and doubts of her own self worth.

It had been difficult, but she had asked him to leave their home right after the news was broken to her. The first month of the separation had been really tough. Catherine had hardly gone outside the house since her depressed state left her uninterested in pretty much anything. She had long thought of ending her life, but then it was always the thought of supportive Jenna that had stopped her from taking such drastic measures. Her life was on the rails and she felt completely lost and hopeless in the midst of all the drama.

Catherine willed out all the bad thoughts of her bastard husband and went about her daily routine to get freshened up and go down for breakfast. Once she was in the dining room, she could see that Jenna had already prepared the breakfast, with fried bacon, sunny side up eggs and buttered golden toast along with a choice of coffee and orange juice ready at the table.

"How long was I in the bathroom?" Catherine quizzed her.

"Long enough," replied Jenna, moving the chair to sit down.

"By the way, what are you doing up so early on Saturday, darling? You usually sleep in till late afternoon on Saturdays," said Catherine.

"You forgot, didn't you?" asked Jenna, clearly upset by the look on her face.

"Forgot what?"

"You promised to take me to the DMV today to get my learner's permit,"

"Oh my god! That's today?" Catherine cried. "I am so sorry honey, I completely forget everything nowadays,"

Jenna had an aggravated but pitying look on her face while Catherine looked apologetic.

"Mom, what's wrong? These past couple of months you've been completely lost," said Jenna

"What do you mean?" asked Catherine.

"You forget to do things and you're not taking care of yourself. I can understand that you're still not back to normal after the whole separation from dad thing, but come on mom, god damnit. You have to get it together, your life hasn't ended over one petty man," said Jenna.

"Honey, I admit I've had a tough time with the whole thing. But it's never easy to get over such things," said Catherine.

"Mom, I understand where you're coming from. Life isn't easy, but you have to move on. I don't want to see you falling into this giant hole that you won't be able to get out of. You know I'm here for you and always will be." Jenna was getting emotional, a tear forming on her eye as she uttered the words to her mother.

Watching her daughter getting emotional was tough for her. Her daughter was far tougher than Catherine could ever be. But seeing the teen shed a tear due to her blue mood seemed to shake her.

"I'll do better, I promise," said Catherine as she moved to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her.

Jenna held onto her mother. In the last six months her mother had repeatedly declared that she would do better, but something in her voice was different this time. Jenna knew that this time her mother meant it.

"Let's tuck in to breakfast and go to the DMV," said Catherine, trying to clear the air.

Jenna shook her head.

After breakfast, Catherine took Jenna to the DMV. They put in the application for her learner's permit. It was a busy Saturday and there were quite a few other people, but they had got an appointment for Saturday and Jenna had been excited for quite a while.

"So where to now?" asked Jenna, giddy with excitement.

"Well, we need to get some groceries. I thought we could finish that up and then head home," replied Catherine.

"Groceries? Well, okay. But can we be done quickly, please? Maggie just texted me and she wants to hang out later," said Jenna.

They drove to the market and began to shop for the groceries. Catherine usually shopped for a fortnight for all the essentials that were needed around the house. It had been a habit for quite a while. Both mother and daughter navigated through the market looking for what was required for the next couple of weeks.

After about 30 minutes of going back and forth in the market, Catherine and Jenna proceeded to the checkout counter. Catherine began to empty the contents of the trolley they were dragging around on the cashier counter when suddenly she heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Catherine Martin? Is that you?" a bold female voice called.

The voice sounded familiar but Catherine had to turn around to see who it was. Then she got the surprise of her lifetime. It was Amanda Collins, one of her good friends from college.

"Oh my god! Amanda, I haven't seen you for so long!" Catherine cried with a big smile, forgetting her worries.

Amanda walked over to Catherine.

"How have you been?" asked Amanda.

"I've been on the rocks lately, but apart from that, pretty good. How about you?" replied Catherine as Jenna stood in the background waiting for the cashier to request the total cost. The two women continued chatting as the items were being scanned.

Amanda had been great friends with Catherine. They were together in most of the classes during their freshman year at college. It didn't take too long for them to become good friends. They hung out a lot and had a lot of fun. But Amanda had to move back home as her mother had suddenly gotten very ill and Catherine had been left without a friend. It was just shortly after Amanda had left that she had met Harold.

"I'm great. It's really so good to see you after all this time Catherine." said Amanda.

"Uhm, mom?" intervened Jenna.

Catherine turned around to face Jenna and realized that she had completely forgotten that the teen was there.

"Oh, sorry. Amanda, I want you to meet my daughter, Jenna."

"Your daughter?" asked Amanda.

Catherine smiled and nodded her head.

"Hey." said Jenna.

"Hi. How old are you then, Jenna?" said Amanda.

"I'm just short of 17," replied Jenna.

Amanda turned to face Catherine with a look of disbelief.

"Has it really been that long?" asked Amanda.

"I'm afraid so," replied Catherine.

"We have a lot of catching up to do!" said Amanda.

"Yes we do," smiled Catherine, the memories of Harold coming back to haunt her. "It's been so long!"

"I'm actually free right now. Would you like to go to the Starbucks next door? We can grab a coffee and chat."

"Uh, actually we have to some other things to take care of around -" said Catherine, but Jenna cut her off.

"Mom, go. I'll take the shopping home. You deserve this."

"But we have to go to the dry cleaners and I also wanted to make a stop at the bank before it closes," said Catherine.

"Mom, it's fine. I can take care of it. I can put all the groceries in the car. The dry cleaners is just two blocks away and the bank is just another two minute walk away. I can take care of everything. You guys should definitely go catch up." said Jenna.

"Oh, it's okay, we can meet up later too. I don't want to intrude if you guys have plans," said Amanda.

"Are you sure you can take care of everything?" Catherine questioned her daughter.

"Yes! Now go," chuckled Jenna, happy that her mother could finally have someone to befriend again.

"Okay."

"Great!" said an excited Amanda.

Catherine and Amanda exited the market and walked into the Starbucks next door. They laughed and joked as they stood in line and ordered their coffees. They found a nice spot to side down and continued their banter.

"So what have you been up to?" asked Catherine.

"Well, I started my own wedding planning business. And, its going really well. I just finished a wedding for a lovely lesbian couple two days ago, very beautiful. We had it arranged at a nice private house that's usually rented out for parties and other such events." said Amanda, feeling proud of herself.

"Wow. So you did a lesbian wedding?" said Catherine with surprise.

"Yeah! It's a big market out there. I mean you know, since it's legal for same sex couples to get married, there are a lot of gay and lesbian couples out there who hire wedding planners like me for a perfect wedding, you know. And, I like it. I like to celebrate love. It's a good feeling, making not only others enjoy themselves but yourself too." Amanda had a smile on her face as she spoke those words. She was a hopeless romantic and thought, what better way to celebrate love than to help two people celebrate the most important day of their lives?

Catherine sipped her coffee as Amanda spoke about her work. In her mind Catherine thought about everything that she had left behind, her career... she had never had the chance to work. Instead she had gotten married after she had gotten pregnant with Jenna in college and had never seen her dreams realized.

"Hey! Where did you get lost?" asked Amanda as she snapped Catherine back to reality.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about everything that I left behind. After you left, I met my husband, Harold, and shortly after that I discovered I was pregnant. I got married and built a home and I never really got to go out into the world and do my own thing. Taking care of Jenna has been my entire life since then," said Catherine in despair.

"Well, you lucked out. She's a wonderful girl. And I am sure that you have a happy life," said Amanda.

Catherine choked as she heard the words 'happy life' being uttered from Amanda's mouth. She was trying to control her emotions in front of her only friend. Amanda could sense that Catherine was beginning to get a bit upset. Catherine's head was lowered and she didn't speak.

"What's wrong?" asked Amanda.

"Me and Harold are separated," said Catherine with a dismal tone in her voice.

"Oh! I am so sorry to hear that! How long has it been?" inquired Amanda.

"Six months," said Catherine, with no change in her tone.

"What happened?" asked Amanda sympathetically.

"What all men do when they get bored of their wives. Move on to the next thing."

"What an asshole!" retorted Amanda.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I guess it was my fault anyway, wasn't it?"

"Hey! It was never your fault, no matter what, unless you killed him!" Amanda chuckled, making Catherine snort and laugh a little. "It's okay. I'm your friend. You can talk to me you know," comforted Amanda. She moved next to Catherine and put an arm on her shoulder as she comforted her.

Just as Amanda was comforting her, Jenna walked into the coffee shop and headed in their direction. She took one look at her mother's face.

"Oh no. I take it from the expression on her face, and the fact that you are sitting right next to her, that she told you about the creep that left her," said an annoyed Jenna.

"Yeah. He sounds like a real charmer," said Amanda sarcastically.

"Mom, come on. Don't do this. Remember your promise to me!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," said Catherine as she tried to break the air of gloominess that had now struck their table.

"It'll be ok Catherine, you'll see." Amanda comforted Catherine.

"Yes, I hope so," said Catherine.

"You say that mom, but you have to really do something about it other than confining yourself to the house," remarked Jenna.

"What?" asked Amanda.

"Yeah, she's pretty much cut everything out of her life," sighed Jenna.

"Well then I know what you need. I am going out tonight with some friends. You are coming out with us tonight," said Amanda.

"That sounds like a nice idea!" said an excited Jenna.

"What? No!" said Catherine.

"Why not?" asked Amanda.

"There's so much to do around the house," lied Catherine.

"Like what?" asked Jenna.

"Umm..."

"We're waiting," said Jenna.

"Catherine, it will good to just unwind and have a night out. We're all just going out to loosen up. We'll have a few drinks, dance and just unwind," encouraged Amanda.

"That sounds good enough," said Jenna.

"What will you do if I am gone?" asked Catherine.

"I can just go stay over at Carmen's place," replied Jenna coolly.

"You need to check with her first," said Catherine.

"That's not a problem. So is that a yes?" asked Jenna.

Amanada and Jenna looked eagerly at Catherine, both waiting to hear her answer. Catherine just stayed still, thinking about it. She had not been out of the house, except for the basic chores, for quite a while. Even when her and Harold were still together, it had been quite a while since she had gone out to a dinner date with him.

"Where are you going?" asked Catherine suspiciously.

"We're going to Lush, the new club that's opened downtown. I'm gonna meet a couple of friends outside by nine," said Amanda.

"I don't know. I really don't think that's my scene. Besides, I don't know them," said Catherine.

"She'll be there," replied Jenna.

"Jenna," said Catherine sternly.

Jenna looked in her direction and gave her a cold stare. Catherine gave in instantly.

"Fine," she sighed.

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It was 7:30pm and Catherine was still regretting saying yes to going out for the night. Jenna on the other hand was excited that Catherine had said yes to going out. As soon as they had reached home Jenna had rushed into Catherine's bedroom and began to go through her closet looking for the perfect outfit and shoes for her mother's first night out in months. Jenna had chosen a small black dress that Catherine had never worn. It was a dress that she was saving for a special occasion, but it had never come. Jenna found Catherine's shoe wardrobe a little too outdated and gave her one of her three-inch heels that she had.

And now, when it was time for Catherine to get ready and head out soon, she was having second thoughts. Jenna walked in to see her mother standing and staring at blank space.

"You haven't even started to get ready yet!" said Jenna.

"I'm not sure I should even go."

"Mom, this morning you said you'd try," said Jenna with a sigh.

"I know, but-" said Catherine, but Jenna cut her off.

"No buts! You're going out. You're going to have a great time with Amanda and who knows, you might even get lucky!" joked Jenna.

"Jenna!"

"What?" asked Jenna innocently.

"You know lately, you've begun to forget that I am your mother!" said Catherine.

"Oh, grow up. So what? I mean, I'm not saying you need to hook up with someone. I'm just saying that you might meet someone you like," said Jenna.

"I doubt that," said Catherine.

"Don't sell yourself short, mom. You are still a stunner, even if you have forgotten it. But you are," said Jenna.

Catherine just stood in silence. Jenna had always been so encouraging. She had been her pillar of strength. If she was able to get up in the mornings, it was all because of her. And now she was encouraging her to take her first step back into the world again. She moved towards the teen and hugged her.

"Thank you. You know I love you, right?" said Catherine trying to fight the tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't get all soppy on me now, stunner," said Jenna trying to fight tears of her own.

Catherine released Jenna from the hug and they both laughed and smiled.

"Now you'd better get dressed, and soon. Carmen will be here to pick me up any minute and then we'll give you a ride to the train station," said Jenna.

"Okay," replied Catherine.

Catherine began to undress and headed into the shower as Jenna walked out. Jenna saw her mother walk into the shower and walked down into the living room. Just as she was about to sit down and turn the TV on, she heard the doorbell ring. She opened the door to see her latina friend Carmen standing at the door.

"Hey!" said Carmen.

"Hi, come on in," said Jenna.

"Thanks," replied Carmen.

"We just have to wait for a bit. Mom's just gone into the shower and then she'll be ready. Shouldn't take long," said Jenna.

"That's fine. She got a big night planned?" asked Carmen.

"Yeah, she met an old friend from college today and she invited her out. I think it's good for her because she hasn't had a night out in a while," said Jenna.

"Yeah, I understand. I mean, my dad went through the same thing after mom died," said Carmen.

"So, what's on the agenda tonight for us?" asked Jenna.

"Oh, I just stopped at the video store and got us some movies. I got Risky Business, Top Gun and Mission Impossible for us to watch," said Carmen.