Victoria's frustration poured out in a rush. "I don't understand why he won't touch me that way. Is he made of stone? He's a man, doesn't he have inappropriate thoughts about me at all? I mean it's me, does he know how many begs just to kiss the skin of my leg? It's infuriating. I lie awake at night wondering what's wrong with me, why I'm not enough to make him lose control even once."
She stood up and began pacing. "He treats me right and I like the princess treatment but I want more. I've made it clear that I want him, that I'm ready, but he acts like my desire is something to be managed rather than reciprocated. Gosh, I feel like I'm breaking."
Samantha sat stunned, her mind reeling from her daughter's revelation. She had always assumed Victoria was sexually active, given her confidence and the way she carried herself in the world. Learning that her daughter was still a virgin at this stage of her life was unexpected, to say the least. She tried to compose her expression, not wanting to give away her surprise.
Victoria continued her rant, her voice growing more heated. "He won't even let me touch him properly. If he doesn't want to touch me, that doesn't mean I don't want to touch him. I have needs too, desires that he seems determined to ignore. He awakened this fire so why's he so adverse to quenching it?"
She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration before turning to face her mother directly, her eyes searching for some kind of solution.
"Say something," Victoria urged.
Samantha managed to gather herself enough to ask, "Is that why you almost kicked us out yesterday?"
Victoria's face darkened at the memory, her anger flashing hot and immediate. "Yes," she snapped tersely. "You both ruined everything."
Samantha felt a wave of happiness at Victoria opening up to her. She couldn't help but think this conversation wouldn't be happening if Victoria's friends hadn't betrayed her trust all those years ago. The thought made her feel a bit sad as this was something girl-friends spoke amongst themselves nevertheless, she loved their mother-daughter moment.
"Mom!" Victoria screamed, grabbing her attention. "Tell me what to do! Because at this point I might go crazy on him again!"
"What! You went crazy on him?"
"Yes."
Oh my God.
"Then, do you love him?"
"Of course I do...no wait, you just sprang that up…"
"If you don't love him then why would you want to get physical so adamantly? If it were for the fun of it then you wouldn't have reserved yourself this long from your exes."
"I…" Victoria was rendered speechless, her eyes shook from the possibility.
"You what?" Samantha stared, questioning.
"...I answered in the...I like James a lot, I really do but I don't...don't know about that emotion." Victoria for the first time ever stuttered, caught off guard as her heart pounded uncontrollably.
Do I love him? No. I shouldn't let mom's word confuse me between love and lust. She willed her heart to calm despite it beating ever faster and tucked the thought at the back of her mind.
Samantha swallowed calling her out, apparently she needed time to come to terms with her feelings. If she didn't love him, she wouldn't have let him bond with her family or invited him to her home. James was the first boyfriend Samantha and her husband Fabian had seen physically not on print, besides it would have been James Victoria will kick out of her house not them her parents if she didn't hold him dear.
Samantha softly chuckled at her beautiful daughter's predicament. She never thought the day would come when her self-absorbed daughter would be tested in such ways. This further strengthened her appreciation for James. She's seen the way the boy looked at her with so much affection and respect. Victoria had finally met someone who could ground her.
"Won't you say I'd give you old people's advice?" she questioned teasingly.
Victoria gave her a dead-serious look, clearly not in the mood for jokes.
"I'll be the judge of that," Victoria supplied, folding her arms as she waited.
"From what you've said, James doesn't seem open to..."
"I know that already," Victoria cut in impatiently.
Samantha nodded, then asked carefully, "Is anything wrong with him down there?"
"No, not that I could think of, he doesn't even let me touch or see it." Victoria paused, then remembered something important. "Actually, he has some trauma. He hates being exposed, especially showing his lower body."
Samantha nodded, taking this entire information in. "What if you tried different tactics?"
"How? I'm listening," Victoria perked up at this suggestion.
Samantha continued thoughtfully, "Your aggressive approach isn't working. You want him engaged rather than scaring him off. Why don't you try taking it easy on him? And by taking it easy, I mean introducing him to it step by step."
Victoria looked more convinced now. "Tell me more."
Samantha went on to explain what Victoria needed to do in order not to scare James away. She outlined a careful approach that would respect his boundaries while gradually building intimacy. Victoria listened with rapt attention, asking questions about parts she found confusing and absorbing every detail.
By nighttime, the joyful laughter of her father echoed throughout the house, signaling their return from playing. Victoria exchanged knowing glances with her mother in the kitchen as they set out the dinner table.
After praying, they dug in. Samantha did her best to divert her husband's attention from James, yet it seemed Fabian really liked the young man as he regaled them with stories from his days as an engineer. Samantha shrugged and shook her head at her daughter sympathetically.
Victoria smiled, acting patient but was so close to exploding, then said to James, "When you're less busy, you should come find me in my room. I'd love to hear about your time with Dad."
James smiled, completely unsuspecting, and agreed. "Of course."
Fabian immediately grabbed his attention again, launching into another story, and Victoria had to let him go.
After dinner, Samantha took matters into her own hands. Seeing that her husband did not intend to free James even at 10 PM, she whisked Fabian toward their room.
"Fabian, come to bed now," she called firmly.
"But..."
"Not another word. It's late," she pulled him up then turned to James. "Sorry, he gets like this when he's excited."
"No worries, I enjoyed his company." James chuckled.
"See honey he doesn't mind." Fabian points. Samantha sighed and gently guided him up to their room. "Goodnight James." He called from behind.
James waved him off with a playful smile, he too returned to his assigned room took a quick shower before heading towards Victoria's bedroom. He knocked and waited.