"Who could that be at this hour?" Donald muttered, reaching for his glasses on the nightstand.
Caroline sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. "Maybe it's Shawn. He might need something since he just got back today."
Donald got out of bed and walked to the door, opening it slightly to peer out. Standing there was indeed their youngest son, wearing only a pair of boxers and a troubled expression.
"Shawn? What's wrong, son? Why are you still up?" Donald opened the door wider but positioned himself to block the view of the bed where Caroline lay.
Shawn ran a hand through his messy hair, looking uncertain. "Sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to disturb you two." His eyes flickered past Donald toward the bed for a split second before returning to his father's face. "Actually, the air conditioning in my room isn't working properly. It's getting really stuffy, and I couldn't sleep, so I was wondering if I could sleep with you guys tonight?"
Before Donald could respond, Caroline spoke from the bed. "Oh, you poor thing. Of course you can, sweetie." She adjusted the sheet to cover herself more completely. "There's plenty of room here."
"Huh? Wait, honey, what are you saying? I mean..." Donald turned to look at his wife, who was naked under the covers, clearly caught off guard by her immediate agreement.
"What? He's our son. Don't you want him to be comfortable?" Caroline sat up slightly, keeping the sheet pressed against her chest. "Besides, what's the big deal? We used to share a bed all the time when he was little."
However, Donald wasn't concerned about Shawn sleeping with them because he was their son. He was worried about something else entirely. Something that involved the fact that Caroline was bare-assed naked under those sheets.
"Uh, you know what I'm worried about," Donald said in a low tone, trying to discreetly signal to Caroline with a glance down at the bed and back at Shawn. "Why don't you put on something, honey?"
Caroline followed his gaze and seemed to understand his concern. A faint smile played on her lips as she looked back at him. "Oh, that? Why are you so worried about it? I'm his mother. There's nothing wrong with it. Besides, it's not like he hasn't seen me naked before when he was a growing boy."
Before Donald could protest further, Shawn spoke from the doorway. "It seems I came at a bad time. I can just go to Steve's room if—"
"No, no, don't be silly, sweetie. It's not what you're thinking." Caroline cut him off and waved him inside. "I just felt hot and decided to sleep without anything on. Now come on in. It's not a big deal."
Donald let out a soft sigh, letting his wife handle the situation. Maybe he was overreacting. After all, Shawn was their son, and as Caroline pointed out, it wasn't like he hadn't seen her body before during his childhood years.
Still, that didn't stop him from feeling slightly awkward about the whole thing. Or the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right here.
Shawn hesitated for a moment as he didn't expect things to turn out like this. He was telling the truth about the AC in his room, but now that he was standing here and knowing Caroline was naked in bed, his mind started racing.
"Are you sure, Mom and Dad? I can really just go to Steve's room."
"Nonsense. I already told you it's fine." Caroline gestured toward the empty space beside her. "Now come on before I drag you in myself."
Shawn glanced at Donald, who simply shrugged in response, clearly having given up on thinking too much about it. So, he stepped into the room and climbed onto the bed, settling himself beside his mother while keeping a respectful distance between them.
The sheets were cool against his skin, and he could feel the warmth radiating from Caroline's body. The scent of her freshly showered skin filled the air, a familiar fragrance that brought both comfort and discomfort.
Yet, Caroline wasn't having any of that. As soon as he lay down, she scooted closer to him and wrapped herself around him in a motherly embrace, pulling his head onto her soft breasts.
"Ahhh... I remember when you used to sleep like this all the time when you were little, sweetie. You'd always come to our bed whenever you had a bad dream or couldn't sleep. And I'd hold you like this until you fell asleep again."
Her words were nostalgic and loving. Her tone was warm and affectionate. But her actions told a different story as one of her hands began to wander down Shawn's back in slow, sensual circles.
Meanwhile, Donald watched the scene unfold from the other side of the bed, his brow relaxing and a smile forming on his face. "You're right, honey. He was always such a mama's boy back then. Always attached to you at the hip."
"Of course he was. He's my baby boy, after all." Caroline giggled and ran her fingers through Shawn's hair, her other hand continuing its journey down his spine.
"Oh come on, guys. I'm not a kid anymore." Shawn tried to sound annoyed, but the warmth of his mother's body and the softness of her breasts made it difficult to maintain any pretense of resistance.
"You'll always be my baby boy, no matter how old you get."
"Yes. That's what being a parent is all about." Donald chimed in with a contented sigh. "Watching them grow up but still seeing them as the little children they once were."
"You said it, darling." Caroline's fingers traced small circles on Shawn's lower back, right above the waistband of his boxers. "So don't mind if I want to cuddle with my son even while naked. There's nothing wrong with it."
Donald didn't say anything to that and just turned his back to them. "Alright, alright. I'm convinced. Now let's get some sleep, shall we?"
He then reached over to turn off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into near darkness except for the faint moonlight filtering through the curtains.