Friday Afternoon: Memorial Hospital

The hospital room felt different now. The same sterile white walls, the same soft beeping of Nina's monitors, but something in Linda had fundamentally shifted over the past day and night.

She sat in the chair by the window, though her eyes weren't on the afternoon sky beyond the glass.

They were fixed on the door, watching, waiting, hoping for a familiar silhouette to fill the frame.

When footsteps echoed in the hallway, her pulse quickened involuntarily.

The door opened to reveal Mike, Sarah, Danny, and Lila entering together, their voices carrying the easy camaraderie of young people who'd spent the morning together.

But Linda's eyes scanned past all of them, searching for the one face that would make her heart race.

When she realized Alex wasn't among them, disappointment crashed over her like a cold wave.

He didn't come today either, she thought, her chest tightening. It's been two days. Why? Is he avoiding me?

The thoughts came unbidden, irrational but insistent.

Had she done something wrong? Said something inappropriate? Had he somehow sensed the shameful desires she'd been battling?

No. He had never shown any reaction before. She refused to let herself imagine it now. She forced her thoughts back into the safe cage of reason, denying the wild, anxious scenarios that threatened to consume her.

It's nothing, she told herself. He's busy. He'll come when he comes.

Linda's eyes flicked toward Danny, Mike, Sarah, and Lila, who were chatting casually with Nina near the foot of the bed. She hesitated for a moment, then cleared her throat softly.

"Um… where's Alex?" The words escaped before she could stop them, her voice carrying more urgency than she'd intended. "He didn't come with you?"

Danny looked up from adjusting Nina's blanket, a small smile on his face. "He came with us from college," he said gently, "but when we got here, he told us to go ahead and check on you first. He had something he needed to take care of."

Relief flooded through her so intensely it made her dizzy.

He's coming. He's still coming.

The knowledge that she would see him again, that she'd be able to look at him, maybe even find an excuse to be close to him, sent a familiar warmth spreading through her body.

I want to see him. Look at him carefully. Embrace him and feel him.

The thought came with startling clarity, no longer wrapped in shame or guilt.

Yes, feel him like a man.

Just thinking the words made her thighs clench involuntarily, her pulse quickening in a way that would have horrified her just days ago. Now, it only excited her.

The transformation that had occurred in Linda's mind over the past day and night was total and irreversible.

Where once there had been shame, guilt, and self-recrimination, now there was only acceptance and growing anticipation.

After that night, she reflected on her desperate attempt to find relief in David's arms. She felt the weight of guilt for what she had done and why she had done it.

But slowly… slowly, she began to accept the truth.

The truth that had been building in her heart despite every attempt to deny it:

'I can't live without him. And he's not my son... just my son's friend. Why can't I have him?'

The rationalization felt so clear now, so obvious. It's not that big of a deal.

Her phone had become her gateway to a new world of possibilities. Late at night, while David slept and Nina rested peacefully, Linda had discovered she wasn't alone in her desires.

The internet had shown her countless stories, forums, discussions about women in her exact situation.

There were so many stories like this, she mused, remembering the hours she'd spent reading.

Women with their son's friends, older women with younger men, forbidden attractions that turned into passionate affairs.

She'd read everything she could find: confessional posts, erotic stories, advice columns.

Each one had sent thrills through her, showing her that her feelings weren't abnormal or rare.

They were just... taboo. And that taboo element had begun to excite rather than shame her.

Last night, alone in the hospital bathroom with her phone in hand, Linda had crossed a line she'd never thought she would. Reading those stories, those descriptions of forbidden passion, her free hand had begun to wander over her body.

She'd explored the heat that had been building in her for days, finally giving herself permission to imagine Alex in ways that would have made her weep with shame before.

Now, the images only fueled her desire.

There was no guilt, she remembered with a sense of liberation that still surprised her. Only thrill and excitement.

For the first time in years, she'd felt truly alive, truly desired, truly sexual. Not as David's wife or Nina's mother, but as Linda... a woman with her own wants and needs.

Sitting in the hospital room now, watching the young people chat and laugh, Linda felt like she was seeing the world through new eyes.

David was nowhere in her thoughts, nowhere in her desires. She didn't want him anymore, hadn't wanted him in ways she was only now admitting to herself.

Why was I feeling so torn before? she wondered, almost amused by her previous anguish. I'm enjoying every moment of this now.

The anticipation of seeing Alex again, of looking into his eyes, of maybe finding an excuse to touch him... it all sent electricity through her system. She was no longer fighting her attraction; she was embracing it, planning for it.

The only question now is how, Linda thought, her mind already working through possibilities. How can I seduce him? What if he doesn't agree?

But even as the doubt tried to surface, she dismissed it with newfound confidence. No, he will. I'll make him agree.

She'd seen the way he looked at her sometimes... quick glances when he thought she wasn't watching, the way his eyes had lingered on her during that towel incident.

There was attraction there, she was certain of it. She just needed to nurture it, encourage it, make it impossible for him to ignore.

---

As Sarah and Lila chatted by Nina's bedside, and Danny and Mike discussed something in low voices by the window, Linda sat quietly planning her campaign. The guilt-ridden woman who had fought her desires was gone, replaced by someone who knew what she wanted and was prepared to take it.

I've done my research, she thought with satisfaction. Now I just need the right moment, the right approach.

The thought of Alex claiming her, of finally feeling those strong hands on her body, of hearing him whisper her name in that deeper voice that made her shiver... it sent another wave of heat through her.

Soon, she promised herself, her eyes returning to the door where he would eventually appear. Very soon.

The transformation was complete. Linda Morrison, devoted wife and mother, had evolved into Linda the predator. And her target would be walking through that door within the hour.

The only question now was whether Alex would recognize the change in her... and how he would respond to it.

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