I lay on the bed and panted for breath.

That was quite possibly the hottest sex I'd ever had in my life.

“That was amazing, Dr. Matthews,” I finally gasped. I rolled over to see him grinning at me.

“I didn't know that the doctor thing did it for you,” he teased. “Now I know why you jumped my bones at the clinic.”

I gave his shoulder a gentle push. “You jumped my bones,” I told him.

He laughed and reached for me, apparently ready for another session of jumping.

That's when I heard the unmistakable sound of my front door opening, followed by my mother's voice.

“Hannah? Are you home?”

Jacob and I looked at one another and our eyes got big. My mother was a founding member of the Ladies' Bridge Club. If she saw us together, we'd be toast.

We both scrambled off the bed. I grabbed an old robe hanging off my nightstand and wrapped it around me. Jacob jumped into his underwear and opened my window.

“It looks like it's just her. I don't see your dad in the car,” he whispered. He frowned as he looked around the room at the mess we had made. “My clothes are all wet.”

“He could still be here, so be careful,” I hissed. “You have the scrubs in my kitchen. The kitchen door should still be open.”

Apparently it didn't matter if I locked my doors.

“Should be open?” he asked, not looking thrilled at the prospect of getting stuck outside my house in only his underwear.

“Hannah? Are you upstairs?” My mother's voice echoed up the stairs. She was nearly to my door.

We didn't have time to come up with a better plan.

I motioned to Jacob to go out the window. At least it wasn't raining anymore. He slipped out onto the roof just as my mother threw open my bedroom door.

“There you are. Why was your door locked?” she asked me as if she hadn't just barged into my house, let alone my bedroom, unannounced.

“Because I don't want random people walking into my house,” I said, crossing my arms. “You could have called.”

“I did. You didn't pick up.”

I checked my watch. It couldn't have been more than an hour that I didn't check my phone. Seriously, mother?

“What was so important that you came all the way over here?” I asked, doing my best to keep my thin robe wrapped discreetly around me. I could see the edges of Jacob's wet jeans poking out from underneath my bed. I just hoped my mother didn't look too closely.

“What were you doing? You're all flushed.” She frowned and put the back of her hand on my forehead.

I was having hot, kinky sex, mother, I wanted to say. But I didn't. I didn't feel like dying today.

“Exercising.” It was close to the truth. Jacob did give me a good workout and I would be sore in all the right places later.

“Oh. Well, whatever you're doing is working,” mom said, looking me up and down. “You're practically glowing.”

“Um. Thanks.”

“But, why are you naked?” she asked again, pointedly looking at my thin little robe.

“Because I was just about to shower,” I replied. “I just exercised, got all sweaty, wasn't looking at my phone, and was just about to get in the shower.”

It sounded surprisingly reasonable considering I made it up on the fly.

“Well, I need you to come to the house with me,” my mom said. She fiddled with the purse strap over her shoulder. For a moment, she lost her confidence. “It's your dad.”

The pit of my stomach fell out.

“What happened?” I asked, fear starting to fill my middle.

“It's not a big deal, but he fell this afternoon. He says he's fine, but I don't believe him.” She tugged harder on the purse strap.

Cold washed over me despite the open window and the hot humid air flowing in.

“I'm going to get dressed. Will you step into the hall and tell me more?” I asked my mom.

“Of course.” She readjusted her purse and stepped out into the hallway, keeping the door between us cracked open. I ran around my room looking for clothes that were clean and belonged to me.

With my mom no longer in the room, I turned to the window to see Jacob by his bike pulling up his scrub pants. At least he was dressed now. He looked up and made a question motion. I quickly shook my head and pushed the window down.

“Your dad was working out in the garage. I hadn't heard from him and it was dinner time, so I went to get him. He was on the floor and couldn't get up. He was just so weak.” She paused and took a deep breath. “He says he's just tired and to let him rest. He didn't want me to bother you, but... I'm worried and I just don't know what to do.”

I swallowed down the cold dread and slipped a soft t-shirt over my head. I gave myself a second to take a deep breath before putting on a smile for my mother.

“I'll help,” I promised, opening my bedroom door. “That's why I'm here.”

“I know, and I'm so glad.” My mom smiled sadly. She shook her head and sniffled, then put on a chipper smile to cover her fear. “Did I see Dr. Matthews bike under your tree? It's a good spot to keep it out of the rain.”

“Uh....” Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Come up with a reasonable explanation, Hannah.... “He's, uh, he's here helping me with something. Outside.”

“He's such a gentleman,” my mother replied. “Always helping everyone.”

“Yeah. That's it.” I forced a smile. “I'm going to go let him know I'm leaving.” I was already halfway down the stairs. How did my mother see his bike? Was her x-ray vision from my childhood still intact?

I sprinted out the unlocked front door.

“Jacob, she knows you're here,” I whispered as loud as I dared, running toward the tree. I found him under the tree with sex hair and despite the fact that my mother wasn't far behind me, all I could think about was jumping his bones again.

“How much did she see?” he asked, pinking slightly in his cheeks.

“Just your bike here,” I replied. “I told her you were helping me.”

He nodded.

“Oh, hello Mrs. O’Leary.” Jacob smiled at the person behind me. It was his disarming, oh-so-charming smile that he used to use on teachers he wanted to get out of trouble with and girls he wanted to impress. “It's lovely to see you.”

“Dr. Matthews, it's always a pleasure,” my mom replied, blushing slightly. His smile could charm old ladies, that's for sure. And young ladies, too. “What are you helping Hannah with?”

“She thought there might be a raccoon in the tree out here.” He was a smooth liar. That was far better than anything I had in mind for why he was out under a tree.

“Really?” She turned to me and gave me a gentle swat on the arm. “You didn't say anything. You know your dad is always happy to help with that kind of stuff.”

“I, uh, I didn't want to bother him,” I replied. That's when I noticed that Jacob didn't have shoes on. He was barefoot in the dirt. I sent a silent plea up to the universe that my mother wouldn't notice. “So, Jacob. I mean, Dr. Matthews. I mean, Jacob. I need to go help my mom. Are you good here on your own?”

“You know the way to get rid of raccoons is to play talk radio at them all day and night. They can't stand the stuff. To be honest, neither can I. I would move out of someone's chimney if an angry man was yelling politics at me all night, too,” my mom said, not moving. She looked up at the tree and frowned. “I don't know if that would work outside, though.”

“I actually don't think there are raccoons,” Jacob replied. “Maybe just a squirrel. Or a bird.”

We made eye contact and he shrugged. I stifled an inappropriate laugh. Apparently there were squirrels in my tree. And birds. I felt so obvious that I was sure my mother would see right through both of us.

“A squirrel would be easier to deal with,” my mother agreed.

“Mom, we should go.” I tugged gently on her arm. I was afraid she would notice that Dr. Matthews wasn't wearing shoes. Or that he had sex hair and a twinkle in his eye that would give us both away. My mom always figured out my secrets. The last thing I wanted was for her to get close to this one.

“Right.” My mom flashed Jacob another smile. “Thanks for helping out my Hannah. Have a good evening, Dr. Matthews.”

“Bye, Dr. Matthews,” I chimed in, guiding her toward her car.

“Bye, Mrs. O’Leary. Bye, Hannah.” He leaned against his bike with a confident smirk that made me want to shake my head.

We had gotten so close to being discovered and somehow managed to escape notice. My stomach was twisting with fear of getting caught and the news that my dad needed me.

I made sure my mom got in her car and backed out before starting my engine. Jacob gave me one last wave as I left the man I was sleeping with to follow my mother back home.