Day 1.
My psychiatrist praised this radical therapy for months before I finally agreed to try it. My name is Katie, and I suffer from severe social anxiety. I wake up in the morning and think of ways to avoid social interaction. I have routines to help me endure the socializing that I can't avoid. My job has minor social strain since I work in a plant nursery. Most of the time, plants are great companions, but a twenty-one-year-old woman shouldn't live in a self-made cage. I exercise at home, take online college courses, cook my own meals, get my groceries delivered, and so on. I want to travel and meet new people, but simply thinking about leaving my safe routine can bring on a panic attack. So, I'm going to participate in a revolutionary new program called Nude Touch Therapy.
Being locked naked in a room with a stranger for the sole purpose of making skin contact is horrifying to me but less horrifying than speaking in front of a class. Betty, my psychiatrist, claims this advanced technique forces me to confront my fears. In addition, it will shock me out of my routine and reorder my neural pathways to create positive associations in a controlled environment.
When the first session day arrived, I had two anxiety attacks before leaving the house but eventually made it to the clinic. Doctor Betty briefed me on what to expect. The first session involved going into a room naked and greeting another naked, anxious patient. We would be locked in there for thirty minutes with a list of touch-related activities.
"Are you ready, Katie?" Betty asked as she stood with me outside the Nude Room door, ready to take my robe.
"I'm ready to get this over with," I muttered.
"This technique has helped hundreds of patients just like you. Your session partner is your age and facing the same debilitating anxiety. You both have a lot in common and should be able to help each other. The first session is always scary. If you can get through this part, you can do anything."
I took a deep breath and bashfully handed Dr. Betty my robe. Then she opened the door and let me in. A door on the opposite wall opened simultaneously, and a naked man stepped into the room with me. We looked at each other in shock as the doors closed behind us, locking us in for thirty minutes. He had dark hair, big gray eyes, a neatly trimmed beard around his jaw, and an appealing body. My initial reaction was attraction. I feared I would vomit from overwhelming anxiety as soon as I stepped into the room, but, by golly, I didn't! I watched his eyes trail over my body as a blush spread across his cheeks. I assumed he liked my long dark hair, slim waist, and perky breasts. When our eyes met again, we smiled. The situation was painfully awkward, but it overrode the usual anxiety I felt about everything else.
"Uh... hi. I'm Katie," I stammered. My throat was dry, but I was keeping myself together.
"Hi. I'm Ian," he said with a little nod.
We had accomplished our first task and made introductions. Then we bashfully looked around the room to avoid staring at each other. The Nude Room was beautiful. The left wall held double patio doors that were propped open, letting in the fragrant spring air. The view through the doors was pristine. A lush garden with a fountain filled the small fenced-in lot beyond the stone patio. The room itself felt like a viewing area for the garden. The only piece of furniture in the room was a large, plush white ottoman. An electronic tablet with a list of activities waited for us on the ottoman.
"Uh, I guess we should look at the list," I suggested.
"Good idea," Ian agreed.
We stepped over to the ottoman and leaned in to read the first activity on the screen, and it ordered us to sit down together and tap the screen for the next step. We awkwardly sat down with the tablet between us. Ian nervously kept his hands in his lap, and I did the same. We were attempting to cover up a little, but the second step ruined that effort. It ordered us to face each other on the ottoman, and there wasn't a modest way to do it. We awkwardly pulled our legs onto the cushy surface to face each other. The tablet screen transitioned again. It ordered us to place our palms together, take a deep breath, and close our eyes for two minutes.
We were blushing furiously as we raised our hands and placed them together. Ian's skin felt pleasant against mine. We took deep breaths and closed our eyes. No sight forced me to focus on his touch. The sensation was foreign. I hadn't touched anyone for more than a few seconds in years. His skin was warm and soft. His hands were bigger than mine, making me feel slightly vulnerable. A gentle breeze stirred in the garden and drifted through the patio doors. I shuddered as it caressed my skin. It also carried Ian's scent around me. His skin smelled really good.
I lost track of time as my thoughts wandered. I eventually opened my eyes to check the time on the tablet. We still had forty seconds left, but I cheated and used that time to admire Ian. It was incredibly strange having a naked man so close to me while I was naked too. His skin was tanned. He had a small patch of hair on his chest that trailed in a thin line down his stomach to his mound. A short glimpse of his genitals left me blushing more. I quickly closed my eyes before he caught me staring. A simple chime from the tablet prompted us to open our eyes. We smiled at each other while keeping our hands together.
The next step was even more intimate. It ordered us to place our right hand on the side of each other's neck, close our eyes, and take a deep breath. The chime would alert us when to open our eyes again. Ian was chewing his lip as he slowly reached over and placed his right hand against the side of my neck. I quickly did the same to him. Then we closed our eyes and took deep breaths. I could feel his body slightly moving as he filled his lungs and exhaled. After a few seconds, I could feel his pulse against my hand.
The touching exercises were very relaxing in spite of the nudity. I had not expected to feel so calm while touching a naked stranger and being touched in return. The tablet chimed, and we opened our eyes to discover our next step. We were ordered to stand back to back beside the ottoman and lean against each other. Then we had to keep our backs together while taking steps away from each other until we created an arch. We both chuckled at the instructions. We stood and shimmied our backs together. Our butts touched, and it made me feel strange all over. His skin was incredibly soft.
Ian was taller than me, so our arch was slightly unstable. We chuckled as we leaned against each other and stepped forward.
"Wow, this is shaky," I observed.
"It is. I don't think we're making an arch yet. I'll take more steps. You hold still."
Once we reached a certain point, we lost our balance and fell to the floor laughing.
"Ouch, sorry. I couldn't stay still with you pushing me."
"No problem. It was a good effort."
We climbed to our feet and looked at the tablet for our next task. We were ordered to look at each other's faces and say what we like most about them.
"Oh, that's easy. Your lips are beautiful, so are your eyes," Ian announced, then he looked down and blushed, surprised by his own boldness.
My cheeks burned after his flattering compliments.
"Thank you, Ian. Uh, will you look at me again?"
He looked at me with red cheeks and an embarrassed smile.
"Your eyes are beautiful, too, and I really like your nose and chin," I confessed.
"Thank you, Katie," he said and took a deep breath.
We searched each other's eyes for a moment, then the awkwardness forced us to look at the tablet again. Our next step was to sit back to back on the ottoman. It was a relief not to have to face each other after the compliments. Then we were instructed to talk about our favorite colors and why we liked them, then our favorite animals, plants, bugs, and so on. The questions avoided being overly personal, and that made them fun to answer.
Ian said his favorite bug is the cicada because he likes the cool sound it makes in the summer. Mine was the praying mantis because it looks like a skinny ninja. Ian found most of my answers amusing, and I found most of his thoughtful and charming. It was the most relaxing and easy conversation I ever had. I almost forgot we were naked. We were both surprised when the tablet announced our time was up. I would have happily stayed another thirty minutes.
"Wow, that went fast," Ian said as we stood and walked over to our separate doors.
"It did. It was fun meeting you, Ian."
"Thanks. I enjoyed meeting you too, Katie. See you tomorrow."
The doors unlocked at that point, and we stepped out of the Nude Room, feeling surprisingly refreshed. Betty smiled as she met me on the other side of the door.
"Katie, you look more awake than you've looked in months," she observed.
"I feel awake too."
For the rest of the day, my mind was preoccupied with Ian. My normal anxiety didn't bother me when I thought about him. It was wonderful.
Day 2.
The next day started with a new kind of anxiousness. I was excited, nervous, and eager to see Ian again. My stomach was turning flips as Betty let me into the Nude Room. Ian greeted me with a big smile and a hello. Then we went straight to the white ottoman to get our session started. The tablet instructed us to sit, face each other again, and hold our palms together, but this time we were instructed to intertwine our fingers. We smiled as we touched palms and laced our fingers together. Then we closed our eyes and took deep breaths.
Ian would periodically squeeze my hands and make me giggle. Then he would start chuckling at my reaction. Why such a simple thing was so enjoyable made no sense to me. The tablet chimed, prompting us to open our eyes. We were both smiling as we looked at our next step. It instructed us to take turns exposing our inner arms to each other. Then let the other person run their fingers from the inner elbow to the tips of our fingers three times.
"Ladies first," Ian said as he held out his right arm with his palm facing me.
