Sharon looked at herself in the mirror and wondered if she was dressed as instructed. The instruction from her relationship counsellor had been very clear. ''Your problem,'' he'd said, ''is that your marriage is falling apart because you're too busy to have sex with your husband ... and you're both really bad at sex ... and the novelty has worn off.'' At the end of that first meeting, her counsellor had said, ''I want you to come back, Sharon, to the next meeting dressed with sex in mind. The session will last two hours.''
Sharon checked herself in the mirror again. Her blond hair fell down to her breasts which seemed to draw an onlookers eye to her black dress with the plunge V-neck. Although her boobs were average she did have larger-than-average nipples which pushed against the thin material of the dress. She stood with her legs together, the hem line of the dress halfway up her thigh and knew that if she sat down she would expose the lace top of her holdups. It felt younger than her 38 years and sexy.
Originally, she had some reluctance to visit Paul, the relationship counsellor, as she would have preferred a female to listen to her problems. But her girlfriend, Koo, had recommended him and said that Paul had straightened out her marriage and, although he was unconventional, it worked for Koo. When Sharon asked for more detail Koo had said. ''He makes you sign an agreement to keep his methods confidential.'' Koo rolled her eyes. ''But it's up to you how far you go.''
Like the last time, Sharon parked her car in the underground bay of a smart block of apartments. The lift took her up to the 6th floor where she rang the buzzer to 620. Paul ushered her in, poured coffee and they sat opposite each other in comfortable armchairs. At least, thought Sharon, he looked attractive, age about 28 and thus 10 years younger than her, dark hair down to his collar, kind eyes, slim and just under 6 foot tall.
He summarised their first meeting. ''You want to get your marriage back on track but sex has become infrequent, rushed and boring. We're going to start by exploring what turns you on because by truly knowing your preferences you'll be able to communicate those to your husband. And you can encourage him to do the same. In this way, you'll find sex becomes more exciting.''
As Sharon took his iPad and looked at the fifty questions she needed to answer, she wondered if she could fudge some of her answers.
As if reading her mind, Paul said, ''You must answer the questions without pondering or hesitating.''
It soon became clear to Sharon that a number of questions cross-referenced against previous answers. When she finished, her heart rate had gone up, and Sharon waited for Paul to speak.
''The software will analyse your responses, Sharon, to give an insight into your desires. Before we go over these, I want your senses to be on high alert and for you not to look at me. Therefore, I'm going to blindfold you which will heighten your sense of smell, touch and hearing.''
Without realising it, Sharon had nodded agreement and the blindfold was applied. Her world had gone dark but a little excitement seeped into her core. She crossed her legs and remembered she would be showing the tops of her stockings.
At last, Paul spoke. ''In your reply to the questions, you've fudged the questions about masturbation. Do you masturbate?''
In the silence, Sharon couldn't think of a believable lie. She said, ''It's embarrassing. Mature women don't do this so much ... do they?'' Silence followed. She tightened her crossed legs and said, ''I sometimes play with myself.''
