The storefront was tucked away at the end of a narrow side street in the historic part of town. Although the brick paved alley was lined with small boutiques, it was empty now, hardly a surprise given how late it was on a Saturday afternoon.
Lily stopped and considered the colorful sign that hung above the store's entrance. She smiled when she noticed the name: Soothing Scents. The closed sign on the door didn't worry her since her friend Alice had arranged for her to have a special appointment with the store's owner that day.
* * *
Lily had run into Alice three days earlier at her neighborhood coffee shop. She hadn't seen her for several months, and she was taken aback by the change in her old friend's appearance. The last time they'd met, Alice had looked run down and depressed in the wake of a nasty breakup. She'd had dark bags under her eyes, and her hair looked as though it hadn't been washed in days. Now she was positively radiant.
"You look great," Lilly blurted out before she could stop herself, but Alice didn't seem offended by the surprise in her friend's voice.
"I'm a new woman," she said, and she did a slow twirl with her hands on her hips.
"What happened?" Lily asked, wondering if Alice had met a new guy.
"Two words," Alice said: "aroma therapy."
Lily was taken aback. Alice had never seemed particularly interested in alternative therapies. In fact, she used to ridicule anything even remotely New Age and often made fun of a mutual friend of theirs who had gotten into crystals in a big way. She reminded Alice of this fact.
"That was before I met Wyatt," her friend explained. "He's changed my life. I mean, look at me," she added, holding her arms out with her palms up.
Lily had to admit that she'd never seen her friend look better, and before they'd even finished their coffee, she'd agreed to let Alice arrange a private tour of Wyatt's aroma therapy store and workshop.
"Believe me, you'll be a changed woman by the time Wyatt gets through with you," she'd said as they were hugging goodbye. "I can't get enough of him."
It was only later that Lily started to feel a little uneasy. Partly it was the way Alice talked about Wyatt, like he was some kind of guru. And partly it was a certain glassy look in her eyes that Lily had never seen before. It almost seemed like someone had cast a spell on her.
But then she remembered how incredible Alice had looked and pushed her doubts away. What harm could there be in trying, she told herself? What did she have to lose?
* * *
Wyatt answered the door the moment Lily knocked, and it was all she could not to stare at him as they shook hands. Alice had made it clear that he knew everything there was to know about aroma therapy, but she hadn't said anything about how good looking he was. Tall and broad-shouldered, he had thick, honey-blonde hair and the most unearthly blue eyes she'd ever seen. She guessed he was around 40, a good 15 years older than Lily, but he radiated a sense of vigor and good health. Lily had always scoffed at the "butterflies in your stomach" metaphor, but she was certainly feeling something down there.
After giving her a quick tour of the retail section of the operation, Wyatt led her through a doorway into a large, open storeroom. The walls of the room were lined with shelves that were filled with colorful glass jars. Lily was surprised to see a double bed jutting out from the back wall. It was made up with ruby-red sheets that seemed to glow in the room's soft light.
"Alice tells me that you're skeptical about alternative therapies," Wyatt said. "I'm curious about what led you to make this appointment."
Lily was so preoccupied with his penetrating blue eyes that it took her a moment to process his words.
"I wouldn't say skeptical exactly," she replied, blushing. "I've just never considered doing something like this before."
"What changed your mind?"
Lily thought for a moment and then sighed.
"I went straight from college to law school," she said after a moment. "Then I immediately started working for a large law firm where I put in 70-hour weeks. I'm doing really well professionally, but I'm feeling worn out and closed up. I feel like it's gotten to the point where I can see the strain in my face all the time. When I saw Alice the other day, she had this wonderful energy about her. It was like she was glowing. I want to feel like that."
"I understand," Wyatt replied, "and I think I can help you if you're willing to let go of your doubts."
There was something about the soothing tone in Wyatt's voice that Lily found reassuring, and she felt suddenly willing to follow him wherever he led her.
"Why don't you start by standing still with your eyes shut and taking three deep breaths," he said now.
Lily tried to concentrate on her breathing, but she found herself distracted by thoughts of Wyatt's charismatic eyes. She also wondered if he was staring at her. When she opened her eyes again, she was startled to find that he was standing right in front of her holding an emerald-colored jar. He gave her a reassuring smile.
"So what I'm going to do, if you're open to the process, is take you through a series of aromas. By the end of our session, I think you will find that the stress has drained away and that you feel deeply relaxed and open. Are you ready to start?"
"May I ask why you have a bed in here?" Lily suddenly blurted out. She hadn't meant for the question to sound so abrupt, but Wyatt didn't seem to mind.
"Sometimes my clients get so overwhelmed by a scent that they feel the need to lie down for a few minutes. It can be a way of letting the aromas work their magic," he added. "But why do you ask? Does the bed make you nervous?"
"Not at all," Lily said hurriedly, though in truth there was something about the presence of the bed that made her a little uneasy. She had a sudden image of herself naked and on all fours, and she felt another flutter in her lower abdomen.
Wyatt uncorked the green jar and held it under her noise. "Close your eyes and slowly breathe in the scent," he instructed. Lily did as she was told.
The first thing she noticed was the wonderful aroma of lavender, combined with a hint of some kind of spice that she couldn't identify. The next thing she noticed was a deep sense of relaxation moving through her body. It was as if she could feel the tension melting away.
When she opened her eyes again, she found to her surprise that she was smiling. "That's wonderful," she said. "What is it?"
Wyatt turned the bottle so Lily could see the label. "I call this one 'calm,' he said. I always start my clients with this aroma since almost everyone who comes to see me is feeling stressed in one way or another. If I can make my clients feel relaxed at the start, the rest of he treatment is more effective."
Lily felt sorry to see Wyatt put the stopper back in the "calm" jar, but she was also curious as to what he would choose next. He picked a jar made of purple glass from the shelf and brought it over to her. Lily knew the drill now. When Wyatt held the uncorked jar up to her nose, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
This time the aroma was of apple blossoms and cinnamon. Lily found herself thinking about her mother's apple crumble, a longtime favorite of hers, and she could tell that she was salivating a bit. She also noticed that she was feeling a sense of eagerness and quiet expectation—like she was open to whatever came next.
"I love that one," Lily gushed, her eyes open again. "It makes me feel so..."
"Receptive?" Wyatt interrupted, turning the jar to show her the label. "I have often found that my most skeptical clients love this scent. It quiets their doubts and opens them up to possibilities."
Over the next 30 minutes, Wyatt led Lily through a series of aromas with names like "curious," "carefree," and "spontaneous." Each one of them had its own vivid and distinctive scent, and Lily soon found herself wholeheartedly embracing the process.
But it wasn't until she breathed deeply from a bottle labeled "sensory" that she realized it was getting difficult to think clearly. It was as though the volume had been turned up on all of her senses, and her intellect had receded. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing, Lily thought. After all, her friends were always telling her that she lived in her head too much of the time. Maybe she needed to be more in touch with her body.
It was then that she noticed a separate cabinet standing by itself on the far side of the room. It had glass doors and was filled with jars whose colors were even richer and more jewel-like than the ones she'd already seen.
"What's in these jars?" she asked, drawn to the cabinet as though by a magnet. The colorful, shimmering glass seemed to deepen her already dreamy state.
"Those are my special sensual aromas," Wyatt said. He had appeared suddenly, so close behind her that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. "I'm not sure it would be a good idea for you to try those your first day, though. I don't think you're ready yet."
"Did Alice try them on her first day?" Lily asked bluntly, surprising herself with her assertiveness.
"Yes, she did," Wyatt admitted, "and they took her to a place she never expected to go."
"Then I want to try them too," Lily said. "I want to feel everything Alice felt."
Wyatt looked at her with what appeared to be a neutral expression, though some observers might have noticed a hint of amusement playing about his lips. Lily was too preoccupied with the sparkling jars to notice. She was determined to do whatever Alice had done to achieve that radiant glow, and she was not about to let Wyatt stop her now.
He opened the doors to the cabinet, considered for a moment, and then took out a jar whose glass was the same ruby-red color as the bed sheets.
"Let's start with this one," he said, and brought the uncorked jar up the young woman's nose.
Lily was so taken aback by the smell that she just stared at Wyatt for a moment, her face warm with embarrassment. But before she could comment on the secnt, the sensation hit her. It felt as though someone had poured a jar of warm honey into her head that then flowed down through her body and settled in her groin. The tingling heat she now felt between her legs made it even more difficult to think clearly.
"Oh my God," she said, her eyes widening, and before Wyatt could stop her, she put her hand under the jar and brought it back up to her nose. This time she breathed deeply for a full ten seconds before she let Wyatt pull the jar away.
