Small Town Problems Ch 02

I love when impromptu plans work even better than expected. Yesterday's evening might have, at the first glance, look like a total coincidence, but I left very little to chance. Boys were already eating out of my hand and they would do everything I asked from them. I also anticipated the doctor, so I went and had a few words with him beforehand and that also helped a lot. I was worried about some random bystander walking around and ruining everything, but I was lucky in that aspect. Also, I was wearing neoprene undersuit, so the cold was not that huge of an issue as it could look, though looked a little surprised. I am not a bad swimmer, so I was able to keep up appearances while waiting for my savior.

I am pretty sure I ended up in much better shape than Mike since I had to hit him with a very strong dose, which is not recommended, but it really could not be helped after the fiasco in station. I had a good night's sleep, long warm bath and finished with lunch just in time to hear polite knocking on the door. I knew who it was since the hotel staff was advised to not let anyone up bud our heroic chief of police. Quick look in the mirror confirmed what I already knew -- I have applied only the faintest make up to look better, but I am pretty sure no guy could even tell. And I was wearing the hotel bathrobe which was white and fluffy, so it looked like I might be cold, but it still left some stuff revealed. I smiled but then reminded myself about being careful. I sprayed a little perfume on myself, then lit a dark red candle, and only after that I answered the door.

***

She opened the door wrapped in a giant bathrobe with a towel on her head and wearing pair of big white slippers. She was probably still recovering from the effects of cold water and needed to warm herself up as much as possible. And I was standing here, looking at here without a word, letting draft in. I again felt stab of guilt for being so mean to her yesterday when we first met. I did not want to scare her; in fact, I wanted to be more friendly with her.

"Ehm, I just wanted to check up on you, that you are doing well I mean," words started to flow from my mouth.

"My hero!" she smiled and threw her hands around my neck.

I awkwardly hugged her because it was polite thing to do and once again, I noticed her beautiful fragrance. It was much fainter than yesterday, so I had to lean really close to smell it and it looked like it did not bother her at all. We stayed like for a while and I started to get slightly light headed for some reason. Maybe it was still exhaustion from yesterday. Then I finally managed to pull away and looked at her again. Somehow, I forgot what I wanted to say.

"Those are for me?" she pointed at flowers in my hand. "Thank you, come in and I will put them in water."

I was still standing next to a table with scented candle when she returned with a vase, then she put my flowers in and hugged my shoulders once again from behind. Her body was warm against mine and her perfume was intoxicating. Suddenly it hit me that I am in a hotel room with a girl I just met, she does not have much more than a bathrobe on herself and it might get out of hand. Sudden joint of guilt went through me, because I immediately thought about my girlfriend. She was on the road most of the time, but we were still exclusive and this somehow felt wrong.

"Sorry, but I have to go," I managed to wiggle myself out from her embrace and started walking towards the door. "I am glad you are doing okay."

"But I need you to help me," her hand touched my wrist and I turned to her to see her suddenly sad expression.

"Help you?"

"Yeah, just have a tea with me and we can talk. I really need a friend right now."

"Friend?" something there in a back of my mind loosened a little. I was probably overthinking things.

"Yeah. I wish people would be more friendly with me," she sighed.

"I want to be more friendly with you," I nodded and suddenly felt better about the situation. I came here to make a new friend and almost ended up messing things again.

"That is great, then you should stay with me for a tea and talk to me."

"Okay, I will stay for a tea and talk," I nodded again, suddenly unsure why I was so worried before.

"Sit down here next to the candle and if you are bored, just watch the flame," she smiled and sat me down on the couch.

That sounded really weird first -- why would watching the candle be entertaining in any way? But then I was sitting there, she was taking way too long and the flame was flicking right in front of my eyes. I was still light headed from the day before, the candle was releasing familiar scent, so I leaned in closer to enjoy it more and began to watch the flickering flame. It was so relaxing and I could not take my eyes from it even when someone entered the room. I heard faint clinking of something ceramic, then felt that someone sat next to me on the couch. I did not have to turn my head to see that it is Linda. Her smell let me know that she is once again close to me.

"You know, this is the first time I have seen you truly relaxed," she started speaking softly and I wiggled a bit, trying to turn my head.

"No need to move at all, Mike. You can continue to watch the candle. You came here to talk and we can talk while you relax, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, I guess," something about this situation felt weird, but at the same time, her words made perfect sense.

"You are always so tense, always expecting trouble, it must be tiring."

"It is my job, looking for trouble. Watch out for crimes, something going wrong."

"You must be very good at your job, but you do not need to think like that when you are with me, right?"

"I always think like that, it is who I am."

"That is why you feel so on the edge all the time. Remember the first time you met me?"

"Yeah, you were acting suspicious."

"No, I wasn't. You were mistaken, now remember how you felt being close to me for the first time," her hand started to slowly stroke my back.

"It felt really nice."

"See? You just needed to let me get close to you to feel better. How do you feel right now?"

"I feel great."

"That is because you can loosen up with me and stop being so alert. Enjoy this feeling, enjoy relaxing and letting your guard down. Do not worry about anything, just let all your worries go away."

Her hand was lightly stroking back of my neck right now and it felt divine. My tired muscles were relaxing and her intoxicating perfume was filling the air mixing with the smell of the candle and the flame was still flickering right there in front of my eyes. Normally I would find this situation strange and unsettling, but Linda's words were so compelling that I just kept thinking about them. It felt so pleasant to leave my worries behind and just relax a little. Being close to her was so nice and I wanted to enjoy it more. She kept massaging my neck and I felt remaining tension leaving my body.

"How do you feel Mike?"

"I feel amazing."

"See how good it feels, when you let your guard down with me and just enjoy yourself? I want you to concentrate on that feeling and understand that you can always feel like this with me. There is nothing to worry about when you are with me."

"Mhm," I agreed absentmindedly. It felt really nice to stop worrying and enjoy some relaxation.

"You feel good when you are with me. And when you feel this good, you can stop worrying about everything and just concentrate on these good feelings. There is nothing to worry about when you are with me. Do you agree?"

"Yes."

"In that case say it loud."

"There is nothing to worry about when I am with you."

"Repeat those words again, focus on their sound, believe in your own voice, trust your own words."

"There is nothing to worry about when I am with you," there might have been time, when repeating something like this would feel weird, but I was not worried. Linda was close to me and I felt great.

"You are making such a great progress, Mike. I am glad you stayed with me for this talk."

"Yeah, me too. You said you need my help?"

"You remember that?" she sounded surprised. "Let's talk about something else first. How do you like my perfume?" she moved even closer and her fragrance got even more intoxicating.

"It is a beautiful smell, but I feel light headed when it gets too intensive, and I get confused."

"Oh, you poor baby," she started stroking my neck again. "The problem is you are not used to it yet."

"Used to it?"

"Yeah, my perfume can be overwhelming, but when you smell it more often, you will get used to it and the confusion will go away."

"That sounds weird, almost like a drug," even in this relaxed state, my mind was able to piece that much together.

"You are overthinking things again. It's not anything harmful, just very intense fragrance. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah, it is very intense."

"But you can get used to it and then you can just enjoy the smell and forget about everything else."

"How?"

"The scented candle you are watching and smelling right now, it has the same scent as me. Inhale deeply and concentrate on that smell."

I took a deep breath and my nostrils were filled with even more of that heavenly scent. My thoughts started to cloud a little, but at the same time I was feeling like a weight has been lifted from me again. It was great to just be able to forget my worries and enjoy pleasant things in my life for a change. And Linda was right of course, the familiar scent from the candle was the same that she was wearing, albeit fainter.

"You can watch the flame, smell the candle and everything will be fine soon. I will help you and you will be able smell my perfume without any worries."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. You said I have a beautiful smell, so I want to help you to enjoy it more. Aren't I a great friend?"

"Yes, you are."

"And you want to smell more of my sweet fragrance, right?"

"Yeah, I want to smell more of it," I admitted, because it was just harmless beautiful smell and it felt so wonderful being close to her and smelling that intoxicating perfume.

"You know what, I want to do a favor for you, since we are getting more friendly, so I will give you pack of these candles and you can take them home with you."

"Thank you," she was so generous.

"You're welcome. That way you can enjoy my fragrance at home. Just light one of these candles, sit in a chair, watch the flame flicker and breathe my scent in, like you are doing right now. And you feel great right now."

"I do feel great."

"And you will feel even better, when you watch the flame and smell the candle at home. I want you to concentrate on this feeling and imagine how good it will feel when you do this at home. Picture yourself doing this, want to do it."

It felt a little weird thinking about her words. I was more of an active guy and the last thing I would regularly do at home was to sit in a chair and watch candle. Then again it felt so relaxing right now and the wonderful smell was everywhere. I tried to imagine doing this at home and it did not feel like a bad way to spend time. Especially when I could get more time with this wonderful fragrance. I realized that I really wanted to spend more time watching the candle and smelling this scent.

"So will you spend more time with my candles, Mike?"

"Yeah, I will. After I am done with work."

"That is no good, you really should not be working right now."

"I shouldn't?" there seemed to be no good reason for that.

"No, remember, you saved me yesterday, you overexerted yourself and you feel tired even now, don't you?"

"Well, just a little, " I admitted, because I was feeling under the weather and could not force myself to move at all.

"See? And you also feel light headed and confused, isn't that right?"

"A little, but isn't that due to your perfume?"

"Are you sure about that?"

"I... I don't know."

"You really sound unsure and confused. That is not a proper state to be working in, especially as a cop. Someone may get hurt and you don't want that."

"Yeah, I don't want anyone to get hurt," that much I was sure of.

"So you should get a few days leave from work, just to be safe. I am sure the doctor will help you with that after yesterday."

"I can't, they need me there."

"Your friend Bob can handle it, you do trust him right?"

"Yeah, I do, but..."

"You should trust your friends more," she cut me off.

"I should trust him more?"

"Not just him. I am your friend too; you should listen to my advice."

"You are my friend?" that felt rushed somehow, we just met.

"Well, you said you wanted to be more friendly with me."

"I want to be more friendly with you," that much I was sure of.

"And I want to be more friendly with you. We both want it, we are feeling good while around each other, that means we are friends."

"We are friends?"

"That is not a question, of course we are friends. Think about it, try to make sense of it and then tell me we are friends."

I tried to wrap my head around the concept. It was true that we just met and everything felt too fast, but at the same time I felt like I wanted to be her friend pretty much from the beginning. And if she wanted the same thing, it only made sense that we became friends. And being around her genuinely felt pretty nice.

"We are friends," I concluded after that.

"I am glad to hear that. Now let's get back to the fact that you should trust your friends more."

"I trust my friends."

"But you doubted Bob just a minute ago. Has he ever let you down?"

"He makes mistakes," I replied unsure where this conversation was going.

"We all do, that makes us human. But he will do his best, right?"

"Yeah, he will."

"See? You should let him learn from his mistakes, but you should also trust him to do the right thing. You need this rest and he will take care of the station for you. Trust in your friends."

"I guess he will be okay," I admitted and thought about having few days to rest. It really did not feel like a bad idea right now.

"He will be okay, believe that. You should trust him more and you should trust me more."

"Trust you?" there was nothing to worry about, but it was still unusual to be in a conversation like this. I felt like I kept getting lost.

"Of course," her nails started to trace slow circles on my back and it felt very pleasant. "I am your friend and you trust your friends, right?"

"I trust my friends."

"And I am doing favor to you by making you feel this good, so you should do favor to me and listen carefully."

"I am listening," I replied hastily, because I did not want to appear being rude. Friends did favors for each other.

"And I keep giving you all these good advices, because you are getting confused all the time. Remember how many times you already listened to me today and understand how much smarter I am than you."

"You are smarter?" my question came out much more surprised than I intended. I always thought of myself as fairly intelligent person, so this felt little insulting.

"Of course I am. Think back about the things I said and remember, how many times you were wrong and confused. I was right every time."

It was hard to get my head back to things we already talked about, but the more I tried to recall them, the more I had to admit, that she was the one coming on top in every conversation. I was confused every time and she had answer for my every objection. Even when I was talking about things I was sure about in my life, she somehow knew better and pointed out my mistakes to me. It was almost like I was left being unable to disagree with her. It would be almost scary thought, but I knew there was nothing to worry about when I was with her.

"Yeah, you were right every time."

"So do you admit I am much smarter than you?"

"You are much smarter than me."

"And you trust me, because we are friends."

"I trust my friends," I replied just barely keeping up with her logic.

"So you should trust me."

"I should trust you," I nodded in agreement.

"I am glad you think that way," her hand was again stroking my back and it felt very relaxing. "You trust me because we are friends. Friends do favors for each other, trust each other. That is why you can be sure I would never lie to you and always tell you the truth."

"Always tell me the truth?" I was unsure why she would even bring that up.

"Of course I will. And even if I say something that contradicts thing you were sure about, you can trust my words, because I am so much smarter than you. Just concentrate on trusting me. Just concentrate on listening to my voice. You do like sound of my voice, right?" she was speaking very softly now, but at the same time, I felt her moving even closer to me.

"Yeah, I like sound of your voice."

"Would you like to listen to it more?" she whispered in my ear and it sent shivers down my spine.

"Yes, I would like to listen to your voice more."

"But I can't spend all my day talking to you, you understand that, right?"

"Of course."

"So if I make that happen for you, it will be a big favor."

"Thank you, I would be grateful."

"Yeah, I am sure you will repay me that favor. Now keep looking at the candle and hand me your phone, just unlock it."

"Of course," I slipped the phone out and pressed my thumb on screen.

"Very good, I will upload some audio files on your phone. It is just me talking, so you can enjoy my voice even when I am not with you."

"Thank you."

"Recordings may be quiet though, so it is better that you listen to these with headphones. You should get home to your comfy chair, light my candle, smell my scent and listen to these files," her hand was again on back of my neck, softly caressing and lightly scratching my skin.

"Yeah, I will do that," I agreed because it felt like a great idea. I felt so good right now that I just wanted to continue relaxing, enjoying her perfume and listen to more of her sweet voice.

I heard her fiddling with my phone while I kept watching the candle burn and inhaled beautiful scent that filled the air around me. I already missed her hand on my back and felt the absence of her voice even more. It was weird how used was to those I already, but I was not panicking at all. Linda was my friend and I trusted her to do the right thing and help me in case I missed her too much.

"I'm all done here, Mike," she said after a while and slipped my phone back to my pocket. "You should find all that you need in your phone when you get home. I want you to get home as soon as possible, light my candle and then listen to first file, can you do that for me? You will be doing me a favor."

"Of course, Linda. You are doing favor for me," I replied without hesitation.

"That is what friends are for," she lightly patted my leg. "I want you to think about our talk and all the things you heard. Go over them again in your head and remind yourself how much you have learned. But most of all I want you to think about how good it felt to be with me, smell my perfume and hear my words."

"It felt reeealy great," my words came out stretched as I bathed in that amazing feeling.

I kept thinking about the amazing talk and all the things Linda was right about when I noticed that the candle stopped burning some time ago. I felt little confused because it did not feel like it was that long since I came here, but when I looked at Linda, she smiled at me and patted my shoulder.

"You poor thing, you had to be really tired, because you dozed off for a few minutes. You really should take a break from work and rest a little."

"Don't worry, I was already planning to do that, but thank you for your concern," I nodded at her and she smiled approvingly. It was not like me to think about resting, but deep down I knew it was a smart thing to do.