AUTHOR'S NOTE:
If you're expecting another Sculptor chapter out of this, you're gonna be disappointed.
I should also warn you that this story doesn't have a sex scene per se; it's just pure mind-control fetish stuff. It'll rev you up if that's what you're into, but I don't know if it'll finish you off. But I needed to write it, and I needed to post it.
Basically, I'm getting crushed under the scale of my main writing project, which is why I haven't published anything in so long. I have like fifteen chapters half done, all out of order, and getting any of it in any decent shape to publish feels like a monumental task. So instead I came up with this fun idea for a quick little one-off, pounded out a rough draft the next day instead of getting work done for my actual job, edited it the day after that, and posted it today. Bing bang boom. It feels good to have output again; I really needed this.
Also gonna give you the standard boilerplate warning that all of these characters are horrible people and I do not condone any of their actions. But I'm sure you knew that part.
THE TESSERA METHOD
Jeanie heaved a deep sigh as Oliver opened the door to the community center's Multi-Purpose Room C. They were really going through with it, apparently. Group marriage counseling. How had she let herself get roped into this?
Sure, their marriage needed some serious work if it was going to continue, but Jeanie kind of doubted it was worth even trying at this point, and group counseling sure wouldn't be her preferred method. But Oliver had apparently heard great things about this group, and he was adamant that they should try it before going to a traditional marriage counselor, and now, somehow, here she was. She could honestly barely contemplate the idea of talking about their most intimate issues in front of ONE person, let alone a whole room full of them, but there was no going back now.
Apparently, Oliver and Jeanie were the last couple to arrive. A circle of folding chairs had been set up and almost entirely occupied by other couples in their mid-30s or so, with varying levels of apparent enthusiasm to be there. Jeanie felt some amount of relief that she wasn't the only one who had apparently been pressured to come here by their spouse, and that the other couples seemed to at least be in the same stage of life. Every couple went through a few speed bumps after having kids, right? That was how she'd justified their marriage issues before, and apparently it was what had brought everyone else here. This was relaxing to think about -- they were normal. She was normal.
The counselor, a thin woman with frizzy blonde hair, glasses, and dangly earrings, smiled as Oliver and Jeanie found their seats. "Ah, here's our new couple! You must be Oliver and Jeanie, right? Welcome! I'm Alice. We were actually just about to get started."
Oliver smiled awkwardly in return. "Oh, good. Should we, like, introduce ourselves, or..."
Alice cut him off right there. "No need for an awkward intro. I've found it puts people on the spot. We make ourselves known through discussion. We're all here for the same reason, right? People drift apart as their lives progress, and the stress of our jobs and our families puts a real strain on our relationships. I know from your email that your problems are nothing drastic, nothing out of the ordinary. You'll fit right in with our group! I should note that it might feel like you're kind of starting in the middle for your first few sessions, but it's all part of the process. There are so many factors that contribute to the success or failure of a marriage, and they're all equally deserving of our attention, even if you feel that others should jump to the front of the line. Just be patient, and honest, and keep an open mind, and you'll do fine!"
She cleared her throat and addressed the larger group. "On that note, this week I want to talk about physical warmth and closeness. Too often, the physical, tangible,
real
side of our marriages is one of the earliest casualties in the long war of attrition we fight our whole lives, especially after our kids come along. We find ourselves drifting apart physically, because we're tired or stressed, and our emotional connection suffers as a result. Both inside and outside of the bedroom. To start off, I want all of the couples here to hold hands. Just take your partner's hand, and squeeze it when you feel like they need it. That doesn't sound so bad, right?"
Jeanie glanced at Oliver. He smiled and shrugged as he held out his hand. She sighed and took it with her own. The solid warmth of his hand actually felt kind of nice. Normally she resented when he got needy, but she didn't mind this.
Alice grinned. "Good! Hopefully that helps put us all in the right frame of mind to open up and start answering some questions. Specifically the women. Ladies, I hope you don't mind if I get a little PG-13 here, because we're gonna talk about our sex lives! I've gone through childbirth too, so I know how it goes. You feel gross during pregnancy, you feel gross during post-partum, you don't feel sexy when you're breastfeeding, and then by the time you're done with all that it's been, what, a year and a half since you've felt like you could really get down and dirty, and you don't even remember what it feels like. It's quite common and perfectly natural! But it causes a lot of wives to pull back sexually from their husbands, and it can be really hard to get yourself feeling comfortable enough to really get that spark back. But that's why we're here! To pull each other out of our comfort zones and into the place we need to be to grow! Jeanie, as the feminine half of our newest couple, I think you should go first! Are you ready?"
Jeanie blinked a couple of times. This had escalated quickly. All she'd done was walk into this room and hold her husband's hand, and now she was expected to answer questions about her sex life in front of strangers? How was this supposed to help her marriage? "Uh, I'm not really sure if I'm comfortable doing that."
Alice just smiled again. "This is a no-judgment zone, Jeanie, and we're all friends here. Anything we divulge in this space is 100% safe."
Jeanie frowned. She didn't want to discuss her sex life anyway, safe space or not. If someone had bothered to ask her what the biggest problems in her marriage were, she'd be focusing less on this and more on her husband's issues with money and his overbearing family. But they hadn't. This was such a waste of time. "I really think there are other issues which are more salient to --"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Alice butted in. "Remember what I said a little while ago, Jeanie. Just as there are many facets to every relationship, there are many factors to every relationship problem, and in the absence of serious problems like abuse or infidelity, they are all equally worthy of our attention. And we can best address them in a group setting if we make sure our discussions are open, honest, and
on topic
. Now are you ready to contribute?"
Jeanie looked around the room. Everyone was staring at her. At the crazy bitch who didn't care about her marriage, or any of theirs. She blushed and looked down. "Okay, I guess. Ask the question."
Alice smiled once more. "Great! Jeanie, have you ever chosen your clothing, or even your underwear, with the explicit goal of exciting Oliver?"
Jeanie's blush only deepened. This was embarrassing to talk about, but at least the specific topic wasn't anything too outlandish. "I mean. Yeah. Yes, I have done that." She looked around at the rest of the group, still looking at her. "Who hasn't?" she snapped. "That's normal!"
Alice's smile didn't waver. "Yes! Yes, it is. It is completely normal. And it's good! It's positive! Oliver, how does it make you feel when Jeanie does this?"
Oliver coughed and laughed nervously. "Um, it makes me feel good? Appreciated, I guess? It makes me feel like Jeanie wants me to be happy, like me being excited is a priority for her."
Alice nodded. "Excellent! And Jeanie, how does Oliver's excited response make you feel?"
Jeanie fumed at how intrusive this line of questioning continued to be. Alice was essentially asking if she liked that Oliver got turned on when she dressed sexy. Which she did, of course, otherwise why would she do it? Kind of a stupid question. She took a deep breath to answer it, though; clearly trying to evade them got her nowhere. "It makes me feel appreciated, too. It's good to know... that he... finds me attractive." She almost mumbled this last part.
Alice was apparently satisfied, though. "Exactly! I'm sure you know how this goes, ladies. Spending time making yourself look sexy can be a pain, but it pays dividends for our relationships. It makes our husbands feel valued and desirable, and their response" -- she winked knowingly, to general merriment from the women in the room -- "makes us feel valued and desirable in return! I think that's worth a little effort and time in front of the mirror! Now, Jeanie, how long has it been? How long since you've worn a sexy dress or sexy lingerie for Oliver's benefit?"
Jeanie frowned. How long
had
it been? She was mostly dressing for work or for comfort these days. She was just so busy and stressed all the time, it was hard to focus on things like this. She wore nice dresses for special occasions, sure, but usually with the goal of looking refined and classy to impress other people, not to rile up Oliver so he'd fuck her harder later. "Um. A while?" Hopefully that would be enough of an answer.
Alice didn't waver, though. "How long exactly?"
Jeanie threw up her hands. "Probably before our first was born, four years ago."
Alice nodded, but still wasn't done. "How long before that?"
Jeanie considered it. "Maybe a year or two longer." God, that made it sound terrible. She couldn't even blame childbirth for this one.
Alice seemed satisfied with this. "Do you think that maybe your relationship's physical warmth has suffered as a result?"
Jeanie was a bit offended at the subtext here. "Look, it's just hard, okay? My job is stressful, and raising a family is stressful, and I don't have the energy to --"
Alice nodded and cut her off. "I know. I know, Jeanie! No need to get defensive. It's perfectly normal for our basic intimacy to suffer as our lives get more complicated. But even so, it still has consequences for the health of our marriages, wouldn't you agree?"
Jeanie sputtered. Their relationship problems weren't her fault. Were they? Oliver squeezed her hand. She looked over at him to find nothing but love and acceptance in his eyes. She smiled. "I'm sorry, Oliver, for not making more of an effort to keep you excited."
He smiled back. "I forgive you, Jeanie. What matters is how we move forward from here. I believe in us." The room actually applauded for this. Jeanie found it hard to explain how she felt. Embarrassed, humbled, chastened, and yet somehow grateful to Oliver for rescuing her and granting her forgiveness. She felt flushed, hot, uncomfortable.
Alice smiled at the group. "I think we're already making progress! Let's move on. Luisa, you go next."
A mousy red-haired woman across the circle from Jeanie whose nametag read "Erin" cleared her throat. "Just a second, Alice. Is the traffic noise from outside bothering anyone else?" Several people nodded. Jeanie hadn't noticed it, actually, but she had been perhaps a bit more distracted by her questioning than everyone else.
Alice laughed. "Oh, of course! I forgot to turn on our ASMR meditation track. That should help drown it out. Just a second." She tapped something on her phone, and some new-agey ambient music began playing from somewhere. Along with the standard pan-flute and wind chimes, some sort of deep low hum oscillated in volume, causing a buzz deep in Jeanie's chest and making her feel a bit fuzzy between the ears. She furrowed her brow, trying to understand what the hum was doing to her and what the purpose of it could possibly be, but before she could voice an objection, the discussion resumed.
"Luisa," Alice smiled to a pretty young Latina sitting to Oliver's left, "have you ever danced for Rodrigo? I mean
