Of course, I had pulled my shorts off as soon as the door closed, dropped into the chair I would be using with Cathy, and stroked myself to a massive orgasm. Just the thought of helping Cathy explore her sexuality sent fire through my veins. In some ways, I would be the one in charge, but at the same time, I would be working in her service. The sense of controlling, of being controlled, and of releasing kinky desires ran through my mind while I brought myself off. It didn't hurt that Kelly was part of the sexual game going on here.
Kelly. She was an enigma. She turned heads with her long blond hair, blue eyes, and killer figure. In fact, she looked like an athletic beach babe. But then you talked to her, and suddenly, she was a tigress. Wicked smart, self-confident, sharp-witted—she intimidated a lot of people. That combination of looks, smarts, and confidence also made her very successful at her pharmaceutical sales position. At the same time, she formed very tight friendships with those who measured up. She and Cathy went way back. She and I had grown close enough that she often just dropped by my place.
Some of my other friends wondered what was going on between Kelly and me. They knew I liked smart, good-looking women. By those criteria, Kelly was totally hot, no doubt about it, but some instinct told me to hold back. Maybe it was some wave coming from her. Like she had some other plan for me...
The next morning, Kelly called with the clinic information.
"Also, Brad, after a couple of hours of tough negotiation, I got Cathy to agree to come tonight, so you're all set."
"Yeah, thanks. Is she a nervous wreck?"
"She's a little nervous, as you would expect. But like I said before, we've talked about this, and she wants to do it. Maybe you have a little bit to do with that, Brad. Have you thought about that since we talked?"
"No."
Kelly laughed. "You're not fooling me, buddy. See you tonight."
At lunch, I ran over to have my blood drawn, and they said we would have results in a week. Of course, I found it more difficult than usual to concentrate for a Friday on the job. I worked in a small firm that helped larger companies plan their communications networks, so it was usually pretty interesting working with a variety of customers and settings. After getting off work, I got the shopping done and went home to get ready.
My heart leapt when the doorbell chimed—this was really happening!
"Hello, Kelly. You look enchanting, as usual." She winked. Behind her, I saw Cathy, looking down at her feet. "Hi, Cathy, won't you please come in." I stepped aside as they came in. As Cathy walked by, I took in her figure. Of course, I had seen her many times before, and like any man, I had made a mental note about her body and enjoyed looking at her. But this time, let's just say I was seeing her with new eyes. She stood tall, with brunette hair falling a bit below her shoulders. I sensed her nervousness, but I also noticed that she dressed to please, with a clingy top that showed her curves and a skirt that revealed toned legs ending in sandals. She was dressy, sexy, and casual all at the same time.
I directed them to the couch, saying "Please, make yourself at home." I poured wine into the three glasses on the coffee table and sat down in the chair to their side.
"Cathy, I'm sure you are nervous, so I figured that first I should talk you through what I do, rather than try to make small talk. How does that sound to you?"
She took her glass and smiled. "That would be great, Brad. Thank you."
"OK. Let's start with how I got into this line of work with people. A few years back, I got interested in the idea of multiple viewpoints within our personality after reading a book that mentioned the subject."
"You mean like split personalities?" Cathy questioned.
"No, not like that. While healthy people don't have split personalities, our minds are very complex and difficult to understand as a whole. It's just too much. So various traditions have developed over the years that try to create a model of the mind that we can understand. One of those is the concept of multiple selves. We assign types of people—selves—to various aspects of our character, and we can then employ all of the relationship skills we have developed over our life to examine our mind more naturally."
"I think I understand," Cathy said. "I classify people into different types when I meet them, and this helps me work with them."
"Exactly." Cathy was a quick learner, and I liked that. "You can transfer that understanding to your mind as well. This concept has existed for thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans had a system of gods and goddess that essentially mapped the various aspects of our minds and relationships. Their passions, schemes, and wars essentially map the struggles we have within ourselves."
I continued. "Why do we feel various desires warring within us? One side of us wants to go out and make friends with everybody, while another is always trying to protect us from being hurt by a new relationship. Is there some way to try to reconcile these conflicts?"
"You're telling me," Kelly interjected. "I've felt that way a lot."
"We all have," I answered. I liked the fact that both of them were drawing into the subject. That would get Cathy to forget about her obvious nervousness and start to relax. Kelly's interest would relax her even further. Over the years, I had described this process to many people I had worked with, so it was pretty easy to explain. That gave me time to gauge their reactions, and try to ease into new, erotic territory for all of us.
"After reading that book, I wanted to learn more. I then noticed an extension class at the university here that introduced me to the subject of developing a conversation with these multiple voices within ourselves. Some of the more important voices include the Controller, the Protector, and Fear. All of these have related goals of protecting us from harm of various kinds—coming from others or from ourselves."
"I guess that's why I'm here—I think my Protector is on overdrive," Cathy said. Kelly giggled, and we all blushed.
"Don't worry, it's pretty common. Most of us are holding ourselves back from taking the risks that will get us where we want to go. That's a lot of what I do when I work with people." I started back into my explanation to keep Cathy from thinking too much about what was to come.
"There's another set of voices as well, that often conflict with the protecting ones. In this camp live voices such as Desire, with it's unlimited seeking of pleasure, and the Seeker, which tries to gain what Desire wants. We've all experienced these conflicts many times within ourselves, and they even play out with others." They both nodded.
"Finally, there are other voices such as Compassion and Joy, which can move us beyond the conflicts that occur within ourselves and with others. The course I took was more about using this process for personal growth. I found it rewarding to explore the various aspects of my personality so I could better understand who I was and where I was headed, especially as a young man in my early twenties."
"Isn't that kind of unusual for a guy that age to be into this philosophical stuff?" Kelly asked, but she was smiling.
"Look, I'm a pretty normal guy and do my share of partying, playing sports, trying to get laid, and all that stuff." We all laughed. "But you would be surprised how many men and women spend some time trying to figure out where they're headed, and I've had this type of conversation with a lot of them. I think we all want to love, to be loved, and to grow, even if we don't always show it. Life can move pretty fast, and there are all these things that we're expected to do, so it's easy to forget about the important stuff." They both nodded, and I could see them reflecting upon some things in their own lives.
"Anyway, the course mainly taught a self-directed method, where we used audio or written directions to ask permission to speak to these voices and listen to what they had to say. The key was to speak to the Controller early, and then ask its permission to speak to the other voices. That gave it something to do, so it would stay out of the way. We would ask it to hold the Protector and Fear in check, so that other voices could have an opportunity to express themselves. That's where the power of the technique came in, and we could experience the more open, higher aspects of ourselves free from the fear that usually holds us back."
"Wow, that sounds great. Was it really that easy?" Cathy asked, a hint of skepticism in her eyes.
"No, it took work, as you might guess. Each of us students also had a personal session with the instructor, where she demonstrated the technique of helping someone else through this process. That really helped me, because I didn't have to both lead myself through the progression and experience it at the same time. I had so much success being led that it got me thinking that it would be rewarding to work with others this way. I knew that a lot of my friends were working through problems, or in just trying to figure out what they should do when they grew up—we talked about those things a lot."
"Over the next few years, I took a few more classes in this technique, and even traveled a couple of times to seek out particularly gifted teachers. I also practiced a lot on my own, working to figure out what type of life I wanted and how to bring myself more happiness. It's a never-ending journey, that's for sure." Both Kelly and Cathy nodded again, and I figured I didn't need to tell them that I wasn't perfect just yet.
"I also starting working with several friends, both male and female, as I gained experience, and I enjoyed the ability to help them out. I also studied some deep relaxation techniques, to help people open up more quickly, but I've never really gone into hypnosis. I prefer letting the other person lead the progression and discover for themselves what will give them the greatest reward. It's worked pretty well for several of my friends. Word has gotten around, and I usually have one or two 'clients' at any given time."
