Page 8 of Broken Heat
Day 3– Sexual therapy introduction. Hands on only if patient is comfortable.
Day 4– Discussion of previous day’s experiences. Continued therapy as long as needed until patient is comfortable, ready to go back to their life.
“It’s very straight-forward,”I commented.
“Yes. I always keep it simple, just to give an idea of how to begin. This is merely a template. An idea. We can follow the natural progression of your comfort. There is no pressure at all. And for me, nothing is off the table. You can ask me anything at any time.”
I thought about that. What a life Mykel had. Catering to others’ needs and performing as instructed. But what about his needs? Were they satisfied?
“I have a question right now.”
“Of course.” He leaned forward slightly, his body pressing against the thin material of the white kimono he wore.
“How long have you been a surrogate?”
“Five years.”
“That’s a long time. This may sound stupid, but I don’t know anything about it. Does it mean you are single?”
“There are no stupid questions.” His shell-pink lips lifted. “But most surrogates, after they find a mate, cannot adequately continue the job. They prefer monogamy, but not all. To answer your question, yes, I am single.”
I saw on the forms that he was the same age as I. Thirty. Beyond that, we seemed very different. I’d been married. Mykel had not. Mykel seemed like maybe he was married to his job.
In my late twenties, I’d been through the sort of grief I thought only older people went through. I felt like I’d already lived a lifetime, hitting the change of life early and saying goodbye to my heats. But all my doctors had assured me that was not the case. I still had ovum. I still had all the working parts. Nothing had dried up. My physical health was what they’d called unremarkable—a sad sort of word but one you wanted to hear when dealing with doctors. It meant there was nothing bad to remark upon. Nothing wrong. Except for my lack of heats.
I wondered how much of that Mykel, as an alpha bachelor, could relate to.
I could have requested an omega therapist. Someone more like me, maybe. But in the end, I’d decided an alpha had more of a chance of re-igniting my body. My condition was specific and annoying, and instinct told me I needed an alpha who knew what the hell he was doing.
I tapped my finger on the tablet at the day one lineup of activities. “All right then. I’m ready for the next item on our list.Moving in.”
“We’re done here. Let’s go.” Mykel rose.
He came up alongside me and I immediately liked that he was taller than I was. I didn’t really have a picky mind about my alpha surrogate. He was just a teacher, right? And a healer. Someone to learn from.
Thus, he didn’t need to be tall to accomplish what I needed. But the fact that he rose up beside me big and strong, as the guy who was going to take charge of me and care for me, already gave me a comfort and ease I liked. The omega in me could give in to that alpha power.
The touch-starved human in me might actually learn to respond again.
4
Mykel –Hidden Nerves
After showing Elon to his cabin and getting him settled, we decided to accomplish the next task on my list. A tour of the grounds.
This was my first patient after a month of relaxation and therapy. I’d re-visited some of my surrogate courses in review mode. I’d done some group therapy online with other surrogates facing various problems.
Though I hadn’t hit on any one thing that had caused me to fail my two previous patients, I felt vigorous and renewed. Ready for work. And Senta had approved me.
“Everything is so beautiful,” Elon said. “It’s more like a resort than a treatment facility.”
“You got the pamphlet from your doctor, right?” I grinned.
He nodded, his gaze going everywhere. “Yes. But don’t brochures always exaggerate?”
“Maybe.” We walked back toward the entry gate, and past the lagoon which was clear blue today with the shadows of fish roaming at deeper levels.
We veered abruptly and were now headed straight into the park.
