Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 64929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Not that I was crazy. I was just hoping they’d understand. When I’d asked the professor if she knew anyone in the lifestyle I could talk to, she hadn’t been able to name anyone off the top of her head. However, she had said a guest speaker who came in to some of her classes might be able to help.
Dr. Sheppard evidently ran a counseling practice with couples who were in nontraditional relationships. She’d finally broken it down when she’d seen that I looked slightly confused: in other words, he mostly worked with people who were in fetish and lifestyle relationships.
Maybe she thought I was shocked or horrified, because she started talking about the statistics behind the number of couples in BDSM and kink-based relationships. As I listened to the mini-lecture, I wasn’t so much shocked as just surprised that there were enough couples in the area to need that kind of specialization.
There were enough people like me who needed someone to talk to. It wasn’t far away or in some bigger city. It was in my own backyard. I probably ran errands next to people who would understand what I was going through and would never even notice.
Well, some of what I was going through. The whole “my master is my brother” thing was probably unique. After my professor had let her lecture wind down, she’d called Dr. Sheppard and asked when he could talk to me. She might have been focused on the deadline that was rapidly closing in, but I had a feeling she thought I would probably chicken out if I waited too long.
She might have been right, but I didn’t take it personally. After hearing the different comments and problems other students were running into with their projects, I had a feeling she’d seen a lot of weirded-out students recently.
If she could send me to Dr. Sheppard right away, it would be one less panicked student for her to deal with. Right away meant I was standing in front of a generic-looking office building not thirty minutes later. When I’d asked if she knew someone, I’d kind of thought I would have a couple of days to work up the nerve to ask my questions.
With no time to prepare, I just hoped that I would sound functional enough for him to feel comfortable asking one of his clients to talk to me. “Patients” was probably a better word, but it sounded… wrong.
Knowing I didn’t have much longer before I’d be late, I forced my feet to walk through the doors. Long before I was ready, I was standing in front of a woman who was clearly the receptionist.
“Um, I have an appointment with Dr. Sheppard. My professor just called. My name is Adrian.” Forcing the words out, I tried to appear calm and reasonable. From the little smile she gave me, I wasn’t so sure it was working. “Dr. Sheppard will be with you in just a moment.” She glanced over at the chairs, a hint I could sit down probably, and I was inordinately glad she hadn’t added any small talk. I didn’t want to answer questions about school or the weather. There were too many things running around in my head for me to answer polite but unimportant questions.
Before I could turn and walk over to the chairs, or possibly just make a mad dash for the exit, a door opened, and three people walked out. The two younger guys shook, I was assuming, Dr. Sheppard’s hand and thanked him again for working everything out.
“I’m just glad you came to me. I know it would have worked out eventually, but I think it was easier for everyone that you didn’t try and handle it alone.” Dr. Sheppard gave them what seemed to be an understanding smile.
The shorter guy grinned. “Yeah, I’m not cut out for a life on the lam.” The taller one, who had an athletic look to him and seemed kind of familiar, just shook his head. “Because that was the only option. Come on.” They tossed the doctor another goodbye as they walked out, and I was left wondering what Dr. Sheppard had helped them with and what sort of relationship they were in. I rationally knew that people in the lifestyle varied in age and in backgrounds. My research spelled that out very clearly. But seeing two guys around my age walking out made it sink in even more dramatically.
“Adrian?” The doctor gave me a concerned look.
“Yes. Thank you for seeing me.” I was going to have to attempt to look like a person with his shit together or the doctor was never going to let me talk to someone he knew. “I’m always glad to help Professor Hays. I’ve enjoyed speaking with her classes.” He stepped back and gestured to the open door. “Why don’t you come in so we can talk? I understand you’re doing a research project on the fetish community.”