Tessa's Escape to Athena's Ground (5 page)

-10-

WEDNESDAY

Goo
d morning, David. The sun is rising here, and from my window I can watch the harbor water as it turns from Dawn Gray to Hello Sunshine Blue. This place is amazing. I was too wiped out from the flight to do anything until yesterday afternoon. I took in the sights around the hotel and even walked the mile to the Opera House. What a sight!

Tessa paused, her fingers hovering over her laptop. Should she be a little daring? Why not, Carmen had suggested she begin to open herself up more to David, and besides, she was the Daring New Tessa now that she was ready for field therapy.

But sights abound in Sydney, and even this hotel. The wall between the bedroom and bath is glass. I can (and have) laid in the tub and gazed at the view outside: tall buildings, both old and new, and even a small piece of Darling Harbor. From the bathtub! Amazing.

Today I begin some of that personal work I came here to do. I don’t mean to be mysterious or sound weird. It’s just that it’s…very personal, and for now, not something I can share. Just know that it’s important to me and will help me become a happier person, better able to (as the poster says) ‘live, love and laugh.’

I hope everything’s good in Chicago. Stay warm!

Fondly, Tessa

Tessa shut down her laptop and headed for a shower. Room service would deliver a light breakfast soon. And at 8:00, Jason Tate would knock on her door.

***

He was tall, with sandy brown hair, broad shoulders and a quick, easy smile.

“Jason Tate. Nice to meet you Tessa.”

Tessa held out her hand, for a shake, and immediately felt stupid. This wasn’t exactly a business meeting, though Jason was here for business.

Jason took Tessa’s hand, shook it gently, and said, “Have you thought of any questions?”

She and Jason had spoken on the phone the evening before and Jason had encouraged her to ask anything. She had been too shell-shocked to know what to say. She was no better today.

“I’ve never done anything like this before. In fact, I’ve never even fantasized about doing anything like this. So, I’m trusting Carmen, and you, and if something comes up that I don’t understand or don’t like, I’ll speak up.”

“Good! Carmen’s First Theorem of Love and Sex is ‘ask for what you need.’ And actually, that’s going to be the focus of our time together.”

Tessa wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. She’d never been comfortable asking Mark, especially if she thought it was something he didn’t enjoy. And the only other sex she’d had was rape, and though she’d pleaded with Kent to stop, it had fallen on completely deaf ears. So her ‘asking’ track record was pretty dismal. Add to that the fact that she’d known Jason all of sixty seconds, and…wow. Could she do this?

“Shall we go, then?” Jason said.

Tessa nodded, grabbed her purse, and allowed Jason to open the door for her.

“Are all Aussies such gentlemen?” she asked, smiling.

“We’re a pretty nice bunch down here, if I say so myself. And most of the time, you’ll find me to be very gentlemanly.”

“Most?”

Jason hit the call button for the elevator. “There will be times when being a gentleman will be far from my mind. But,” he said to Tessa’s quickly darkening eyes, “I will always be a gentle man with you, unless you ask me to be otherwise.”

“I can’t imagine wanting anything other than a gentle man,” Tessa said, when she saw there was no one else in the elevator.

“That’s what you’re here for, Tessa, to imagine the unimaginable. I know this metaphor needs some work, but think of it this way: you’re about to dine at a fine buffet, where you’ll be asked to try the escargot even if you’d always thought you would hate it.”

Tessa couldn’t help herself. She laughed, full-out.

“I told you it was a terrible metaphor,” Jason said, smiling. He leaned so close to Tessa, she could smell the fragrance of his shampoo. “Today will be about me gently pushing you to that buffet table. I’m going to put things on your plate and urge you to try them, even if you think you’ll hate them. But the final decision will always be yours. You’ll look at everything I put on your plate, and learn to ask for what you need.”

Good thing Tessa was leaning against the elevator wall. She might have passed out otherwise.

They spent the first hour sightseeing. Jason drove, pointing out highlights as he negotiated traffic. “Our first stop,” he said, squeezing his Mazda into a parking space.

“This?”

Jason took Tessa’s hand and led her into a small café. He nodded to the waitress behind the front counter and she gave him a smile. “Hi Jason! What do you want today?”

“The usual.”

“Coming up.”

Jason led Tessa to a small table in the corner of the back room. The café was quiet and the light from the front windows did not reach them. It was dim, but not dark. Jason held Tessa’s hand lightly. It felt like the warmth of a friend, not the passion of a lover. It put Tessa at ease instantly.

When the food arrived, Jason slid all of it to his end of the table.

“Our first exercise in asking for what you need,” he said.

“You want me to ask for my food?”

“Yes. One item at a time. What do you want to start with?”

Tessa eyed the choices. Bagel. Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Strawberries. Her throat felt tight and her stomach was nervous.

“Eggs.”

Jason slid the plate of eggs toward Tessa, and she reached for a fork.

“Uh-uh,” he said, gently taking the fork from her hand.

Jason scooped a small bite of eggs onto the fork, leaned into Tessa until she could feel his breath on her cheeks, and steered the fork toward her lips. When Tessa opened her mouth, he slid the fork into it and held it there.

“Slowly, Tessa. Feel the texture. Taste the salt on the eggs.” Jason slowly pulled the fork away. Hypnotized, Tessa swallowed without chewing, which made her cough. Jason handed her a glass of water. “Alright?” he asked, after she took a sip.

Tessa nodded, embarrassed. She was sure she would be the most inept ‘student’ Jason had ever been assigned.

Tessa asked for food from each of the remaining plates. When Jason fed her bagel and bacon, he used his fingers. On the last one, the bacon, he kept his fingers at Tessa’s lips long after she had swallowed. “Bacon has a bit of slip to it.” He wiggled his index finger, “a bit of grease. That’s what makes it so tasty, don’t you think?”

He was hypnotizing Tessa again, and she simply nodded.

He rested the tip of his finger on Tessa’s lower lip. “Get the best of it Tessa, what do you say?”

Tessa tentatively placed her tongue on the tip of Jason’s finger.

“Don’t you really want it all?” Jason’s voice was low and husky.

How did he know? Tessa had never brazenly sucked a man’s finger in a public place before. But she wanted to now, and not just for the bacon grease. Tessa nodded and he slowly parted Tessa’s lips and rested his finger on her tongue. Tessa began to suck, slowly and softly, and a strange thing happened. For the first time since forever, she wanted more.

Jason saw it. He leaned against Tessa, full length body contact. Tessa felt like she’d been hit by a bolt of electricity. “Would you like a strawberry?”

Tessa nodded, without releasing Jason’s finger.

With his left hand, Jason brought a strawberry to Tessa’s lips. She opened her mouth; he slid his finger out and inserted a large, red berry. With his index finger, still wet from Tessa’s mouth, he slowly, lightly traced a path down Tessa’s bare arm, past her waist, to her hips.

Tessa’s eyes opened wide, and she began to suck on the strawberry.

“The strawberry is ripe, isn’t it?” Jason said softly, his lips brushing against Tessa’s ear as he spoke.  His trailing finger wound slowly across Tessa’s belly and came to rest on the zipper of her shorts. “What else is ripe, Tessa?” His finger traced the path of the zipper and rested at its lowest point, just above the spot where Tessa had begun to feel small pinpricks of anticipation.

“Ask for what you need Tessa,” he said, pulling the uneaten strawberry from her mouth.

Tessa was silent. She was ten thousand miles from home with a man who was here to help her escape; to help her become a woman who took risks, who could open up, emotionally and sexually.
Ask for what you need,
Tessa thought. But what was that?

-11-

“I want…I need…” Tessa took her eyes from Jason’s face and glanced around the café. “This is a public place.”

“Yes. But I’ve made arrangements with the owners. No customers will be seated back here until we leave. It’s a private public place. Now, ask for what you need.” Jason pressed the finger that rested on her zipper, and smiled when Tessa’s eyes returned to his.

Tessa’s homework had never been like this. When she touched herself, it did nothing. But this…

“I need you to touch me,” she said, so softly Jason could barely hear her even though his face rested against hers.

“Where?”

“You know.
It.
”

Jason kissed Tessa’s earlobe and whispered, “To ask for something, you must name it. You can call it anything you like. Some women prefer the proper terms, like clitoris or clit. Others prefer something more romantic, like sweet spot or honey pot. Some enjoy rougher words, like pussy. Whatever you’re comfortable with. But you must name it to ask for it.”

“It…”

“It is?”

Tessa gave in. The gentle pressure of his finger over her shorts made her feel faint and supercharged all at the same time. “Clitoris. Or clit. Touch it.”

“Where?”

Really? A man who helped women overcome sexual issues for a living didn’t know where a woman’s clitoris was? Tessa started to explain, and Jason touched her lips with his free hand.

“This, I know. What I want to know is whether you want my hand here,” and he gently placed his hand on Tessa’s crotch, “or here.” Jason slid one finger underneath the top of Tessa’s waistband and gently touched the top of her panties. “Which place?”

Tessa felt her face get hot and she wasn’t sure whether it was sexual energy or embarrassment.

“Outside.”

Jason moved his hand to rest on top of Tessa’s shorts. It took him only moments to find the exact spot that begged for attention. He moved his fingers firmly up and down, slowly, stopping to gently probe or press.

“No,” Tessa said, and Jason’s fingers stopped moving.

“I made a mistake. I want you to touch me under my shorts.”

Jason unbuttoned Tessa’s shorts and slid the zipper all the way down. “On top of your underwear, or skin to skin?”

Tessa’s eyes darted around the room, once again. There was no one else in this dimly lit back room. Just Jason and an ache so strong Tessa thought she would burst.

“Touch my skin.”

Jason took Tessa’s chin and turned her head slowly until it rested on his shoulder, nestled along his jaw. His lips placed butterfly kisses on her temple as his hand slowly inched under the waistband of her panties. His index finger found her clitoris and he began to stroke. Tessa shivered.

“It’s swollen and warm.” He kept stroking, slow…fast…slow. When Tessa shivered again, he slid his fingers a little lower and gently pressed against the lips of her vagina. Tessa tensed.

“I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to. I just wanted to see how excited you are. Okay?”

Tessa nodded.

“You’re wet,” Jason whispered. “Your body says you want more. Do you?”

Tessa nodded, again.

“Ask for what you need.”

“I want you to touch my clit, and whatever else you touch, to…you know…”

“To make you come?”

Tessa shook her head and thought of years of marriage and months of her own “homework.” “I can’t come. But I want you to make me feel good.”

Jason kissed her forehead. “Because you’ve never had an orgasm doesn’t mean you can’t.” Jason began to massage her swollen clitoris. “Shall we just see what happens?”

Tessa’s response was to shift her bottom to put Jason’s fingers at the perfect angle.

“That a’ girl.”

Jason focused on pressure and pace—fast and slow—until Tessa began to squirm, eyes closed, lips slightly parted. She pressed her hips to meet Jason’s fingers and her breathing became rapid. But she plateaued, and the grimace on her face told Jason she was frustrated.

Jason slid his free hand under her bra and began to knead Tessa’s breast. Tessa groaned. He dipped his finger in Tessa’s wetness to lubricate her throbbing clitoris and stroked and massaged with a pressure unlike any Tessa had ever felt before. When he sensed she was right on the edge, he pinched Tessa’s nipple, bringing her almost to the point of pain, and taking her exactly where she longed to go. Tessa began to spasm. It wasn’t powerful, but it was.

When Tessa stopped quivering, she opened her eyes and looked at Jason.

“Was that what I think it was?”

“Congratulations.”

“It was…” Tessa struggled for words. “It was nice, but not exactly fireworks. Is there something wrong with me?”

Jason pulled his hand out, wiped it on a paper napkin, and pulled Tessa into a hug. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Most firsts aren’t fireworks. But now that you’ve opened yourself up to it, and your body is relaxed and receptive, I think it’s safe to say fireworks are in your future.”

Tessa cried while Jason held her. After a few minutes, she pulled herself together, Jason paid the bill, and they headed back to the Westberg. Jason used the time in the car to further educate Tessa. He began with an explanation of a woman’s orgasm. It was something Tessa had read about, part of her homework, but Jason’s explanation seemed easier to understand. Then he asked Tessa how she had felt, both emotionally and physically. “That wasn’t a rhetorical question,” he said when Tessa didn’t immediately answer. So she thought about it, and answered.

“First I was appalled at myself for letting a man I don’t know touch me there, and in a public place. At first, I was so nervous I thought I might throw up. Then I started to feel something, a little spark. After that, I didn’t care about anything.  I just wanted to feel
it
.”

“And how did you like your first orgasm?” Jason asked. A grin played at the corners of his mouth.

“It felt nice. But mostly it felt like relief.” Tessa’s eyes started to water. “I really thought I was defective.”

They had just come to a stop light, so Jason turned to face Tessa full-on. “You are a beautiful, complete woman. You just need a little help finding your way, that’s all.”

“I need a lot of help finding my way,” Tessa said. But she smiled now.

“Lucky for you, the Aussie Team is the best there is.” When they pulled up to the Westberg, Jason said, “We’re going to the beach this afternoon. Have a rest and a bite to eat. Bring a swim suit. I’ll pick you up at 2:00.”