Friends With Multiple Benefits (7 page)

"You want a cup of tea?" He placed a hand on her arm.

"That would be nice." She smiled. "I think tea might help."

"Good." He stood up and his erection was showing no signs of calming down.

She pointed to it. "Really you can take care of that now if you want. I can wait for my tea."

"You sure?"

"Yes, baby. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I love you." He headed toward the bathroom.

"I love you too. But hey."

"What?" He turned back.

"Just don't leave a big mess in the sink," she said in a parental tone.

"I never do."

She returned a skeptical look.

"Okay, I'll be more careful." He turned and headed off, his swaying erection seemingly guiding him to the privacy of the bathroom.

In Victoria's backyard, Jillian headed past the pool toward the combined guesthouse and office. The structure was large and featured separate entrances for the guest and office
sides
. She knocked on the partially open office door. "Victoria?"

"Come in," Victoria called back.

"Jim said you were back here." Jillian stepped into the newly decorated waiting area and glanced around the room. "This looks nice."

"I love how it turned out." Victoria finished adjusting the pillows on the dark gray loveseat. Motioning with her head toward the wall, she shrugged. "What do you think of the paint color?"

Nodding, Jillian walked over to the wall. "I like it. Is it just white?"

"It's called Drifting Snow. It has a touch of gray in it. Can you tell?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"I thought it might be too light." Victoria frowned. "I've really got to stop picking paint colors purely because they have pretty names."

"No, I like it. You can tell it's got a gray tinge to it. It really works with the sofa."

"You think so?"

"Yeah," Jillian began. "I mean, it's such a small space that you don't want to go too dark."

"I think you're right."

"Did you do all this yourself?"

"I picked everything out, but I didn't paint. My contractor had his guys paint." Victoria wrapped her hand around her wrist and made a face. "Last time I did some painting I couldn't give Jim a handjob for a couple of weeks."

Jillian sighed. "That's more than I needed to know, but thanks for sharing."

"What?" Victoria shot her an insulted look. "I can't tell you things anymore?"

"You can."

"You know how much the Nash boys enjoy a handjob."

"I'm pretty sure that's all men." Jillian raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you're
right,
" Victoria said then the two friends shared a chuckle. "Hey, let me show you my new rooms."

Victoria opened the door to a short hallway, which included three doors. She pointed to the left. "My office is still the same, but we took over some of the space from the guest side to expand one room and add another."

She opened the first door on the right and stepped into a small room about the size of a powder room, which contained only a desk and two chairs. On one wall was a huge glass window that featured a view into a tastefully decorated bedroom containing a king-size bed.

"What is this?"

"This is
the observation
room. I read about a therapist in the UK who has a setup like this so I decided to put one in."

Jillian moved to the glass and peered into the room. "Is this a
one-way
mirror?"

"Exactly."

"So you watch couples have sex?" Jillian turned to her in mild shock.

"Only when the situation calls for it. I've had four couples use it so far and only two required observation. I also had a sex surrogate in here last week who worked with a client."

"Interesting."

"You know, we really needed a setup like this when I was working with you and Brian."

"First, I wouldn't call
that
… whatever the hell that was…" Jillian made quote marks with her
fingers, "…
working
with us and second I was really high at the time."

"But I thought I really helped you both." Victoria frowned.

Jillian scoffed. "You mostly made inappropriate comments and pretended to make notes for some fake assignment."

"Yeah, but I did help you both. Before I got my hands on you, neither of you had any idea how to do anal."

"Um, I think I would have survived without that knowledge."

"Yeah, right."

"Plus your
hands
were part of the problem. Did you really need to help Brian with the condom?"

"Probably not, but I was new to all this, also high and obviously unaware of the boundaries," Victoria said while wearing an uneasy smile.

"Apparently." Jillian held back a laugh. "Please tell me you don't give your clients a
hand
now or smoke pot in here or make inappropriate comments while you're watching them."

"No." Victoria held her head high. "I don't do any of that. I'm a professional now."

"Good."

"I mean, occasionally I do think of inappropriate things I want to say, but I don't say them out loud."

"Who doesn't do that?" Pausing, Jillian ran her finger over the glass then said, "I couldn't imagine watching people have sex. That would be weird. Don't you get all, you know, worked up?"

"Parts of it can be stimulating sometimes. But let's just say that the couples I see have…
issues
and watching them work through these issues can be sometimes more
cringe-worthy
than erotic."

"That makes sense."

"The therapist I was telling you about in the UK— she has sex with some of her patients."

"Please tell me you're not considering doing that?" Jillian winced.

"Oh, no. I don't think I could do that. Plus I'm sure Jim wouldn't approve." Victoria headed out of the observation room and into the
bedroom
.

"You think!" Bugging out her eyes, Jillian followed her over. "So couples feel comfortable with you watching them?"

"Yes, this room provides a safe environment to explore solutions to their sexual problems— sort of like going to a hotel."

"Yeah, hotel sex can be amazing." Jillian looked into the big mirror situated right in front of the bed. "I don't like watching myself while I do it."

"Really?" Victoria gave her a look. "I love doing that."

"I'm not surprised."

"You should learn to love your body."

"Oh, I love my body. I just don't want to watch myself while I'm having sex."

"Some people find it erotic and you could learn a lot."

"What could I learn?" Jillian gave her a skeptical look.

"Um, you could find your clitoris."

"Found it decades ago."

Victoria shot her a frown.

"Okay," Jillian grumbled. "Maybe I only found it a few years ago, but I know exactly where it is now."

"Well, you could learn…" Victoria paused looking to the ceiling. "Ah hell… Maybe you can't learn anything, but it is pretty sexy."

The two friends shared a laugh.

A few days later Victoria was meeting with a new client named Peter. He was a tall, slightly overweight, thirty-eight-year-old man who had been living with his mother continuously until her death the previous year. He wasn't a bad looking guy, although he could probably use both a new wardrobe and a lot more confidence.

He confessed that his mother coddled him and ruled his life. That she had always told him that women were 'no good'. He told Victoria that he'd only had two girlfriends during his life—the first one during his senior year of college. It was a girl who took his virginity and mocked him when he could not maintain an erection. His erectile issues occurred during that first time and virtually all their other attempts during their four-month relationship. With his confidence lacking and his mother's smothering, he didn't date again until a few months after his mother's passing.

"I met a new woman, Karen, about five months ago and after a few weeks, things became physical.
I,
um…" Peter looked away. "I found myself having the same exact problems keeping it, you know, hard after we'd start."

"How did Karen react?"

"She didn't make fun of me like the other one, but I could tell she was not happy."

"Was it just during intercourse that you lost your erections or was it during oral or hand manipulation also?"

"You mean, like…
blowjobs
?"

"Yes."

"Oh, we never did anything like that."

"Okay." Victoria gave him a compassionate look. "And are you still seeing Karen?"

"No, she told me she met someone else and that she didn't want to see me anymore."

"That's too bad. Do you have any difficulties maintaining an erection when masturbating?"

"I don't do that." Peter shook his head. "My mother always said that touching yourself in that way is like inviting Satan into your life."

"Oh…" She looked at him a little shocked. "Masturbation is an important part of our sexuality. It not only helps us explore what we like in bed, it flushes toxins out of the body, making men who ejaculate frequently a third less likely to develop prostate cancer. It has other health benefits as well. Like lowering blood pressure and producing endorphins. Those are the chemicals responsible for easing stress and helping us to relax."

"Oh, Doctor Nash, I don't think I could ever do that. In remembrance of my
mother,
I don't think I could."

"I understand completely." She picked up a pad and wrote a few words. "The first thing we need to do is identify whether your problem is physiological or psychological in nature."

She looked him over. "Carrying excess weight can lead to erection problems and although you appear to be a few pounds overweight, I don't think at your age that could be
the issue.
If you're not getting at least three hours a week of moderate
exercise,
I
would
start that as soon as possible. Even a brisk walk every day or every other day would suffice."

"Okay."

"Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Are you on any medication?"

"No."

"Any history of heart disease or diabetes?"

"No."

She made notes on her pad. "How many alcoholic drinks would you say you have in a week?"

"I don't drink."

"Okay." She rubbed her chin. "I would like to send you to your doctor for a complete physical including a testosterone test. Low testosterone can be a serious factor in erectile problems."

"All right."

"Once we rule out all physiological factors, we can focus on the psychological ones. Our brain can put so much pressure on our body that we cannot function. If it is your brain that is causing the erectile dysfunction, then we can employ a variety of methods to attempt to treat it."

"Like what?"

"If you were currently in a relationship, I would give you exercises to try with your partner."

"Since I don't have anyone, what can we do?" he asked.

"In situations such as this, there are options like utilizing the services of a sexual surrogate."

"A woman paid to have sex with me." He cringed. "Isn't that like going to a prostitute?"

"No, Peter. It is nothing like that. A sexual surrogate is a trained professional who is there to help treat your problems. And if your problems are, indeed, psychological in nature a sex surrogate may just be the best option."

"Okay, but Doctor Nash I'm anxious to get started. I've met a woman who I'm very much attracted to, but I haven't yet asked out. She seems to be interested in me also. But I'm hesitant to pursue her since I don't want to have it end in disaster and once again ruin my chances."

"That is understandable. There is no reason we cannot get started as soon as the test results from the physical are in. How's that sound?"

"Great. I really appreciate it."

"Peter, I promise I will do everything in my power to help you."

Brian entered the house and the smell of delicious Italian food filled his nostrils. Smiling, he walked into the kitchen and found the table set and Jillian gazing at him wearing a
sheer
blouse and sexy elastic waist maternity miniskirt.

"You look adorable. Is that new?"

"It is. I saw it online. They're making such cute maternity clothes now." Moving to the sink, she shook a colander full of spaghetti to drain the water.

"You seem…" he curled his lip
pensively, "…
like you're in a really good mood."