Page 34 of The Lessons

He turned to me and propped himself up on his elbow. “So.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his forearm. “How did that feel?”

I pressed my lips together and rubbed my face. “Uh, really good.”Should I thank him again? Fuck, what is the right way to answer?“Thank you.”

Ryan looked amused at my response. “The pleasure was all mine, Natalie. That’s important for you to remember. Many men really enjoy giving oral sex to women.”

Did he mean—? What did he mean by that? I looked down at his boxers. They were still on and fully tented. Hmm. Maybe he actually did enjoy doing that. What was I supposed to do now? Was I supposed to?? Oh, God… not that I didn’t want to—

“Well,” he said, stretching a little as he sat up, “I think that’s good enough for today.” He sounded very matter-of-factly, and rather confident, despite his state of undress.

“Why do you do it?” I asked suddenly.

The question clearly surprised him.

Honestly, it surprised me as well. Why did I ask it? Well, there was only one reason. I wanted to stay with him a little longer. Well, okay, maybe I was curious, too.

He looked over at me and arranged himself so he was seated facing me.

I mirrored him, bringing the sheet up to cover me.

“What do you mean? Do what?” he asked, a smile curling on his lips.

“This.” I closed one eye and looked up at the ceiling. “This…work.” Taking ladies’ virginities wasn’t exactly a class atmycollege, and I was curious how one found this as a vocation. What could his possible motivation be? Was he a sex addict? As much as it’d be a perfect job for one, I couldn’t imagine they’d get past the screening process Dr. Lerner had described. “Sorry. Is that too personal a question?”

“Oh.” The muscles in his face visibly relaxed. “No, it’s fine. I mean, it’s only fair you know about my professional motivations.” He ran his hand though his hair. I hadn’t touched that hair yet, but I wanted to. It was sex-god hair, all dark and thick. “Well, not to be crass, but the hours are reasonable, it fits in with my schedule, and it pays well.”

“Oh, right, you’re in school?”

“Yep. Ph.D. in Psychology. Final year.”

Oh.This was starting to make more sense. “Is this your, uh, area of concentration?” I cringed at my choice of words, given our, uh,sessionthat afternoon.

But Ryan wasn’t deterred. “What, sex?” he chuckled. “Actually, no. I’m focusing on depression and anxiety. This work, it’s more like a side job while I’m in school. I also do regular therapy—I have to log so many hours to get my license.”

“Ah, so I’m the side job?” I quipped, immediately regretting my stupid remark.Shit.Why did I say that?! I scrambled to cover. “How many, uh, clients have you worked with? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.” I was still wincing inside.

“Hmm. Good question.” He paused while he seemed to do the tally in his head. I watched him, completely perplexed by it all— I mean, who loses track of how many people they’ve fucked? “Clients, probably only about thirty or so. SFCS insists on time off between cases, but I’ve done about three or four a year for the last eight years or so.”

I shuddered a little, thinking about him with all those other…all those other women. “Huh, so you like it? I mean, you’ve kept doing it for eight years…” I was still trying to suss out exactly why someone went into this for a profession.

“Well, I guess so. I mean, I enjoy the work, but honestly it’s not about the sex. It’s actually pretty rewarding to see people through the process, to see people get better. That’s what’s kept me doing it. Although I probably won’t continue once I start my practice.”

“The other clients?do they all achieve penetration?”Not that I was asking about myself or comparing myself to the other students in the class. Nope. Not at all.

I heard Josh’s voice ring in my head:Such a fucking Virgo.

Ryan chuckled as he smiled over at me with something new—something I recognized but didn’t expect. Was it, dare I say, warmth? God, that warm, dreamy smile. It was a panty-dropper for sure. I pondered how he might react if I asked to take a picture of him with my phone. Okay, no, that would get me reported, a definite red flag. Calm down, Reese.

“Actually, Natalie, people come in with a wide variety of concerns—you’d be surprised. It’s not all about penetration.”

“Ah, so I could achieve penetration, go out into the world, fuck myself up, and then have to come back to SFCS again? There’s no guarantee policy on the work?”

This made him belly laugh. “I suppose so. All the more reason to get things right the first time. Which, in this case, I mean quite literally.”

We both laughed at that one.

“So, Ms. Reese,” he said as he got up and put on his pants. “Shall I leave you to dress?”

“Uh, sure. Thank you,Mr. Andrews.” I pursed my lips and smiled. The mock formality felt incredibly silly, given I’d just orgasmed with his head between my legs.

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