Chapter 5

Gavin felt his heart hammering at the thrill of the memory that had just experienced. They say that scent is one of the stronger triggers of memories. He had read that somewhere and could certainly attest. Even now, on the train, his brain was recreating the scents of the studio. That perfect combination of human pheromones that only amplify during coitus.

He looked over at Jackie who sat patiently waiting. A curious look on her face. Was she analyzing him already? Had she already done so while his mind was already far away? He couldn’t tell, except for the fact that it looked like the room they were in got a little brighter. Almost as if Gavin was seeing her more clearly. He could make out the fine eyebrows and honeyed brown eyes a little more now. They held a message. But for whom?

She cleared her throat, placed her hands on the table and leaned in slightly. Gavin could not help but notice that the camisole she’d worn was cut low and the spread of the top of her chest was revealed. His peripheral vision took notice even as he held her gaze.

“Gavin, I am going to begin by doing some word selection with you. I will say two words and you pick the one you most identify with. Remember there are no wrong answers.”

He nodded. He leaned in, rolled his shoulders and lolled his head from side to side. He was ready.

“Good. Now, when I speak the words, I want you to try your best to keep eye contact with me. It’s not easy and some people feel it is an aggressive thing to do. I assure you, that you will be fine.”

He nodded. In his line of work, dropped eye contact was seen as a sign of weakness. And in his industry full of alpha males, he knew how to react.

“Inside or outside?”

“Inside.”

“Motion or stillness?”

“Motion.”

“Hot or cold?”

“Hot.”

“Smooth or hard.”

He took a moment to respond. He wanted to say hard straight away. But his brain pushed the word neatly aside as if overriding him. “Ha—Smooth.”

She blinked and waited a moment.

“Big or small?”

Again, his brain took some time with this.

“Big.”

“Fast-paced or slow-paced?”

“Slow-paced.”

“ Quiet or loud?”

“Quiet.”

“Analogue or digital?”

“Analogue.”

“Aslee p or awake?”

“Awake.”

As he proffered his answers, he found himself being absorbed by her gaze. It was almost as if his vision was magnifying. At first, he could only make out the black pupil, surrounded by the brown ring of her iris. But, as he continued answering her, he found her pupil contracting and expanding like the aperture of a camera lens, the brown ring seemed to change color and the honeyed brown became warmer, more inviting.

He blinked several times. Her gaze remained as it had at the beginning. Gavin would have called it ‘sphynx like’. She had stopped asking him questions and had a slight smile across her face.

“Good, you did very well, Gavin.”
He swallowed and felt a little fatigued, even though he had only exercised his mind.

“For this second part, I am going to give you a word, and you are going to say aloud whatever word comes into your head. Remember, there are no wrong answers.”

He nodded.

“And for this one, I’d like to check your pulse as you answer, if you don’t mind. Its just part of the process. Completely harmless.”

“Part of the process.” He repeated.

She reached out, palms up and as she did so, he noticed the two pink crabs of her hands unfurl, revealing painted nails that were dusty rose. He raised his own hands and put them on the table, face down. She rearranged his hands and placed them so that she could reach both index and middle finger around the inside of his wrists. Her skin felt warm to the touch, and he could feel from the points on his wrist that she as now contacting, the beat of his very own heart.
‘How strange.’ He thought.

“Travel.” She began.

“Boredom.”

“Life.”

� ��Excitement.”

“Social.”

“Me dia.”

“Partner.”

“Woman.”< br>
“Food.”

“Fuel.”

“Br east.” She said, her eyes remaining neutral, yet absorbing.

“Erotic.” He replied, holding her gaze.

“Laptop.”

“Prison.”

“Sex.”

“Leisure.”

“Confere nce.”

“Loud.”

“Belly.”

“Soft.”

“Dating.”

“Baggage.”

Gavin felt her fingers adjust and could feel his pulse quicken.

As if sensing this she said, “Remember Gavin, eyes on me. There are no wrong answers, and this is supposed to be fun.”
He nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“Cave.”

“Vagina.”

� �Exercise.”

“Essential.”

“Mo ney.”

“Energy.”

“Relationshi p.”

“Complicated.”

While affixed in each other’s gaze, Gavin stared into her eyes. He felt something behind them shutter closed, like a camera taking a photograph. She blinked and so did he.

Gavin felt her squeeze his wrists and draw her hands away, the tips of her fingers tracing along his fingers until they were folded neatly back on her side of the table.
Unsure of what he was supposed to do with his own hands, he opened and closed them and brought them to rest in his lap. He could still feel the heat from where her hands had been.

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