AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. Nothing is jumping out at me. My advisor is breathing down my neck about it, but he always shoots down everything that I suggest. He’s just so set in his ways.”
My doctoral advisor, Dr. Edwards, is an older white man whose thoughts on the field of psychology are stuck in the past. He’s rigid in his thinking and firmly believes that his job is to produce physicians who think exactly like him. Other than that, he has tenure. I don’t understand how the man is still teaching, much less the new head of the department.
When I interviewed for the program, there was a different department head who seemed genuine in their interest to develop students and help them grow. The switch makes me feel cheated and deceived, though. This isn’t the experience that I was anticipating and it’s wearing on me.
“Well, maybe this weekend will inspire you,” Selene says brightly.
“Maybe. It’s just so hard to pick one thing to focus on, you know?” I sigh.
“For sure. But you’ve got this,” she encourages. “What’s your program again?”
I laugh. “I’m in clinical psychology, Selene. We’ve been over this.”
“Yeah, I know you’ve told me that. But I still don’t know what it means.” She shrugs.
“It means I’m studying to become a psychologist.” She looks at me blankly. “A therapist, Lena.”
“Oh! You should talk with Durante. He’s a therapist or something like that. He has his own practice in the city.”
My interest perks up. “Do you know what kind of patients he works with?”
“Umm . . . people?” she teases.
“Like, kids or adults?” I chuckle.
“Adults for sure.” She rambles as she gets up to dig through my bag for more clothing options. “He has a lot of patients who are in the lifestyle. He speaks all around the country about it and also polyamory.” She pulls out a bright red dress the salesclerk insisted looked amazing on me and spins around. “Oooh. You should do something like that! Like write your paper on kink and the lifestyle or something.”
I laugh. “And what, my research is getting spanked?”
“Hey. Don’t discount the benefits of a good spanking.” She giggles. “No really. You could write about kink and relationships and mental health or something.”
“And what? Just pick a couple to be my case study?”
“Well, why not?”
I shake off the idea, “Because I don’t know the first thing about kink or polyamory or the lifestyle or anything!”
“Isn’t that the point though? To learn about something and gain new insight?”
She says it with such sincerity that I actually take a moment to consider the idea. What would it even look like for vanilla old me to dive into the world of kink and polyamory? Am I even capable of going that far outside of my comfort zone? I want to pretend I’m brave enough to say yes, but there’s a part of me that hesitates to embrace the idea.
I huff, knowing she’s right. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good! Now,” she says, turning to me, hair held up in one of her hands. “Hair up or down for tonight?”
Chapter 3
Bex
The club itself doesn’t typically open until 9 p.m., but we arranged with the owners to come in an hour early to set up for Selene’s big night. Resort staff already handled most of the heavy lifting, but the group decided it was necessary for us all to have a hand in making this night perfect for her.
The building that houses the club stands entirely separate from the rest of the resort, with its own parking lot and entrance for the patrons who choose to attend only for a night.
When you first walk in, you enter into a lobby area which mirrors the resort’s. There’s a large check-in desk along the back wall, framed on either side by doors that lead into the club. Two grand staircases hug each side of the room and wrap up against the wall to an alternate entrance on the second floor. Somewhere around here is also an elevator for anyone to use.
The main feature of the space is its art installments, though. When you look up at the high ceilings, there are dozens of massive chandeliers surrounded by cages. Each one throws out a warm light that makes the room feel cozy and seductive. Along every wall is another sensual painting depicting mythical moments of lust and love.
The floor is a modern, glossy, dark cement with brightly colored stone inlaid to make it look like geodes of various colors.
