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“You’re teaching students to tap into an awareness of their body to actively receive experiences. Keep sex out of your descriptions—a stress reaction or a fight-or-flight reaction is just as valid as a reaction to sexual stimuli.”
“I suppose. I’m worried that the school would say it’s a fancy way of describing me watching people have sex.”
“Instead of worrying the worst-case scenarios, why don’t you focus on moving forward? Do nothing and you’ll be stuck in this career no-man’s land you’re in. But act and you’ll be completing a formal qualification with international recognition. Sure, you could wait and see what happens in your relationship with King, but if this is something that would make you happy, why would you wait? If you wait—just like you’re asking King to do—are you assuming you’ll break up? If that’s the case, why are you together now?”
She raised an eyebrow and Adelaide bit down on her lip, wanting to challenge her mum, but she wasn’t finished yet.
“Another option would be to change course altogether and move out of the industry. But it drew you in when you were eighteen and hasn’t let go. Would you be happy working a nine-to-five job that doesn’t inspire you? Isn’t that spark you needed the reason why you’ve waited to enrol in anything?” Adelaide nodded, opening her mouth to say her piece, but her mum raised her hand in a stopping motion. “On the flip side, would changing career so that you can post pictures of you and King on social media be worth it? Big deal, you’d be able to attend one of his work functions in the next couple of months before he leaves, or longer if he stays there. How does that help you grow as a person?” Her mum looked at her, waiting for a response, but all of Adelaide’s words had upped and left.
Everything her mum said was true. She’d struggled to decide on a career path for years. Lots of self-reflection and really looking at what she loved doing—helping people, talking to them, facilitating their discovery of something more about themselves that brought genuine pleasure and helped tear down outdated taboos for women and men alike—had prompted her Google search. What she’d found excited her more than anything in a long time.
“Or do you go for it and potentially discover a career that could be everything you’ve ever dreamed of?”
Adelaide huffed out a laugh. “You don’t play fair, Mum.”
“It’s my job.” She winked and grinned. “You should talk to King. If the course is something you’re really interested in and could lead you to a rewarding career, King should be happy. If he isn’t supportive, then perhaps you need to reconsider your relationship.”
“There’s no need,” King’s deep voice rumbled from the doorway behind them. He spoke quietly, but his words had a profound impact on Adelaide. She held her breath and waited. “Adds, I will support you in whatever you want to do. I don’t care what the course is, if you want it, I’m behind you 100 percent.”
She turned in her seat, a lump in her throat forming at the look of sincerity on his face. Eyes locked on her, he didn’t blink as he stepped over and dropped to one knee. He reached up to finger the curl of her hair and brush his fingertips over her cheek, her lids fluttering closed at the soft touch.
“How much of that did you hear?”
“Only that what you’re thinking of is a recognized qualification and internationally accredited.” He shook his head and frowned, sadness radiating off him. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I want to give you everything, and hiding you isn’t good enough.”
She reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together. “There’s a risk that I’d be making things worse by doing this course. It’s a qualification for a somatic sex educator.”
“I don’t know what that is.” He laughed, his eyes filling with mirth—no, something deeper, something more like adoration—and cupped her face. “But if it’s what you want to do, then do it. You deserve to have a career that makes your heart sing like teaching does for me.”
Her heart expanded in her chest until fireworks detonated, choirs sang, and love hearts exploded. She was damn lucky to have this man.
“Where is the course?” he asked. He furrowed his brows and pursed his lips for a moment as if thinking something over, but then lifted his chin and smiled at her. It was filled with warmth and a little hesitation too. “I’ve been applying for new positions. I have three interviews in the next couple of weeks for jobs starting next year. But, if the course is interstate, that’s okay. I can beg off the interviews and apply for something elsewhere. Whatever you need to do, do it. If you need to travel to do the course, to go interstate or whatever you need, we’ll do it.”
For him to be prepared to pack up and leave—to follow her—because she wanted to go back to school meant the world to her. He was… the love of her life. She loved him. More than she could ever have imagined would be possible.
“Who’s going interstate?” Liam asked as he waltzed in and ruffled her hair.
Her heart swooped and breath caught. Adelaide had absolutely and utterly failed at falling out of love with the man. Instead, she’d gone and fallen for both of them. Hiding it hadn’t been easy either. She’d resorted to treating Liam like an annoying older brother, ignoring him, and picking disagreements while internally wishing she could have both of them. Adelaide batted Liam’s hand away, feigning annoyance, and rolled her eyes at King, getting a grin in response.
“Hi, Mum,” Liam added, kissing her mother on the cheek.
“No one,” Adelaide responded, glancing over her shoulder at him. He looked good today—grey sweats that moulded to his powerful legs, a white tee that could have been painted on, and a pair of white socks. His sneakers were no doubt toed off at the door, sitting in the spot on the rack her mum insisted they keep for him. “I’m thinking about going back to school,” she added. She turned back to King and explained, “It’ll take me a year to get through it. Part is online, then there’s a three-week component in Sydney and after that, a few months of supervised practical training. The format is repeated in the second semester. There are a few practitioners based in Brisbane so I’ll see if I can get in with them, but I might need to go away for a few months to do work experience.”
“You should definitely go for it,” he said with a goofy grin as he leaned up and kissed her with smiling lips.
“You don’t know what a somatic sex educator is. Don’t you want to know before you encourage me?” she asked, nerves tightening her belly. What if he hated the idea? What if he thought the same thing that she feared his school would say?
“I’d love for you to tell me, but don’t think for a second that I should have any bearing on what you study. Like I said, you should have a career that makes you happy.”
“And if it puts a strain on our relationship?” She raised an eyebrow and hurried on before he could assure her that he’d be fine. She knew he’d say it too, even if he hated the idea. Adelaide was worried that he’d just bury his concerns, whether valid or not, and support her. But she didn’t want that. She didn’t want jealousy or resentment to poison their relationship. “I’ll be training people to understand their bodies, to discover then communicate what they enjoy and help them overcome any roadblocks that they might experience to that enjoyment. I’d be doing workshops and couples sessions, even some one-on-one sessions where we talk about sex and everything that goes with it. They’d likely be touching each other if they’re couples or more, and I might even have to touch them if it’s part of their treatment.”
“Okay.” He nodded slowly, stretching out the syllables of the word as if he were deep in thought. That was good—anything other than him walking out or telling her that it would bother him was a win in Adelaide’s book. “Would they touch you?”
She shook her head, explaining that the touching would be one way and she would be wearing gloves at all times.
“So tell me then, if you were going to study gynaecology or become an andrologist, would you be worried about my opinion?”
“Well, no, but they’re professionals—”
