Chapter 1: Then Panic Struck

As he walked back in from the bathroom, he stopped in surprise. Sarah wasn’t lying on the settee as he had expected her to be. She was standing facing him with her arms wide open, clearly wanting a hug. But the most surprising thing of all was that she was stark naked.

He went up to her with a smile and went into her arms. As he put his arms around her and they each put their heads on the other’s shoulders,

he told her, ‘Well, I don’t think I’m going to have to do much to get you relaxed with me.’

‘I was intending to strip to bra and panties,’ Sarah told him, ‘But when I did, I decided that as you’d already seen everything I’ve got, I may as well have a massage at least as nice as my friend gave me.’ ‘And the hug?’ Cliff asked.

‘I was in such a state on that night,’ Sarah told him, ‘That even when you were helping me off the bed, it hadn’t sunk in that I was still naked in a room that now seemed to be full of men. But when you took me into your arms, I suddenly felt so safe.’

‘It wasn’t until you told me to turn my back on you, that it hit me that you’d seen everything of me there was to see. Then when I was in bed afterwards, I was surprised to realise that I wasn’t bothered about you having seen me.’

‘Even in the week since, that feeling hasn’t changed. I still don’t understand why, but it’s true.’ They held each other for a while, then Cliff told her to lie down on the settee. She did, but on her back. As Cliff stood at the side looking down at her naked body, Sarah just looked back at him, clearly unperturbed.

He sat down at her side and told her, ‘Sarah, all I know about you so far is that you are just past fifteen years old. You are Ashleys younger sister, and you’ve just moved from home to share a flat with her. Obviously, I also know why the move was necessary.’

‘But to get rid of your nightmares and help you put the past behind you, I need to know everything about you. Including many personal and private things you might never have told another soul, not even Ashley. But you can be certain that nothing you tell me in this room will ever be repeated to anyone without your permission.’

‘I know,’ she said. ‘Ashley told me that. She also said that you were a lovely person, and I could trust you implicitly. ‘No matter what Cliff asks you to do, do it,’ she told me. ‘He won’t ask you to do anything that will hurt you and there will be a good reason for it.’

‘You could well find that you enjoy this evening’s experience better than anything you’ve ever known before.’ she said. ‘That’s nice to hear.’ Cliff told her. ‘Now, when you feel ready, I want you to turn over. Then I’ll massage down to your feet and back to your head whilst we start the questions.’

Sarah smiled at him and turned over. As Cliff massaged the back of her head, he could tell that she already felt completely relaxed. When he moved down onto her bare shoulders he asked, ‘Before you were fifteen, how did you get on with your mum and dad?’

‘In my early years,’ Sarah told him, ‘They were just mum and dad, I just assumed that’s how everyone’s parents were. By the time I went to secondary school and found out from other pupils how different their lives were, I’d learnt to accept it I suppose.’

‘I just tried not to make friends that I’d need to invite home.’ As Cliff moved over her waist and massaged the young firm cheeks of her bum, she cried out saying, ‘That feels so lovely.’ ‘What about the friend who gave you the massage?’ Cliff asked.

‘You were at her house, so didn’t she expect a return invite?’ ‘No,’ Sarah told him, ‘Amelia was the only close friend I’ve ever had, apart from Ashley. I’d confided in her about life at home when we were both about twelve.’

‘Then she told me that her dad had hit her often as well. Like my dad, he’d never shown her any sign of affection. But he had died two years ago, and her mother had remarried a year later. Her stepdad was lovely, and I was always made welcome by him, her mum and Amelia.’