Chapter 1

"Okay, now here's the deal. I've come to the point where I have to make some kind of decision, and I have no idea what I'm gonna do, or even what I should do!"

Doctor Jameson looked at the woman sitting before him and couldn't help thinking about how many others have sat there and told him the same thing. One would think that being a counselor he'd get quite a variety, but no. They always seem to start out the same way, and he thought it odd how they'd all begun to sound alike after a while. In fact, it had become so routine that he found that he had trouble forcing himself to concentrate on her words.

She had already told him how after she'd graduated from high school she'd put everything on hold until she'd had a chance to get herself started in life, and now, at twenty five, she finally had a good job, a place of her own and was saving up enough money to get a decent car. But looking around at her friends, she found that they all had men in their lives and families of their own (though some of them got them in a different order). She'd also told Doctor Jameson how she'd begun to notice all those older women who didn't have anyone special in their lives, and she was beginning to worry that someday she was going to become one of them.

It all sounded so mundane to William Jameson as he tried to concentrate on what she was telling him, so much like all the others who'd sat in that chair before her. Her name was Sheryl, though she pronounced it as Sherrill, and as she sat before the psychologist, he thought that he could already guess the basis of her problem even before she explained herself.

Sheryl wasn't the thin model type with guy troubles like some of the others, but she wasn't the heavy frumpy type that he frequently saw either. To him, she was pretty average looking with a cute round face with even rounder eyes. He guessed that for many, she would be just plump enough to be attractive and had large enough breasts for her plumpness to be forgiven by those who preferred a thinner woman, and as William looked at the hope that was in those deep brown eyes, he knew it was time for him to say the words that she expected him to say.

"So why don't you just relax for a moment; take a couple of deep breaths and start at the beginning. Then we'll see what we can do about resolving your dilemma."

Sheryl sat silent as stone for the first few moments and could only look at her psychologist as he patiently waited for her to relate her problem. Even though she'd gone over what she was going to say at least a dozen times in her head, now that it was time for her to begin, she couldn't think of a single word to say.

Of course, Doctor Jameson knew exactly what was going through her mind. After all, over the years he'd seen that same blank look on the faces of hundreds of people he'd counseled. So flashing her his friendliest smile, and in a soothing voice, he said,"Just take your time and relax and begin at the beginning. Try to imagine that I am just one of your friends whom you've known from childhood. Someone you've known for years."

"How can I do that?" she thought. Sheryl thought about each of her oldest friends in turn, and there wasn't a single one that she trusted enough to tell about the things that had been going on her life. She could just hear the laughter or worse, their accusations if they knew! Of course, she knew that she had to talk to someone, and that's why she was sitting there across form the counselor. So taking a deep breath she began.

"Well you see doctor..."

"Why don't you just call me William? There's no need to be formal here."

That was one thing he was really good at, putting his patients at ease. It was why he used a smaller office and had it lit with regular lamps instead of those imposing ceiling fluorescent lights. He wanted his office to have that "living room" feel to it instead of that clinical look that some offices had.

Sheryl swallowed hard, and looking down at the floor she replied with a, "Okay Doc ... I mean, William. Anyway, it all began the day I met Shawn." Then looking up at her counselor, she asked, "How much detail should I give?"

"Well, Sheryl, the more detail you give the better understanding I will have of your problem. Remember, you can't give me too much detail, and the more you give the better it will be."

"All right, but stop me if I get too long winded."

"Now don't you worry about that, and remember, you can tell me anything, so just relax and tell me what's been going on with you."

His words did much to make her feel more at ease, and looking back up at him, she began to relate her story.

"Okay. Well, I met Shawn when he first came over to help my brother Daryl fix his car, and I gotta tell you, at first I didn't think very much of him. Now don't get me wrong. It wasn't like he was rude to me or anything like that. It's just that he's just this skinny little guy with a big head! Hell, at five foot five, even I'm taller than he is, and normally I wouldn't even look at a man like that twice.

"Now my brother was supposed to drop me off at the mall, but they couldn't get his car running so Shawn offered to drop me off on his way to the parts store. Now I wasn't about to just get into somebody's car without knowing them, but Daryl said it would be all right. Naturally, he couldn't go with us 'cause he had to stay with the car since it was illegally parked out on the street.

"Well, before I could get into Shawn's car, the man cut in front of me and opened the door for me! Now that really surprised me. You know? I'm tellin' you; guys my age just don't open doors for women anymore. You know what I mean?"

Sheryl didn't give William a chance to answer before she continued. "Well anyway, Daryl just laughed and said something like, 'You don't got to open no door for her!' Well, Shawn just looked at my brother and said, 'Well, she's a lady ain't she?' Of course, Daryl just laughed again and shook his head when Shawn closed the door behind me.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to think. I didn't know if Shawn was just playin' or if he was for real, but I didn't put much mind to it just then because really, all I wanted to do was go to the mall and was happy I didn't have to wait for the bus.

"Anyway, when we got there, Shawn actually got out and opened the door for me again! Now I remember thinking how nice that was, but that was all. I didn't think any more of it until he asked me for my number.

"Now I have to admit, I thought about it for a moment, but after looking him over again, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I mean besides him being such a scrawny little man, I figured he was just tryin' to be nice because he wanted some booty, and once he got what he wanted, then I'd be just another ho' to him, and I wasn't about to be no man's ho', especially to some skinny ass little man with a big head! You know what I mean?

"Well anyway, that's what I thought at the time, and just told him, 'not this time, ' and thought that would be the end of it.

"Now when I got home though, I saw Daryl sitting up on the porch and as soon as he saw me he yelled at me sayin' something like, 'Why'd you dis' my boy Shawn like that? All he asked you for was his phone number!'

"Well it caught me surprise, and at first, I didn't know what to say, and the only thing that came to my mind was that the boy was short with a big head! Fortunately, I caught myself before the words came out, and all I said was, 'I don't know, ' and 'I didn't mean to dis' him.'

"Well Daryl went on to tell me that Shawn liked me and all, and that I should at least have the courtesy to give him my number and talk to the boy once in a while. He said, 'I'm not telling you to fuck him you know! I'm just askin' ya to be nice ta him and send him a text once in a while. After all, he did give ya a ride to the mall, and he didn't have to. I didn't even ask him to.'

"Well after Daryl told me that, I felt a little guilty. I mean, it really wouldn't hurt anything if all I had to do was be a little nice to the man, so I told Daryl to go ahead and give Shawn my number. Of course, after not giving it to him myself I figured I'd never hear from him again anyway. At least, that's what I hoped, and went on inside.

"To tell you the truth, I'd just about forgotten about the whole thing when I got a text from Shawn asking me if I remembered him, and if he could come by and see me. I wasn't going to answer his text at first, but I did because I didn't want to piss off my brother.

You see, I only have one brother, and Daryl and I are as tight as two people can get. Back when we were growing up, we always did everything together. I mean, he'd always looked out for me, and I hate it whenever he gets mad at me for something. I also thought that if this Shawn guy was no good, then Daryl would never have asked me to be nice to him to begin with, right?"

Doctor Jameson nodded his head appropriately. It was obvious that once the woman got started, she certainly wouldn't need anymore prompting to talk!

After taking a deep breath, Sheryl continued with her narration without hesitation.

"Well, Shawn ended up taking me to a few places, and I'm tellin' you, he was always the perfect gentleman. To tell you the truth, it took a little getting used to. Like I said, guys my age just don't know how to treat a woman, and I admit, I liked the attention he paid me, too.

"On the other hand, I was beginning to get worried that I was spending too much time with him. I mean, if everyone kept seeing us together, they'd think that we were together! And besides that, how was I gonna meet someone I liked with him hanging on me all the time? You know what I'm sayin'?"

This time, Sheryl didn't even wait for the counselor to nod his head before continuing. In fact, once she'd started talking, it seemed that she hardly took the time to breathe between sentences. He also noticed that the longer she talked, the more she spoke as if she was talking to her friends back on the block, and William smiled to himself. He never had any problems getting people to relax enough to be themselves.

"The next thing I knew," she continued, "he was taking me out to dinner, to the concerts, downtown, just about everywhere. It's like riding a Ferris wheel that I can't get off!"

"Is that your problem Sheryl? You don't know how to end the relationship that Shawn thinks he's in without hurting his feelings and upsetting your brother?"

William couldn't believe he was actually being paid to help solve such a simple problem! The thought almost made him smile, but was professional enough to keep his face emotionless.

"Humph! I only wish it was that simple!" shot the woman, with her brown eyes flashing. Then sitting heavily back into her chair, she continued to relate her story, though now she spoke a little more slowly than she did before.

"I figured the easiest way to get out of it was to ask Daryl to help me. After all, it was him that got me into the mess to begin with, right? Then I figured that maybe it would be better if I just tried to slow things down a little first. You know, like telling Shawn I had other things to do when he calls, and just go with him now and again instead of all the time.

"Well, anyway, that was my plan. What happened, though, was the next time we went out we ended up at his place. That wasn't the first time I'd been there, but this time, I'd had a little wine on top of some Hennessey.

Now don't get me wrong. It wasn't like he was planning all this to happen or anything like that. He'd been drinking a little himself, and neither of us wanted him driving after drinking all that liquor. To tell you the truth, it wasn't the first time I'd slept over at his place, either, but we never did anything before. He was always too shy to start anything with me, and I was happy to leave it that way.

"This time was different, though. We were both buzzed and were sitting across from each other in his livingroom when he suddenly got this strange look on his face and said, 'Damn you look good.'

"Now I knew that either he was drunk or lyin' 'cause it was getting late, and after all that partying, I had to look a mess. Besides, it had been raining outside, and I didn't even want to think about what my hair looked like, and I told him so, but he still had that stupid look on his face, and before I knew it, he got up and came over to me. Then kneeling down, he looked into my eyes and said that he was serious. He even said that he thought that I was the most beautiful woman that he'd ever known!

"Now, if anyone else had told me that, I'd know that it was just a line of BS and they were just trying to get into my panties but not Shawn. I knew he said it because he believed it!

"Anyway, I don't know what got into me that night. Maybe it was the liquor, or maybe it was because I was in shock from hearing that from him, but one moment we were staring into each other's eyes, and the next moment we were kissing."

Sheryl stopped and studied the counselor's face for any signs of disbelief before continuing. Of course, her confessions meant nothing to him other than the unfolding of her problem, but to her it was a huge thing, and she found that the lack of emotion in his face pissed her off.