#alpineglow

[thorsenmark]

It's That First Time in Nature That It Hooks You! (Denali National Park & Preserve) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: What I’d call a medium wide angle view (50mm) and image captured looking to the southeast from a side porch viewing area in the North Face Lodge area while staying a few days in Denali National Park & Preserve. My thinking with this image was to angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward, capturing more of a sweeping view across the autumn colors that were starting to come out across the tundra in this part of the national park. I would have a little bit of blue skies above but wanted to minimize that as I felt it was more of a negative space. I was though able to capture the full breath of the mountain peaks to my front with Mount Brooks on the image left leading all the way to Denali on the image right. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation while playing around as I learned how to work with DxO PhotoLab 3 that I’d recently purchased after moving away from Capture NX2.

[posterdrops]

Reposted from @twinhomeprints 🌉 I’m super excited to share my latest poster for @tbtduluth for their big show in Duluth with @jennydianelewis this July! I’ll post more about my artist copies and such this summer, but for now here’s the pretty picture. Tah tah! #gigposter #gigposters #screenprint #screenprinting #trampledbyturtles #illustration #alpineglow #bluegrass #folk #printmaking (at Bayfront Festival Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm9rEa2pq3f/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ner-runi]

@alpineglows I’ve noticed you reblogging a bunch of reference material!! If you want some more I highly suggest @writingtemplatesssss — there is a great tagging system and I think you’d really like it💕

[kenobiwanx]

Look at them!!

If you get interested in reading the fanfic, here's the link 💜

din djarin x oc commission ✨️

[scotianostra]

Pink Peaks by Captures.in.time Via Flickr: A wee touch of alpine glow on the Pentland Hills! Taken just before sunset where the sun touched the peaks for all of a minute and I managed to run back up the hill as I was down working on another composition when I noticed the light. One shot with a telephoto lens and I've made it a super wide letterbox crop... I really need to learn how to do panos properly... mind you with the swift light changing I thing the one shot approach was more appropriate here.

[alpineglowx]

I'll Do The Same {Din Djarin x OC} Chapter One: Silhouettes

pairing: mando/din djarin x female oc

warnings: none

* * * *

“Get up here, now, or I’m gonna have your head, Sai’Lya!”

Her head shot up, and the pain that followed from banging her skull into the top of the sleeping chamber ached immensely. Thell held her head, only for a moment; it was the only time she was allowed, before slipping her brown and gray garments over her head. Her tattered grey cloak was last, securing the gold pin tightly around her chest as she swung her legs over the chamber to slip her feet into her boots. Her toe was nearly sticking out through the front again; she would have to ask Miko for news ones, if he could afford to risk it.

Thell stumbled down the steel corridor, tying her hair into a knot to make herself look at least a bit more presentable. The hallways turned to a sudden stunning white that reflected the fancy interior of Bespin’s greatest business lord, Bleys Darand’s, mansion.

Thell had worked and lived with him for as long as she could remember. Her mother had been with her too, until the sickness that had ravaged Bespin for two years took her too, along with many of her friends. That had been over ten years ago. She was twenty nine now, nearly thirty, and twelve when her mother had passed. She had never known her father, and for the most part, she was alone. Miko, another servant in the adjacent building, was the only one she could scarcely call her a friend. He was a grumpy old man who only took pity on her because he had been fond of her mother.

That’s what it had been for years now; sympathy from others, for the people who she had come from, been born from. She herself had never been able to prove her own worth, and it was what she wanted more than anything else. For someone to appreciate her for her own self, her own spirit, to actually see her, and not someone she had been associated with.

Bleys Darand came into her view much sooner than she had expected, whirling around the corner so fast she had to skid on her heels to avoid crushing him.

“Where in the Maker have you been, girl?” He growled, tugging her forward with a harsh grasp on her arm. “I needed the entire room to be cleaned before my guests arrived, and you are twenty minutes behind schedule!”

Thell gritted her teeth and tried to stop the tears she knew were coming. She only looked away, nodded, and waited for him to release her.

“Insolent child,” came Darand’s harsh voice again. “I don’t see the reason in keeping you around if you can’t do the simplest of tasks. Don’t make me regret making that promise to your mother all those years ago.”

He shoved her forward, so hard her knees slammed into the smooth marble flooring, and when she raised her hands they were streaked with red. Thell waited until she had heard Darand move from the room until she rose to her feet again, dusting off her pants.

She hated the cleaning, the constant need to have everything perfect, when Darand already lived in the most perfect place in the galaxy. But the view was nice. For at least now, it would suffice.

The sun was rising, casting golden glows and beaming rays of yellow and orange across the cityline. Thell stepped closer to the window, closer and closer until she could let her fingertips rest against the glass, hoping, wishing, that one day she could fly past that swirl of clouds and sunshine and make it into that neverending void of space and stars.

. . . . .

The day had been lonely, like most. The other servants never made eye contact with her, wanted nothing to do with her. They knew the promise Darand had made her mother the night she died, wasting away from a sickness no doctor could cure.

“Please, momma.”

“You have to be strong, my star,” her mother whispered, her voice strained with sickness. “You have to be strong for me.”

Thell had been twelve at the time, and the pain of losing her best friend, her only friend, had not been made any easier. Watching her wither away for months, being forced to spend less and less time with her as Darand gave her more responsibilities.

But something was different that night, Thell could feel it. Her mother had told her stories of the Force, the Jedi, the thing that tied all living beings together. She wondered if she was feeling it, that mystical Force her mother had told her stories of late at night.

“Momma, please. I need you,” Thell begged, wrapping her small fingers tight around her mother’s thin arm.

Her mother’s arm came up, tucked a wandering lock of copper hair behind her ear.

“I’ll always be with you, Thell. You know that.”

Her mother tried to smile, even with her sickly skin and pale eyes.

“Momma... I don’t know-”

Footsteps echoed behind them, and Thell curled close to her mother, her eyes narrowing when she noticed Bleys Darand stepping into their chambers.

“Thell, step into the other room for a moment, please,” her mother said, but when she didn’t move, pressed, “Thell, now.”

With gritted teeth and teary eyes, Thell fled from the chamber, huddling on the opposite wall, the one that faced the window. She wrapped her hands around her knees and ducked her head down, letting the tears stain her garments. She could hear her mother and master speaking, but only faintly. She could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

She strained closer to the open doorway, pressing her ear against the corridor.

“You have to promise me that, Darand.”

“Seba, I...”

“You have to. She is the only thing I have ever loved. Too many children die in this galaxy because they don’t have people that care for them. I don’t care if you do not show her love as I did, but I need you to promise me that you will take care of her. I don’t want you throwing her to the streets as soon...”

The conversation drifted off, and Thell sniffed, bringing her ear closer.

“I have served your family since you were a young man. The least I am asking for is that you give her a home.”

“I.... I will.”

“I need you to promise me.”

Thell heard Darand sigh heavily. “I promise. I will take care of her.”

“I will be gone soon... I am thankful to know that.”

“That’s... another thing, I needed to speak about with you.”

Thell leaned against the wall, catching her breath as she swung the sack of cleaning supplies over her shoulder. It was nearly sundown, the end of her shift. She could relax, stretch her legs, maybe even take a walk around the artificial garden that sat atop Darand’s mansion.

Thell had just placed the sack of cleaning supplies back in their closet when she heard a loud, unnerving thump. Twisting her head the other direction, Thell’s eyes followed down the dark corridor, only lit by small yellow lamps. She waited, the only sound being her breath as she tried to slow her racing nerves.

“You’re just being stupid,” Thell whispered, trying to pluck up any courage she had.

Taking a small metal rod, meant for cleaning, in one hand, she tiptoed down the hallway, delicately placing one foot in front of the other. The hallway was quiet, almost dead silent save for the hum of the lights and air converters.

But someone was there, a large, shadowy figure standing like a statue at the end of the hall. She had blinked only for a moment and he was there, standing as stiff as a mop. Thell couldn’t see them clearly, not with the limited light, but they didn’t look like anyone who belonged in Darand’s mansion.

Her blood turned to ice, and something like panic rose in her veins. As slowly as she could, she turned on one foot, gently pacing back the direction she had come. Maybe, if he hadn’t noticed her walking forward yet, he wouldn’t bother her.

But something was wildly unnerving at having to turn her back to him. Especially when as soon as she started walking, she heard a loud clang on metal, like it was hitting the floor. Thell flinched, drawing her shoulders in, and dared a peek over her shoulder. Sweat was dripping down her neck now, past her eyes and under her shirt collar.

The stranger had stepped only a foot closer, however, Thell could see that they had placed their hand on their hip.

“Where is Bleys Darand?”

The deep voice, although modulated by a helmet, was like a punch in the chest for Thell. It was both confirmation that she wasn't going crazy and seeing people at night, and that someone was stupid enough to come after someone like Darand.

Thell turned all the way around, her hands shaking like she was holding a buzzing canister. She knew her options: obviously, this person was trying to kill or at least kidnap Darand, and would stop anyone who came in their way. And from the looks of it, this person knew their way around town.

But there was also the matter of who Darand was to her, the promise he had made to her mother over fifteen years ago. If he was killed, or taken, what would she be then? Cast out to the streets, made a slave to yet another master?

Dread prickled up her neck for both circumstances, but for once, she didn’t have to make the decision.

“Get down!”

Thell dropped to the floor, holding her hands over her head as a rush of blaster fire soared over her, explosions and sparks being thrown to each opposite end of the hall. There were footsteps around her on all sides, vibrating the floor beneath her shaking form and causing her to peak at the scene unfolding around her.

A body dressed in black, one of Darand’s guard, lay on the floor only a few feet in front of her. There were small bouts of flames on the walls, blaster marks on the white marble flooring, evidence of a battle not wanting to be won easily.

But there was no one else in the hallway. The mysterious man and the other guards must have fled down a hall, and relief surged through Thell’s body. But she scrambled toward the guard anyway, pulling him onto his back and shoving the mask off his face. He was still breathing, just barely, taking shaky, gulping breaths that made Thell realize the shot must have been fatal.

He tried to raise a hand, but it barely made it off the floor. His eyes were frantic, blood starting to gurgle from his mouth.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Thell hushed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Man...” the guard wheezed, his eyes squeezing shut.

“I know.”

She had seen death before, seen it take away the one she cared most about, so she did not fear it. It did not make it easier, however, to know that this man was young, and suffering, and he would be dead in moments.

Suddenly she was back in real life, and something was being shoved against her hand: a blaster.

Blinking, Thell turned back to the man, whose scrunched eyes were directly on her.

“Take it,” he hissed.

Thell shook her head, knowing what a weapon of that power meant, what it could so easily do to someone in a second.

“No.”

“Take it!” The pressure of the blaster ceased as the man’s eyes rolled back, and he went limp against the floor, the weapon lying limp against Thell’s arm. There was a tear rolling down her face and she roughly wiped a sleeve against it, smearing the wetness. With trembling fingers, Thell closed the man’s eyelids, and placed her hand over his forehead, closing her own eyes.

“Udesiir,” she whispered, just as her mother before her had done when staff members of Darand’s household had passed away. The last time she had spoken the word was over fifteen years ago, and it felt just as raw.

She grabbed the blaster, stumbled away from the dead guard, and fled the opposite direction down the hallway.

The hallways were quiet, but littered with the marks of blaster fire and struggle. Windows were smashed through, letting in a more than chilly breeze that ruffled Thell’s cloak. Glass crunched under her shoes, and she made her way carefully, slowly through the halls, holding the blaster out in front of her. But as far as she could tell, no one else had been killed, and no one else but the guards that had chased after the man knew that he was here.

The hallways were silent until she rounded a corner, and came into the main living area that Darand spent most of his time in. This section was unharmed, looking as clean as she had left it, but something was off. The holo was on, showing scenes from a holodrama that Darand loved to watch. But from where she could see at her position at the edge of the wall, no one was in the room.

So she inched forward, holding the blaster out in front of her, twisting her head to look in every possible direction for an attack. Thell came closer, rounding the circular white couch that encompassed most of the room. Her goal had been to turn off the holo, probably left on by another servant or Darand himself, but her gaze had been glued to the center of the couch.

It was only when she had stumbled back, smacking her backside into the marble floor from the pure shock, that she could see clearly what was sitting on the couch.

It was some small, green alien, no taller than a foot high, from his position on the couch. If it even was a he. He was dressed in a bulgy tan robe that covered his feet and most of his three toed hands. Long, expressive ears stuck out from the side of his squashed head, and large black eyes stared back at her from his spot. From here, she could see wisps of light hair on his head, but he nearly looked bald. He was the strangest, but nearly cutest, creature Thell had ever seen.

And he was watching the holodrama. Even holding the remote in his tiny green hand.

So Thell let the blaster fall to her side, swallowing hard so she could speak without trembling.

“Um, hello.”

The small thing tilted its head, made a small squeaking noise, and directed its attention back to her. Thell’s jaw dropped.

“You’re just a kid,” she whispered to no one in particular, stunned.

So Thell stood slowly, letting her hands open so the child could see that she was unarmed.

“Hi, little guy,” she said softly, gently kneeling down in front of him. He tilted his head again, his ears twitching at her words. “Where did you come from?”

He made a soft noise again, and his nose twitched, like he was trying to say something. And Thell was ready to speak again when she heard a loud yell down one of the adjacent hallways. Her head shot up, and she expected to see that strange man walk in through the corridor. But it seemed she had some time.

Thell looked back at the child. “Come on, little guy. I need to get us somewhere safe.”

When it didn’t seem like he would object, Thell pulled him against her chest and rose to a standing position, going to grab her blaster. She had just bent down to grab it when she heard that familiar metal clang on the floor, and that same deep voice.

“Put him down.”

[nezumiko]

#mounthood #alpineglow (at Damascus, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWxlV3FYzE/?igshid=jhwzpzq40pj9

[oonajaeadira]

!!!! I'm so happy you're into the return of PATS. I''m excited to get back to him.

And yes, he belongs all over you your dash. <3

(gif by alpineglow)

Love to see YOU on my dash, Lola dear!

Baby when you get back and the mood strikes, reader has been traveling, how does PATS help her out? (Also to my romantic heart, he probably missed her, but can’t say that because he’s a ✨professional✨)

Thank you, lovely. I needed this ask. Because I did a lot of walking and my backpack was heav-vy. I feel like I've been away for a year and my head is foggy about what it is to be HERE again. So I'm excited to see what Pedro ATS has for us.

PATS and Homecoming Treatment Post-Travel

FANDOM: Calls - Apple TV (PATS is a character from ep. 3. “Pedro Across the Street.” This is not RPF.)

If he misses you or not, he wouldn’t confirm or deny it. He’s got a professional distance to keep.

But say you’ve been away for a few weeks. You do have to log into the portal and submit STD testing, as well as answer some required info. One of those would probably be the number of sexual partners you’ve had since you last saw him.

And if that number is zero? Well then. He’s got an excuse to give you a welcome home treatment, because it’s been a while for you. Might as well make it a joyful homecoming.

This means picking you up in a bear-hug, using the pressure and your own weight to lengthen and align your spine. No disrobing yet, just up on the table you get. He’s gonna sit on the end, pull off your shoes and put your feet in his lap to give you an extra long foot massage while you answer questions about your trip. The questions might feel superficial, but he’s gathering information. How much walking did you do vs. actual relaxation? What hurts and where? Any shift in sleep habits because of schedule or bedding or noise levels? This will inform him where to concentrate just gentle massage, while you pour out the details of your trip. Because when you’ve seen new places and done new things, it also unburdens you to share them with someone, to prove you were there.

As he works up your legs—still in his lap—his hands ghosting over your core--maybe pausing to warm you on his way to the other side--pulling your focus to being here with him, he will ask you if and when you felt the shift where you were looking forward to coming home. If you thought about this session. If he can help you to move from your getaway mindset back to the things that are good about being right here, right now.

Then he might focus on your back or neck, whatever might have gotten tightened in your out-of-normal routine.

When the first hour is over, he stands you up and gives you a rakish grin before softly growling a teasing “welcome back.” Then it’s suddenly all palms and lips wherever they can reach, your clothes being stripped from you with as much skin touching yours as possible, whether that’s him wrapping arms around you and pushing palms up and under your shirt up your back--your torso revealing itself against his own bare chest--or pressing his cheek against your thighs as your pants come down. He works swiftly and surprisingly, but with purpose, lingering here and there just a bit before swiftly moving on, just to make you loose your breath a little, to pull you into this present, getting your clothes off you in a manner that borders on impatient but stays on this side of sensual before pushing you back onto the bed.

It is in this instance he might bring out a little less control, a bit more fun and mischief, a bit more rolling around and playfulness and flesh-stifled groans and chatter. After a vacation is the moment when you’re the most stress free, when you don’t really need the therapy, when you’re just keeping an appointment, so he’ll use it to pull easy smiles out of you and put a cap on your joy. There may be be little nips and light spanks that end in a clutch and a growl, that universal sign of “I’ve been needing this and you brought it back to me.”

Whether or not he missed you is beside the point. It’s his job to make you feel welcomed back, to make you feel like someone at home is here and ready to rail you, to make you feel that your absence was noticed.

But the fact that he needs to pull back after about five minutes and just focus on your pleasure, the way he just…needs a minute before he can enter back into the fray…that maybe he has a little trouble keeping his excitement in check…well. Perhaps he's just really good at putting on a good show. Perhaps.

There's nothing on your chart this time but the recommendation that you return to regular visits for a while to rebalance and maintain that sense of calm--or homecoming--that you've gained. It's scribbled fast as if he didn't think about it too hard, just had to write something down absently...and...did he sign off with a quick smiley face? What?

___

___

NEXT

SERIES MASTERLIST

[justoutsidephotos]

8/8/20

A quick sunset drive to the top of Guanella Pass near Georgetown, Colorado.

[mountrainiernps]

🎵 “O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesties, above the fruited plain. America.” 🎵 Happy Fourth of July from Mount Rainier National Park! 🇺🇸 ~bb NPS Photo | S. Redman 

Description: Alpine glow creates a purple hue on a mountain. 

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Alpine Alpineglow Concept, 2022. A hydrogen-powered single seat hypercar prototype that points to the future styling of Alpine's car both for the trace track and the road

[thorsenmark]

Sharing Some Precious Moments of Time in Denali National Park & Preserve by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Not too long after sunset with the light from the evening sun still shining on the snowcapped peaks of Denali. The view is looking to the south in the North Face Lodge area in Denali National Park & Preserve. While I could have kept more of the nearby landscape in silhouette, I decided to pull those shadowed areas and get the right colors across the tundra and leaves with autumn colors.

[thelaughingspaceman]

Shots from the chapel yesterday🌊🏞️ • • #flood #yosemitevalley #yosemite #yosemitenationalpark #highwater #Mercedriver #Yosemitechapel #mountains #nature #wilderness #valley #alpineglow #aesthetic (at Yosemite Valley)

[dcmoore1959]

Taking it back 9 years to 2009 when I took this #CityScape view of Seattle from #KerryPark up in the #QueenAnne neighborhood. The setting sun behind you bringing out #alpineglow on the slopes of #MountRainier & gleaming off the historic #SpaceNeedle as well as skyscrapers old & new. The #PugetSound is an amazing metro-area with a diverse a growing economy that goes beyond the aerospace industry brought in a century ago by @Boeing but has further diversified into #tech with @Microsoft & @Adobe & also innovative retail starting with @Nordstrom & evolving to @Costco & @Amazon. I have friends who live & work there as well as some to the north across the 🇺🇸🇨🇦 border in #Vancouver, BC (at Kerry Park)

[brian-barnhart]

Working the backlight for this shot at @woodwardtahoe last summer. Shot for Alpine @bikeparks of one of their new trail builds. I can’t recall the rider’s name, but he’s a boss. Tag him if you know. #mtb #woodwardtahoe #truckee #trailride #dust #backlight #rideordie #ripper #bikepark #alpineglow #nicelight https://www.instagram.com/p/CD4LXDBHNdg/?igshid=195df1o2rx94z

[oonajaeadira]

Welcome back, Leah. I’d seen that you were away for a while and it was nice to see your name back in Tumblrtown.

Yeah, a lot happened with these two while you were away. I see you’ve been busy catching up. Excellent.

(gif by alpineglow)

Also adira, I have a question. I was reading GTTT2 because I couldn’t sleep and was sad, I remember the part about he didn’t stay at a massage place bc he got in too deep with a client, not verbatim I know. Does reader worth about that? Does she wonder if she’s another oops? Is it not actually what we think it is? It’s been on my mind since last night bc I hyperfocus. Obviously not required to answer if you don’t want to!! Just thinking my thoughts - magic

Hello, dear Magic.

I'm sorry you could not sleep, and I'm sorry you were sad, and I'm sorry this answer has been a while in coming. But I have been thinking thots about it.

Does Preciosa worry about being a repeat of his former oops? Not exactly. I'm sure she wonders about it, and I'm going to address that soon enough.

Pats, though, he's a different story. If anyone is worrying about it, it's probably him....

Truth or Dare: Unblurring the Lines, part 1 (GTTT PATS)

FANDOM: Calls - Apple TV (PATS is a character from ep. 3. “Pedro Across the Street.” This is not RPF.)

(gif by javier-pena)

.

“Truth.” 

He’s not afraid of what you’ll ask him anymore. He understands how much you value this arrangement, appreciates that you’ve found a way to appease your curiosity, build a bond and yet gamify it with rewards. You make it playful, take the pressure off of what could otherwise be serious questions he really has no business answering. Except you’ve earned his trust. He’ll tell you whatever you want to know. He should really shut the game down. Re-establish control.

Soon.

He’s thought long and hard about it. Had a drink with Shell. Thinks he understands where this is all going. He’s finally got a strategy.

“It’s a pretty personal question,” you warn from the bed, laying on your side, head propped up on your elbow, one knee cascading down in front of the other, giving your hips a curve that confirms for him why artists so love the human form, “you might want to take your reward first.”

“And I might wear you out before you get to ask. So you’d better grab the chance now.” Pulling his shirt over his head and dropping it to the floor, he starts to work on his belt and zipper.

“Really. What did you have planned?”

He allows one corner of his mouth to pull up. “I thought we might try a little reenactment.”

“...Okay. Of what? The War of 1812?”

And then the other corner follows. “I was thinking we might run through the beats of that night in the hotel. You said something about this being a sacred space,” he slides in under the bed cover, “I thought we might bring that in. Include it. Let it exist here rather than out there.”

After coming across his note pinned to your refrigerator, that night has come back to haunt him with force, your mouth on him, taking you over and over with abandon...even allowing himself to curl around you in sleep. But he lost control there. Cringes when he realizes he should have respected you and allowed for that to happen in this sanctum. 

Not that you seemed to mind it, but these games you’ve been playing...you should be able to ask what you need to ask. He’s left you on unstable ground. He can fix that.

Curiously, the small smile you’d had melts away, and for a moment, he’s not completely sure what you’re thinking as you hold his gaze for a long moment.

But once you’ve moved under the sheets and got yourself cozied in–both of you as you were that night, chins drifting above the lip of the cover–you turn your head to meet his eye.

“Speaking of the hotel, you mentioned something in your note, something I’ve been curious about. Will you…” your gaze skips away, indicating that this question carries some level of difficulty for you, either in the subject matter, or the intrusion. “Will you tell me what happened with the client you got involved with?”

And when your eyes find his again, they deliver a shock of electricity through him. One he tries to dampen, ready to control its charge

“That’s tonight’s question?”

You nod. 

Yahtzee.

You’re right. It’s an extremely personal question coming from a client, but maybe not so much from you. You’ve already told him the story of your divorce, let him into your inner sanctum, so he’s been waiting for this reciprocal question from you. Banking on it, even. He just didn’t expect you to be so bold so soon. 

But then, you do tend to surprise him.

He’s going to stabilize this whole thing right here, right now. Undo any damage he might have caused by getting carried away in the hotel. Take that night and make it part of your sessions. Give you back the therapist you’ve come to trust. Make it clear to you why he won’t overstep, why he wouldn’t ask you for anything more.

He’s going to take care of you like you deserve to be taken care of.

And he’s going to make sure you want to keep coming back to him… because he can’t bear the thought of losing his favorite client. 

His favorite client.

This is the best way to accomplish this.

Best to keep it simple. Clinical. Lay it out on the table.

“I was going through a rough time, thought I was depressed and didn’t realize at first what was going on. She stared off as a regular massage client, but gradually, she got bold. Her advances started small, and I should have stopped things, but I was flattered and, admittedly, interested. Things escalated and we were overheard. Shell covered for me. Made up some pretty good explanations.”

Funny how he’s almost able to laugh about it now. At Shell. At her gall. 

Focus. Keep it professional.

“So I tried to explain to the woman that it couldn’t continue at work and she convinced me to see her outside of the clinic. We started dating. But I had trouble concentrating. My coworkers didn’t completely buy the cover story that Shell gave them and that was causing stress for everyone. Then things got worse, couldn’t stop myself from picturing what other clients might be like in the same situation. And the distraction went deeper than that…I’ll leave it there. But. I wasn’t being honest with them, I wasn’t fulfilling the promise I made to my clients. I couldn’t let that continue.”

Then he gets to the part that used to be hard for him to admit but that he’s come to embrace and accept now; it’s easy to tell you so warm beside him in bed, so open and attentive. So still. He’s come to like being still with you.

“Shell helped me realize I might need some therapy. That’s when I learned about my addiction and started working to control it.

“Well, once my girlfriend found out about that, she became increasingly suspicious and jealous and I wanted to make her happy, so I quit the clinic. It was okay for a while. But the therapy wasn’t helping me. And we took a step back from the relationship. At least that’s how I understood it.”

She….didn’t. 

Anyway.

“This thing I do now? Shell’s idea, as I’ve said. It was around then she helped me get started. And it was like finding my calling. I was helping others, I was helping myself. Everything fit. Everything except…her.”

Shit. Now what. A pang of guilt rips through him. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. He can feel himself wanting to backpedal. How to wrap this up without exhibiting anything too deeply vulnerable–

–but then, your face, so rapt and comforting, so much care–

“She found out. And it wasn’t good. I don’t think…”

--that it spills forth easier than he could have expected, never having said it out loud to anyone until this moment–

”I don’t think I’ve ever hurt someone like that before.”

Fuck.

That was…

Liberating.

But the look in your eyes is…concerned? Troubled? Unsure. He’s here to reassure you.

“And I don’t plan on doing it again. This is where my balance is. I’m honest to my clients about what I do.I just want people to leave here feeling better than when they arrived. I’m here for my clients. For you.”

“I see,” you respond, softly, quietly, a trusted voice beside him in bed. “And do you ever…regret that decision?”

He can’t help it. He leans forward and presses a light, lingering kiss to your lips. “Not at all.”

When you cling to his face and pull him deeper into the kiss he relaxes.

Truly relaxes.

Finally.

He’s made the lines clearer for you now. Put you at ease. And you know he will adhere to any boundaries you set. And you’ll continue to come to sessions.

And he won’t lose you.

He won’t lose you.

This is how he gets what he needs and keeps you feeling safe.

This is how he keeps you….

…as much as he can.

____

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