The Relationship Coach (10 page)

She yanked on her nightgown, brushed her damp hair, and entered the bedroom. Jason lay in bed, engrossed in the baseball game on the television. Suddenly, she wanted her bed back. She wanted her room back; she even wanted her life back. But he planned on spending the night. Right now, she was ready for him to leave.

Amanda sank onto the bed and gazed at him. Was he the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with?

A commercial for Viagra came on, and he pulled her against him and kissed her.

He released her lips and gazed into her eyes. “Honey,” he drawled, “you know the Yankees are my favorite team.”

“Yes, I know,” she said. “I had hoped to spend more time focused on you, here in my bed.”

What man turned down attention in the bedroom?

“You were great, and we spent all the time we needed to on sex.”

For a moment, Amanda stared in stunned disbelief. He thought they had spent enough time on each other. Ten minutes of foreplay, twenty minutes of sex and one minute of cuddling. Not quite wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am, but certainly not the night of intimacy she’d anticipated.

The commercial ended and the game came back on. His eyes were glued to the television as he said, “Hey honey, could you get me some water and maybe bring a bag of chips. All that sex made me hungry.”

She stood, and he patted her on the butt. She wondered if she were in a time warp and they’d been married for twenty years, instead of just dating for three months. Yet, she liked Jason and until tonight, hoped that, over time, her feelings would morph into love.

“Please tell me you’re not going to eat chips in bed,” she said, heading towards the kitchen.

Love took time and right now, her only emotion was irritation. She’d never experienced someone turning on the television right after they’d had sex.

“Yeah, and bring that new salsa you bought.”

Lacey preached choosing the right mate, searching until you found someone who shared your interests, your goals, your dreams, but did Jason really meet that criteria?

She took a bowl of salsa and the chips into the bedroom. He took them from her and patted a place on the bed.

“Come on, Hon. Sit here and watch the game with me.”

She gazed at him and wondered what marriage would be like with him. Jason was good-looking, had a great job, had set life goals and shared her vision of wanting one good marriage. But…

He patted the bed again and smiled at her. “Please, it’s lonely here without you.”

The voltage of that smile lit a thousand watts inside her and sparked an ember within her. He was a typical sports obsessed guy. She should cut him some slack.

She crawled in bed beside him, taking care not to spill his salsa. He placed a chip between her lips, and she savored it. He leaned over and kissed her, his mouth moving over hers slowly, fanning that small ember into a spark.

“Hmmm…sweet and salty,” he said.

A roar erupted from the television as the crowd screamed their approval. His head yanked ninety degrees as he threw up his hands. “Oh no, the Red Sox hit a home run. Shit, now they’ve tied it up.”

Once again, his attention was diverted to the television. Amanda picked up her book from the nightstand. If this was what marriage would be like, was she certain she couldn’t live without Jason?

***

Reed stood beside Ty, as he filmed Lacey in the San Antonio Hilton Hotel ballroom preaching the gospel of dating. The first day of shooting, and so far there hadn’t been many glitches. A lost camera they’d located, not enough copies of the release form for the audience and the lighting. The hotel ballroom’s lights sucked, and he’d rented several lamps to place on the stage, hoping Lacey knew enough not to stand near them.

Lacey ambled across the raised dais, giving her segment called “Dating is More Than A One-Night Stand”.

“People, I’m not passing moral judgment. But banging Bubba at two a.m. is an act of loneliness, unless you have an emotional connection with him. And the next morning, you look over at him and think
what the hell was I thinking
?”

Inside, Reed was laughing. He’d experienced this from the male perspective. But his ah-ha moment was when the woman refused to leave the next morning. He wanted her gone, and she wanted to move in.
Not good.

Silence filled the auditorium as she paused, letting her message resonate with her audience. “Dating is the process of getting to know the person. Finding out whether or not you have shared interests besides loneliness. In my matchmaking service, we ask our clients not to have sex for at least ten dates.”

Yeah, right
. Nowadays it was sex on the first date if you were lucky, but always by the third date.

The audience groaned. “Yes, I know ten dates seem like forever. It’s more than the three date average. But if you’ve made it to ten dates, you’ve already decided whether or not you like the other person and whether or not this relationship has a chance of success. If our couples want to wait longer, that’s even better. But ten dates are usually over a month to two month time frame. Does everyone do what we ask and wait that long? I don’t know. Our policy is not to grill our clients on their sex life.”

Again, the audience laughed.

“Sex is an intimate act between two people who are expressing love or at least that they care about one another. If you don’t know the person, how can it be anything but physical? And if that’s what you want, then go for it. But I’m trying to help you find the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with. When you have sex too early in the relationship, it can get awkward and stress the budding relationship.”

Reed kept waiting for her to talk about the physical side, the way sometimes you just want to rip someone’s clothes off and go for it. But she didn’t talk about that all-consuming passion. Had she never experienced it? No, someone with her background must have experienced passion so great that all you could think about was getting that person into bed.

“Let’s go back to our friend Bubba. It’s two a.m. You’re lonely. It’s late. You’ve had a couple of drinks, and he’s whispering into your ear as you dance across the floor. Your defenses are weak. It feels good to be in his arms.” She paused and walked across the podium.

Facing the audience, she raised her hand and her voice, like she was giving a sermon. “What are you doing there? Why aren’t you home in bed? I’m not saying don’t go out partying or dancing. I’m saying go home before you reach that vulnerable time of night when all you feel is your loneliness. If Bubba is interested in you, he’ll wait.”

Reed no longer went out to dancing bars. He hung out at sports bars, and the women were just as easy there as they were at the dance halls. Now he was pickier; he got to know them before he even asked them out on a date.

She paused, letting the audience absorb the information. “Let me say that again. If Bubba is interested in you, he will wait.”

Reed watched the audience and could see from their expressions that some clearly understood her message. Others, especially the men, frowned as if they knew the number of women who would be turning them down had just increased.

“Again, I’m not passing moral judgment. You can bang everyone within six counties if you want, and that’s your business. What I’m saying is if you want to find someone to spend the rest of your life with, why aren’t you exploring that person? It’s all about getting to know someone. It’s all about finding that one person who will balance you, help you grow as an individual, and share the same values. Permanent relationships are built on good foundations, just like a home.”

She paused, and Reed watched as Ty glanced over at him and grinned. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. Reed couldn’t help but laugh. Everything Lacey said made sense, but he’d be damned if he’d use any of her techniques. He wasn’t interested in a forever after. Not any longer.

“So let’s make sure everyone understands what dating is.” She took a sip of water. “Dating is him-or-her, picking you up and taking you to do something that you both enjoy. Or it can be simply sitting at dinner and getting to know one another. But how can you find out what the other person likes if you just do them?” She walked across the stage.

“Before you walk down that aisle, why not date this person and use this time to explore whether you have the same tastes, the same values, the same desires? You don’t have to like everything identical. In fact, it’s good if the other person helps you to experience new things, but you at least need to have the same values.”

Lacey faced the audience, her features were animated, her hands gestured, and her voice preached. “Throw sex into the first or second date and you don’t know who you’re sleeping with. I’m not saying sex is bad. I’m saying if you want a permanent relationship that lasts your entire life, you need to do your research.”

The audience laughed.

“I’m serious. Put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and investigate that person and if you think this is someone you could spend the rest of your life with, if you think this person is someone you want to know more intimately, go out and have the best damn sex of your life with them. Burn the sheets up. But realize sex always changes the relationship. It makes it intimate. And that’s not a bad thing when the relationship is ready.”

Surely, these people weren’t buying into this crap. Surely, they weren’t going to change the way they looked at dating. Were they? He gazed out at the audience and noticed people were paying attention. They were listening to Lacey.

She stared out at her audience. “Okay, we’ve had enough seriousness for a while; let’s take a ten minute break.”

Ty laid down his camera. “We’re getting some great stuff.”

“Yeah, let’s see if we can get someone to talk on camera.”

Reed walked up to a man in his mid-thirties who sat staring reflectively off into space. “Excuse me, sir. Could I ask you some questions on camera?”

“Sure.”

“What do you think of today’s seminar? Has it been everything you’ve expected?”

The man smiled. “It’s been more. She’s made me think of relationships in a new way. I need to do better at getting to know a woman and what makes her happy.”

Reed stopped, stunned. That wasn’t the answer he’d expected. The man must be lying. He’d try a different tact. “Do you think this will change the way you date?”

“Most definitely. I’ve already signed up for her matchmaking service, and I can’t wait to go out on my first date.”

“What do you think of Ms. Morgan? Do you think she’s presented this seminar in a professional manner? You do realize that relationship coaches are not doctors and don’t even have a Master’s degree.”

That question would get him the footage he needed. The shocked expression, where the man would admit he didn’t know and probably even walk out.

“What does a degree matter if she’s teaching you something that will help you for the rest of your life? I’m not looking for therapy. My relationships kept ending, and now I realize that was a symptom of me not really knowing these women. I hope to do better in the future.”

Well, crap. Time to find a new source.
“Thank you for your time, sir.”

Reed walked over to a blank wall, and Ty pointed the camera at him. “Some relationship coaches have a certificate from a training center, but they are not therapists. There is no therapy involved, only someone helping you figure out the problems in the relationship and your role in those problems.”

Reed made a cutting motion with his hand and let the mic drop. “I know this is the first day of shooting, but right now, I don’t think I’ve found the angle I want to pursue.”

“I’m telling you, man, I don’t have a good feeling about this one.”

“Yeah, I know you keep telling me. Relax, it’s the first day. It will get better.”

It had to get better, or Graham would have Reed’s hide. Find the dirt on this woman or find another job. He didn’t doubt for a moment Graham would fire him if he didn’t like the film Reed produced.

“This woman is good. Even I was beginning to wonder if I might need to rethink my dating habits.”

Reed gazed at his friend and cameraman. “Come on, you’re kidding me.”

“No, I’m not. I don’t go to bars and hook up with women. In my past relationships, I’ve always looked out for my best interests and didn’t give a shit about what the woman thought. Maybe that’s why I can’t keep a girlfriend.”

Reed shook his head. They still had weeks of filming. They would find something on the clever Ms. Morgan. “I understand, but do you want a permanent relationship?”

“No.”

“Then, who the hell cares what you do? Be upfront with the woman and have sex. As long as she knows you’re not interested in forever, just enjoy the moment,” Reed said. Was his cameraman being indoctrinated with this psychobabble? How jacked was that?

Ty nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But why is it starting to sound wrong?”

***

Lacey stretched her neck, releasing the tension in her tight muscles. Her back ached from the long day of being on her feet.

Reed walked up and watched her. “Tight neck?”

“Yeah, after being on stage all day, I’m tense.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them.

“God, that feels good.” His hands were strong and warm, his fingers working magic on her shoulders and neck. She sighed and knew she should stop him, but the pleasure was too great.

“Thank you,” he replied, his voice near her ear, his breath tickling the back of her neck.

“Did you get some good film today?” she asked, trying not to think about the way his hands were making her feel.

“Yes, we did. We even got a few people to talk on camera.”

“They gave me raving reviews, right?”

“Yes, they did. We talked to two men and two women. One person said this was the second time she’d taken this seminar, and this time she’d brought her girlfriends.”

Lacey felt a little tension seep out of her, relieved her clients were saying good things on camera about her. “Great!”

“I don’t know if men will think that way. I’m sure there are bars all over Texas where the Bubbas of this world are going home alone,” he said, his voice sliding like warm butter down her spine.