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JOSIE

F inally, certain that I have everything, I put on my shoes to leave my place.

This is a first-time visit, so we’re doing a short session to relieve some of her needs, but not a full session.

I’m not sure I have the capacity for a full session today, plus her scent card wasn’t something I enjoyed, so I’ll have to use a nasal scent block to avoid taking her scent in.

If we get along well enough, I can ask her to wear a scent-block perfume to dampen her scent.

As soon as my shoes are on, I apply some of the scent blocker to my upper lip, effectively preventing me from smelling anyone.

I have no idea how scientists do it, but I can still smell normal things, just not other people.

Walking down my pathway, I feel my purse start to slip off my shoulder.

I scramble to catch it, but half of its contents dump out anyway.

In a whirlwind of activity, I finally get to meet my elusive neighbor.

I knew someone moved in there a little while back, but I’ve not gotten a chance to meet them.

Now I know it’s a him. A very tall, sexy, masculine him.

All I could think was controlling my body’s reaction to him.

I could feel my arousal ramp up, but I have a stronger will than most and I lock that shit down.

Of course, he has to make it hard with his gorgeous blue eyes and flirty smile, but I make it through without perfuming.

He’s all I can think of as I drive away, my mind spinning on the entire encounter.

There’s something about him that draws me in, even though I couldn’t smell him.

The way he looked at me in the end, though, like I’m his entire world?

That was enough to make me want to jump his bones.

Shit, could he smell me? Is that why? Pretty sure we didn’t touch, so I’m not sure why he was staring at me.

I definitely will be texting him later, there’s no way I can resist. Once I arrive at my appointment, I take a moment to enter his number into my phone and decide to bite the bullet.

Me

Hey! This is Josie. I can’t text much, but I thought I’d say hi.

There’s no immediate reply, which I’m honestly not surprised about.

I’m sure he’s got things to do today. I take a deep breath, gather my things, and step out of my car.

As I close it, I hear my phone ding. My mouth starts creeping into a smile, and I bite my lower lip to try and stop it.

When I glance at the screen, there’s no holding the smile back.

Jesse

Hey, pretty girl! Glad you texted, good luck with whatever you’re doing right now.

It takes every ounce of professionalism in me not to squeal and jump up and down in front of this client’s house.

There may be nothing that comes from it, but it’s hard to deny the excitement of talking to my hot neighbor.

Slipping my phone into my purse, I take a deep breath and make my way to the front door.

We’re in a nice neighborhood, thankfully not mansion territory, though.

Mansions make me nervous, and they’re always too clean.

It creates too much pressure over not making a mess.

The door opens, and I’m not sure what higher power is smiling down on me, but I get my second super-hot guy interaction today.

Where my neighbor had light hair, this guy has hair as black as night, an un-styled, slightly too long mohawk.

His blue eyes pierce me, and his eyes flare wide when he sees me.

We stand there, staring at each other for a moment before I remember myself.

“Hello, I’m Josie from Touch Helpers. I’m here for an introductory appointment,” I explain, and try to subtly ensure I didn’t start drooling.

He startles and seems to shake himself, “Hi, I’m Henry, please come in.”

I step into the house, and I’m impressed with the level of welcome it exudes.

A small smile comes to me as I look around, my eyes sweeping from warm family photos to casual throws lining the couch, and small clutter sitting out on surfaces.

It seems like a home with plenty of love, so I’m curious and a little concerned as to why an Omega needs touch here.

One should get plenty from what this environment presents.

“Where’s the Omega?” I ask the man, who is still staring at me.

His mouth is slightly open, and his eyes are riveted on me. The fuck is wrong with this dude? He may be hot, but I’m not into creepers.

I clear my throat, “Excuse me? Henry, was it? Are you okay?”

He comes back to himself and apologizes.

“Yeah, sorry, I’ll go get her. Or, do you need to come with me to her nest? I don’t know how this works.”

I give him a soft smile. “Why don’t I follow you, and we can ask what she’s most comfortable with?”

“Yeah, right, of course.”

I follow him up the stairs, where there are several rooms, and we stop outside the door furthest from the stairs.

Henry knocks, and we wait in the quiet for a moment.

A small voice speaks, but I can’t quite hear what she’s saying.

Henry must be used to it because he seems to understand her just fine.

“Ray, it’s me. Your Touch Helper is here,” he calls gently.

There’s some shuffling from behind the door, and it opens a crack to reveal a shorter woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, pulled half back.

I can see her distrust of me, but I’m happy to see that she looks at Henry with plenty of trust. It’s a good sign, even if she’s not getting what she needs from him.

“Hey, I’m Josie, you’re Ray?” I introduce myself gently.

She nods, but doesn’t verbalize anything.

“I’d love to talk for a few minutes and see how you feel about some touch therapy. Would you like to do this in your nest, or is there another place in the house that would be better? It’s totally up to you, whatever you are most comfortable with.”

Ray looks at Henry, and he nods with a smile, reinforcing what I’ve said.

“Umm, I guess the living room couch, I don’t want you in my nest yet.” She looks incredibly nervous as she says it.

I respond with my gentle smile, “No problem at all, I want you to be comfortable over anything else.”

She gives a small smile back and closes her door before coming out a moment later, dressed in lounge pants and a hoodie, most of her skin covered.

I make a mental note of that; it’s an indication that she’s not comfortable with skin-to-skin touch quite yet.

It’s something we can try to work up to, if this ends up being a good arrangement.

If we don’t mesh, I can refer her to one of the two Betas I use for touch therapy.

Letting her lead, we make our way down to a comfortable seating area on the first floor.

The couches are plush and soft. Ray grabs a spot and burrows herself into the corner of a couch with some blankets around her.

I indicate the spot next to her, and she nods, so I take that as permission to sit next to her.

“Do you want Henry to stay or leave?” I ask, looking only at her.

Her eyes jump between us, and she bites down on her lip as she thinks. It’s pretty clear that she’s trying not to upset anyone.

Henry walks a little closer and kneels down. “How about I stay until you tell me you’re okay without me here?”

She nods, “Yes, please.”

Henry smiles and makes his way to the other side of the room and settles himself into a chair. We sit in the quiet for a moment, Henry scrolling on his phone while Ray and I take each other in. I make a point to settle in a bit more, and I can see Ray relax just a bit more.

“How about I tell you about me?” I ask.

I get a small smile in response, “Sure, I’m not good at small talk.”

“I totally get it,” I tell her, leaning in slightly, “It’s so awkward, am I right?”

That one gets me a full smile, and a warm feeling fills my chest. I love making other people smile. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see their eyes light up, chasing away any tension or negativity, even if it’s just for a moment.

“Well, you might know, but my name is Josie. I started Touch Helpers, oh, maybe five years ago now. I had a job as a secretary, and when I overheard someone at the office talking about a friend they knew who had touch sickness, I offered to help. Being able to help gave me a sense of purpose, and I started Touch Helpers. I have two others who help with touch, both Betas. I’m hoping one day I’ll find another Omega to help too, but for now it’s me and two Betas who live together. ”

“Live together? Are they mated to each other?” she asks softly.

“No, they’re siblings. They’d both like to find their own Pack someday, but they’re happy with supporting each other for now. They’re both incredibly warm and understanding, so even if you and I don’t work out, you could try one of them.”

She nods thoughtfully. I let her process my words for a few moments to see if she has any questions or further thoughts.

“Can I ask if you’re mated?”

Most Omegas don’t ask me this, so I’m a little thrown, but I don’t mind the question. “People don’t usually ask me that, but I don’t mind telling you. I’m not mated right now. I’ve been happy enough being single, so I’m not looking either.”

“Oh, that’s good.” She seems almost relieved.

“Do you prefer someone unmated?”

“I don’t want someone to use this as an excuse to try and mate me. Does that make sense?”

“Completely. We have a policy in place that if it does ever happen where a Match is found or even just interest in being Pack, we re-evaluate the contract. You make all the decisions on whether you want anything to happen. If you choose to leave my service, I can recommend another one if needed. There aren’t many of us, so we try to work together as much as possible. ”

She smiles. “Sounds like you have all the bases covered.”

“I try to, but I’m always up to learn something new if a new situation comes up.”

Ray looks over at Henry, “I’m good if you want to go to another room.”

I look over in time to see him looking at me before catching himself and turning back to Ray. “Okay, I’ll just be a few rooms away if you need me. Just shout.”

“What should we shout?” I ask, waiting to see if either of them takes the bait for some levity.

“Henry, you’re the best and we can’t live without you!” he exclaims.

Ray snorts, “Or we could just say ‘Get your ass in here’.”

Poor Henry slumps in mock sorrow, “Someday you’ll admit I’m the best.”

“Keep trying.”

I can’t help but giggle at them. There’s definitely sibling affection here, but they look nothing alike, so I’m very curious how they know each other.

The application didn’t list any relatives, just that she was living in town and needed help.

Henry grins at us before winking and walking out of the room.

“He clearly cares about you,” I mention.

A happy expression appears on her face, “Yeah, he’s been a good big brother-not brother.”

“Do you want to talk about what’s happening in your life? Or we can just spend a few minutes cuddling to see if we’re comfortable with it.”

“I could go for some snuggles.”

I nod and grab a couple more blankets before peeling hers back and sliding under them.

I arrange the new ones around us so we’re completely cocooned, only a hole at the top to let air in.

Reaching out to her, I pull her in close, and she slides in without complaint, resting her head on my shoulder.

That’s how we exist for the next fifteen minutes, and I can feel her slowly relax and calm the longer we go. She absolutely needed this.