They met two years before, on the other side of the world. Tonight, Sunny and James both thought with bittersweet regret about how they got here – a third floor officetel on the outskirts of Seoul – Sunny, on the tiny kitchen hallway floor, wiped tears from her tightly closed eyes with a corner of her blanket, while James rested with one eye open, on his bed, a box containing every knife, scissor, and shaving blade in the apartment under his pillow.
***
He knew immediately he didn’t like her.
“This is Sunny. She’s been helping out the Overlook Retreat Resort, and now she will be with us.” Brad Park, the manager and Headmaster of the Metro Education Center for Healing Science said, his hand reassuringly placed between Sunny’s shoulder-blades.
She looked at the clean hardwood floor and smiled weakly. James, a student and teacher of eastern medicine and head of his own Healing Science Center, was good at reading people. Her uneven posture and bloodlessly pale skin, the tilt of her head and the way her eyes narrowed when she smiled a crooked smile – these were only the surface ripples of the deeper current. He saw a needy, insecure and troubled girl beneath, but could not suppress his all too natural sexual energies and urges completely. He permitted himself a moment to wonder about being with her.
Years of training to harness that energy, and James found himself sitting there with an erection, looking at a plain-at-best young woman who actually repulsed him on some level. ‘This is exactly the type of girl I can’t stand, but I somehow could end up with’, James thought to himself as he focused his mind on his breath, his body, the center of his energy.
That focus had been the most essential part of James’s training in Healing Science. Five years earlier, James’s ex-girlfriend Anna brought him to a HS center for the first time. Anna had been brought there by her mother, who had come for traditional Korean healing methods to help her arthritis. Anna stayed for the spiritual practice and world-healing mission of the parent organization, despite warnings from some of her friends that it was some kind of cult. James stayed for Anna – at first.
~~
Anna was so beautiful in his eyes that there was almost no limit to what he would do to be with her. They began dating in college, back before every white guy in Williamsburg had an Asian girlfriend. James pursued her for over a year before he finally mustered up the courage to kiss her.
After countless tortuous nights spanning 3 seasons spent talking, drinking, listening to music, or just hanging out before saying ‘good night’ and going home lonely and dejected, James finally cracked. His friends did not understand why he hadn’t made a move. They also didn’t know Anna told James that she wasn’t interested in a relationship with anyone. Coupled with her being Korean at a time when most Koreans stayed within their own social group, and the fact that she was more beautiful than any girl James had been with before, he thought a relationship with Anna beyond friendship would be impossible.
A conversation with his best friend Tim was the last straw.
“Anna’s a cool person, don’t you think?” Tim passed the end of a joint to James. The two of them were so similar they could have been brothers. Both were 5’11”, similar strong build with just a bit of remaining baby-fat, blue eyes, shaggy and stubbly with too long light brown hair, and guitarists in the same band.
“Yeah, definitely. Why do you ask?” James killed the joint and leaned back in his chair.
“Oh, you know… I know you two hang out a lot. You’re not hooking up with her, right?”
“Not yet – “, James leaned forward again, obviously agitated.
“Ha, right. It’s just I hung out with her the other day at her place. Smoked a little. I mean, I always thought she was hot, but I never really talked to her before. She’s cool.”
“I know.”
“So, if you’re not like, gonna…”
“What?” There had never been any jealousy or competition between these friends, and the escalating conversation was making both of them nervous.
“You know she likes you, right? But she thinks you guys are just friends, so I was gonna ask her out or something, I mean if you’re not.”
“No man, I am. I was just waiting for-“
“Waiting for what? Everyone knows you guys should have been together by now, so, you know, just do it man. Man up! Pick up your sack!”
“Yeah, your right.”
“You better, cause if you don’t I will.”
“Alright then. Thanks.” James appeared to be back to his normal calm self, but inside he was all wound up. He had no choice. He had to make a move for Anna.
“I’m serious.”
“I get, I get it. If I’m not in there by Thanksgiving, go for it.”
“Fuck, I will dude.”
“Alright, enough of this shit. Gimme that guitar over there…”
That weekend, on a cold November Saturday night in Anna’s living room, James and Anna listened to the debut of ‘Kid-A’ on the college radio station, smoked a little pot and drank a little tea. It was well past midnight, and time escort ataşehir to go home again. The two of them stood in the doorway with the cold night air blowing in.
He was torn inside to the point of desperation, and thought he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t make a move. The idea of anyone else with Anna was unbearable, especially his best friend. James, one foot out the door already, turned around and said, “I don’t want to leave.”
“Then don’t”, she said.
“I love you”, James blurted out as he stepped back inside her small apartment and kissed her. He held her strangely angular face as she parted her small lips and met his tongue with hers. His hands caressed her slight body through her thin woolen sweater as they kissed with a years-worth of pent up desire.
They moved to an upholstered arm chair, where Anna sat on James’s lap, sweater strewn across the floor and faded pink bra exposed, a small bow in its center. He cupped Anna’s hand-full-sized breasts and kissed her neck as he removed the bra. She softly grunted, and began to grind her hips slowly against him and his growing erection.
James gently squeezed a small, dark, hard nipple, and Anna raised her hips up, simultaneously providing James the opportunity to kiss her breasts and slip his free hand inside her panties, also decorated with a bow. She grunted again. James ran his fingers along the inner crotch of her panties, felt the slick, wet coating that already soaked through the delicate fabric, and brushed them against Anna’s bare, slippery outer lips. She grabbed his muscular shoulders, kissed him again and pressed her tongue firmly against his. She licked his lips as James’s index and middle fingers slipped inside…
~~
Again, James tried to recover his focus and suppress these sexual thoughts as reality slapped him in the face. He was in the middle of a meeting, trying to listen to the Headmaster, and Anna was sitting just behind him. The real Anna, five years after the now imaginary one occupying his thoughts. Cold, aloof, and focused on whatever Headmaster Brad had been talking about for the past few moments.
As expected, it was Sunny’s role at the Overlook Retreat Resort, which apparently was minimal. Life in this organization was not easy – for most devotees and instructors it was part monk, part faith healer, part salesman, part recruiter – and it could be very stressful. James imagined Sunny struggled in her previous role, and was sent to Overlook to recover in a low-pressure environment. Now she was here to take some kind of intermediate step, James thought, and to likely move on again to manage a HS center of her own.
She stood in front of the classroom, beside an anatomical model skeleton with a similarly gawky appearance. All the ‘faculty’ were gathered, seated behind massage tables that doubled as desks. True, there were a few actual teachers in the room, but the majority of this mixed American and Korean group were in some way cult acolytes.
Everyone smiled artificial grins they actually thought were genuine – except the Headmaster and the newbie. She appeared genuinely nervous and in need of a serious confidence boost. Her short cut black hair sat asymmetrically over her pallid, yet somehow attractive face, and her thin, slightly scoliotic frame supported a baggy long sleeve t-shirt and hippy skirt. The staff smiling at this waifish character were all dressed in either sharp expensive suits, or pristine pressed martial arts robes.
“Hello, I’m Sunny. Nice to meet you. I will do my best!”
Everyone clapped, and Sunny lowered her shy eyes even more. Her thick accent would not have been out of place here, but she was clearly self-conscious about speaking.
As the weekly status meeting was brought to a close, the women of the team circled around Sunny and began to introduce themselves. James, who along with Brad and James’s young employee and healer-in-training named Luke were the only men in the region, made his way toward Sunny. As he approached the group of women, Brad clasped his shoulder and said, “James, I need to speak with you. Please come with me.”
“Yes, Headmaster,” James replied and pivoted to follow Brad out of the classroom to his private office. His eyes met Sunny’s as he left, and he held her gaze just a moment too long. As he looked away, he saw her dark eyes flinch. He could hear her voice, somehow too soft and too sharp at the same time, as he walked down the hall to the Headmaster’s office.
Brad, who had chosen his name because he liked Brad Pitt, was an intense Korean man who grew up in the field of martial arts. His style as a trainer and Headmaster was all old-school discipline, which made him both loved and feared by his students and underlings. They sat in half lotus position on the heated, padded, office floor, and the Headmaster began to explain the current situation to James.
“You’ve done an excellent job, guiding Luke so well that you’ve been free to teach classes here while he covers for you in Highland. It’s been a big success, but now, we kadıköy escort need to make some changes to improve performance in our other centers, and you need a new challenge too. So, you will now focus on your Highland center 100%, and end your classes here at Metro.”
“Yes, Headmaster.” Like it or not, and James certainly did not, what he said was law.
“Luke will come here and study with Anna. She can teach your classes until Luke is ready to take over your duties here. Sunny will go to your center and help you there.” Brad paused and watched James take in all the information.
James focused on his breathing, and didn’t show any emotional response. He hoped that the Headmaster, contrary to popular belief, could not read thoughts. He continued, “I know your relationship with Anna is complicated, but I also know you have come to peace about it”
The Headmaster was right, in part. Once they both became serious devotees, their relationship ended. Sex was discouraged, especially for newer devotees. Later, after mastering yourself, it was supposedly allowed, but as they began their serious training, all intimacy between them ended.
They moved out of their one-bedroom apartment and into a communal house along with several other instructors and healers. They slept in separate rooms, and spent their time cleaning like monks or the karate kid instead of going out to concerts or dinners like they used to. As time passed, James and Anna never ‘broke up’, but they certainly ceased to be lovers. The Headmaster helped James get over Anna, spending several years on physical, emotional, and spiritual training and healing with him.
He counselled James, he sent him to Korea for training, he even arranged a mutually beneficial healing sexual relationship with another devotee. Despite all their efforts, James never forgot Anna, and if he were honest, he would admit that he fantasized about her often.
“Of-course you will still see her, only less frequently. More importantly, I need you to care for Sunny.”
James nodded. It was true that he had made peace with the fact that Anna occupied a completely different role in his life than before. It didn’t matter to James if he saw her or not. He had given up on getting her back, but he continued to imagine Anna as he once knew her.
Her simple yet beautiful face, natural and free from the eyelid surgery her sisters had…her small frame and golden, tan skin…her small, firm breasts and her flat stomach…her visible hip bones leading to short but perfectly sculpted legs…her angular pubic area, topped with a sparse swath of fine, black hair, naturally bare beneath…the most exquisitely shaped pussy, her outer lips little more than a darker shaded area of silky skin, opening to reveal glistening lavender, rose shaded inner folds…so wet to the touch, sensitive, rising up and falling again like the tides…her gasps of pleasure as she grinds her clitoris against his palm, fingers stroking her inner walls…her aroma, like fresh linen drying in a sea breeze, her juices collecting in his palm and spilling onto her thighs…
James, again fought to control his mind and returned to the here and now.
“So, Sunny will be at my center full time?” James wanted to let the Headmaster talk, and use the time to bring his energy, and erection under control.
“Yes, James. It’s part of some changes here, a restructuring. Eunhee and I are being transferred to Gaea.” He was referring to the full-service VIP healing spa and resort on Ambergris Caye in Belize.
“Wow! Congratulations!” A promotion to Belize was the most sought-after reward in HS, only given to the most accomplished and deserving Headmasters. Working in or operating a regular HS center was a good place to start and learn, specialized facilities like Metro, Overlook, or Big Sky in Colorado Springs offered more opportunities, prestige and a better lifestyle, but a major resort like Gaea was a slice of heaven.
“Thank you,” Headmaster said, unable to contain a giddy smile. “Really. You and Anna have done most of the work to stabilize Metro and make it a success. Because of that, we are able to bring in some fresh faces; very experienced and powerful healers who will not only grow Metro, but provide more help to the rest of the regional centers. You know, besides you in Highland, the others are really struggling. That’s why you are staying where you are, Anna will Become Headmaster, and Master Young will come with a few other powerful healers to oversee and stabilize the region.”
“Good for Anna, she deserves this too.”
“Yes, she does. So now, you stay in Highland with Sunny to help you, Katie is taking over University Park with Jiyeon, Hyerin will move to Westside with Mia, and Anna runs Metro with Luke, Grace and the other non-HS staff. Whoever Master Young brings will also stay at Metro at first, and probably assist all the centers in some way.”
The Headmaster paused and closed his eyes for a moment, creating the impression, real or imagined, of channeling the mysterious life energy so maltepe escort bayan crucial to every facet of the HS system. “James, you are responsible for Sunny’s growth now. She has struggled everywhere she has been, and frankly, is suffering from a loss of devotion. She needs love, care, and a good model. I know you are the one to provide all of those things. You’ve done so well with Luke, so I have complete confidence in you. He will be in good hands with Anna, so don’t worry about his growth, alright?”
“Yes, Headmaster.” James experienced a twinge of hurt as he thought about Luke in Anna’s hands.
“Go home, train, and pray,” the Headmaster said with a smile, “this is a big chance for you too.”
They stood, hugged, and said their goodbyes, not knowing when or if they would see each other again. James left the office and said goodbye to the rest of the team, who were still in the main classroom. Before leaving he found Sunny inspecting an acupuncture chart with Katie and Jiyeon.
“Hi Sunny, I’m James. You will be with me from Monday. I’m really looking forward to working together “
“Nice to meet you,” she replied bowing slightly. James wondered if that was the full extent of her English ability. He smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
“Let’s get together tomorrow and go over some things. I’ll pick you up at noon, ok?”
“Uh… yes, ok.” Sunny smiled a big awkward smile and bowed again.
“You are staying with Jiyeon and everyone in New Bridge, right?”
“Uh…I think so. Yes?” She looked at Jiyeon with questioning eyes.
“Yes, she’s with us at the house with no men!” Jiyeon smirked good-naturedly. “Maybe Master Young will change that.”
“Oooh, I hope so!” Hyerin chimed in. “We need some male energy!” She grabbed James by his hefty biceps muscle and tried to drag him away. Katie looked over her shoulder and chuckled, while Anna remained expressionless near the front of the room. James waved to them all and left.
He drove home alone for a change, since Grace, Master Young, Anna, Headmaster Brad and Luke wanted to stay at Metro a little longer to plan the personnel switchover. A CD of meditative chanting music played on his Explorer’s stereo, but James wasn’t listening. He was uncharacteristically unfocused.
Fortunately, he could drive the simple route from Metro in the down-town area of the city to the house in East Highland blindfolded – well, maybe not blindfolded, but it was automatic by now. His mind drifted back to his earlier memories, fantasies of Anna…
~~
He saw her brilliant, twinkling smile quickly morph into a gasp of pleasure. She lay on a quilt covered mattress. They kissed, slowly circling their tongues, as their naked bodies intertwined. Anna ran her nails over his firm, hair-covered chest. “You look like a god…”
~~
This was the only compliment James recalled ever receiving from Anna, but he replayed it in his mind over and over. Not a word about his penis, which James was accustomed to having praised – his prior girlfriend, a curvaceous, sexually ravenous blonde, gushed over his size.
A young bi-curious girl college sophomore, she would invite similarly curious and intoxicated classmates to bed with them, using descriptions of James’s 9″ cock to seal the deal. The two educational years he spent with her left James with no questions as to his manhood, his size, and his prowess. Yet, he never forgot the fact that Anna said nothing of his size.
~~
He parted Anna’s silky thighs and brushed her now dripping, tiny tuft of hair with his palm. Down, past her pubic bone, he ran his thumb and felt an arc of moist, hairless flesh which gave way to reveal her tiny jewel-like treasure. He gently pressed her moist contours, finding them yielding yet firm.
Anna sucked on James’s tongue as he spread her apart with his thigh. Slowly, he brushed her protruding clitoris with his thumb. “Ungh-” she moaned, releasing their kiss for a moment as he slid his thumb through her inner lips, pressed it inside her and squeezed her ass. Anna groaned as she resumed her kissing, pressing her tongue deep, then running the tip allong the roof of his mouth, over his teeth before settling into a sucking grasp on James’s upper lip.
He maneuvered the ruddy head of his member along her slit toward its tiny opening and Anna gasped…he was inside her, only just, then out. Again, he pushed to enter her, but she placed her palm against his flexing, somewhat-defined abdominals, halting his progress.
“I like to be on top…” she whispered.
“Ok”, James whispered in return as he flipped over on to the plush quilt.
Anna straddled his waist, and lowered herself onto James’s erection, in the process pressing it flat against his stomach. James caressed Anna’s neck beneath her now askew short ponytail, her face, breasts and small erect nipples. He felt her slit moving slowly back and forth over the base of his cock, gradually opening for him. Together, their breath hastened. Her spreading lips slid against his heavy scrotum, and then up along his pinned shaft, all the way to its pre-cum coated head beyond his navel. She raised her hips, exposing her swollen, glistening, tiny pussy. James slid his hands from Anna’s breasts down to her hips, preparing to guide his large size gently into her impossibly small opening.