As he locked the front door, he felt every ounce of air in his lungs escape in an exhausted sigh. Another long day without reprieve. Hearing him enter, she gazed over from the couch and smiled, waving him over. “Hey there, cutie! How was work?”
He trudged his way over to the couch, loosening his tie and top button as he slumped onto the cushions, resting his head upon her shoulder. “Long. Long and hard.”
She giggled and kissed the top of his head. “Hehe, I know something else long and hard~”, she quipped, only to be met with a mirthless chuckle. “Aw, nothing?”
Running his hands over his face as he slouched over his lap, he sighed once more. “I’m sorry, babe, today’s just been a whirlwind. People are getting laid off left and right, those who aren’t getting fired are quitting, everything they’re leaving behind is getting dumped on my desk, and it’s got me on edge-”
She cut him off with a hand upon his scalp, stopping his words in their tracks and sending waves of warmth down his spine. “May I?” she enquired. “Always,” he replied in hushed reverence.
She guided his head up to straighten out his slouch, then brought his head down into her buxom as she began to gently rub his temples. Her voice dropped into that familiar rhythm. “Shhhhh, sink into me. Let my words guide you down into that warm and familiar place deep within your mind.”
As his head rested upon her chest, he shut his eyes and began to drift, letting his thoughts from throughout the day fall to the wayside, embracing the serenity of mindlessness. Her fingers continued tracing his temples, working their way across the rest of his scalp while her voice warmed his soul to its core. “You can feel as my fingers slowly draw out your thoughts, soaking them up into my hands for me to hold onto. You can forget them all for a little while, I’ll keep your mind safe and sound. Juuust drift down for me. Do you understand?”
His nod was feeble, but present. She grinned as she leaned into his ear to whisper, “Good boy~”, evoking from him the only response he could ever remember in this welcoming haze: