Chapter 3: Rowland & Gutierrez, 2017
"In 1966, William Masters and Virginia Johnson proposed a four-stage "linear" model of human sexual response based on some 10,000 recordings of changes in participants' physiology. From these data, they identified four successive (hence, linear) stages: (1) excitement, (2) plateau, (3) orgasm, and (4) resolution"
Rowland, D. L., & Gutierrez, B. R. (2017). Human Sexual Response, Phases of. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Abnormal and Clinical Psychology. doi: 10.4135/9781483365817.n684
***
LAYLA
Dr. Zabina reschedules our meeting for 3:45 PM on Thursday, so after catching up with Hales for a few minutes after class, I head over to the psych department building.
The elevator still isn't working.
Four flights of stairs later and there's a sheen of perspiration slickening my brow.
The thirty minutes I spend on the treadmill everyday should prepare me for this but for some reason it doesn't.
Thankfully Dr. Z's office door is ajar, light visible through the half-drawn blinds covering the window.
There are low voices conversing inside. Dr. Zabina's hearty, grating laugh reverberates into the hallway. I check the my watch. 3:44.
Must just be socializing with another faculty member to kill time. I rap gently on the door and Dr. Z's friendly, rambunctious voice rumbles, "Come in, come in."
I let myself into the office and something rushes down my spine when I find a familiar tall form leaning casually against the side of Dr. Z's desk, looking as sinfully, dangerously gorgeous as ever.
Dr. Hall's captivating amber eyes flick towards me, a mix of recognition and curiosity flitting across his face.
"Ah, Layla, nice to see you, dear," Dr. Zabina greets, not bothering to stand up from behind his desk. He gestures for me to come in with one of those burly paws of his.
"I'll see you, Mike." Dr. Hall's voice is as low and rough and smoky as I remember it as he straightens, ready to make an exit.
"Layla, have you met Dr. Hall? He's new to the department."
The pit of my gut flutters as I let my attention settle on the mysterious young professor who I find impossibly captivating. Today's outfit that I was (totally not) checking out in lecture earlier consists of those black jeans, black Docs and a fitted, heather-grey crewneck T that just hints at the lean planes of muscle hidden beneath it. And peaking from under one of the sleeves of his shirt is some kind of dark tattoo, just visible but indiscernible.
"Layla is the president of the Undergrad Psych Student's Association. I have the pleasure of supervising her honours thesis this year."
I offer Dr. Hall a small, friendly smile and his lips curve up a little in acknowledgment, those coppery-hazel eyes flashing with... I have absolutely no clue. Some secret truth that I'm oblivious to.
I wonder if he knows that I'm in his 471 class this semester, or if he's busy thinking about how clumsy I was when I doused coffee all over him earlier in the week.
YOU ARE READING
Smoke of Sighs
RomanceHonours psychology student Layla Mitchell has above-average grades and a slightly-below-average sex life. When she enrolls in a senior course taught by the young, dark and mysterious Dr. Kayden Hall, she finds herself uncharacteristically intrigued...
