He paused and closed his eyes, grimacing hard as he searched his memory. "When dyspareunia is not due to local causes, or when local symptoms are overshadowed by nervous symptoms, it indicates a psychological defense mechanism developed by the patient." He opened his eyes and looked down at me expectantly.

I read the first lines. "That's right," I said.

"Good. Let's continue. The defense may be directed against sex and intercourse in general. The possibilities are listed: excessive egotism, ignorance of the anatomy and physiology of the reproductive organs, fear of pregnancy, aversion to the partner, possibly due to a previous love affair or something discovered after marriage. I think it says that even halitosis might form the basis of such an aversion, right?"

"What?"

"Bad breath," he said. "You know. You're in bed with someone, and he turns to you and—"

"Oh." I read and looked up at him. "Yes."

"So if you read between the lines there, before someone marries someone, she should be very familiar with him. They should conduct some test runs, don't you think?"

"I don't know that that's necessarily the inevitable conclusion," I said quickly.

He laughed. "Well, let's use you as a case in point," he said and sat on the settee. "Reading between the lines concerning what you told me about your boyfriend and you, I assume that you and he never made love. Correct?"

"I don't want to discuss my personal life," I said.

"You have to become purely objective, even about yourself, if you want to be a good physician. That's why I say that some people are just not psychologically prepared to become doctors. They might be smart —valedictorians, even—but if they can't bridge the psychological gaps—"

"I can handle the psychological gaps," I snapped.

"Fine. Then you shouldn't have any trouble discussing yourself. You're human, right? Every reaction you have, other people have, too, people you're going to examine and treat. When a man touches you, your body does the same things another woman's body does when a man touches her," he said and shrugged. "Don't you see that?"

"Yes, but . . ."

"So. Let's continue. It's much better to work these problems out with real subjects than just to recite lines from textbooks. You might be suffering from frigidity," he said nodding firmly.

"What?"

"It's a medical term for the incapacity of the female to derive normal pleasure from sexual intercourse. It's right there in the textbook, bottom of the page on the right side." He indicated the passage with his right forefinger.

My eyes fell to the page, and I read it just as he had recited it. Then I looked up and shook my head. "That's not my problem. I don't even have a problem. I just didn't feel—"

"Let's not jump to any diagnosis just yet," he said holding up his hand. "All right? We might have to refer you to a psychiatrist."

"What?" I started to laugh, but he shook his head.

"One of the most important things you'll learn as a medical student is when to recognize that your patient's problem is beyond your ability and requires the attention of a specialist. Doctors get themselves and their patients into trouble when they don't recognize that," he added. "Are you following me? I don't mean to go too fast."

"I follow you. I just don't see how I'm helping you study by talking about myself and why I broke up with my boyfriend."

"Oh, but you are, because it's a situation with which I must be familiar. As I said, we had this case just today, and I'm sure Dr. Bardot is going to test me on this first thing tomorrow. So," he continued sitting back, his arms folded across his chest, "you never slept with this boyfriend. Correct?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever slept with anyone?"

I blushed an even deeper red and hated myself for it. 'I'm asking purely as a physician, not as a gossip columnist," he added.

"No."

"Ahem," he said, a sickly arrogant smile forming across his lips. "I'm sure you had ample opportunity, so what prevented you?"

"I don't sleep around, and I'm not interested in sex for the sake of sex. For me it has to be part of something bigger, something . . ."

"What?" he pursued.

"Magical. Love. And don't laugh," I told him sternly.

"I'm not going to laugh, but you might just be rationalizing, making up excuses for your deep fears, your frigidity."

"I am not frigid," I insisted, practically bouncing on the settee for emphasis.

"You don't tighten up when a man touches you?" he asked. I simply stared at him. "You do, don't you?"

"No. No!" I emphasized.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks," he said with a snide smile.

"You can be very infuriating," I said.

"I don't mean to be. Look, I'm a doctor and you want to become one. There's nothing about your physiology I don't know, and from what I already know about you, I feel safe in saying you are pretty well info med. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, however."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

'Maybe because you are so intelligent, you are too aware of what's going on, and therefore you lose the magic you claim to want so much. Maybe you are doomed never to find it. Maybe when you think of a human heart, you think only of ventricles and arteries."

I felt my throat tighten and tears burn under my eyelids.

"Am I striking a sensitive note? Because if I am, I'm doing a good job of analyzing your problem," he said.

"I don't have a problem," I replied, but not as firmly as before.

He reached out to take my hand. I started to pull it back.

"Relax," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

He made me feel like a little girl going to see the doctor. I let him keep my hand in his. His fingers began to stroke the backs of mine.

"Let's walk through this together," he suggested, moving closer to me on the settee. "I bet you vividly remember the first time you kissed a boy, don't you?"

I did. Freddy Mainiero and I had gone to the movies, and he had kissed me good night. I was only twelve. It was only a quick touch on my lips, but it sent a shiver of excitement down my spine, and I went running up to my room to look at myself in the mirror. My face was crimson, and my heart was pounding so hard that I thought it might split my chest open. I had always thought my first kiss would be long and romantic like the ones I'd seen in the movies, but after this, I couldn't imagine surviving one of those luscious extended kisses.

"Tell me about it," Jack Weller asked. He was only inches from me, his own lips softening, his eyes bright with interest.

"It wasn't anything. Just a little kiss."

"So, you felt safe in that sort of environment, having that simple and innocuous an experience, but alone with a young man, someplace where the lights are low and music is playing softly . . . when his hand touches your shoulder." He let his hand touch my shoulder, and I cringed. "Relax. Easy. I know just what I'm doing."

His fingers continued until he was touching my neck, and then they moved down to trace my collar-bone. "You know about erogenous zones, I suppose," he whispered.

"I haven't made sexual activity a concentrated area of study," I replied.

He smiled and nodded. "You can't be afraid of your own body and how it reacts. Those feelings are only natural."

"For the last time, I'm not afraid."

"Actually, you're lucky that you and I met. I can help you overcome this problem so you can be assured you will have a normal, active sex life. It's very important when you get married," he continued. As he spoke, his fingers found the buttons of my blouse and undid them. "Relax. Close your eyes and just sit back a moment. You have wonderfully healthy skin."

My heart was pounding. His fingers slipped inside my blouse and traced the top of my bra into my cleavage as he leaned forward and kissed my neck.

"Your pulse quickens bringing the blood to the surface. It's like a knock on the door. You can't be afraid of answering it, Pearl. Go on."

"Wait," I said, but his hands moved under my arms and around behind me, where, with a surgeon's swift skill, he undid my bra and quickly swept his fingers under the elastic, lifting it way from my breasts.

"Yes," he said lowering his lips to my exposed nipple. "Pearl . . . Pearl," he murmured, sending tiny electric chills down my spine while his hand sought to stroke my thigh. "Everything is going along right; it's all as it should be. Try to relax."

My head was spinning. He had moved so quickly and so gracefully. I couldn't believe I was half undressed in moments. My heart was pounding. Actually, it felt funny, as if I were betraying someone. I started to resist, to push him back. He stopped kissing me and looked into my eyes. We were only inches apart.

"From what we just studied, you can see how important the first time is. I'm glad you're still a virgin. If the first time is clumsy and rough, it can scar you, give you dyspareunia, cause psychological damage that will affect your life forever.

"But with me it will be gentle, perfect. I just want to help you. I just want to make sure," he continued and again, as he spoke, his fingers moved over my clothing, unzipping my skirt and gently lifting my body to slide it down my legs. "Your body is preparing itself. You're ready."

I felt a wave of weakness ripple through me, my resistance diminishing as his lips continued to glide over my neck, my cheeks. The tips of his fingers were slipping under the elastic band of my panties.

Finally that part of me that had been overwhelmed with his aggressive, smooth approach, regained a foothold. I heard myself question what was happening. Reality like a flash of lighting shot across the clouds of confusion, and I lifted my legs to press my knees into his abdomen to push him away, crying out at the same time. "No! Stop it!"