"Ok, let's do this!" He said to himself, hearing his voice crack with fear.

With a sigh he grabbed the cheese sampler he just bought at the grocery store and opened the car door. After taking a few more breaths to calm himself down, he finally made it out of the car and to her front door. With his heart beating in his ears, Alex knocked on the door. As he waited for a response he counted all of the clothes he was wearing for the hundredth time. And like the ninety-nine other times he still came up with five articles of clothing, plus his jacket that he expected would be hung up at the door.

Alex had dressed himself simply, he was wearing a nice button up collared shirt, a pair of jeans, socks, and a boxer briefs. He wanted to look nice but still be casual and even though he didn't feel it, he wanted to appear relaxed.

When the door finally opened his heart jumped up into his throat and he seriously considered running away. But before he could even blink Mandy grabbed his hand and gave it a nice little squeeze as she looked into his eyes and smiled. "I am so glad you came please, come in."

Before he could even bring himself to talk, she pulled him in and took his coat and the cheese tray. He was still in shock that he had made it this far, but his shock wasn't so strong that he didn't fail to notice how hot Mandy looked. She was wearing a little black dress that was cut way low, showing off her ample bosom, the bottom was cut quite a few inches over her knees. He studied her from top to bottom, how her wavy red hair tumbled down her shoulders and her blue eyes sparkled like her diamond earrings and necklace that hung low drawing his gaze to her cleavage. He followed the curves of her hips and flat stomach down to her long legs. He noticed she wasn't wearing hose, but her legs still looked great, their shape emphasized by her pair of high heeled sparkling black shoes. Stunned by her beauty he once again regretted not coming back that night.

Mandy saw him checking her out and smiled, "come on in let me introduce you to the others, we were about to start." With that she led him to the living room where there were only two other people sitting on a couch. As he came into the room Mandy introduced him as an old friend to the couple on the couch. The man, who appeared to be about 40 stood and with a firm hand shake, formally introduced himself as Jake. The woman shyly said hello, and with a whisper said her name was Cindy. Cindy appeared to be in her thirties and had the appearance of a tired housewife with her hair put up in a knot and wearing worn baggie clothes.

Once the introductions were done Alex, Jake and Cindy just sat there in a nervous silence, and Alex could tell that Jake and Cindy did not know each other; they were all strangers here. That gave him a sense of relief to know that he wasn't going to be the odd-man-out tonight.

"Can I get you guys something to drink?" Mandy broke the silence, "Cindy, come help me please."

With a look of relief to be doing something Cindy got up and followed Mandy into the kitchen. Jake and Alex were left alone for a few minutes, and soon began talking about something that they both felt comfortable with; sports. That is how Mandy and Cindy found them, debating whether or not the Red Sox would win the World Series again.

Mandy made Cindy laugh with a look and then playfully rolling her eyes and mouthing the word "Boys." Cindy gave Jake a beer and Mandy gave Alex a tall glass with what appeared to have coke in it. With a sip he let out sigh of relief that it was rum and coke; Captain Morgan at that, and it was strong too. As he took another longer pull, he noticed Mandy was studying him, "you like?" she asked.

"Yes thank you, it's just what I needed " Alex replied feeling touched that she remembered what his favorite drink was from a few months ago. He was impressed. Looking around he realized that Mandy had made sure that everyone had their favorite drink and was making them feel more at ease. Cindy was sipping a large margarita with a salted rim, and Jake was chugging his beer. "I guess a strong drink is what we all needed." He added with a laugh.

Within a couple minutes they were all done with their drinks and Mandy indicated that it was time to start. "I just want to thank all of you for coming tonight." She began. "I know it took a lot of courage to come here tonight and you all need to be commended. Before we begin I want to just remind you all that tonight is all about honesty and trust. We are all adults here and I am sure that we are all a little scared, so please try to be considerate and respectful of one another. As you all know I am not a professional therapist, I am just someone who likes to help those she cares about and believes that being truthful and honest in all areas of life is the key to freedom and happiness. And that is what I am willing to share with all of you tonight."

Feeling that everyone was ready, Mandy walked over to a table where she had erected a small alter with 5 candles and some incense that she lit. She sat in silent prayer for a minute before turning to the group. "We are going to perform a ritual to start. After al little prayer we are going to swear to ourselves and what ever we find holy, to be totally honest, gentle and forgiving to ourselves tonight."

Mandy turned around and faced the altar, bowed her head for a second then loudly chanted; "while this candle is lit and evermore, I swear to only tell the truth, to myself and to others. I swear to be understanding and forgiving of myself as well as of others. In total honesty I am safe and I am free." With that she lit the candle and stood and handed Alex the lighter.

With his heart pounding in his ears he made it to the altar and bowed his head as he had seen Mandy do. His mind was blank and the only prayer he could come up with was to ask for the strength to make it through this. Alex then lit his candle and forgot what it was Mandy had sworn and feeling anxiety rising in his chest he quickly swore to be honest with himself and others, and to be kind and forgiving to himself and others.

Then feeling a little bit like an ass he gave the lighter to Jake. Knowing that it had started, Alex began to feel so scared and nervous that he didn't even hear or see Jake and Cindy make their oaths at the altar. When everyone was done they all sat in silence not daring to look at each other, lost in their own thoughts. Alex could feel the tension mounting in the room and was barely able to stammer to Mandy, "wwwhatts next?"

With that Mandy was snapped out of her own reflection. With a smile of thanks she got up and her movement drew everyone's eyes to her. "I will begin the Baring Ceremony, but before I do I feel that it is important for you that I acknowledge that this is far easier for me than it will be for you because not only have I done this before, but I also know and feel comfortable with each of you." She looked at each in turn, Cindy was red and looking frightened, Jake was beginning to look annoyed by the whole process, and Alex kept trying to look calm even though inside he felt like Cindy looked.

She let there be moment of silence and acceptance among the group before grabbing an index card that was laying face down on the altar, that in Alex's nervousness had not noticed. "This card has five statements written on it that you all can read and finish as you bear your personal truth and soul to the group. It is your choice if you want to use the card, but many people have found it a useful tool to help them through the process." With that she handed the card to Alex who felt his heart skip a beat thinking that she was asking him to go first, but felt relief when she added; "Read it and pass it around please."

The card was numbered with five incomplete statements that read;

1. Right now I feel __________.
2. I decided to come here because __________.
3. What happened was __________.
4. I am __________.
5. The truth is __________.

Once everyone had a chance to read the card and Mandy had it again, she stepped back and began the ritual. Alex took a quick look around and saw that everyone's eyes were peeled on Mandy. "Right now I feel grateful that you are all here and that you trust me to help you all. I am also scared to death that this exercise will go horribly wrong and that some of you will be hurt by it all." And she took off one of her shoes. "I decided to come here because I love helping people and seeing the love that grows between people in groups like these is one of the most beautiful things in the world." When she took off her other shoe Alex noticed she was looking a little more vulnerable now that she had lost a good four inches of height. "What happened was that after falling into one abusive relationship after another I participated in a group like this and learned that I needed to be honest with myself, about my motivations, and the decisions that I was making so that I wouldn't fall into the same trap again. In truly trusting others and in knowing that others totally trusted me, I learned to forgive and love myself through others unconditional love and support." She paused to take off her dress, leaving her with only her sparkling jewelry and a red set of bra and panties. "I am truly happy now that I am honest with myself and have been able to change the parts of my life that were unhealthy and self-destructive." She slowly removed her bra and stood for a moment with her arms crossed over her chest, unsure of herself, thinking. "The truth is that even though I am happy, I am also lonely and have not yet found someone who I feel truly in love with, who is also truly in love with me. Don¨t get me wrong, I have many friends and lovers that I love very much, but I am just not In Love with any of them."

After removing her panties, Mandy stood with her body and soul bare before the group. Alex felt a strange tingling in his chest and realized that Mandy had found a special place in his heart; he truly felt he could trust her. He knew, with out a doubt that she would never lie to him about anything.