Two people overcome OCD during the lockdown.

Based on a post by Curiousbusiness. listen to the Podcast on Steamy Stories

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 “Thank
you all for your participation today,” Robert said through his
microphone, “Thank you for your patience once again for any technical
difficulties we experienced today. I think the glitches we ran into,
though, were great ways to exercise our tolerance of imperfection. I
heard today that some of you have found maintaining your progress in
conquering obsessiveness to be difficult during the pandemic
restrictions. What’s easy to forget, though, are the successes you have
made. We often tend to overlook them, but I heard way more victories
than defeats this week. I encourage everyone not to ignore those
victories.

 I hope that until we meet again next week, you all continue
to find ways to challenge yourselves and to say ‘no’ to that obsessive
voice. Say 'yes’ to getting out of your comfort zone. Until next time.”

Robert
waved goodbye at his webcam, and a number of people chimed in to say
goodbye or simply waved back. As the virtual meeting closed on his
laptop screen, Jordan picked up his phone to fire off a quick text to
Angela, a fellow group attendee he had connected with when the group was
still held in-person before the COVID-19 pandemic. If the pandemic had
not struck, Jordan thinks he and Angela would have started dating
officially. They got as far as almost, maybe, perhaps, fooling around
together once after one of their group sessions. Or, maybe not. Jordan
could never be sure. His anxiety always reminded him to doubt.

“Another good session,” Jordan texted.

Jordan
set his phone down and left his desk for his usual routine. He washed
his hands for twenty seconds under the water and used his hand towel to
dry between every finger. Then, he went about his room to make sure his
picture frames and Marvel figurines were lined uniformly. Somehow, they
never were in order even though he never touched them since he last
inspected them. A buzz came from Jordan’s phone. Angela had sent a
reply.

“I can’t take it anymore. My roommate is out for the night. She won’t be back until Friday. Come over.”

Jordan’s
heart bounced and there was tightness in his chest. He remembered back
to the second session of group therapy where Robert spoke about
psychical warning signs in the body. Jordan identified his signs as a
racing heart, tightness in the chest, and sweaty feet. He wiggled his
toes. Yup, his feet were sweaty. These were the warning signs that
anxiety was coming on.

Robert’s wise voice echoed in Jordan’s head, “When you notice your warning signs, remember your coping skills.”

Jordan
breathed in through is nose and out through his mouth. He repeated the
exercise a few times, and once he was calmer, he looked at his phone
again at Angela’s message. What should he do?

“Say 'yes’,” Robert’s voice echoed again.

Jordan slapped the side of his head.

“Get out of there, Robert!”

Jordan
glanced at his phone again, and noticed Angela’s smiling face in her
profile picture. Surely, he couldn’t say 'no’ to that? With heavy
thumbs, he punched in the three letters Y-E-S, and fired them off.
Jordan scrambled to change out of his clothes. He hadn’t worn
presentable outdoor wear since the start of the pandemic. The warning
signs were coming on as he swapped clothes. Jordan resorted to a raspy,
interrupted breathing as he tried to inhale through the nose and exhale
through his mouth while he wrestled with his clothes. He grabbed a
medical mask from his pantry, which had turned into some type of
apocalyptic bunker with supplies stacked to the ceiling, and shot
towards his door.

“Do I need to bring anything else?” Jordan’s anxiety voice asked.

Jordan
reviewed the message from Angela again. No, she didn’t ask for
anything, but perhaps it would be polite to? What was the nature of this
gathering?

“I can’t take it anymore. My roommate is out for the night. She won’t be back until Friday. Come over.”

No, Jordan thought. Get your mind out of the gutter. That’s not what she meant. Jordan analyzed the string of twenty words.

“I can’t take it anymore.”

That implies urgency, desire for something different.

“My roommate is out for the night.”

Angela will be alone. WE will be alone. Angela sees this an opportunity. What would require us to be alone? Well, many things.

“She won’t be back until Friday. Come over.”

Today
is Tuesday. That would mean at least three nights and two days where
Angela, and I, could be alone. What would be the importance of making
that known?

“Say 'yes’,” Robert trilled.

Jordan pulled at his hair.

“Say 'yeeeeess’,” Robert sang, “Conquer that obsession!”

Jordan
ripped his front door open and took a confident step outside. He
checked his left pocket for his phone, then his right pocket for his
keys and wallet. The flustered young man checked that he locked his door
twice before riding the elevator down to the main floor. Upon his exit
of his condo building, he passed his hand under the hand sanitizer
dispenser and received a dollop of the life-saving substance. That’s
when Jordan realized he forgot his portable bottle of hand sanitizer.

“Conquer obsessiveness!” Robert chimed relentlessly.

There
was no time to turn back. The girl of his dreams was waiting for him
and he must not delay. Jordan weaved through the near empty street,
staying two meters away from anyone or anything that could be a deadly,
disgusting Coronavirus carrier. Angela’s condo building was but a
10-minute walk away, but to Jordan, the trek felt more like an
expedition through hell itself. When he arrived at Angela’s condo
building, he felt another buzz in his pocket.

“Bring condoms.” Read the text from Angela.

Well,
that confirms it. Jordan’s mind was right to be in the gutter. He
promptly marched to the conveniently placed convenient store to the
right of Angela’s condo building and navigated to the family planning
section. There was an assortment of sizes and shapes and flavors. There
were a number of things to consider.

Another buzz came, “Are you on your way yet?”

There
was no time for Jordan to consider the number of things he would have
liked to consider. He picked the most plain looking box of condoms. Now
to pay. Jordan slowly lifted his gaze towards the cashier far down at
the end of the aisle. No self-checkout. Jordan dragged his feet and
carried his body to the cashier, a young woman with bright red hair
kneading some pink bubblegum between her teeth. She collected the box of
condoms from his shaking hands and he presented his card to the
scanner. Sweat emerged on Jordan’s forehead as his purchase was being
processed.

“Good luck Champ,” the cashier said flatly.

Jordan
emerged into the night air following the worst experience of his life.
He filed into Angela’s condo building and rang for her. The door
unlocked, allowing him to maneuver his sweating body to the elevator.
His very being was so shaken that if the elevator rose any quicker, his
soul would have catapulted out of his body to heaven, or maybe hell.
That did not happen. Jordan made it alive to Angela’s door. He knocked.

Angela
opened her door. Her hair was wet and she was wearing a white bathrobe.
She clearly was just in the shower. Jordan could see her pretty blue
eyes peering over the top rim of her medical mask. Angela noticed the
box of condoms, which Jordan was indiscreetly holding in front of him
with his two hands. Her eyes darted away and she felt her face turn hot.

“Um, come in,” she said.

Jordan entered Angela’s condo unit and the pair continued their awkwardness inside.

“H-how’s it going?” Jordan asked.

“Good. Oh, and you?”

“Yeah. I mean…good too, as well. Uh, and you?”

He had already inquired about how Angela was. Jordan was cringing all over, like his body wanted to shrink into itself.

“Good,” Angela repeated, “Thanks for um…you know…coming so quickly.”

“Of-of-of course.”

Angela
cleared her throat, “It was just that…I…you know…Robert said to get out
of our c-comfort zone…um…and I was feeling…l-lonely. Um, thanks for
picking those up.”

Angela had to turn her face away from Jordan.
She wished so hard she could turn away from herself and not be Angela
ever again. Jordan interjected prematurely, hoping to save Angela and
himself from her most recent comment.

“I was happy to. I wanted sex as well.”

Angela bristled. Jordan’s attempt at extinguishing the awkwardness utterly failed.

“And I-I don’t mean sex with anyone. I-I meant with you.”

Angela bristled even more.

“M-maybe we should sit…sit and chat more? H-how was your day? How are you?”

“Let’s just do it,” Angela blurted.

Jordan swallowed, “Yeah?”

“Yes, yes. Do you mind taking a shower first? I don’t mean to be rude. You know how I am with germs.”

“Oh, thank you.” Jordan exclaimed. “Yes. You know I’m the same.”

Jordan
locked himself in Angela’s bathroom, turned