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for being able to get through this Park without having a single panic attack.”
    As he rowed me along, I looked around. I was still frightened, but it was more like the feeling I got when I used to ride Ferris wheels. I have always been afraid of heights. Yet, I would force myself to ride the Ferris wheels whenever I would go to a carnival, because I wanted to conquer this fear. So, when the wheel would stop at the very top, at first I was terrified to look. I would keep my eyes squeezed shut, and if my companion would rock our car, I would start to freak out.
    But, eventually, I would be able to open my eyes and look at the beauty and wonder of the city, as seen from such a vantage point. I would stop thinking the worst – that somehow, someway, that car was going to detach from the Ferris wheel, and I would plummet to my death. And I would calm down. It was still scary to be up there, but the fear had been quelled so that it was supplanted by the sheer joy of being able to see beauty for miles.
    This was what it was like, being in that boat with Asher. I was still very frightened, but that feeling of panic and fear were suppressed and overridden by the sheer joy of the simple act of rowing around the Reservoir. Of seeing the swans, ducks, geese and other water fowl move gracefully around us. Of hearing the sounds of laughter and music. Of being in the company of this magnificent man. And, every time he would touch me, the tingles and excitement of that gesture would send goose pimples up my flesh, and even the slight bit of fear that I was feeling was forgotten in that moment.
    He was smiling at me while he rowed the boat around the lake. “Are you doing okay, CJ?” he asked me.
    “Surprisingly so,” I said. “I mean, I don’t think that I’m cured just yet, but this is a huge step for me to take. If you would have asked me just three days ago if I would be able to be out in the middle of the Park, I would have said that you’re nuts. But, yet, here I am.”
    “Here you are,” he said. And then he stopped rowing and the boat rocked back and forth on the water. He stroked my cheek and kissed my forehead. “You’re beautiful, you know that?”
    I smiled and felt myself blushing.
    He continued on. “Now, CJ, I understand that you’re probably tight for money these days. After all, if you haven’t been able to work for the past six months, that must be draining on your bank account.”
    I nodded. “It is. But I’m feeling more confident now that I might be able to soon get back to what I was doing before. It might be a long, slow road to recovery, but I feel that it’s doable now. Thanks to you.”
    He looked at me. “Yes. And there’s also the issue of your medical bills.”
    I licked my lips and looked at him quizzically. How did he know about them?
    “I know that you were in the hospital after your little brother died. And I know how long you spent there.”
    “How did you-“
    “I have my ways, CJ,” he said. “But I know that a month in the psychiatric hospital wouldn’t be cheap. And it wasn’t, was it?”
    I shook my head, feeling absolutely humiliated. I felt tears streaming down my cheek. I had no idea how he knew about my stay in the mental hospital. It wasn’t in the newspaper articles that were constantly blasting throughout the city after the incident. It was something that was strictly confidential. Even Scarlett didn’t know about that. When I finally got home after being in the hospital for a month, I told her that I had gone overseas to clear my head. I was embarrassed to tell even her about that.
    Yet Asher knew. How did he know?
    “No, Asher, it wasn’t cheap,” I said, suddenly feeling violated. It was a private thing. Why was he bringing it up and throwing it in my face?
    “I can help you, CJ,” he said. “I can help you, if you care to help me.”
    “What does that supposed to mean? How can I help you?”
    “I need a woman like you for something very specific.” He