1. Goals
Hi, my name is Tim Meyer and I am twenty one years old. I live in the southern part of Germany. All my life I have always been a high flyer. I finished university when my friends were still in school. Being the best at whatever I do has always motivated me.

I have always made plans to achieve certain goals. Goals like graduating from high school early and being the best at university while being the youngest. But the most important goal for me was to appear as normal as possible to my peers. I didn't want to be that weird outsider that no one wanted to talk to.

So far, life has been good to me. The downside was my parents' jobs. They had to move all over Germany all the time. I went to so many schools that I cannot remember them all. This prevented me from having friends for a long time. I had to meet new people all the time. What helped me was that I always started with a plan to make new friends. And most of the time it worked.

After graduation, I started working for a computer consulting company. I like working there because there is always a new client with another challenging task. Because I was so young, my colleagues were skeptical at first. However, I soon convinced them that I was a very good consultant and programmer.

I haven't told you what I look like. I am 1.80 m tall and have a muscular body due to countless hours in the gym. My eyes are blue and my hair is blonde. You can call me a typical German. Almost a little too kitschy, but I like the way I look.

I haven't stopped making plans and setting new goals for myself. This strategy worked for me and there was no reason to change it. Sticking to it has landed me a high paying position as a consultant. And it felt good to always have a plan and not waste time in life.

Being the best at something has always driven me. So I decided to become a world champion at something. I looked at different disciplines like weightlifting, track and field, or dancing. Eventually, I found a way to combine this goal with another hobby of mine.

I like to go to the sauna and I recently found out that there is a competition for sauna enthusiasts. The competitive part is to be the best sauna master. The competition is called "Aufguss WM" and the winner is the one who has the best sauna infusion technique and style.

So far I have competed at the national level and won some regional competitions. My chances of winning the world championship are good. The only thing I have to do is practice a lot. I do not mind practicing because I like to go to the sauna and perform in front of others.

Besides being a consultant, I work part time at a local sauna. This gives me a lot of training opportunities and you have to work as a sauna master to participate in the championship. They do not pay very much, which is perhaps a disadvantage of this part-time job. But I don't mind. I am happy that I can practice there and that it is not far from where I live and work.

The next goal is something most boys want. I want to have a good-looking girlfriend with a good character. I dream of marrying her and having children with her. And I want to give my kids a childhood with less moving around the country. This is the most important goal for me, but it is far away.

My relationship with girls has always been difficult. I had a lot of trouble talking to girls. Especially the girls I liked the most. Something seems to block my brain when I am around them. And my parents moving didn't help at all. I lost two nice girls to moving.

If you see me at work or in the sauna, you wouldn't think I was shy. But I am very shy around girls. I have to work very hard on that. I want a girl and I want to spend time with her. This will be a difficult task for me, but I hope it will be worth it in the end.

I have seen some nice girls at my job. But most of the girls have partners or have not shown any interest in me. There is Lisa, the receptionist, and she is quite good looking. As far as I know she does not have a boyfriend and I need to make the first move on her. If only I could find the courage to talk to her about more than just the weather.

I have to practice talking to girls. I haven't done that enough because of my shyness. But the first step of my plan to get a girl is to talk to girls as often as possible. I think that'll help me to talk to the right girl when I finally meet her.

For the last goal, I was inspired by my colleague Peter. One day after the Covid pandemic was nearing its end, he came into the office with fixed braces. Seeing him with those braces reminded me that I had noticed some small flaws in the way my teeth looked. They seem a little out of place. I want a perfect body and perfect teeth. Seeing that misalignment upset me.

I was talking to Peter that day about his braces. He was very confident talking about them and showing them off. He told me how he had gotten them just before his vacation and that he was doing quite well with them. In fact, I think he smiled more with them than without.

I told him that I had noticed this little shift and that I was thinking about fixing it with these clear aligners. It turns out that his girlfriend is also his orthodontist and he had given me her business cards. That may be one of the reasons he got braces. Probably his girlfriend wants to have a boyfriend with perfect teeth as an orthodontist.

Peter had told me that his friend gives free consultations. He confirmed that she also does aligners or removable braces. According to him, she is very friendly and he strongly suggested that I book a consultation with her and that I will not regret getting my teeth straightened.

Shortly after speaking with Peter, I called the orthodontist's office. They informed me that there was an adult only consultation coming up very soon. After confirming that they did in fact do aligner therapy, I booked the appointment. They sounded very friendly on the phone and as a perfectionist I want perfect straight teeth. I have always achieved my goals and this will be no exception.

3. Peter
The front door opens and I see the face of a completely broken man. His beard is out of control and his hair looks dirty. The whole man looks like he hasn't showered in days. And the smell of alcohol is in the air. He greets me a blank face, "Hi Tim." I say to him, "Peter, let's talk inside. I have some questions for you.”

I do not wait for his answer and make my way into his living room. The room is filled with empty beer and liquor bottles. The whole room is screaming for help. Peter has followed me and is sitting on his sofa. After removing some trash, I sit on the couch. So far neither I nor Peter have said a word.

It is my turn to start the conversation, "Peter, I know you and Lynn are separated and I think you need help." Peter immediately starts to cry and takes a big gulp from one of the beer bottles on the table, "She left me and it is all my fault." I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but I slap him in the face. He looks confused, but says, "Thanks."

I tell him we have to clean his house, but first he has to take a shower. Still drunk, he agrees and I lead him to the bathroom. First I give him a hot and a cold shower. I help him cut his beard and wash his hair. The last step is to give his teeth a good cleaning. His braces look like they need cleaning. I can see that plaque is starting to build up on them.

The last time I saw him in the office, his braces looked flawless. It takes him some time to clean them and I watch as he does it. Is this my future with braces? Then he adds rubber bands to his braces, but he still doesn't say a word.

Then we start cleaning his house. It took us several hours. Towards the end he starts to talk. He tells me the whole story of how he cheated on Lynn with Ann and how he met Lynn in the first place. The story is enlightening to me and I get the whole picture. I have to help Peter get over their breakup, but first I have to excuse myself to the bathroom. There I text Lynn, "He's alive, but I have to help him. Don't worry, I'll do it." The reply comes immediately, "Thank you for helping him. I really appreciate your help."

I address Peter directly, "Peter, you have to stop drinking. It's not going to bring her back." Peter cries and says to me, "You are right. Please help me." We walk through his house and start emptying every bottle of alcohol into the sink. To my surprise, Peter happily helps me with this task. At least he is not completely addicted to alcohol, he just drank way too much in the last two weeks.

Peter asks me to stay the night and tells me that he is afraid of falling back into misery if he is left alone. I immediately agree and spend the night on his now clean couch. I also want to talk to him about braces, but I think that will have to wait.

Peter is the first one up the next morning. He wakes me up and offers me a cup of coffee. I accept and after the coffee we eat some muesli and get ready for work. I tell him that he has to go to the office and that I won't leave him alone in his home office. Peter thanks me for my help and gives me a hug. He still has a sad expression on his face, but at least his physical appearance is less intimidating.

Our day at the office is a normal one. Peter behaves as usual, and I think no one but me has noticed his sadness. I have a nice chat with Lisa, the receptionist. I want to get better at talking to girls, and Lisa is nice. Maybe I should ask her out sometime.

I had already decided not to leave Peter alone. We agreed to spend the evening at the local sauna. It was a win-win situation for me. I can keep an eye on Peter and observe the technique of other sauna masters.

Peter and I were alone during our first sauna session and I began to question him, "Peter, I went to the orthodontist yesterday for a consultation.” I do not mention Lynn's name, but I think he knows which orthodontist I am talking about. I continue, "I went there to get aligners to fix my crowded teeth. But it did not go so well, they say I need fixed braces and expanders. What would you do in my situation?"

Peter does not think long, he just says, "Go for it. It will be worth it in the end. I am a little shocked by his advice and he adds, "I told you my story. I was very afraid at first. But now I think it was absolutely the right thing to do. You will love the results and the treatment is not as painful as you might think." Then he gives me a big smile and gives me a good impression of his braces.

His positivity really surprises me and I ask, "I'm worried about what others will think. Do you think they will still take me seriously?” Peter looks at me and says, "Don't worry about what others think. I will show you the positive effects of braces tonight." I don't know what he means by positive effects, but I think I will find out sooner or later.

We spend our next sauna session in a more popular and therefore more crowded sauna. Peter and I sit next to a beautiful girl in her early twenties. Right at the beginning of the session Peter starts to smile at this girl. It looks like he always makes sure to show off his braces. His braces with the dark blue rubber bands.

Throughout the session she keeps looking at him and smiling. And he looks like he is really enjoying it. They leave the sauna together and sit on some neighboring recliners. I watch them from a safe distance. Is this the same man I met at his door yesterday?

Soon Peter begins to talk intensively with the girl. And the girl looks so happy next to him. Soon they begin to kiss each other intensely. This can't be the same man I met yesterday. It is unbelievable, he looks so confident and he really wants to get this girl for the night.

Peter and the girl are leaving the sauna. And Peter gives me a quick sign that he doesn't need a ride home. I think Peter wants to show me that you can still get a girl with braces. He wants to help me with my decision to get braces after I helped him yesterday. But this is so unbelievable, what I have just seen. The confidence he showed and his determination to get the girl. I hope I can be half as good as him in the future, it would really help with my goal of getting a girl.

5. The decision
The treatment plan arrives three days later. I had hoped it would arrive later. With some hesitation, I open the letter and read it. Most of the information does not come as a big surprise. I will have fixed upper and lower braces for three years. And upper and lower expanders for about half a year. Due to the urgency of my treatment, both will be placed in a single session. Later in the treatment I can expect to get rubber bands to correct the position of my jaw. And of course, retainers after the active phase of my treatment.

I have spent most of my free time in the last few days researching braces. So I can understand the treatment plan quite well. It mentions self-ligating braces because they promise a faster treatment time and less pain. I really hope this is true because I am expecting a lot of pain during my treatment. However, one fact in the treatment plan catches my eye. It is marked as optional, but it is still in my treatment plan and I know exactly what it means. The plan mentions nighttime extraoral traction with a Delaire face mask.

I decide to text Lynn about the face mask in my treatment plan. She didn't mention it and I think she should have. Her reply comes quickly, "Sorry, you owe me. I should have mentioned the device during your consultation. That was an error on my part." I somehow accept her apology and at least the device is marked as optional. A second text message appears on my phone, "I hope we can move your upper jaw forward using only rubber bands. The face mask is there in case the rubber bands fail. And I had to add this device so that your insurance company would cover it." Using it as a Plan B does not sound optional to me, but I reply, "Apology accepted, but we need to have a discussion if this device is needed.”

I know how eager she is to treat people who need treatment. She wants to push people in what she thinks is the right direction, and that is to become a braces wearer. When Peter told me the story of his fixed braces and a sales representative suddenly appearing with just the right braces for him. I was a little skeptical as to whether this sales representative had appeared by chance and hadn't been arranged by Lynn. Peter doesn't seem to doubt it, and he's doing really well with his braces. It is just that I think she arranged this direct bonding demonstration. And in my case, she may have inadvertently forgotten to mention the face mask during my consultation.

I still trust Peter, who thinks she is a fantastic orthodontist. And I know that he happened to have a really bad orthodontist in his youth. So the main point for me is to decide if I want treatment now. I can ignore the fact that I need treatment and hope that everything goes well. And that I will not have excessive tooth wear or jaw pain. However, I have read online about many cases of people who had treatment in their mid-forties. But only after they had experienced a lot of pain. Those treatments also required surgery and took forever and I think my suggested three years is already a very long time.

Oh shit, I completely forgot I have an important online meeting in 5 minutes. I quickly boot up my laptop and get it ready to connect to our corporate VPN. Just in time, I am in the meeting and the first question is already being asked by my boss. Fortunately, it is a fairly simple question and I am ready to answer it. The rest of the meeting deals with issues I am not directly involved in. However, I have to stay alert because the discussion may come back to my area of expertise.

Peter also happens to be in the meeting. As usual, I am slow to hit the disconnect button. I think Peter was waiting for me to do that. So we are alone in the call. He immediately asks me how I feel. I tell him that I feel fine, but that I am really worried about the treatment plan I have been given. He acknowledges that this must be a big decision for me and offers to talk about it. We agree to meet at a bar that evening for a beer or two.

The rest of my day at the office is packed with work, but rather uneventful. So I am happy when I finally arrive at the bar to meet Peter. He is not there when I arrive, but he arrives just five minutes later. We both order a large lager from a local brewery. He then asks me about the details of my treatment plan. He knows all the equipment I am getting, including the optional Delaire face mask. He tells me that he has fitted many patients with their headgear, but that he has only seen a face mask in real life once or twice. As he talks, I can see his shiny braces with the dark blue elastics bands and the two rubber bands he has to wear. He doesn't seem to mind them at all.

"So are you going to start the treatment?" he asks me directly. "Well, if you can do it, I can do it," I am surprised by what I just said, but my subconscious seems to have already made the decision for the braces. Peter looks very happy and says, "You will not regret this. After the first few days you will hardly notice them. I have to constantly remind myself that I have them, otherwise I would forget to change my rubber bands." Then he quickly takes off his old rubber bands and puts on new ones, "See, I had to change them hours ago.”

I think I will notice the braces, "Maybe that is the case with your braces, but I have to get these expanders and I am sure I will notice them a lot.” Peter thinks for a moment, "You may be right about the expanders, but it will only be for a short time and then you will have regular braces like mine.” I don't know where my courage comes from, "That's right and I think I have to do it anyway. I just had hope for these clear aligners. But now let's talk about something else.”

We order a second round of beers and the bar gets fuller as the evening goes on. We talk about girls and my upcoming world championship. I learn that Peter enjoys his freedom and meets many girls. Sometimes he takes them home and has fun overnight. Although he tells me that he is happy with this, I am not completely convinced. I think he is trying to compensate for the loss of Lynn. During our conversation, he keeps smiling at the girls next to us, giving them a good view of his braces. I know what he is trying to do. He wants to show me that I can still get a girl with braces. He knows I am not good with girls, but I really want a girlfriend.

I sleep very well that night. Maybe the two beers helped. My decision to get braces didn't affect my sleep at all. This is a surprise to me. I decide to call Lynn's office right after breakfast. They tell me that I can come in the next Monday morning to have the spacers fitted and to bring the signed treatment plan with me. So I barely have a weekend without braces interfering with my life.

On the weekend, I spent all my free time training for the sauna competition. I go to the gym, I go jogging, I practice my towel technique, I practice in the spa, and I do extensive video studies. Partly I do this to distract myself from the upcoming braces, but I also have to practice a lot. After all, I still want to be world champion, so I have to prepare really well. The weekend flies by and I do not think much about my appointment on Monday.

Monday morning I arrive at Lynn's office. Of course, I brushed and flossed my teeth thoroughly that morning. The receptionist Ann tells me to go to the waiting room and that they will be ready for me shortly. There are two other people in the waiting room, a young boy and a teenage girl. They are not talking or showing their teeth, so I do not know if they already have braces or not. There it is again, my habit of scanning people for potential braces. Of course, in the waiting room of an orthodontist I have a high chance of finding one. Soon I am called into the treatment room.

Lynn greets me happily, "Tim, you are doing the right thing. I am thrilled that you have decided to get braces. And that you chose my office for your treatment." I stayed calm all weekend, but suddenly I feel the excitement, so my quick reply is, "Thank you, Lynn.” I am then instructed to sit in the chair and open my mouth. She inspects my teeth thoroughly and tells me that I am ready for the spacers. Her new staff member Tamara will do the job.

Tamara is still the good looking young girl I met at my first consultation. She introduces herself and smiles as she shows me her perfectly aligned teeth. She must have had treatment in the past. She tells me that I need eight spacers in my upper jaw and four in my lower jaw. That sounds like a lot to me. She shows me the blue rubber rings that she will place between my teeth to make room for the molar bands of the expander.

The twelve spacers go in fairly quickly and I think she is doing her job to make it as painless as possible for me. However, I do not like the way the spacers feel. I have read that some people think they are the worst part of braces. And I already do not like the constant feeling of food stuck in my teeth. Of course there is no food stuck, but the feeling is exactly the same and I will have them for a while.

Lynn quickly checks Tamara's work and tells me to make an appointment to have the braces fitted. She tells me that she has a lot to do this morning, but that I can text her if I have any questions. Ann looks a little confused as she tries to find an open slot for my appointment. She mumbles a lot and tells me that the only open slots for my rather long appointment are the first Monday morning of next week or Friday of next week. I already find the spacers deeply annoying, so I choose Monday morning, which only gives me seven days with spacers instead of eleven. Finally Ann smiles at me and I can see her retainers. I didn't notice any lisping, so she must have been wearing them for quite a while.

When I leave the office, I try not to think about my upcoming treatment. I am scared to death and the spacers are a constant reminder. The next week and the weekend are again packed with work and training. And of course I decided to take Monday off. There is no way I will be going to the office or working from home with my newly installed braces and expanders.

I'm enjoying your story and it's great to hear about Peter and Lynn again.

7. Unexpected
After lunch, my phone rings. It is my boss from the spa where I was training for the sauna championships. I wasn't expecting a call from him, he doesn't usually call me. He is upset and tells me that many of my colleagues had called in sick. They need me for the last shift today. I try to tell him that I can not speak properly because of my new braces. He doesn't care and I finally agree to work from 4pm to 8pm.

There is only half an hour left before I have to leave for work. I quickly pack my things. But one thought is in my head, "Is it really a good idea to talk with my braces in front of a lot of people?” But I have no choice, I have already agreed to go to work. Still, this decision is very scary for me. I decide to use this as training for situations where I am very nervous, like at the World Championships. My body still trembles slightly as I leave for work.

At work I am greeted by my colleague Claudia. She knows I got braces today and is very supportive: "Tim, I hope you are feeling well. If you need any help, please let me know." I reply, " Thanks, Claudia.” I had to concentrate to form those two words with my mouth. It somehow worked, but I had to fight the saliva that was building up in my mouth. I have to avoid slurping saliva during my shift, otherwise I wouldn't consider myself a professional sauna master.

Claudia says, "You're so brave! When I got my braces as a kid, I couldn't talk for days, and you're already rocking those braces." Maybe she is exaggerating a bit, but other than feeling humiliated, I think I am still able to fulfill my duties.

Claudia is really nice, she made sure I do not have to talk much during my shift. Most of my shift I just have to clean things or prepare something for my colleagues. Because of our limited staff, she couldn't avoid working for me in front of the audience. I have to do two sauna infusions during my shift. One is a meditation infusion where no one is allowed to talk. The other is a more active one where I cannot avoid talking to people. Still, she has done a tremendous job of making my work day as easy as possible. I owe her something.

For the meditation sauna, I decide to make it a really quiet one. I enter the sauna with a bucket and a towel. I place the bucket in front of the sauna stove and gesture to the audience to be quiet. Then I use the towel to bring some fresh air into the sauna. After the preparations I start the sauna infusion. As usual, I do three rounds of about 12 minutes in total. Since I do not have to talk, everything goes well. However, during the second round I notice that a girl with blonde hair is watching me closely. She is a very beautiful girl, so I do not mind her watching me. And I think she noticed my braces.

After the three rounds, everyone leaves the sauna. Some guests thank me for the sauna infusion, but most of them just leave quietly. The girl is one of them who thanks me, and her thanks are the loudest and most enthusiastic. I feel relieved that I managed to perform under such complicated circumstances. Maybe I can manage with my braces, but I still have to work on my lisp.

I feel that my braces are starting to hurt. I expected this, but it is still a very uncomfortable feeling. Something I am not used to. I take some painkillers in the hope that they will ease the pain. After all, I am proud of myself. I managed to work the first day with my braces and so far I am doing well.

The biggest challenge for today is yet to come, the normal sauna infusion. This time I cannot avoid talking in front of the guest. I stand in front of the guest and say, "My name is Tim and I am your sauna instructor for today.” I feel the massive accumulation of saliva in my mouth. I try to get rid of the saliva as discreetly as possible, but I think I only partially succeed. I have to finish my speech, "I'm going to do three rounds and we'll be done in about 12 minutes.” The girl from the last round is among the guests and again she looks at me closely. I still have to work on my saliva and am happy when I finish the third round and can leave the sauna.

The girl approaches me and I notice that she looks really good. She asks me, "Is this your first day with braces?" I am shocked that she noticed, but I reply, "Yes, I got them this morning.” She says, "That is really brave of you to come to work on your first day with braces.” She called me brave, which makes me kind of happy, and I reply, "A bunch of colleagues called in sick and I had to step in.” She nods in appreciation and then says something that surprises me, "Would you like to have dinner with me after your shift?" I am completely shocked by this invitation, but being invited by a beautiful girl also makes me happy. I reply, "I don't think I can eat very much, but thanks for the invitation.” She replies, "Don't worry, I have a solution for that.”

I accepted her invitation and we went to the soup kitchen that had opened a few weeks earlier. This turns out to be more exciting than I expected. I was expecting a hard day of work with my new braces and now I have a dinner with a beautiful girl. She tells me that her name is Tessa and that she works as an accountant for a large company. I tell her about my work as an IT specialist and how I made the decision to get braces at my age. She tells me that she had braces as a child and that she likes people with nice smiles or people who work on their smiles. I guess I fall into the second category. She keeps looking at me during the meal and I feel somehow connected to her. She is very beautiful and I like talking to her.

After dinner, she asks me, "Would you like to have coffee with me?" Again I wasn't expecting this, so I say, "I would love to have coffee with you, but I don't have my braces care kit with me. She smiles at me and says, "No problem, we can go to your place.” Of course I agree to this suggestion and so we go to my apartment.  Taking a girl to my apartment is just an amazing feeling, something I haven't done in a long time and it all happens on my first day with braces and expanders.

At my apartment she immediately pulls me in and gives me a kiss on the cheek. It feels so good and I look forward to the rest of the evening. I return the kiss, but this time our lips touch. I really like our kiss and I want more. Our first kiss is soon followed by our second. This time our tongues explore each other's mouths. I haven't kissed a girl for a long time and it feels really good. But there is one thing that bothers me, I haven't brushed my teeth after dinner. I tell her, "Sorry, I have to brush my teeth.” She just nods, "Sure, maybe I can help you.”

We are both in the bathroom and she has already finished brushing her teeth. I gave her a spare toothbrush and some toothpaste. For me, this is only the second time I have brushed my teeth with braces. It really takes me a while to clean my teeth and braces and Tessa helps as much as she can. In the end, my teeth are clean and I am ready for the rest of the evening. Tessa teases me and I already know that we are going to do more than kiss that night.

We haven't quite left the bathroom when she already starts kissing me. She pulls me close and her tongue begins to explore my mouth with braces and expanders. She knows what she wants, but she is still trying to avoid causing me any pain from my new braces. This girl is amazing and I love everything she does. Wow, this is an intense day.

Soon our clothes are on the floor and we are completely naked. We agree to use a condom and start exploring each other's bodies. She puts the condom on me and guides me inside her. I have never gone so fast with a girl and I really like it. Both our bodies are covered in sweetness and I am quite sure that my neighbors can hear us. But I do not care. I want this girl and she wants me. What an amazing night.

9. Focusing
The next morning I wake up and the pain is unreal. I have never felt so much pain in my life. The first thing I do is take strong painkillers. The thought of having to turn the expanders soon almost causes me to panic. My breakfast is some yogurt that I luckily found in my fridge. After the painkillers have taken effect, I turn my expanders. I try not to think about how many turns I have left.

Then I look at my calendar and realize that my next sauna competition is this weekend. I've been so overwhelmed with these braces that I haven't thought about the competition. I really need to focus on this competition because it is the last one before the World Championships.

In the last few weeks of training I have been concentrating on towel waving techniques. But there are other things that are important for the competition. I decide to focus on heat management. This is perhaps the most important part of a sauna infusion. The theory behind it is simple. The first round must start at a low temperature and the heat must be increased with each round.

Of course, both the guest and the sauna master must be able to withstand the heat. It is not a good sign for heat management if half of the guests leave during the first or second round. The sauna master must also be able to stand the heat. He should look as relaxed as possible and not like he is about to collapse in front of the guests.

To stand the heat there are two important things. First, it requires good personal fitness. Second, it takes a lot of practice in the sauna. For personal fitness I go to the gym. There I mostly use the bicycle ergometer or the rowing machine. I get practice thanks to my second job at the sauna.

The last two days before the competition are pretty hectic. I spend some time in the gym before I start working in my home office. I haven't had the courage to go to the office with my new braces yet. I know I have to do it soon, but I am trying to avoid it this week. After work I go to my second job at the sauna place.

My colleagues at the sauna are very welcoming. They try to help me prepare for my upcoming competition. Especially Claudia helps me a lot. She is in her late thirties, so she is not on my list of girls, but if she were younger, she would be one of my top candidates.

The day before I leave for the competition, Claudia asks me, "Tim, how are you feeling? Do you think you can handle all the braces?” It's funny that she refers to my braces in the plural, but maybe she's right, "To be honest, when I went for my first consultation, I wasn't expecting this amount of braces. My plan was to get these clear aligners. But I ended up with these massive braces."

She is curious and asks me, "I know that, but how do you feel about these braces as an adult?" The last week has been a whirlwind of emotions and I try to come up with a truthful answer, "I trust my orthodontist and I know I need them. But to be honest, I am still scared about the three years of treatment. I have managed to speak without a massive lisp with some practice, but there is still a lot of pain I have to deal with and I will have these braces for a very long time. That kind of scares me a lot.”

She says, "I think you are doing really well. In fact, I admire you for the way you handle the braces. And your other colleagues think the same thing. They look up to you and think how brave you are." I don't know what to say, so I just say, "Thank you." The fact that my colleagues talk about my braces surprises me. It feels strange that my medical treatment is part of their daily small talk.

Then she tells me, "My oldest son is going to get braces soon. And his orthodontist has recommended headgear for his treatment." I think about Peter's headgear and my optional face mask, "I think it is good for him to have treatment as a child. My treatment would have been so much easier if I had started as a child. As for the headgear, I do not have to wear one, but I know a guy who does.”

I pause a moment, thinking about my next words, "And I am not sure if I should tell you this, but there is an optional face mask on my treatment plan. My orthodontist is trying to avoid this by using rubber bands, but there is still a possibility that I will have to wear a mask. I have to tell you that I am really scared about this possibility. I do not want to wear a device like that as an adult."

Claudia looks at me and says, "Thank you for telling me this. I didn't know about the face mask. I have seen some in the past and it really is a massive device.” I tell her, "Tell your son that he should be happy to be treated as a child. It is so much more intense as an adult and it takes so much longer. He should be happy to have his teeth straightened now and I am sure he can handle the headgear.” She ends the conversation by telling me, "I will tell him that.” Then she gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and leaves.

Talking to Claudia about my braces had been a confusing experience. On the one hand, it felt awkward to talk about my massive dental equipment. There is something humiliating about talking about my adult braces. And I also mentioned the face mask, which hopefully will never be used.

On the other hand, it is a relief to be able to talk about it and to feel Claudia's support. And she felt comfortable talking about her son's treatment. I am sure she wanted to talk to me about it, just like I talked to Peter before I got my braces. Still thinking about 'my braces' is something I have to get used to. Especially the 'my' in 'my braces' is something I have to get used to.

These braces, my braces, are going to be an integral part of my life for the next three years. I have to deal with them and I cannot let them take over my life. There are other goals I need to focus on. I'm not going to let these braces take control of my life.

To my surprise, I can do the sauna infusions really well, even with my braces. The guests like my performance, as usual. And I feel quite confident during the performance. My focus on heat management is also paying off. I notice that I have really improved in this area. And combined with my improved towel waving technique, I think the next competition can come.

11. The competition
I take a shower and change my clothes. Then I go to the meeting with the judges. When I enter the room, I see a lot of familiar faces. All of my toughest competitors are in the room. It looks like everyone is taking this as their last chance to prepare for the World Championships under competition conditions. They had the same idea as me and I am actually looking forward to competing with them. They are all nice guys and we enjoy meeting each other.

After greeting my opponents, the judges start explaining the rules. The rules are the same as in most competitions. They tell us that they will focus on the time limit. The time limit will be 14 minutes for a sauna round like at the World Championships. And anyone who exceeds the time limit will have a point deducted from their score. A round between 13 and 14 minutes will be considered optimal. It is hard to meet such a tight time limit, but I have been training to meet this requirement.

Most of the other stuff they say is pretty basic. They tell us which sauna will be used for the competition and where we can get our supplies, like water or towels. And they announce that I will be the last one to compete. I was expecting this as I am the highest ranked competitor, but it is still an honor to be in that position and of course it adds a little pressure.

I still have a lot of time before the competition starts. I wonder what Sandra has in store for me. This girl was amazing last night and I am really looking forward to meeting her again. Besides Sandra, I really have to concentrate on the upcoming competition. I go over my planned performance several times in my head. It's not like I haven't done this before, but I really need to focus on all the details, especially if I want to meet this tight time frame.

Finally, the competition starts and we are gathered in a room together. We are not allowed to look at our competitors performances. And we also won’t know what their scores are before we compete. Since I am the last one in the competition, they will tell me if I have won right after the competition, but I still do not know the scores of the others until the end.

My round starts and I really want to express the judges. The sauna here is very good for the competition. They have an almost perfect stove and the size of the sauna is almost ideal. My performance will be three rounds like most of my competitors. And three rounds is considered optimal in the sauna community.

With my new braces, I also have to concentrate on my speech. I have to avoid lisping too much. My other focus is on my saliva. I really have to avoid making a disgusting sound when I swallow my saliva. Or even better, not to swallow at all. So far I think I am doing well with this task.

I am very satisfied with my first round. The heat in the sauna increases, but it stays at a level that everyone can bear. On the other hand, it is not a lame excuse for a first round, because the heat has increased just to the right level. The second round also meets my expectations and hopefully those of the judges. For the third round I want to go all out. The heat should go to a sweat spot where everyone can stand the heat, but no one thinks it is too hot or too cold. It is hard to hit that exact point, but I think I did it.

After my performance, I meet up with my fellow competitors. They have seen my routine on camera and are already congratulating me on my performance. I am confident that I have won this competition, but you never know until the judges decide. The minutes before the final decision are difficult. I hate waiting and today it feels extra hard.

All competitors, spectators and judges are now in one room. It is the room where we will get the final decision of the judges. An old friend of mine, Jeff, is in third place. Second place goes to Werner, he is one of my toughest competitors. With Jeff in third place and Werner in second, I really expect to win this competition. But the judges haven't announced the first place yet. They make a dramatic pause before telling the audience who has won the competition. And yes, I am the winner of this competition. I am really happy that I won this competition, but I know that there is still a long way to go until the World Championship.

All my competitors are congratulating me right away. They all tell me that I really deserve to win and that they expected me to win. Now I am the top favorite for the World Championships and I think that my opponents somehow like that I am in this position. At the World Championships they can only win and I can only lose. But this is what I wanted. I know that I am the best and I want to prove it to them and to all the judges. I know there is a lot of pressure, but I think I can handle it.

I am sure that all my competitors and the judges noticed my braces. However, none of them asked me about them. It seems that they are too polite or too shy to ask me about them. It is good to know that I can compete with braces. I was worried about lisping and if the braces would distract me from my performance. Now I know that I can still focus on a competition with braces.

I am more nervous about what Sandra has in store for me. My goal to get a girl looks a lot easier than I thought. Maybe getting a girl will be my first goal before fixing my teeth or becoming a world champion. I cannot believe that this could happen, but I am still looking forward to having a girl. I want to marry her and have kids. I want what most men want for their lives. And that goal is really so close.

Before I go to Sandra, I take a quick shower. After the performance in the sauna a shower is obligatory. In the bathroom of my rented house I brush and floss my teeth and braces. After only one week, brushing and flossing feels almost normal to me. I am really getting used to my braces and sooner than I expected. However, I do not love my braces as much as Peter does. I love that they are correcting the problems with my bite, but I am happy to have them removed as soon as possible. And I am not looking forward to the next turn of my expanders tomorrow morning. I know I have to do it, but I still do not like it at all. I really look forward to the day when I can stop turning the expanders, and even more to the day when I can have them removed.

13. No more home office
After I got my braces, I worked completely from home. Today is the day I finally have to go to the office and face my coworkers with my newly acquired braces. I talked to Peter last night and he agreed to support me on my first day in the office with my braces. It is good to have someone as supportive as him as a friend, though I am still a little nervous about meeting my coworkers.

Before I go to the office, I make sure that I clean my braces thoroughly so that my coworkers will not be able to see any food left in my braces. It takes me a while to clean them. Even though I know it has to be done, it is still a lot of work. Finally, I am happy with the way my teeth look and go to the office. During the drive, I think a lot about the reaction of my colleagues. What reassures me is remembering Peter's first day with braces. That day, no one seemed to care about them. I may have been the only person who talked to him about his braces.

I walk next to Lisa, the receptionist, and greet her, trying not to show my braces. I think she noticed them, but she does not say anything about them and just greets me. Peter is already in our room. When I arrive he smiles at me and gives me a good look at his braces with the blue elastics. I smile back and try not to show too much of my braces. Then he gives me a hug and says, "Welcome to the braces club. You look good with them." I know he is trying to be supportive, but I don’t think my braces look good.

I do not care much about the look of my braces. But what really bothers me are the expanders. They make it hard for me to talk and they are so obvious when people look at me. I want to talk to Peter more about them, but he has some important work to do. So we will have to talk later. And I have to admit that he looks so confident with his braces.

I start the day by going through my mail. There are not that many important mails in my inbox. Yet one mail sticks out, it is from my boss and it is an invitation to a meeting this afternoon. Normally, my boss does not invite me to meetings, especially not on short notice. I am curious about what he has to tell me. My first day in the office and I already have a private meeting with my boss. This is pretty unusual, but I will see what he wants to tell me. I get along pretty well with him, so I am not expecting any trouble. The only thing is that my meeting with him on my first day in the office with braces and expanders is bad timing.

My thoughts about the meeting with my boss are interrupted by Peter, "Tim, sorry I did not have time to talk to you. How are you doing with the braces?" I was hoping Peter would talk to me and reply, "I think I am doing well with the braces. But the expanders are next level. They make my mouth feel so full. And they cause a lot of pain. And cleaning them is another story.” Peter hugs me again and says, "I feel for you. You know I got my braces in small steps. First I started with removable braces, then I got fixed braces for only two weeks, and then I decided to have them for longer. I even got my TPA on another day. You, on the other hand, got them all at once, plus these expanders.”

Knowing his story, I know what he is talking about, "Thank you Peter, that really is a lot to handle. I hope I can handle it all. And I am really lucky to have you as a supporter and Lynn as my favorite orthodontist.” As soon as I mentioned Lynn, I knew I may have done something wrong. When Peter heard that name, his face turned almost pale white and he looks really unhappy now. That was my fault, I shouldn't have mentioned that name. Peter sees the expression on my face and tells me, "Sorry, it is not your fault. I am still not over losing Lynn as a girlfriend. I liked her so much and I was such an idiot." Now I hug him and tears stream from his eyes.

After a while he calms down and I am able to talk to him again. "Peter, I met her and she is a wonderful person. I know why you miss her so much," I tell him. Peter turns to me, "Thanks Tim, it was all my fault. I don't know why, but I slept with Alex and cheated on Lynn. I am the dumbest person on the planet and I do not even know why I did it. This is so humiliating.”

I know he is telling the truth, so I reply, "Peter, I know you are deeply regretting this, but I think you may have hurt Lynn in a way that is beyond healing or will take a long time to heal. He hugs me and cries again, "Tim, you are right. I think I need to focus on other girls. You know, it is kind of easy for me to get other girls thanks to my braces, but I still want Lynn back. Maybe that will not happen and I should really think about other girls.”

Compared to Peter, my problems seems minor. My only problem is the pain caused by my expanders, tough Peter has to deal with the breakup with his favorite girl and their relationship looks like it is beyond repair. This does not help me deal with my expanders, but I also want to help Peter, but I have no idea how to help him. I know he has spent many nights with other girls, but the only girl he wants is Lynn.

On my first day in the office with braces, I met only a few of my coworkers. I saw most of them at dinner in our canteen. I was there with Peter and no one talked to me about my braces. They all seemed to notice them, but were too polite to mention it. Peter had told me this would happen, but now I was experiencing it first hand. Peter had told me about the empty toilet in the basement, so I went there after dinner to brush my teeth. It was good to do it in private because I didn't want anyone to see me.

After dinner, my mind focuses on the upcoming meeting with my boss. I don't know what he wants from me, and I am a little nervous. He doesn't know about my braces, so they will be a surprise for him. However, I am not sure what he is going to tell me. This is not good for me because I usually plan ahead. This time, however, it will be a surprise to me.

I walk into my boss's office and he greets me, "Hi Tim, nice to meet you. Please have a seat." I do as I am told. He continues, "Tim, you are doing such a great job. I think you are one of my best employees.” Okay, at least he is not going to fire me. But why did he ask me into his office? I will find out very soon.

Then he tells me about a project our company is doing in a city 200 kilometers up north. The project is not going very well. And he thinks they need additional support to complete the project. He then tells me that I am the ideal person to fix this project. I will have to stay there for at least six months. I immediately realize that this would interfere with my training for the Sauna World Championships. On the other hand, I know that this is a great opportunity to show my true potential and that being successful in this project would be a great boost to my career.

With some hesitation, I agree to help this project. The company would pay for my accommodation and I will be able to go home on weekends. At least I will be able to train a little at home. Of course, this project would interfere with my job at the local sauna. I knew my boss there will be not very happy, but I still do not want to lose the opportunity this project gives me. If only this project was offered to me after the World Championships. Before that, it causes a lot of trouble.

As I am leaving, I notice that Lisa, the receptionist, has already left the office. As I reach the parking lot I see Peter's car pull away and I think I could spot Lisa on the passenger seat. Looks like Peter is trying to make up for losing Lynn with another girl. I felt sorry for him, but I am also a little jealous. I really like Lisa and she is also a candidate to be my girlfriend. But Peter was faster and took her first. Peter has again used the power of his braces to get a girl. I am not angry with him, but I am jealous and reminded myself that I have to be faster next time.

On the way home I think a lot about the new project and about Peter. The new project will have a huge impact on my training. And it will give me a great a chance to show my full potential. The downside is that I will not see Peter a lot, I am used to him and like his supportive attitude. And I plan to pack my things, because my shift on the project will start in two days.

15. Adjustment
The next two weeks are a crunch time that usually only happens to game developers. It basically means that all you do is work, sleep, and eat while you work. I even worked on weekends. I worked mostly with Sarah and I think we have identified the biggest bugs in the system and are working on a plan to fix them.

The plan we presented to the team can be described as waiting for the real plan. Of course, it is a bit more than that. We have identified three major problems in the project. The team will work on those issues while we work on a more comprehensive plan. To address the communication issues, the team also needs to write a glossary. This will help with the communication issues in the project. Everyone will use the same term for the same thing.

The only free time I spent was at the local sauna. I wanted to watch the performances of their sauna masters and see if I could learn something from them. Other than that, I didn't find any time to practice. If I really want to become a world champion, I have to change that. The biggest and most important competition of my life is not far away.

Because I was away from my hometown, I had to postpone my orthodontist appointment. I am the first patient on Monday morning. I drove home Sunday night and will be driving back immediately after the appointment. I have never had an orthodontic adjustment before, so I am excited to see what will happen today. And there is this elephant in the room. The treatment plan mentioned an optional face mask. I really hope I can avoid that fate. I have seen pictures online and they look pretty scary.

I walk into Lynn's office and am greeted warmly by Ann, "Welcome Tim, I hope you are doing well. I smile at her, "Good morning Ann, I think I am fine. Since I've been taking painkillers almost every day, my braces haven't hurt as much lately. I am not sure if I should tell them this. Maybe I shouldn't take so many pills. I decide not to and head for the treatment room where Lynn is waiting for me.

Lynn leads me to the treatment chair. I know they don't have much time for me this morning as they had to fit my appointment into an already tight schedule. I don't mind if it doesn't take long because I really need to get back to work. In the chair, Lynn inspects my braces and mumbles something, mostly to herself and Tamara, the assistant. What I can decipher is that she seems quite pleased with my progress.

"Tim, everything looks good so far. Your expanders are doing their job and I am pretty sure we can avoid surgery." Then she looks in Tamara's direction, "Remove his wire and give him a chance to brush his teeth without it. We will stay with the same wire and you can put it back in after he brushes his teeth.” I was expecting them to change the wire, but they are the experts and I am sure they know what they are doing.

"Okay Tim, let's remove this wire," Tamara says. She puts a lip spreader in my mouth and starts working on my teeth. It doesn't take her long and she presents me with the wire that was in my mouth. She smiles at me and tells me I can brush my teeth now. She walks me to the sink and hands me a toothbrush. Then she takes a tooth model out of the cabinet and says, "I'm going to show you some tips on how to brush your teeth. I have seen that you have some problems with brushing your teeth. This is normal, I will just show you how to do it properly.

It feels a little humiliating to be told that you are not brushing your teeth properly. I know that some of the problems may be because I am overworked. And I have often brushed my teeth when I was half asleep. Tamara is really nice and I like the way she presents the brushing techniques to me. I really like her, but unfortunately she is too young for me. Otherwise I would have asked her out. Her explanations really helped and my braces are so much cleaner than they were before. Tamara is also happy and I am allowed to return to the chair.

When I return to the chair, Lynn is working on another patient. It is a young boy and I see that he has to wear a face mask. Those look scary on the Internet, but they are even scarier in real life. I really hope I do not have to get one for myself. The expanders and braces are enough for me and I do not want another device.

It doesn't take Tamara long to reattach my wire. I really like being treated by her and she does a great job. And it feels much nicer to have the wire back in. Without the wire, the brackets were scratching my cheeks quite a bit. Tamara then says, "Please wait for Lynn, she has to check my work and I think she also has some additions for your braces. That last sentence really shocks me. I do not want any more appliances and especially no face mask.

I only have to wait two minutes for Lynn, but the prospect of getting more equipment really shocks me. I think my face is paler than usual and Tamara seems to have noticed my panic as well. Then Lynn comes over to my chair and says, "Sorry Tim, we don't have a lot of time today. I can tell you that your treatment is going really well. I think you will soon notice a gap between your front teeth. This is because your expanders are doing their job. I think we can start with your rubber bands today. They will help us align your jaws better.”

Just rubber bands, life seems to come back into my body. I look at them and say, "I was really afraid I was going to get a face mask today. They look so uncomfortable and I do not want to wear one." Lynn laughs, "I was wondering why you looked so scared. That explains a lot to me. No, I think we can avoid a face mask and surgery for your treatment. If things continue to go so well.” Then she takes out a pack of rubber bands and starts putting them on my mouth.

Then she tells me, "Please continue to turn your expanders and come back in four weeks. Tamara will show you how to attach your rubber bands and be sure to wear them at all times except when eating or brushing your teeth. She then walks away and talks to another patient, a young girl with removable braces, accompanied by her mother.

Tamara returns to my chair and apologizes, "Sorry, I didn't mean to shock you. I didn't know you were expecting a face mask." I am not sure if she is telling the truth, maybe she was teasing me, but I reply, "Apology expected, now show me how to use these rubber bands.” She smiles at me and shows me the package of rubber bands. There is a sketch of teeth on the package and she has marked the teeth where I should attach the rubber bands.

The pattern for me is to start on my upper first molar and work my way down to my lower canine. I have to use the same pattern on both sides. Tamara tells me that this would help move my lower jaw back and my upper jaw forward, thus fixing my Class III bite. Then she teases me again and says, "A face mask would do something similar, but with a lot more force.” I usually love being teased by girls, but today it is too much. I had already imagined myself wearing the dreaded face mask. I am so happy that I only have to wear rubber bands.

After she showed me how to add the rubber bands, it was my turn to practice attaching them. She had shown me two techniques, the first was to simply use a finger to add the rubber band and the other was to use a special tool. I try both techniques and I think the one using just my finger works best for me. Tamara is pleased with my practice session and I am allowed to leave.

Before I leave the office, I have a quick chat with Ann. She congratulates me on the progress of my treatment. I can clearly see the retainers she is wearing. I wonder if she wears them more than necessary to appear supportive to anxious patients. In the end, I get an appointment in four weeks, as the first patient on Monday morning. It is really nice of them to fit me into their tight schedule. I am sure not every orthodontist would be so kind.

Then I hurry to my car. I have only three hours before the first meeting, and according to my navigation system, I will arrive only ten minutes before the meeting. I really hope there are no more traffic jams on my route. My new rubber bands are also noticeable, they have already started to pull on my teeth. I have to make sure I take some painkillers before the meeting. I should have done it early this morning, but I was in a hurry.

I manage to get to the office in time for the meeting. I am not sure if my colleagues will notice my new rubber bands. And I don't think anyone would mention them anyway. Except maybe Sarah, who knows a lot about my treatment. We have talked a lot about my treatment over the past two weeks, and we have compared her treatment to mine.

Great story!

18. Back to Training
Our refined plan is working. Now the workload has shifted to the other team members, leaving me and Sarah much more time for our personal lives. She is spending more time with her boyfriend and their relationship has improved. We still exchange a few kisses from time to time, but nothing more has happened since that night in the conference room.

I am fine with just the kisses from her. I do not need anything more as long as she is in a relationship with another boy. And it is also clear to me that I do not want an open relationship. I want a girl just for me. So I have to look for another nice girl and I deeply hope that my next relationship has less surprises, like lesbian girl and so on.

So my plan is to find another girl and get back to training. I am not able to practice in the sauna during the week. Instead I work on my fitness. Now that I know that I will be appearing in a butler suit, it is clear that I need to be extra fit. The suit will make me sweat a lot, so it will be even more strenuous than a normal sauna session. At least I will go home every Friday and start practicing in the sauna again. I am really looking forward to it.

Claudia welcomes me when I arrive at the sauna. I really like being back in my training sauna, technically it is work but I enjoy it so much. And it is also nice to meet Claudia. She hugs me, "Oh Tim, it is so good to have you back. We have really missed you and many guests have asked for you.” I smile at her, giving her a good look at my braces, "Good to see Claudia. I missed you too."

She is a little surprised, "Wow, your braces are doing their job. You have a huge gap now." It is good that she mentions the gap, I was wondering how obvious it is. "I'm really glad they work too. And I already have rubber bands to fix my bite," is my reply. Then I open my mouth and show her the rubber bands. She says, "I'm so happy for you. I hope you are not in much pain.”

Then I remember that her son also needed orthodontic treatment, "How is your son's treatment going? Does he have his braces?" Claudia seems happy that I remembered this detail, "He got his braces two weeks ago. Top and bottom braces. They are no big deal for him and he likes that he can change the color. Another thing is the headgear he got. He has to wear it overnight and it is a big struggle for me to get him to wear it. We fight about it almost every night.”

I can imagine Claudia chasing her boy with the headgear in her hand. It must be very stressful for her and her son. "I am glad to hear that he is doing well with the braces. And I think he will get used to the headgear soon," I reply, not sure if you can ever get used to headgear. She says, "Maybe you are right. I am just a little tired of fighting.”

Then my boss comes around the corner and tells us to get back to work. And he also tells me that he is happy to have me back at least for the weekend shifts. I prepare the supplies for my first sauna infusion today. I will be using lemongrass as the scent in combination with ice and of course water.

It feels so good to finally be back in a sauna. I love that everyone is watching me, I almost feel like the center of the universe. The guests enjoy the three sauna rounds and I am happy with the practice I get. I did really well with the heat management. I managed to increase the heat with each round, which made the third round intense. However, no guest had to leave the sauna early because of the heat. This is exactly what I wanted to achieve.

The rest of my day flies by. My training is going really well and I am getting more and more confident for the World Championships. And I am now confident enough to wear my braces in front of strangers and be the center of their attention. I didn't feel that confident the first day I wore my braces. I was distracted by what people might think about my braces. Now I have accepted them as a part of me.

Speaking of braces, the pain is gone. I still have to turn my expanders and change my elastics, but I do not need painkillers. Brushing and flossing is still a struggle, but I am getting better at it. It feels good to have my teeth fixed without the pain of the first few weeks. And the gap between my front teeth looks funny. The rest of my treatment should be the same as it is now. Please no more pain and constant need for painkillers. Just rotate the expanders and change my rubber bands. Yes, that would be great.

Except for the gap, I cannot see any difference. My teeth still look crooked. And the archwire seems to accentuate the crookedness even more. Looking at the wire, I suspect that this wire is not able to do the job. The wire is thinner than any I have seen on other braces. Maybe the next time I go to the orthodontist I will get a thicker wire. A thicker wire is certainly needed, but should I look forward to getting one? Now that the pain is finally gone. I will ask for a thicker wire at my next appointment, even if it contradicts my wish for painless treatment.

I really hope Tamara will change my wire. She is such a nice girl and I like being treated by her. And I like it even more when she teases me. I am sure that on my next visit she will tease me about wearing a face mask. I would really like to be with her. But I have to forget this. There is no way I will have a relationship with a teenager. I have to find another girl or wait for her to grow up. No, I will look for another girl, I cannot wait any longer.

I had another training session on Sunday. It went really well. The guests were very happy and I was happy too. And Claudia and my boss had surprised me. After the guests had left, they allowed me to perform in front of them. I was able to show them the performance I had planned for the Sauna World Championships. They had even organized a butler's suit for me.

As I expected, wearing a suit made it more difficult to perform in the sauna. Not only did I sweat more, but my ability to move was limited. But it was still a nice surprise from them and it helped me a lot. Since it was a private session, I was also able to videotape the performance. I will be able to watch the video next week and find things to improve. But still, I think there is not that much to improve. I already did really well.

Now I am working on the project again. I feel so much better now that I have my personal life back and I am back to training. Sarah is also in a much better mood. The stress of the last few weeks has left her. But she is still together with her boyfriend. I am happy for her, but it means that I have to find another girl. As a bonus we still kiss from time to time. It feels so good when her tongue explores my mouth and plays with my brackets.

20. World Championships
Finally, I am here at the so-called "Aufguss WM", also known as the Sauna World Championships. The World Championships are held in Austria in a place where there are lots of saunas and every one of them is amazing. I am staying in a hotel next to the venue and have decided to get there a day earlier than most of my opponents. This gives me time to explore the place thoroughly.

The jury has an office on site and I decided to visit them. Most of the people there know me from other competitions. They welcomed me and a nice girl was appointed to show me around. She is very pretty and introduces herself as Martha. I like her blonde hair and the way she speaks. And her teeth look great. I hope my teeth will look like that after my treatment.

Martha walks me around and shows me the important places on the site. She shows me the sauna where the competition will be held. The room where the contestants can store their things and of course the showers. She is very good at showing me around. I ask her if she wants to share a drink with me and she agrees.

There is a small bar on the site and we go there at her suggestion. It was obvious that everyone in the bar knew her very well. And all the boys are staring at her and at me. At her because they like her looks and at me because they are jealous. Their jealous looks are amazing, I feel so proud of myself and my new ability to get around with girls.

She asks me a lot of questions about the competition. She is particularly interested in my motivation, "Why did you decide to take part in this competition? What motivates you as a young adult?" I answer, "I have always liked being in a sauna and I could immediately tell what the sauna master was doing right and where he could improve. So I wanted to become a sauna master myself. And I have to admit that there is another motivation. I really want to call myself a world champion and this is my chance." She seems satisfied with my explanation, but keeps asking me questions all evening.

We finally leave the bar and she takes me to my hotel. I ask her if she wants a coffee. To my surprise she says, "Sorry Tim, I really like you, but there is one thing I do not like at all. It is your braces. I had braces for almost six years as a child and teenager, and I cannot stand the sight of them. Sorry, you are a nice guy, but we will never be a couple as long as you wear braces" Wow, that hurts, but I try to stay calm, "Sorry to hear that. I guess I will say good night and see you tomorrow."

I lay awake in my hotel room for quite a while. Did she really dump me because of my braces? This feels terrible. I understand that she must have terrible memories of her treatment. Six years sounds long to me. But is that really a reason to dump me? I am just trying to fix my teeth, and according to Lynn, treating my problems is unavoidable. My mind goes around and around until I finally fall asleep.

The next day, after lunch, the judges present us with the rules of the competition. There are no big surprises. There is a time limit of 14 minutes and exceeding it will be punished with a deduction of points. They will focus on heat management, originality of our costumes, and safety. This is basic stuff and mostly the same as any other competition.

I chat with the other contestants. They all know me from previous competitions and most of them are men, except for one older woman. So no need to look for a girl in this group. They also give me the impression that they know I am the one to beat at the competition. And not everyone is happy about that.

Finally the competition starts and it is my turn. We are not allowed to watch our competitors, so I just have to concentrate on my performance. I enter the sauna in my butler suit. I can see that some of the judges are smiling. It looks like my costume is unique and that is a good sign.

I give them a short introduction of what is going to happen, "I am Butler Tim and I am your sauna master for tonight. We will do three rounds and we will be done in less than fourteen minutes." Then I start with the first infusion. I carefully pour the water onto the stones and feel the heat spread throughout the sauna. With the towel I spread the heat around the room. I immediately know that I have achieved the heat I wanted.

For the second round, I use a little more water. The heat in the room should increase slightly. This time I use a different towel waving technique. This technique focuses more on the guest in the sauna and allows them to feel the increased heat. I take a short break before the third round and smile at the judges. By now they have all seen my braces. I do not mind, in fact I think they should be able to see my braces, as it makes me look more confident than if I hid them.

I try to make the third round as intense as possible. I use a combination of ice and water. The heat is rising in the sauna and I can see that the judges are enjoying it. Just before the heat becomes unbearable, I use the towel to even out the heat in the sauna. So far I am very satisfied with my performance. I tell them, "We are finished and you can enjoy the afterburn for three minutes."

As I leave the room, I see that I have met the time limit almost perfectly. My performance took 13:55 minutes, which is close to the maximum allowed time of fourteen minutes. I think my performance went really well and the judges seemed impressed as well.

As usual, I was the last contestant. So shortly after my performance, the award ceremony took place. I managed to take a shower and change my clothes and now I am waiting for the results. I really hope that I am the winner of this competition. I have trained so hard and I know that my performance was great and flawless.

Third place goes to Gordon. He used a clown costume for his performance. I know he is very good, but usually his costumes are not outstanding. Second place goes to the old lady named Jenny. She was dressed as a witch and her performance must have been very good. Now only the first place is open and I really hope that I am the one.

The judge says, "And the winner is, Butler Tim. Tim really impressed us with his performance. We could hardly deduct any points from him. He is only one point away from the maximum score. Congratulations Tim and thank you for a great performance." It is starting to sink in that I am the World Champion. I finally achieved one of my goals. This is amazing.

Of course the other competitors are also congratulating me. This is an amazing night and I am sure we will be celebrating all night long. Gordon is the first to offer me a beer. I cannot tell you how much I drank that night, but it must have been a lot. I had a beer with Jenny and then with Gordon again. It was a great party and I am the world champion.

The next morning I wake up. To my surprise I have no headache. Looks like headaches are for losers and not for world champions. The only thing that is disgusting is the taste in my mouth. I'm sure I didn't brush my teeth before falling asleep. I almost run to the bathroom to brush and floss my teeth. And I have to put on new rubber bands and I do not know where the old ones are. For sure they are not in my mouth and I must have lost them last night.

On the nightstand is the trophy I received yesterday. I really am the world champion. It feels amazing to have finally achieved this goal. It is quite late and I have a quick breakfast after waking up. Then I have to go home to be ready for my next week of work. The drive home flies by and I enjoy every moment of it.

I have finally accomplished one of my goals. I am working on the second goal of fixing my teeth. So far it looks very promising. The third goal seems to be the most difficult. Either the girl is gay, too young, has a special need, has a boyfriend, or does not like my braces. This is a real challenge and frustrates me a lot.

22. Anger management
When I arrive at the office, I can immediately tell that Sarah is in a bad mood. And she immediately tells me the reason, "Those stupid testers. I gave them a detailed test plan. And what have they done? They used a different plan and that plan is not working." I interrupt her, "Please calm down and show me the results." She takes a deep breath and says, "Sorry, I am so angry at them. Why didn't they just follow the plan?"

She then shows me the plan and the results they have produced. I can see immediately that we have lost three weeks of testing. The plan they used was terrible and therefore the results were unusable. Now I understand why she is so upset. I have to calm myself down because I can feel exactly the same anger she is feeling.

I ask, "Why did they use that plan? Our plan was so much better and it took us two weeks to develop it?", Sarah replies, "You are not going to like the answer. They told me they had always used this plan for the old system, so they used it for the new one.”

This is just a lame excuse for not reading the new plan. I cannot understand why they are so lazy. This is a disaster and we need to work on a plan to fix it. But at the moment neither Sarah nor I are in a state to think properly. We both need to calm down.

I suggest we leave the building and have an early lunch together and maybe a walk in the park. Sarah is happy with that, "Sure, let's go. I need some fresh air." We leave our surprised colleagues behind and walk towards our favorite restaurant.

At the restaurant I order two large beers for us. Normally I do not drink in the morning, but today I need a drink. Sarah does not complain. On the contrary, she is pleased with my order and when it arrives, she takes a big gulp. When she realizes that she has not toasted with me, she says: "Sorry, but I needed this.” I fully understand and take a big gulp myself.

We both order a large burger and fries. This is our favorite meal here. The burger here tastes really good and the fries are always just right. We both enjoy our food, but we do not talk much. We have lost our words over the events of this morning.

After dinner we both go to the bathroom to brush our teeth. Sarah will then put her aligners back on and I will put a new set of rubber bands on my braces. While adding the rubber bands I take the opportunity to inspect my braces after my adjustment today.

As far as I can tell, not much has changed. I am still on the same wire and the gap between my front teeth is still visible. I look at the expanders and try to imagine how the TPA and LLA will look in my mouth. Of course they are much smaller, but I would still be wearing appliances behind my teeth.

Thinking about my treatment has calmed me down. I do not quite understand why. After all, Lynn had given me an unexpected surprise for my treatment. Maybe it is because of the other surprise. Tamara is a year older than me and we are going to the movies this weekend. And maybe I can kiss her.

Sarah has also calmed down considerably. Maybe it was the beer that helped her. We still decide to go for a walk in the park and not talk about anything work related. Just us walking in the park and enjoying the sun.

Sarah asks me about my appointment this morning. I quickly tell her what was done and that I will be getting the TPA and LLA. She is very interested and wants to know every detail. There is only one detail that I leave out. I do not tell her about my date with Tamara.

I decide to ask her about her treatment, "So how is your treatment going?" She looks happy that I asked, "I had an appointment last week and my orthodontist was very pleased with my progress. And I got something new for my aligners."

I do not know what else she could get for her aligners, so I ask her, "What else did you get?" She looks at me and says, "I got a new set of aligners. They require attachments on my teeth to straighten them better." And then she takes off her top aligner and points to one of her teeth with her index finger. I can see small clear dots on many of her teeth. These must be the attachments she mentioned. On a normal morning, I would have discovered these attachments without her telling me.

"Looks kind of cute. Do they hurt?" I ask her. "No, they do not hurt at all. Getting them was easy. The only thing is that I need more force to push the aligners onto my teeth," she says as she inserts her upper aligner. I can tell she needed a little more force than usual. Other than that, the aligners look just like her previous ones.

"And I have even more," she says. I don't know what it could be, and I have to ask her. Before I can ask her, she tells me, "I have rubber bands for my aligners and I have to wear them fourteen hours a day.” I cannot believe what she is telling me, so I say to her, "You have to show me.”

Sarah takes out her two aligners and shows them to me. Now I can see little hooks on them. These must be the hooks for the rubber bands. She then makes a sandwich with her aligners. While in this position, she attaches a rubber band to each side of the aligners. Still forming a sandwich, she puts them back in her mouth. Very carefully, she pushes the aligners onto her teeth while still forming a sandwich.

After this demonstration, she smiles at me and gives me a very good look at the aligners and rubber bands. The combination looks kind of weird, but cute at the same time. I hadn't expected her to wear rubber bands with clear aligners. In fact, I didn’t knew it was possible.

We lost track of time and both of us suddenly realized that we had to get back to the office. We need to find a solution to the mess the test team has made. Neither of us is looking forward to it.

Back at the office, we agree that we need to arrange a meeting with the whole team. They need to know what happened and they need to help us. Help, in this case, simply means that they will have to work a lot harder to make up for the time lost. We set the meeting for 8 o'clock the next morning.

After arranging the meeting, we both leave early. We are just not in the mood to do anything productive today. Our anger levels are still too high.

24. Sunday
The next morning I am the first to wake up. A quick sniff through the living room door shows me that Tamara is still asleep. She looks so beautiful when she sleeps.

I decide to make breakfast for us. Hopefully the sound of my preparations will not wake her. The door to the kitchen and living room is closed. So there is at least some noise protection.

When I am finished, I decide to check on her again. Now there is more movement on the couch and I think she is starting to wake up. I leave her in this state, and about fifteen minutes later I hear that she has left the couch.

Tamara comes out of the living room, still looking a little tired. She sees me in the kitchen and says, "Good morning, Tim," and then goes straight to the bathroom.

She looks much fitter when she comes out of the bathroom and I can see that she has done her hair. Then she gives me a kiss on the cheek and says, "Thanks for making us breakfast. And sorry if I don't talk much. I need some time to wake up in the morning."

During breakfast we talk about yesterday's movie and other trivial things. We both eat a lot that morning. I like to watch her while she talks. She is such a fantastic person and I want her to be my girlfriend. I really hope things don't get messed up like they did with the last girls.

It is a beautiful morning and we decide to go for a walk in the surrounding forest. I know a good vantage point that gives a good view of the surrounding area and so we go there. She doesn't talk much as we walk, but to me it looks like she's enjoying it.

The view from the lookout is amazing as always and she says, "Thank you for showing me this place. I have never been here before." I ask her, "Shall we sit here for a moment and enjoy the view?" She agrees and we sit on the next bench.

There is something nagging in me and I want to apologize to her or at least explain to her, "I liked you when I first met you. The reason I didn't ask you out was because I thought you were barely sixteen. I am sorry, but you look so young."

"This happens to me a lot and I am kind of used to it. However thanks for the apology and the apology is accepted," she says with a smile. That was much easier than I expected. I had ignored her approaches for months because of the misunderstanding, and I think that must have annoyed her.

My thoughts are interrupted when she kisses me on the lips. This time she uses her tongue quite intensely and our kiss lasts a very long time. Before I got my braces, I had expected kissing with braces to be difficult, but in fact I had kissed more girls while wearing braces than without. And with Tamara it is even better than with the other girls.

We sit on the bench for a while, laughing, talking and kissing. This place is magical and I do not want to leave it, because I am here with the girl I love. I have to be really careful with our relationship because I do not want to lose her.

Then she asks me, "Tim, how do you feel about your braces? We put a lot of stuff in your mouth." I am glad she asked me about my braces, "I can tell you the first few weeks were really hard. The expanders caused so much pain and I only survived because of the painkillers. But now I am used to them and I think they are okay.”

Tamara seems to be looking for the next question and asks me, "Do you dream of taking them off?” I laugh, "Definitely, I am looking forward to the end of my treatment. But I want to keep them as long as they are needed.” She hugs me and says, "You are so brave.”

Then I decide to ask her something, "So you give other people fixed braces, but you never had them. Isn't that kind of weird?" She laughs and I can see her beautiful teeth, "Of course I wondered who they would feel, but after all it is a medical device and you only wear it when you need it.” She pauses for a moment, then adds, "And I had removable braces and a headgear for three years. So I do not consider myself inexperienced. I just never had fixed braces."

I want to tease her more, "Isn't there some kind of practice at the university where you learn how to put on fixed braces?" She tells me, "There are study groups at the university and I have put braces on many other students. It just never happened that I got them for myself. I always got impressions or X-rays or 3D scans. So, yes, I have never had fixed braces and I am a little curious about how they feel."

I want to kiss her again, but first I want to tease her a little more. So I tell her, "Maybe you should try her at your next study group. This may be your last chance for this great opportunity.” I do not expect her to want to try fixed braces and she replies, "Tim, stop joking. Let's kiss." We kiss again for several minutes. And now it is my turn to put my tongue in her mouth. Kissing her on this bench is just an amazing experience.

Then suddenly I look at my watch and see that it is already quite late. I have to work in the sauna this afternoon and there is not much time left for us to go home and for me to go to work. I tell her about my work and then we leave the bank and go to my apartment.

Before she leaves, I ask her if she would like to come to work with me and watch my performance in the sauna. She says that she would like to see me work in the sauna sometime, but not today. We agree to meet next Friday. Unfortunately, we cannot meet earlier. She has to work in Lynn's office and I have to work on the project three hours away from her.

And the facemask??

I understand there is a lot of teasing in this story regarding face mask. Tamara teases Tim with a possible face mask and Lynn does not stop her. I am also guilty of teasing my readers.

I can say, that this story is not over yet and it is a braces stories. So you can expect more braces content here.

26. Braces day
The orthodontic department is located in a side wing of the university building. Tamara and some other students are waiting in front of the building. When I arrive, there is some construction going on outside the building. Workers with welding machines are repairing a part of the building. I cannot see what they are working on and I want to concentrate on Tamara anyway.

The study group is supervised by a Professor. And it took Tamara a while to convince the Professor that I could watch the exercise. Finally I was allowed to join them. The other students had to agree as well, but none of them seemed to care. As far as I can see, none of them is wearing braces. However, all of them had extremely straight teeth, I guess they had all had orthodontic treatment in the past.

"So how are you feeling on your big day?" I ask her. She replies, "I'm just curious to see how they feel on my teeth. But I don't think it's a big deal because I'll get them off in no time." Despite her confident answer, I can still sense that she is a little nervous. In fact, more than a little nervous, as I can see her hand shaking slightly.

The room we are in now is equipped with four treatment chairs and a lot of other chairs for onlookers. There are eight students in the room, plus me and the professor. The professor quickly introduces herself to me as Maria Frey. And then she looks at me, "May I ask you a question?" I reply, "Sure."

She continues, "Two of our students haven't practiced taking impressions on someone wearing braces. Could you do them a favor and let them practice taking impressions on you?" I look at Tamara and the look on her face tells me that the only answer is yes. So I quickly agree and Professor Frey leads me to one of the chairs.

I sit in the chair and Professor Frey tells Bob and Janine what to do. Apparently, these are the students who have no experience in taking impressions. She explains the process to them in detail and it is too much for me to follow. The only thing that sticks in my mind is when she tells them that I am the ideal candidate because the expanders will make it especially difficult to take the impressions.

So I lie here in the chair and Bob puts the impression tray in my mouth. He tells me to breathe through my nose to avoid the gag reflex. He is right, as long as I breathe through my nose, I can handle the tray. With the tray in my mouth, I fully understand why Lynn has switched to 3D scans for her patients.

Bob repeats the process with my other jaw and I think he does a really good job. However, the process is still uncomfortable and I am happy as the second tray leaves my mouth. The professor seems quite pleased with Bob's performance and tells me that I will receive a model of my teeth afterwards.

Then it is Janine's turn. I can feel that she is very nervous and Professor Frey gives her a lot of corrections. This second round of taking impressions is really stressful for me. It takes forever because Professor Frey keeps correcting Janine while taking the impressions. If Janine had been the first student, I wouldn't have allowed Bob to take the impressions.

Professor Frey then tells us what happens next. Four students will receive fixed braces on their upper and lower jaws from the other four students. I am happy to learn that Bob will be placing Tamara's braces. Janine will be one of the students receiving braces.

The professor then explains the rest of the exercise. The four students receive their braces. They will practice brushing their teeth and then the braces will be removed. Giving them time to practice brushing sounds like a good idea. After all, they will be instructing patients on brushing techniques and a little practice seems reasonable.

The four students take their seats in the chair. I am allowed to sit next to Tamara and watch the procedure. This is a fantastic opportunity to observe the procedure from a different position. So far I have only been on the side receiving the braces.

First, Professor Frey asks him to take a 3D scan of her teeth. I do not understand why the scan is needed, but the professor is about to explain. She tells him that he will have a scan or a dental model when he does this on a real patient, and so a scan will make this practice session more realistic.

The procedure for taking the scan is simple. I think Bob must have done this many times. At the end of the procedure, Bob asks Tamara, "Would you like me to send you the scan?" Tamara agrees and gives him her e-mail address. After sending the scan, Tamara is finally ready to get her braces.

Following Professor Frey's instructions, Bob applies a sealant to Tamara's teeth. The sealant will protect her teeth while she has braces. And of course, it will also protect them during the removal process.

Another liquid is put on her teeth. Bob tells me this is the glue for the brackets. After carefully applying the glue to the teeth, he uses a UV light to activate the glue. As far as I can tell, he is doing really well and Professor Frey has no corrections for him. I can tell that the other students are having more trouble.

Bob shows me the tray of Tamara's brackets. I can see that these are standard brackets and she will be able to wear colored elastics with them. Then he asks me to hold the tray while he places them on her teeth.

He carefully places the brackets on her teeth, making sure they are in the correct position. When he is satisfied, the professor takes a quick look at the positioning and says, "You did a good job placing the brackets and her almost perfect teeth. You can now bond them and attach the archwire."

Bob does as he is told. For the second time he uses the UV light and this time the light bonds the brackets to her teeth. Tamara has been very calm throughout the procedure, but I can tell she is nervous. She breathes slowly through her nose to calm herself down.

Bob tells me that he is going to use a thick finishing wire on her braces. These wires are usually used at the end of a treatment, but given her near-perfect alignment, they would be a good fit for her braces. He then begins to cut the archwire for her upper braces and after a few minor adjustments is happy with the fit.

He then uses pink elastics to attach the wire to her brackets. He hadn't asked her for a color choice, but given the short time she'll be wearing her braces, that's fine. He then repeats the same process for her lower jaw. I like the way the braces look on her. I think the pink elastics look really good on her.

Professor Frey then makes a final check of her braces. Then she says, "Well done, Bob. And Tamara, please come back in two hours to have them removed. I believe this is your first time with fixed braces. I suggest you practice brushing your teeth and eat something. This can be a valuable experience when you are dealing with real patients."

As far as I can tell, the other students are way behind Bob and it will take them a while to catch up. Tamara goes to the sink and takes a good look at her braces. She says nothing. As far as I can tell, she looks excited and nervous at the same time. I hope she gets the most out of this experience because I agree with the professor that it will help her with future patients.

Tamara looks at me and says, "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria. I want to try eating with them." She then leaves the treatment room and I follow her to the cafeteria. I quickly check to make sure I have my travel toothbrush and hope Tamara has hers.

Is it possible that she may wish to wear her braces for her week of vacation? 

Or will the building be closed on her return due to construction problems?

Anyhow the story is very well written.

I can´t wait for the next chapter!

Thank you guys. So we have many options:
- Tamara wants to keep them longer
- Tim talks her into longer wear time
- Construction work blocks braces removal
- Professor wants her to keep them
- Braces are removed
- An unknown option

Let's see what happens.

- An unknown option

I feel sure the workers welding something or other might be relevant!  Great story.

Very nice!

28. Fire
Everything is chaotic out there. People are running out of all the buildings on the university campus. Soon a huge crowd has formed outside. And we all look in the direction of the orthodontic department. It is the only part of the building where no one is running out. Instead, we can see flames coming from the entrance hall.

Neither Tamara nor I have seen the other students and the professor from the study group. We are both worried about what has happened to them since we cannot see them outside. I hold Tamara's hand as tears stream from her eyes.

Now the firemen arrive. Soon there are eight fire trucks around the university campus. I decide to find the officer in charge. I have to tell him that the people from our study group are missing and that they need to start looking for them in the treatment room.

The officer in charge takes my hint very seriously and asks me to tell his men exactly where the treatment room is. They will start looking for them first. With Tamara's help, I tell them exactly how to get to the room. After they are prepared, a group of ten firemen enters the building to search for the students and the professor.

Standing in front of the building waiting for the firemen is a painful experience. We stand there and it seems to take forever. Meanwhile, other firefighters have started to put out the fire from outside the building. Emergency vehicles arrive, the police and the press.

Finally we can see the first firemen coming out of the building. They are accompanied by Professor Frey, who is wearing a breathing mask. Soon more firemen follow with the other students from Tamara's group. Bob does not look well, two firefighters have to help him as he walks out of the building.

The medics take over the students and the professor. Tamara and I rush over to them, wanting to make sure they are okay. We are stopped by one of the medics. But he also tells us that they are all okay. They had inhaled too much smoke, but they would be fine after a quick check at the hospital.

Tamara then hugs me, "You did a good job telling the firefighters where to look first. I think you saved their lives. Thank you so much." The officer in charge has joined us, "Your friend is right. Your advice was really valuable. I think all the people are out of the building. Of course, we will check every room, but knowing where to look first helped a lot.”

We try to talk to our group before the medics take them to the hospital. They are all lying on stretchers and getting oxygen through a mask. When we arrive, Professor Frey takes off her mask and says, "Tamara, come back on Monday and we will take off your braces.” Tamara cuts her off, "Professor, that is not important right now. Please get well first and then we can talk about my braces."

Tamara has started to cry again and tears are running from my eyes as well. We are both in a very confused state. So happy that our group survived, but so scared about what happened to them. We decide to leave the campus before the press starts asking questions. They were already interrogating the officer in charge, who had been so grateful to us.

I came to the campus by car, while Tamara took public transportation. We decide to take my car and go to my apartment. During the drive, neither of us says a word. I am happy about this because I need all my concentration to focus on the road. Driving home had never been such a challenge for me. Thoughts are running through my head, making it hard for me to follow the traffic.

We are sitting on my couch watching the news. The fire at the university is the top story on the local TV stations. It seems like reporters from all over the country have arrived on campus. We are both so happy that we left the scene before we had to answer any questions from the press.

Of course, there is speculation as to the cause of the fire. The main focus is on the welding work that was going on near the orthodontic department. Given that this is where the fire started and that welding is known to cause fires, this seems like a good guess. Both Tamara and I had walked past the welders, but we didn't think there was any danger.

Tamara is very quiet the whole evening. We just sit on my couch and watch the news. She has her arm around me and I am holding her other hand. We end up sleeping on the couch in that position. We sleep in this rather uncomfortable position for a long time. I wake up the next morning, when I have to pee.

30. Italy
The drive to our destination, Lake Garda, is uneventful. Leaving very early on Monday morning, we avoided all the major traffic jams. The weather in Italy is also promising. It will be sunny with almost no clouds, but still not too hot. I haven't been to Italy for a while and I'm really looking forward to our vacation. What makes it even better is that I will be accompanied by the most beautiful girl on the planet.

We rented a house near the beach, which wasn't unreasonably expensive, and I'm paying most of the costs since I have a job and Tamara is still studying. The landlord looked a little confused when she saw two adults with braces, but of course she didn't mention them.

Right after unpacking we decide to go to the beach. We share the beach with some other vacation homes, but the beach is almost completely empty. We spend the first hour sitting in one of the beach chairs and just watching the beautiful scenery. In front of us is the lake and in the background we can see the mountains of the Dolomites. We say nothing, just enjoy the moment.

Then Tamara asks, "Do you want to go swimming?" I've spent most of my weekends in saunas, but I haven't been swimming for a while. "Sure, let's see who's first," I say, and run to the water, Tamara following me. With my head start, I win this competition by a wide margin.

The water has a good temperature and we both enjoy swimming for a while. I can tell that Tamara is a much better swimmer than I am. She tells me that she used to swim at a competitive level, but stopped when she started studying. No wonder she is so much better than me.

When we finally come out of the water, we are no longer alone on the beach. A couple about our age has joined us and is sitting on two chairs next to us. When we come back from the lake, they greet us friendly and then go on talking to each other.

After a while they turned their heads to us and the boy asked us, "There's a soccer field at the beach. Would you like to play with us?" I look at Tamara and she replies, "Sure, I would love to play a game with you. And by the way, I am Tamara and this is Tim.” The two then introduce themselves as Lisa and Georgio, and from their accents, they are clearly Italian.

We follow them to the soccer field, happy to have met someone our age. When we start to play, we immediately realize that they are much better at soccer than we are. It doesn't matter if we lose, we just enjoy playing with them. We stay at the soccer field for about two hours and then we are tired.

Georgio and Lisa invite us to a bar near the beach. We drink some coke and water and have a nice chat. We talk about a lot of things. For some reason they do not mention our braces. I don't know, maybe adult braces are more common in Italy or Italians don't talk about braces.

Tamara and I excuse ourselves after the second drink, but we agree to meet again the next day. On the way back to our vacation home we grab a slice of pizza to go and eat it. The pizza is good and we are hungry after our day at the beach. It is not a long walk home and so we get there quickly.

As I close the door, Tamara asks me, "Do you want to take a shower? I feel pretty sweaty now." I reply, "Sure, I would love to take a shower.” She then goes into the bathroom and I follow her. Our bathroom has a nice, large shower. The bathroom in general is modern and spacious.

She gets undressed and gets into the shower. She then asks, "Would you like to join me?" Of course I want to, "Yes. I would love to join you." So I quickly undress and I accompany her into the shower. There she is, my beautiful girlfriend, standing next to me in the shower.

She hands me some shower gel and I am allowed to soak her. While I soak her, my hands are allowed to touch her fantastic body. I run my hands through her beautiful red hair and it is so nice to touch it. Her arms are amazing to caress like the rest of her body. It takes me a while to caress her wonderful body and I take all the time I can get. She obviously enjoys it too and her body responds to my stroking.

Then it is her turn and she begins to soak me. She does an amazing job with her hands. When her hand touches my skin, an electric shock goes through my body. I feel like I am in heaven. Her hands touch every part of my body and being a man my body reacts to every touch. She does an amazing job and I wish this moment would last forever.

A long and passionate kiss follows, initiated by her. Our bodies are so close together as we kiss. And her tongue plays with everything in my mouth, including my rubber bands. Then she does a stunt. Using only her tongue, she removes one of my rubber bands and then puts it on her braces with her finger. Soon my other rubber band follows.

I do not know what to say and she just smiles at me and shows me her braces with the rubber bands. Since I have never kissed a girl with rubber bands before, I immediately start kissing her. Now my tongue is allowed to play with the bands and it is a nice little game. Suggesting braces to her turns out to be a really good idea, even though they are only temporary.

Finally she turns on the water in the shower to remove the shower gel from our skin. This also involves a lot of touching of our bodies and takes a while. Then she whispers in my ear, "Are you ready?" I know what she means and she doesn't wait for my answer.

Out of nowhere she pulls out a condom. I let her put it on the right part of my body. At first we just kiss again, but slowly we get more into it. She told me the truth, and I discovered that she was still a virgin. I am proud that she chose me as her first partner. This being her first time, I can tell she is a little insecure, but she is a quick learner. I give her all the time she needs and I enjoy going really slow.

Everything comes to an end and we are standing in front of the sink, ready to brush our teeth. She is still wearing my rubber bands and quickly removes them before brushing. Then she asks, "May I brush your teeth? I would love to." This is going to be very interesting, so I reply, "Yes, you can.”

This is a funny moment. She runs the toothbrush over the surface of my teeth. As she has taught many patients, she makes sure to clean all sides of the brackets and behind the wire. Then she moves on to the expanders and gives them a thorough cleaning. As a final step, she uses a proxy floss to clean between my teeth.

Finally, she attaches new rubber bands to my braces. She does this very slowly and I can tell she is enjoying herself. I do not have a complicated rubber band configuration, but it takes her just as long as if I had the most complicated one.

Then she hands me her toothbrush and says, "Now it is your turn.” The moment I enter her mouth with the toothbrush for the first time, I am very nervous. I have never brushed anyone else's teeth before. Being an only child, I have never had the opportunity to brush the teeth of a younger sibling.

Soon I get more confident. Her braces are much easier to clean than mine because she does not have two giant expanders in her mouth. But I take all the time I can get and do it extra slow, like she did before.

I decide that she needs to wear rubber bands as well. When I present them to her, she makes no protest. Instead, she waits eagerly as I place them in her mouth, copying my rubber band configuration. I have plain white bands and they contrast nicely with her pink braces. I wonder how a different color would look on her.

She looks in the mirror and smiles at what she sees. We decide to spend the rest of the time on the couch watching TV. Of course there would be some cuddling as well.

31. Talking
The next morning I wake up still on the couch. Tamara is next to me, we must have slept in while watching TV last night. She also wakes up and I say, "Good morning, sweetheart.” She looks at me and says, "Good morning.” She touches her left cheek with her right hand and says, "My whole mouth is sore and I don't know why.” Of course, I know the reason for her pain.

I tell her, "You are wearing braces and rubber bands. I think that is pretty normal.” She quickly takes off her rubber bands and says, "Oh shit, I shouldn't have worn them for so long. I don't need them and they are strong rubber bands. I hope they didn't move my teeth the wrong way. I just wanted to try them, but I didn't want to wear them this long.”

Since she wore my rubber bands, I now know that they prescribed strong rubber bands for me. That explains a lot of the pain I got from my braces. I ask her, "Do you think you damaged anything?" Again she touches her cheeks and replies, "I don't think so. It was just one night, but I should not do it again.”

I decide to kiss her gently and she doesn't mind. I even get to play tongue twister with her. This is a little complicated with my expanders, but still doable. Then we have breakfast together and get prepared in the bathroom.

After breakfast, I decide to ask her about her braces. She has been wearing them for over three days now without needing them and I am curious how she feels about them. I ask her, "Now that you have been wearing your braces for a while, what do you think of them?"

She looks at me and says, "To be honest, I am enjoying them right now. It is good to have a first hand experience. I will be putting a lot of people in fixed braces in my career and it is good to know what they are in for. It helps me a lot.” She pauses for a moment and then adds with a smile on her face, "And I now know how much rubber bands can hurt.”

I cannot understand why she is so eager to wear braces. If I could, I would take off my braces right now. Of course, that is not an option for me because I need them very much. It is just strange to see someone who is actually happy with braces. Okay, there is Peter who really likes to wear them, but I thought he was kind of an exception. Maybe Tamara has the same fetish as Peter.

Meanwhile, Tamara has booted up her laptop and says, "Let me show you something.” What she shows me is the 3D scan of her teeth that Bob made. Her teeth look really straight on this scan. I would love to have teeth like that. Then she points to the screen and says, "See, my right canine is a little bit behind my second incisor.” Then she points to another part of the screen and says, "And the same thing with my lower left canine. This is a slight imperfection in my teeth.”

I cannot see what she is trying to show me, to me her teeth look perfectly straight, "Sorry, I cannot see that. Your teeth look perfect to me.” She smiles at me and kisses my forehead, "Thank you for the compliment. I know my teeth are very straight, but I know they are not perfectly straight.”

Then she says something that really surprises me: "You know what, I am thinking about keeping them a little longer. I want perfect teeth and this is the way to get them.” Then she touches her braces with her right index finger and slowly runs it around her brackets.

I cannot believe what she is telling me. She has perfectly straight teeth and I really do not know what she wants to fix. I really do not understand why she wants to wear braces when she does not need them. I ask her, "Are you sure? I mean, your teeth are perfect now. I do not see anything that needs to be fixed. You do not have to wear braces to show solidarity with me."

She burst out laughing, "Don't worry, I am not doing this for you. It is I who wants perfect teeth." She pauses for a moment, "You know, I had removable braces as a child. My orthodontist wanted to stop after two years. I was the one who made him add another year to my treatment. Even then, I wanted perfect teeth."

I ask her, "Was that your motivation to become an orthodontist?" She says, "Good guess, it started very early in my treatment that I wanted to help people get straight teeth. I found it fascinating to see how the braces moved the teeth. And I liked the results even more. To me, straight teeth are something special and I love to see them."

She continues, "This is the perfect opportunity for me. I got these braces for free and Bob did an amazing job of placing my brackets. I think he also saw the little imperfections and wanted to place them as if he was treating me. And I really don't mind wearing them. I am still at the university and there are a lot of students who wear braces, especially in the orthodontic department.”

I am sure these tiny imperfections are some kind of excuse. She wants to keep her braces for reasons I do not understand. I am kind of curious if this was the same when she was a child. I ask her, "Can you tell me more about wearing braces as a child? What kind of removable braces did you have?"

She is a little surprised by my question, but tells me, "I had different kinds of braces. It all started with a device called an activator. This device is a block of plastic that forms the upper and lower jaw. I also had to wear a high pull headgear along with the activator. Luckily it was only for twelve hours a day so I could avoid wearing it at school."

I want to know more, "So, did your friends know you had to wear a headgear?" I can see that she hesitates for a moment, but tells me, "My friends saw me wearing the headgear. I was the only one who had orthodontic treatment at the time, so I guess I was a bit of an outsider. My friends were kind of supportive, but I could always tell that they thought they were lucky not to wear braces or headgear."

I am curious, "Did you wear the headgear for the entire treatment?" She replies, "No, I only had it for about a year and then I got different removable braces. One for the upper jaw and one for the lower jaw. They were removable expanders and they also straightened my teeth.”

Then she shows me pictures of her braces on her phone. She has a whole album of braces pictures. She shows me a picture of the activator and it is a huge block of plastic. I am not entirely sure how it even had fitted into her mouth. The next picture shows her wearing the high pull headgear. The headgear looks like every other headgear I have seen. And for me, it is absolutely clear that I wouldn't want to wear one.

The next picture shows her with the removable expanders. They look very similar to retainers, but I guess there must be some kind of screw to expand the jaw. The screw is visible in the next picture she shows me. So far, these are the ones that look like they are the most comfortable.

I have seen enough of her braces, so I ask her,  "So are you going to keep your fixed braces?" Her immediate response is, "Yes, I will keep them for a few months. And don't worry, I can do anything with them.” What happens then is that our bodies get really close. And she is absolutely right, she can do anything a man wants, even with that mouth full of braces. When we were done, we both needed a second shower that morning.

32. At the beach again
After lunch we go to the beach for swimming. We also hope to see Georgio and Lisa again. At first we do not see them and so we decide to swim for a while. When we return we see them sitting next to our chairs on the beach. It is good to see them again and I think they have been waiting for us.

We sit there for a while and make small talk. Georgio has brought some beer and is happy to share it with us. Then, in the middle of the conversation, one of my rubber bands snaps. This has never happened to me in public before, but I decide to fix it. I remove my second rubber band and add a new set of rubber bands to my braces. I see the curious look on Georgio's face.

He hesitates for a moment, then asks, "I saw that you both have braces. Do they hurt?" It is my turn to answer first, "They really hurt at first. I needed a lot of painkillers to get through the first few weeks. But now I feel almost no pain. Maybe a little soreness from time to time."

Lisa then asks, "Is there a reason why you didn't get them as a child?" To my surprise, Tamara answers first, "I had removable braces as a child. I recently found some minor problems with my teeth, so this is my second treatment.” I know this is not the whole truth, but it is not a complete lie either. I guess Tamara does not want the story of her accidental braces to get around. I decide to take this as a hint and not reveal the full story of her braces.

I reply, "When I was a kid, my parents moved around a lot. I think I never went to the same dentist. I guess that is why no one ever suggested braces to me. And then I discovered that I needed braces to fix my bite and prevent future problems. I would have been better off with braces as a child."

Georgio then points to his teeth, "My parents could afford them when I was a kid. I am thinking about getting one of those aligners to straighten my teeth.” I start to laugh, "That's how it started for me. I wanted those invisible aligners and I ended up with a mouth full of braces.”

Then I show them everything I have in my mouth. Georgio and Lisa look fascinated when they see my two expanders. I don't think they realized what else I have in addition to the brackets and rubber bands. Georgio also has a worried look on his face, I think he is afraid of having the same fate.

Tamara sees the worried look on his face and tells him, "I think I need to tell you something. Braces will be my future profession, I am studying orthodontics at the university and I am in my last year." She pauses and then says, "I can take a quick look at your mouth and see if aligners can fix your problems.”

Georgio says, "Yes, please, Tim's story really worried me.” He then opens his mouth and lets Tamara look at his teeth. As usual, Tamara mumbles some gibberish while inspecting his teeth. She makes him bite down several times and looks at his bite from different angles. I wouldn't be surprised if she took a 3D scanner out of her bag. But of course she doesn't.

Then she looks at Georgio and says, "I think you would definitely benefit from treatment. But don't worry, your treatment would be much easier than Tim's. I think your problems can be fixed with either aligners or some fixed braces like I have." She then proudly shows off her pink braces and I can see that Georgio and Lisa are watching them closely.

Lisa asks, "How long will it take him to get his teeth fixed?" Tamara replies, "That is a difficult question without X-rays and a proper scan of his teeth. I think it will take no more than two years.” Georgio then asks, "Would you recommend aligners for me?"

Tamara replies, "That really depends on your preferences. I think your problems can be solved with aligners or fixed braces. And if I were you, I would go with fixed braces. They usually give you better results than aligners. But you can also get good results with aligners. Compliance with fixed braces is much easier because you cannot remove them. With aligners, you have to remember to put them in after every meal. I can also tell you first hand that fixed braces are not a big deal."

I interrupt her, "Trust her, she knows what she is talking about.” Tamara smiles, "I was involved in Tim's treatment as I had an internship in his office when he got his braces. In fact, it was I who installed his braces under the supervision of my boss. And I taught him how to brush his teeth with braces.”

I tell them, "That's where I fell in love with her. She looked so good and I loved being treated by her. She also had a nice way of teasing me, she even teased me with wearing a face mask.” I realize that Lisa and Georgio know what a face mask is and that maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. The word "face mask" just slipped out of my head without me even thinking about it. That was a big mistake, I didn't want some strangers to know that I might need a face mask.s

To my surprise, Tamara then adds, "Me and my former boss have a slight disagreement about his treatment. She thinks that heavy rubber bands are enough to move his upper jaw forward. I think it would help him a lot to wear a face mask while he sleeps. In my opinion, this will improve his treatment results.” I am shocked to hear this. She had never told me that she recommends a face mask for me.

I stumble for words, "You never told me that.” She says, "Sorry, she was my boss and I had to support her opinion. There was no way I could disagree with her." I reply rather angrily, "You could have given me a hint.” She says, "I thought I did exactly that.” I realize that she is right and that her teasing was just that, "Sorry, but you really surprised me.” Still, she could have told me this important fact in private. After all, I am her friend and I have a right to know.

Tamara's eyes become slightly watery as she realizes her mistake and says, "Sorry, I should have told you earlier and in a more private place.” I think about what she did for me this morning and I am more than willing to forgive her, "Apology accepted. So what exactly do you recommend?"

Georgio and Lisa look a little uncomfortable as they are part of our private conversation. I feel uncomfortable too, but I need to know the truth now. When Georgio and Lisa want to leave, I ask them to stay. Tamara has to tell me the truth now in front of them. She has started and now she has to finish. I need to know her opinion about my need to wear a face mask.

Tamara begins, "You will soon have your expanders removed and your TPA and LLA inserted. I would recommend adding face mask hooks to your TPA and then you would be able to wear a face mask at night. These hooks are a common addition to TPAs and they could easily be added to your TPA. And of course I only recommend night wear in addition to full time rubber bands.”

I want to know more, "So how would you proceed?" She says, "I think you can have your expanders removed at your next appointment. The TPA and LLA will then preserve the result of your expansion and the face mask will move your upper jaw forward. I think it is better to have your expanders removed as soon as possible. You will feel much better with a smaller appliance in your mouth and wearing a mask is not a big deal. You should ask Lynn to make this change in your treatment.”

I disagree with the face mask being no big deal, but I think she is right about having my expanders removed. It would definitely be more comfortable to have less stuff in my mouth. But the price of wearing a face mask instead is not low, in my opinion. I tell her, "I'll think about it. And please do not be angry with me if I decide against a face mask.” Tamara hugs me and says, "I promise, I won't."

I want to move the discussion away from my need for a face mask, so I ask, "Lisa, did you have braces or are you thinking about getting braces?" Lisa is a little surprised by this sudden change of subject, but I think she knows why I am asking.

Her long answer is, "I think my teeth are just fine. I am happy with the way they look and I do not think there is much that needs to be fixed. But I want to support Georgio if he gets braces. I will at least get an orthodontist's opinion if he decides to get braces. Then I will know if I can benefit from braces, and I think most orthodontists give free consultations." I suggest that Tamara have a look at her teeth.

Tamara does as she is told and checks Lisa's teeth. Soon she says, "Lisa, you are right. Your teeth are almost perfect. There is no medical need for braces. Of course, an orthodontist can help you get a Hollywood smile, but that would only be for cosmetic reasons."

Georgio then hugs Lisa, "You would do that for me. You make me so proud. And I promise, I will definitely have my teeth checked by an orthodontist. And I will opt for fixed braces. Tamara, they look so good on you, and if you recommend them, I trust you." Then he offers us another beer and the discussion moves on to lighter topics.

Really good story! With several of us writing about the same subject, it is fun to see where each of us goes. You are very realistic, while I focus more on fantasy/fetish treatments, Sparky tells a story where braces take a smaller but important role, and mr_90proof goes all out.

I would say more realistic;-)
There are some more chartern  for this Story so stay tuned. I hope you like those next parts, too.

34. Locked door
I am working on the project for the rest of the week and will not be able to see Tamara. But we had agreed to meet on Friday at the sauna place where I work. So I look forward to seeing her again on Friday. I hope she likes sauna, because she told me that she hasn't been in a sauna for a long time and never got the hang of it.

Work on the project went on as usual. We made some progress and then we discovered some new problems. Sarah and I had found our working mode and so we were able to handle these problems with ease. Working with Sarah is fantastic and I like her as a person.

Of course, Sarah immediately noticed that my mouth was now free of expanders. I show her the inside of my mouth and she looks at it in detail. She tells me that my mouth looks so much bigger without the expanders. To my surprise, she also reveals that my lisp has improved and is only slightly noticeable. This is quite surprising as I thought I had overcome my lisp and was able to speak without a lisp even with the expanders.

I also tell her what the hooks on my upper braces are for. She is really surprised when I tell her that I now have to wear a face mask at night. Of course she wants to see the mask and I am prepared for this request. I took the mask and rubber bands to the office. I was secretly hoping that she wouldn't ask me to show her the mask, but of course I was wrong. So far we have shared all of our experiences with braces.

We lock the door to our office and I take the mask out of my pocket. I hand it to her and she inspects it carefully. She then puts it on her face as if she were wearing a face mask. I have to admit that she looks kind of cool wearing it. I tell her that and she smiles at me and gives me a good look at the rubber bands attached to her aligners.

Seeing her wearing rubber bands is always confusing to me. Her aligners are almost invisible, but her rubber bands are easy to spot. I still find it fascinating that she can wear rubber bands with her aligners.

Then she asks me to put the mask on because she wants to see me wearing it. This is a big favor she is asking of me. I am really afraid to wear my face mask in front of anyone. She is my friend, so it might be a little easier for her, but it is still hard for me. I finally agree to put on the mask.

I hesitate a little and then I start to put on the dreaded mask. First, I attach a rubber band to each of the hooks on my braces. Sarah watches me closely as I do this. Then I place the mask on my face as Petra has instructed me. The last step is to attach the rubber bands to the crossbar. Now I am wearing the mask in front of Sarah, I never expected this to happen.

Sarah hugs me and tells me that I am a very brave man. She tells me that she admires my determination to get my teeth fixed. She then gives me a friendly kiss on my forehead, which is partially covered by the pad of the mask. Sarah looks at me for a long time. I can tell that she is fascinated by the mask and that she feels sorry for me. I stand in the room, unable to speak, and she still inspects me and my mask. Out of a sudden she allows me to take the mask off, which is a great relief.s

While putting the mask back in the bag, something unexpected happens. I am suddenly overwhelmed by my emotions and begin to cry. I don't know why, but suddenly the burden of wearing a face mask as an adult is too much for me. Until that moment, I hadn't realized how stressful it was for me to wear such an embarrassing device, but now I'm crying.

At first Sarah does not know what is happening to me, but she soon realizes. She hugs me again and my tears are still flowing. Then she says, "Don't worry Tim, I will help you with this." She massages my back with her right hand to calm me down. It feels good to be hugged by her and it helps me slowly get over this moment of panic.

It is good that we have locked the office door, so at least no stranger can see me in this state. I am glad that Tamara has not seen me like this and that only Sarah has seen me panic. Or would it have been better if Tamara had seen it? I don't know what to think about all this.

Back in a more normal state, I say to Sarah, "I'm sorry. My reaction was childish. It just overwhelmed me that I have to wear this stupid mask as an adult. I should have been able to control myself." She says, "Tim, don't be so hard on yourself. It is okay to have feelings."

She continues, "I'm sure you can handle it. You only need to wear this mask in private, so no one will see you wearing it. I think your expanders were a tougher job. I mean, you had to wear them in public all day, and they always gave you that little lisp." I nod and say, "Yes, you are right. Those emotions just came out of nowhere and I didn't know what was happening to me."

Then she surprises me with a passionate kiss on my lips. I can feel her tongue trying to play in my mouth. At first I enjoy her kiss, but then reason returns and I end the kiss. I tell her, "Sorry Sarah, I have a girlfriend. We cannot do this anymore."

She looks at me, obviously embarrassed, but not at me, it looks like she is ashamed of herself. In a whiny voice she says, "Sorry Tim, I shouldn't have done that. I respect you and your girl. Can you forgive me?" Sure I can, "Apology accepted, but please don't do it again. You know I like to kiss you, but it is not appropriate now that I have a girlfriend."

Our conversation is interrupted by a knock at the door. It is Per, a member of the test team, and he has some bad news. We do not discuss the locked door with him and instead focus on this new problem. So we spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how to fix this problem. There is no time to discuss personal matters.

Back in my rented apartment, I prepare something to eat. Eating has become so much easier without my expanders. With them, it was really hard not to have them pick up a huge amount of food. Now with the TPA and LLA it is so much easier. It almost feels like eating without braces. Of course, that is not true because I still have to eat carefully, but it is just so much easier now.

In the bathroom I brush my teeth and I notice the same thing. It is so much easier without those bulky expanders. Life without expanders is definitely an improvement. As I add my rubber bands, I take a closer look at my teeth. The gap from the expansion is still there, but it is slowly getting smaller. But there is still a lot of work to be done. My teeth do not look straight at all. The wire is almost zigzagging through the brackets. And when I compare the wire with Tamara's, mine looks so tiny and fragile. I need a thicker wire and I am sure I will get it soon.

When I look at my crooked teeth, I have a question in my mind. Why did I not realize that I had crooked teeth before? I mean, they are not slightly crooked, they are very crooked. Is it the braces that exaggerate the crookedness? Or was I somehow blindsided? I don't know, but my need for treatment is so obvious to me now.

I decide to put on my face mask now. A little more wearing time is certainly beneficial. I watch myself put on this embarrassing device and remember my panic attack at the office with Sarah. Now, in my private room, it feels somehow okay to wear this device. I do not have the same feelings I had this morning.

Before going to bed I decide to watch a movie on the TV. It is an action movie and there is a lot of shooting and trash talking going on. Through the movie I can feel the pull of the mask. I decide to take a painkiller and go to bed early. Maybe I will be asleep before the real pain starts.

There is another problem I haven't thought about. I usually sleep on my side or on my stomach. But the face mask prevents me from sleeping that way. I must learn to sleep on my back. After seeing the crookedness of my teeth in the mirror, I know that my treatment is unavoidable, but couldn't it be a little less of a burden for me?

The next morning my whole mouth feels sore. This is my second night wearing the mask and it is definitely worse than the first. The first night I had the advantage of being with Tamara and she knew how to distract me from the pain.

36. Surprise
It is quite late when we arrive at my apartment. We brush our teeth and put rubber bands on our braces. Tamara sometimes wears rubber bands with her braces now, but she has the softest ones so they do not move her teeth in the wrong direction. Then she helps me with my face mask, but not before she kisses me on the mouth one last time before the face mask makes kissing impossible.

What happens in the bedroom is wonderful as always. And it gets better every time we do it. I fall asleep with Tamara in my arms. It is the first night that I do not wake up because of the pain from my face mask.

We stand together in my bathroom the next morning and Tamara says to me, "Thank you for this wonderful night. And I need to show you something." She opens her mouth very wide and I can see everything in her mouth. And actually her braces look different. Then she asks me, "Did you see it?"

I ask her, "When did you get the bands and the TPA? That was not there when I saw you last week." She smiles at me and gives me another good look at her pink braces.

Then she tells me, "I got them yesterday at the study group. And I think the TPA is amazing. It adds so much to my braces experience. And the best part is, I get to keep it. Professor Frey thinks it will keep my molars from rotating, which is always a good thing for orthodontic treatment. I am so happy."

I know her love for braces, so I am happy when she is happy. I then pull her closer and touch her braces with my index finger. I let the finger run slowly over her brackets. I know she likes it and I like being close to her.

She then plays with the rubber bands on my braces and I can tell she is enjoying every moment of it. After her finger has inspected every part of my braces, it is time for a kiss. Because of my face mask, she can only kiss me on the cheek, but it is still a very passionate kiss. I decide to take off the mask and get a real kiss from her and she does not disappoint me.

Then she looks at me and says, "You haven't seen the best part yet." She opens her bag and takes something out. I immediately recognize it as a Headgear. She shows it to me and smiles all over her face. Wow, this is a surprise.

She then says, "They had to practice fitting headgear on a patient and I got to keep this one. I am so lucky to be part of this study group. It helps me experience so many aspects of orthodontic treatment.” I take a good look at the headgear and tell her, "Put it in. I want to see how you look with it on."

She immediately starts putting the headgear on, still with a big smile on her face. First she puts the facebow in her mouth. Considering the speed with which she does this, she must have practiced a lot. Then she attaches the neck strap to the facebow and soon she is wearing the headgear.

She looks kind of cute wearing it and I tell her, "You look cute. Can we still kiss with this on?" She does not answer, instead she starts kissing me. It feels a little strange when my lips meet her lips plus the facebow. But we can still kiss each other. Looks like the headgear is better than the face mask.

What a stunning look she has with her pink braces and the pink neck strap that matches the color of her braces. And she looks so happy when she wears it. Then she asks me, "What do you think? The headgear is not part of my treatment, but I can still wear it sometime without risking any damage to my bite."

With a smile on my face, I tell her, "I think you look good. Shall I put on my face mask so we can match?" She laughs and says, "Wait, I have something better for you. Without further ado she pulls another headgear out of her bag, "I was able to secure another one, you have to try it. It is already adjusted to your braces."

I wonder how she made this adjustment and decide to give it a try. After all, it makes her happy and I am sure she will reward me later. She hands me the facebow and the blue neck strap and I turn my face to the bathroom mirror.

I have never worn a facebow before, so it takes me a while to find the headgear tubes and fiddle the end of the facebow into them. Tamara is watching me, still wearing her headgear. Finally the facebow is in and I attach the neck strap to it. Now I am wearing a headgear for the first time in my life.

I ask her, "Can we kiss with this on?" She does not answer, but initiates a kiss. At first our facebows collide and we both burst out laughing. On the third attempt, our lips meet and we finally kiss. The facebows make it hard to move our heads, but our lips still touch. I explore her facebow and the brackets on her front teeth with my tongue. When I finish, she does the same.

Wearing headgear is a very strange feeling. I can feel the force it exerts on my back molars. It also feels strange to have a strap around my neck. When I wear my face mask, I can see the bar of the mask all the time. It is a little different with the headgear, I can only see parts of the facebow out of the corners of my eyes.

I wonder if I can wear the headgear with my face mask. Without asking Tamara, I take my face mask and begin to put it on. Tamara watches me with a very surprised look on her face. It is not easy to put the mask on, but in the end I am wearing it with the headgear.

Tamara is still speechless, but has a look of admiration on her face. Looking in the mirror, I realize that I look ridiculous with these two extra oral devices. Tamara has found her words and stumbles, "Wow, this is so cute. And you look fabulous in them." She kisses me on the cheek and rubs my back as the face mask blocks access to my lips.

We never leave my apartment today. And I get multiple rewards for wearing my headgear or face mask. Tamara especially likes it when I wear the headgear. I also prefer the headgear because I can kiss her while wearing it. This is a fantastic day and all parts of our bodies are involved in the experience.

That evening we lie in bed together, very exhausted. Tamara turns to me and says, "You know, I have always wondered how it feels to wear these devices in public. I stumble, "Well, I think it feels pretty humiliating. No one wears them in public anymore. I saw some kids wearing them when I was young, but I haven't seen one in ages."

She gets a sweaty look on her face and asks me, "Would you like to wear it with me? Of course, in a foreign city.” Wow, I never thought about that. Wearing my face mask in front of Sarah had been humiliating enough. I actually had a panic attack. Wearing it in front of strangers is another level of humiliation.

She rubs my back and says, "Please!” I don't know why, but I tell her, "Okay, if you want to try this, I'll join you.” I can tell she is pleased with my response. In fact, I have never seen her so happy. She tells me, "Thank you, this is really going to help me understand my patients. I want to fix their smiles, but I also want to be a supportive and understanding orthodontist. Let's try it tomorrow."

Hope you like this two new chapters. I have also started to write a new story with Peter and Lynn. I will release the new story, if I like it.

Thank you for your excellent work. Looking forward to more of this story and to possibly hear about Peter and Lynn again.

39. Next appointment
Today is my next orthodontist appointment. It is the first appointment after I received my face mask. The appointment also had to be changed to Friday afternoon because Lynn was sick on Monday morning. I am not expecting any major changes from this appointment. Maybe I will get a stronger wire or a different pattern of rubber bands.

I walk into Lynn's office with my face mask on. I have read her office policy and it is very clear that patients must wear all of their appliances in her office. I am really happy that I am the last patient on this Friday and no other patient is there. As always, Ann greets me warmly and when she smiles, she reveals her retainer.

I can go straight into the treatment room where Lynn is waiting for me. It is still funny to see that my orthodontist also wears braces. But it also makes me feel connected to her. I know she knows what I am going through. And this time she looks happier than ever. I do not know the reason for her happiness and I am afraid to ask.

She tells me to sit down in the chair. With the face mask still on, she begins to examine my teeth. After a while she removes the mask and lets me bite down. It takes her a while to examine my teeth. She does her usual mumbling as she inspects my teeth, but she seems happy with them as far as I can tell.

Then she removes the archwires from my braces. As usual, I am allowed to brush my teeth properly without the wire. I really like this part because it helps me to have very clean teeth. Since I am very afraid of cavities, having clean teeth is one of my top priorities.

So far Lynn has not said much, but now she begins to explain, "Tim, you are doing very well with your treatment. You are doing a great job with your oral hygiene and I can see that you are wearing your mask as instructed. Today we are going to make some adjustments to your treatment."

I am curious to see what adjustments she is talking about. I wasn't expecting a change in my treatment today. She continues, "You will get a stronger wire again. The wire will help to further straighten your teeth. And I think you have noticed that the gaps between your teeth are closing. We are going to add a device that will help close those gaps even more."

I want to know what device she is talking about. After all, I am happy to only have brackets with TPA and LLA. And no expanders or anything like that. She explains, "Today you will receive a power chain. It will help close the gaps between your teeth."

She shows me the power chain and to me it basically looks like a long rubber band with a lot of holes in it. And it is quite obvious, how this will help to close my gaps. Then she tells me, "You didn't have any color for your braces with your self-ligating brackets. Now you can choose a color for your power chain. Which color do you want?".

She shows me different colors of power chain and I quickly choose dark blue. I know Tamara would prefer pink, but I am a guy and I like blue. Lynn tells me that dark blue is a good choice for men and that she always recommends this color to patients who are unsure.

Then she starts adding my new wire. For the first time that I get a new wire, I can see that it is actually thicker than the last wire. I wonder if this wire will cause me some serious pain. Lynn quickly inserts the wire into my upper and lower braces. She is really good at this.

Then she starts with the power chains. She attaches it to my back upper molar first and then pulls the chain over all the brackets on my upper jaw. Her pulling on my jaw feels really strange and I can tell right away that this is going to cause me some pain.

Lynn repeats the process on my lower jaw. Once again, the pulling of the power chain on my braces is not comfortable at all. She then hands me a mirror to look at my braces. The colors make my braces look different. They look more like Tamara's braces, which require elastics to hold the wire in the brackets.

The last change that follows is my rubber band pattern. She now wants me to wear them in a triangle pattern. The rubber band has to go from my upper second molars to my lower second molars and then forward to my lower first premolars. She then hands me three new packs of rubber bands. As far as I can tell, they are even stronger than my previous bands.

I am curious to see what Tamara thinks about the change in my treatment. I am sure she will enjoy exploring every change in my mouth. However, I am concerned about the pain these changes will cause. I can already feel the pull of the power chains. And with the even stronger rubber bands, more pain is to be expected. If that is not enough, the new wire is a serious concern too. The wire clearly looks much stronger than my last wire and I know what stronger wire means in terms of pain.

Lynn seems happy with my braces and tells me, "Please make your next appointment in four weeks. I am sure Ann can give you your usual Monday morning appointment. And be sure to wear your mask at least eight hours a day. The more, the better."

I tell her, "Thank you Lynn, I will make the appointment and thank you for fixing my bite. I can already see a big difference in my teeth." What I leave out is my concern about the pain her changes may cause. And she made more than one change today. I really hope it is not as bad as I expect it to be.

I already know one person who is very interested in the progress of my treatment. I am sure she will like the addition of the power chains and my new rubber band pattern. Her reaction to the changes in my treatment will be overwhelming, I am sure. And she has the whole weekend to explore my braces.

Tamara and I have arranged to meet at her place this evening. I walk into her apartment and proudly show her my braces. To my surprise, she is sitting in the corner of her living room crying. I don't know why she's crying, but I know it must be something serious.

She is in a state of not being able to speak. I just go to her and try to hug her. At first she refuses my attempts to hug her. I still don't know why she is so upset. Has she found out about me and Sarah? But I didn't do anything wrong with Sarah, of course we were a couple, but that was before my relationship with Tamara.

After a while she lets me hug her. I want to find out what is wrong with her, but I think she needs some time to calm down. I don't think it's my relationship with Sarah, I'm pretty sure it must be something else. Or would she let me hug her if she is jealous of Sarah?

Nice chapter, very emotional yet romantic.

42. Love of my life
The next morning we wake up on the couch. My teeth are killing me right now. The power chain must be doing a fantastic job, but I am not sure I like it. I also realize that we both forgot to brush our teeth. I can tell that my teeth smell, and I can feel the buildup of plaque with my tongue. Oh, I hate it when that happens.

We both go straight to the bathroom to brush our teeth. I am sure Tamara has the same disgusting smell in her mouth. I clean my teeth thoroughly before inserting another set of rubber bands. I also take some painkillers, hoping they will help. Tamara hadn't had changes to her braces, so I guess she's not in too much pain right now.

We spend the rest of Saturday talking about our life together with a baby. There are so many things to talk about. I am a little scared, but also excited about my life as a father of a wonderful baby. And since I hadn't worn my face mask overnight, I have to wear it during the day. Tamara likes that part, except for the fact that we can't kiss.

Tamara also seems to have come to terms with the situation. As far as I can tell, she is now looking forward to her life as the mother of our child. It is so fantastic that she is going to give birth to my child. It feels so exciting. I am so happy that this is happening to me. Of course, having a baby can be hard, but the joy of it is so much greater.

Saturday night we repeat again what caused her pregnancy. Every time we do it, it gets better. She is so passionate and when she touches my braces she just explodes. The effect my braces have on her is amazing. I am a little worried about her wanting me to wear my braces longer than needed, given how much she likes them on me.

It is not clear to me if I really want to wear my braces longer. Sure, the face mask will be removed from my treatment and probably the TPA and LLA as well. If I keep them longer, they will be much simpler than my current braces. Maybe I can tolerate it for a while, knowing how much Tamara loves my braces.

The other thing I am curious about is how long she will wear her braces. She loves them very much and I think she will take every opportunity to wear them for a long time. However, her treatment is just a simple correction of some minor imperfections. She will soon have perfect teeth and it will be hard for her to find reasons to extend her treatment. Well, I guess she will continue her treatment as long as possible. And if I have to be honest, she looks cute in her pink braces.

By Sunday morning the pain from my braces is gone. From now on, it is only the normal pain that braces can cause. The extraordinary pain that the power chains caused is gone. It is good that the braces work, but sometimes I think they should do it with less pain.

The other thing is the color of my braces. With the power chain it went from metallic silver to dark blue. I like having color on my braces and I think this is a good side effect of the power chains. I am thinking about choosing a different color for my next appointment. Maybe I should get green. Or maybe even a different color for my upper and lower power chain. I need to think about this or should I let Tamara decide? No, I will choose the color and surprise her.

And I have made another important decision, I have to ask Tamara an important question and I hope she answers to my liking. She is definitely the love of my life and the question I will ask her is the logical consequence. I am nervous as hell, but I have to ask, I want to ask her.

We are now in my apartment. We decided to move things from her place to my place. I am still waiting for the right moment to ask her the important question. My nervousness is almost killing me and I notice that Tamara feels it too.

Suddenly I have a brilliant idea, or I hope it is brilliant. I go to the bathroom and pick up the headgear. Now that I have practiced this a lot, the headgear goes in quite easily. With the headgear in, I leave the bathroom and go to the living room where Tamara is unpacking.

When she sees me with the headgear, she is very confused. She knows that I usually only wear the headgear when she wants me to. I get down on my knees and look her straight in the eyes. Then I ask her the most important question, "Tamara, will you marry me?" It almost explodes out of her, "Yes, I want to marry you."

The question, of course, kept her from unpacking. Instead, we are back in my bed making love. It is always intense when we are in bed together. And it gets better almost every time. But the best part is that she wants to marry me. Considering how quickly she responded, I think she really wants to marry me.

Still covered in sweat, I think about the state of my life. I had three important goals. Now it looks like I have achieved all of them.

I wanted to be a world champion. And I passed the world championship and became the world sauna champion. It was a lot of work to get this far, but in the end my dream came true. I am even thinking about defending my title at the next World Championships. I want to be the best in the world at something. It just feels extremely satisfying.

I wanted to fix my teeth. Technically, I am just on the way to fixing them. However, I am absolutely sure that after my treatment I will have a perfect smile. Lynn and Tamara will certainly help me achieve this. So the goal of fixing my teeth will be achieved. There is no doubt that I will have perfect teeth at the end of my treatment. The only thing that worries me is that Tamara might want to keep me in treatment longer than necessary. But I do not really care about that. What makes her happy makes me happy.

I do not love my braces like Tamara, but I like what they do to my teeth. My bite is already better and will be even better by the end of my treatment. And I am sure that Tamara will help me throughout my treatment.

Getting a girl and having children was the most difficult goal. I think I absolutely achieved that. Now I have a girl, the most beautiful girl in the world and she really loves me. I love her even more and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.

The most important part of achieving this goal was making the decision to talk more to girls. And that helped almost immediately. I met some girls, some of them were a little weird, but at least I had been intimate with girls. Well, I guess Peter would tell me that it was because of my braces. But I do not think so, I think it was my decision to talk to girls more that helped.

And then there is Sarah, she is a nice girl, but she has a boyfriend. And I really didn't want to share her with her boyfriend. So it is so good that I met Tamara. And event more important that I discovered that she is not a teenager. In fact, she is older than me. And I love her and she is the best girl of all the girls I met.

There is another goal that is a consequence of one of the goals. I wanted to be a father and I want to be a good father. I did not achieve that goal yet, but I will work on it as my next big goal.

I definitely want to be a better father than my father was. He was just focused on his career. Every time I had to move, it was a burden for me. I lost so many opportunities to be close to other people. Moving had prevented me from making close friends and had also damaged my relationship with girls.

In the end, I think I fixed my relationship with girls. I am now able to talk to them and get closer to them. This had never happened to me when I was young. Obviously, I am more confident now in approaching girl. Of course, I do not need to approach other girls because I have already found the best girl on the planet.

It definitely looks like I accomplished my three goals. My next goals are to be the best dad in the world and maybe to defend my title as sauna world champion. But the most important goal is to be a good father to my baby and a good husband to Tamara.

The end

Thanks for the great story, i was a Bit sceptical at First , but then i really enjoyed!

If you maybe want to continue, We wouldn't say No 

Thank you all. I think, i wrote it somewhere. I am working on another story involving Peter and Lynn. it will take a while, until this story will be finished. But i can tell you, that I just finished a whole chapter without the word 'braces'. That is very unusual for my stories ;-)

I am looking forward to your next story.

As soon as I have added the last two chapters to the file, I'll update it in TheArchive.