Max was unable to speak, frozen in shock. Under no, no, no circumstances should this have happened. No one should have known. It was embarrassing enough to still have to wear braces at 22 but this headgear, an instrument that was already way too humiliating for little kids—let alone grown men in the presence of two attractive young women. He had never felt so humiliated before in his live.

“My little brother had the same thing”, Paula laughed, “but he always made a fight with our parents, he would never wear it without being forced to do so.” “Who forces you to wear it?”

Max was unable to speak or say anything. “I guess his orthodontist told him to wear it”, Lauren said to ease the situation, “I also had to wear one when I was younger, it is very hard.” Max liked Lauren’s sympathetic tone. “How many hours per day do you have to wear it, Max?” Lauren seemed genuinely interested.

“I, I, I am sup… posed to wear it for 14 to 16 hours per day”, Max stuttered. He could hardly believe that he was now questioned by two young ladies about his embarrassing headgear. “That’s many hours”, Paula said with a grin, “you should probably wear it whenever you are at home?” Max blushed again, he knew where Paula was heading: “Put it on Max! We already know you have to wear it, and it’s not getting more humiliating than that, so can at least try and get your hours in.”

Lauren nodded in silent agreement. She remembered her time with headgear as a high school senior and during her first year in college, how embarrassing it was to be seen in her headgear, how she could have died. But somehow she enjoyed seeing Max’ headgear and his embarrassment just like with his rectal temperatures a couple of days ago, she seemed to be aroused by his embarrassment.

Max’ fingers were shaking when he put on his headgear and tried to attach his face bow to the tiny headgear tubes on his back moral brackets. He had a cervical headgear which meant that he had a strap the went around his neck and was clearly visible due to his short hair. His face was beet red when the headgear was finally in place, and he struggled making eye contact with Paula or Laura.

Laura was fascinated by Max’ neck strap, she never realised how exposed the neck strap was with short hair. When she had to wear it, she always made sure to use her hair to cover her neck strap, Max couldn’t do this, and this somehow this added to his embarrassment. She would have loved to touch him there, at his neck and his strap, and give him a “headgear kiss”.

“It’s temperature time”, Paula announced, breaking the silence. “Don’t you think we are not checking temperatures just because of a strange orthodontic device…”—“Max, Laura, lower your pants!”