Page 39 of As Long As You'll Have Me
He seems to consider my proposition and nods. “I’ll keep that in mind. But, they’re really not that bad so I probably won’t need to write them down.”
“Well if you have another one?—”
“I’ll be sure to write it down.”
I squeeze my lips together and look at him, hoping that he’ll give the practice a chance. I ask him a few more probing questions and we talk until I feel my watch buzzing quietly on my wrist, signalling that our time is up. Glancing down at it, I’m surprised by how fast our session went. Itfeels like we only just sat down. I didn’t even get to drink my coffee.
“I know you weren’t ready to talk about your nightmares today, but I still want you to try writing them down. I also want to talk about them a little more next week if you’re ready,” I offer, standing from my seat to signal our time is up. He moves quickly and stands, taking a step towards me. Looking up at him, his brown eyes are locked on mine, causing my heart to skip a beat.
“Is it still okay if I text you? You know, if I need another distraction?”
“If you have something you need, you can always reach out. I told you that before and I still mean it now,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I’d be very careful about offering to take care of my needs, doc.” His voice is low and gravely as he speaks and I hope to god he can’t hear how fast my heart is racing. Taking another step closer, he reaches for my arm and grazes it with his fingers. Goosebumps spring up across my skin which he feels and chuckles at.
“I—I have another patient coming,” I say, clearing my throat. When I take a step away, he takes another one to close the space I created.
“Well isn’t that a damn shame,” he mumbles under his breath.
Before things get out of hand, I sidestep around him and open the door to my office. It suddenly feels very hot and I feel like I might suffocate if I don’t get some air. I lean against the doorframe and wait. When he reaches it, he leans his arm against the frame and smiles.
“See you next week?”
I look towards my feet and nervously rub my bottom lip. A hair slips out from behind my ear and I quickly tuck itaway before looking up at him again. “Yeah, Miles, next week. Same time.”
My heart nearly falls out of my ass when I hear someone clear their throat. Darting my eyes in the direction of the sound, I see my eleven o’clock sitting in a chair, watching us with wide eyes.
“Conrad, you’re early,” I squeak. My eyes are as wide as saucers and I’m completely horrified by what he assumes might have happened.
“I had a few extra minutes this morning so I came over. Do I need to come back later?” He raises his eyebrows as he asks.
“Not at all, come on in.” I wave my hand inside my office, inviting him in. Miles steps out of the way so Conrad can sneak between us and man have I never wanted to crawl into a hole more than I want to right now. Miles doesn’t say anything else before winking at me when Conrad’s back is turned and then heads for the hallway to leave. I can feel how hot my cheeks are as I turn back into my office and close the door.
“You didn’t just have sex in here, did you? Because my ass is going nowhere near that couch if you did,” Conrad jests, pointing to the couch Miles was just on as if it’s infected.
“What? Why would you ask me that? Miles is just a client,” I scoff before wrapping my arms around my chest in defense.
“‘Just a client’my ass, that guy was ready to rip your clothes off and fuck you right in front of me.”
My mouth hits the floor at his accusation. Milesdoes notwant to fuck me and even if he did, that won’t be happening because it can’t. I don’t care how badly I want to run my fingers through his hair or know what it’s like tohave his stubble rub against my cheek while he kisses me. Nothing is going to happen.Nothing.
I readjust my glasses before flipping my notepad to a fresh page. “Just shut up and sit your ass down. I’m not having sex in my office and doctor patient confidentiality prevents me from speaking about this any further.”
17
MILES
1 New Message: The Lost Boys
I roll my eyes at the name of the group chat Carter, Cooper, and I have together. Carter named it after joking that we’re like the Lost Boys fromPeter Pan. Just a couple of sad little kids without parents. Ever since he changed it, he and Coop have been battling it out, changing the name whenever they can.
Coop has changed the group name to: Grow the hell up
Carter has changed the group name to: Find a fucking soul
Carter has changed the group name to: The Lost Boys
Coop has changed the group name to: Go fuck yourself
