The Fallout (The Therapist #3) - W.S. Greer Page 0,20
under control, it always happens, even if the movement is subtle. I don't think anyone has ever known me well enough to pick up on this, but I know it’s there.
For Dr. Monroe, she adjusts her position as if what just happened has suddenly made her physically uncomfortable, like her chair has turned to stone. It starts in her hips and works its way down her legs. The first thing I notice is the wiggle of her hips in the navy blue dress she’s wearing, as if she’s trying to use the cushion of her chair to scratch her butt. Next, she uncrosses her legs, placing both feet on the hardwood floor, before crossing them again, putting her back in the position she started in, except with a different leg over the other. After Dr. Monroe shows me how I’ve bothered her with my answer, she glares at me with one eyebrow raised.
“Yes, Dr. Colson,” she says, her voice still as smooth as warm honey. “Did you forget my homework assignment for you after our last session?”
“Homework assignment?”I furrow my brow.
Dr. Monroe adjusts in her seat again, uncrosses her legs before crossing one foot over the other on the floor.
“Yes, I asked you to think about how you’d treat yourself in regards to Ava,” Dr. Monroe says. She’s still calm and soothing, but I can hear the slightest sprinkle of annoyance in her words.
I smile before answering. “Yeah I know. I’m just messing with you, Dr. Monroe. Of course I remember and I did think about it, but I think it’s more complicated than you might expect.
“I’d tell a patient who was going through what I’m going through to stay far away from Ava, because she’s manipulative and a bad influence. I’d tell my patient to stay away, and do the things they love most in order to keep their minds off of Ava. The patient would then say the thing they love to do more than anything else is fuck Ava until her cum splashes all over them both.”
Dr. Monroe lets out a gasp. She tries to keep it in her throat, but it breaks free and escapes through the tiny part between her lips.
“I’d view that answer as a potential barrier,” I go on. “Both for the patient and myself. If sex with Ava is the thing the patient loves to do most, I’m left with no other option but to ask if there’s anything else the patient likes to do, but that sweeps the legs out from under my therapy, because I’ve told the patient what to do, and then had to backtrack and tell them to do something other than what I suggested. The patient may or may not pick up on this, but as the therapist who values his work and wants to be great at his job, it bothers me. Therefore, with this particular patient, I’d be frustrated and challenged in a way I’ve never been before. Which is exactly why I came to you, Dr. Monroe. If it was as easy as listening to my own advice, I’d already be past my issue with Ava, but it’s not. It’s far more complicated than that. That’s why I need you.”
Dr. Monroe looks at me, her face torn between frustrated and intrigued. Her blue eyes find mine and lock themselves there, and as we stare at each other, I feel a tingle in my chest. This woman is disturbingly gorgeous. That red hair. Those ocean blue eyes. The confidence. Her brilliant mind.
Dr. Monroe smiles before writing something in her notebook, and that’s when I see the thing about her that shocks me the most. That smile. She doesn't flash it often, because our line of work is serious, and we deal with a lot of deep topics and patients who need us to be deliberate and thoughtful in order to help them, which usually requires lots of furrowed brows while we try to figure out how to help. So, it’s rare when we get to smile, but when Dr. Monroe brandishes hers, it’s breathtaking. It feels like the air has been knocked out of you by a gut punch.
“So, I guess you did do your homework,” Dr. Monroe says, still smiling. “And you’re very good at your job. You're right, Dr. Colson. Your fascination with Ava is definitely a challenge. However, I’m starting to wonder if it has anything to do with Ava at all. We mentioned this briefly in your last session. I think