The Fallout (The Therapist #3) - W.S. Greer Page 0,4

missed her body.

Does that make me shallow? Here I am, saying I miss her body and the way her pussy would react to me, but I don't have a thing to say about missing spending time with her. Our relationship was about sex. There was nothing more to it for me. I feel like that makes me an asshole, and I guess that’s why I started speaking to Dr. Monroe.

“So, let me ask you a question, Dr. Colson,” Dr. Monroe says, switching her legs, crossing one over the other. It’s like the hardest fight of my life to keep my eyes off the motion. I feel like I have to bulge my eyes out just to keep them from looking down at her legs. “You're a therapist yourself, so obviously you know how this process is supposed to work. If you were treating someone who came in with the same issues you’re coming in with, what would you do for them? How would you plan to guide their sessions?”

I swallow hard, realizing now I never thought about it before. It’s a great question, and it makes me glad I chose Dr. Monroe to help me get over what I had with Ava. However, we often have blindspots when looking in on ourselves. Since I'm the patient, it’s difficult to think about what’s the right course of action for myself. It’s a challenge.

“It’s hard to say,” I admit after thinking about it. “It’s difficult to think without bias when I'm the patient.”

“You're referring to your blindspots,” Dr. Monroe says. “It’s good for you to acknowledge that, however, I want you to try to get around the roadblock. I want to challenge you to step outside of yourself. Separate the doctor from the patient, and figure out what your diagnosis should be. I know you're a brilliant therapist, Dr. Colson. I've heard great things in your customer reviews and from our colleagues. You're great at what you do, so I want you to do what you do again, the only difference will be that you're doing it for yourself. You are your own patient.”

“I’m not sure I agree with that approach,” I admit with a tiny furrow in my brow. “It’s like I’m taking away the path you should be creating for me as my therapist. I’m doing your job.”

“You're not,” Dr. Monroe argues. She doesn't sound offended, but she’s straight to the point and very direct. It makes me feel some type of way. “This is the course of action I’ve laid out for you. You crave control, and I’m giving it to you by telling you to be your own therapist, and when you're ready to diagnose yourself, I’ll be there to guide you. This is the exact thing you need. Otherwise, Dr. Colson, your desire for control will ultimately lead you to trying to take the reins away from me in our sessions. You're great at your job and you're a control freak, so the moment I counsel you in a way you disagree with, you’d undermine the process by therapizing yourself, even if it’s just to disagree with me. So, I’m giving you the control you need. For now.”

I sit back in my seat and tilt my head to the side. I’m impressed. Dr. Monroe has come out the gate with a solid plan of attack I actually agree with. She’s right. I’m a therapist who knows he’s good at what he does, and right now I’m craving control more than ever. Dr. Monroe has judged it exactly right so far.

I nod my head and let my mouth curl into an intrigued smile. “Okay. Challenge accepted.”

Dr. Monroe smiles a full smile, displaying a beautiful mouth of perfectly straight teeth between glossy thin lips. When her mouth curls up, she gets little wrinkles under her ocean blue eyes, and watching her makes my heart feel like it’s on a runway getting ready for takeoff. There's a rumbling inside me, and I feel anxious. Just as her smile starts to fade, Dr. Monroe whips her head to the side, and red strands of hair flip behind her shoulder.

“Okay, that’s good for today,” she says, keeping her eyes trained on me. “I’ll see you next week.”

4

~ Malcolm ~

It’s interesting being on this side of therapy. I haven't decided if I enjoy the view, but I can certainly appreciate it. Tomorrow, I have new clients on the schedule, and now that I've had a taste of what it’s like from their perspective,