Annie puts her hands on her hips. “You two crazy kids finally figured it out, huh?”
As we move past her to enter the apartment, I pull her into a hug. “By the way, if you lost your voice, it’s in my right ear.”
Annie laughs and rolls her eyes. “Okay, Dad.”
I cringe, because yep, that is a joke our dad tells all the time.
“I opened a new package of Oreos today,” Annie says as Olivia and I settle onto the couch. “Would either of you like some?”
“No, thanks,” Olivia answers for us. “We had dinner at Rudy’s.”
Annie’s eyes widen. “You went to Rudy’s without me?”
Olivia and I exchange a look. “We were on a date,” I explain.
Annie bites her lip. “Oh, right. Of course.” She shakes her head. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
We fill her in on our evening. Well, mostly Olivia does. I’ll admit that it feels a little weird to have the same best friend as my girlfriend. Like Annie said, this will take some getting used to for all of us.
Eventually, we let Annie get back to her writing, with Olivia promising her they’ll talk more later.
The sky outside is bright and clear, and the night is still young, so Olivia and I walk the short distance to the lake and sit on a bench overlooking the water.
Olivia lays her head on my shoulder, and I wrap my arm around her.
“We still have a lot to talk about,” I remind her. “Going all the way back to high school.”
Olivia sighs. “I know. But not tonight.”
I drum my fingers against the armrest of the bench. “So, this whole no-kissing thing. When does that start?”
Smirking, Olivia looks up at me. She pretends to consider the question. “Tomorrow?”
“Thank you,” I mumble before capturing her lips with mine. “Tomorrow it is.”
Chapter thirty-seven
Olivia
Itakeafortifyingbreathas Gage and I walk into the waiting room for our first couple’s therapy session with Dr. Francine. I know we’re going to have a lot to sort through.
Gage and I have talked since we got back together, of course, but so far, we’ve avoided any of the more loaded topics. It feels like it might be easier to tackle those with a professional to help us along.
When it’s time for our session to start, a tall woman with red hair opens a door that I assume leads to one of the consulting rooms. “Gage and Olivia?” she calls, smiling at Gage, who of course she already knows.
We stand and follow her into a small room with a sofa against one wall across from a wingback chair, and a coffee table in the middle.
She gestures for us to sit on the sofa, while she makes herself comfortable on the chair.
“It’s nice to meet you, Olivia. I’m Dr. Francine. Now, if you both could tell me why you’re here,” she says. “You’re a young couple, recently started dating. Why do you feel the need for couple’s counseling?”
Gage glances at me, and I nod for him to answer. “Olivia and I are in love, and while we’ve recently started dating, we’ve known each other a long time. The thing is, we both have some … I don’t know, coping mechanisms from our past traumas that have made it really difficult for us to be there for each other. We want to learn to break those patterns so we can have a long, healthy relationship.”
Dr. Francine nods. “That’s admirable.”
Between the two of us, we explain our history to Dr. Francine. She jots down some notes, and I wonder what she’s writing.
If they’re already in counseling, these two are really in trouble?
