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Bubba:Guys.
Coop:Don’t. We make a decision together.
Nothing impulsive. Parking lot.
Jake:…
Archie:Fine.
Bubba:Almost there.
Coop:J?
Jake:I’m seriously done with her.
Archie:Me 2.
Jake:BRT
Chapter Nineteen
Therapy Scares Me
The interior of the office had pale gray carpet and a half circle formed by three sets of leather loveseats covered in colorful pillows. There was a hum in the corner from a small fountain along with another little fan in the other corner. The white noise was kind of pleasant.
Across from me, Erin Thom sat legs crossed and her demeanor relaxed. Probably good one of us was. Even after making the appointment, I’d done my best to not think about it. I’d been distracting myself for two days. All the way here though, I’d barely heard a word Rachel said. No matter how hard I tried to pump myself up, my stomach was in knots by the time Rachel pulled into the parking lot of the tidy little office building.
Red brick construction, kind of L shaped, with a handful of trees serving as landscaping, the building was utterly unremarkable. There was absolutely no moisture in my mouth by the time Rachel pulled into a parking slip.
“I’ll wait out here,” she said. “Unless you want me to come in with you.”
Clammy palms, racing heart, upset stomach, and a dry mouth. Yes, I wanted Rachel to come with me. “No,” I told her with a lot more certainty than I was feeling. “It’s kind of hard enough to do this at the moment.”
“It’s always hard the first time,” she cautioned. “Don’t expect miracles, Frankie. Just go in there and talk about as little or as much as you want.”
Curtises don’t do therapy. “You make it sound easy.”
“It’s like putting one foot in front of the other when you’re walking on stone bruises across hot pavement. It hurts, and it’s awkward. You’re tempted to run, but that’s gonna hurt in an entirely different way, and if you trip, it’s worse.”
I made a face and then looked at her. “That’s a horrible analogy.”
“And painful,” Rachel told me with a wry smile. “But you’re thinking about that and not the appointment. So take advantage and go on in. You got this.”
I blew out a breath. “Thanks, Rach.”
“I’ll berighthere.”
That promise buoyed me. It helped me keep my chin above water all the way inside to the quiet little waiting room. There was a light on over the door where I was supposed to have my appointment and a note that read,Press the button when the light is on and take a seat.My fingers had trembled more than I cared to admit. But I pressed the damn button and then took a seat.
I took my phone out and checked my messages. The guys knew I was out for lunch. They knew where I was going. No one had given me even an ounce of teasing over it. If anything, the only question I’d been asked was did I really want Rachel to take me? When I said yes, they backed off on it.
As weird as that response seemed in some ways, I’d been damn grateful for it. All the joy from the night before seemed like a distant memory. Ian and I had fun at the studio.
So much so, I’d agreed to go with him again the following Tuesday. He’d been booking studio time for the last couple of weeks, putting in serious time. Recording the…
“Frankie Curtis?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the greeting. I’d been so focused on trying to think of anything else, I hadn’t noticed her door opening or the woman standing there.
