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I nodded. “My neighbor Fox.”
“Oh. You’ve mentioned him before. When you first got down there, I think. He’s the one who gave you a hard time about doing the construction yourself, right?”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. I’d forgotten I’d brought him up during one of my previous sessions. “Yes. He did give me a hard time. But he’s also helped me a lot. That’s sort of Fox’s MO, a giant contradiction. But the house wouldn’t be in half as good a shape without everything he’s done.”
“That’s great. Helpful neighbors are worth their weight in gold.” She paused. “Is there anything else you want to tell me about him?”
My mind immediately fired off lots of things…
He’s great in bed.
His dick is scary huge.
We didn’t get out of bed the entire weekend.
But instead I went with something more conservative.
“We’ve been spending time together. Intimate time, I mean.”
Cynthia kept her face neutral. “Okay. And how do you feel about that? Do you think you’re ready for a relationship?”
I shook my head. “Oh, it’s not a relationship. It’s just…sex.”
“That type of relationship definitely has its perks. Of course, it also has its pitfalls.”
“I’ve only experienced the perks so far.” I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Lotsof perks,actually.”
My therapist smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. But tell me why it’s a sex-only arrangement and not the beginning of something more. Is that your doing?”
“I’m not even sure, to be honest. I think we both have a lot of baggage and want to keep it simple. He took me on a date to a fancy restaurant because he thought that’s what I would expect. Then when I mentioned his dead fiancée during dinner, he disappeared to the bathroom. When he came back, he tried to tell me our going out was a bad idea because he couldn’t give me what I needed. That’s when I suggested we take the food home and just have sex.”
“Oh my. His fiancée died?”
I nodded. “I’m not even sure how. The only thing I know is her first name was Evie. He definitely shuts down at the mention of her, even casually.”
“And this arrangement is what you really want? Sometimes relationships like this can get sticky. Even when two people go into it with the same mindset, things can change. Despite the best of intentions, one of you could develop feelings while the other doesn’t.”
“That wouldn’t be a good idea for so many reasons—the biggest being I live in New York, and he lives here.”
“That’s an obstacle not a barrier. People can move.”
I laughed. “Not Fox. The man doesn’t like change. He’s a creature of habit. He eats the same thing for dinner on the same night every week. If you look up the wordimmovablein the dictionary, I’m pretty certain there’s a picture of Fox Cassidy. And of course, my work and apartment are in New York.”
“I see.” Cynthia paused and wrote some notes. “Aside from this new arrangement with the neighbor, how have you been feeling? How has your sleeping been?”
I’d slept better than I had in years after sex with Fox. The man was like a sleeping pill. “Really good, actually.”
“What about your energy level? Have you been spending time in bed when you’re not sleeping?”
“Well, this weekend I spenta lotof time in bed not sleeping.”
Cynthia smiled again. “Right. I guess I walked into that one. Appetite okay?”
“Are we still talking about the time I spent in bed the last few days?”
She laughed. “I was referring to your hunger for food. But I think it’s great that your sexual appetite is strong.”
“I’ve been eating pretty well, too. Honestly, I feel like the old me again—the one before the meltdown, I mean.”
