Page 28 of Pleasure Island
I endedup eating a candy bar for breakfast. I found it in my desk, needed the chocolate and decided to do the adult thing – eat the damn thing.
Washing the sweet, gooey mess down with yet another cup of coffee ended up leaving me with a faintly upset stomach though. I could use something to balance out the caffeine and sugar, but a quick look at the time told me I didn’t have the luxury to run to the Starbucks that took up the corner space of the building where my office was located.
My client was due here in ten minutes.
And I was sonotin the right frame of mind to handle her.
Rachel Poole was one of my more established clients. She had been coming to see me for almost a year, and I had a feeling we’d keep up our relationship for some time.
Rachel suffered from an addiction to sex, one that had caused her quite some trouble in her life. She was twenty-four and had already been treated for a sexually transmitted infection, plus she went through boyfriends like she was changing shoes.
She’d come to see me after her then-boyfriend caught her in bed…with his sister.
She came in, a glowing smile on her face as she took her seat. “Whoisthe hot guy at the door, doc? I’ve never seen so much as another soul in here, and now you’ve got a cutie-pie stationed outside.”
Stationedseemed to be the right word.
“He’s nobody you need to be concerned about, Rachel. Rest assured, your privacy is still one of my number one concerns.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “I doubt you’ve got him there taking pictures of all your nutso clients so you can use them for some nefarious purpose.” She giggled as she stretched out long, curvy legs. “I just love it when I can casually work in a word likenefariousinto a conversation.”
Rachel loved to talk, and I’d long since set up a pattern where she got to use the first few minutes of the session to blurt out whatever was on her mind. If we didn’t do it now, it would happen later on in the session, so I might as well have some control over it.
“Did you see his eyes? So pretty!” she said, pressing a hand to her chest, clearly still caught up with my bodyguard. “I bet he has dimples. He looks like the kind to have dimples when he smiles. Don’t you think?”
I hadn’t thought about him much one way or the other – except to notice his eyes. Now I suspected I’d be looking for dimples because I had a weakness for them in guys. But I didn’t respond to Rachel’s comment directly. “Why don’t we get started?”
She hadn’t had her full five minutes to ramble, but if she was going to spend them talking about Liam, I didn’t want to listen to it. He was taking up too much of my thoughts, anyway.
“So, how have you been since we talked last?”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you just say what you mean? Have I dragged anybody into a closet for a quickie…no.” She went on to list several other things she hadn’t done, and I gave her a few moments.
Finally, though, I cut in politely. With Rachel, I had to do that – often – or I’d never get a word said. “Actually, what I meant was how have you been? Seriously. You mentioned a cute guy who’d moved into your building. Have you thought about asking him out?”
She made a face. “I’ve thought aboutdoinghim, but…” Some of the light faded from her eyes, and she looked away. “I keep failing at the relationship thing, doc. I always screw it up.”
“That was before you decided to try and get help,” I reminded her.
“Sure, but have I changed?” She got up and paced over to look outside. “I mean, I still find myself thinking about getting laid when I’m supposed to be focused on the job. And it happensall the time.”
The frustration in her voice called to me. “But you’re doing better.”
“Am I?” She gave me a sad look. “I can’t even have a regular conversation with people without thinking how they are in the sack. I can’t go out to a club and relax and have a good time because I know what will end up happening.”
“You aren’t having sexual thoughts about me,” I pointed out.
She blinked, then made a face. “Gross. You’re like…well, you’re a therapist. I’m not that messed up.”
I laughed. “But it goes to show you have regular conversations without sex getting in the way.Youcontrol those thoughts, Rachel.”
“Sometimes I don’t feel like I controlanything,” she said in that same soft, sad voice.
“Let’s work on that,” I suggested.
* * *
I hearda bright giggle coming from the waiting room and silently swore. I’d walked Rachel to the door as was my custom, but she’d asked if she could use the restroom before she left.
