Love Me Forever| Complete ✅|

9| Realization

Yeah... Ima' head out.

I definitely debated staying or not. I'm not in the business of wasting time. I'm here trying to get some help, not be creeped out by this guy with a plant fetish.

Why are my parents seeing this weirdo?

I then thought about the fact they've been together for thirty-five years. Since before I was born. Four years earlier, to be exact.

That was the only thing keeping me in this seat. Dr. Strouse must know a little something-something if my dad vouched.

As he made his way back to the chair across from me, he laughed, raising his hands. "I'm kidding."

I furrowed my brows again.

It damn sure didn't look like you were.

He laughed again. "That's the name of the tree. It's a fiddle leaf fig, Ficus Lyrata."

I awkwardly chuckled. "I thought you were crazy or something," I spoke low, crouching back in the luxury plush creme colored chair, getting more relaxed.

"Oh no. I'm just a plant geek who minored in Botany."

I knew it! He went to school for some boring shit.

He pulled out a little red iPad from beside the chair. "You don't mind if I jot a few things down while we chat?"

I eyed him again. "I'm cool."

He nodded, crossing his leg over the other. "So what brings you in?"

I sighed, "I basically cheated on my girl. She left. My dad gave me your number. —Here I am." I rested my arms on the back of the chair.

He pulled out the electronic pin from the top of the tablet and began writing in it.

I don't know how this counseling stuff goes, but him writing in that iPad made me feel like I did something wrong, already.

Maybe he's only taking notes.

Seeing him waiting for me to go on, I continued filling him in on Cyrene and I meeting Ana. Including us having fun together, everything leading up to me being unfaithful.

He stopped writing and gave me his attention. "Ok, so on that third night, after being around each other and getting comfortable, what was going through your head?"

"I'm not sure." I hunched my shoulders. "I know I felt horny. I was excited to have the three of us going at it again. —I don't know."

"That last time was at my condo, and I was able to get more into it. I didn't know that night would be the start of some rift between Cyrene and I." I shared.

"Explain the rift between you two? How could some stranger come into your bedroom and leave you two not on the same page?" He rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and propped his hand over his mouth.

"Cyrene has her own perspective of how things went." I thought about it a second before speaking. "She thinks Ana was into me more, and apparently she think I have feelings for her."

He quickly asked. "Do you?"

I shook my head no. "Nah, she just had good sex."

He wrote something down, and again I thought I did something wrong.

"You think I do?" I furrowed my brows.

Dr. Strouse continued writing. I waited for him to say something.

"I need to remind you that this is a safe space. Speak freely, those thoughts you had that night, and the day you were intimate with her by yourself, I want to know. This is the work. You have to push past what you think is the right thing to say. —You'll get no judgment from me." He placed the little pen down. "Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths."