Previously: "I have to go back to Marcus, Jack." I kissed him softly this time and I was surprised by the groan I let out. I was in complete shock. I forced myself away from him, hopped out of his Ford F-150 and walked to my car. I felt his eyes watching me. For some reason, I knew he was smiling. This scared the shit out of me. What am I thinking? I'm not ready for some hot, steamy, gay-porn action. I'm married with a great son. I'm not supposed to be gay!
It's been two weeks and my sessions with Jack, I mean, Dr. Graham, have been short and uncomfortable. I've heard it said that it's foolish to avoid someone, otherwise things will become much worse. He's tried to talk about it and he's even gone as far as calling the house number, but all I do is ignore him. The more I seem to ignore him, the worse it gets. It's because I miss him. I miss that day at the beach. I miss how he spoke with Marcus, my son. I miss how we kissed, how our lips felt united. Nothing felt wrong. And now it all feels wrong. I'm married with a son and fooling around with my therapist. I'm tempted to do so many wrong things.
The phone rings while I'm reading in bed. It's about 10pm and I reach over to pick it up. I answer and realize it's my therapist.
"Listen to me, David. I can't be on the phone long 'cause I'm still in my office. Meet me at Carmine's in an hour. Please be there. Hear me out. Deal?"
"Fine. Make it half-hour." I ordered.
"That's pushing it for me, I--"
"Then I won't be there. Half-hour, Jack." I hang up and surprise myself by rushing to my closet. I was happy with the conversation; he took charge by calling and I took charge by pushing him to be there. I leave a note on the bathroom door telling my wife that a client has asked to see me. It's common from my job so I knew she'd think nothing of it.
I look into my closet and pick out a light red polo shirt. I put on some cargo pants and quickly spray on some Black Code cologne by Armani. I don't really know what to expect tonight but I do know that I want to be prepared for anything. Part of me hopes for another kiss and part of me wants to completely end it.
I arrive there as he arrives about two minutes later. I stare at him and he guides me to a booth seat in the corner of the restaurant. He waves to a man I'm assuming is the owner. He waves back and smiles lightly. I assume they know each other fairly well. We take our seats and he crosses his hands on the table while staring at them. It's only when he starts speaking does he hold his stare with my eyes.
"I want to talk to you about how I feel. I'm not saying I'm here to marry you, love you, worship you, but I do feel we have a connection- a bond. It is a bond that is rare, just like many other wonderful things like trust, a real friendship, or a love that never dies. What I'm trying to say is that I want to take a risk in my life. I want it to be with you and if you tell me to forget it, fine, but that means I cannot be your therapist, I cannot be your friend and I cannot be in your mind whatsoever. I'm not good at telling the truth, but with you it's different. I feel an urge to be honest and I honestly like you. I like your son and I like the way you dress, but that's not the most important. As silly as this may sound, I really liked the way your... uhh, I like..." He stutters for a few seconds.
"Like what?" I ask plainly, probably too coldly.
"I like the way I feel physically and emotionally with you. That's all." He looked at me and smiled softly. His smile made every raw emotion melt away. I shifted in my seat and thought of something to say. This is where people in Hollywood say the perfect line, but honestly, I can't think of one word to say. I'm happy, I'm confused, I'm scared, and I'm relieved.
"Is it too late to order a drink here? I mean, a soda beverage, not beer or anything. My mouth feels very dry all of a sudden."
He smiled and a small giggle slipped through his smile.
"Yeah..." He suddenly yells over at the guy I saw when I first walked in. "Paul, get us something to drink. Two cokes!" He looks at me again and just waits.
"I don't want you constantly judging me, using your therapy skills on me, you know. You don't always have to wait to listen because there is such a thing as speaking up. If you have a question, ask it. It doesn't matter what it is, just ask it. I don't get why you want me, well..." I paused for a minute or so, "Yeah, okay, I kind of do, but honestly, I'm not that different than any other guy. I also don't see how you and I will work. I'm married. Married. I gave my heart away a long time ago. I just... I can't kiss you if it doesn't mean anything, or if it won't mean anything ever. This isn't easy." I sigh really loudly and clasp my hands to my arms as I lean in to be an inch closer. It isn't on purpose. I'm just frustrated with how difficult these situations are.
He sips on his Coke and puts it down. "Paul, put on something mellow... will you?" Jack stands and holds out his hand to me. "Dance with me." I almost choke on the piece of ice I sucked on in my mouth. I drop it back into my cup and stumble on my words. "What.. I, I, I, I don't, don't dance ... I don't dance at all!" He rolls his eyes and takes my hand and pulls me out. He's holding my waist and pulling me beside him. "If you can't listen to the music and dance to it, dance to how you feel inside here." He rests his hand on my heart.
I dance with him as I have my head on his shoulder. My hand is in his, his other hand on my waist and my other hand rustling through his thick brown hair. "You do know how to dance... very well, I might add." He leaned back and looked at me. He kept dancing while holding my gaze with his. Neither of us heard the song end, so we kept going.