Her eyes are cloudy with emotion as she gazes up at me. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“I told you, you’re special.”
Her bottom lip wobbles, and I catch it with my teeth before kissing it. She molds her mouth to mine, rubbing my neck with her free hand. If I don’t stop kissing her, I’m never going to leave, and I need to. I have to mentally prepare for tomorrow. I kiss her softly before backing away a bit to look down into her beautiful face. “I don’t want to go, but I’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
“I do too,” she says, kissing my chin. “But I’d rather be with you.”
“You have no idea how much I’d rather have that too,” I say, kissing her nose. “But dinner?”
“Dinner.”
“Awesome. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“Okay,” she says as I back away. I pick up her bag and hand it to her. “Thank you. Really.”
“You’re welcome. Bye, sweetheart.”
“Bye,” she says, and I love how she watches me leave. Even as I drive away, she stands there, all bright-eyed and grinning from ear to ear. She waves and then blows me a kiss, which makes me feel like I’m in a fucking romance movie, but I love it.
Fuck, I’m going to fall hard for her, and I don’t even know what Aiden will have to say about that.
Honestly, I don’t give two fucks what he says.
That girl is all mine.
Chapter Sixteen
Wes
I don’t think I’ve stomped out of a therapy session in a really long time. Not a full-on temper tantrum, but visibly upset—yeah, that’s me. That was an absolute shitshow, and I am not happy. I was all ready for it to go well. I had the positive vibes going like Stella said to, but they didn’t work out. Nope. New therapist Melody is not my people. She came in convinced that I was a poster child for molestation and that I wasn’t healing. That Noelle isn’t great at her job and is letting me suffer! I’ve been on the road to recovery for almost ten years now. I may not have a handle on dealing with my dad, but everything else, I’m surviving, I’m dealing, and fucking hell, I’m fucking trying! It was question after question of shit that I don’t even need to answer because I know Noelle has been taking notes. I know Noelle knows this stuff, so why is Melody asking me things we’ve already fixed and moved on from?
But then, that’s not even the part that got me to the point of tears. Not that I cried since I’m not really a crier, but hell, I felt like it. But Noelle, being the angel she is and trying to lighten the session, asked me about my weekend. I was stoked. I was proud of my growth, and I knew Noelle would be too. When I gushed about my first real date in over two years, Melody had questions.
“Well, do you feel that you’re ready for a relationship?”
“Yeah. I’ve been single for a long time.”
“Are you sure it isn’t about sex? You have a tendency to fall back on the physical side of a relationship so you don’t feel the pain from the molestation.”
“Actually, I haven’t had sex in seven months. I didn’t even kiss her until our second date.”
“So, you’re telling me you gave up sex?”
“I didn’t give it up. I’ve just been focusing on myself and my therapy. Noelle and I thought it was for the best.”
“It is, but a relationship might not be the best thing right now. You need to learn how to have a sexual relationship without reverting to casual sex to un-feel your molestation.”
“Can we stop saying molestation? It’s fucking annoying.”
“But that’s what it was. You were molested.”
“I’m aware. I was there.”
“Then you need to face the repercussions from it.”
“I have. We have. I feel I have moved on. I have grown.”
“I don’t think so,” she says, and Noelle finally clears her throat.
“He is doing wonderfully, as I’ve said in my notes.”
“I know, but molestation is a life-altering thing. It’s hard to recover from it.”
“But I have,” I say sternly. “I use my coping strategies, I journal, I meditate when I have a bad day. I don’t drink on bad days. I mean, shit, I’m doing my best here.”
“Yes, but you also like to fight when you get overwhelmed. Or you shut down. Per Noelle’s notes.”
I look to Noelle, and she nods. “But it has gotten better. He’s nowhere near where he was.”
“He just got into a fight, not even a week ago.”
“Yes, but we talked it out. He knew it was a mistake, but it’s also part of the game.”
“Still, a relationship might not be a good idea.”
“I don’t see a problem at all,” Noelle tries, but Melody isn’t having it.
“Have you told her about your molestation?” she asks, her beady brown eyes burning into mine.