Page 39 of Begin Again, Part 1

"Aren't you coming to bed?" Laura whispered in his ear as she tried again to remove his shirt. Liam shrugged off her hands, wishing she would get the hint already. She'd been trying to get him into bed as soon as they returned from Holly's ballet recital. It was his own damn fault. He shouldn't have entertained her. But eager to test out his newly functioning equipment, he went along with her seduction, losing interest minutes into their foreplay when it became obvious he still couldn't get it up for her.

"I'm off to a meeting, and I won't be back for a while," Liam announced as he knocked back his drink and set the glass on the end table. "You should head to your place tonight."

Raw hurt flickered across Laura's face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared as she fluffed up her mountain of pillows and pursed her lips. "Honestly, Liam, you are such a dick! Oh, wait, you can't be a dick when you can't even get it up!"

On any other day, her words would have crippled him. Not today. Humming a catchy tune under his breath, Liam stood up, fixed his shirt, and threw on his blazer.

Kissing Eden, holding her, and touching her was all the proof he needed. He wasn't broken. He could still get aroused and feel something. Just not with any woman who wasn't her. And that was the conundrum his therapist had to figure out.

Linda was waiting in the empty reception area when he made it to her office almost twenty minutes later.

"You shouldn't come here without an appointment," she said crossly as she shut the blinds, waved at the tan leather couch for him to sit, and pulled out a notebook from her desk drawer. "I had to juggle my diary to squeeze you in."

"I'm sorry." Liam smiled, well aware that calling her when he was already on his way over was pushing it. But it was an emergency, and he explained this to her.

Linda looked perplexed as she took her usual seat, the black contemporary wing chair. She opened a clean page in her notebook and asked. "What kind of emergency?"

Liam gawked at the notebook, wondering if it was filled with just his thoughts or other clients' too. If it was only his, he must have vented a lot in past sessions because they were almost at the end. Pretty soon, she'd have to start a new journal.

"So?" Linda tapped her fingers on the page.

"I found her!" Liam said with a smug smile.

"Eden? The woman who left you?"

He nodded, and without any prompting, told her all about his encounter with Eden.

"That is hardly an emergency! It could have waited for our session next week."

"No, it couldn't!" Liam shook his head. He knew an emergency when he saw one. An erection after two years was an emergency.

Linda closed her eyes and pinched her nose. "How was your first meeting?"

"Glorious!" He beamed at her. For the first time in a long time, he was happy. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"How so?"

"I had an erection! I was fucking horny when I kissed and touched Eden. God, she felt amazing in my arms. If I didn't hate her so much, I would have fucked her right there on that damn table. That's how much I wanted her. I can still get it up and maintain it. Woo-hoo!" Liam shouted manically. He felt exhilarated...like someone had breathed new life into him. And he wanted to run to the highest rooftop and shout out his joy for the whole world to see. He was almost back in business.

"That's good." Linda nodded. "So talking to her resolved your issue?"

"Not exactly. And this is where you come in." Liam shook his head and explained he still couldn't get aroused when Laura tried to seduce him. "Why did I react to Eden but felt nothing for Laura?"

Linda fell silent for some time, but her scribbling continued. Liam grew restless just watching her. He was sorely tempted to snatch the notebook from her and read her notes. Surely the answer to his million-dollar question was in there.

"Only you can answer that," she said at last as she set the pen down, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"No, Linda!" Liam threw up his hands in frustration. "I already did half your job and cured myself. You have to figure out the rest."

"That's not how this works, Liam." She pushed back. "You have to figure out why you have such an intense reaction to this woman, and why it's at the exclusion of everyone else."

Liam didn't like where this was going at all. His eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment, he asked, "You mean I have to do all the work myself? Then, what exactly is your job? Why did I hire you?"

Linda exhaled and shut her notebook. "You didn't hire me! And all your doctors told you there's nothing physically wrong with you. Your issue is psychological, and Eden is the trigger. Only you can do the work."

"So, how do I do that?" Liam asked. He was all for suggestions. Now that he knew he wasn't broken, he'd try anything. "How do I figure it out?"

"Try to spend time with her." Linda looked at her watch. His free thirty minutes were almost up.

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