Page 70 of The Lessons

“Oh, that’s close by.”

“Yeah. Ry was at Brown, but transferred back during his sophomore year, thank God.”

Her sullen countenance had returned, and I instantly felt bad for pressing. Then, suddenly she shook her head and sat up. “Sorry. You wanted to talk about Brad, and here I am, going off about myself.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. Believe it or not, I’m new in town, and it’s just nice to talk to someone.”

She offered another weak smile, but I could tell it was time to go.

“Well, I should let you go grocery shopping. Thanks again for the advice on Brad.”

“For sure. No problem. Maybe I’ll see you at the house or something?”

“Yeah,” I said. “That’d be cool.”

Only I wasn’t thinking about seeing Brad.

I was thinking of Ryan-fucking-Andrews.

~

En route to Dr. Lerner’s office, I found myself reflecting on the fact that we’d only met twice so far. I felt like so much had transpired between our last appointment and now, and I looked forward to reporting on my excellent progress again. On my way there, I took out my phone and contemplated texting Ryan to let him know I’d run into his sister.

Or would that be weird?

Yeah, that’d be weird.

Focus, Reese!

I took the stairs up to the fifth floor and visited the restroom to reapply my lipstick before hitting up reception. You know, on the off chance Ryan was in the building.

Hey, it had happened once before…

“Hi, Ms. Reese,” Priya said from behind the reception desk. “Go on in. Dr. Lerner is expecting you.”

I gave her a quick nod and walked down the hall to Dr. Lerner’s office, running my palms over my jeans to blot the perspiration. We’d seen each other so many times, yet I was still nervous. Her door was open, and I paused before going in. She was on the phone, and it was hard to hear, but the tone of her voice was different. Mocking, almost. Very different from the tone she normally used with me.

Strange.

I knocked to let her know I was here.

She looked up, her glasses pushed down to the tip of her nose.

“Hi, Dr. Lerner?”

She motioned for me to come in and quickly ended her call.

“Ms. Reese. Good to see you. Sorry about that. Can I get you something to drink? Water? Coffee?”

I shook my head. “No. Thanks, though.” She seemed a little jumpy. Great,I thought, just what I needed.Wasn’t she supposed to be the calm professional?

“So, Natalie,” she said closing the door to her office. “It’s been a while. We have a lot of ground to cover, from what I hear. I heard your last session was fairly successful.”

Ryan must have told her. Well, it was true. Despite still being boyfriend-less, I was newly de-virginized and keen on being the teacher’s pet.

“Yes. We achieved full penetration,” I said proudly.

She studied my face. “You seem pleased. Tell me why.” She had opened her notebook and was already taking notes.

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