“Sure, why not? I mean, couldn’t make this moment any more awkward.”
Tessa looked between us and it was almost like she braced herself for what she was about to say, the way she sat up straight in her chair and re-crossed her legs and set her pen and pad on the table beside her.
“What is your biggest fear about this relationship?” Tessa asked. I looked over to Greg who had his full attention back into this conversation.
“I told you before. Him not being able to love me as much as I love him, and of course, him leaving me.” I spoke up first to just get it out there, since I had already talked about this a little in our first session.
“That she’ll leave me for someone better.” Greg admitted as he adjusted himself beside me. He didn’t turn to face me, but was sitting up now, making sure that Tessa was paying attention to what he was saying. “That if this doesn’t work that one day I will have to see her with another man who will make her smile in ways that I wasn’t able to.”
The second the last word released from his mouth my heart sank. This man always knew how to surprise.
“I want to take these two fears and kind of work them together for a new homework assignment.” Tessa suggested. “I want you to be open minded about it, as I know it’s not conventional, but I think it would help with the fear that you two have and help open and build the communication between you two. Because that’s the one thing that’s hurting you both right now, communication.”
I looked over to Greg and tossed him a questioning look.
“What you got for us?” Greg answered for the both of us.
“I want you two to go on a date.”
I looked at Tessa, trying to figure out if I heard her right. We had already done that.
“Didn’t we already do that? I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed.” Greg laughed as he leaned forward, wanting to take on Tessa’s challenge of another date.
“No, I want you two to go on a date with someone else.” Now I was really confused with what Tessa was saying.
“What?” Greg stole the question right out of my mouth.
“I want you two to go on a date with someone else,but, I want you to tell the other person when you do so.” I looked over to Greg and, when our eyes met, we both smiled because— I knew for a fact that in that moment— we were both thinking Tessa was crazy.
“Doesn’t have to be tonight or tomorrow night, just has to be before our session on Wednesday.”
“Are there any rules?” I piped up.
“No, just that when you do decide to go on the date, youmusttell the other person. You must tell them where you are going, with whom you are going with and when. We need to work on communication, and I think this is the best way for you two can. You both are sexually attracted to each other, but based on both of your fears of this relationship, it’s the thought of the other being with someone else that is causing you two to self destruct this relationship before it fully blossoms.”
“So we would just have to go on a date with someone else?” Greg asked, but didn’t look over towards me. I was starting to get the sinking feeling that he was going to go through with this date.
“Yes.” Tessa answered him with a smile on her face, like what she was asking of us was so simple. A smile spread across Greg’s face as he reached for his phone and shot off a text.
“What if we don’t?” I questioned her and peeled my eyes away from Greg.
“That’s not an option right now, Lilly. You two need an extra push into looking this relationship head on, and this is the only way I can get you two to focus is by giving you homework assignments that push you out of your boundaries.”
“Fine.” I sank back into the couch and noticed we had already spent our hour arguing and being told to date someone else. I got up and left without Tessa dismissing us because I knew that there wasn’t going to be any more conversation tonight. I just wanted to go over to Erica’s and drown myself in her liquor cabinet and run away from the look in Greg’s eyes when Tessa said yes all we needed to do was go on a date with someone else.
When I hit the curb outside, I texted her immediately and flagged down a cab that was headed straight towards me.
My phone buzzed in my hand with Erica’s name across the screen. I answered the call on the third ring as I entered the cab and rattled off Erica’s address.
“What’s wrong and who do I need to kill?” I had texted her “911” —our code that I needed her right now.
“Can you kill Greg and this counselor?” I heard Erica whispering away from the phone and the words “Greg” and “downtown” coming from someone else on the other end.
“Come over and we’ll have a girls’ night.”
“Who was that?” I questioned her with a smirk on my face that she couldn’t see.
“Who was what?” She tried to play dumb.
