“And Mark said Ross was only in his office for an hour all week long.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Vane’s right,” I grumbled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
“About what?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
We walked together that way—him supporting me with his solid warmth, as much as I was him—toward the front doors of the office, which I opened for him, and then I let him go ahead of me out of the cold.
Immediately inside the doors was a boho-chic waiting room cramped with artwork and cozy throw pillows on chairs lining a wall, and the vibe was completed by the receptionist sitting behind an antique metal desk painted fire-engine red. She had a cute apple-cheeked face and short gray hair that she seemed far too young to have earned. She pushed her dark-rimmed glasses up on her nose and sent us a dazzling smile.
“May I help you? You here for Dr. Griffin or Dr. Gaines?”
“Mr. Kalinski for Dr. Gaines, please,” I said. “Maxwell emailed the paperwork you require, yesterday.”
She hummed and nodded at me with a smile.
Far to our left a deep laugh rumbled through the room, and a tall, dark-haired man stepped around an open door. He wore jeans and a green sweater his muscled shoulders stretched to the limit. The lime green glasses rims he wore were unprofessional on a man who was supposed to be a doctor and had me ready to take Max home. I wasn’t impressed, and Max only deserved the best, but this man had come with amazing recommendations.
“Creed. Please. I don’t do the whole ‘doctor’ thing in my sessions.” He came toward us with his big paw held out, and Max frowned at Dr. Gaines. Unperturbed, the man shifted his offer to me, so we shook. “Thanks for not leaving me hanging, man,” he said with an amused chuckle, and Max pressed himself closer to my side. We passed a small closet full of empty hangers and I made him stop and remove his coat, and then I hung mine up as well—if there was any other choice, I hated draping my outerwear over my seat the way most people did in New Gothenburg. Max gave me an appreciative smile, so I thought maybe he agreed, and this was just one more way we meshed.
Together we went into the open doorway where Dr. Gaines had been patiently waiting for us. He closed the door after us, and as I took in the room, we had the choice of two wooden chairs in front of his desk or a mint-green leather couch next to a matching armchair in the corner. I nudged Max in that direction.
We sat, and I thought maybe I should give Max space, since we were here for him, but he wedged himself between me and the arm of the couch. My only choice was to lift my arm and let him snuggle directly against my side. I loved cuddling him and wouldn’t have told him to move for anything. I glared at Dr. Gaines as he sat in the seat near us, but he only gave me a friendly smile and pushed the frames of his glasses up his nose with his thumb.
He had a tablet on his knee and the glow was bright in the cozy room.
Dr. Gaines leaned forward, and Max dropped his hand to my thigh and squeezed. The psychologist glanced at me, and this time he wasn’t smiling. His face took on a harsh edge without the humor.
“Max, before we begin, would you prefer to do this alone? You have the right to confidentiality.”
Max stiffened, and I rubbed my hand along his arm.
“No. Not alone. Please.” He sent me a glance, and I held him tighter.
“I’m happy here,” I said quickly. “But… Dr. Gaines, would it be better if I waited outside?”
He shook his head and sat back in his chair. “Please, call me Creed. I only ask for Max’s comfort, and because he might not want to speak freely in front of his boyfriend.” A happy tingle fired through me at being dubbed Max’s man and I tried not to let it show.
“I’m fine with JP being here,” Max said softly.
The doctor’s smile flared back to life. “Explain why you’re visiting me, Max.”
“JP said I should do this.”
Dr. Gaines shot me a look that bordered on censure, and I nudged my knee against Max’s.
Max cleared his throat. “Well, when I first came to JP’s house—” He glanced at me, and I gave him an encouraging nod. “—I might have unplugged all the appliances I could, except the stove because it’s behind and I can’t get to it. I didn’t want to move it and scratch the floor just to unplug it. The fridge bugs me, too, but it has to stay plugged in. I hate it.”
Startled, I turned to study him. “I wasn’t aware you’d considered that.”
He gave me a sheepish smile and then turned back to Dr. Gaines. Slowly, in fits and starts, he relayed the many wanderings of his mind every time he entered a new space. Frankly it sounded exhausting, and I was shocked at all the things that occurred to him that I’d never once in my life thought about. “I don’t like that lamp over there that isn’t on being plugged in,” he said, pointing at the desk. “I noticed it right away and it makes me itchy, but if I don’t think about it, I can usually ignore it. Sometimes I can’t, and I’ll wait until no one is looking and just… you know. Do it. Unplug things.”
Dr. Gaines chuckled. “Okay, I can see where you might have decided this was OCD. Sometimes people self-diagnose and it’s off by a mile, but… yeah. Anxiety make it better or worse?” He picked up his tablet and typed out a few rapid notes.
“It’s always about the same, but I’m always… um….”
“He’s wound tight,” I supplied when it became clear Max wasn’t going to finish his sentence. “Very tight.”
