My stomach tightens with dread. I brace myself. "What?"
"Shirley saw us," he deadpans.
The words land wrong, as if out of order. I blink, asking, "Saw us what?"
"Kissing on the street."
My mouth opens, then closes. I pull my hands off his chest like I've been burned. "Okay. And?"
He hesitates, then relays, "She did what she should have."
The world crashes against me. Rage hurls out of me. "It's not illegal to kiss! People do that outside every day!"
His jaw tightens. "Not under these circumstances."
"What circumstances?" My voice jumps, sharp and loud in the quiet house.
"Blue—"
"I'm not a child. You didn't force me to kiss you. I wasn't crying or dragged into an alley and assaulted!"
He takes steady breaths through his nose.
"Say something," I demand, my hands slicing through the air between us. "Because I'm not understanding why this is suddenly a crime."
"I'm your therapist. It is a crime," he insists.
The room tilts. "It's not a crime to kiss someone you love!"
His jaw clenches.
I snarl, "So Shirley betrayed you and called the cops?"
"No. I did."
The words tear out of me, fast and loud. "You what?"
"I called the police and turned myself in."
"What? Why in hell would you do that?" I take a step back, then another, my spine hitting the kitchen island hard, but I barely noticethe pain. My hands go to my head, fingers digging into my hair like that might keep my thoughts from exploding out of my skull.
"Let's sit down and discuss this," he calmly directs.
My insides quiver harder. I shout, "Why would you do that to yourself? To us?"
He moves toward me. I throw a hand up, stopping him. "No. Don't come closer. I need you to explain why you would put yourself in that position."
He closes his eyes, takes a few breaths, then pins his gaze on mine. "I took an oath when I became a therapist. I broke it, and whether we like it or not, it's a crime."
I laugh, sharp and unsteady. "So you decided to hand yourself over like you robbed a bank?"
"I crossed the line. We both know it. There are consequences to actions?—"
"That word doesn't belong in our situation. You didn't hurt me. You didn't coerce me. You didn't do anything except kiss me when I asked you to," I fire back.
His eyes darken. "It doesn't matter what you asked for."
I shake so hard, I reach for the counter, seething, "That's bullshit! Absolute bullshit, and you know it."
