“Christ, I didn’t mean it that way.It’s just that I’m practically your therapist.”
“Last time I checked, most therapists don’t spend most of their time teaching their patients how to punch people, interspersed with long stretches of pretty obvious flirting.”
He sighed again. “I didn’t realize itwasflirting. It’s been so long since I did anything like it, I just thought you were good at making conversations really easy and kind of intense.”
“Well, Iamgood at them. But it wasn’t me who made this happen.Youwere the one who did nothing but restore my faith in mankind and help me forget certain events.”
“Yeah, and those certain events are why this can never be a thing.”
This time, she couldn’t even joke. She couldn’t keep things light.
It was bad enough that he thought those crazy things about himself…
But to usethatto keep things platonic?
She was spitting fire before she could get a hold of herself.
“Oh, so now me being attacked is why you can’t do this?”
“I want to say yes, but it sounds so shitty when you say it that way.”
“That’s because itisshitty. I’m being punished for something someone else did to me.”
“Please don’t say that. Please don’t do this. You’ve no idea how hard it’s been for me to resist whatever has been happening, andthose words just make itso much fucking harder.”
“It doesn’t have to be hard, Isaac. You don’thaveto resist.”
“Yes I fucking do. Yes I do goddamnit.Decent men don’t take advantage of vulnerable women.”
The fire in her died somewhat, then. Partly because of his tone, which was more fraught and desperate than she could have ever imagined it being. But mostly because of the things he was doing. His head was back against the seat; his hand was practically making a fist in his hair.
He looked haggard, suddenly. Like he’d aged ten years in the last ten minutes.
It was hard to be angry, in the face of his obvious distress.
And then there was the way he’d framed it.
“Is that what youreally think you’re doing?” she asked. “Taking advantage of a vulnerable woman?”
“Yes. Yes, absolutely, yes. There isn’t any doubt in my mind about that.”
“Then maybe you could explain what you find vulnerable about me.”
“When we first met you—”
“No, not when we first met. Now.”
He turned to her, for the first time since they’d started this.
But she kind of wished he hadn’t.
All the light had gone out of his eyes.
“You know that isn’t fair,” he said, ina voice that actually seemed to be breaking. At the very least, it had a crack right through the middle.
But she had to press on. She had to.
“Maybe you should tell me why not.”
