by Ashlee Price
“Fine, just call her and tell her that you’ll go.”
I had to chuckle. My father had been with innumerable women, but he was somehow afraid of my mother. I didn’t know what she’d done to him all those years ago, but he still held her in a regard that I just didn’t understand. That or he was just afraid of her. This was one of the moments that I thought the latter. He was going to lose more than I would have been willing to for peace. No woman could get me like that.
“I’ll give her a call this morning. She left me a message with a date and place. It’s for Monday, so I’ll go then. Problem solved. You can send over the paperwork today on the other.”
His agreement was not free of coercion and it showed. What I wouldn’t have given to have been able to see his face. It would have been priceless, or at least it was something I would have paid to see. The smile on my face lasted most of the day after my conversation with him. Not only was I going to make another million or two with very little effort, I was also getting to stick it to dear old Dad as well. I was feeling productive.
***
My good mood lasted till about two o’clock Monday afternoon. That was when I was supposed to go to this doctor that my mother was convinced I needed to go to. It was a small practice, out of the way, and as I stared at the polished white building, I looked back down at the card. Dr. Camilla Loring. The name didn’t seem to fit a doctor, and I didn’t like the idea of getting my head shrunk by a female. It was already going to be awkward enough. Maybe if she was hot, I could pass the time in a more pleasurable way.
I didn’t want to envision some old broad, and when a cute redhead came to ask who I was there to see, I was really hoping she was my doctor. “I’m here to see…” I looked down at the card and repeated it for her.
“Just a minute. I think she’s still with another client. Why don’t you’ve a seat, and she’ll be with you in just a moment.”
“Does this count for my hour?”
She looked at the clock and shrugged, most likely not sure what answer I wanted. “It won’t be long. Camilla is very prompt.”
It was two minutes before I was supposed to be there, and it was exactly two minutes before her head popped out, following a man who seemed to be leaving in tears. That didn’t bode well, and I felt a slight bit of dread when I heard my name called. Only when I really looked at her did everything else fall away.
Dr. Camilla Loring was more beautiful than I could have hoped for. I was already forgetting about the redhead who’d smiled at me with the hint of a promise.
“Nice to see you, Tyler. Come on in.”
I followed her into an office that was the size of my desk. It felt even more cramped when I sat down on the half couch concoction that she had for a seat.
“Is this really necessary? There has to be something better to sit on than this.”
“We could switch places if you like. I wouldn’t mind putting my feet up.”
Her answer threw me off for a moment, and I felt kind of silly. Just like that, she’d put me in my place. I wasn’t sure if I should agree or not.
“This will be fine, thank you.”
The dread inside of me grew. I’d already botched it up.
“I remember you. You were the man in the suit at the front, weren’t you?”
Another blow from left field. I took a closer look at the woman who had my insides in a jumble. “That’s where I was. How did you know?”
“I was in the back, in the changing room.”
“You were there?”
She nodded her head as a flash of pain ran through her eyes. I had a feeling that I had the same look when I thought about the incident. It almost made me feel bad to talk about it, even though she was the one who’d brought it up.
“Well, I’m just here to make some people happy. I don’t have a problem or anything.”
Camilla smiled and her cheeks pushed the bottom of her glasses up on her face. It changed the look of her, and I felt a stirring inside.
“Of course not. Sometimes it’s good to talk about it, and sometimes it’s good to let others think you have. We can talk about whatever you want to. It doesn’t have to be about the mall. I apologize for my forwardness, but I placed you immediately because of that tie.”
I looked down and grinned. “This is the same tie that I was wearing that day. It has now become my lucky tie. I’m not usually superstitious, but when it comes to this, I might be.”
Looking down, I realized that I was holding it harder than I had to. I pulled my hand away and hoped that she hadn’t noticed. She made a note in the small writing tablet in her hands, and I grimaced to myself. She’d noticed.
“I feel lucky as well. Did you lose anyone?”
Shaking my head, I was thankful for that. Not only was I okay, but Ivy was as well. She was not the woman of my dreams, by no stretch of the imagination, but we had a good time together, and I would not have liked it if something had happened to her.
“No, my friend and I were fine.”
The doctor opened her mouth and then shut it, like she’d had an ill-advised thought. I don’t know why, but I was more than a little curious as to what she’d been going to say. “Ask me anything you want. Whatever I can do to make this easier, Doc. I’m an open book.”
“This doesn’t have to be easy. It’s not supposed to be.”
The look in her blue eyes stopped my heart for a moment. There was more there than the entire ocean, and it looked to be the same color as the water in the Caymans where I have a house. “I’m just letting you know that I’m not going to be leaving here in tears like that other guy.”
Her lips pressed together. Apparently I’d annoyed her. She was complicated for a doctor, and not nearly as pulled together as I would have thought. I was starting to think that maybe she was the one who needed to talk about it, not me. I didn’t have a problem.
“I’m glad you’re dealing with it well. You look like you are. It’s a traumatic experience, but we all deal with those in different ways. You say your friend was with you?”
“Yes, Ivy.”
“Is she your significant other?”
I didn’t know why that mattered, and I wasn’t sure why I tempered my answer. It was not something that I did often. “She’s just a friend.”
“I see. Well, how is she dealing with it?”
“Okay, I guess. I haven’t seen her much this week. It isn’t like there’s much between us. I just see her once or twice a week.”
It slipped out before I could stop it, and I saw the blush creep into the woman’s fair skin. I rather enjoyed the way it looked on her, more than I should have. That was what egged me on to say more.
“She’s that kind of friend, so I don’t really have these conversations with her. Ivy is just pretty to look at and fun to be around late at night.”
Dr. Camilla looked away, unable to keep my gaze. I wanted her to think about me naked, as I was thinking about her. It was the first thing I’d thought of when I saw her curvaceous body, and now I wanted her even more. The longer I sat across from her looking at her face, the more I was eager to make these meetings more interesting.
Chapter 2 – Camilla
This man was too much. I was trying my best to keep a straight face. I didn’t know if I should laugh at his audacity or if I should be offended. I felt a little of both. It was my first day back to the office, and I’d had a few good breakthrough moments with others. I was feeling like it was going to be a good day, until the handsome devil in front of me sat down. Now I wasn’t sure if I hadn’t come back too early.
“Would you like to describe the scene and how you found yourself there?”
I tried not to stare at the hard lines of his jaw and the even harder chest in front of me. The pictures of him on the television had not done him justice, not at all. He was far bigger and cockier than he’d been in the clips that I’d found and watched of him over the weekend. I always did my homework, but it was never as extensive as it had been with him. His int
ernet footprint was just too interesting.
“Sure, Doc.”
I cringed a little as he started. This was going to be a long hour. If I could get him talking about anything else, it would have to be better than this.
“We were there to get her something hot for an event that was planned for next week. I don’t know what I was thinking, letting her drag me out there in the first place, but you know how you women get.”
I could only imagine what he meant by that, but I wasn’t going to let it bother me. There was no reason too.
“Of course, go on.”
He paused and smiled at me, a dashing smile that showed all of his perfect white teeth and a small dimple in his chin that I hadn’t noticed before. His dark eyes held lust, and while it was misplaced, I was as guilty of it as he was.
“I think that I’m aggravating you, Doc? Is that true?”
“Not at all.” He was doing more than that, but I wasn’t going to argue with him, and I certainly wasn’t going to admit the way I was feeling about him. I had no business doing so, and I was trying my best to be as professional as I was able to with Tyler. He was all kinds of bad news, a man that I needed to stay far away from. That was going to be hard to do, and I was already wondering how long he was going to keep coming back.
“Good, because I was just getting to like you.”
“So go on, please. I would like to hear what happened from your point of view.”
“Well, like I said, we were there to get something for Ivy to wear. I didn’t really want to be there, so I was going to hang out in the front while she picked something out. The owner was busy, though, with someone else in the back, so she was waiting up front with me.”
Tyler was finally sitting back, and his eyes closed as he tried to picture the day in his mind. It was already coming back to me, and I wished more than anything that I could forget it for just a little while.
“I saw the man come in. I remember thinking that there was something off about him. He was really mad and had a bag in his hands. I thought that it was a return and he just had his panties in a bunch. I didn’t know that there was a gun in there until he pulled it out. The owner was the first one who got shot. It was quick and point blank. He yelled something, but I don’t remember what.”
My heart was racing. He was talking about Marge, and an image of her lying dead on the ground crept into my mind. I was going to miss her. I hadn’t known her that well, but she was always a bright spot in my day. Marge was a gentle woman and hadn’t deserved that.
The need to ask if it was quick filled my head, but I didn’t want to say anything. I shouldn’t have said what I did, so I let him speak. I wasn’t the only one who had to get it out.
“The sound was so loud. Ivy screamed. I mean, she really screamed. It was as good as those actresses in the horror films. That’s what made me get with it, her scream.”
In spite of myself, I was getting into his story. He was a good storyteller, even though I knew he wasn’t trying to be. The man was handsome, and now that his eyes were closed, I could look at him without having to worry about what he thought of me. I didn’t have to keep my eyes away. I knew that he was a patient, and that he was off limits and a mile out of my league, but he was at least fun to look at if nothing else.
“So what did you do?”
Those cocoa brown eyes opened up and met mine. I was busted looking at him, and I had to force myself to not look away guiltily.
“Well, I grabbed Ivy and I pulled her under the front register. I didn’t have anything on me, and the man had his gun pulled out before I could really think to do anything else. So I hid.”
“That was what kept you alive. You shouldn’t be ashamed of that. Your actions kept you and another person alive. That’s nothing to be upset about.”
He stopped, and our eyes met again before I finally pulled them away and looked at the notepad in front of me. I was so wrapped up in the story and my own take on events that I hadn’t written much of anything.
“I don’t feel bad about it, but in a way I wish I could have done more. So many people died for no reason. Do you know that they still don’t have a motive?”
“I didn’t. I’ve been staying away from the news.”
“I can’t stop watching it. I just want to know why.”
Tyler seemed frustrated, and I could tell that it was genuine. I felt the same way, and I felt helpless. I didn’t know why I’d been spared and so many others hadn’t, but I was happy that Tyler was one of the ones who’d been saved. It sounded like his quick thinking had saved more than one life.
“So even after the shooting, Ivy wouldn’t budge from under the cash register. The police had to coax her out.”
I could relate to that. I hadn’t wanted to leave the dressing room because that was where I felt the safest.
“But that was it. The cops came and we left.”
There was more to it, but it was clear that I wasn’t going to learn anything else just then. He was done with his story, and I didn’t want to press him for more. He’d said it all in a monotone voice, and although he liked to say that nothing had bothered him, it was clear that something had. It was hard to walk away from something like that and to feel nothing. I certainly felt things, guilt, fear and a myriad of other feelings. I just felt too much. It was all just too much, and for a moment I wished that I could just shut it off like he had.
“That’s quite a story. I’m glad that you two made it out of there okay.”
“Where were you, again?”
“I was changing into a dress when the shooting started.”
“A blue dress?”
Nodding my head, I asked him how he knew that.
“I saw you and I thought you were an angel. You didn’t have a spot on you, and you just walked through the chaos looking ahead.”
His description was nothing like how I would have described it. I’d felt like I was a shaking mess, and although it was all a blur now, I knew that there had been nothing majestic about me. I’d been terrified, and if the police officer hadn’t come to get me, I was sure I would still be in that changing room.
“It was quite a day, Tyler, and I’m glad that you shared that with me.”
“It was just another day, Doc. I try not to worry about things that I cannot change. I look forward to seeing him in court and picking him out. He’ll go to prison for the rest of his life, and I’ll be happy to help with that.”
The idea of having to come face to face with the man who had worn the boots was not something that I was looking forward to. It was the very last thing that I wanted to do.
“Well, then I’m glad that you were there and saw him. I only saw the man’s boots a couple of times. I wouldn’t be any good trying to identify him.”
Silence came over us. I knew that we were both deep in our own thoughts. How different the same experience had been for us. While he’d drawn strength from the experience, I was still nervous when I heard a loud sound. I’d been a doctor for years, and it still amazed me how differently two people could react to the same scenario. I wouldn’t say that it had ruined my life, but it had made my already fragile psyche a little more fragile.
“I find it rather odd that you’re my doctor and you were actually there. This must be some kind of coincidence.”
“Not at all. The police most likely talked to your family and gave them my number. Who did you say set up the appointment?”
“My mother was worried that it was going to emotionally scar me. I don’t know where she got your card from.”
“I work with the police department on a regular basis. Most of my clients have had traumatic experiences, so I’ve had several survivors sent my way.”
“I’m sure glad that it’s you. Here I was worried that it would be some stuffy man, but look at you.”
Chapter 3 – Tyler
The pretty blush was back on her face, and her eyes were avoiding me. Camilla looked at the clock, which I actually hadn’t noticed
before. Here I was thinking that time was going to painfully drag on, but instead, it had flown by and I only had ten more minutes with her. Where had all of the time gone?
“Enough of that nonsense. What are you doing after this? We could go out and get a cup of coffee or something.”
It was a long shot, I knew, but the way that I was with women, I half expected her to agree. The doctor was like no one that I’d ever met before, but that was okay. I liked a challenge, and Camilla was a challenge. She did not respond the way most women did, and that just made me want to find out why. What was it about her that was so different? That made me stand up and take notice?
“I don’t date patients, Tyler, but I thank you for the offer. Why don’t we talk about something else, anything else? It doesn’t have to be about the mall shootings. I’m here to help you in any way that I can.”
“It would be helpful if you would go out with me.”
She just shook her head like it wasn’t going to happen, and unlike the coyness that I was used to from other girls, I believed her when she said no. It was clear to me that I was just going to have to work a bit harder on her first.
“Okay, so what would you like to talk about?”
“It doesn’t matter, Tyler. This is your session, so whatever is bothering you, or just anything that you want to talk about is fine.” I could tell that she wanted to say more, but didn’t.
“Well, there’s not much else to talk about. I’m stuck in a loveless marriage with Maya, and she’s been on me to come here as well.”
“You’re married?”
That came as a shock to her, and I kicked myself for saying anything. Maya was the only other problem that I could think of. Work was good, even if I worked way too much, but it was the deals that kept me going. Making money was my favorite thing to do, but I didn’t much think that she wanted to hear about that.
“Yes, for about five years. It will be five years soon.”
“That’s a long time to be married.”
“It’s especially long when you don’t want to be in it.”
“Have you tried working things out with your wife?”