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?”
“I have.”
“And what about your ‘friend’ Ivy? How does that fit into making things better with your wife?”
She had me there, but I didn’t want to talk about that. I didn’t want to admit that in spite of the fact that I hated my father for cheating on my mother and treating women like they were disposable, I’d ended up just like him. It was a hard fact to realize, and it wasn’t one that I wanted her to know about.
“It doesn’t. Ivy keeps me sane. She isn’t the only one, but I see her more than the rest.”
“The rest?”
I sighed to myself and realized that again I’d said too much. What was it about Camilla that made me want to bare my soul to her? She would have my whole life story in an hour if I didn’t pay more attention.
“Well, there are a few more that I see on occasion. I find it hard to stick with one woman.”
“That’s usually taken care of when you get married, Tyler, but I’m not here to judge.”
I could tell that she was doing that very thing by the way she looked at me. It looked to me like she was thinking I was the lowest form of scum on the earth, and I wasn’t sure why that bothered me so much. Why was I so worried about what this doctor thought about me?
“I had to do something. We haven’t had sex in months, and I have needs.”
My need was showing in my face, and the way she looked away, I was sure that Camilla could feel it. She was a very curious woman, but it seemed like she was actually upset with me and my philandering ways.
“Do you have a husband? I didn’t see a ring, but you know how people are nowadays.”
“No, I’m not married.”
“Divorced?”
She shook her head again and smiled. “Never even got close.”
“Why is that? You’re beautiful, Doc, and I can’t see why anyone that was with you wouldn’t want to marry you.”
What the hell was I saying? Marry her? It was something I’d never even thought of, but what I said was true. I couldn’t see any man getting a woman like her and not trying to lock it down for good. She was marriage material.
“I don’t really feel comfortable talking to you about my love life, Tyler. It would be unseemly at best.”
“Come on. I just poured my heart out to you and you won’t give me anything?”
I hadn’t, of course, but I would have said anything to have changed her mind about it. I wanted to know more about her, and as I looked at the clock, I realized that I didn’t have much time left to do it. I also knew then that I was going to be back. It wasn’t because I was trying to placate the women in my life; it was more because I wanted to make Camilla one of them.
“I’m not married.”
“Are you dating anyone?”
It was her turn to look at the clock, and I didn’t like the way she did. It was obvious that this conversation was making her uncomfortable, but I didn’t back down. I was going to wait her out if I had to. It didn’t really matter if she was with someone or not. It didn’t matter to me at all who she had in her life. I was going to have her, one way or another.
“I was dating someone, but I don’t think that I am anymore.”
The buzzer went off, and she silenced it with a touch of a button. “Well, that’s all for today’s session, Tyler. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I told her that it wasn’t, but I didn’t get up to leave. I didn’t want to. I wasn’t finished, and the many meetings that I had to go to didn’t matter. I wanted to stay there with her for a while longer.
“No, it was a lot better than I thought it would be. And that’s because of you.”
She smiled and stood up, signaling that whether I was done or not, she was. The doctor had another client waiting, of course, but I was tempted to offer her a large amount of money to tell him to go away. If she thought that I really needed the help, I knew she would ask me to stay, but Camilla didn’t seem like the type who could be persuaded by money. I kind of liked that about her.
“Well, thank you for seeing me, Doc. It was a lot easier to talk to you than I thought it would be.”
“I’m glad for that. Will I see you again?”
Nodding my head, I told her that she would. There was no mention of how busy I was or anything else. All she had to do was give me a time and I was going to make sure to be there. I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to see her again.
“Here’s an appointment card. Just give it to Denise in the front and she’ll take care of you.”
I wanted her to take care of me, but it was just Camilla’s nice way of saying it was time to go. It was crazy how badly I wanted to stay. What had the woman done to me?
“Thanks, Doc. I’ll see you next week.”
Going out of the office, I did as she asked, talking to the redhead who’d greeted me when I first came in. She was still pretty, but her painted beauty was nothing to the natural charm of Camilla. I was lost for the first time ever, and it was only when my phone rang that I realized I was just standing outside of the building. Looking at the number that came across it, I groaned inwardly and turned it off. I was not in the mood to speak to my loving wife at the moment. She was just going to have to wait.