I paced around my apartment, too restless to sit in one place.

“You had one job, Marissa. One job. And you managed to screw it up from the start.”

I had no idea what to do with Daniel. I wasn’t able to stop thinking about the kiss at all, always imagining a very different outcome, in which he would take me on my office desk and finally fulfill my fantasy.

He was starting to affect my work. I’d been distracted the whole day, my thoughts wandering during each session I’d had with my clients, which only made me more irritated and anxious. This wasn’t me. I’d never acted like this before, so what the hell was going on now?

Last night I couldn’t resist googling Daniel, finding way too many articles that dealt more with his personal life than his business empire. He’d been photographed with various women, who could easily have been models from the way they looked, and I felt something dangerously close to jealousy each time my eyes landed on those photos.

I didn’t have any right to feel this way. This was wrong. Yet I couldn’t stop it.

He was my client, but I wanted him, and I was afraid that I would fall for him, which would be a complete disaster. He wouldn’t be able to reciprocate my feelings because of his problem. It would be far-fetched to expect him to settle his emotional issues and fall for me. I would need a miracle if that was to happen.

Surely, he’d showed the will to work hard on his problem, but I had to take his determination with a grain of salt. After all, it took a lot more than therapy for a sex addict to get better, and it was too early for me to give any prognosis for Daniel’s condition. I was well aware that many of my clients hadn’t been able to fully recover, no matter how hard I’d worked to help them, so anything was possible.

“Ugh. I hate being this uncertain. I’m a therapist for Christ’s sake, but when all of this finishes, I’ll be the one who’ll need therapy.”

I ran my hands through my hair, thinking about my next move. I should call Alison. Maybe she could help me with this.

Alison answered after the third ring. “Hello! You reached the most amazing therapist in the world. How can I help you?” I giggled, imagining her childish grin spread across her face.

Alison Rossi, another friend from college, also worked at Pathways with Claire and me as a sports therapist. She was the “fun” one of the trio, always cheerful and joking about everyone and everything. Claire, Alison, and I met at one of those wild frat parties, where we attended the same college. We clicked instantly, and have been inseparable ever since. I couldn’t imagine my life without them, and the feeling was mutual, so it was only logical that we worked together in the same place. I simply loved them both.

“I think I’ve broken something,” I answered her, playing along.

“Please specify, my dear client.”

“I have a broken heart.”

She let a startled gasp out. “No. You don’t say.”

I’d cracked the same joke a million times now, but obviously, it never got old.

“I need your urgent assistance. What can I do to mend my poor, poor heart?”

“Stop falling in love. Who needs men anyway?” she replied with a flat voice, eliciting a hearty laugh from me. “Nothing a decent vibrator can’t replace.”

“They are definitely low maintenance.”

“Exactly. And batteries are cheap. So, it’s an easy choice. On a serious note, how are you?” I exhaled a long sigh. “Oh no. That’s not good. If I didn’t know better, I would say your heart really was broken.”

I chuckled, but it was filled with bitterness. “It’s not that bad, but it’s not good either.”

“Okay. Now you’re scaring me. Spit it out.”

“I’m developing some unprofessional feelings for a client.”

There was a silence on her end for a few moments, which sent me a clear message. I was in trouble indeed.

“You know that is a big no-no?” she finally asked me. “Of all the rules we have to follow, that one is the most important!”

“I know.”

“Especially if we take into account your profession. I mean, it’s one thing to fall in love with someone who has some injury, but it’s a completely different thing to fall for a sex addict!”

“I know,” I replied, this time exasperated.

“Then how the hell did you get into that mess?”

“I messed up. I saw him during the group session, but he left in the middle of it. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to see him again, but then I saw him in a restaurant after my Tinder date stood me up.”

“Ah yes. That bastard with red curly hair and retro glasses that reminded Claire and me of Mark Zuckerberg.”

I giggled when I remembered their reaction the moment I showed them his picture. They thought he looked too nerdy, which he kind of did. After the failed date, Claire and she told me it was good that he didn’t show up since I deserved someone way hotter than him.

“I have no idea what you saw in him. Seriously, that guy wasn’t sexy at all.”

“Well, we had same interests, as I told you, and I thought—why not? Anyway, Daniel showed up instead of him in that restaurant.”

“He did? What a coincidence! Wait. His name is Daniel?”

“Yep.”

“Sounds sexy.”

“Yeah, it does. So, we had dinner together, and I’ve enjoyed my time with him.”

“I can imagine. What does he look like?”

My heart beat faster just thinking about him. What was the best way to describe someone who was physically flawless?

“He’s pretty masculine and tall. Dark wavy hair and dark eyes. I love the way they seem...”

“Seem what?”

I put a finger on my lip, trying to find an appropriate description. “Piercing. Like, he really looks at you. You know—like you and your words matter.”

She erupted into laughter. “Now you sound like a poet! He’s really something, huh?”

“If you only knew. Also, he always wears designer suits, which make him look gorgeous.”

“Oh. So he’s rich?”

“That’s beside the point, but yes. He owns several construction companies.”

“Nice.”

“The problem is that I can’t resist him,” I mentioned the kiss we’d shared in my office. “So now I have no clue what to do. I mean, I want him so much, but I don’t want to jeopardize our professional relationship. That kiss was already bad enough, and now I don’t know how to act the next time he comes for a session. If he comes at all.”

That question continued popping up this whole day. Would he come for our next session? I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to quit, and I wouldn’t even blame him.

“What should I do?”

“Well, one thing is for sure. It would be professional line-crossing if you slept with Daniel.”

“Gee, thanks, Dr. Phil. I couldn’t have reached that conclusion at all.”

I could almost see her rolling her eyes. “There is nothing better than a dose of Dr. Phil to spice up your life, right?”

“Whatever. You’re the one who’s wasting her time on that crap, not me.”

“Right. So, returning to your issue, I suggest you end your professional relationship before you decide to sleep with him.”

“I was thinking about it too, but I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what?”

“I really want to help him, you know? If I stopped seeing him as a client, then who knows if he could manage to solve his problem.”

“Then recommend him another therapist. I mean, I know you’re the best, but we have other mortals out there who are also capable of doing the job right, Mari?”

I snorted. “You don’t say.”

“However, make sure you don’t fall for him,” she said in a serious tone, her previous laughter gone. “If you sleep together, there is a big possibility that you’ll get attached to him, and you know very well why that would be a catastrophe.”

A heavy weight settled in my chest. She was right, but I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t already too attached. If I slept with him, would I be able to keep my heart intact?

“Yes. I know.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“How about you, girl? Have you met anyone interesting enough yet?” I asked her, alluding to her equally uneventful love life.

Just like Claire and me, Alison was single and couldn’t find the right guy for her. She claimed that all the guys she’d met so far were boring and wouldn’t know where a vagina was even if their life depended on it.

“Yeah, right. It’s more likely that I would end on Mars than find someone.”

“Never lose hope!”

“Now you sound just like Claire! She’s always so optimistic and bubbly.”

“Someone has to be. Especially when you spit fire.”

“I do not spit fire!”

My chuckles turned into fits of laughter. “Yes, you do.”

Several minutes later, we ended the call, but I wasn’t any closer to solving my dilemma. Was I strong enough to resist Daniel after I slept with him?

I took off my clothes, staying in my shirt and panties only, and dragged myself to my bed, too anxious after all this thinking about Daniel. I needed some relief. I needed Daniel to give it to me.

I closed my eyes and imagined all the things I wanted Daniel to do to me. I moved my hand beneath my shirt and cupped my breast, meeting my hardened nipple. I wanted him to suck it. I wanted him to play with my breasts before he went down on me...

My other hand found its way over my stomach and into my panties, which were already wet, my arousal dripping out of my pussy continuously. My fingers flickered my swollen nub that begged for attention, and I imagined Daniel’s mouth on it. He would suck it hard while he fingered my pussy, and it would be oh so good...

“Daniel,” I moaned and bucked my hips on my bed, shuddering from the intensity of the rising pleasure. “Daniel, fuck me.”

My fantasy unfolded, becoming too real for me.

He ripped off my panties and came in between my legs, his cock huge and pulsating. He thrust into me at once, giving me what I wanted for so long. My pussy wrapped around him tightly, pulling him further inside, and he started pumping me.

“Yes, Daniel!”

I brought my other hand inside my underwear and pushed two fingers deep into my wet hole. I stimulated my clit and fingered myself at the same time, on the verge of an explosive orgasm. I was going to come really hard, and it would be all thanks to him...

He was fucking me fast now, and I couldn’t breathe anymore... He was in too deep... I would come any moment...

“Daniel!” I screamed and convulsed violently when my orgasm rushed through me, leaving me breathless and dazed.

“Damn. This was something else,” I muttered after a while, trying to catch my breath.

I didn’t remember the last time I’d been this horny. I sat up and removed my hands from my sensitive mound. I’d thought this orgasm would help me douse my lust for him, but it only made it stronger. I wanted him so much, and I couldn’t fight against it anymore. I couldn’t resist him after all.

I was going to sleep with him, but I needed to end our professional relationship first. I just hoped I was strong enough to walk away after everything was said and done because I would lose my appeal once he had me, which would definitely lead to a broken heart if I was foolish enough to feel something for him.

So I mustn’t forget that this was just sex and nothing more.