“Hi, I’m Jessica.” She held out her hand.
“Oh, I-I’m Darren.” He shook her hand, and she didn’t orgasm but she knew the night was still young and there was definite potential.
“So … are you going to invite me in?” She tried to look past him to see if Kelly and Gabe had arrived.
“Yeah, I’m sure you can go on in.”
“Jess!” Kelly squealed.
“Well, nice to meet you.” Darren smiled and walked past Jessica as Kelly grabbed her hand and yanked her inside before she could respond.
“Oh my God! Jackpot, baby. Wait until you see him!” Kelly made an effort to whisper but failed by several decibels.
Jessica pointed back at the door with her thumb. “Where’s he going?”
“Who?”
“Darren?”
“Oh, home I suppose.”
“I thought we were having dinner at his house.”
“What? Oh … no, Jess that was the neighbor. He was dropping off his key or something like that. I think he’s leaving town for a few weeks. Come, come, come …” Kelly looped her arm around Jessica’s and pulled her down the hall to a large open room with sleek modern lines and shades of gray on the walls.
“Gabe, Luke, this is Jessica.”
Two men stood in the large kitchen leaning against the island, each with a beer in hand. Jessica hadn’t met Gabe before, but she knew which one he was because the other guy was her ex shrink, Dr. Luke Jones.
“Nice to meet you, Jessica.” Gabe held out his hand. “This is my friend, Luke.”
Dr. Jones was no longer wearing his signature three-piece suit. He’d traded it in for dark jeans and a light blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The only thing that felt familiar was his stone poker face, never giving away anything.
Jessica smiled while shaking Gabe’s hand. “Nice to meet you too. And … Luke, is it?” Jessica offered her hand. Luke accepted it with a pleasant smile. “Yes.” His eyes tensed a bit as Jessica held his hand with bone-crushing intensity, reminiscent of their first encounter.
“It’s Doctor Luke Jones,” Kelly gushed while wrapping her arm around Gabe.
“A doctor, huh?” Jessica raised her eyebrows at Luke.
“I’m a psychiatrist.” Luke took a sip of his beer, eyes tracking Jessica’s every move.
Jessica accepted the glass of wine that Kelly handed her. “So not a real doctor then.”
Luke smirked. “I think four years of undergrad, four years of medical school, and a four year residency qualifies me as a real doctor.”
“But you’re not saving lives or anything like that, right?”
“Luke was a volunteer firefighter when we were in college, so he’s definitely had his days of saving lives. Now he just deals with the crazies of San Francisco.” Gabe was kind enough to jump in on Luke’s behalf.
Luke cleared his throat. For the first time ever, Jessica sensed his discomfort—his humanity. She wondered if “crazies” was Luke’s description or Gabe’s assumption.
“So what do you do, Jessica?” Gabe asked.
“Waitress during the day, strip at night.”
Gabe choked on his beer. Kelly patted his back while shaking her head. “No she doesn’t. Jessica’s a brilliant actuary intern. She does two to three triathlons with me every year, and she teaches self-defense classes at a battered women’s shelter.” Kelly laughed. “Well, come to think of it, Jessica’s a shit cook so she spends a lot of time eating out and when we shared an apartment in college she used to run around the place half naked like her body physically rejected clothes, so I suppose the waitress/stripper scenario isn’t too far off.”
Jessica shrugged and took a sip of her wine. It didn’t matter what she did, the night was a shamble of wreckage. She thought of the wasted hour on her hair, the dry-clean only dress getting another night’s wear, and the expensive perfume she only wore when her vagina needed some manly attention.
“Isn’t Luke’s place amazing?” Kelly kept the conversation flowing in a non-confrontational direction.
Jessica looked around. “I suppose it’s tidy enough.” Kelly and Gabe laughed at her comment that wasn’t meant to be funny. Luke … not so much.
“I’ll give you a tour.” Luke smiled.
“Mmm, yes we’ll meet you out on the balcony when you’re done. The view is amazing.” Kelly pulled Gabe toward the French doors.
Jessica and Luke stared at each other until the door clicked shut.
“This can’t happen.” Luke set down his beer. “If you choose to tell them you’re my patient, that’s your choice, but legally I can’t tell them.”
“Whoa, first, I’m not your patient anymore. I’ve done the financial risk assessment and based on our progress, I should have ended treatment weeks ago. Second, this is nothing.” Jessica gestured her hand between the two of them. “So don’t get your over-starched flannel boxers bound in a wad up your tight ass thinking anything is happening.” Jessica glanced over her shoulder at two sets of eyes peering in at them. She smiled. “Now, weren’t you going to show me what all my money has bought you?”