Sessions Interrupted

by Kristi Pelton

  Once Kieran was carefully placed in the back seat, the officers got in and pulled out of the drive.

  Feeling empty and alone, I wandered around the unoccupied house with his phone in my hand. When I passed Kieran’s room, I decided to shed the chaps and his leather coat. I took off my ripped dress and picked up the same shirt I had folded on his bed this morning after I slept in it last night. Thank God, his smell wasn’t lost.

  I tossed his comforter and sheets down and climbed into the king size bed. His ceiling fan blew on high so I nabbed his leather jacket, slid it on then buried myself in his sheets—his scent now a blanket surrounding me. For the longest time, I stared at his phone, wanting to go through it. But, I fought the urge and knew I’d respect myself in the morning or… I’d be really pissed I didn’t.

  It was near midnight when my eyes started growing heavy and even though I was a little hot in the leather, I wasn’t taking it off. My phone buzzed and brought my eyes wide. The screen read Ruthie.

  Well?? Can you find your virginity or is it gone? Tell me, you gave it to Special K!!! Yummy

  I was too tired to tell her the past 24 hours of events but I would in the morning. I held both his phone and my phone in a death grip and closed my eyes.

  Chapter 29—Kieran

  Jason Reed, my loyal attorney, stood there in his sweats and T-shirt as I came out of the holding cell. The look on his face screamed that he was tired of bailing my ass out, but his payback was unequivocally better than if he didn’t. I walked over to the check-in desk and retrieved my watch—something I intentionally didn’t give Doc simply because of the brand on the face.

  Jason and I didn’t say two words in the car, not for the lack of Jason not trying. I had only one thing on my mind and I was praying she was still at my house. My leg bobbed up and down with anxiety from the passenger seat.

  Jason knew the amount of money I was privy to even if I didn’t call it mine. And I knew damn good and well why he did these things for me, and it wasn’t because he liked me.

  “Don’t forget…” Jason said as I shut his car door and got out downtown next to Doc’s car.

  I knew what he was going to say anyway. “Don’t forget your first appearance hearing today.” I never forgot.

  I unlocked the car and moved the seat back before getting in. The car smelled like her and I didn’t want to leave it here overnight. The instant I hit the gas, I hauled ass home.

  When I got inside, her sweet scent greeted me. Maybe a little creepy but my dick instantly hardened and began directing me through the house. Her door was closed and it was after 4 but I couldn’t help myself…I quietly opened the door and when the slither of light shone over the neatly made, empty bed, my heart plummeted for a short minute until I beat it to the two other bedrooms.

  My door was open and I saw the ruffled covers before I even went in. Finding any other girl in my bed would cause a shit storm. But seeing Doc curled up in a ball, wearing my leather jacket, caused my heart to find an unsteady rhythm. This girl…this woman was beautiful, and she challenged me in a way that no woman ever had or in a way I never allowed.

  I knew our relationship started in a pretty weird way. I knew she tried desperately to maintain her professionalism. And as I stared at her little body curled up in my bed, swimming in my jacket, I knew I had completely fallen for her.

  I wanted to wake her and confess that I was crazy about her. I wanted to let her know that she never had to worry about money again. I wanted her to know that if I ripped her panties off or if she destroyed her dress, another would be waiting. I wanted her to have ice cream any time she wanted and never, ever, worry about food getting to her belly. I wanted more than anything for her to know that I would be there when she had a nightmare and that no one would ever lay a finger on her again. Ever. I’d go to prison before I allowed that to happen.

  My chaps were folded up and lying at the foot of the bed and so was her dress. I wondered what she wore beneath my jacket. I took off my boots and accidently hit the dresser. I tensed my eyes on her. She stirred and rolled onto her back, but didn’t wake. Both of our phones were lying next to her and I grabbed them so she didn’t sleep on them.

  I pressed the button on my phone and I had no new messages or texts. Then I pressed hers. She didn’t have a passcode. Who didn’t have passcode? Knowing it was a shitty thing to do, I clicked on her recent calls. Ruthie, Dad, Work, Viv, and one number that didn’t have a name attached. I smiled because there wasn’t a list of dudes. Then I hit messages. Basically the same names, except I was on the list too—as Sexiest Man Alive. God, I needed to change that. I was being a douche when I put that in. Trying to make her laugh.

  Curiosity got the best of me with Ruthie, and I wondered if they talked about us. I pushed her name and the series of conversations came up. The first one read,

  Well?? Can you find your virginity or is it gone? Tell me, you gave it to Special K!!! Yummy

  My heart plummeted and I dropped the cell phone; thankfully it landed on the foot on the bed. Virginity? What the fuck? I replayed her cries from last night…were they were cries of pain that I misconstrued for pleasure? My own was taken when I was 16, a sophomore, and the girl was a senior. I hadn’t thought about virginity in years. Hell, girls threw that out there all the time, but I rarely believed them. The last virginity I knew I took—I was a freshman in college.

  Glancing at Doc, her little mouth was still parted, her chest raising and falling with every breath. She chose me to hand her virginity to after twenty-three years… Why?

  I thought about when I came and my thrusts became more powerful… partially because I never wanted to forget how good she felt and I never wanted her to chance forgetting me. Damn it! I would never have hurt her. I didn’t know! With my fist, I covered my mouth. I wanted to wake her. To scream at her for not telling me. It would have been so different. I need her to know that I would have taken that into consideration. It still may have hurt but for different reasons. I would have been gentle and tender with every inch of her.

  The honor I felt. The pressure I felt. She had only been mine. MINE! Never had she shared her body with another man.

  Suddenly, I had an idea. This week would be torture…but I’d get my chance to make it up to her and sexually torment her in the process. After leaving her in my bed, I took my position in my recliner and started plotting.

  I stood in the kitchen drinking coffee when I heard her up and around. I’d placed both phones back in bed with her. She shuffled out with disheveled hair and sleepy eyes and had no idea she was as beautiful as she was.

  “You’re home?” she asked, her eyes filled with relief as she ran her fingers through her hair.

  “I am.”

  I could tell she was unsure how to respond to me so I held out my arm. “Come here,” I said, and her bare feet padded over to me. My leather jacket was MIA but she wore my shirt again and that caused my heart to smile.

  She wrapped her arms around my midsection and I tucked her in with my arm.

  “Tell me what happened,” she said, releasing me and moving over to the barstool.

  “You hungry?” I asked.

  “Mr. Scott. Stop ignoring me,” she said with a sluggish smile.

  I shrugged. “I never ignore you. You stop ignoring me. Are you hungry?”

  She shrugged, sat silently and grinned.

  I swaggered over to her cute little pouty ass, set my coffee on the island, kissed her forehead. “How bout we make a deal, you stubborn little shit.”

  “Oh, I’m a stubborn little shit?” she asked, with her brows high.

  “Yes.”

  “Well. You’re a stubborn big shit.”

  “I won’t argue that. You eat. I talk.”

  She grabbed a browning banana from the bunch, peeled it back, took a bite and with a full mouth said, “Talk.”

  “I was released,” I said with a shrug and a smile.

  Her head shook in what I was sure was frustration.

/>   “Doc. There is nothing to tell. I was taken in, then released.”

  She laid her banana on the counter and stopped eating. This girl punched every button I had.

  “I have a hearing today.”

  The banana found her mouth again and I smiled but she set it back down after her bite.

  “It’s at 2 o’clock.”

  Another bite.

  “I have to appear.”

  Another bite. One bite left.

  “I’ll let you know what happens.”

  She finished it and held the peeling out to me so I took it.

  “If this is what it takes to get you to talk, I’m going to get really fat!” she said, and we both laughed.

  Here I sat in court again. Jason, my attorney, on my left. Shauna, the DA, at the table to the right. The court reporter began her announcements as Judge Joe did his walk to the bench.

  As introductions started, I heard the courtroom door and glanced over my shoulder. Doc came through the door. She was dressed up. Professional. Her spectacular gray eyes only met mine for a moment before she sat on one of the benches behind us.

  “Ms. Clark is also appearing,” Judge Joe stated. “State your case.”

  Shauna stood up. “Your honor. Mr. Scott has gotten another battery charge. We are here to request that he report to the detention center for his forty-eight hour sanction.”

  I squirmed a bit in my seat. I didn’t want to do forty-eight hours in the county but I would. More importantly, I didn’t want Doc to see this go down.

  “Your honor. Mr. Scott has been attending therapy as ordered and we believe making positive strides. I subpoenaed his therapist this morning at her office as a witness to testify to the fact.”

  I grabbed a fistful of Jason’s suit jacket and yanked him toward me. “How about you tell me that next time, you got that?”

  Jason gave me a what-the-fuck look but nodded.

  Shauna stood again. “That’s fine, Your Honor. The state would be happy to hear from Ms. Clark.”

  “Ms. Clark. Would you take the witness stand please?”

  I watched, my heart wreaking havoc in my chest, as Megan made her way up to the stand with her file. After being seated, Jason stood.

  “State your name for the record.”

  “Megan Clark.”

  “And Ms. Clark, what do you do?”

  “I’m a registered master level psychologist.”

  She was refusing to look at me. Maybe that was best, but I hated that she was going through this because of me.

  “And what do you do for the court.”

  “I work under a grant. I provide therapy to people who have been sent by the court.”

  Her mask of professionalism was in place but I had a feeling she was as nervous as I was.

  “And have you been counseling Mr. Scott?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “How has that been going?”

  “Well. He’s attended all scheduled meetings except one. After that meeting, we spoke and he rescheduled.”

  Yes we did. That’s when I stood ankle deep with water running over my boots and had her body pressed up against her car.

  “Ms. Clark. Do you believe Mr. Scott is making progress in his therapy?”

  I so wanted her to look at me so I could offer her a reassuring smile.

  “Yes. I do. He’s opened up about several things and I do feel like we are making progress.”

  I couldn’t help but notice she said we.

  Jason tossed his yellow legal pad onto the table where I sat and asked, “And regarding this fight last night, have you had a chance to talk with him?”

  “Not in session. He actually has therapy today at 4:30.”

  “That is all,” Jason said, and found his seat next to me.

  Judge Joe looked at Shauna. “Cross?”

  Shauna said, “No, your honor. We have worked with Ms. Clark on several other cases and she is a credible witness. We will leave the sanction of Mr. Scott to the discretion of the court.”

  “You’re dismissed as the witness. Thank you, Ms. Clark.”

  Doc nodded at the judge and left the courtroom. I inhaled, catching her intoxicating scent as she walked by.

  “Mr. Scott,” Judge Joe said, and I stood.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You will report to therapy today with Ms. Clark and then you will report to the detention center for a twenty-four hour sanction. Since you have been doing what the court ordered, I will not make the sanction a forty-eight hour one. However, I have a report of a broken nose that was caused by you. Clearly, there is still work to be done. You will be released in exactly twenty-four hours. Court is in recess.”

  I didn’t stick around to talk or to discuss this with Joe. I needed to find Doc.

  Chapter 30—Megan

  Leaving the courthouse, my heart broke for Kieran. I didn’t know there was a possibility for him to go to jail. I thought this hearing was strictly regarding the new charges. The possibility of my testimony sending him to jail made me want to vomit.

  Going back to work was the last thing I wanted to do. What had I done? I’ve jeopardized my newly beginning career for what? To sleep with…move in with…the most delicious man I’d ever seen. I knew what I was to Kieran. I remember his words clearly when I asked him about a monogamous relationship—a player’s gotta play.

  I wouldn’t…couldn’t hold that against him. That’s who he was and he’d been honest about that. Those are the differences between men and women. Men can have sex and not get emotionally attached. I thought I could too…but my heart was hurting today. I wanted Kieran to keep me…to pick me out of all the women.

  I refused to ever feel sorry for myself. Not when my mom walked out. Not when my dad hit me. Not when Jared hit me. There were women, kids, people that had it so much worse than I. I had so much to be thankful for. I would be OK after Kieran too… The thought alone made me dizzy and when I parked, I rested my head on the steering wheel. My heart seemed to stall with the thought of losing Kieran. I now knew what I would be without—and I didn’t want to be without it.

  Back at work, I went to my co-worker’s office and knocked.

  “Dale?”

  “Yep? Come in,” he said, and I walked into his office. “What’s up?”

  I pressed my skirt repeatedly in the front, nerves getting the best of me.

  “Megan? You OK?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I need assistance on a case. I mean, not really assistance. I need to transfer a case. Do you have any openings?”

  “I do. What’s up?” he asked, crossing his legs like a woman. I hated when guys did that.

  “He’s a court referral. And there seems to be some boundaries crossed and I don’t feel like I can ethically continue¸” I explained. “He’s coming in today at 4:30.”

  He glanced up at the clock, raising a brow. “OK.”

  “Thank you, Dale. I’ll grab his file.” After I completely look through it and make sure it’s safe to pass on.

  With every tick of the clock, my stomach twisted into a tighter knot. Ethically and professionally, this was the appropriate thing to do. I was living with the guy. Boundaries were a little more than skewed at this point.

  I sat at my desk with my knees drawn up beneath me when I heard the thumping of his Harley. He was early, and bile inched its way up the back of my throat. Surely, he knew too that this couldn’t continue. Though he had opened up to me, it was only after a nightmare. Who knows, maybe us talking and getting to know each other would continue around the house.

  The soft chime in my office rang to indicate a client was here. I slid my shoes on and walked slowly to Dale’s office.

  “He’s early but he’s here,” I said, and Dale smiled.

  “OK. Let me get him and you can tell him in here, then I’ll finish up.”

  I nodded, plopped my ass down in one of his chairs and eyed the trashcan, fearing I was going to vomit as saliva pooled in my mouth. As I took a slow, dee
p breath, I glanced over the five frames on Dale’s wall with different certificates and his college diploma.

  “DOC!” I heard Kieran shout, then a loud thud in the hallway.

  “Mr. Scott, please stop! Calm down.” Dale steadily.

  “I swear to God, I do not want to hurt you. I just want to see Megan.” His voice was low and carried caution.

  “Listen to me,” Dale said.

  “No you listen. I will put your head through that fucking wall if you don’t get your hands off me. DOC!”

  I bolted from the room and found them in a standoff in the hallway. Dale was barely half his size.

  “Doooc,” Kieran breathed heavily out his mouth as he said my name, and his eye squeezed shut.

  “Megan,” Dale said my name sternly. “Should I call the police?”

  “No!” I shook my head.

  “Kieran. This is my supervisor…” I began.

  “I’m sorry,” he said to Dale, then grabbed my upper arms, gently shaking me. “Doc. I’m going to jail when I leave here, for twenty-four hours. I need you to listen.”

  I held up my finger to Dale. “Give us just a minute.”

  I personally escorted Kieran to my office and when I closed the door, he swathed my body with his and held me. Just as quickly, he pushed me away but kept his hands planted on my shoulders.

  “Listen to me. Do you remember the garage code? You’re going to be there for twenty-four hours alone. Ruthie is free to come over and stay. But I was just thinking you could stay in. Here is $200.”