“It’s a bit touristy, but if you love the Opera House, lunch outside is pretty good,” Ben said.
“I’m a tourist and I’m not ashamed to look like one,” Tessa said.
Ben led her to a table in the busy corridor nestled below the Opera House. They ordered sandwiches and fries, and washed them down with ice cold beer.
“It sounded like your sessions with Jason went well,” Ben said, between bites.
Tessa felt odd discussing her ‘sessions’ with another man, even if it was another therapist. But Ben’s face was completely and utterly inscrutable, as if he had veiled discussions about oral sex and masturbation each day, and twice on Sunday. Hell, Tessa thought, maybe he did.
“They did, after I got over my initial shyness.”
“Everyone is shy at first. That’s why we spend the first hour or two doing non-threatening things.”
“Like the sightseeing drive with Jason before breakfast,” Tessa said, and Ben nodded. “And the tour of the Opera House with lunch.”
“Guilty as charged,” Ben said. His face became serious and he dropped his voice well-below the noise around them. “I know your history, Tessa, and I know you aren’t sexually active. What I don’t know is your present. Do you date? Is there someone you’d like to have a relationship with?”
Tessa was grateful she had been chewing when he asked; it gave her a minute to decide how open to be with Ben. Her instinct was to play her cards close to the vest, and she quickly swept that idea away. By the end of the night, she’d surely have been naked with this guy. If she could open her body to him, why not her heart?
“I met someone online and it’s turned into almost daily emails, texts and phone calls. We even Skype now and again. He’s sweet and smart and I’d like to see if we could have something together.”
“Does he feel the same?”
“Yes. In fact, he asked me to join him over Christmas/New Year’s break and I said yes…until Carmen reminded me I’d already obligated this time to therapy.”
“So you broke your date?”
“Yeah. I told him why, without telling him what kind of therapy.”
“Some blokes would get it, others…not so much,” Ben said smiling. “Okay, honestly, most guys wouldn’t get it at all, but a few would.”
Tessa laughed. “That’s what I thought too. That’s why David only knows I’d obligated myself to this time in Australia to deal with some extremely important personal issues.”
“Smart girl.”
“I suggested he pick a long weekend in February, and he did. He lives in Chicago and he’s coming to meet me in New York. I trust I’ll have my…issues…resolved before I put our relationship on the line.”
Ben took a long sip of his beer, sat the bottle down, and took Tessa’s hand. “It took a while for your issues to develop and it’ll take a while before they’re resolved, even with the best Aussie therapy team toiling by your side.” He winked at the Aussie team comment. “But if you give it your best effort, open up, and work the lessons, you’ll be in a lot better place when you meet...what’s his name—David?”