The Assignment

"I know it's late, but before you go, I have an assignment for you." I look down to my watch as the second hand ticks closer to our last moments together before continuing. "This won't be focused on therapy, but instead, what I need to work on so that our last sessions together will benefit you the most."

The sunlight streaming through the windows illuminates the green in his eyes as he sits in front of me and nods in understanding. We're knee to knee in my office just like every other session we have.

"I'd like for you to write down what you want most out of this. Write down at least three things that you need— call them goals— that we can work on before our time together ends."

It's not only important to me… it's essential, that I get this right before our court-ordered time is up. I want him to look at this as something that was beneficial and pleasant for him, not a bad experience and something he was forced to do. With just two sessions left, time is coming to an end.

I ignore the prickle of heat dancing up my spine as I rise, giving him a piece of paper and a pen, "When you're finished, you can leave that on my desk before you go. I've got to step out before my next appointment arrives, but I'll see you back here... same time tomorrow, okay?"

With my hand extended to his, my eyes search his for any reflection of what I'm thinking.

I glance from his strong jaw, to his long dark lashes and into his shades of green as he looks to me and nods, stretching out his hand to take the paper and pen. His expensive watch catches my eye when his fingers lightly graze mine. The pen delicately slides from my fingers to his and my eyes go back to his, as a subtle flash of heat flares out at the base of my neck.

His dark green eyes are attentive as he speaks with a soft smile, "I'll look forward to it."

There's a static charge in the air between us, now. The intensity is higher than it's ever been before, as I turn to leave.

A shameful brush of lust whispers through me as I close the door to my office, rushing down the hall to the restroom. Needing a quiet moment to gather myself, I'm grateful for the distance between us and I'm briefly ashamed for my unprofessional thoughts.

Each afternoon for the last month, he rushes over after work at five pm. Like clockwork, every day is the same... it begins with us politely greeting each other at the door, as he adjusts to get more comfortable, before our hour begins. He says hello as he slides the tie from his neck, unbuttoning his top two buttons while walking over to the chair that's placed in front of my own. I follow the scent trail he leaves as he pulls his keys and phone out of his pockets before sitting. When he sits, his suit pants hug his thighs and crotch in a way that's been extremely distracting on several occasions. And he makes no effort to sit in a way that hides what's beneath, but seems rather comfortable to be exposed that way. His expensive leather shoes always extend so close to my heels that I've felt it necessary to keep my legs tucked and crossed so that I don't scuff his shoes, or invade his space, though he doesn't seem to be bothered with not invading mine.

We start out talking about his day, how he's feeling, the high stresses of his career... but we always get back to what happened and how he can move forward from it. We make progress with every session, but I know there's so much more we need to cover. At the end of each hour, within what feels like mere seconds, his time is up and he's out the door just as quick as he came in.

My office smells of his cologne and aftershave long after he's gone and it's a most welcome scent when I arrive each morning and catch a faint hint of him still there. I chastise myself for enjoying it... thoughts of him and looking forward to each session. Loving the way he smells, how he looks, how he dresses. How he speaks.

When did I lose my way? How have I let this happen?

But then again… how could I not. He isn't like any other man I've treated before. If I'm honest, he's not like any other man I've met before.

He's shown me all the depths below his tough, abrasive, stand-offish surface. He's strong, cocky and confident on the outside but this man is so beautifully textured and softly put together on the inside, that I can see the different dimensions of him. I can sense his overwhelming need to love and be loved, even if he isn't aware of it yet. And against all my training and every shred of integrity I have, in this short time I've had with him, he's come to mean something to me. As if that wasn't bad enough, this relationship is not only forbidden, but impossible.

But feelings don't run from a faucet. You can't turn them on or shut them off with a turn of your fingers. They demand to run through. They demand to be felt.

And I just want to shut them off, save myself from the loss I'll feel when our time is up and he's no longer a fixture in my life, even if it was just on a professional level.

Walking slowly down the hall, I open the door to my empty office, an empty feeling.

Just four painted walls, a large window over-looking the city, and some office furniture sitting among the loud silence. He's gone.

My heart begins to beat a little faster when I spot the note he's left for me.

A light gallop in my chest turns to a fast pound as I breathe him in, walking towards the gently creased paper placed on the center of my desk.

With shaky hands I open his note.

The sun's rays pour through the blinds behind my desk, leaving illuminated stripes across words that make my body tremble.

To be honest I just want you

A/N: This is something quick that I wrote which goes along with a picture prompt for a flashfic feature that I participated in yesterday. I've got the picture up on my blog: exexboyfrienddottumblrdotcom. I wrote this in about 10 minutes and posted it yesterday. Today, I've edited it a little and added some detail to it. As always, I do not use a beta and am not an English scholar, so all mistakes are mine, I hope they don't bother you too much.

I'll be using this collection to cleanse my mind of small inspirations that arise from pictures, words, dreams, songs and showers as I continue to finish Thrust. If you aren't reading Thrust and you're a new reader here, hi. It's nice to meet you :)