The Marriage Counselor

6. If Only You Knew What A Distraction You Can Be

Samantha

Six weeks later

"I don't know, Becks," Samantha says as she tosses the neon tennis ball in the air, hitting it with her racket to start the first serve. "I think I fucked up bad."

It's a hot summer day on the country club tennis court today. Samantha comes here every morning to swim laps in the pool, hating any other form of cardio like the treadmill or stair climber. And every Sunday, she has a tennis date with her best friend since childhood, Rebecca Stanley. Neither of them is that good at it but it gives them an excuse to take advantage of the open bar and brunch buffet.

"Okay, so you kissed the guy," Rebecca grunts as she hits the ball back in Samantha's direction. "You were drunk, right?"

"I'm always drunk."

"You know what I mean."

Samantha keeps an eye on the ball when it comes back to her side, hitting it hard enough that it's an instant point in her favor. She sighs and approaches the net to get closer to her friend, lowering her voice. "It's not just a guy, Rebecca. It's our marriage counselor."

Rebecca approaches the other side of the net, running a hand through her black hair. "How many appointments has Cody gone to again?"

"That's not the point."

"But it is not a point. I'd say this guy is more like your therapist than anything," Rebecca says. "So it's only mildly inappropriate. And like I said, you were drunk. I've done a lot worse than that sober."

"Yeah, I was drunk but... I remember doing it. And worse, I remember wanting to do it."

The friend purses her cherry lips. "Hear me out. Maybe this counselor guy isn't half bad. I mean, how many times has Cody cheated on you? I'm not even sure I can count that high. How many times have you cheated on him? Zero. Now it's your turn to catch up."

Samantha rolls her eyes.

"Okay so it's not the most conventional approach to marriage," Rebecca shrugs. "Maybe this means you guys... open the relationship. Why not? He still gets to stick his dick in everything that moves. Except he doesn't have to worry about covering it up with some Bull shit excuse. You and Dr.Dreamy pants test things out. Maybe you get to see what it's like to date a nice guy. Or maybe he just gives you some much needed orgasms. Meanwhile, you and Cody stay married. His daddy makes him head of the company and you get to stay living like Jeff Bezos wife. Everyone's happy."

"Oh yeah, of course. I can't believe I didn't think about that before. Why don't I just get right on that? I'll call Cody and ask if we can just open up the marriage." Samantha says sarcastically. "Hello?! Have you met my husband? He's the most jealous person I've ever met."

"Yeah, and do you remember when I tried to warn you about his jealousy streak? That giant, in-your-face, red flag. I remember him freaking out at you over going to Scott McCauley's house to work on that stupid science project together."

"Yeah. I know," Samantha grumbles, going to retrieve another ball for them. She hates thinking about high school for a lot of reasons. At the beginning of their relationship, Cody's jealousy used to give her butterflies. It made her feel empowered and wanted. For the first time in her life, someone was afraid to lose her. Now that she's older and not quite as naive, she knows that's not what it was. Yes, there's such a thing as a healthy amount of jealousy. Sometimes it can reaffirm to your partner that you care, give them an ego boost. She craves possessiveness without the insecurity. She wants to belong to someone.

"Look. I know it's like... some unspoken rule that we don't talk about this but... why can't you just leave?" Her friend rarely gets serious like this but she asks this honestly, concern filling her eyes. "You know you wouldn't be on the streets, right? You'd have me, and Paul. We could move you right in. I hope that goes without saying."