Chapter 9
961 Words
~MONDAY~
“How are you doing in your career as of the moment?” I asked Fort at the beginning of our session.
“My career? Uh, it’s going pretty well.” The guy grinned.
“So you’re not struggling in any way? Maybe there’s something that I can help you with or is there anything you want to confide with me?” I tried to make him expound his simple answer.
“Gosh, where to begin? I don’t really talk to people that I just met about my personal life but here goes…” What is he talking about? This is our second session already.
“I’m struggling with my family relations.”
“Is it because your dad is being too harsh on you?” I speculated.
“No, I meant my brother. I feel like we’ve been drifting apart lately. We used to tell each other everything but ever since he got hooked with photography it’s like he’s… how to put it? Like he’s physically present but he’s mentally not there…” Fort sighed out loud.
“You have a brother who’s also interested in photography?”
“Did I say that? I meant martial arts. Judo, in particular.” The guy chuckled nervously.
“Oh. Perhaps he’s just too busy focusing on the sport while you’re busy with your own thing.”
“Do you have a sibling, miss…” Wow, he already forgot my name.
“I thought we agreed to casually call each other by our nicknames?” I reminded him.
“Of course! Silly me!” Fort slapped his own forehead.
“I’m an only child but drifting apart can happen to anyone because people eventually get busy living their own lives. It’s like when you’re hooked on your own thing, which is photography and you get so caught up in the moment that your surroundings just become a blur to you. I bet it’s like that for your brother too.” I tried to explain the situation.
“Wow… you’re really good at this!” Fort said in awe.
“So how can I reconnect with him? There must be some way, right?” He added.
“Try to spend some quality time together like doing something that you both love. It doesn’t necessarily have to be every day. Look for a vacancy on your schedules and set the date up. That should be a good start to reconnect.” I suggested.
“You’re amazing. Did anyone ever tell you that before?” The guy flashed me a big and warm smile.
Ash tells me all sorts of compliments for the simple things that I do and sometimes, for not even doing anything at all which made me immune to feeling flattered when it comes to receiving compliments.
“I do a lot of reading on human psychology. That’s the secret, really.” I told him the truth.
“I do love a knowledgeable woman. Hey, can we exchange numbers? That way I can ask you for more advice via text.” Fort whipped his phone out.
“Um, sure?” I mean, Ash didn’t really mention anything about giving out my number to the clients. He only had one strict rule which is the no dating policy.
“I’m glad I came here, I really am. Do you have any snacks with you?” Fort smiled like a kid.
~TUESDAY~
“You’re still not talking, huh?” I shut my notebook during my session with Levin Cole.
“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Can we forget about what happened during the last session? Let’s try to be real adults here.” I tried to negotiate with him.
“…” Cole just glared at me before putting his green headphones on to listen to some loud music.
“Alright, stay quiet. Just look at these profiles of pretty rich girls which your cousin have personally collected and tell me if there’s anyone who catches your eye.” I walked over towards him to place a bunch of folders on his lap.
“Are you pimping me out right now?!” Cole shrieked after opening one folder to check out its content.
“Finally I got your attention! No, I’m not ‘pimping’ you out since you’re obviously not a p********e…” But come to think of it, I actually get paid by Ash to do this.
“You’re not even required to sleep with these girls upon contact. It’s just a blind date.” I added.
“And what exactly is a ‘blind date’?” The guy asked.
“Well, it’s just like going on a normal date wherein you talk to girls whom you’ve never met before and you discuss common interests, etc.”
“You lost me at the ‘talk to girls’ part. Nope, not doing it. I’d rather go blind for real than do that.” Cole shoved the folders back to me.
“Could it be that you have… gynophobia?” This means an abnormal fear of women which is a type of specific social phobia.
“More like ‘mysophobia’ since I see women as germs.” Cole rolled his eyes. I couldn’t tell if he meant what he said or he was just being sarcastic.
“How come?” I got curious. He must have some kind of traumatic experience from the past if it were true.
“They’re just filthy and scary, okay?” He raised his voice a bit.
“Are you scared of me, Cole?” I looked at him pretty seriously.
“Please! I’m more ‘appalled’ of you than I am afraid.” The guy scoffed.
“So if I were to do this…” I leaned my face very closely to his, leaving only an inch apart.
“Is there no chance of you passing out?” I spoke as I kept our eyes locked with each other.
“I see that your eyes are… very green.” He said in a daze which made me retract myself from him.
That’s strange. If he were really scared of women then he’d probably be passed out by now. I read the symptoms of gynophobia and this is among them.
“What did I just say? I feel like you just bewitched me or something. Like literally.” Cole gasped for no reason as his blue eyes widened in shock. Now he reminds me of his cousin.
Well, I guess he was just faking it then. Good to know.
- Writer
