Page 163 of My Only

“I want to revisit this in a separate session,” Dr. Aldridge said, eyes sharp with interest. “But what stands out to me the most is that you two were friends first. Only friends, right?”

“Yup.” I nodded.

And that time in my life? Absolute torture. I didn’t say that out loud, because I’m lucky it’s just a memory now and not a regret. But damn, wanting Ayla and pretending I didn’t back then? That was the hardest part. I loved being her friend—she was an amazing friend—but I wanted more the moment I met her in her parents’ kitchen.

“You were friends before you were lovers. That’s a gift,” Dr. Aldridge said. “Not everyone has that foundation to return to. So let’s rebuild from there.”

Ayla and I glanced at each other. I smiled, and she did too.

“In our first session…” Dr. Aldridge looked at me. “Hassani, you said you wanted to fix things but didn’t know how.” Then she turned to Ayla. “And, Ayla, you admitted to being tired of feeling unheard.”

I looked at Ayla again. Without thinking, I turned my palm up, and following my cue, she placed her hand in mine.

Dr. Aldridge smiled, lowering her eyes to her notebook. “How did you settle your disputes when you were only friends?”

I tilted my head toward the ceiling, then lowered my gaze to the coffee table in front of us. It had tissues, notebooks, and water bottles on its surface, but I wasn’t really seeing them. I was digging through my memory, trying to recall a single argument we’d had back then.

I came up with nothing.

“We didn’t have disputes as friends,” Ayla said.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I can’t think of a single argument we had as friends.”

“And married?” Dr. Aldridge asked. “How do you settle disagreements now?”

I made a face—one of those half-shrugs with my mouth.

“Sex,” Ayla and I said at the exact same time, our voices amplified from how in sync we were.

Ayla snorted, and I did too before we both burst into laughter.

Dr. Aldridge chuckled. “Well, okay. You two have a healthy sex life. That’s very good.”

I nodded proudly.

“But sometimes, sex isn’t a fix. It can actually make things worse when communication is what’s really needed.”

I tilted my head to the side.

“You need to trust each other emotionally before relying on intimacy to smooth things over,” she continued. “Ayla mentioned being tired of feeling unheard. There’s no amount of sex that will fix that.” She sighed dramatically, then smirked. “Unfortunately.”

I arched a brow. “Are you sure?”

Ayla giggled, and Dr. Aldridge smirked.

“Yes, I’m sure, Hassani.” She leaned in slightly. “I’m going to suggest something that may seem difficult at first, but I’m confident it will work for you two given your history.”

“Okay…?” Ayla voiced hesitantly.

“I’m going to suggest that you go through a period of abstinence to help rebuild your emotional connection.”

“Abstinence?” Ayla repeated.

“Excu—” I stopped, inhaled deeply, then exhaled. “I’m sorry… what?”

Ayla blew air through her pursed lips. “Abstinence. Hmmm.”

Dr. Aldridge chuckled at our synchronized disbelief. “I know, I know—it sounds extreme, but hear me out.”

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