Rachel’s weak, it’s time to counsel her

“It’s a difficult spot to be in,” you say, holding her tight by the shoulder. “But you’re strong. You’ll figure out a way.”

You like the way that Rachel’s pressed against you. Maybe too much. In fact, with the way her tits are heaving in her shirt and the way those teary brown eyes of hers are beginning to melt your heart… yeah, this is dangerous.

You separate yourself from her, facing her on the bed.

“Look, let me give it to you straight. It sounds to me like you’ve still got some feelings for Griffin.”

Rachel glances up at you and nods.

“I know I shouldn’t but—”

“No need to apologize for it,” you say, resting a hand on her knee. “He’s a great guy, I get it. It just seems like he could use a little work at… communication.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” she laughs, sounding just a bit bitter as she does so. “Dude seriously made me think he cheated on me! Couldn’t he just tell me what was up?”

“And it sounds like you’re still pretty mad at him,” you say. “Which is fine! Deserved, even, I’d say. But if you had to ask me, just from seeing the two of you fight… I’m not sure you’re completely blameless, either.”

“What do you mean? He was the one who was cheating on me!” Rachel says, indignant.

“He didn’t cheat on you,” you say, trying to sound as calm and conciliatory as you can. “You thought he cheated on you.” She nods. “Then you acted as if he did cheat on you, even though he didn’t. The problem is, once you assumed he cheated on you, you kept on running with it. You didn’t give him much of a chance to explain himself.”

“Because he was acting all suspicious, what was I supposed to do?” she says, throwing up her arms in the air.

“I know, I know,” you say. “But look, I said I was going to give tough love, so here it is. I’m not saying that what you did was worse than what Griffin did, that’s not really my place to judge. But I did notice that you were contributing to the mess that you both ended up in. And I think it would probably be healthy to start by acknowledging that,” you say. “You know, just reflect on what you could have done to improve the way things turned out.”

“O-kay…” Rachel says, sounding skeptical.

“Like, picture this. What if, instead of cutting Griffin off, you’d let him speak?”

“Then he’d keep saying nonsense,” she says.

You give her a flat stare. She wrinkles her nose.

“Fine, okay, he probably would have explained what was happening and I would have figured out that he wasn’t actually cheating.”

“Yeah,” you say.

“That sounds better, doesn’t it?” she says, sounding a bit confused.

“Yeah,” you nod, encouraging her on. “So then?”

“So then I should probably listen to him more, or something.”

She rolls her eyes as she says it, but the two of you both know it to be true.

“Yes, and what does that mean?” you ask.

“Okay, I get that you’re trying to psychoanalyze me or get me to do it myself or whatever you’re learning in psych class, but I don’t know what you want me to say next,” Rachel says.

Whoops. That wasn’t the reaction you were hoping to get.

“Well, I mean, I don’t really know the answer either,” you say, frankly. “I’m just trying to listen and help you sort through your feelings, y’know?” Rachel nods. “Okay, so maybe we take a step back. Do you want to date Griffin at the moment?”

“Uh… not really. He was a bit too much of an ass. Especially the way he insinuated that I was the problem…”

“But?”

“But I still like him.”

“He is a great guy,” you agree. “So maybe the two of you just need a bit of space.”

“Like a break,” she says.

“Like a break,” you agree.

You let the words hang there while it really sinks into her. Rachel thinks about it for a couple seconds, seconds that turn into minutes, and she spends most of it staring off to the side.

Then, all of a sudden, she throws her arms around you, giving you a peck on the cheek.

“You’re the best, Alex!” she says.

“So that’s that?” you say, still a bit lost as to what happened inside her head.

“I mean… it all feels pretty shitty, but I think I kinda got my head in the right place again. Thanks for talking through it with me,” she smiles.

Rachel +25