Toxic

Song: Homies by Saint Harison

Zoey’s YSL pumps clicked against the pavement as she walked into the entrance of the building, she grabbed the front of her coat bringing it in closer to block against the harsh winds. As soon as she walked into the building she felt instant relief as the heat wrapped around her body, knocking off the chill of fall ending and winter approaching.

“Hello Ms. Jones, How are you doing today?” Melanie, the receptionist, greeted her and she smiled back in response

“I’m doing okay, is he here?” Zoey asked

“He is in there waiting for you.” Melanie informed her

“Thank you.” Zoey nodded her head and smiled sweetly as she stepped away from the desk and headed toward her therapist office

“Well hello,” he greeted, dark lips breaking to flash a beautiful smile which Zoey matched with a smile of her own

“How are you Chancey?” she cooed with the nickname he’d been called by his family since he was a kid, Chance’s face straightened immediately dropping the smile he once had.

“Zo, I am not your friend right now.”

Zoey looked at him for a minute then threw her head back in laughter, she and Chance were long time best friends, their parents were friends, so they basically grew up together. When Zoey decided therapy was needed for her Chance helped her look for therapists for months before giving in to her requests that he be hers. His only stipulation was that they weren’t friends during the sessions, he treated her like every other client so that she got the real feel of how therapy was supposed to go.

“I quit,” Zoey smirked then crossed her legs she wiped her hands down her slacks then folded them in her lap and gave Chance her full attention “How are you?” she asked again

“I am glad to see you in a good mood, is it genuine?”

“I hope so.” Zoey let out a sigh “I’ve been dating.”

“You sure you ready for that?”

“It beats the hell out of fucking a married guy.” Zoey said frankly

“He still hasn’t left his wife?”

“Your answer would probably be better than anything I can come up with.”

Chance nodded his head and wrote on his notepad, his thick eyebrows bent in a pensive look as if he was trying to figure out how to ask his next question.

“What if he leaves her, will you continue to date?”

“I won’t know until it happens but since it’s not going to happen, I’d rather not discuss what ifs.”

“Respect.”

Zoey and Chance continued their session discussing her dating life, work, and other problems as Chance continued to take notes and ask questions that caused her to reflect and think about her decisions. Zoey cried and laughed and actually felt the relief of weights being lifted from her shoulders after her session,

“Can we be friends again?” She asked once their time was up

“What’s up Zo Boe?” Chance joked calling her by her childhood nickname

“Very funny.” She said rolling her eyes, “I have to get to work,” she hugged him and began to walk out of his office but was stopped when he grabbed her hand and held her arm up

“You going to teach them kids dressed like that?” he looked down at the cream-colored silk blouse she had tucked into a pair of blue pants that hugged her thick frame and round butt and flared out at the bottom of her long legs.

“Just because I am a pre-law professor doesn’t mean I can’t be fashionable okay, Is it giving Olivia Pope?” Zoey joked and twirled around laughing

“You uhh you look good Zo,”

“Thank you.” She winked at him

Chance chuckled and hugged her again, he ran his hands down her back slowly and rested them on her ass

“Chance I-.” her words were cut off when he took her lips into his mouth kissing her feverishly, Zoey tried to fight the urge but when he stuck his tongue in her mouth she melted and fell into the kiss. Chance grabbed her in his arms and began to tug at her pants

**Beep Beep**

“Your next appointment just arrived.” Melanie informed Chance over the intercom on his desk

They separated quickly and Chance nodded his head at Melanie as if she could see him

“I will be out to get them in a few minutes.” he responded and looked down at Zoey, he couldn't help the pull she had on his heart and he also couldn't help the fact that he was in love with his wife as well, he made a decision a long time ago but he waited to pull the trigger because he didn't want to hurt the woman he built a life with. Zoey smiled and looked up at him she felt the turmoil he was fighting and stepped out of his grasp

“I am done waiting, leave her, don’t leave her I don’t care but we are done. Please don’t make me lose my friend too.”

“I filed for divorce, we are having a dinner tonight to let our family know we are ending our marriage.” Chance revealed

“I don’t care,” Zoey grabbed her belongings and walked out of his office.

Zoey pulled her coat on and let her tears fall as she walked to her car, the married man she was sleeping with was her best friend and therapist. How could she get messier than that? Entangled was an understatement and the worst part was that she wasn’t sure if she really wanted out. Her love for chance ran deep and he knew that. Chance already let her know that letting her go wasn’t an option for him so here they were, having coded discussions under the guise of a therapy session and lustful stares, Toxic is what they were. She went about her day as if he didn’t just tell her the one thing, she’d been waiting to hear from him for years, she pulled up to the university she worked at and walked in as quickly as she could to avoid the cold.

When Zoey reached her office she noticed she had a hour before her first lecture, when she walked in and saw her cousin she stopped walking

“Girl what are you doing here?” Zoey asked

“I need to talk to you.” She rubbed her hands together nervously, Zoey looked down and saw her leg bouncing and she nodded her head

“Come in,” she closed the door and sat behind her desk “What’s up Sasha?”

“Chance and I are having a dinner tonight and I wanted to invite you, unless he already did?”

“Nope I haven’t talked to him about it. I left right after my session.”

“Okay great, can you make it?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

“Great you can bring the guy you’ve been telling me about,”

“Are you sure that’s it?” Zoey looked at her concerned

“Well I was going to let it be a surprise but we’re announcing that I am pregnant!” Sasha jumped up and down squealing and Zoey’s jaw dropped in surprise

“Oh wow really?! Congratulations Sash!” Zoey tried her best to recover but Sasha has known her their whole life and she felt her energy

“I always wondered if it was you, but I always talked myself out of it.”

“What?” Zoey asked

“Zoey please, save the theatrics, we have been close since we were kids. I know when you’re lying. Chance also, his reaction when I told him that you had a boyfriend gave you both away. You just sealed the deal.” Sasha scoffed her pretty face registering the hurt that her whole body felt

“Sasha I-“ Zoey began to explain

“How long?” Sasha asked

“You don’t want me to answer that Sash. You need to talk to Chance.”

“Chance wants a divorce, but you are going to talk to him and tell him that you are over Zoey. I refuse to bring a baby into a single home.”

“I can’t do that.” Zoey let out a breath, she hated that her cousin was hurting because of her actions but no matter how much she said she was done with Chance she couldn’t see herself stopping him from doing the one thing she’d been telling him to do.

“Yes you can.” Sasha shouted a little louder than she meant to looking Zoey in the eyes, she stood up and gripped the desk that Zoey sat behind leaning over. “Or I may have to tell Chance the truth about what happened the night his dad died.” Sasha whispered and her words sucked the air out of the room, Zoey held that secret in for years to protect her family and she told Sasha in confidence.

“Sasha you can’t do that.” Zoey cried

“Something tells me that hasn’t come out at those “therapy sessions” you two have been having.”

Sasha pushed her point using air quotes, Sasha knew that even though Zoey had nothing to do with it, the fact that she knew the truth and didn’t say anything is enough to end their friendship once and for all and she was desperate, so she used the one trump card she had.

“Okay, okay.” Zoey felt the walls caving in as she was backed into a corner, she seethed as she conceded to Sasha. Zoey knew she wasn’t ready to tell the truth but she also wasn’t ready to lose Chance for good when Sasha told the truth for her. “I will talk to him.”

“I thought you’d see it my way.” Sasha smiled and walked out of Zoey’s office allowing the door to slam on her exit, Zoey cried and put her hands on her forehead, she cried the tears she’d been holding in for years and she grabbed her phone to text Chance.

There was no way she could tell him that she saw her own father shoot and kill his dad all of those years ago, both of her parents swore her to secrecy and the little girl in her never let it slip out until she told Sasha when they were in college. Too much tequila and pain led her to say things that in this moment she wished she could take back.