Fine Line

intervened.
    The court officer turned to Jay, her face stern. “This doesn’t strike me as very professional behaviour, Mr. Ellis. Would you care to defend yourself?”
    Jay knew it was coming. He couldn’t look at anyone. He hadn’t brought a solicitor with him because he knew exactly what his counsel would say. He’d tell him not to incriminate himself, not to admit to feeling guilty. Not to admit to unprofessional conduct, to find an excuse why he did what he did.
    And he knew he would tell the man he couldn’t do it.
    “There’s nothing I can say to defend myself, Miss Madigan,” Jay stated. “What I did was unprofessional. I overstepped my bounds not once, but twice, and I’m sorry I upset Mack.” He didn’t even bother to correct himself to use Mack’s last name instead of the more intimate nickname. “A therapist should at all times keep a professional distance, both physically and emotionally. This is the only way that help can be given to someone who’s emotionally vulnerable. It is certainly unprofessional for a therapist to fall in love with a patient, and as soon as those feelings started to grow I should have referred him to another The Fine Line by Zahra Owens

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    therapist.”
    “Gentlemen, I think I know enough to advise the accreditation panel. Thank you for your time.” The mediator got up from behind her table and pocketed her touchpad.
    “Miss Madigan?”
    Jay looked up to see who had spoken, knowing it was Mack even before he saw the handsome man stand up from his seat.
    “Yes, Mr. MacAllister?”
    “Before you relay your findings, could I have some time to talk to Jay alone?”
    “If Mr. Ellis agrees to this, I don’t see why not.”
    “I don’t think this is a good idea, Mack,” Jay heard Mack’s lawyer tell him.
    “I need to talk to him, Scott, and after that we can see what still needs to be done,” Mack replied.
    Miss Madigan and the lawyer left the room, leaving the two of them alone. Jay had averted his eyes again, nervously picking at a small scab on his thumb.
    “Jay?”
    “Yes.”
    “Will you talk to me?”
    Jay nodded.
    “Can I sit down here?”
    Jay nodded again, still not looking to the right where Mack was drawing up a chair and sitting on it backwards.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    Jay shrugged. “Because it’s not done, Mack. Because of what I said The Fine Line by Zahra Owens

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    earlier. I should have referred you to a colleague. I used the fact that you needed my help to take advantage of you.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me you fell in love with me?” Mack tried to stay calm, tried to be patient like Jay had always been incredibly patient with him. Six months of intense therapy sessions twice a week had taught Mack something else besides the fact that he was physically capable of reaching a climax.
    “What if you hadn’t returned my feelings? How would you have felt if you’d gone to a therapist you didn’t have any other feelings for besides maybe friendship, and he’d declared his love to you? You would have run away so fast…” Jay laughed, but Mack could tell his heart wasn’t in it. It was more the kind of laugh that bubbled up when you were so miserable it became amusing.
    Mack slowly put his hand on top of Jay’s. “And what if I had returned your feelings?” He looked at Jay, at his beautifully sculpted face with the wisps of facial hair, at the square shoulders that betrayed strength despite his slim frame, at the eyes that he could barely see, but which he knew were the most beautiful brown eyes he’d ever seen in a man.
    “I would have told you, you shouldn’t confuse need with love. Or trust with love for that matter.”
    “Why did you think I believed you when you said that I needed to be in love with someone before I could give him my body? I knew I loved you long before you made me come that first time.” Mack picked up Jay’s hand, turned it over and kissed the inside of his wrist. “Why did you think I came back after running away the session before? Because I loved you and I hoped that you would listen to yourself tell me that I needed that, and then I tried to show you that I loved you as well and still you didn’t get it.”
    Mack saw the moisture in Jay’s eyes when he finally looked at him.

    The Fine Line by Zahra Owens

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    “I’ve never been in love with anyone. I’ve had crushes and I’ve felt lust for someone, but it was always gone once they gave in to me,” Jay confessed. “I’m