Return To Me, My Love

After we leave the coffee shop we are walking down the street hand in hand when someone calls out Franks name and we both turn to see three teenage girls approaching us, one of them wearing a cellabration shirt and I drop Franks hand to reach up and wipe at my eyes, hoping they're not red and puffy and Frank looks over and watches me, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. After he signs autographs and takes a few pictures, pulling stupid faces and making me laugh he grabs my hand again and we continue walking, heading back towards my apartment and when we get there Mikey and Pete are gone so we settle in the living room and turn the tv on, Frank sitting on one end of the couch while I lay with my head in his lap, my feet hanging over the other end and he gently runs his fingers through my hair as he says "Babe I really am sorry about your job, I know how much you liked it, Mikey told me how hard it was for you to get and..." "It's ok" I tell him, not really wanting to talk about it and he frowns but doesn't say anything else and after another few minutes he says "Are you free tomorrow afternoon?" "Uh yeah why?" I ask, turning my head so I'm looking up at him. "I made us an appointment with a therapist" he tells me and I smile a little and nod, asking him what time and he fills me in on all the details before our focus turns back to the tv again and after the show we are watching is over I roll to the side and drop onto the floor on my hands and knees, stretching my back a little and when I look back up Franks eyes are focused on my ass. "You want a picture?" I ask, shaking my hips slightly and his cheeks go slightly red as he tears his gaze away from my ass to look at my face, and he giggles softly before saying "Well I wouldn't say no." I start laughing too before pushing myself to stand and as I leave the room Frank stands too and follows me, both of us going into the kitchen and I open the fridge, looking for something to eat and I pull out a bunch of leftovers, Frank coming over to help me heat them back up and once it's done we both sit at the table with a plate and eat, Franks feet tangling with mine under the table and halfway through our meal I ask him to tell me about Australia, his face lighting up as he recalls funny stories and by the time he runs out we have finished eating and have moved into my room, laying on the bed as we laugh together at the stories.

The afternoon drags on and just as it starts getting dark Frank gets a call from Ian and he tells me he has to go, sending me an apologetic smile and I smile back as I climb off the bed and walk him to the door, letting him out and he tells me he will come by and pick me up tomorrow for our therapy appointment. The following morning I get up and take a shower, making myself presentable and printing out some resumes before I head out, going to some art stores and other record stores, trying to seem confident but a few of the clerks rattle me a little and I don't hold out much hope of getting a job from them. By the time I get back home again my feet hurt from all the walking and I nod a vague hello to Pete who is in the living room on my way past, heading into my bedroom and by the time I make it there I have my shirt halfway unbuttoned making Frank who is laying on my bed waiting for me whistle in appreciation. "Holy fuck" I curse as I jump, not expecting him to be there and he laughs as he climbs off the bed and comes over to me. "Sorry baby" he apologises before pressing a kiss to my cheek and when we pull apart I keep going, unbuttoning the shirt and taking it off and after I've dug another more comfortable shirt out of my closet I turn back to Frank who is sitting cross legged on the bed watching me. "How long have you been here?" I ask, crossing to sit beside him and Frank turns so he's facing me as he says "Like half an hour, I was getting ready to call you, where have you been?" "Job hunting" I tell him, falling back to lay on the bed and Frank looks down at me and says "How did it go?" His voice sounding guilty. I shrug, not really in the mood to talk about it further and after a few minutes of silence Frank pulls his phone from his pocket and says "We should probably get going babe, our appointment is in half an hour." I nod, pushing myself to sit up again and after Frank has pulled his shoes back on we leave the apartment, Frank hailing us a cab and giving the driver the address of the therapist.

The therapy appointment lasts an hour and after we recount the trip to Paris, which was our breaking point the therapist looks shocked before recovering and her face goes back to being neutral, but when I glance over at Frank I can tell he noticed too. At the end of the appointment the therapist tells us that she thinks regular sessions will really help us and that we should set ourselves agreeable boundaries in regards to living arrangements and spending time together so that we don't rush things too soon. We nod, the therapist smiling warmly at us as she says "It's very reassuring to see the level of open communication you guys seem to have, that's a really good thing and something you need to keep up." After we leave the office Frank asks if I'm hungry and I nod, not starving but feeling like I could eat and he asks if he can take me for a late lunch. I agree and we head to a nearby restaurant, ordering drinks while we look over the menus and when the waiter is gone Frank says "So, what did you think?" "I'm not really....I mean I think it would probably be a good idea to go again" I tell him and Frank nods before saying "It sucks that I have to leave again the day after tomorrow but when I find out the schedule we can book more appointments and I'll just fly back for them." "Are you sure?" I ask, wondering if that's even going to be possible and Frank reaches across the table to take my hand in his as he says "Of course, these sessions are important to you and they're important to me too and I want this to work." I smile and squeeze his hand before letting go and turning back to my menu, both of us only just making a decision as the waiter comes back with our drinks and asks for our orders. Even though we both ordered what we wanted we end up sharing off each other's plates and by the time we are done I am stuffed, Frank asking if I want dessert but I shake my head, dropping a hand down to rub at my stomach and Frank just smiles and asks the waiter for the cheque as he passes our table, leaving some money for it when it comes back and we leave the restaurant hand in hand, wandering down the street a little before Frank hails a cab and we go back to my apartment.

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