I think this chapter, while seeming mostly to be a fun, humorous one, is actually an extremely important one.

The dynamic between Thomas and Trish is an especially complex one, and that's even before considering the "love triangle" (I'm not quite sure that fits here with Melanie, given how there's a clear choice for Thomas once he gets past those other barriers) attached to it. Given the doctor-patient relationship shared by our two protagonists, it would be really easy to have (and difficult to avoid) this story turn into a case of a psychologist taking advantage of his patient and that patient falling in love because of her fragile psyche and loneliness.

While this story has been gradually moving away from that scenario, this chapter, in particular, sets the two of them up for a more legitimate-feeling relationship down the road.

Thomas's dedication to do what's right for Trish makes him extremely likable. The man had his fantasy dangled in front of him in maybe the most appealing manner, aside from if Trish knew about his fetish and acted on it, of course. Him conquering that temptation and remaining professional shows the reader that he isn't the kind of man to abuse the trust his patients put in him, which means that when he most assuredly breaks down and gives in in a future chapter, that decision probably won't be looked on as harshly as it would have if he had made a move on Trish in one of the previous chapters.

Also, the fact that his motivation for denying Trish's advances and keeping things professional is that, as he put it, Trish needed him shows both how much he legitimately cares about her and that he's putting her needs above his own. Extremely admirable.

I also noticed that thoughts of remaining loyal to Melanie never came up when he was fighting Trish's temptations. While not terribly surprising based on what we've seen so far, I thought it was pretty noteworthy that he didn't once think, "I can't do this. I have a girlfriend."

As for Trish, I think the fact that she's starting to involve more people in her life that really care about her really helps to build on her strengthening mental state, complimenting her returning confidence quite well. Not only did she have a group of old friends accept and treat her the same her despite her condition, but it seems she's gotten tight with Melanie pretty quickly too. Having more people than just Thomas to lean on, even if she doesn't actually take advantage of it, makes her feel less isolated and dependent on Thomas. That alone makes her feel less like a potential victim should she start fucking her psychologist.

But maybe more importantly, that Thomas rejected her efforts to bed him will make her feelings feel more real than desperate when they finally get together. There's a lot of ways she could feel about this the next morning: guilty, depressed, angry, embarrassed, maybe even more turned on (if she still thinks Thomas likes her but is resisting her, rather than straight up rejecting her). But regardless of those feelings, I can only see her thinking that Thomas is off limits in the immediate future. For whatever reason, he could have had her and he didn't even show a visible sign of being tempted (even though we know that he most definitely was). That has to be discouraging for her, and she's most likely going to try to bury her feelings for him.

The fact that she likely won't be able to for very long will, again, legitimize them. She's not just some lovesick patient crushing on the man who is helping her through the most difficult time of her life. She actually likes him, and the fact that he happens to be her psychologist is really just an unfortunate coincidence.

Speaking of Trish's attraction to Thomas being legit, you yet again did a great job of displaying in a subtle way exactly what it is she sees in him after he found her in her drunken state. Thomas makes clear that he's afraid of Trish like this, not because of what she'll knowingly do but because she has less control of her body and could hurt him on accident. Yet he handles that fear by taking control of the situation (and the fact that she's a Type 1 patient; I really like how that was established early on and keeps being used without direct reference).

Trish likes strong men, and not just in the physical sense. I found myself wondering how she would react if she were to discover that she scared the one person who has never been afraid of her up until that point, let alone the man she wants to be with. I think guilt and sadness would be the primary feelings running through her, but just beneath that, I think she would be extremely turned on. That he could put his fear aside and come off as commanding and in charge as he did, something she found sexy without knowing about his fear, is something that she would no doubt find to be incredibly hot.

Going back to Melanie, she helps make this slow burn story all the more unique. With each passing chapter, I find myself wanting Trish and Thomas to act on their feelings for each other all the more, only for this to be dragged out at a delightfully agonizing pace. However, at the same time, that train wreck that is Melanie's relationship with Thomas being destroyed in the process keeps building, giving me that "cover my eyes but look through the cracks" feeling. And now Trish is building a friendship with her, which is going to make things even worse when everything comes crashing down. The mix of anticipation and dread is as intriguing as it is addicting.

Finally, I'm doubling down on my earlier prediction that Trish is going to figure out Thomas's fetish and use it to finally break through that pesky ethical barrier keeping them apart. Thomas was able to resist his dream girl coming on to him in a (mostly) normal way, but once she finally uses her size to her advantage with him, it's over. That little reimagining in the shower of his encounter with her pretty much confirms that. If she hadn't let him go when he gave her that look, he probably would have given in.

At some point, Thomas is going to say or do something. It's going to be a small thing. Something that most people wouldn't catch. But Trish, having gotten so close to him all this time, is going to catch it. And she's going to use it to figure out that he likes her big (maybe she won't know how big he wants her right away, but she'll figure out that she's exactly what he wants). That will be a fun chapter, I think (assuming I'm right, of course).

What makes this particularly interesting is Trish's belief that it's "better" if the man is bigger in a relationship. Her wording implies that it's not that she isn't attracted to people shorter than her but rather that relationships with shorter men haven't ended well for her. In other words, it's a mentality that developed over time rather than a preference. So it'll be hard for her to get used to the fact that Thomas wants to be treated like the smaller one, and that will make all that stuff I said above that much harder for her, too.

But yeah, fantastic chapter. Like I said, aside from everything else, this was also a pretty fun chapter, and drunk Trish was hilarious. Where we go from here should be pretty interesting!