by Ann Omasta
With that, he was gone, and she was left to worry about how ‘ready’ she should get. The nice thing about having a massage at her desk chair was that she could remove her blazer and go about her business as usual. Having an actual massage on his table left her with some awkward unknowns.
She walked over to inspect his setup. He had a basket with lotions, oils, and towels. She was surprised to see that the bed was plugged into the wall. One touch of the neatly pressed sheet told her that the electricity was to warm the covers. Beginning to feel better about this, she leaned down and realized that the linens had a fresh, minty, relaxing scent emanating from them.
After taking off her jacket and hanging it on the hook on the wall, she strode over to the bed. Once there, she removed her heels and eased herself onto the bed, flat on her back. Staring up at the ceiling, she wondered if she should take off her skirt or blouse. It felt awkward to strip down with a complete stranger in her office bathroom, but she didn’t want to look ridiculous for being fully dressed when he came out.
“Just let me know when you’re ready,” he yelled from inside her private bathroom.
“Okay,” she responded, before biting her lip and trying to decide if she should remove some more clothes. “This is creating even more stress for me,” she muttered under her breath.
“What was that? Are you ready?” he asked from the bathroom.
“No!” she snapped, still debating on what to do.
Deciding that she was being silly, she stood, removed her dark gray pinstripe pencil skirt and pale gray silky blouse, hung them both on the wall hook and scurried back to the bed in her light pink lacy bra and matching panties.
Covering herself with the sheet and lying back, she wondered if he would see her undergarments. This had to be the most unnatural thing in the world. Did other people get naked and let a complete stranger touch them? It didn’t feel right, even if that stranger was rather handsome and a bit of a stubborn mule.
The warmth of the heated bed enveloped her. It would have been relaxing, if she hadn’t been so concerned about her wardrobe. She drummed her fingertips on the mattress as she weighed her options. After flopping over onto her belly, she pulled the sheet up under her armpits. Turning her head to the side, she looked at her shoulder and realized her bra straps were showing.
Her bra was sure to be in the way of the massage. Would having him lower the straps out of the way be more intimate than just removing it in the first place? It was better for him not to have to deal with it at all, right?
“Ready?” he called out again from the bathroom.
“Not yet,” she responded, still trying to figure out what to do. Making a snap decision, she got up and removed her bra. Hiding it underneath her shirt on the hook, she cupped her hands over herself as she scurried back to the massage table.
Stretching out on her tummy, she pulled the sheet up over her, tucked it between her arms and body, and then called out to the masseur before she could chicken out. Burying her face into the circular opening in the table, she tried not to think about the fact that she was practically naked and about to be rubbed all over by a handsome devil of a massage therapist.
4
The man emerged from the bathroom in her office, introduced himself as “Hunter Monroe,” and told her to “relax because he would take care of her for the next hour.”
She almost giggled at the idea of him ‘taking care’ of her for an hour, but by burying her face deeper into the padded breathing oval, was able to contain it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she decided that she was being silly. This man was a professional, who did this all the time.
Just because she was nearly nude and feeling completely vulnerable didn’t mean anything. This was a natural part of his job and probably didn’t even register as a blip on his radar, despite the fact that it was the most intimate she had been with a man in longer than she cared to admit.
His fingers grazed the back of her neck as he gently lifted her curtain of long, dark hair and placed it over her shoulder. She felt a tingle race down her spine at that simple touch. When he lowered the sheet and tucked it firmly beside her hips, the office’s cool air assaulted her back.
While he poured massage oil into his palm, she wiggled nervously in an attempt to get herself adjusted comfortably. “I wasn’t sure what to wear,” she admitted, feeling incredibly self-conscious.
“This is fine,” he reassured her. His voice was as smooth as velvet and frustratingly calm.
She felt wound as tight as a spool of thread. After he rubbed his palms together to warm the oil, he placed them on her shoulder blades. She startled at his touch, feeling jittery and overly nervous.
He must have noticed her anxiety because he soothed her, “Just relax.”
His voice was deep and sexy. It made her feel the opposite of relaxed. The smell of coconut with a hint of spearmint wafted over her, and she wondered if he was using aromatherapy to help calm her. “Have you had a busy day?” She asked him, uncertain what she was supposed to say.
“Don’t worry about talking,” he tried to shush her.
While his fingers worked over the tight spots in her neck, it took effort not to groan from the painful pleasure of his touch. Wanting to seem like a normal person, rather than attention-starved workaholic that she was, she tried talking to him again. “Your hands must get really tired after a long day of doing massages, huh?”
“It really works the best if you let your mind go blank and keep quiet,” he suggested more firmly.
Why don’t you just tell me to shut up? She thought to herself. She was used to people angling to talk to her and get her opinions. Being shut down when she was trying to talk was an entirely new phenomenon. Deciding to heed his advice and attempt to relax, she closed her eyes and let the warmth emanating from the table and his soothing touch lull her into a stupor.
The next thing she knew, she was startled awake when Hunter’s velvety voice suggested that she turn over. She was shocked, when she looked through the face pillow’s opening, to discover a puddle of drool on her gleaming mahogany floor. Silently praying that he wouldn’t notice that, she lifted her head to look in his direction.
She was careful to keep her breasts pressed to the table, so that he wouldn’t catch a glimpse of them, but it turned out that she didn’t need to be. He was holding the sheet up for her modesty, and he was facing the other direction to give her the opportunity to roll over without her body being on display.
Not seeing another alternative, she rolled onto her back. She felt exposed, lying there with her breasts uncovered. Even if he hadn’t been turned away, the sheet that Hunter was holding aloft blocked her chest from his view. Still, it felt scandalous to be in such an intimate position with this stranger, who had been putting his hands all over her in such glorious ways.
The cool sheet felt delicious on her skin as it wafted down to cover her. Her senses felt alive and extremely sensitive. Once she was covered, Hunter turned around and gently tucked in the sheet.
He lifted her right arm and began working his personal brand of magic on it. Her lids felt heavy as she watched him focus on drawing the tension out of her. As his hands worked over hers, he said quietly, “Close your eyes.”
She wanted to continue watching him, but it felt as if he had hypnotized her into doing his will. Her eyelids fell shut as utter relaxation washed over her. All coherent thought left her mind. The only thing that registered in her brain was Hunter’s touch and how marvelous it felt.
The next thing she knew, she woke up feeling refreshed. Hunter was gone and so was her migraine. She slowly sat up, wishing that Hunter and his magical hands could do that to her every day. She let the sheet fall around her as she stretched her arms up towards her high ceiling. She didn’t remember having ever felt so wonderful––like a cat with a belly full of milk, stretched out in a ray of sunshine.
Her legs felt wobbly when she stood. Whatever that man had done to her had worked wonders on her body, she decided,
grinning to herself.
He moved so unobtrusively that she felt him before she saw him. Her office door had quietly opened and Hunter was standing just inside the threshold gaping at her in her lacy underwear––and nothing else.
In the same amount of time as it took her to cover her full breasts with her hands, he averted his gaze to the floor.
“Get out!” she screeched as he said, “I’m so sorry.”
5
Selena silently fumed about the unfortunate encounter with Hunter for hours. He had to be the most talented masseur in the world and now he had seen her half naked. She paced and tried to convince herself that maybe he had looked away before he saw anything. Deep down, she knew that she was kidding herself about that. He had seen her, and now their interactions would be impossibly awkward.
Her body already craved another massage from him, but she couldn’t have another appointment with him after what just happened. He had been the epitome of professionalism and then she had flashed him and made things weird.
Unwilling to take all of the blame, she said to the empty room, “What was he doing sneaking back in here, anyway?” His table that still sat in the corner of her office answered her question.
Not caring that it was getting late, she called her assistant, Todd’s cell phone. Accustomed to getting calls from her at all hours and well-paid for the inconvenience, Todd answered the phone. “Girrrrl, what did you do to that poor massage therapist?”
“Why, what did he say?” Selena’s hackles immediately went up.
“He called me to see when it would be a good time for him to pick up his equipment when you are not around. Did you give it to him good?” Todd asked.
“I guess you could say that,” she deadpanned, before clarifying, “I showed him my girls.”
“You did NOT!” Todd sounded utterly scandalized by her confession.
“Not on purpose,” she told him. “He walked back in to get his stuff, and I was just getting up from the massage table.”
“Were you naked?” Todd breathed into the phone, obviously enjoying this, wanting every lurid detail, and not feeling a bit sorry for her.
Her first instinct was to hang up on him for being so oblivious to her shame, but he was her only friend, and she needed to talk this through. “No, I had on my underwear.”
“Huh,” Todd sounded perplexed.
His response was cryptic, so she asked him, “What?”
“Well, I know you’re my boss and I’m gay, but I have working eyeballs, and I know that you are hot. You must have looked amazing, so I’m shocked that he didn’t make a move. My gay-dar wasn’t raised at all by him.” His voice trailed off as he added, “I must be losing my touch.”
She wasn’t sure whether to feel hopeful or disappointed. “You think he’s gay?”
“He must be,” Todd sounded confident. “Honey, seeing a rack like yours would make any man weak in the knees. Heck, I might even switch teams for the night. Make that fifteen minutes,” he amended.
She laughed at him, knowing that he was just saying that to make her feel better. Todd had never had any romantic interest in girls. He had known he was gay since early childhood. “I doubt that,” she teased him. “Besides, you don’t know… they might not be all that.”
It was a ploy to get him to make her feel better. He knew it, but didn’t call her out on it. “They are fabulous, and you know it,” he teased her.
She wasn’t sure how to respond, so he went on. “If you’re in doubt, you can show them to me, and I’ll give you an honest rating on a scale of one to ten.”
“I’ll pass on that kind offer,” she grinned into the phone. Only Todd could make her feel better at a time when she should be feeling utterly mortified.
“Well, if you change your mind, I’m always willing to take a gander at them,” he quipped.
“Thanks.” She cut off his teasing before adding, “He’ll need to come in here to get his stuff as soon as possible. I don’t want to look at it and be reminded of this fiasco.”
“I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “So, I guess I’ll cross him off the list of potential massage therapists. Did your headache go away at least?”
“Oh, yes,” she practically moaned into the phone. “It was by far the best massage of my entire life. I relaxed completely and fell asleep. When I woke up, my headache was gone, and I had slept into the evening. I have so much work to catch up on,” she added distractedly.
“Wait,” Todd said, “You were in there sleeping all afternoon? You never do that. And there I was, out at my desk, working my fingers to the bone,” he added, obviously seeking praise from her.
She wasn’t about to give it to him. “Speaking of that…” she started.
At her pause, he prompted her with a drawn out, “mm-hmm.”
“Where were you? Aren’t you supposed to be my first line of defense? Shouldn’t you have made sure I was up and getting the things on my agenda done? Why weren’t you there to stop Hunter from coming in and seeing me topless?”
“Hunter, huh? You’re on a first name basis with the hunky massage man who saw your boobies?” He teased her.
“Out of all I said, my knowledge of his name is the only thing you comment on?” She tried to sound exasperated with her assistant, but she couldn’t help being amused by him. “It’s a good thing I like you,” she finally said. Before signing off she added, “Make sure I never have to face Hunter again.”
“Don’t worry, I know exactly what I need to do,” he assured her.
If she had been more on her game, without the leftover noodle-head feeling from her massage, she would have noted the subtle forewarning in his choice of words.
6
“Oh! I’m sorry, Ma’am.” Hunter nervously pushed his longish dark hair back, away from his face. He was obviously surprised to see Selena in her own office. “I’ll come back another time,” he offered, already backing out the door.
“No, don’t be silly.” Selena answered, deciding not to tiptoe around this any more. It wasn’t her style to be awkward, and she didn’t like how it felt to shy away from anything. She would, however, have words with Todd for obviously not complying with her wishes to not have an embarrassing encounter with Hunter.
The masseur stood in the threshold of the doorway, seeming uncertain about what he should do. She was used to people being intimidated by her, so she tried to put him at ease. “Get your stuff,” she waved her hand in the direction of his table.
“Sorry.” He apologized again, not looking her in the eye, as he shuffled quickly over to pack his things. “This has probably been in your way.”
“Not at all,” she tried to sound normal, despite feeling mortified by what happened the last time he walked into her office. “But you can’t make any money with all of your equipment sitting in here.”
“I do all right,” he said vaguely, making her wonder how he could earn a living without the implements needed to do his job.
As he bent over to fold his table, she couldn’t help noticing how long and lean he was. The man had the type of hard body that should be sculpted into a statue, and those marvelous hands. She became lost in thought for a moment as she remembered the glorious feeling of having him work his talented hands over her skin.
She feared that after he walked out of here, she would never find anyone that could relax her body like he had. He truly had a gift. As she pondered him, she decided that seeing naked people was a regular part of his job and that he probably looked at the human form in the detached way that doctors and other medical professionals do, unless they are in a sexual situation.
Unwilling to settle for another massage therapist, now that she’d had the best, she felt determined to smooth things over with him. “You really are fantastic at your job,” she started.
He looked at her and swept a lock of hair from his forehead. He tried tucking it behind his ear, but it wasn’t quite that long. She wondered why he didn’t get it cut, rather than messing with i
t all the time, but she did have to admit that it gave him a slightly dangerous and incredibly sexy look. “Thank you, Ma’am,” he finally answered.
“It’s Selena,” she told him, trying to bring some casualness into their interaction. People normally called her Ms. Chase, but she didn’t want to be that formal with this man. After all, he’d already seen her half-naked and brought more pleasure to her body than anyone else had bothered to do in a long time.
“Selena,” he said her name simply. She liked the way it sounded coming from him. His voice was deep, but he spoke quietly. She found herself leaning towards him, aching to hear what he would say next.
His movements were slow and precise. Before long he had his belongings packed and appeared ready to leave. “I’ll get going,” he offered, before adding, “I’m sure you have important business to attend to.”
She did have plenty to do, but that was always the case. She didn’t want to let him walk out the door without clearing the air between them. She hoped to be able to get more massages from him without both of them feeling anxious. “About earlier,” she started, before clearing her throat, sounding uncharacteristically bashful.
During her awkward pause, he jumped in. “I should have knocked. I’m sorry about that, but I didn’t think you were in here.”
“I know,” she assured him. “I hope I didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”
He shook his head, looking down at her plush off-white carpet. “I felt many things when I saw you, but uncomfortable wasn’t one of them.”
She was dying to know what he felt at seeing her, but he didn’t seem willing to elaborate. She wondered if his feelings were positive. They had to be, right? Didn’t all men like seeing bare boobs? Todd even admitted that he would like to see them, and he’s gay.
She licked her full lips nervously, trying to figure out a way to ask him if he would be willing to keep her as a client after what had happened. She would pay him well, of course.
