My back had been killing me for some time. Actually,
everything
had been killing me for some time. With all the crazy hours I'd been working, I hadn't exercised in months, and I was feeling it all over. I'd been waking up tight as a knot, and each day of physical inactivity was only making things worse.
The fact that my stress level was off the charts wasn't helping either. My company was going through a transition, which had effectively doubled everyone's workload. Worst of all, my wife was in the middle of a career change, and with her crazy new schedule, we were only seeing each other a few hours a day at best.
She'd been suggesting that I schedule a massage with her friend Bryn for some time, saying that it would do me a world of good. It sounded like a good idea, but I was a bit hesitant. I'd hurt my neck a few years back, and I was kind of afraid of someone handling it too roughly. But my wife kept insisting that her friend was really good, (she'd given my wife a few massages in the short time they'd been friends), so I finally relented, and I was now pulling up to Bryn's house for an hour-long session.
Bryn greeted me at the door with a smile. (According to my wife, we'd met Bryn and her husband before, at a party last year, but I sure couldn't remember doing so). She was fairly tall, with sandy brown hair and a dark complexion I couldn't quite place; not Greek, not Italian, I'd have guessed mixed Asian of some sort. She wore a bulky, expensive looking, chestnut-colored tracksuit and a pair of flip-flops.
I stuck out my hand, "Hi, I'm-"
She cut me off, laughing. "I know who you are? Don't you remember we met at Dave's party last year?"
I didn't, but I thought it would be rude to say that, so I just went with it. "Oh yeah, now I remember!"
She laughed. "Come on inside. The spa is around the back."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know-"
"No, it's ok. It has it's own entrance around the side, but we can just go through the basement." She led me inside, and we walked through her kitchen and downstairs into her basement. From there it was just a few steps to a door which she opened to reveal a home spa, with darkly painted walls, candles, and in the center of the room, a massage table.
"Can I get you anything?" she asked. "Coffee? Tea? Water?"
"No, I'm fine." I answered.
She gestured to a small love seat against the back wall. "Ok, well, then, why don't we have a quick chat about what we're going to do today, and then we'll get started. Sound good?"
"Sure." I agreed, and took a seat. She sat down next to me, and spoke right at me, giving me a good look at her features. She was actually very pretty; with deep, intense eyes, a button nose, and a full set of dark pink lips.
"So, Susan tells me you've never had a massage before?"
"That's right."
"Any particular reason you haven't?"
"Um, not really, just never have. I did hurt my neck a few years back, that's probably one reason I haven't. I've been worried about someone being too rough with it."
"I'll make sure to be careful when I work on it, then. Any other reasons?"
"Uh, no, not really-"
"It's just that some guys are little uncomfortable about getting worked on."
"Really? Why's that?"
"Mostly out of embarrassment. A massage involves
a lot
of touching, obviously, which most guys aren't used to. Then there's the fact that you're more or less naked in front of a total stranger. A lot of guys have a hard time relaxing because of that, and if you're not relaxed during your massage, you're not going to enjoy it."
None of what she was saying had occurred to me before she mentioned it, but now that she
had
mentioned it, I guess I did start to feel a bit anxious. I tried to laugh it off. "I think I'll be all right."
She smiled. "You sure?"
"Yeah. What's the big deal, right?"
"Right! There's really no reason to be embarrassed, but a lot of guys-" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Like when your back hurts. Most of the time, it's not your back that's the source of the problem, but your legs and butt. So, in order to get the kinks out, those muscles need to get worked on."
"Well, that sounds ok." I said.
"Doesn't it? But I can't tell you how many guys, once I tell them I'll need to work on their butt, which usually means I have to
see
it...they get all weirded out."
I guess I could see why that would freak out some guys, although I didn't see what the big deal was. "Who cares? Everyone has one, right? You've seen one, you've seen them all!"
"Right!" she agreed.
"Got to warn you, though, mine's not a pretty site!"
We laughed again.
"So, you're ok with that, right? I just want to make sure."
"Yeah. No big deal."
" All right, then why don't we get started? Go ahead and strip down, lie on the table face down, with your head in the rest, and pull the towel over your butt."
"Even though you're going to see it later, right?" I joked.
"Right!" she laughed. "Go ahead and get set, and I'll be right back."
She walked out, closing the door behind her. I quickly undressed, lay on the table, and pulled the towel over myself. I was squirming around a bit, getting my face adjusted properly in the headrest, when I heard her knock on the door.
"All set?" she asked.
"All set." I answered.
I heard her come back in and shut the door. Being face down I couldn't see anything now but the floor, but I did notice when she turned the lights down a moment later. I heard her humming to herself softly and moving something around.
"Are you warm enough?" she asked, suddenly right next to me.
I didn't think I would be, but I was. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I usually have on something soothing, like sounds of the rainforest. Is that ok?"
"Yeah, sure, that's fine."
I heard her walk away, and then a few seconds later, heard some very soothing rain forest sounds start up. After that I heard a clicking noise, and realized she was using an electric candle lighter to light up all the candles around the room. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and heard her speak again.
"Ok, I'm going to start with your neck, just relax, I'll be very gentle."
And she was. She started softly, using her palms along the sides of my neck, and then gently pressing her fingertips into the back of my head.
"How is that?" she asked. "Not too hard?"