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Determined to enjoy this massage and not get so caught up in my head—something I’d been working a lifetime on—I changed into a robe and slippers and headed back to the relaxation room. Before I could even grab a glass of lemon water, a male massage therapist walked up to me.
“Thayle?”
“You got it,” I said, half surprised he pronounced my name correctly on the first try.
“You’re with me for the next hour. Are you ready?”
“More than ready,” I said, following him down a corridor and then turning into a room. When we walked in, I was shocked to see a robed Neo with a female massage therapist. He was explaining that he’d not booked a couples massage.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “There must have been some mistake.” The woman looked at my guy. “I can go check with—”
“It’s fine,” I said. “If you’re okay with it?”
Neo shrugged. “Works for me.”
Until it didn’t. Our massage therapists left the room, telling us to start facedown and that they would be right back, which was when Neo looked at me. I realized he’d never gotten a massage before and didn’t know how this worked. How had I not thought of this when I opened my big fat mouth?
“So...” I looked down at the table. “I didn’t actually think this through. I just figured, we’re staying in the same room, what’s the difference. But...”
“But?”
“We have to get under those blankets,” I said, nodding to his table.
Neo didn’t seem concerned. “Easy enough. We just won’t look.”
Holy Mary, mother of God. Naked Neo, three feet away from me.
“Okay.” I turned around, took a deep breath, and flipped off my robe. Then I quickly jumped onto the table and under the blanket.
When I thought sufficient time had passed, I looked over. Neo was watching me.
“So we put our faces in these things?”
“Most people do. I hate them. Makes me claustrophobic. I just lie on the table, like this.”
“I’ll do the same.”
For the rest of my life, I would have this vision of Neo in my head. Lying on the massage table, a blanket to his waist, his head propped up on two folded hands...
“Thayle,” he said, more hesitant than usual.
“What’s up?”
“Things haven’t quite gone as planned this past day. I just want to be sure you’re not uncomfortable with any of it.”
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. “Not at all. I mean”—my voice had to keep working—“if we were your typical boss and employee, I think it would be a little strange.”
The vibrations of his deep laugh soothed my fractured soul. Neo just didn’t know it. “More than a little strange, I’d say. I’m pretty sure this would be a huge no-no.”
“As would sharing a room.”
“Or even the copious amounts of drinking we’ll be doing together.”
That should not have excited me as much as it did. “But we’re not typical.”
“No,” he said, his gaze not leaving mine. “We’re not.”
Was I reading an undertone there? I’d never know for sure because our massage therapists came back. After I explained my claustrophobic tendencies, and Neo said he’d be following suit, we were instructed to put our arms to the side and lie cheek-down, and then both Neo and I were oiled up.
