CHAPTER THREE
Ten thirty came and my client was right on time. I was used to his punctuality, not to mention his soft skin. I could tell he used oil after his showers, and that made my job easier, massaging already pliant skin. His muscles were always so tight, especially around his shoulders, so I assumed he sat behind a desk all day. He wasn’t military. I gathered that by his longer hair, curling at the tips.
Today he was so tense that my fingers hurt a little when they rubbed the patch of tissue at the top of his shoulders. He was a groaner—a lot of clients were—and he made these deep, throaty sounds when I loosened the knots he held in his body. The hour went fast. I had to tap his shoulder to wake him when it was over.
My ten-thirty client—his name was Toby, but I liked to call him Ten-thirty—was a good tipper and kept things simple. Never talked, except for that time he asked me out. Elodie freaked when I told her. She wanted me to tell Mali, but I didn’t want it to become a thing when it didn’t need to be. He was fine with my rejection—not the usual male reaction, I know. He hadn’t even hinted at any attraction toward me since, so I figured things were okay between us. What’s more, he hadn’t asked me out while I was treating him. I had run into him while I was walking out of the nail salon next door on a day off.
Forty-five minutes past eleven and there was still no Elodie. Usually she’d text if she was going to be more than fifteen minutes late. The man in the waiting area must have been new, because I didn’t recognize him and I never forgot a face. He seemed patient enough. But not Mali; she was about to call Elodie.
“I can take him if she’s not here in five minutes,” I suggested. “My next appointment can be moved an hour later, it’s Tina.” Mali knew most of our clients who came in and out of her spa; she remembered names like I did faces.
“Fine, fine. But your friend is always late,” she scolded. Mali was the nicest woman but was made of pure fire.
“She’s pregnant,” I said, defending my friend.
Mali rolled her eyes. “I was pregnant five times and I worked just fine.”
“Touché.”
I kept my laughter quiet and texted Tina to see if she could come in at one fifteen. She immediately responded with ayes, like I knew she would.
“Um, sir,” I called to the man in the waiting room. “Your therapist is actually running late. I can start you now if you’d like. Or you could wait for Elodie.” I didn’t know if he was partial to her for some reason, or if he simply wanted a massage. Now that we were on Yelp and booking online appointments, I never knew which clients wanted a specific therapist and which didn’t care.
He stood up and walked to the desk without saying a word.
“Is that okay?” I asked.
He hesitated for a second before he nodded. Okay . . .
“All right—” I looked at the schedule.Kael.What a strange name. “Follow me, please.”
We didn’t have assigned rooms—not technically—but I had fixed up the second room on the left to almost perfectly fit my taste, so that was the one I used the most. No one else took it unless they had to.
I had brought in my own cabinet and decorations that included lots of fake plants and was in the process of convincing Mali to let me paint the walls. Anything would be better than this dark purple color. It wasn’t exactly relaxing, plus it was dull, with chipped corners and edges that dated the room by about twenty years.
“You can leave your clothes on the hanger or the chair,” I told him. “Go ahead and strip down to however you’re comfortable. Lie facedown on the table, and I’ll be back in a couple of minutes to see if you’re ready.”
The client didn’t say a word; he stood next to the chair and lifted his gray T-shirt over his head. He was definitely military. Between his solid build and his nearly shaved head, hescreamedsoldier. I grew up inside and outside of Army posts my entire life, so I knew a soldier from a mile away. He folded his shirt and set it down on the chair. When his fingers tugged at his athletic pants, I left him alone to undress.