*****
The days flew by with long hours at the spa, and longer nights wishing I could be with Alexa. Her sessions were great opportunities to get to know her better, and with each one, my desire for her only grew. Each appointment seemed to fly by, while our time apart felt like forever.
When Jeff’s mother developed complications, he bailed on Alexa again, and I took the opportunity to spend the time with her. The mileage was killer, but seeing her was worth it. Construction complications forced me into a four-day trip to the new spa in Philly. Not wanting to interrupt her treatments, I left after her morning appointment on Thursday, and didn’t return until late Sunday night.
Thursday finally arrived, and I was ready to grab drinks with Alexa and the gang. The idea of hanging out with her away from the spa made me wish the day would speed by. But it was by far the slowest day of all time. Four of my least favorite clients were on the schedule.
I started my day with an extra whiny Alaina Alder. Her list of complaints was a mile long. Ms. Alder didn’t like the new scented oil. The music was too loud. The table wasn’t soft. She even had the nerve to ask if the sheets were clean, as if we weren’t paying an obscene amount on rent for prime real estate, but rather were a spa in the middle of the slums. We were the premier spa in Boston. Of course, our sheets were clean. Shit, we replaced them every few months before they pilled and became uncomfortable to the bare skin.
Then Mrs. Bamburger came in. She was seriously older than Boston. Paul Revere was probably her brother. Her skin resembled a Chinese Shar-Pei. I had not had the pleasure of working on her before, but she was well known among the massage therapists, seeing as how she’d rotated through all the guys since coming here about six months ago. Apparently, I drew the short straw this month. My hands moving over her skin was like doing laundry on a washboard.
Next in was Mr. Johnson, a police officer in Cambridge. He was a great guy, but a rather large man at about six-foot-five-inches and two hundred fifty pounds. In order to have time to work his entire body, his sessions extended to an hour and a half. After every appointment, my arms ached with exhaustion. I never knew if he would spend his time on the table, snoring like a commuter train, or babbling nonstop with stories from his last shift. Thankfully, today was a day of sleep. As humorous as I found his tales, after my morning, the sound of the express train from Gloucester to North Station was welcomed.
Last, but certainly not least, was Theresa Morgan. Now this girl was a piece of work. Her goal was to get with every therapist here, and not in the same manner as Mrs. Bamburger. Since she had worked her way through the rest of the guys, earning her the reputation of the spa slut, her sights had been set on me for the past few weeks. She wore the equivalent of a pound of makeup caked on her face, and an entire can of Aqua Net in her hair. Even though she took great care of her figure, too much time in the tanning bed caused her skin to look older than her twenty-two years. The entire time she was on the table, she never shut up about how great she was, or when was I going to ask her out. Nothing was less appealing than a girl throwing herself at you. Overall, she was pretty, but not my style whatsoever.
Relieved she was my last appointment for the day, I finished making out next week’s schedule before heading home. I was ready to see Alexa and move forward with her.
*****
Walking into the bar area with Danny was nerve wracking. Never had I been so anxious to meet up with a woman.
“Dude, you need to chill the fuck out.” Danny clapped his hand over my shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze. “You’re strung so damn tight.”
Shit, what the hell was wrong with me? It was just Alexa. There was no reason for me to be a dumb ass. It wasn’t as if it was the first time we had hung out before.
After my mini pep talk, I peered through the crowd, and my gaze locked in on her laughing at something Jessica was saying. She looked more beautiful than I remembered. Tight jeans accented her long slender legs, and her caramel brown, leather heeled boots came up to her knees. My eyes traveled up to an ivory blouse that made her look soft and feminine. The teal scarf around her neck accented her blue eyes. Her hair was down with light curls framing her naturally attractive face, and light makeup heightened her features, making her the most gorgeous woman in the room. Naked, clothed, it didn’t really matter. She was breathtaking, regardless.
As I stared at her, Danny pushed me out of my Alexa haze and toward the girls. Jessica, Addison, and Alexa had already snagged a table near the bar, but away from some of the hustle and bustle. Alexa looked over and gave me the most heart-stopping smile when she saw us approaching. It reached her stunning eyes, making me think she was just as excited to see me, as I was to see her, further solidifying my decision to go for her. While I was in Philly, I decided I was through holding back. I would just not be intimate with her until after the race.
“How goes it, ladies? Thanks for grabbing a table.” I greeted my sister with a quick peck on the cheek, followed by hugs to Alexa and Addison. Danny followed my lead.
“No problem. We ran into each other heading upstairs just a few minutes ago,” Jessica said with a smirk on her face. She knew my asking Alexa to join our group was a big deal, but she promised me before we left the spa that she would behave tonight. Jess and I had a different definition of behaving, so I was sure some remarks would be made.
“Elle should be here soon. All the paperwork was done when I left, so she just needed to lock up after everyone clocked out,” Danny added.
I sat down between Jess and Alexa, signaling to the waitress to come take our order. I needed a drink after the day I had had.
“Luke, you had the cast of characters on your table today. Make yours a double,” Danny announced to the table, reading my mind.
“Yeah, I saw you had Theresa today. Did she ask for a happy ending?” Jessica asked with a huge, mischievous grin on her face. She knew how forward Theresa was and always hated booking her. “Alexa, you should see this chick. She’s all over the guys every time she comes in. Totally classy with a capital K.”
Alexa choked on her drink, turning her attention from Jessica to me, waiting for me to answer Jess’s original comment.
“No, she didn’t ask for a happy ending, as you so eloquently put it.” I rolled my eyes at Jess. “However, she did want to know when I was going to ask her out. She didn’t take my ‘I’m not’ very well.”
“I saw her leave in a huff.” A sly grin appeared on Jess’s face. “What did you finally say to get her to back off?”
“I explained to her that I don’t date my clients.” I sighed as soon as the words left my mouth.
Jess set me up, and I walked right into it. She knew our rule, and thought it one of the smartest things Danny and I ever came up with. Apparently, she didn’t approve of my move for Alexa as she had led me to believe.
After my confession, I couldn’t bear to look at Alexa to see if her reaction was similar to the disappointment I felt, or a blankness telling me she didn’t care.
After a dirty look at Jessica, I focused on Alexa. She stared at me for a second before turning away from me and starting a conversation with Addison. I knew, right then and there, I needed to backpedal and fix this. Right as I reached out to grab her attention, the waitress arrived with our drinks. When Elle showed up moments later, Alexa directed her attention to her. At the next break in conversation, when I could try to explain myself, the band started playing, making it near impossible to talk. A few songs into the set, the ladies jumped off their stools to go dance, leaving me with Danny and my thoughts.
“Fuck me, guy. Did you hear what went down?” I looked over at Danny, wondering if he heard our conversation. “Jess is on my shit list. She knew what she was doing. She set me up.”