Hello my wonderful people! I'm not dead, I've just been a little busy lately. But I did get a wonderful idea the other day and finished this just before school starts to give you something nice for the new year.
Enjoy! ^_^
Cindy was exhausted. Work and school were draining the life out of her (not to mention the karate tournaments she was still kicking butt at). But this week, everything that could go wrong did and killed a little piece of her every time.
This wasn't how she imagined college would be. Sure, she wanted to do the endless partying that Libby and Sheen couldn't get enough of, but there wasn't anything more important than the future she saw. No amount of alcohol or dancing took her mind from it, or relaxed her enough to not worry about exams the next day.
After hanging up her jacket by the entrance to the apartment she shared with her best friend, she rushed upstairs and plopped on the perfectly made and pink bed, not bothering to take off her shoes for once. The phone in her pocket screamed for attention and she began to pray it wasn't her bitch of a boss, asking her to work overtime on her day off tomorrow. A familiar name was lighting the screen instead, and she answered it without hesitation. Who better to understand her plight than the next hardest worker and perfectionist she knew?
"Hey, Neutron."
"Good evening, Vortex." His voice came out smooth, like silk in that dark, husky voice he grew into.
"What can I do for you?" There was always something he wanted from her when he called, even if it was just a conversation.
"Actually, I was hoping there was something I could do to be of service to you. I've noticed you've been stressed lately, and hoped you wouldn't mind trying out a new invention of mine that can help. Look on your desk."
By this point in their friendship, Cindy was used to Jimmy letting Goddard sneak in and leave new toys for her to play with, as long as they weren't dangerous or difficult to manage. Instead of getting up from the comfortable position, she moved her head to look in the direction of the desk and found a black box with a hole in the middle, and what looked to be gloves made of a strange material on either side. As an added touch, a little pink bow was placed on top.
Curiosity got the better of her and she got up to take a closer look. The gloves were the first thing that caught her attention and she ran her hands over the material that felt a lot like a very soft towel. Shower gloves? And there seemed to be a little hinge at the very top of the box, and with a click, she could pull the little square open from the bottom. It seemed to be water proof too, since the only piece of electrical work she could see from the plastic coating was a tiny lens near the hinge at the top.
"Hello? Cindy, are you there?" Came the small voice from her bed. Damn it, she left the phone behind!
She picked up the phone quickly, but went back to the little "gift" to continue admiring it.
"Do you plan to spy on me naked, Neutron? Because I have to tell you that men usually have to invite me to dinner a few times before I let them record me in the shower." Yes, she was flirting now. Luckily the boy was dense enough that he wouldn't catch the hint or just brush it off like he always did.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Exactly… "The camera will simply make sure that the mechanical gloves are in the appropriate places to carry out the program I wrote. Just make sure to hang it on the shower head or curtain rod where the camera can map your back and place the gloves accordingly."
A glorified massager then? "What if something goes wrong and it ends up choking me instead?"
"Well, I was hoping you could give it a test run tonight with a bath and let me stay here on the phone with you in case some malfunction occurs. Although I doubt anything could need a tune up. Just in case, there are red buttons just on the area where a watch would go on the hinges behind the gloves that not only turn it on and off, but it you hold it down, I get a warning message. Safe enough?"
"Alright, I'll try out the little toy. Let me call you back after I get the tub ready."
"As you wish." Then the dial tone took over her ear.
Cindy chuckled, and went over the start filling up the bathtub with warm water, taking her new gift with her. By moving the shampoo bottles and facial cleanser aside, she placed the massager where the camera had a clear view of her back.
Quickly picking her hair up her trademark ponytail and shedding her clothes, she got into the nice, hot water and took a moment to relax. It then came to her that she owed someone a phone call, and picked it up. She dialed the number and put the phone on speaker, putting it on top of her towels to avoid getting wet or falling in.
His voice came through the tiny phone after the first ring, just as smooth as before, "Ready?"
"Almost. I just need to turn it on. Red button, right?"
"Yes. Now don't worry if it stutters a little at first. The movement is not very steady in my opinion, but this is why your experience will be a valuable insight into my mechanical work. Not that you aren't always brutally honest with me, but mind giving helpful information as well?" He gave a small laugh at the end, throaty and husky that gave Cindy the smallest chill up her spine.
Regardless of the goosebumps his voice caused, she reached up and pressed the on/off button, flinching slightly when the arms popped out of their respective slots. After a second, they slowly moved to her shoulders and began to rub small circles into her shoulders.
"Hmmm… not a bad start… How can I change the settings?" The movements weren't putting any pressure on the knots she was sure needed attention.
"Just give normal instructions, like 'lower,' 'softer,' or 'up and down.' It responds to very basic commands."
"More pressure."
The machine didn't hesitate this time and applied exactly the amount of pressure she had been hoping for, a moan inadvertently leaving her mouth when it hit just the right spot that relaxed her entirely.
"Are you okay?!" Came the voice she had almost forgotten about to her right. The poor guy sounded so worried because she made some noises.
"Better than okay, Neutron… Let me enjoy it." Her words came out a little slurred, but she couldn't find it in herself to care.
He did his job and kept the quiet in the room while Cindy sat in the tub with her arms over the lid, letting the soft gloved machine release every stress the day had caused. Every now and then she let out an order that the arms obediently followed.
When she could feel herself almost falling asleep from the wonderful sensations, the arms pulled away, quietly clicking back into their slots in the control box.
"Jimmy, what happened?" She murmured through the heavy haze tempting her sleep.
"The machine can detect your pulse and determine if you are falling asleep. Since this is meant for the bathroom, the last thing you want to do is fall asleep in the water. It'll start beeping soon to wake you up. Just press the off button and you can make your way to the bedroom. You can hang up if you like; the test run was successful." Oddly enough, he sounded more robotic and disconnected this time than before, but before Cindy could question it, the box starting beeping obnoxiously.
"This might be the worst feature. The beeping should be more pleasant so I don't feel like someone is blasting a bullhorn in my ear after almost falling asleep." She turned it off though, and got out of the water, getting into the towel quickly and dropping the phone on the floor accidentally.
"Ow!"
She picked it up, and took it off speaker, sparing only a moment in her cold rush to let the water run and get herself under the covers.
"Consider it payback for the crappy alarm."
He chuckled back, knowing how she didn't really mean to get him back at all. "Then what's my pay back for the wonderful gift I gave you today?"
"You can have a kiss when I see you." She laughed.
"Deal."
…
Dialtone.
Wait, was he serious?
Jimmy got up from his new station at the lab, stretching out his arms from having moved them in repetitive motions for so long. Then he turned back to the controls and changed the settings in the machine so that he would receive a text when she would activate the machine. From his phone he could then let the machine be automatic and simply record the video, or come home and be her masseuse himself through the specialized gloves he made and attached to the sensors. The wide screen television his parents sent definitely came in handy here as well.
Maybe this wasn't the best way to get his fill of looking at her, but it was one of the sneakier ways. He only hoped she wouldn't find out anytime soon. After all, there wouldn't be a kiss if she suspected foul play on his part. And looking at her bathe and moan might lead to something worse that a bruise…
He shivered at the thought and quickly shut off the screen.
What do you think?
Thank you for reading.