"Oh my God.."
"This is where I go when I want to relax." Neela smiled as she read the name of the business. "Pearl Day Spa and Massage."
"You're kidding me, right?" asked Ray.
"No, really. This is my stop." Ray stared blankly at Neela. "Oh what? Your afraid your punk-rocker image will be shattered?"
"My 'punk-rocker image'" said Ray imitating Neela's accent, but then returning to normal said, "is in no risk here. I can handle a Day Spa."
"Ok, good. Then you're paying."
"Now wait, we didn't agree --" Ray tried to say, before being interrupted by Neela.
"Let's go."
Neela grabbed Ray's hand and pulled him into the Day Spa. Upon entrance, two blonde girls walked out and giggled as they passed by Ray.
"Great." he whispered to himself.
Neela walked up to the receptionist. "Hi, can have an appointment for two."
"We close in about an hour, so you can only get the massage appointment."
"Fine by me." replied Ray, not sounding too enthusiastic.
"Excellent. Can you have your names?"
"Neela and Ray." replied Neela, as she cast a smirk at Ray.
"And would you like two separate rooms, or one room?"
"We'll have two --"
"We'll share one." Ray interrupted Neela before she could get her sentence out. She sent a threatening glare at Ray for requesting one room. Ray just blinked at Neela, pretending he didn't notice her glare.
"Follow me please." the receptionist said as she opened two glass doors. Ray and Neela followed her down the hall into the changing rooms. 'You can change in here, and towels are in the drawers under the seats. Your room is right across."
"I'm sorry, change into what?" asked Ray in confusion. Neela let out a giggle to Ray's question.
"Um, undress I should say." replied the receptionist, trying to hold back her own giggles. She walked off, and left Ray and Neela in front of the changing rooms.
"I can't believe you are making me do this." Ray told Neela.
"Hey, if you can play guitar in your boxers, why can't you get into a towel for a massage?"
Ray took a deep breath as he thought about Neela's challenge. "Fine." He stepped into his changing room, closed the door, and began to undress. Neela did the same, in her changing room.
After a few minutes, Neela walked into the massage room to find Ray already sitting on his bed. Neela was distracted by his uncovered abs. She never notice how physically fit he was before. She looked down before Ray could notice her staring, and began to climb onto her massage bed in nothing but a white towel, that hugged her curves. Ray noticed this beauty and her innocence. As she sat down, Ray noticed something on her right leg.
"What's that?" he asked.
"What's what?" asked Neela as she pulled the towel over her leg to cover it up.
"The scar on your right leg."
"Oh, that. It's -it's nothing."
"Neela.."
"Ray. I don't want to talk about it." Neela replied coldly.
After about 15 minutes of awkward silence Neela spoke up. "I got it when I was twelve."
"The scar?" asked Ray.
"Yeah. I was cooking in the kitchen, and I reached over the stove to get something. My pants caught on fire, so I did something stupid. I pulled my pants off, and the skin came off with it."
"It wasn't stupid. You were twelve, you didn't know what to do." replied Ray to Neela's story."
"I should have known better. Anyway, doctors said my leg was messed up, and I might not be able to walk normally again. But over time, it healed, and left a disgusting scar. That's why I never wear shorts, or anything short."
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry, you didn't do anything?"
"Just sorry that it happened to you. But, you shouldn't let that stop you from wearing what you want to wear, or doing what you want to do. It's just a scar."
"Just a scar? You don't know what it's like. I had to wear shorts under my gym skirt at school, and all the kids would laugh. Do you know what it's like to be the loser?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Right how. How would you know, Mr. 'I-sleep-with-a-different-girl-every-night-because-I'm-so-cool'?"
"When I was younger, I was pretty tall for my age. I mean I was like twice the height of all the girls. Everybody thought I was a freak. I mean the girls would just avoid me, and the guys, they were just so intimidated by me. I didn't really have any friends. And that's why I started listening to punk music, and became Mr. Rock Star."
"Sorry." whispered Neela, realizing she was wrong in judging Ray.
"Hey, it's in the past. What's more important is where is the masseuse?".
Just as Ray asked, two men walked in. Ray and Neela gave each other an odd look at the cosmic timing of Ray's question.
"Ok, Ray?" asked the first man. Ray nodded his head. "My name is Josh, and I'll be your masseuse."
"Wa- Wait. Um, is there anyway I could request a girl masseuse?" asked Ray, obviously embarrassed.
"Sorry, Me and Craig are the only two people on duty tonight."
Ray looked at Neela, and then decided to agree. Ray and Neela lied down as their masseuses worked their magic. After about half an hour, Ray and Neela left the room to get dressed. As Neela walked out of her changing room, she saw Ray waiting for her.
"So," began Neela. "Was it as bad as you thought it would be?"
"Surprisingly no. It felt a bit weird at first, but all my muscles are a lot looser now."
Neela giggled a bit. "I have a confession to make. I lied. I don't go here all the time. This was actually my first time here."
"What? You mean I did all that for nothing?"
"Well," Neela began to defend herself," you can't say it was for nothing. You said it yourself, you feel better now."
"I guess your right." Ray gave in. The two stood still for a moment before Ray talked again. "Do you want to go get something to eat?" Ray didn't want this night to end. He was having such a great time getting to know his roommate. In fact, she wasn't just his roommate anymore. Tonight, she became his friend.
"I'd like that." replied Neela, having the same thoughts as Ray. She was surprised at how comforting Ray is. He stood up for her at the bar, and he wasn't grossed out by her scar. He seemed to actually understand her pain.
The two walked out of the spa and got into Ray's car. The two began to drive to a restaurant. Neela tried to make small talk with Ray on their ride.
"So, how did you get into medicine? I mean, wasn't being a rock star your whole plan?"
"Well, I guess It all started when I was about 13 and broke my arm. My parents rushed me to the hospital --" Ray was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone going off. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID.
"Booty call?" joked Neela.
Ray let out a small laugh. "No, actually, it's the band. I don't really feel like practicing right now." Ray put down his cell phone in a small compartment in his car. At the sam time Ray heard Neela scream.
"Ray, look out!"
Author's 2nd Note: Oh, I forgot to metion this earlier. The scar mentioned on Neela's leg is an actual scar that Parminder Nagra has, and the story is based on Parminder's actual story. You can read about it on ParminderOnline. So, what do you all think about this chpater. Makes up for that long postponment?