20. Massage

Alicia Blade

471 words

Mamoru lifted his head from the hanging position it had been stuck in for what felt like a week. Cringing at the stiffness in his neck, he rotated his shoulders a few time and tried to stretch his neck muscles from side to side, flinching at the tenseness. With a sigh, he pushed the biochemistry textbook away on the arcade table, mumbling, "Only two more chapters to go…"

"What kind of geek studies on a Saturday?" a cheerful voice asked from behind him, followed by a firm swap on Mamoru's shoulder that left him groaning and rubbing gingerly at the spot.

"Geez, Odango, have you been taking steroids?"

"What? I barely touched you!" seating herself at Mamoru's side and pulling the textbook toward her. A moment later, she grimaced distastefully and shoved the book away. "You are a geek."

When Mamoru wasn't quick with a flippant response, Usagi glanced at him from the corner of her eye to see him still rubbing gingerly where she'd smacked him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just stiff from pouring over that book all afternoon," Mamoru answered, once again trying to stretch out the compacted limbs.

"Oh…" Pursing her lips together, Usagi watched as Mamoru gingerly tilted his head from side to side with closed eyes and a tightly drawn forehead. It was obvious by his lack of flexibility and the constant pain in his face that stiff was probably an under-exaggeration. "Well, here, scoot forward," she commanded, prompting a skeptical look from her self-proclaimed mortal enemy.

"Why?"

"Because I said so, dork!" Without waiting for Mamoru to comply with her demand, Usagi stood up on the bench and went to sit behind him, propping herself comfortably on the booth's backrest.

"Erm… Odango, I don't…" Mamoru gasped as Usagi's hands found their way determinedly to his shoulder blades, and not a moment later all thoughts of protest were wiped clean away as she gently kneaded her knuckles, fingers, and palms into the sensitive muscles.

"You're like a rock back here," Usagi said, pressing her thumbs into the tissue extending from the base of Mamoru's neck. "This is going to take a lot of work."

Mamoru's response was an incomprehensible moan of approval, at which Usagi stifled a giggle, and continued, "You are going to tip me, aren't you?"

A few more pleased sounds escaped from his lips.

"A chocolate shake would be nice…"

Was that a purr?

"…every day…"

Yep, that was definitely a purr.

"…for, say, a month?"

When Mamoru didn't protest, a huge grin spread over Usagi's lips and she put more body weight into the intensifying massage. Massage the shoulders of one hot college student, earn the envy of every girl in the arcade, and get free milkshakes in the process? This was one business deal she could definitely come to enjoy.