Walking into Plush Day Spa on Monday morning, I tried to center myself for the day ahead. My first appointment of the day was my most high maintenance client. Heidi Volturi was the trophy wife of Aro Volturi, a ridiculously wealthy gentleman who was approximately ninety-five years old. Mrs. Volturi was twenty-two. She received a 90 minute Swedish massage, salt glow, and detoxifying body wrap every Monday, so she was basically my entire morning.
She was an extremely good client and always left a hefty tip, but I always felt like she took a bit of my soul with her when she left. Heidi liked to chat with me while she received her services. I'd always followed my clients lead when it came to talking during massages; some folks enjoyed talking while others preferred to relax quietly, and I generally didn't care either way. I truly wished, however, that Heidi was a quiet client. The three and a half hours we spent together were always filled with one-sided conversations.
Checking my schedule for the day, I did a mental fist pump when I saw my favorite client, Jasper Whitlock was my 1:00. He was an awesome and handsome way to start my afternoon. Alice had the biggest crush on him, but never said one word to him. She blushed like a schoolgirl when she saw him in the hallway and grilled me about him every single time he came in.
After that, I had three new clients, and then I was done for the day. I set about prepping my room for Heidi, laying out the Mylar blanket, electric blanket, plastic wrap, disposable underwear, and towels. I quickly mixed together the wrap and scooped out a small amount of the salt glow onto my pallette. I turned on the speakers and lowered the lights, enjoying the peacefulness of my room for a second.
Alice walked in quietly, passing me a Styrofoam cup filled with goodness, and sat on the chair in the corner of my room. "I saw that my man is coming in today," she said with a smirk.
"Why are you trolling my schedule, please?" I asked her, laughing. "Are you gonna speak to him today?"
Rolling her eyes, she snorted. "I don't think so. That man is too hot; he turns me into a twelve year old. It's ridiculous."
"What's ridiculous is that you won't speak to him! He's so nice, Alice. He's not gonna bite your head off, I swear."
"We'll see," she said around her cup lid. "Oh, did you see my schedule?"
"No, why?"
"All waxes. I have SEVEN Brazilians today. SEVEN. I've never seen so many vaginas in a day before. I'm not sure I'll be able to eat lunch."
"You don't have any facials at all?" I asked in amazement. When she shook her head, I couldn't control my giggles.
"Laugh it up, Swan. I'm living the dream of every thirteen year old boy."
"I've been splurging all week," said Heidi with a shit eating grin. "Aro just bought a new home at an auction and I've been decorating it."
"Oh, are you moving?" I asked, trying to sound interested. I wasn't sure I pulled it off.
She laughed as though I'd asked her the funniest question she'd ever heard. "Oh, definitely not. This home is only like 3000 square feet. We're thinking of using it for guests."
Thankful that she was face down, I rolled my eyes. She would die if she ever walked into my 1200 square food town home. "That sounds great," I said agreeably, checking the time for the third time in five minutes.
When our time was finally up, I got a bottle of water for Heidi and let Leah know she was ready for her pedicure. Leah plastered on her best fake smile and followed me to my room to collect her client. When they had gone, I sighed in relief and cleaned my room for Jasper before eating lunch.
Spending an hour rubbing the body of a man who looked like Jasper Whitlock was no hardship. He was tall and fit, with a swimmer's body. His shoulders were broad and his hips were narrow and even though he was blindingly handsome, all I could think was that he'd be amazing for Alice. Call it a hunch, but I just knew they'd balance each other out perfectly.
On top of being unreasonably good looking, he was brilliant. He was so much fun to talk to, our time always flew by. We passed Alice in the hallway as I walked him to the reception area, and for the first time, my cute as a button friend grew some balls and spoke. "Hi, Jasper," she said quietly, smiling an adorably shy smile.
"Hi there," he replied, sounding shocked. To my amusement and delight, he stopped dead in front of me as Alice passed, and watched her walk away. I couldn't wait to tell her.
After saying goodbye to Jasper and cleaning my room for my next client, I checked my schedule. I had someone named Edward Cullen for a 60 minute deep tissue massage. Shutting my door, I stretched my neck and then my hands. I had only been massaging for six years, but I was already feeling the effects in my wrists and back.
Giana knocked quietly on my door before walking in. "Your next one is here," she said quietly, handing me his intake form before walking back to the front desk. Looking over his form, I learned that he was twenty-nine years old and suffered from a lot of stress. As an architect, I imagined he spent a good bit of time on his computer, so I made a note to ask about shoulder and neck pain.
Taking a moment to center myself, I took a deep breath before walking into the quiet waiting area. "Mr. Cullen?" I called, looking down at his form. When I looked back up, I felt my breath hitch embarrassingly. He was pretty much beautiful, and that was saying something when I had just massaged Jasper. He was nearly a foot taller than me and had such a good body. He was lean and muscular and his jawline was the stuff my naughty dreams were made of. I cleared my throat and looked back down at his form. "Follow me, please."
Throughout the entire intake process, I avoided his super green eyes. I pretended to write on his form to have something to do with my nervous hands. After telling him to undress and slide under the sheet and blanket, I slipped quickly from the room and hightailed it to the front desk. I desperately looked on the schedule to see if anyone else was available to take his appointment. Of course, as luck had it, no one was. For the first time in my career, I was nervous about a massage. I had always prided myself on my professionalism and now I had to massage someone who made me feel very... inappropriate.
I actually had the fleeting thought that maybe happy endings weren't THAT big a deal, before mentally slapping myself. In the restroom, I splashed my flushed cheeks with water and gave myself a pep talk. "You can do this. You do NOT want to hump your client. That's disgusting. Don't be a cliché! Just get in there and pretend he's old and fat." With a deep, cleansing breath, I walked down the hall to my room.
I knocked quietly, listening carefully for his reply. "Come in," he called and I opened the door. As soon as I saw what waited for me on my table, I wanted to turn and walk out. The sheet was draped low on his hips and his chest and stomach were toned and more muscular than I imagined.
"Old and fat.. Old and fat," I thought to myself as I rolled my stool to the head of the table. Thankfully, he was a quiet client. There was no way I could have followed a conversation with him as I was too busy fighting the urge to molest him. His skin was smooth and his muscles were firm and he was so, so warm. His neck and shoulders were so tight, though, and I was able to focus on relieving his tension and working out all the knots I found. By the time I finished the massage, I was much calmer and felt pretty sure I was ovulating. I had to blame those overactive hormones on something!
When I brought his water into the room, he was propped up on his elbows and rubbing his hand across his face. "How do you feel?" I asked him quietly as I passed him the bottle of water.
"Oh my god, so good," he answered in a rough, sleepy voice. He turned his eyes to mine and I was stunned stupid once again.
"Okay, I'm glad," I squeaked. "Do you remember how to get out to the lobby?" I sagged with relief when he nodded that he did. "Okay, you can relax for a few minutes and then make your way out to the front, okay? I'll see you next time." There was no way I could walk him out: I could barely look at him.
Several minutes later, after I'd downed a bottle of water and eaten some string cheese, I was prepping my room for my next client when Giana walked in, smiling. "Edward gave me this for you," she said, passing me a hefty tip. "Also, he booked out for the year."
I swallowed hard before asking her, "How often will he be coming in?"
"Every two weeks," she answered, happily. "He's such a cutie, huh?" she sighed. "Well, your next one's here. She's filling out her paperwork."
I nodded dumbly, lost in my head. I was going to have to get control and I only had two weeks to get it together.