Disclaimer: The characters of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Challenge: 100_Prompts challenge – Prompt 021. Massage and Prompt 041. Watermelon (originally this story was in 2 parts - one for each prompt)
Prompt 21. Massage
Prompt 41. Watermelon
A Day At The Spa
By TT
Stephanie leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh of relief.
The past few months had been absolutely hectic. First there was the normal chaos of her life – skips, family, etc. For some reason, everyone seemed to want to skip the past few months. While her bank account was happy, Stephanie had begun to wear down pretty quickly. It was getting harder for her to feel rested and convince herself to get up and chase skips each day.
While that was going on, her mother’s nagging had increased tenfold. Despite the fact her mother wasn’t complaining or nagging her didn’t matter. She still had to hear as her mom lit into Grandma Mazur, who had been causing chaos at a high level recently.
Added into that mix was Joe, who had finally had enough of her shenanigans and forced her to sit down and have a serious relationship discussion with him. They had actually talked clamly and figured out that, while what they had made for fun dating and being together, they were headed in opposite directions when it came to relationships and life. They were just too far apart in their goals and expectations for anything long-term to work.
They had broken up eight weeks ago and just recently had been able to meet each other without the hurt that came from the end of their romantic involvement. It boded well for a future friendship.
Of course, the fact that just as Stephanie had broken up with Joe and needed a shoulder to cry on Ranger had disappeared into the wind hadn’t helped her much either. She figured she shouldn’t be surprised, though. He rarely stuck around when she was single.
Normally she didn’t think too much about it, but, attempting to use her newfound adult ability to see her relationships clearly, she figured it meant that he really wasn’t interested. Obviously the kissing and pressure had been nothing more than a game to him. She could only have wished that he had bothered to fill her in on the rules before they started to play.
Still, she had gotten through the heartbreak of letting go of Joe and the dreams that she’d had of “them” for so many years. She’d caught all her skips and only had to rely on the Merry Men twice with some of the more dangerous ones. For the most part she had brought them in alone or with Lula’s help.
The thought of her friend brought a smile to her lips. When Lula expressed an interest in becoming more serious about catching her own skips, Stephanie had thought back to her first months as a Bounty Hunter and what she had done to prepare herself.
The two women had started going to Sunny’s gun range three times a week. They’d also taken the beginning and intermediate self-defense classes at the YMCA. Stephanie had been surprised by how much she had forgotten over the years.
That training, combined with running at least four times a week, had done them both good.
Stephanie could still remember the proud smile that lit her face when Lula had quickly and efficiently taken down one of her skips while they had been out at a local club. Tank had expressed admiration and asked if she had been training. Lula had blushed enough that even in the low lighting Stephanie had been able to tell. In truth, Stephanie had been surprised to discover Tank knew nothing about their training together, but was touched and honored that Lula had such faith in her.
That revelation had happened two weeks ago.
Last week there had finally been a break in the skip-wave that had flooded her life.
She’d managed to find time to go to lunch with Mary Lou who had two free passes for a weekend at her cousin’s spa.
Though Stephanie had originally been reluctant to go, Mary Lou had talked her into it. A little time to be pampered sounded good. Some time away might help her figure out what she wanted to do with her life and how to proceed.
Now, here she was at the spa.
It was nestled in the hills of Virginia. It was only a three hour drive from Trenton, but felt worlds away.
She and Mary Lou were sharing a suite of rooms that looked out over the mountains. There was no television, no loud music, just peace and quite.
Though she held long-harbored doubts about the country and nature in general, the city girl in Stephanie was amazed by the peace she felt.
Check-in had been at ten that morning.
When they arrived in their room, Mary Lou had told Stephanie she had allowed her cousin to choose their itinerary. Looking it over, today looked like it contained a day of beauty and relaxing. Tomorrow would include a little exercise, but nothing that sounded too horrible as well as some more relaxing and their final day would include a little exercise in the morning followed by a bit more time in the spa before checkout.
Stephanie was starting her stay with a manicure and pedicure. While she’d had manicures before, the pedicure was something new and she was fairly certain she was now thoroughly addicted to them despite the fact hers wasn’t done yet.
As her stress melted away, so did her turbulent thoughts. Even when Abby, the lady giving her the manicure and pedicure, started in on her feet with the pumice stone, she wasn’t disturbed.
Letting the tension flow out of her, Stephanie soon fell asleep.
It was three hours later that she found herself standing outside one of the rooms used for massage. She had an hour-long full-body massage scheduled and then a half-hour to go back to her room and rest before dinner.
“Now,” Marites, Mary-Lou’s cousin began, “I’ve scheduled you for an hour with our newer masseur. I promise he’s fabulous.”
“He?” Stephanie asked, feeling a little tension seep back into her shoulders as her face began heating up. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be seen by a ‘he’.
“Don’t worry,” Marites assured. “He’s very professional and will leave the sheet covering you if it will make you more comfortable. And if you’re worried about him looking, well, let’s just say Carlos and Richard are two who prove the saying that all gay men are gorgeous,” she finished with a regretful sigh.
Feeling a bit more relaxed at finding out she could keep the sheet over her at all times and that her masseur wouldn’t be interested anyway, she asked, “Do they both do massages?”
“No,” Marites replied. “Richard is a lifeguard at the pool and will fill in teaching some of the classes as well.”
“Oh,” Stephanie replied. Then, shifting on her feet she asked, “What should I do once I go in?”
“You’ll need to take off all your clothes and then lay on the massage bed on your back. You can cover up with the sheet or not, whichever makes you more comfortable. I’ll send Carlos in to you in a few minutes,” she informed, opening the door to let Stephanie into the room.
Stepping inside, Stephanie looked around the room. The lights were low, but cast enough light to see by. There was gentle music playing in the background, not loud enough to be disturbing, but loud enough to be relaxing. To the side was a cart with all sorts of bottles on it. Stepping closer, she found that they were all sorts of massage oils and lotions.
Not knowing how long she would have before Carlos arrived, she looked around until she spotted the hanger on the back of the door for her clothes. Stripping down, she hung her clothes on the hanger and moved to the massage bed. Settling onto the bed on her back, she grabbed the sheet sitting at the bottom of the bed and pulled it up to her chin.
She wasn’t all that self-conscious about her body, she couldn’t be given some of the distraction outfits she wore, but being completely naked left her feeling vulnerable, especially when facing an unknown man.
As she closed her eyes and tried to relax, a part of her couldn’t help wishing that it was another Carlos, one with the surname Manoso, that would be giving her a massage today.
When the door to the room opened, Stephanie opened her eyes. Her breath caught as she saw him outlined in the light from outside. For a few minutes, she thought she had fallen asleep and that her imagination had taken over.
After the door shut, however, she was able to see his face and knew there was no mistake. The Carlos who was her masseur, was Ranger.
She watched thoughts and emotions flash through his eyes before he stepped further into the room, stopping at her side. “Ra…” she got out before he pressed a finger to her lips.
“Not here. Not now,” he whispered, leaning down close to her ear so she could hear him.
Straightening, he shot a glance toward the speaker in the ceiling. Stephanie figured that meant someone was listening in to everything that happened in the room. A part of her hoped it was the Spa doing so, as a precaution to protect the clients and the masseurs from any false accusations. But something in Ranger’s face told her it wasn’t anything so simple.
“Have you ever had a body massage before?” Ranger asked, his accent different than any she’d heard before.
“No,” Stephanie replied honestly.
“Well you just relax and let me take care of everything,” he soothed. “Do you want to leave the sheet on or off?” he asked.
Stephanie had been watching his eyes and had seen them darken when he suggested removing the sheet. As much as her hormones desired that response, she thought back to the things he had said and the realizations she had found. That there was heat and passion between them was not in question, but she had finally admitted to herself that she didn’t just love him, but she was in love with him. The second part of that realization proved to be why she couldn’t begin anything with him. She loved him enough that nothing between them would be casual on her side, even if it was on his.
Focusing back on Ranger, she saw what she thought was disappointment in his eyes before it was quickly replaced with nothing. “I think this time I’ll leave the sheet on,” she replied.
“As you wish,” he responded. Then, slipping entirely into his role, he began asking her about allergies, injuries, etc and asked if she wanted to choose a scent before he began.
He smiled slightly as she refused to choose a scent stating, “I trust you.”
Choosing a specific oil, Ranger told Stephanie to relax and let him do his job.
Though it wasn’t exactly easy to comply, Stephanie closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, willing herself to be calm.
She startled slightly when Ranger’s hands first touched her, but soon found herself floating along in a relaxed haze, occasionally moving an arm or leg or turning over so he could work on her back.
He kept things very professional, ensuring her body was covered at all times. The only time he moved the sheet was to work on her legs and even then he only exposed one leg at a time, ensuring her modesty was preserved.
Eventually, he stepped quietly away from the massage bed.
Stephanie noted the loss of his hands in some distant part of her mind, but was too happy floating in her relaxed haze to do more than pout a little bit.
Ranger smiled down at her. “You’re time is up,” he informed, his voice soft. “Lay there for a few more minutes before you try to get up and dressed. Someone will knock on the door in fifteen minutes if you haven’t left before then.”
“Hmm,” was the only answer Stephanie could give. Actually moving her mouth to speak was just too much effort.
She heard the door open and close and took a deep breath before letting it out. Her muscles felt like rubber. It was her first full body massage ever, but if this is how it made her feel, she’d have to see if she could talk Ranger into becoming her personal masseur.
Something about that thought drew her away from her relaxed haze.
Ranger.
What was he doing here at Marites’ spa? Why was he pretending to be a homosexual masseur and who exactly was this Richard person?
Glancing up at the speaker, she remembered his hint that this wasn’t a safe place to talk. Hopefully she would be able to find someplace else to have a discussion. She knew enough to play along and pretend that she didn’t know him, but she couldn’t help her curiosity.
Of course, seeing him here, she began to wonder what type of “missions” he really had when he was in the wind? She’d always thought he was in third world jungles, but seeing him here, she began to wonder.
Knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere asking herself questions, Stephanie slowly sat up, resting at the side of the bed until she felt able to stand. A smile flashed across her face as she realized she had another full-body massage scheduled for tomorrow and one more for the day after. Even if she couldn’t have him, having Ranger’s hands on her was a definite happy thought.
Quickly dressing, she stepped out of the room and into the hall.
She would head back to her room to change for dinner. But, at some point, she would find Ranger and demand some answers.