Author's Note: This story evolved from an alternate version of the striptease scene in my work "Mom's Buttons" and features a similar ecdysiast theme.
All characters are above the age of 18 unless otherwise specified.
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I sat in the waiting room of the massage parlor. I felt kind of stupid being there. There were two other people there, both women, one about ten years older than me, and the other about my age.
Getting a massage was certainly not my idea of a relaxing Sunday. Sitting at home watching basketball or drinking a beer on the back porch was.
But alas, I seemed incapable of ever not complying with something my wife wanted. I had been dealing with soreness in my shoulders and legs (only because she made me rearrange the living room furniture by myself, mind you). I would have been perfectly content lying on the couch and giving myself some rest, but apparently what I need was a massage.
My wife got them every other week. Which was fine for her; if she liked massages, she could have them however many times she wanted. But it's not something I ever wanted to do.
Granted, I had never actually had a massage before, so I really couldn't say if I didn't like them. But I had still made sure that I wasn't seen by anybody I knew on my way here.
I took a deep breath and tried to have an open mind. If I was going in with a bad attitude, I knew I wouldn't like it. In all my 42 years of life, that had never changed. If I decided I didn't want to like something, nothing would change my mind.
Maybe my wife was onto something. Maybe it would be great for me. I didn't think it would, but I would indulge her this one time at least. I figured that at least if I absolutely hated it, I wouldn't have to do it again.
I checked my watch again. My appointment had been set for fifteen minutes ago. They were running a little behind schedule. I was supposed to stop at the grocery store on the way home to pick up some things for dinner, and I didn't want to be late back home.
I sighed and kept waiting. Ten more minutes passed by. My foot inadvertently tapped on the tile floor, drawing a side-long glance from one of the other ladies. I noticed and tried to stop my restless foot.
Finally, the receptionist spoke out, breaking the silence otherwise permeated only by the pop music lightly playing on the speakers.
"Ken?" she asked, standing from her desk and looking at me.
"Yep," I said, standing up from my chair. Another sidelong glance from one of the other women waiting as she eyed my clothes up and down. She didn't seem like a bitch at all.
"Your masseuse is ready to see you," the receptionist said.
"About damn time," I thought, still ticked off at the wait. "Thanks," is what came out of my mouth though.
I wondered if I was too polite. My wife always complained when she was inconvenienced. No matter how many times I got embarrassed at restaurants, it still worked, and my wallet appreciated it.
Maybe I needed to be more like that. But I knew I would never be able to be like that.
I followed behind the receptionist as she escorted me to one of the rooms in the parlor. She opened the door and I stepped inside.
The room looked pretty much like what I expected. There was, predictably, a massage table in the middle and then a counter lined with towels and what appeared to be oils.
"Your masseuse will be right in," the receptionist said, before closing the door most of the way behind her and whisking herself back to her desk.
My eyes scanned the room again. I guess it was a bit bigger than I imagined. There were small windows near top of the walls, letting in plenty of natural light.
Before I had the time to complete a full architectural assessment of the room, the door opened behind me.
In walked a young girl, probably the same age as the receptionist. I was surprised; my wife had scheduled my appointment with one of the male masseurs.
"Hi, I'm super sorry about the wait. I'm Aaliyah!" she said in a very chipper and upbeat voice. She extended her hand out.
"Ken," I answered in kind, shaking her hand.
Aaliyah couldn't have been much older than 25. She had light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, framing her beautiful face. She didn't have a lot of makeup on, but her soft, sweet features shined regardless. Her skin was a beautiful tanned color, and just the slightest hint of sun-kissed freckles adorned her cheeks.
She stood only a little bit shorter than my 5'10" frame, at least five or six inches taller than my tiny wife. She had on a short-sleeve white blouse, with loose black slacks. From what I could tell, she was fit, but certainly not bone-thin, just the perfect build for me.
"Well it's lovely to meet you! I will be your masseuse today."
It suddenly occurred to me that the receptionist had said "masseuse" too, and not "masseur." I don't know how I didn't pick up on that.
"Nice to meet you, but I thought I was supposed to be with a guy, Jonathan maybe?"
"Yep," Aaliyah said, "it looks like you were, but he actually called in sick today. That's why we're running a little behind schedule, since the rest of us are filling in for him."
"Um, okay," I said. I guess it didn't really matter.
"Great, so you're scheduled for a full-body massage, correct?"
"Probably," I answered. "My wife made the appointment for me, so..."
"Well that's sweet of her! Anniversary gift or anything like that?"
"Nope, nothing like that."
"Oh, well, that's even better, sort of spontaneous!" Aaliyah laughed, kind of high-pitched but somehow very infectious. I chuckled as well.
"Yeah, well, she's amazing," I said.
"Relationship goals, am I right?"
"Um, sure," I responded.
"Okay, well anyway, it looks like you're getting the whole nine yards today, so I'm going to ask you to get undressed and lie face-down on the table. You can use a towel to cover your behind if you like."
"Can I keep my underwear on?" I asked.
"You can if you want to; it's totally up to you. Only thing I'd say is that the oils can kind of get everywhere and might stain them, but as I said, it's your choice."
"Um, alright," I said. I fished my phone and wallet out of my pocket and set them down on the counter.
"I'm just going to step out for a minute and let you do that. I'll knock and just let me know, alrighty?"