Peter contacted a massage therapist, Jonathan to come to their house to give his wife, Gabriel, a massage. It was his Valentine's Day gift to her.
She had a stressful job fielding complaints from employees who had technical issues. She sat for hours at a time wearing a headset and looking at a computer screen. Painful knots formed between shoulder blades. A good massage had helped in the past.
The massage therapist emailed Peter saying he wanted to speak on the phone before scheduling the appointment with his wife.
Peter called. He asked about Jonathan's experience. Jonathan said he'd been a massage therapist for 4 years and before that he was a personal trainer at the Go-Fit gym downtown. They discussed price, his availability for outcall massages and the extra cost Peter would have to pay if he paid by credit card, which he would. This upset Peter but he agreed to it. Then Jonathan went through a list of screening questions that seemed more medical than necessary which Peter answered for his wife. After completing the list Jonathan asked Peter if his wife would enjoy a sensuous massage.
"I guess you'd have to ask her," Peter said.
Jonathan was used to making this offer to husband who purchased a massage for their wife as a gift.
He explained to Peter that he had learned how to do a sensuous massage when he traveled to India four years ago after completing a comparative religion course at John Carroll University. In northern India, he'd stayed with a small group of men and women trained in massage and other healing arts at a commune called Airafete. They taught him the ancient Vedic practice of tantric massage. which he now called a "sensuous massage."
"Do you know what a sensuous massage is?" Jonathan asked. He didn't wait for Peter's answer.
"I often suggest this to husbands who buy a massage for their wives. Many husbands have found their wives surprisingly open to the idea. Why don't you tell her you've set up a sensuous massage for her and see how she responds. If she's against it just call me and let me know. I'll do a regular massage of course."
"But what's a sensuous massage? It sounds illegal."
"No no," Jonathan said in a serious, official tone. "Tell her it's a combination of light sensuous strokes combined with firm muscle work. It's sensuous and it may be erotic but it's not sexual, there's no sexual touching."
"I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of another man sensuously touching my wife."
"Most men are at first, but your wife will enjoy it and it's not sexual."
Peter told his wife about Jonathan and about the sensuous massage he suggested and she said no. She wanted nothing to do with that.
"I don't want to have to worry about another man feeling me up when I'm wanting to relax and de-stress."
Peter called Jonathan and explained what his wife had said.
Jonathan seemed to understand and said he'd be happy to keep their appointment and give his wife a regular massage (He'd be coming to their house.)
Peter agreed but before they hung up Jonathan offered Peter a free sensuous massage for himself. "I'll show you that it's pleasant and non-sexual. He had an opening Saturday morning.
Peter hesitated, and then, while not sure why, because it was clear his wife wanted nothing to do with this kind of massage, he agreed to the free massage with Jonathan. He was uncomfortable but he went on Saturday morning and the massage Jonathan gave him was very pleasant. His worry about being touched by Jonathan quickly disappeared as Jonathan's strong fingers worked out the tension in his neck and shoulders.
Peter came home and explained to his wife just how good it was and said that he thought she should reconsider that she'd probably enjoy it. There was nothing to worry about.
His wife nodded without showing much interest one way or another.
But she had questions. She wanted more details about the sensuous massage her husband had just received. She was blunt and seemed to have assumptions.
"Did he touch your penis?" She asked.
Peter said "No," with a wire if defensiveness in his voice. "I told you it wouldn't be like that and it wasn't like that."
"Did it turn you on?"
"No."
"You can tell me if it did. Did you get hard when he touched you... sensuously?" She asked with some sarcasm putting the word 'sensuously' in quotes with her fingers.
Peter wondered at her irritation thinking she might be jealous as if he were telling her about a woman who put her hand on his thigh while sitting together at a business lunch.
"No, not at all. It was relaxing." He responded keeping his voice even.
Peter wasn't telling the truth. Maybe he'd just forgotten or maybe he'd pushed away the reality which was that he had had a reaction to Jonathan's touch. Nothing had happened but his penis had thickened considerably when Jonathan ran his fingertips over the inside of his thighs.
Now his wife seemed on to him and lingered on the topic, not letting go. She asked again if it was sexual or if he felt sexual and asked where Jonathan had touched Peter. Peter said no again and no again and told Gabrielle that he'd touch him in all the normal places. She asked Peter if he thought Jonathan was turned on.
"No, No." Peter sighed. He wondered why Gabrielle was asking all these questions. Then he remembered that years ago his wife had asked if he'd ever "done it," with another man. She'd asked after they'd watched a movie where two men fall in love with one another but had to hide their love because they lived in a small rural town in the western part of the United States. There was that scene of the two men having anal intercourse against a tree in a valley of mountains. At that time, Peter told his wife no, that he'd never done it with another man. But again he wasn't being truthful. He had done it with another man in college when he had gotten drunk at the student union and woke up with another man's hard penis between the cheeks of his bottom. They'd become friends and secretly got together two more times before the semester ended. His friend didn't return to college the next semester and they lost touch. Peter never "did it" again with another man.
Peter remembered now that Gabrielle had explained at that time, that sometimes when she wanted to satisfy herself she fantasized about watching two men together. "Just like lots of guys fantasize about seeing two women have sex. I get turned on by the thought of seeing two men together."
Peter was unsure why he'd never told his wife the truth of his relationship with another man in college. He thought that maybe it was because that was not who he wanted to be to his wife. Anyway, it was behind him now.
Jonathan came to the house a week later for Gabrielle's massage. It was a snowy day and she was stuck downtown in traffic and didn't know when she'd be home. "Why don't you just have Jonathan give you another massage and l'll get my massage another time."
Jonathan had told Peter he couldn't wait long as his home was an hour away and the weather reports were saying lots of snow was on the way. He only had an hour.
Jonathan set up his massage table in their living room where the lighting was low and the house was well heated. As Jonathan started the massage they could sometimes hear the whistle of the wind blowing the snow.
"The storm must be getting bad."
Jonathan said.
"I should light a fire. It will only take a few seconds," Peter said. The fireplace had real logs but was gas lit.
Naked, Peter slipped off the massage table, squatted by the fireplace, turned on the gas and using a long lighter, lit the steel burner which ignited with a big whoosh.
He laid back down and Jonathan arranged his covering the way he'd had it before Peter stood.
The fire warmed the room even more such that Peter's neck became damp with sweat. In the middle of the massage as Peter was face down and Jonathan massaged the backs of his legs and his bottom alternating between deep and light sensuous strokes, Gabrielle arrived home.
She came in through the garage bundled up in her winter coat, and stamping the snow from her boots noisily before unzipping and removing them.
When she came into the living room Peter looked up and saw his wife grinning, her cheeks were red, flushed it looked like. A few flakes of snow speckled her turtleneck collar.
"You must be Jonathan," she said, extending her hand, warming with an avarice that seemed to possess her and fill the room. Both men felt her presence.
