The Older Man and the Spa

She didn't even mean to say it out loud, but in the midst of a girls night involving more than a few cocktails and more than a few sordid stories, Harper blurted out "Oh my god could I go for a good older man with some experienced hands!" There was outrageous laughter and "OH MY GOD HARPER!" exclamations among her late 20-something friends.

"What?! I mean, experienced hands and all," Harper laughed.

"Among other things," winked Becca, as glasses clinked together and the conversation flowed on into the wee hours of a random Tuesday night. Of the group, a few were married, a few had significant others. Harper seemed a little in-between. At 28, she had recently been more on the outs with her ex, but they occasionally managed to get back together. She was a happy, petite girl, about 5'4", slender yet athletic, with lovely 34 B-cups on her chest. Her brunette hair had some curls and she wore it down to her shoulders. She also was a little more wicked in her erotic desires than she ever let on to even her closest friends.

But sometimes, those friends are pretty perceptive.

Harper worked in a media agency, and spent two days each week working from home. The hours were fairly flexible. On Friday morning she took her laptop and met up with another one of the girls from that night, Cassandra. Cassie, as she was called, was a slender, fit, tall 32-year old dirty blonde-haired beauty with a lovely former college athlete husband and a 2-year-old at home. An interior decorator by trade, and a successful one at that, she always seemed to be the most mature of the group, yet with a bawdy sense of humor. They were working quietly at a coffee shop that morning, chattering between email checks and coffee sipping. That's when one of Cassie's perfectly manicured hands slid a little business card over to the side of Harper's Mac book Air.

"I thought this might help you with what you mentioned the other night," Cassie purred as her hand left the cream white business card, face down on the table. Harper was a little puzzled, and raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"The older man with experienced hands," Cassie replied with a Cheshire grin on her red lips.

"Oh my god that was a joke," Harper giggled, hoping Cassie would buy it. She smiled, and took a sip of her mocha latte. She tilted her head in a "Just what are you up to" look at Cassie, who merely smiled while her head turned back to her laptop screen.

Harper's own self-manicured hand with the maroon glaze on her nails gently slid the card off the table and brought it up in front of her face. She took a quick glance around, to see if anyone was looking. Cassie chuckled.

In raised maroon lettering of a modern font, it read

ESCAPE SPA

Sensual Services to Set Your Mind and Body Free

LEWIS S, PROPRIETOR

There was a phone number. Nothing else on the card.

Harper gave a slight confused frown, and cocked her head at Cassie. "What is this?"

"Exactly what you said you needed. Maybe a little more," A twinkle in Cassie's eye. "Just..trust me. Call him. Tell him I recommended you. And tell him what you..REALLY..need." On the "REALLY," Cassie locked eyes with Harper.

A million thoughts ran through Harper's head, and she started to stammer out a few quiet questions under the soft music of the coffee shop. But Cassie wouldn't address them.

"Nope, you know everything you need to know. Trust me." Then Cassie's hand covered Harper's and gave it a squeeze. "Trust me."

A few more attempts to get more info from Cassie got nowhere, and so while Cassie focused on replying to some inquiries, Harper struggled to focus. She also felt her athletic legs pressing together a bit at the confounding mystery. Soon enough Cassie had to leave to make some calls from her own home office, leaving Harper to flick her thumb at the business card for a bit before she shook her lovely head and gathered up her things. It was a short trip back to her small but updated home, and she kept playing with the card with one hand as she drove.

Once she got home, she went to her front office that overlooked her small front porch and the tidy tree-lined street she lived on. There were a few young families and a few older couples on the street, a nice mix, and while the little township she lived in had its own small downtown with all the shops and services she might need, it was also only a 20-minute trip to the larger downtown. She docked her Mac Book while smiling out at the street to no one in particular, and then settled into her comfy office chair and tried to do a google search of "escape spa" and "Escape Spa Lewis" and even the phone number, but couldn't find anything to give her any information.

She tapped the thick business card on her desk top - a large antique desk she found at an estate sale and had to get her ex to help move - then she threw it down and tried to do some other things. Which she failed at for the next hour.

She left her home office to get some lunch from her refrigerator, even went to sit out on her lovely little back deck while eating to try to get her mind off of it. It was there, that she started thinking that if it was some sort of erotic massage, she really could use it. And truthfully, she knew that while she had always been attracted to older men but always dated close to her age, the tug for an older man was getting stronger.

"Maybe I should just call," she said aloud to no one. The thought tugged at Harper for the better part of an hour before she went back to her home office and grabbed her cell and punched in the number. With the business card in one hand, thumb flicking the top left corner edge, the other hand held her cell with her thumb poised above the SEND button. She bit her bottom lip, and flicked her tongue across her lips. Harper nervously looked between her phone and the business card. "What the fuck am I doing?" she asked herself. But she did think of Cassie, and if Cassie was doing this, and recommended it...why can't I? She tapped the business card on her desk top, and her thumb of her other hand hit SEND.

Harper could feel her heart beat in her chest as she stared at the card. The number range once...twice...a third time. She was starting to get a sense of relief when a voice, deep yet soft, answered.

"Escape Spa, this is Lewis. How can I help you?"

Harper almost hung up. Her eyes went wide when someone answered. She nervously stammered "H-h-hello?"

There was a pause and a soft chuckle. "Hi. This is Lewis at Escape Spa. You called me," and another soft chuckle.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Hi. Umm..." and Harper took a breath. "A friend of mine gave me your, uh, business card, and she uh recommended that I give you a call."

"Would you mind telling me her name?"

Harper gave Cassie's full name and she could hear the typing softly in the background. "Ah yes. Are you...Harper?"

Her mind raced. Holy fuck how does he know my name? What the hell?

"Y-yes...this is Harper..how did you..."

She was cut off by his voice, soothing her. "It's okay. I work by referral, but with the nature of my business those referrals are....discreet. So, when someone wants to pass along my card, I ask them for the name of the person they wish to pass it along to. How can I help you?"

Harper's blue eyes blinked several times, and she finally put the business card down flat on her desk. She sighed and switched hands with her phone. "Well, I guess I don't know? Cassie didn't real say much...just said that you might be what I needed and to use her as a reference."

"Cassandra has been a client of mine for a few years now."

That answer shocked Harper for some reason. "What can you tell me about your spa," she finally managed to say, forcing herself to take a deep breath to get her nerves under control and pay attention.

"Well it's in a dedicated separate building at my home. I'm about 45 minutes outside the city on a large private piece of land. The whole point is to allow you to come in here and let everything else go."

Harper nervously bit at her lip again. "Your card says something about sensual services...."

Another chuckle on the other end of the phone. "You are aware that Cassie is a fun, erotic woman, I assume. Otherwise she likely wouldn't have passed on my card to you."

Harper nodded to herself. "Mmmhmm."

"So yes, this massage does incorporate eroticism and, frankly, sexuality into it. But ultimately it's your body and your mind that determines what that means."

"How..what do you mean?"

"Did Cassie give you any recommendations on what to do if you called or made an appointment?"

Harper thought a moment, giving a little flip of her hair as she leaned back in her chair. "She said..OH! She said to tell you exactly what I need."

"Perfect," Lewis said happily into her ear. "One of the problems with sex and sensuality is we are afraid to communicate with each other. My practice is built on you actually letting go and, even as things go, being honest with what you really need."

Some really good long-lasting sex, Harper thought to herself and almost giggled. "But this is a spa, like massage services?"

"Yes, that's how we begin."

There was a pause that Lewis let linger, knowing that the woman on the other end of the phone was pondering. In hid mid-fifties, lean and fit, with hazel eyes and greying formerly brown hair, he merely waited.

Harper meanwhile was pondering the idea of an open touch erotic massage. Another silent lip bite.

"Are you still there, Harper?"

"Oh my gosh, yes," a nervous giggle. "How..how much does a massage cost?"

"Harper my rates are all-inclusive, and in two-hour blocks normally, But I generally only take 1 or 2 appointments on any given day. Your first appointment, should you like to make one, has been paid for already by Cassandra."

"Wait..what? She didn't tell me that!"

"She told me she thought this might make it easy for you to indulge in yourself a bit. Those were her exact words."

"Did...did she tell you anything else?"

"Well, as a matter of fact she did." On his laptop display where the comments Cassie had given him about Harper after her appointment Thursday afternoon. "She said you made an off-handed comment while out with friends that felt more honest than it probably should have been, and Cassie determined that gifting you an experience like hers, but tailored to you, might help you on your way."

An experience like hers..I wonder what that means, Harper pondered to herself.

"If you'd like to make an appointment, we can sit and talk and if you don't wish to move forward, there won't be any charge. But from what I gather, Cassandra thinks very highly of you and thinks you would benefit from this experience."

Harper found herself nodding. "Well...when are you available?"

"I've actually had a Saturday afternoon appointment cancel, and it was my only one for that day. So does tomorrow work for you at all?"

Harper felt nervous, and also more than a little stimulated at the thought. "Uh...let me think...no, I mean yes, I don't have anything really locked in tomorrow so I guess that can work. You said you're about 45 minutes outside of down?"

"Yes, just a bit past the airport actually."

"Oh, okay. Umm..would 2 PM work?"

Lewis locked her in and provided her an address and simple directions. No sooner had they confirmed and hung up, Harper was googling the address. When she opened up the map to look, she was mildly surprised. It looked like a large well-maintained modern home, that had almost an annex on one side matching but slightly slammer than the main home. It appeared to be a large lot, with no neighbors nearby and lots of trees on the property. A lengthy driveway led up to the structure, with plenty of parking. Affluent, or certainly doing well, Harper smiled to herself.

"I made an appointment," Harper thumb-typed out to Cassie and hit send on her iPhone. "Thank you."

The three dots quickly popped up letting her know Cassie was replying. "This makes my day! I'm glad. Now look, this is all I'm going to tell you, and it's important. Let your guard down. Tell him what you want and need. Dare yourself to be brave and bold, and then you will get the experience you want."

Harper stared at that message a long moment, biting her bottom lip again. After several moments she responded with "I will."

Harper found herself quite distracted the rest of the day, but the extra glass of wine helped her sleep. Her morning weekend routine was to work out, and do some yoga, and she did all that before having a healthy breakfast with one very large cup of coffee from her French press. She ran errands in the morning and grabbed a light salad before coming home and getting ready for her appointment. After showering, she caught herself overthinking about her attire and shook herself out of it and went for comfy and casual. She selected black yoga pants with a black thong underneath, a white ribbed tank with a chunky cream-colored sweater over it, and no bra. She pursed her lips wondering about the lack of a bra but figured out she'd be fine. It was a massage after all and she'd be coming right back home. Some white sneakers completed the outfit. She left herself about an hour to get there.

She normally thought of driving as just getting from point A to point B, but today heading to a new place for a new experience, she kept her music down low and, with one leg curled up under her on the driver's seat, she kept looking around, noticing the buildings and the scenery for the entire trip. She was using her yoga breaths to just stay in the moment lest she get nervous. She actually did arrive about 15 minutes early, and decided that was a little too early, and drove a little bit further before turning back to arrive only about 5 minutes early. As she drove up the lengthy driveway she realized just how private the grounds were.

Makes sense for such a business to be able to be discreet I guess

, she thought to herself.

The house was modern and gorgeous - grey stone and navy board and batten with large windows on the main house, with the "annex," as she called it, a smaller version to the right. And it was out of the heavy oak door of the annex a lean older man appeared, smiling softly. He was in navy scrubs and ASICS running shoes, His hair was flecked with grey and brown. He stood a few steps in front of the door as Harper nervously checked herself in the rear-view mirror then popped out.

"Any trouble finding me?," he said as his eyes roamed over her slowly.

"No," Harper smiled and tried to be as brave as she could and walked toward him. "I actually enjoyed the ride and got here a bit early and drove around before coming back. I've never been out here before. It's really quite nice."

As she approached him, he held out his hand "Harper, I'm Lewis. I'm happy you decided to make the trip. To be honest, I wasn't sure you would."

She took his hand - feeling it warm and very smooth in hers - and shook it professionally. "Well, I mean, I am a bit nervous but I promised Cassie that I'd make the appointment." Her smile felt genuine to him as he opened the large door and held it for her to enter, admiring her perky yoga pants-clad ass as she walked in.

Lewis directed her to the right when she entered into a very open foyer. She was immediately struck by how it felt like a high-end spa. A warm, welcome space, a modern standing coat rack, a mirror and flowers. She wondered if Lewis might be gay, with a little chuckle to herself. She turned to the right and entered into a lovely sitting room, with two oxblood leather sofas in an L shape around a white oak square coffee table. Another side of the coffee table was open to a large electric fireplace, showing flames but throwing no heat on the warm afternoon. On either side of the fireplace large windows let in plenty of light. And a matching leather chair completed the square. On the coffee table was a tray with a pitcher of water with freshly cut lemon and lime slices in it, two glasses, and a tea kettle with steam flowing out of the top, along with two mugs and a small box she guess would contain an assortment of teas. Harper sat in the corner of one sofa, and Lewis moved to the chair just to her left.

"Wow..this is...gorgeous!" She smiled as she looked around.

"Thank you - it's been a fun labor of love to make this place how I wanted it for my clients," he said as he leaned forward. "Water? Tea? Something else?"

"Umm..I think water for now," Harper replied as she took her first real look at Lewis. He was a bit taller than her, not quite six feet tall. Hazel eyes, a fair complexion, nice smile. Lean muscles on his arms and it appeared under his scrubs. Clearly, he keeps himself in shape. Laugh lines and crows feet on his face, yet it was also youthful. So he was definitely somewhere in his 50s, she guessed, as he poured them water from the pitcher into glasses and handed her one. She took a sip and set it down on the table.

"Harper, I know you are a little...nervous..maybe even confused. So I want you to do something for me. Sit up straight, put your hands on your knees, close your eyes, and take a big inhale.." She did. "Good. Now hold that inhale until I count to three...one...two...three now exhale nice and slow." Similar to her yoga breathing she did this easily, and he had her repeat the exercise four more times, then told her to open her eyes.

Her bright blues sparked a bit, almost with a hint of grey in them, he thought as she smiled. "Harper, what can I answer for you."

She did a little quick tilt of her head to flip her dark hair back from her face. "What is this going to...be?"

Lewis smiled, it was gentle and felt authentic to her. "So the first answer is..whatever you want and need it to be, but I know that doesn't answer your question." She smiled and giggled and nodded. "Harper, this is a full body massage, assuming you are okay with that." He paused, and looked at her as she nodded slowly in agreement. "So it's going to start with you getting undressed and then I'm going to work your body like a normal high end spa massage, but I know that is not what you really want. My understanding from Cassandra is that you want something more erotic. Or need, I think her words were. Is that true?"

"Uhhh" she said nervously and her hands fidgeted.

Lewis stopped her. "Harper. Take another slow breath. I need you to communicate. I need you to be brazenly open with what you need. And yes, that need can change as we go today, but always open and communicative. So I need you to tell me what your body really needs."

He led her through the breathing exercise again. As she was doing it, thoughts rushed into her head. "

What am I doing here?"

"

Why did Cassie do this to me!" "What am I going to tell him?"

until she heard Cassie's reminders in her head to be honest.

When the final exhale came out, Harper opened her eyes and looked down at the glass of water on the table and paused a moment. "I'm...sexually frustrated. My last partner, an ex-boyfriend now, he was good in bed but not...enough. Like he..foreplay wasn't his forte, if you know what I mean." She paused, forcing herself to keep going. "What I blurted out in front of Cassie was that I could go for a good older man with experienced hands. Like my body needs to just be...handled well." Her eyes quickly lifted up to see Lewis, who was listening attentively.

"As in..taken? roughly handled?"

"Umm...maybe elements of that? I guess, more...just in tune with me. But also...pushing me a bit. God I'm not making any sense."

"You are doing fine," Lewis assured her. "But I'll need you to not be afraid to speak up as things go on, too. Can you do that?"