Rae is my oldest and best friend. We've been tight since grade school and have absolutely no secrets between us (including my little interaction with her father during our teen years). We remain incredibly close even though we've been separated over the years by way too many miles, boyfriends, lovers and even husbands. Recently she wrote me a birthday letter that included a gift certificate for a Spa.
"Use it on your next visit to Portland," she wrote. "It's good for a very special treat." She had underlined 'very special,' and knowing Rae as well as I do I immediately suspected there was more to it than met the eye.
"I've gone to this place in the past," she went on, "and it's always been really nice. But last time I went they had a new masseur named Jack and we really hit it off. I've arranged for you to have his "Rose City Bliss" treatment, and I'm certain you'll love it as much as I did."
I wasn't sure just what I'd be getting into, but knowing Rae I knew it could be pretty damn sexy, indeed. She was tight-lipped about any more information, no matter how hard I tried to pry it out of her. "You'll just have to trust me," was all she would say.
So, the first thing on my agenda when I got to Portland was setting up an appointment. I was really looking forward to finding out just what her definition of 'very special' was. On the appointed day I took a taxi to the address she'd sent me. The building was very modern and stood out from the older, more traditional ones in the popular Pearl District, and I was pleased to find it to be just as nice and hip inside as it was out. Everything seemed first-class and I was impressed at how complete their offerings were; a full range of co-ed services and facilities from facials, pedicures, hair cutting and treatments, nails, waxing, (including m/f Brazilians) saunas, steam baths, hot rock treatments, massage, couples get-a-ways, health food and drinks, yoga, and on and on.
The building had two floors, with co-ed facilities on the first floor and separate men's and women's spa areas on the second. Some of the most attractive employees you can imagine were working there and were obviously hired for their looks as well as for their expertise.
"They ain't cheap," Rae had told me, but she also assured me that she'd never heard a bad word about their service or discretion—and judging by the smiles and satisfied-looking faces on everyone I saw—that quickly became obvious.
The attractive woman at the front desk welcomed me warmly, took my gift-card and glanced at it before listing the options that were included with the 'special' package. "Since it's so cold and nasty out," she said, "you might enjoy a nice warming sauna first."
I slipped out of my heavy winter coat, agreeing that I couldn't have thought of a better idea. "Sounds wonderful to me," I responded.
She pressed a button and an attractive young dyke (I should say a young woman whom I suspected was a dyke) quickly appeared and took me to a private changing room with its own shower and locker. She handed me a silky white robe and slippers and showed me a cabinet where I could lock my clothes and purse.
"Have a shower—you've got lots of time," she said. "I'll be back in a few minutes and take you to the sauna." She handed me a huge, fluffy towel and hesitated and seemed disappointed that I didn't start undressing before she walked out. "My name's Holly, by the way."
After she left I quickly stripped and stepped into the shower, pleased to see how clean and sparkling everything was and enjoying the luxurious body wash, shampoo and cream rinse that was supplied. Before I was finished Holly re-appeared without knocking and handed me a towel and pretended to not watch while I quickly dried off. I thought about telling her she should knock in the future but since I thought she was kind of cute and I've never been too bashful with the girls, I didn't say anything. I just slipped into my robe and followed obediently as she led me to the women-only sauna.
"Most clients only wear a towel inside," she said, pointing to a series of hooks where two robes identical to mine hung. There was a showerhead next to the door and she reminded me to cool down every few minutes. "I'll be back when your masseur is ready for you." Again she seemed reluctant to leave and I got the definite feeling she was hoping to see me naked one more time.
This time I just figured 'what the hell, she's already seen me once,' so I shrugged off my robe and hung it up, wrapped the towel around myself and stepped inside the small room.
The light was dim and soft and the odor of hot cedar and faint perfume greeted me. I saw that I was joining two women, one sitting topless and the other laying on the bench with her towel draped casually over her. They smiled warmly and seemed totally relaxed as I sat down near them. We exchanged pleasantries and I enjoyed chatting for a few minutes, watching as they popped in and out to use the cold shower. They were soon led away by their attendant and I was left alone.
I spread my towel on the bench and stretched out totally nude, feeling my temperature blissfully rising as much from the anticipation of what was to come as from the intense dry heat. After I had showered with cold water 2 or 3 times, Holly walked into the sauna, again without knocking.
"Time for the main event," she grinned. As she held my robe open for me she made no pretense of not checking out my body, this time removing all suspicion in my mind about her sexual orientation.
She escorted me down the hall to a private treatment room and told me I was to lie on the table, face down under the sheet. She lowered the light's dimmer-switch and poured a glass of water for me. "I hope you enjoy your treatment" she said as she opened the door to leave. "Your masseur will be in shortly."
I hung my robe up behind the door and impulsively decided to feign ignorance about the sheet protocol. I climbed on the table and draped the towel loosely over my back and butt instead of getting under the sheet as she had instructed. I let my arms hang limply off the table and looked through the donut pillow down at the floor, snuggling my body into a nice, comfortable position.
The room was warm and highly perfumed, with new-age music softly playing from hidden speakers. There was a little shelf with squeeze-bottles of oils, some candy and mints, a pitcher of water, a couple of glasses and a box of Kleenex next to my table. There were paintings of romantic-looking Bali beach scenes on the walls and a tiny sink in the corner with a pile of plush towels and washcloths. All-in-all it had a very safe and inviting setting and my body felt like it was totally alive from the hot/cold sensations of the sauna and shower and, of course, from my naughty anticipation.
After a couple of minutes I drifted into a completely relaxed state and hardly heard a soft knock on the door. I lifted my head and said "come in" and was pleased to see a tall, thin and very handsome man enter. He discreetly locked the door behind himself and without disturbing the ambience walked directly to me and put his hand on my bare shoulder.
"Hi," he said. His voice was soft but deep and strong. "My name's Jack."
"I'm Sylvia, nice to meet you."
He asked if I had been to this spa before. When I said no but that he had been highly recommended to me by my very close friend Rae, he seemed pleased, mentioning that referrals were the highest form of compliment.
He was wearing a white tee-shirt and soft cotton, pajama-type pants that looked suspiciously like he had forgone his underwear. They were tied at the waist with an oversized drawstring that was hanging temptingly near my face and I fantasized momentarily about reaching out and pulling it to allow the pants to fall off. (Hey, can you think of a better place to fantasize?)
"I'm glad you have the two hour 'Bliss' package," he said. "It'll give us lots of time to get to really know each other. I always hate to feel rushed just when I start to have something special develop with my clients."
I could feel something 'special' developing already, but I just smiled and said I was really looking forward to that.
"Are you warm enough?" he asked. "You can slip under the sheet if you want."
"I'm just fine the way I am, if it's okay with you," I quickly answered.
He explained that he would not be doing deep-tissue work, that discomfort was definitely not part of what this particular session was about. "Pleasure, relaxing and stress-relief are what we'll be striving for today," he said softly.