"I got a new job!"
Deliah sounded very excited. I grinned at the phone. This is how she was: all news, no structure.
"Uh, hello to you too."
Deliah was already into the start of her next sentence, but paused at my words and then took a deep breath.
"Ah, yes, sure, hi Manny."
"Hey Del. So, you got a new job?" I thought about stringing her along for awhile with questions about the weather, but I just didn't have the heart. She shot into a monologue of epic proportions.
"So you know how I've been out of work for awhile yeah? And I did all those short courses at TAFE but nothing was coming out of it, and I was starting to worry about paying rent and yeah I know you said you'd help me out but you shouldn't have to help me out and then I was walking back from the gym and my butt was throbbing and haha sure make your jokes, but I'd done a really hard work out and I really couldn't afford it but I had a fifty in my pocket and I saw this place and it said massages for fifty dollars for half an hour and I figured 'well why the hell not?'"
She took a deep breath and I marvelled at her staying power. And then my brain caught up to her words.
"You went to a massage place? That one near your house? Where half an hour is only fifty bucks? Interesting, tell me more!"
Deliah giggled. "Ah, so you know the place, do you? Well, I didn't. Never needed a massage before. Well, at least not one that I pay for. But it seemed like fun and there was this gorgeous Korean woman who came out into the main room when I opened the door and she was smiling and when I said I wanted a massage she took my hand and led me to one of their rooms. And the music was nice and the lights were low and there was a lovely smell of oils and she told me to take my clothes off and she'd be back soon."
And sure, I knew the place she was talking about and even though I hadn't been personally I knew friends who swore by it and there was lots of winking and mentions of happy endings and I started to get a feel for Del's story and anticipation had me stretching out my boxers. Deliah had been my friend for more than a decade and a glorious little pocket rocket -- just over five feet tall, big blue eyes, button nose, hair that went from blonde to strawberry depending on the weather. More than one person had used the adjective perky to describe her, in all senses of the word. I didn't have to imagine what she looked like, peeling out of her gym gear and lying face down on the massage bed -- we were regulars down at Sunnyside -- but it was a fun visual all the same.
"Ok, so you're naked on the massage bed..." I prompted. She giggled again.
"Oh, no, not yet. I left my panties on -- cos I figured that's what you do, but when she came back in, she laughed and patted my bottom and said 'ah no, you don't need these' and just pulled them down herself, throwing them on top of my other clothes. She said she didn't want to get oil on them."
"Good call," I said with a smirk.
"And she said her name was Kiki and she started drizzling oil on me and rubbing it into my back and shoulders. And we chatted as she worked on my neck and shoulders and I told her that she had great hands and that she could go harder if she wanted. And I told her about my massage course and how I recognised some of the things she was doing and she was very excited about that and said that they always needed new girls and did I want a job? And all the time was stroking me, spreading the oil over my skin and it felt spectacular."