Simon Says:
For those who haven't read any of my stuff before, I am all about the slow-burn. Be forewarned.
I am hesitant to put labels on things, but I guess this falls in the category of "erotic couplings" with a little bit of romance, some exhibitionism, and some mature (older woman) thrown in.
And I have never written a massage story before, but read a few that inspired this. I wish I could find them again. If I do, then I will update this to point to them.
Enjoy :)
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This would do. I think. I mean, I could picture the handful of chairs and a couch with a small desk. Maybe some cheaper generic art and a few plants or something. I really needed to make sure the ambience was right though.
Susan Palmer, my realtor, smiled at me as I surveyed the space.
"Want to see the other two rooms, Carter?"
"Sure Susan. Lead on."
She nodded and then we moved towards the back rooms, equal size, and equally fine. I would actually call it all functional.
The front room was more of a rectangle (40 foot by 15 foot) with the two doors leading towards the back two 20-foot by 20-foot rooms. The size was fine for its function. I could picture everything, well functionally anyway, the decorations might require my sister's guidance.
The price fell within my range, the location put it right in the middle of a relatively thriving high commercial area of mid-town, the back rooms actually didn't have windows, which was actually preferable for this work.
"This is perfect. Let's do this, Susan."
The older woman grinned and immediately began dialing on her cell phone to begin the process of the lease agreement.
I felt pretty excited about starting my own business. Graduating with an English degree four years earlier didn't exactly open doors. I didn't really want to immediately go to graduate school, so instead focused on saving as much money as I could over the last four years so that I could do the very thing I was doing right now. If this worked, I might just forget about graduate school altogether.
Of course, my parents weren't terribly excited about helping me earn a bachelor's degree only to see me not use it for anything remotely to do with a job, but they will get over it. I had become a businessman now. Maybe.
I discovered my ability to massage while dating a girl named Sherry in college. She played for the university field hockey team and constantly ended up with sore shoulders, back and legs. One night, I offered to massage her, she consented and the next thing I know she is loaning me out to her team mates and fellow dorm residents. Apparently, I am pretty sensitive, have strong fingers, a good focus on details and am meticulous.
We broke up my senior year. Well mostly she broke it off. I am pretty sure my lack of a career path concerned her the most. Even after Sherry and I broke up, I still gave her massages as I actually kind of enjoyed it. I think she got the best part of our relationship even after we broke it off. And during those experiences I discovered I might actually enjoy doing it for a living.
So, I graduated, found two jobs, one as a customer service representative for a construction supply dealer and the other as a second shift warehouse stocker for a large retailer, neglected any social life and worked almost non-stop for four years, saved up a lot of money living on as little as possible, somehow squeezed in coursework and study time for the massage therapist licensure test and eventually ended up in a new office space to sign some lease papers to begin my own place.
I am sure there aren't a lot of 26-year old guys starting their own businesses, but I am not going to let that stop me.
Yep, this would be perfect.
"Let's go back to my office and get everything signed," Susan had returned after her flurry of calls.
I just nodded and followed her out.
"When do you think you will be ready to open?" she asked as I slipped into the passenger side of her silver Lexus.
"I am hoping in about two to four weeks. Stuff is on order but I have to get everything set up. Still trying to figure this stuff out, honestly."
"Well you will have to text me a date so I can be your first customer!" She said with a wide smile and a little twinkle in her eye.
I doubted she was flirting with me as she was essentially older than mom, probably in her mid-fifties, and was married, but who knows? She might just like innocent flirting with a younger guy. Or maybe I was totally mis-reading this and she was excited about getting a massage. Regardless, she was an attractive older but pretty fit blonde woman and I didn't mind it.
"I would love to have you as my first customer. Sounds great!"
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"All ready?"
Susan, true to her word, wanted to be my first customer. And here she was on the opening day of The One Hour Escape Massages. My little sister, Chloe, had come through and gave me some decorating suggestions. As a guy I honestly would have just put in the furniture and called it a day, but she had done a really nice job of finding affordable plants, art and other little nick knacks to spread around.
I was especially happy with how the massage room turned out as she had designed it as rather clean with mostly white and cream colors, but also warm and inviting. I honestly wanted it to feel like an escape for the busy person and she pulled it off nicely. All of it cost, with the massage table itself being my most expensive purchase, but totally worth it.
The third room I used for storage and for laundry.
The space really had come together.
Of course, I paid Chloe for her work with five free massages. She already took me up on one of them.
Susan smiled at me a little nervously and followed me into the other room.
"Is this your first massage, Susan?"
She nodded, "we had a local massage place several years ago, but nothing replaced it after it closed down. The next nearest one is an hour away so it isn't close enough. I never had a chance to go get one."
She paused a second, "that and I never felt exactly comfortable."
She was fidgeting. I understood. "But the good news for you is that you have no competition." She smiled at me, always the encourager.
I grabbed a terry cloth robe and walked back towards her as she paused in the doorway.
"Susan, it is very important for you to be comfortable. Communication is the key thing here, so please tell me what hurts, what feels good and if at any point I am making you uncomfortable, ok?" I then paused, "Of course please tell me what you like as well."