I'm writing all of this down as quickly as I can since I can already feel some of the details slipping away.
Let me begin with a little background. By trade, I'm a business professional with a major aerospace company, but I'm also the captain of our local cycling team. While I'm not the fastest rider, I am the one who takes care of arranging things for our team's participation, obtain sponsors β all the stuff that isn't just riding. We started this up fairly recently, and I dropped 40 pounds of my 6 foot 5 inch frame in the first few months. Since most people didn't think I was fat before, they were surprised that I was able to lose that much. My wife sure liked the change!
Speaking of my wife, she's a gorgeous 6 foot 2 inch blonde with a 36D bust. She complains about her weight frequently, but I don't think she needs to worry about the 10 extra pounds she's carrying. I don't believe in soul-mates, but she is certainly the best partner I could have for the rest of my life and I love her more than I knew was possible.
I'm only telling you these things to set the stage for what happened, and why the events I'm about to tell you are so hard for me to believe.
Since I've started riding, I've learned the value of good, deep-tissue massage. It keeps the muscles from locking up and works out lots of the junk that can build up in muscle tissue. I've been going to a local spa fairly regularly, and they do a great job of working out the kinks. The person who works on me most often is short and squat, but she's got strong hands and arms and is able to push hard enough to get to my deepest muscles.
A few weeks ago, I won a gift certificate to a different spa. I'm always willing to try new places because you never know when you'll find something better. This particular place is normally outside my price range, so I probably never would have gone there if not for the certificate.
I knew as I pulled up in the afternoon and saw the valet parking attendants standing between the white marble pillars framing the glass entrance that I was definitely not going to be able to make a habit of this place. I think I hoped that the experience wouldn't be as good as my local spa so I would feel better about not being able to come back.
After I turned over my car to one of the valets who seemed to not appreciate having to drive a car so much cheaper than the typical client's Lexus or Mercedes, I walked into the lobby as the glass doors slid silently out of my way. I felt like I'd stepped into an ancient Roman bathhouse as I took in the expanse of white marble before me. Fountains produced a soothing, burbling while the scented air seemed to peel away my outer layer of apprehension. The Roman feeling continued as I approached the reception desk β itself a monolith of white marble, accented in gold β and noticed the receptionist was wearing a modernized version of a toga. It was actually fairly conservative, and clearly designed with her ability to perform her work as a key feature. Perhaps I should say it was reminiscent of a toga, instead of modernized. Her blond hair was pulled up perfectly into a French braid and her smooth features seemed to spring into life when she smiled as I approached.
"Your name, Sir?" she asked, and I gave it. She looked at her computer screen as she clicked about a bit. She glanced up at me again, then went about clicking her mouse a few more times.
"You have an appointment with Laura, but I think we'll switch you over to Deanna," she said, "I think she'll be able to take better care of you."
I didn't know either of them, so I didn't see any harm in following her recommendation. "Sure," I responded, "I'm easy."
I caught the briefest glimpse of what looked almost like amusement in her blue eyes, but then it was gone and she called over a co-worker.
"Sarah will show you around," the receptionist said to me, then turned to Sarah, "Mr. Forrester is new here, and he's going to see Deanna for a deep tissue massage."
"Right this way, Sir," Sarah said as she gestured toward a hallway. She also wore a toga-esque outfit, but it was subtly different β seemingly to allow different work to be done. She was only about 5 feet tall, so of course I felt like a giant next to her. Looking down on her French-braided, jet-black hair, I noticed that she was very petite β not unattractive, but not exactly my type.
"I'm sure you'll enjoy your time with Deanna," the receptionist tossed out as I thanked her for her assistance and began following Sarah. Why did it seem she meant something more than she was saying?
I walked next to Sarah as we entered a hallway that continued the white marble experience. The scented air seemed to step up just a bit as we entered the hallway. I couldn't quite place it, but it was certainly relaxing. She led me around and showed me a number of the different features of the facility. I guess the idea was to try to entice me back, but no matter how appealing the place looked, I knew I would have to win the lottery to make this place a regular habit.
Eventually we arrived at a door with the Name Deanna etched into the marble and filled with gold. The door swung open as we arrived and out stepped a nearly 5 foot 10 inch redhead with emerald green eyes that immediately locked onto mine.