"Uh, hi, I have a 6 o'clock appointment." Jenny released the button on the intercom by the doorway, consulted her watch, laughing nervously at the resounding lack of response. "Sorry, I'm a little late. This place was really difficult to find".
While this was true, Jenny also was failing to mention that she had been "unavoidably detained" at an office party that had started with a liquid lunch and had gone steadily downhill from there. The afternoon had disappeared in a mist of champagne and despite a warm referral for the place; her massage appointment had become an unnecessary inconvenience.
A man's voice replied testily. "Yes, come on up"
The buzzer broke the silence of the early autumn evening and Jenny took one last look over her shoulder before reaching out to open the door. This was an unfamiliar area of town, and the deserted streets and dilapidated fronts of empty shops were not exactly inspiring her with confidence. She tried to remember exactly who it was that had talked so enthusiastically about this particular massage salon, (A colleague? A friend of her husband?), but her alcohol-addled brain was uncooperative.
She pushed through the entrance of what seemed to be another in a long line of disused office units and was presented with a series of darkly lighted stairs. Steeling herself, she tucked her designer handbag under her arm, pushed her blonde hair behind her ear, and slowly began the unsteady journey upwards, silently cursing her stiletto heels and tight black pencil skirt.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Jenny found herself in what she assumed was the reception area of the massage studio. Sparsely furnished, an office desk stood opposite her and a beaten-up looking sofa featuring turn-of-the-century issues of Marie Claire adorned the wall to her right. She reached instinctively to her mobile phone, always a source of comfort, before making a hasty retreat to the long staircase and the awkward journey downstairs to the real world." Mrs. Jensson was it?"
Startled, Jenny aborted her exit, and replied to the voice behind her without turning her head. "Who wants to know?"
No response. She sighed impatiently and turned around, looking back up towards the dilapidated entrance area. "Who wants to know indeed", came the reply and even in the dim light Jenny found her breath taken temporarily away by the sight of what she assumed was the voice from the intercom. He stood well over six feet tall, and even in a plain white physiotherapist uniform Jenny found it difficult to let her eyes roam over his muscular form. At 42 years old Jenny could have given birth to this man but motherly thoughts were the furthest from her mind as she drank in the younger mans athletic figure.
He smiled disarmingly back at Jenny. "Listen, I apologize about the state of the place. I've just started a new business venture here and haven't gotten around to redecorating. Please, come back up and let me show you to the massage room."
Placated for the time being, Jenny found herself walking back up the stairs, stocking-clad thighs rubbing past one another in the tight confines of her skirt. Standing face to face with him, Jenny was no less impressed with the man's chiselled facial features than she had been with his athletic build. "If my muscles weren't so tight I would be on my way home to my family by now, but I guess it's worth a shot" Jenny was training for a marathon and yesterday's session of 30km had taken its toll on her legs.
"Well, that's a relief Mrs. Jensson" he replied ironically. "Please, follow me". He gesticulated towards a doorway at the back of the reception area, and despite her better judgement Jenny followed obediently after, doing her best not to let her eyes sink down to take in the man's muscular backside.
He led the way, unaware of the show he was putting on, Jenny teetering behind on her high heels, finally stopping alongside an open doorway leading to another dimly lit room. He turned around, and ushered Jenny in. "In here, take all your clothes off and wait for me on the bed. There's a towel on the table over there, you can cover yourself up with that"
"I suppose you're going to tell me you can't afford a lamp for this place either", she challenged, eyebrows raised, and soft red lips pursed in a playful smile.
He raised his shoulders, returning the smile. "Mood lighting?"
In an instant he was gone again, leaving her alone, shivering from the cold and feeling increasingly alarmed at the situation she found herself in. Despite nagging feelings of doubt, she decided to follow the man's instructions and began to strip. She removed her jacket and unbuttoned her satin blouse, revealing an expensive white lace bra which enclosed her firm 34C breasts. Shaking off her high heeled shoes, she allowed her skirt to slip to the floor and was left in just her stockings and lace underwear. Surely she wasn't supposed to remove all her clothes? It had been a long time since she had had a massage, but it seemed unprofessional to do so.
Nevertheless, Jenny reached down and peeled her silky stockings first from her thighs and then over her calf muscles, feet, and finally, her well-pedicured red toenails. Feeling like a naughty schoolgirl, she grabbed the towel and lay down on the massage bed face up and awaited the return of the stranger in the white uniform, only a thin layer of material to hide her dignity.
Lying face up, Jenny's head was swimming with a thousand thoughts. This was not her first massage and she was sure that being instructed to strip naked was not normal procedure. Yet here she was, protected by nothing more than a flimsy towel, shivering, painfully aware of her sexuality, in a strange place awaiting a strange man. There was no going back from here, she told herself.