Chapter 1
_Everyone in this story is over the age of 18. This story is a slower simmer until it boils over._
Marsha is a widow with two young adult children, Justin, her youngest at 19 years old, and Sarah, her eldest at 21 years old. They all live together in the family home. Both children try to help out around the house with housework since their father passed away after a severe car accident 2 years ago.
Marsha is working again since her husband passed away. She was a real estate agent before having children, but since his death and the children have grown up, she has renewed her license to sell properties. She works hard to sell homes so that she and her kids have a nice home. Her days are long, from morning through most evenings, showing properties and doing paperwork.
Sarah is a registered nurse working at the local hospital. She works long days as well, from 07:00 to. 19:00 about 3 or 4 days a week. She works on a surgical unit with patients pre- and post-surgery. Having a shorter workweek because of the 12-hour days, she has more time to help out at home as well. Between work and home, she has had little time for a social life.
Justin is just finishing up his course in massage school and is excited to start doing massage professionally and earning some money. He's had many hours of theory and practical clinics. However, he does want to do more clinical work before he does massage on real people, so he's asked his mom and sister to refer some friends for him to practice on. He needs to be good because he's got exams in a few weeks and wants to pass with flying colours.
Marsha thinks about his request and says, "Maybe you should give me a massage, so I know what I'm talking about when I send someone to you." Sarah agrees, adding, "Yes, I think that's only fair, don't you think, Justin? If you're fantastic at it, you won't need to get any of my friends to volunteer because I'll keep you busy."
Justin thinks about this as agrees, "Great, I'd be happy to practice on both of you anytime you're available."
Sarah replies, "Fantastic, Justin, I'll be home from work at 7:30 tonight, and I'll take a quick shower and be on your massage table by 8:00. Does that work for you?" Justin pulls out his iPhone and checks his calendar. "Yes, that works perfectly for me too."
Marsha speaks up and says, "I'll be working late tonight, but I'm free tomorrow night. Does that work for you too, Justin?" Justin looks at his phone again and nods, "Yes, that's good too."
The next day, Justin gets home from school and has a shower, puts on some clean loose fitting cloths that are comfy for doing massage in. He sets up his massage table in the recreation room, with clean sheets and towels. Sets up his little table with massage oil and sets up the Bose speaker to play some relaxation music for his newest pretend clients.
Marsha arrives home and both she and Justin work at preparing dinner. Sarah will eat at the hospital tonight. The menu tonight is salmon fillet sautéed with seasonings and served with carrots, and rice. Marsha and Justin work well together in the kitchen. She seasons the fish while Justin cuts up some carrots to be steamed and measures out the rice and vegetable broth to steam the rice. Dinner talk is mostly about their respective day. Marsha is working on getting a builder to list his new homes with her. She has a meeting with him tonight. If she lands the deal, she'll be showing ten new properties that are being built by a small developer on an exclusive listing. She's nervous and excited at the same time. Marsha says to Justin, "I'll be needing that massage after this meeting for sure." Justin replies, "No problem, mom, I'll be happy to massage you anytime you need me."
After the table is cleared and the dishes put in the dishwasher, Marsha heads out the door and calls out to Justin, "Bye Justin, have a good evening and give Sarah a good massage tonight, I'm sure she can use it."
"Don't worry, mom, I'll be sure to rub her the right way," yells Justin.
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Justin has everything set up and is watching television while waiting for Sarah to get home from work. Justin is a slim, good-looking young man, tall, with wavy brown hair. He hasn't had a girlfriend since he left high school over a year ago. He's focused fully on learning to be the best at massage therapy so he can get plenty of referrals from clients. He knows that because he's a man, he'll have to be even better because most people seem to prefer a woman therapist. Likewise, he knows, too, that he'll be most professional with his draping to ensure that the client is covered and maintains their dignity.