Sam Cooper had enjoyed every minute of his final summer before his senior year in high school. It was mostly hanging out on the beach all day and partying all night with friends. The party went into high gear when his parents left for a three week European vacation, leaving him at home with his twin sister Katy.
But both Sam and his sister were in for a rude awakening when they both started summer soccer practice. Sam was the star on the men's team and Katy was a pretty strong player for the women. Both teams started practice a few weeks before school started back up. Their coaches had a short time to whip the teams into shape, and they were not wasting time.
Both practices were held at 9 am sharp, before it got too hot, but the mornings were humid and sticky. They would finish practice at 11 am, and then both kids would stagger home and lay on the couch in the ac and recover. Occasionally they would muster up enough energy to crawl into the shower, but mostly they just sat on the couch, watched tv, and ached all over. By the third day of brutal practices, both were having a hard time lifting their legs to walk. They were laying on the couch sharing their misery.
"This is murder," said Sam. "My legs hurt so bad from running it feels like someone is jabbing darts into me."
Katy nodded. "I can't ever remember being this sore, my whole body hurts. I'm not sure how I can keep this up."
"I remember last year it was bad at first, but eventually it started getting better, but this year it seems a lot worse," Sam replied.
"Agreed, much worse," said Katy. "One of the girls on the team said she went and got a massage, and that helped quite a bit. I'm thinking about giving it a try."
Neither had ever gotten a massage, but it sounded pretty good. They decided to give it a shot and set up a pair of appointments the next day right after practice.
Turns out that the massages exceeded their expectations in nearly every regard. They both felt better, were able to move around better, and were even looking forward to practice the next day. The only downside was that each massage cost $100, and neither one of them had that kind of money.
"I almost wish we hadn't gotten a massage now, it's going to kill me to know what I'm missing out on," said Katy.
"Me too, but there's no way I can come up with a $100 again for a massage, I'm broke," said Sam. "How about if I give you $10 and you give me a massage," he added jokingly.
"Yeah right," she snorted. "Dream on bro, there's no way I'm giving you a massage."
"How bout $20 then?" he laughed. "Or better yet, we'll trade, I'll give you a massage, and then you give me one."
Katy looked at him seriously for a minute, like she was either considering it or trying to figure out if he was serious. Sam had been kidding, but her reaction got him to thinking about it. He thought about it that afternoon, that night, and the next morning after a particularly brutal practice. He was laying on the couch in pain, staring at a blank tv, when Katy dragged in and fell face down on the couch, without even taking her cleats off.
"Good practice?" he asked.
"Ugh," she answered.
They sat there in silence for a while until Sam spoke up.
"You know sis, I've been thinking about the whole massage trade thing. I felt so much better after getting that massage the other day, but right now I'm not sure I'll be able to get out of bed in the morning. I don't see anything wrong with us trading massages, I work your sore muscles out and you work mine out, nothing weird there."
Katy didn't respond for a few minutes, and Sam was thinking she was either pissed off or asleep. Sam and Katy had the kind of relationship that they openly talked about anything. Being twins they had a special connection, but the best part of their relationship was the casualness of it. There was no subject that was taboo, no conversation they were uncomfortable having with one another.
"There's something weird about having your brother give you a massage, but I'm seriously considering it," she said finally.
"Ok, maybe a little weird, but it's not like we're having sex," he said. "There's nothing sexual about massage."
"Right, except that one person is rubbing the naked body of another person," she said.
"Well you can leave your clothes on if you want," he said. "We'll call it Massage Club.
"I'll think about it," she said.
The next day after practice, Sam was once again laying on the couch, eyes closed when Katy got home. She limped up to him on the couch.
"So do you want to go first, or second?" she said.
"All right then!" he yelled. "I'll do you first!"
"Ok, but first I need to establish the rules about Massage Club," she said. "Rule One is, we don't tell anyone about Massage Club. Rule Two is, we don't tell ANYONE about Massage Club. I don't want it to get out that I'm swapping massages with my brother."
"Agreed," he said.
There was a pause as the concept of a massage trade went from theory to reality.
"I, uh, guess we can do it here," said Sam, pointing to the couch.
"Right, that should work" said Katy. She awkwardly began to remove her cleats and socks, and for a moment it looked like she might go further, but then she opted to leave her shirt and shorts on and laid face down on the couch.
Sam got on his knees beside the couch, and suddenly realized he didn't know the first thing about giving a massage. He looked at the body in front of him and then at his hands, then tried to remember some of the techniques and areas that the masseuse used on him. He decided to start with the basic shoulder rub. He put both of his hands on her shoulders and began to squeeze and rub them.
To say it was awkward at first would be an understatement. Katy couldn't relax and Sam wasn't sure where and how to rub. But it didn't take too long before Katy was murmuring her appreciation and Sam was gaining some confidence. He worked his way down Katy's back, spending a lot of time working the areas that he knew were probably hurting her, because they were hurting him. He pushed his fingers down hard into her lower back, working his thumbs in tight circles, and he could feel her muscles gradually relax.
Next he moved down to her legs, where he knew she was hurting the worst. He started out gentle, mostly light rubs and caresses on one thigh, then the other, then moving down to the calf muscles, which he squeezed and rubbed. Finally, he got down to her feet, and he quickly discovered what Katy's favorite part of the massage was going to be. The first time he squeezed and rubbed her feet, she squirmed and sighed and practically screamed with pleasure.
When he finished, Katy couldn't stop raving about it.
"That was fantastic," she said. "I was tense at first, but after I started to relax it was awesome. Very good job bro, I think you have a future as a massage therapist."
Sam was happy that she enjoyed it, but his mind had moved on to the second half of the massage trade. He took his shirt off and got into position, face down on the couch.
He felt Katy's warm hands move into position on his shoulders and back. At first he sensed that she was a little uncertain about what she was doing, but gradually he felt her working into a rhythm. It was weird at first, but it also felt great.
"Let me know if I'm pushing too hard," she said. "The guy who gave me a massage the other day was a little too hard at times, your pressure was perfect."
"You're doing fine sis, just keep up the good work," he said.
It wasn't long before Sam was groaning with pleasure, part for the humor effect but part because it felt both good and bad to have his sore muscles worked. He had to admit that Katy had excellent, strong hands as she worked from his upper back to his lower back.
When she got to his tender, sore legs, he had to back her off a few times. His hamstrings were aching, and as she worked her fingers down the muscle he got to experience an odd combination of pleasure and pain. Then she worked down to his calves, and then onto his feet, and he quickly realized why she had enjoyed the foot massage so much. It was epic.
It was over too soon, and after they were done they sat and chattered on about how awesome the respective massages were, what they liked best, and how great of an idea it was. Katy felt the need to clarify one item and institute a new rule to Massage Club.
"Rule Three, no touching of private parts," she said sternly.
"Of course," Sam replied.
They also agreed that the couch was not too comfortable for the person giving the massage, so after scouting out different options they decided that future massages would take place on their parent's bed. It was big enough so that the person giving the massage had room on either side to kneel while giving the massage. They both agreed to set up another massage for the same time tomorrow after practice.