Her back was to him, and she slowly turned around, her heart-shaped lips lifting into a coy smile. “I already know everything about you. You went to Rutgers and were scouted by the NFL in your junior year. You signed a contract with the Bucks before you even graduated. You live in Saddle River. Your brother is a rock star. And you’re a notorious playboy.”
Each statement surprised him more than the last, but it was the one about being a notorious playboy that made him react. “I’m not a playboy.”
“Then who are all those girls you’re always photographed with? Every time I see a photo of you, you have a different arm charm.”
He couldn’t deny it, so he explained. “They’re just dates. I’m single. I don’t have a steady girlfriend, so when I need to go somewhere, I bring a friend.”
“You have a lot of very attractive friends.”
“Wait. Back up a minute. You Googled me after we met?”
“No. I didn’t Google you.”
“Then how do you know so much about me?”
“I told you. I’m a huge sports fan. And that means I’m knowledgeable about my favorite players.”
“I’m one of your favorite players?” He sat taller in the hot tub, and his chest puffed out.
She pressed her shapely lips together and didn’t answer, clearly embarrassed that she said too much by the pink hue in her cheeks. “I have other patients to see.” She turned to leave but paused and looked at him over her shoulder. “I hope I’m not being rude by running out in the middle of our conversation. It was nice. But I really do have other patients to tend to.”
The conversation, though short, left Robert with his spirits high. As he sat back in the hot tub and let the water sooth the ache in his leg, he reflected on everything she said. She knew exactly who he was when they met. He was one of her favorite players. And she knew everything about him.
He was beaming and slaphappy. Shaking his head at the way his pulse was hammering, he wondered what was wrong with him. He never had this reaction to a woman before. But he’d never met anyone like Amber Morgan before either.
By the time the buzzer sounded, indicating that his water therapy session was done, his mind and heartrate finally settled. But then she walked in, and everything sped up again.
She didn’t fully enter the room. She only opened the door halfway and said, “Dry off, then meet me next door in Room 5 for your massage.” And then she left.
He carefully climbed out of the tub, using the many handrails for support, and sat while he briskly rubbed a towel over his shoulders and back. He wrung out his wet trunks, placed them in a plastic bag that was provided by a roller on the wall, and stuffed them into his gym bag along with the rest of his clothes. He didn’t bother getting dressed, since he would only have to get undressed again for the massage, so he slipped into one of the terry robes, stuffed his feet into a pair of disposable slippers he found on a shelf, grabbed his cane, and walked to the massage room.
Dr. Morgan was waiting for him. She held up a sheet high enough so that it created a privacy screen. “Lie down on the table, please, and let me know when you’re ready.”
He opened his robe and realized that he was totally naked. He should have put his briefs on. This was a medical massage, not a spa. An embarrassed smile spread across his face, and he had to fight the urge to laugh. When he was flat on the table, a wave of shyness washed over him, and he shielded his privates with his hands. “OK. Ready.”
She covered him with the sheet and folded it up to his mid thighs.
He felt totally exposed and self-conscious. Only a thin sheet separated his nakedness from this woman that he was greatly attracted to but needed to regard as a professional. He worried that once her hands were on him, his body would react and tent the sheet, so he tried to focus on something else. Anything. Thoughts of returning to the field filled his head with hope. He envisioned his return and heard the cheers from the crowd. He thought about winning game after game and making it to the Super Bowl.
“Mr. Blade,” a voice broke through his dream. “Mr. Blade. Robert.”
“W’what?” His head was groggy, and he realized he had fallen asleep during treatment again.
“We’re all done.”
He stretched, careful not to strain his leg, much more limber than when the day started. “I’m sorry. I guess the muscle relaxers I’m taking are knocking me out.”
“I’d like to think it was my massage technique.” Her eyes twinkled as she said it, and he wondered if she were teasing him. “Put your robe back on, and meet me in the TENS room,” she said and walked out the door.
He sat up and stared at the closed door for several seconds. She was an enigma. Although she tried to hide behind a façade of professionalism, the fun, flirtatious girl he first met kept breaking through. He wondered if she was putting on a front because she was fighting the attraction between them. It certainly had been there that night in the bar. He wanted to see her outside of therapy and get to know her better. But he knew that would never happen until he was healed and his sessions were done.
He met her in Room 9 and sat in the chair opposite her.
Without speaking, she attached the leads and electrodes to his leg and then studied the display on the TENS machine. He wanted to continue their conversation, ask her about her personal life, but he couldn’t stop looking at her face. He was obsessed with her glasses, but behind them, her eyes captivated him. Her stool sat several inches lower than the gauges she was adjusting, so he had the perfect view of her wide-open eyes as she looked up at the machine. He’d never seen them this closely before. They were the color of periwinkle. Even in his family, where every single one of his relatives had light eyes, none of them had the soft hue that Amber had. They were lavender blue. Almost lilac. With only a little more than a foot between then, he could see every nuance, and they were mesmerizing.
“Relax. My assistant will be back in 30 minutes to disconnect everything.”
“You’re leaving?” He didn’t even try to hide the disappointment in his voice.
