Chapter Twelve
At first Dane had been terrified. What if they looked at him? What if they saw his stomach and the flabby skin that seemed to be everywhere? What if they were judging him?
Adam was perfect—arms defined, chest lean, stomach flat with abs outlined clearly, strong legs. Dane hadn’t dared to look at Bas, who was taller than both of them and a little thicker than Adam. He closed his eyes and quietly recited the lyrics of all the Vocal Growth songs in his head. Bas instructed him how to breathe, giving him long moments and lots of deep breaths to think. The warmth helped him relax, and Dane fell asleep in the sauna.
Bas roused him what seemed like only minutes later by shaking him gently and pressing an unopened bottle of water into his hands.
“Time’s up. We can go jump in the shower and then off to the scrubs.”
Dane tried to stand up, but found himself very unsteady on his feet. Bas practically carried him to the changing area. Adam was already in the distant shower. Hip-level cement dividers were the only thing preventing Dane from seeing Adam from standing there naked. Dane shut his eyes, though he wanted to look. Was Adam perfect all over? The kid looked like he was tanned, but Dane knew it had to be his natural skin tone. God, he felt inadequate as Bas lowered him to the bench.
He’d seen Bas in those few seconds enough to know that Bas wasn’t nearly as toned as Adam, but he wasn’t unfit either. He was broad in the shoulders, thicker in the chest, with only the tiniest hint of a tummy. His chest had a handful of dark hairs and even a few that disappeared into a line toward his towel. Bas’s legs were covered in dark hair. Dane vaguely wondered why the only hair he had was on his face, head, and crotch. Was something wrong with him? Was Adam as hairy? Maybe he was, but because his hair was so pale it was hard to see.
“Do you want me to help you get in the shower?” Bas asked, his voice knocking Dane out of his brooding.
“No.” Dane kept his eyes locked shut. “You finish, and then I’ll go in.”
“Okay. But sit here and drink that water. You need to rehydrate.” Bas disappeared. Dane listened to his footsteps as he walked on the wet tile. “Salt scrub and mud wrap is up next, Adam. Ru is going to love how your skin feels after that.”
“We have some salt scrub at home that we’ve used in the big bath at Tommy’s place before. Ru said this was like a mini-massage before the actual massage. I don’t get the mud part.”
“The scrub starts with grape-seed oil, then Dead Sea salt ’cause it has lots of minerals to pull all the toxins out of your body and scrub off the dead skin. Once that’s all wiped off, they paint on mud in a thin layer, then wrap us in blankets. Our body temp rises, and the mud forces the body to release more toxins. Strips all the dead skin off, opens up your pores, and leaves you baby soft. It’s really relaxing.”
“Sounds nice. Maybe Ru can come here sometime with me.”
Dane heard one shower turn off, then another. The sound of feet on tile headed back his way. His heart pounded at the idea of the two attractive men naked in front of him. He shook himself. He had no right to be thinking about them like that. They were his friends. They trusted him not to look at them, as he prayed they wouldn’t look at him.
Someone set a towel and a heavy cloth robe into Dane’s hands.
“We’re going to be right outside the door. Shower please. Put the robe on over your towel, and we’ll meet you outside.”
Dane cracked an eye open a tiny bit to find both men dressed in white robes like the one Bas had given him.
“You’ve done this before?”
“Sure. A couple of times. Gran took me the first time two years ago. It’s really nice. And I promise they keep all your important bits covered the whole time,” Bas assured him and headed out the door with Adam not far behind. Dane rushed into the shower to wash away the sweat. He hoped the next part would be easier.
It turned out the next partwaseasier. He lay down on his stomach on a table in nothing but a towel. A woman adjusted a large sheet around him, baring his legs, back, and arms. There were partitions between him, Bas, and Adam. He had followed them, let himself be led to the table, because he hadn't wanted them to know he was scared. A few minutes after the woman began, he was thinking it wasn’t such a bad thing.
The whole process took an hour and a half. Warm oil was rubbed into his skin, then the coarse salt, followed by warm towels to wipe him clean. The mud felt odd. It was warm, tight where it dried, but soft. It smelled nice. He moved like a rag-doll at the woman’s instructions, turning when needed, lifting each knee so she could paint his thighs and calves with the dark goop. Her touch was clinical, like a doctor’s, so he wasn’t bothered. She told him softly each time she moved on to another step or limb, preparing him for her touch.
Finally she wrapped him up in layers of blankets, plastic, thermal sheeting, and more blankets. He should have felt overly warm, but it was a soft heat. He could feel his body relaxing, muscles unclenching from all the tension. The woman’s neutral expression never changed. She set a timer beside the bed and left him.
Just as he began to doze, he heard “I feel like a burrito” from Adam, who must have been to his left. Bas chuckled from somewhere to his right. Dane had to agree. He did feel like a burrito all wrapped up with gooey insides. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Is it really mud?”
“Yep. Supposed to be from the Dead Sea. Full of minerals and antioxidants,” Bas told them.
“Feels good,” Dane said. “Smells nice.”
“Agreed,” Adam said. “Even if I feel like a sausage.”
“But you like sausage,” Bas teased Adam.
“Sebastian!” Adam sounded exasperated.
“Okay, so you like Ru’s sausage. It’s okay to be picky. I bet Ru has a nice sausage.”
