Leah just got back from school and asked what icing was. I’ve never been so proud
Brett 6:59pm
She was talking about cupcakes, wasn’t she?
Brett waitedin the living room, his palms already sweating. He'd seen Penny out the window walking back to the garage behind the complex and wondered what torture device she'd be dragging with her into the living room.
It had been years since he'd done any physical therapy, but he remembered the hell on earth he experienced when he broke his ankle in high school. Though those sessions had been facilitated by an old Ukrainian woman. Penny wouldn't be that callous, hopefully. At least he’d be able to understand her.
He sat at attention when she entered through the front door.
“Ready to go?” she asked. It wasn't until that moment that Brett realized she was going to be touching him.Of course she was going to be touching him.That's how this worked. But the idea of physical therapy in his mind had never includedher.Or her long wavy hair. Thankfully, she'd at least tied it up in a knot at the base of her neck. It didn't help as much as he'd hoped.
Brett swallowed hard. “As ready as I'll ever be.”
Penny set her bag on the floor and worked at the zipper. “You know this first session is going to be the worst. Well, that's kind of a lie. They're all going to be brutal. But I like to say that to make people feel less existential.”
“Does it work?”
“I don't know. I've never had to deal with the immediate aftermath of a session. They keep coming back, so that’s something.”
Brett laughed nervously. “Go easy on me.”
“Is that actually what you want?” Penny gave him a pointed look. No, it wasn't what he wanted, and she already knew that. “I thought so.” She rummaged around in the bag and pulled out a resistance band. “All right. I don't have my mats, but this rug seems plush enough to keep your tailbone from bruising at least.” She lifted her head and sat back on her feet. “I could get my yoga mat if—”
“No, this is fine.” Brett slid down from the couch and stretched out on the floor.Did she want him to lie down now?He stayed sitting until she instructed him otherwise. Anxiety gnawed at him as she pulled coloured bands from the bag along with a spiky foam roller that didn’t look friendly.
"Okay.” Penny scooted over and held out the band. "Go ahead and take off your brace."
Brett nodded, wanting to shrink the same way he had the first time he’d turned and coughed in the doctor’s office. He clumsily removed the brace and wrap, then set them on the floor next to him.
Penny looped the band around his right ankle and stood. “You can lie back. I’m going to hold your foot a few inches off the floor. Your job is to flex and release your thigh muscles.”
“That’s it?”
“For now.”
Brett laid flat and did as she asked, trying not to stare at her hovering above him. She’d changed into a white tank top and deep blue harem pants with some astrological pattern swirling through the fabric. Her golden skin seemed to glow in the light of the standing lamp.Flex and release, damn it.Here she was in her professional element while he clenched his muscles like a toddler and tried to keep his eyes off her breasts.
The slow burn in his leg made him feel impotent. How could something as simple as this be getting any kind of result?
“Feeling it now?” Penny glanced up at his face, and Brett tried to play off his discomfort. “One more minute of this, and then we’ll move into leg raises and heel slides.”
He nodded and continued flexing and releasing until she set his heel back on the floor. Before he could say anything, Penny was kneeling next to him with her hands on either side of his knee. Her fingers slipped under the fabric of his shorts as she massaged the muscle attachment points. “Does that hurt?”
Hurtwas the wrong word. It made him nervous. “It’s fine.”
“I’m going to move your kneecap, it’s called patellar mobilization. You should do this when you have a second during the day. Just to make sure it doesn’t get stiff.” Her fingers slipped over his skin, and he held his breath.Shit.He should not have worn fabric shorts.
He’d mentally prepared himself for pain, but not for this. Tendrils of hair escaped Penny’s bun and brushed his skin as she manipulated his knee cap in slow circles.His kneecap was the last thing he was worried about getting stiff.
“Still fine?” she asked.
“Yep.” He answered a little too quickly.Please don’t look up. Please for the love—He gasped in pain.
“Mmhmm, there it is. Stiff on that side.”
Not any longer.Penny sat up and brushed her hair back away from her face. “Leg raises. You ready?”
