She should probably brace herself, and Lucas too; it was possible that Memphis wouldn’t stick around for long.
Ty’s phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced down to see a text from Jackie, the receptionist.
Jackie:Your next client came in early. Corporate type. I sent him back a few minutes ago. He’s already on your table.
Ty tapped out a quick thanks, then sucked in a deep breath.In with positive energy and hope.She exhaled.Out with negativity and fear.She repeated the meditation on her way back inside, and while she washed up as well. A quick glance at the iPad showed the client’s preferences.
“How are you doing?” she greeted, noting that he’d climbed between the sheets and was, as Jackie said, already facedown on the table. “I see that you’d like me to focus on your upper back, shoulders, pecs, and arms.”
The client, who had a head full of ashy blond hair, gave a grunt and a nod.
Well, at least he wouldn’t expect small talk. Ty preferred it that way as it allowed her clients to focus on the sensations of the massage itself. But she’d appreciate having the headspace now even more. Still, she wouldn’t allow her recent musings to take over. She’d practice the discipline of redirection, and give this client the same focus and respect she gave all the rest. She was just about to pump lotion onto her hands when her phone let out a distracting buzz from her pocket.
Crap.She’d forgotten to put it in her locker. “Excuse me,” she said in a whisper as she exited and hurried into the back room. She pried open her locker, tugged the phone from her pocket, and saw that it was Memphis who’d texted her.
Memphis:I love you
She was quick to return the sentiment.
Ty:I love you too!
She nodded, a great sense of relief pouring over her. And while she rushed back in and washed her hands once more, Ty decided she was glad she’d forgotten to put her phone back. Already, she felt more at peace. Memphis loved her, and she loved him. There was nothing to worry about.
As much as Ty tried to keep her focus on her client as she started up the massage, that very message kept coming to mind, each time like a happy melody. Memphis loved her and Lucas and they loved him right back. All was right with the world. And, she told herself now that she’d veered far enough from her state of panic, she and Lucas wouldstillbe just fine if Memphisdidleave. She had to remember that. She couldn’t be dependent on anyone outside of them for their wellbeing. How had she lost sight of that?
Your client, Ty. Focus on your client.
Massage therapy was more than just a paycheck to Ty. She enjoyed the connection, the giving, the inward praying, and the sense of healing that resonated back through her in the process if she homed in on it.
She allowed herself to do just that. It was obvious, by his toned form and well-developed muscles, that this gentleman took very good care of himself. Fitness was important to him. It was her job to partner with him, in a way, by offering relief where he needed it.
And the rhomboids—a group of muscles between the shoulder blades—was a popular spot for those pesky muscle trolls to hide. She slid the sides of her thumb firmly along a particularly tight spot, generating heat and pressure beneath her touch.
He let out a groan.
“Is that sore?” she asked.
“In a good way,” he mumbled.
She smiled. “Good. I’m going to keep working out these kinks, okay?”
Another short grunt.
She put more of her weight behind the next few strokes, using the heel of her palm to work out the knots. She mused that this client’s build was very close to Memphis’s. She’d seen him without a top several times now. They definitely had similar muscle mass. Of course, this gentleman was much paler. Probably from back east.
Once she moved to his arms and hands, Ty took a moment to inwardly bless this man and his pursuits. Jackie had called him a corporate type, which meant he was likely here for business, not pleasure. She was always impressed when people who ran a tight schedule fit time in for things like this. Self care was crucial.
The thought made her feel bad that she had yet to give Memphis a massage. Someday she would. Now that things were more cut and dry where their feelings were concerned, she could massage him without breaching her code of conduct.
“All right,” she said as she gripped the top edge of the sheet. “Go ahead and turn onto your back. I’ll spend the last ten minutes of our time working on your pectoral area.” Ty glanced away, though her view of him was mainly blocked by the sheet itself, to offer added privacy.
Another grunt sounded as he shrugged onto his side, and then his back at last. Ty rested the sheet back in place, then pulled one corner down to start on his right side. Yet as she did, Ty sensed that the man on the table was looking at her. Probably curious to see her face since he hadn’t before they started. But as Ty allowed herself to take the smallest glance above his chest, a gasp pulled from her throat.
She took a step back and covered her now hammering heart with one hand.
“Surprise,” he said, his voice matching the face she’d placed. One she hadn’t seen in seven years.
“Eric?”
