Chapter Twelve
Ben’s stomach dropped the moment he heard the wordmassage. He’d known from the schedule he’d been given what was supposed to be happening today, but it hadn’t really hit him until he’d set foot in the room what was about to happen.
Kissing Sam’s finger was one thing. Ben still felt a little strange about that, even though it had happened yesterday, but this… this was a different thing altogether.
“You’re going first,” Sam said. “Sit.” He nodded to the stool in front of them. Every couple had one.
At least it wasn’t a massage table. Ben wasn’t sure he could have handled that.
He sat obediently, figuring they’d both have to do this eventually.
Behind him, Sam chuckled. “You’ve got choices. You want chocolate or lemon-scented oil?”
“Lemon,” Ben said. “I don’t wanna spend the rest of the day smelling of chocolate.”
“Are you saying youdon’twant to be irresistible? Because that’s what the chocolate one says. The lemon just says uplifting.”
Ben shifted on the stool. “I’m already both irresistible and uplifting.”
Sam laughed again, uncapping a bottle. The most offensively chemical lemon scent Ben had ever smelled hit him immediately, an assault on his nostrils that made him cough, forcing him to cover his mouth and nose to get away from it.
Sam put the cap back on the bottle. “Sorry, I’m not using that,” he said. “You’re stuck with chocolate. Or chafing.”
“If the chocolate smells that bad, I’m faking a headache.”
“After being hit with that smell, I don’t think I’d even need to fake,” Sam responded. Ben heard him uncap the other bottle, but didn’t immediately smell anything.
That seemed like a good sign.
“Okay, this one smells… very faint, so I guess we’ll go with it?”
“Sure,” Ben agreed. Maybe this would be fine. He normally wasn’t big on strangers touching him, but Sam wasn’t a stranger. Besides, a neck massage sounded good.
Behind him, Ben could hear the unmistakable sound of oiled hands being rubbed together. It was nice that Sam was warming it up for him, but it seemed a little unnecessary.
Or not unnecessary, exactly, but like more than he deserved.
“Oh, wow,” Sam said, inhaling deeply. “The scent comes out as you warm it. Holy shit. Remind me to write the brand name down.”
At least one of them was enjoying themselves. Ben glanced at the other couples, each of them deciding between their own selection of oils and who would go first. Apparently, not everyone had been supplied with the lemon option.
Ben wasn’t sure if it was random chance, or if this meant that Annie and Robert hated him and wanted him to suffer.
Or if maybe their sense of smell was non-existent.
Ben jumped as he felt Sam’s hands fall on the sides of his neck, having forgotten what was about to happen while he’d been lost in his own little world.
He hadn’t realized how tense he was until the warmth started soothing him instantly. He sighed a deep, heartfelt sigh, and felt his shoulders drop an inch without him consciously trying to make them.
“Are you planning on needing a lot of massage oil?” Ben asked, closing his eyes even as he felt guilty about how much he was enjoying the simple contact.
“I can do my own hand and arm massages. You should do those, too. You use your hands a lot, they’re good for you,” Sam said.
Ben opened his mouth to respond, but groaned instead as Sam’s thumb pressed deeply into a knot. He bit down on his lip to keep himself quiet, but whimpered again as the knot released anyway.
He shifted his weight, uncomfortably aware of the way his skin was tingling under Sam’s touch. It had been a long, long time since anyone had touched him like this.
“You sound like you’re having a good time,” Sam said.
