9781618857569GettingitAllStorm (4 page)

Matt
and Clayton stood looking at each other, smiling tentatively.

“The
room isn’t ready,” the muscular young masseur-to-be eagerly explained, “
but
if you’ll give me a couple of minutes to shove things
around, the table’s in there and that’s really all we need.” He turned to hurry
into the freshly painted space.

Matt
stared at the retreating figure. Damn, he was built like…

“Did
Leo say you were undecided about getting a massage?” Moving to unfold a
portable padded massage table into the center of the room, the young man
quickly slid a small beat-up bedside table next to it. “I can give you a really
good price since the place isn’t quite finished.” He laughed, somewhat
nervously, “If you promise to mention me to your buddies, I’ll even give you a
freebie. Did Leo say you worked at a car shop? Sorry, I had my
earbuds
in. And, mostly, I get around on my bike.”

Matt
walked into the freshly painted space.
Eye-blinding yellow.
Bright, no-place-to-hide, fucking-scare-the-shit-out-of-a-guy-who-might-be-a-little-nervous-about-letting-another-guy-put-his-hands-on-him
possible customer.
And what the hell was that scent?
Patchouli?

Patchouli.

“Uh, yeah.
I work at a car shop. How’s…what’s all this about? Is this Leo’s version of a
spa?
For guys?
Is he gonna set up a hot tub in the
corner?”

“Oh.
I never thought of that.” The surprised young man considered the suggestion
eagerly. “Yeah…that might work.” Then just as quickly downcast. “But, man, that
would really set me back. Probably have to have the place rewired and new
plumbing.” He gave a broad-shouldered resigned shrug and grinned. “I guess I’ll
just have to depend on these for a while.” He held up his hands and flexed and
released ten strong fingers.

Matt
felt his body pull back as the thick forearms swelled and the young man’s
biceps bulged. Would not want to mess with that dude, he thought, warily.

“What
do you think?” The kid
arced
his astonishingly muscled
arm around, twisting to take in the small room. His chest expanded, his abs
compacted, and his ass thickened inside the paint-spattered cargo cut-offs that
hung from his slim hips. Not a hair on him. He was like a piece of sculpture,
Matt noted, again somewhat warily.

Or
a porn dude. Not that he would know much about…

“It’s…nice,”
Matt said firmly. No use bashing the kids’ hopes right at the beginning of the
game and, besides, who knew? Maybe bright and perky is what guys would want
after a hard day of battling Wall Street. “I’ll bet this place hasn’t been as
clean since Leo first moved in sometime in the first century,” he chuckled,
trying not to totally scope out the incredibly constructed young man. “You
talked him in to letting you do this? You came up with the idea?”

“Yeah.”
He seemed inordinately pleased to have his business acumen recognized. His grin
of satisfaction was almost as magnetic as his stunningly sexy body.

Sexy body?
A guy?
Watch it, Matt, old man…

“I
worked in the city—you know, downstate…New York City—as a personal trainer in a
really fancy spa, but I’m really not a city guy and I’ve always wanted, like, a
place of my own in a place like this.” Clayton easily pushed packed boxes and
discarded furniture out of the way.

His
muscles were workhorses as well as impressive too, Matt noted, admiringly.

“A
buddy and I were knocking around the area one weekend and came in here…the
old-fashioned barber pole out front did it. I thought, man, I have got to check
that out.” He dug bottles of oil out of his backpack and set out scented
candles on the small table next to the massage table.

Scented candles.
Whoa.

“We
got to talking with Leo—I’ve never had a shave with a straight razor before—we
got around to massages.
For guys.
Like
in the malls.
Except full body stuff, you
know,
not just backs and necks.
To get them to really relax.”

“True.
Up-scale thinking.
There are plenty of young
executives around with money who need to get the tension kneaded out of them.
Very smart.
Sounds like a plan.”

The
young man beamed.
“Yeah…yeah!
Exactly.”
His finely shaped, closely shorn head nodded. “I quit my job. Found a little
place not too far from Main Street. And here I am.
Whole new
life.
Maybe.
I can bike to work and leave the
bike outside unlocked.” He
grinned
another killer
grin.

Matt
looked shocked.
“Whole new life?
But…what if it doesn’t
work?” Matt never had that sense of adventure.
To just get up
and go.
Try something totally different. He had always been hopelessly
homebound. Usually from necessity, he allowed. But, still, he had never had
that desperate urge to get out and try something new.

Maybe…maybe
it was time to think in new directions.

“It’s
okay. I’ve got plenty of money saved up. Trainers make a shit load of shekels
in the city. And if it doesn’t work out, I can just sit and watch the mountains
and the sky.”

“They’re
not really mountains. I mean, not like—”

“I
know. I’ve been out west and down south to the
Smokies
.
But to me they are. They’re better than Central Park. I’ve got trees! I mean,
they’re like right there in my yard.
And all around.
I
don’t have to get on a bike to get to them.” His enthusiasm was infectious.
Matt could only wish the kid well and remember when his own enthusiasm was
infectious…barely.

“I’m
sorry,
the dressing area isn’t set up yet. I’m gonna
have a folding screen.”

“That’s
okay. Just let me just
be
sure the place is locked,”
Matt smiled as he crossed into the barbershop to check the front door,
unbuttoning his shirt as he returned, closing the back room door behind him.
“Here we are…in our own little private…yellow nest.” He popped off his work boots
and stepped out of his pants.

“You
don’t think it’s too bright? Hey, cool underpants, man.”

Matt
felt his face warm. “They’re…I usually wear…boxer briefs.” He realized his
thumbs were toying with the waistband, assisting the ‘shape-enhancing seams.’ He
laughed.
“Busted.
I didn’t expect to be exposing my
assets today. And…” He was in full blush mode. “This micro fiber stuff is…sexy.
I’ve always
kinda
wanted to try it. Do I strip down,
or what?”

“Yeah.
Well,” the big blond eyed him carefully, “you look good. You must do really
well…with the ladies. Stripping is up to you, some guys are kind of shy, but I
can get a better feel if you’re naked.” He chuckled at the obvious. “Sorry
about that.”

Matt
slid the semi-transparent briefs off and carefully laid them aside. Commando it
would be. “I’ve been kind of out of the loop lately. Lost my wife a while ago
and…” He boosted himself onto the massage table and sat. “And…”

“Oh,
man, I am so sorry.
Very long ago?”

Yesterday.
Forever.
What could you say to that? After a while,
there’s nothing left to say. Besides, the guy might have lost a buddy to AIDS
or something, or like Buddy, friends in the military.

Matt
straightened.
“On my back or on my face?”

“Face,
please. I’ve got this padded thing you can rest your face in or
your
head on. Whatever’s most
comfortable.
”
He handed Matt a padded roll. Matt stretched and adjusted his head into the
firmly padded shape.

“Nice
ass.” Clayton briskly rubbed his palms together. “You must crawl around under
cars a lot,” he chuckled. “We’ll start there, okay?”

“Start
the massage crawling around under cars?” Matt asked, wryly, when…“Whoa!”

“Oh, sorry.
I thought my hands were warm enough…”

“I
think it’s the first time a guy has ever put his hands on my butt.”

 
“Don’t worry. By the time I’m finished, you’ll
get used to having hands all over you.” He smacked Matt’s firm butt cheeks and
began kneading.

Clayton
was right. Matt got used to it very quickly.
And liked it.

A lot.

A
few hours later he stood looking at himself in the full-length mirror of his
cottage bedroom. He was getting ready for bed and was down to his “secret
admirer” shorts.

Weird
day, he thought, contemplating his reflected image. He adjusted and readjusted
himself inside the “enhanced seaming” of the sheer, soft fabric, checking
himself out. Not too bad, all things considered, he mused.

Still
in pretty good shape—he tightened his abdomen and straightened his back—maybe a
little soft, a little lax. There had seemed little reason to make a
concentrated effort to look good for so long he had pretty much left it to Doc
Prager
and his annual check-ups to let him know if he was
going to flab too quickly.

He
could get back to the gym. Maybe work in a workout or two a week. Get a little
more definition. He wasn’t that over-the-hill yet.

But why?
To show off to Clay when he stripped for a massage which he was obviously going
to be having more often? There was something about hands on his flesh that
awakened a nice glow he had been missing for a long, long time.

True,
lately he had caught himself paying a little more close attention to the looks
of some of his female customers. He had found himself less annoyed with the
efforts of his buddies to get him involved in the dating game again. But he had
fought it. Afraid he was despoiling the memory of something that was precious,
that had meant more than the world to him.

But
something new was happening now. Something inside his loins and inside his head
that hadn’t happened in a long while and it unsettled him and excited him at
the same time.

He
slipped off the underwear and walked into the bathroom. Rummaging around in the
cabinet he found the detergent and proceeded to rinse the garment out in the
sink.

He
hadn’t done hand laundry since…

But
he liked the feel of the soft material, he liked the snug support. He liked
feeling “enhanced.” Maybe he’d wear the shorts again tomorrow. Maybe he’d keep
an eye open for
whom
he thought might be secretly
admiring him.

Maybe…it
was time for no pajamas again.

Matt
crawled into bed.

Maybe…

…there
was life after Alice after all.

Chapter
Two

Tentatively,
Lucy picked up the office phone. Thank goodness Mr. Anders went to that
business luncheon, she thought. He was in a terrible mood today. Now she could
make a personal call if she wanted. She deserved some space of her own after
the way he yelled and carried on this morning
.

With
renewed resolve, she punched the buttons.

“Hi.
Matt’s Motors.
How can I help?”

“Uh…hi, Matt.
It’s Lucy Drake.”

“Oh,
hiya
, Lucy.
How’s that fine American car of yours? Not standing
you up again, I hope.”

“Sam?
Oh, no, he’s fine. He…oh, that’s a joke.” She giggled. “Well, as a matter of
fact, I think he might have a cold,” she laughed, hurrying on, feeling much
more at ease than she had expected. “But I don’t think it’s gonna turn into the
flu or anything.”

“You
want to bring him in?” There was a smile in Matt’s voice. “Buddy or one of the
guys will get him to cough and we’ll take it from there,” he chuckled. “I can
loan you a—”

“Uh, no, Matt.
Sam’s fine. Well, as a matter of fact, it would be nice to, uh, see you. I
mean, yes, that’s a great idea. I’ll bring Sam in. We can…you can take a look
at him…maybe we can take a drive…or something.”

She
suddenly realized she hadn’t really thought things through about how to approach
Matt. She hadn’t worked through the ‘what if’s’ or determined on possible
courses of action. That was very unlike her. Lucy considered herself very
methodical.

If
he were watching, her boss, Mr. Anders, would be annoyed with her for being so
badly prepared. For being so spur of the moment. Normally she was very good
with helping him with business affairs when he asked. As a matter of fact, she
was beginning to consider herself very well versed in the legal aspects of
real-estate transactions. But with Matt, with a guy, as usual, she was reacting
to what happened, moment by moment, not working to make things happen the way
she wanted.