Chapter 4
It wasanother week before I saw the demon guy again. I’d honestly given up hope after the first few days of not hearing from him. It was disappointing but also a brief interaction and it probably didn’t faze him, so why would he care to follow up? I’d been cleaning up after an appointment when Winnie poked her head into my room.
“Hey, Zach? You’ve got a visitor up front.”
I made a face. No one came to visit me here. My dads agreed it was too weird having their son massage them and my friends either worked here or texted me when they wanted to hang out. I didn’t get visits. Confused, I followed Winnie out, dumping the used sheets into the laundry room on my way. I headed for the lobby, almost tripping over my own two feet when I noticed the demon guy waiting for me.
“Is everything okay?” Winnie whispered. She came to a halt when I did and she looked anxious when she glanced at the guy in question.
Pursing my lips, I tried to ignore her automatic fear of the guy. Since they showed up, paranormals had been getting the short end of the stick when it came to equal treatment. People automatically assumed they were bad because they weren’t like us. In my opinion, people were just bitching because humans were no longer on top of the food chain. It made them nervous. Being a 5’8” man, I was used to being lower on the totem pole. Paranormals didn’t bother me as much as cocky human men did.
It wasn’t fear that stopped me in my tracks, though. Mostly I was surprised, but a little bit I was excited to see him. He piqued my curiosity, and I wanted to get to know him better. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to rein in the overwhelming excitement as I headed to greet him. I knew I had a big personality. I didn’t want to scare him off.
“Hey, you.”
Turning away from a display of crystals for sale, he looked me over, all quiet contemplation that made my heart skip a beat. My uniform for the spa was cute, but not normally my style. It was all black, and I preferred a lot of colors. It still made me all fluttery that he was looking. I tipped my head, giving myself a minute to appraise him too. Oh, who am I kidding? I was blatantly checking him out and I couldn’t find it in me to be ashamed of that. He looked good, his hair pushed back out of his face, though it looked like he was either in the process of growing it out or in need of a haircut. He still stuck with the jeans and t-shirt style, but he looked comfortable. And a little awkward if his hands shoved into his pockets and his tense shoulders were any indication.
“You okay?”
He nodded once, but the stoic look was lined with tension and I felt myself frown.
“Wanna talk about it?”
The look that flashed over his face was an immediate no. I wasn’t entirely sure why he was here, but I’d already had my last appointment for the night, so I wasn’t in any rush. I let my hand flutter toward the back, beckoning him to follow me.
“Come on. Some time in the meditation room might help.”
His mouth twitched on one side, and I pursed my lips against a grin. It was a good thing I was an expert on reading people, otherwise I wouldn’t know what to think about this guy. But that was a look of disbelief if I’d ever seen one. I ignored it, taking his hand and pulling him along. He’d learn that my tenacious personality was a strength of mine. I’d make him a believer in the spa in no time.
The meditation room was in the middle of the spa. It was dark, the lights muted, and no one spoke above a whisper in here. There were two people who were waiting for their massage therapists sitting in the far corner, so I pulled the demon to the opposite side and nudged him onto one of the couches against the wall. Sitting beside him, I took a few deep breaths. I loved it in here. I was a naturally energetic person. Only in here could I still my mind and just let myself rest.
The demon guy was still tense beside me, but when I locked eyes with him and took another breath, he mimicked me. I had to fight to keep the grin off my face. He was a good listener, and I didn”t even have to say anything. He matched his breathing with mine, those deep purple eyes black in the shadows of the room. We were hidden in shadows and unless someone shined a light on him, they probably wouldn’t even notice he was a demon. After a few minutes, his shoulders came down slightly and he frowned at me.
“How did you do that?” he murmured.
I shrugged. “Sometimes the mind needs time to settle before we can get the words out. That”s why I love being in here. I’ll come here on my days off and just sit for a while if I’m having a rough day. You’re welcome to come too, if you want. Just ask for me. I’ll bring you back.”
He nodded slowly, but he was still frowning, which felt unusual from what I knew about him. The other day when I interacted with him, he’d always masked his expressions. Whatever was upsetting him now was enough to pierce through the mask.
“Do you think you’re ready to talk?”
He let out another long breath. “It was nothing. I’m not even sure why I came here.”
That obviously wasn’t true, because even though he tried, he still couldn’t mask his frown. I put my hand on his shoulder, feeling the tension under my hand as his brows drew together again.
“Maybe I can help. Have you ever gotten a massage before?”
He shook his head. The doubtful look was tempered, since coming back here obviously hadn’t been a waste, but he still didn’t think I could help. I squeezed his shoulder gently.
“Gimme a few minutes to set up my room. I’ll bring you back when I’m through.”
He caught my hand before I could walk away, his frown even more pronounced. If he wasn’t careful, it was going to get stuck that way.
“Why do you keep helping me?”
I smiled softly. “I like helping people. It’s kind of in my job description.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but I didn’t need the demon guy to think I was some kind of weirdo because I was curious about him. He was probably gawked at enough.
Stepping away from him, our hands slipped away, and I mourned the loss a little. I shot him a reassuring smile before disappearing into the hallway. I stopped at the front long enough to let Winnie know my room would be occupied and grabbed some new sheets before heading to my room to prep. Luckily, the table was wide enough that I assumed the guy would fit. It’d held humans a lot heavier than him. I covered the table, grabbing a few oils I knew worked best for stress, and dabbed a little lavender on my wrists.
A bubbly sort of excitement was gathering in my belly, but I ignored it. It happened now and then when I was attracted to my client, but I never let it affect my work. I was only human. I had urges just like everyone else, but that wasn’t appropriate here, so I kept it to myself. I could always go to a club and hook up later to work out the energy.
Grounding myself with another deep breath, I headed back to the meditation room. The demon’s shoulders had come back up since I was gone, and he looked uncomfortable. I offered him my hand without thinking about it, smiling at him.
“Come on. I’ll show you the way.”
He studied my hand for a moment before taking it, his huge palm engulfing mine. I was really glad the lights were dim in here, because a flush was working its way up my neck and with my pale skin, it was impossible to hide it. No matter how much makeup I used to cover it. I led the demon, whose name I really needed to ask, into the hallway, pointing out the restroom down the hall before leading him to my room. It was in the corner, one of the farthest from the foot traffic going in and out of the meditation room. After leading the demon inside, I turned to him with a smile.
“Okay, first things first. I’m gonna give you my little spiel. My name is Zach. I’ll be looking after you today. Once I’m done explaining things, you can get undressed to your level of comfort. Some people get fully undressed, others prefer to keep some clothes on. Whatever you’re comfortable with is good. The goal is to help you relax, so being uncomfortable really won’t help us. Is there a specific spot that feels most tense that you’d like me to focus on?”
He shook his head, but his shoulders said otherwise. I decided not to push, continuing with my little speech on oils I was going to use and asking him questions on things like allergies or scents he doesn’t like. He didn’t have a lot of opinions, which was normal, at least for the first time. He still looked dubious and uncomfortable, but I didn”t let it get to me. Most first-timers looked that way. I finished up my introduction, pointing towards the door.
“I’m gonna head out into the hall and give you time to change. Once you’re done, you can go ahead and get under those sheets on your stomach. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”