Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
Cam stood outside Sunstone Healing and debated for the thousandth time about going in.
Whatever magic Sabrina worked Friday night made him sleep comfortably for the first time in weeks.
No other major events messed up his weekend, and he woke up this morning in a good mood.
That lasted all of about an hour, until he got to work.
The first job was turning a set of axles for a Chevy Nova, then building out the camshaft for it.
Cam’s talent for precision machining had earned him his name, but it also meant he got most of that type of work.
Forming the discs, then measuring and grinding the spinning lobes took patience as well as accuracy.
If the camshaft wasn’t as perfectly timed as possible, the engine wouldn’t fire right, and all the work would be wasted.
The job was heavy and tedious, and of course before noon, his back seized up again like it had never been released.
Cam sighed. He’d mentioned to Quillon about the free massage, and his boss made him call to book an appointment. Sabrina had chortled with satisfaction, as if she’d expected his call. She had an opening in the late afternoon, and Quillon made him leave early to get it done.
The spa’s facade looked like all the other businesses in this strip mall, but he imagined the inside was probably elegant and had perfumed air floating around. He smelled like cutting fluid.
Nope, I’m not going in there.
He turned to leave, pulling out his phone to call and cancel, when an older African American woman walked toward him.
“The sun don’t stop moving, babycakes. Let’s go.” Her colorful skirt flowed around her short, round body as she moved. “Who are you seeing today?”
Cam had no choice, as the woman herded him into the building. “I’m… uh… Sabrina?”
Her brown eyes lit up. “Oh yes, she’s my new girl. Sweet as Southern pie. Don’t get her riled, though. I’m Cicely, and I own the place.” The beads hanging from her thin braids rattled as she flipped them behind her back. “She’ll do you up right.”
Cam’s body tightened into one big knot as Sabrina came down a hall into the reception area. “I wasn’t sure you were gonna make it. I’ve got the room ready to go, so come on back. How are you doing today?”
She ushered him down another short hall. Yes, indeed, the place smelled exotic—something spicy that reminded him of one of those bath stores with all the lotions and candles and shit.
“I came straight from work, so I’m not exactly clean,” he told her.
“Did you shower this morning?”
“I shower at night. I get pretty dirty at the machine shop, and I don’t like sleeping in smoodge.”
“Nice word. Smoodge. Are you smoodged up right now?”
“Kinda. Oil and grease from the lathes, n’at.”
She waved a hand. “Not a problem. My dad used to—”
She stopped speaking, and her face grew serious. “Will Scrap get his panties in a twist if he finds out you came here to see me?”
Cam shook his head. “That’s not my problem. He’s a grown man who can handle his own shit.” He changed the subject, as he didn’t want to think about why she came to Pittsburgh in the first place. “Remember how I said I’ve never had a massage before? I don’t know what to expect.”
A grin burst across her face that Cam could only describe as diabolical. “Oh, darlin’, just you wait!”
In five minutes, Cam found himself in a room, stripped down to his boxers and lying under a thin sheet on a flat table with his face in a padded donut, wondering about his life choices. Soft music played in the background, and the air had a clean, fresh smell to it.
Sabrina had stepped out for him to get undressed and settled. She knocked softly before coming back in. “Are you ready?” she asked.
Cam noted an amused tone in her voice and became wary. “Yeah?”
At first, he expected her to just rub his back with some oily stuff. He changed his mind quickly when her elbow dug into his left butt cheek.
“Shit!” The word exploded from him before he could stop it.
“Lower back problems stem from your glutes being too tight. I bet your psoas muscle is also a factor.”
“So-Ass?” Cam bit out as tears gathered in his eyes.
“Cuss if you want to. It’s pronounced ‘so-az,’ and it’s related to the hip flexors. I know this is tough and hurts. You have some really crunchy spots here, so please tell me if it’s too much. I can ease off a bit. And a word to the wise? Relax your sphincter.”
Cam’s attention flew from the pain in his rear to her words. “What? Did you just tell me to relax my butthole?”
She laughed. “Absolutely, sugar. If you loosen that muscle, it will reduce your overall tension and make this massage easier and more effective. Try it. You’ll see.”
“I’m doubting your intentions.”
She laughed again but kept up the pressure on his butt cheek. “I’m a professional. I promise, nothing I do is meant to hurt you, and there are no ulterior motives. You can trust me.”
Cam took a breath. “Okay. I’ll… um… do my best.”
Jeez, how many times had he talked about his butthole with a woman? Up until now, zero.
The pressure she applied was steady, and the muscle gradually released. “I like your ink.”
Cam’s back tensed at her compliment. He hadn’t thought about what she might find on his back. Most people didn’t notice beneath the elaborate tattoo. He hoped she wouldn’t either. “Thanks.”
The tattoo was a black-and-gray clockface with interlocking gears on the inside and hands that were permanently pointed at four forty.
A set of forging hammers crossed over either side of the clock and appeared to be breaking it open.
The scripted phrase across his shoulders read “Forget the past. Start over. Every day.”
“That’s a very specific time. Why did you choose it?”
He hesitated before saying, “It’s when I was born.” He hoped she picked up on his reluctance to talk. The short answer seemed to work.
She moved from spot to spot, finding trigger points and working them. Cam did his best to keep from tensing up and fighting her. It was hard.
Speaking of hard….
“Tell me about Ernie.” He had to keep her talking, more to keep himself distracted than her.
Her breath intake was sharp but didn’t sound angry.
“That’s kind of a long story. You sure you want to hear it?”
“Yeah.” He was genuinely curious about the pretty woman.
She moved to the other side of the table and worked his right butt cheek the same way. His concentration moved from his burgeoning dick to the pain, though he could admit that the left one was a lot looser now.
“I barely remember when my mom and dad were together. She was there, and then she wasn’t.
For most of my childhood, she would show up whenever she felt like it, stay for a few days, sometimes a few weeks, then disappear again.
Ernie didn’t divorce her until after I turned eighteen, I guess to see if she’d eventually settle down and be an actual mom to me.
But I always wondered how he could stay married to someone who didn’t stick around for any length of time. ”
She shifted to his lower back and spine, pressing her fingers into the tendons just above his butt crack. He bit back a curse and tensed for a moment but forced himself to let it go as he listened to her story.
“I grew up with Ernie and my stepbrother, Rodrigo, Ernie’s first wife’s son. Ernie adopted him, so legally he’s my older brother, but he’s never really considered me to be his sister, even though we grew up together after his mom passed away.”
She moved around his lower back, working the rigid tight spots and bringing tears to his eyes.
“I’d say growing up, it was all pretty normal stuff.
We had school and chores. We stayed with Aunt Marianne or Aunt Rosa when Dad had to make a run.
In the summers, we traveled with him in the truck sometimes, no summer camps or anything like that.
We weren’t poor, but there was no extra money for that kind of thing. ”
Cam could relate. He had also grown up in a household with a tight budget.
“Anyway, if we were broke, no one told me. When we rode with him when we were little, we’d sleep in the cab.
Later, Rodrigo decided he didn’t want to go anymore and stayed with Aunt Rosa when Ernie had to make a run.
Those were some really good times, just me and my dad.
The first vehicle I ever drove was an eighteen-wheeler.
I wasn’t supposed to be behind the wheel, but Dad taught me well.
I even thought about following in his footsteps, but I found this profession instead.
Dad loved it when I decided to become a massage therapist and helped me all through my school training. ”
She moved her thumbs down and to the side.
It hurt, but in a good way. The oil she used had a pleasant scent that wasn’t overpowering or flowery.
She repeated the motion several times, loosening the tightness and bringing relief.
Cam found himself drifting into a dream state despite the pressure she applied. He felt good.
Almost too good.
She started feeling up his spine and found a bad spot just under his shoulder blade.
He winced as she applied pressure and movement.
Talking was a great distraction, and he did his best to keep up the conversation.
His curiosity about the woman had nothing to do with his need to hear her voice.
“Sounds like you and your dad had a good life. How come you wanted to find Scrap?”
“I debated a long time about that. I’m really not sure, to tell you the truth.
The man has done nothing for me my whole life, never acknowledged my existence.
That’s either because he didn’t believe Raquel or maybe he didn’t know about me in the first place.
I think I just have this need to find out for sure. ”
Her hands moved to the other side of his shoulder and started on another spot.
“I spent most of my life feeling odd, like I didn’t really belong.
I wasn’t abused or starved or anything, but I wasn’t exactly welcome at times.
Aunt Rosa would call me ‘that woman’s daughter’ instead of her niece.
After Ernie died and it came out that Walter might be my real father, she turned against me and called me a bunch of other names.
‘Bastard’ and ‘leech’ were two of them. She said if I wasn’t really blood related, I had no place there and should get out.
So now I guess I’m looking for where I’m supposed to be. ”
“What happened to your Aunt Marianne?”
Sabrina smoothed more oil onto her hands.
“She passed away a few years ago. They said it was a stroke. My cousins had a time getting the estate settled. Ernie talked to me about writing a will, but he never did. He died a few months ago without ever taking care of it, and the family has been in an uproar ever since. Lots of drama and finger-pointing, mainly at me, saying if I’m not his bio-daughter, then I have no claim to anything.
Personally, I don’t care about any of it.
I’d give away anything my dad left me just to have him back. ”
Cam felt her hands shaking as they applied pressure to the tendons just under his armpits.
It hurt like hell, but the release was incredible.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. I’ll try to help you get Scrap to come around so at least you’ll have that answer.
He’s a stubborn old goat, though, so be ready for a fight. ”
Her light laugh was good to hear. “Thanks. I appreciate your efforts.” She lifted her hands and took a step back. “Okay, time to flip. Scooch down until your head is on the table.”
Cam noticed that she looked to the corner of the room as she lifted the sheet from his hips. He turned over, and she settled the sheet over his body once more.
“Now, this one may get a little intense, so please don’t be afraid to tell me if it’s too much.” She dug her fingers into the pocket between his hip, groin, and thigh.
“Fuck!” he cried out.
“Yeah, this is a bad one. I’ll ease off a bit. Take some deep breaths and try to relax.”
Cam sucked in several lungfuls of air, enough to make him dizzy.
The sharp burning in his thigh distracted him enough that it took him several minutes to figure out how close her hands were to his dick.
This time, any twitch of interest disappeared as his focus squared entirely on the stressed muscle.
He needed more distraction. “Do you think you’ll go back to Florida after you find out what you need to know? ”
She paused. “I’m not sure yet. I could go home—or what home I have left. I could stay here. I could leave and explore the country until I find a place I like. I have a lot of paths in front of me. I don’t understand yet where they’ll lead, but I can’t move on until I figure out who I am.”
Cam agreed with her. “I get it. Like I said, I’ll help you as much as I can.”
She moved to his other side and repeated the dig. “That’s great, Camshaft. Hey, do you have another name besides your road name?”
“Yeah, but I don’t use it or answer to it. You can just call me Cam.” The pain was just as intense, but he didn’t yell this time as he’d expected it.
“Wanna share it anyway?”
“No.” His tone was brusque.
“Okay, then. You’re done. I’ll step out while you get dressed.”
A few minutes later, Cam walked down the short hall to where Sabrina waited.
“How do you feel?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.
He rolled his shoulders. For the first time in days, he was pain-free. “I’m a little sore, but I’m good.” He grinned. “You weren’t kidding.”
Her sassy smile came out at that. Damn, she’s cute!
“I never kid when it comes to massage. Today was a freebie, but next time, I’m gonna charge full price for working on your ass. I expect a good tip too.”
Cam let out a bark of laughter. “How do you know I’ll be back?”
Her mouth curved even more. “Oh, sugar, you’ll definitely be back.”