Chapter 18
Nikita
Calvin is infuriating.
Besides the fact that we are now stuck in this ridiculous almost-orgy because of him, he still has the audacity to flaunt his arrogance and complete delusion, thinking I could ever fall victim to his charm. He wouldn’t know charm if it slapped him in the face.
And I am adamant to prove that to him.
“I’m going to take you through a series of motions and hand techniques that you can try on your partner,” Amari says, the music increasing in volume behind her voice. “Give yourself over to the connection. Embrace what it feels like to touch and be touched.”
Calvin is lying on his stomach on the massage table, a thin sheet over the bottom of his body leaving his back exposed but his head is still up.
I lean closer to him, “It’s a good thing you’re lying on your stomach, otherwise you’d be pitching a tent with this sheet.”
He scoffs, rolling his eyes, “Your arrogance knows no bounds.”
“I can say the same about you.” I push his head back in the hole.
As much as he doesn’t want to do this, there is no escaping Amari, especially when she keeps stopping by us and encouraging us to and I quote, ‘embrace the experience’. She leans closer to Calvin. “What’s your name?” Her voice is still coming through the speakers.
Calvin’s head pops up again, “Calvin.”
“Calvin,” she repeats before turning to me, “And your name?”
“Nikita.”
“Calvin and Nikita.” She clasps her hands together, “You make a beautiful couple, but it’s not all about what’s on the outside. You have to embrace what’s inside too and the life the two of you can create together.”
I would have hated this more if I was Calvin in this scenario, but the fact that Amari is using him as the dummy is becoming increasingly more amusing to me.
“We haven’t been going out that long,” Calvin adds.
Amari’s head is shaking, her eyes closing for a brief moment, “What is time? It is nothing. It means nothing.”
His face pulls with confusion. That brain of his - the one that doesn’t allow him the ability to accept something without facts and figures is not able to comprehend Amari’s open-minded nature.
She takes my hand and brings it over to the back of Calvin’s head. “Person A, time to put your head in the holes.” With my hand, I guide Calvin’s head back down. Her hands release mine, and she returns to me holding a small bottle that appears to be one of the essential oils.
“Now, person B, I want you to grab the Frankincense on the table next to you.” She instructs, lifting the bottle in her hand to show everyone else, “This is great for relaxation. We want our partner to melt beneath our touch.” She’s not just giving us these instructions, she is demonstrating them. Popping open the lid of the small bottle, she encourages us to do the same. Since she has my bottle, I lift my hands with my palms facing her as she proceeds to drop some oil. I rub them together, expecting her to move onto the next couple, but she remains, observing Calvin and I.
“Person B, start by standing at the head of the table.” I move to where she instructs. “With the oil on your hands, you’re going to start applying pressure by starting at the top by the shoulders and pressing down against the back in a downwards motion.” She demonstrates this a couple of times with hand gestures in the air before pausing for a moment to look over at me.
I position myself by Calvin’s head and add some speed to my movements, his deep golden skin staring up at me as my hands wrap around the curves of his back.
“Use your thumbs!” Amari tells everyone, “Really apply the pressure using them and you want to find the sweet spot - the spot that makes your partner go… ahhh!”
What the fuck have I agreed to?
I am ready to leave, but I have no other choice but to proceed with the massage I am going to have to give Calvin. If I do it well enough though, I know that I’ll be able to prove him wrong.
Which is exactly what I want.
“Touch him, Nikita. Allow your hands to explore your lover,” Amari encourages, snapping me back to reality as she uses a deeper cooing tone.
I place my hands on his back, the heat already seeping through my skin. It is an unusual feeling - foreign, but in an intriguing way.
Remember what you’re trying to do here.
Calvin tries to lift his head but I lean down my lips moving closer to his ear. “Uh uh, no moving now, pretty boy.”
He says something in response, but I can’t hear him over the music and the direction he is speaking in. “Embrace the feeling,” I snicker.
“Yes, Nikita, exactly!” Amari exclaims, clapping her hands together. “Once you allow yourself to explore these parts of your lover, you can unlock your deepest pleasures - together.”
As soon as Amari moves over to the next couple Calvin’s head pops up again.
“Why are you lifting your head every two seconds?” I mutter.
“Just wanted to check that you’re still having a good time.”
I plaster on a fake smile, “Oh, the best time.”
I push his head back in the hole and I hear him laugh. Moving closer to his ear again, I say, “I may or may not have put oil in your hair.”
“Are you seri-” His head tries to lift, but I keep it down before moving my hands back over to his bare back, using this as an opportunity to soak in his body. I didn’t realize what Calvin hides from the world beneath his linen shirts and pompous attitude. Beauty marks scatter across his golden skin and I take in the feeling of them as I run my fingers down him, shifting the amount of pressure applied as I move. I spread the oil over his back, moving to the sides to carefully include the muscles there as well as the dimples in his back.
Amari continues to take us through instructions, showing various techniques to try out and with the music surrounding us and the heat from Calvin’s body molding against my touch, I am finding myself falling in and out of awareness of exactly what is happening. I have every intention of making this massage an uncomfortable experience for him - that will teach him not to tell me what to do - but another part of me, the more dominant part, is more interested in making this an unforgettable experience instead.
The idea of having Calvin at the mercy of my touch gives me a rush - a powerful one - the pleaser in me seeks the validation in knowing that I have the ability to force him to cave first. At the end of the day, Calvin is a man and if I do it right, he will not be able to resist my touch. My advantage is that my love language is touch, there is something about touching that will set my body on fire, whether or not I am on the receiving end of it.
I bring my hands up to his neck, gently wrapping my fingers around the side of it as I apply pressure with my thumbs at the base, slowly sliding up and down either side.
There is a murmur of something from Calvin. I pause to try and hear him better but there is nothing, so instead, I repeat the motion, finding a rhythm that allows me enough time to apply pressure and then pause for a moment.
“You’re not very good at this,” Calvin says, lifting his eyes to mine, which only reveals that he’s lying. He is enjoying this way more than he cares to admit.
“Lying is a sin.”
I straighten up as I spread my fingers across the top of his shoulders slowly moving to grab them, applying pressure, and using my thumbs to dig deeper.
I’m becoming increasingly aware of my own physical reactions to this exercise, being caught by surprise at how aware my body is of his skin beneath my touch. I am supposed to be the one making it difficult for him to resist, not the other way around.
I never thought I would ever find myself in a situation where I had to touch Calvin of all people, but the real surprise is my interest in wanting to keep doing this.
There is a flicker of something.
A flicker of… attraction.
Oof! No way.
I shake my head removing my hands from his body as I walk over to the table where the products sit, needing to pull myself from the alternate reality that I’ve stepped into.
“You’re not done yet,” Calvin says from behind me.
I use the back of my hand to wipe my brow. Why is it so hot in here?
“I need more oil.”
I did not need more oil, I needed a break from touching him. Grabbing one of the other oils, I twist open the cap and drop some onto the palm of my hand, a whiff of vanilla surrounding me. I move back over to him, his head turning to the side to say something, “There’s a knot on the left side of my neck, you think you can sort that out?”
And just like that the flicker of attraction dissipates as quickly as it appeared. If I ever find myself falling victim to him, I just need him to say something and it’s gone.
Quickest turn-off.
“Right away, sir,” I mutter to myself as Amari demonstrates a different technique using the balls of your hand.
Calvin’s head returns to the hole and I continue my rhythm along his neck, knowing we have no other choice but to play this weird massage orgy out. A ripple of goosebumps appears on the skin by Calvin’s neck, sending an instant rush of satisfaction over me. The corners of my lips pull into a smirk. “Someone seems to be enjoying this,” I purr.
Calvin’s head shoots up, his eyes glaring at me but there is something else in them. He is trying his hardest to hide it, but I notice it. Is it an attraction? Enjoyment? Pleasure?
Maybe all of the above?
“You’re terrible at this, so how can I possibly be enjoying this?”
An amused smile plays on my lips. “You tell yourself whatever you need to, Rhodes.” I press deeper against his skin, feeling that knot he mentioned beneath my thumb. My one hand wraps around the base of his neck, using my thumb to work through the kink on the side, slowly increasing the pressure applied as it loosens up.
A deep press against him elicits a satisfying sound from him.
A deep, pleasure-filled groan.
I need to hear that again.
I push harder, needing to hear that again and hating myself for that. There is something about that sound that sets my blood on fire and reveals a deep ache coming from between my legs.
Oh no. This is not happening.
I am not sexually attracted to Calvin.
That will be a travesty.
Sure, it has been a while since I’ve taken a ride on anything that isn’t my vibrator, but this is Calvin - Calvin. I’ll bet money on the fact that fucking him would probably be the most boring, vanilla, disappointing experience ever.
So, why the hell am I thinking about what it will be like to fuck him?
“Times up!” Amari’s voice saves me from my unholy thoughts and my hands jump off his skin, “Lovers, it’s time to swap.”
I step back from the table as Calvin pulls himself up, swinging his legs over the side of his table, his toned chest and torso on full display.
I nip at the inside of my lip, forcing myself to ignore the increasing pressure between my legs reminding me that this one is a losing battle.
But I will never admit that to him,
“Six out of ten,” Calvin says as he reaches for his shirt, pulling it over his body - thank God.
“Excuse me?”
“Your massage. I give you a six out of ten.”
My eyes roll. “I’d say that moan of yours is giving me a solid ten out of ten.”
“I did not moan,” he mutters defensively.
“You and I both know you’re lying.” I lift my hand and pat his cheek, “One point to Nikita.”