6. Blessing
I wasn’t looking forward to working with Saint today.
His attitude yesterday rubbed me the wrong way.
From now on, I was only coming to do my job and keep it pushing.
At least today was Friday, and I wouldn’t have to deal with him again until Monday.
The front door was already unlocked when I walked in.
The smell of breakfast immediately hit my nose as I walked into the kitchen.
Miss Jackie was in here throwing down as usual.
“Good morning, Miss Jackie,” I said, leaning against the counter. I set my bag down, taking my coffee as she passed it to me.
“Good morning, pretty lady. You hungry? I made some smothered potatoes, turkey sausage, and egg whites.”
“You know I am. Thank you.” I grinned. She made my plate and passed it to me. I took a seat and immediately dug in. Her food was always so damn good.
“Girllll, I am loving the new hair! It looks so good on you. Who does your hair?” She asked as she blended Saint’s protein shake.
Last night, I had Chanel give me a cute barbie ponytail with a swooped bang. I kept seeing the hairstyle all over social media and knew I had to try it. “My best friend Chanel does my hair. I’m so in love with this style. I feel like it fits my round face perfectly.”
“It does. Can you send me her website? I would love for her to do my hair.” I nodded, pulling out my phone to send her the link to Chanel’s booking site.
I turned, hearing Saint’s crutches coming down the hall. His girlfriend was in front of him, and he was following close behind her. I watched as she glanced at me, then over to Miss Jackie.
“Good morning, ma,” Mariah said, giving her a side hug.
I could tell the gesture caught her off guard by the look on her face.
“Uh, Blessing, right?” I nodded. “His knee is swollen. You need to do a better job at making sure he’s healing properly.
You’re not getting paid for nothing. Do better.
” She hurried out of the kitchen before I could respond to her.
I scoffed, shaking my head. I stood to grab my bag and threw it over my shoulder. “That was the last strike. Saint, the money you paid me will be wired back to your account as soon as possible. I hope you find someone else to suit you better.”
“Blessing wait,” Saint said, grabbing my arm. I snatched away from him, folding my arms across my chest. “Just come to the gym so we can talk. Please.”
“Saint, you better control that girl.” Miss Jackie said sternly.
I followed Saint into the gym and stood against the wall, glaring at him. “Say whatever you’re going to say so I can leave.”
“Look, I apologize for my behavior yesterday. I had no right to talk to you like that when you did nothing wrong. I was in my feelings about the conversation I had before we started our session. I apologize for Mariah as well. I have already told her not to address you. I promise you will never have to deal with her again. Please don’t quit, Blessing.
I need you.” He pleaded, looking down at me.
I sighed, “I don’t know, Saint. I’m used to the bad days from injured athletes, but I’ve never had any of my clients’ significant others constantly talk to me like shit. I don’t deserve that. I come here to do my job, that’s it.”
“Please, Blessing. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. I’ll pay extra. Just please don’t quit. I need you. You know you’re the number one PT in the city. I’ll get down on my knees and beg you.”
“Fine. But this is your last chance. One more incident and I’m done. I’ll take that extra pay. Don’t get down on that knee. It’ll only make it worse. Now explain to me why your knee is swollen. You were fine yesterday.”
“Man.. you gone yell at me?” He asked with a guilty expression. I shook my head, then gestured for him to continue. “Dru had me at a party last night, and this thick ass stripper gave me a lap dance. My knee was fine until I woke up this morning. I guess there was too much pressure on it.”
I burst into laughter, shaking my head, “I doubt that’s the reason. You probably slept wrong. Sit down so I can take a look at it.” I instructed. I squatted down in front of him, unstrapping his knee brace. I gently pressed down on the swollen area, glancing up at him. “What’s your pain level?”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“Okay. So instead of our usual session, I’m going to give you a soft tissue massage to help with the swelling, then you’ll ice it for the next few hours. You should be fine, though. If the swelling doesn’t go down, talk to your PCP.” I stood to my feet, placing my hands on my hips.
“You got everything you need for the massage?” He asked.
“Yeah, I keep all my equipment in my truck. I’m gonna go grab it, and I’ll be right back.”
Once the portable massage table was set up, Saint climbed on it and laid back. I propped his legs up on a wedge pillow and began the soft-tissue massage.
“Shit.” Saint grunted, “Your hands are so fucking soft.” He mumbled.
His deep husky voice sent tingles straight to my pussy.
I had to squeeze my legs together to stop the thumping between my legs.
His compression shorts did nothing to hide the growing bulge.
I blushed, looking away as I finished the massage.
The swelling in his knee had already started to go down. He sat up, gazing down at me. “That felt amazing, Bless.. Thank you.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me in between his legs. “I want to apologize again for yesterday.. You really didn’t deserve that.”
I sighed, looking down. “You really hurt my feelings, Saint..”
He gripped my chin, lifting it. “I’m sorry. I should’ve never talked to you like that. You’ve helped me so much, and I’m grateful for that. I will never speak to you like that again. I need you here with me to get through this. We good?” I nodded. “Aight, can we hug it out?”
“Mmmm… I suppose so,” I murmured, inhaling his woodsy cologne as he drew me into his embrace.
Our eyes met as we gradually moved closer, my breath catching and my heart racing.
His lips briefly touched mine, sparking a jolt of electricity through me.
I quickly pulled back. “So, uh… I should go. Remember to relax and ice your knee.”
I grabbed my bag and hurried out of the gym.
“Bye, Miss Jackie!” I said as I passed her in the kitchen.
My heart felt like it was about to explode out of my chest. I finally let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding as I leaned my head back against my seat.
I grazed my finger across my bottom lip.
After getting my thoughts together, I took my ass home. I wasn’t expecting our session to end so early. After showering, I changed into a fitted crop top and the matching leggings. It was kind of cool outside, so I threw on a cute windbreaker.
As I walked to my car, my phone buzzed in my purse. I quickly answered it.
“Hey girlll, I was just about to call you,” I said as I slid inside my car and started it up.
“Hey Bless, where you at?” Chanel asked.
“I was about to head to the nail salon and get these nails filled in. What you doin’?”
“Girl, I just got into it with a client. That bitch just tried to drag me on Instagram.”
“For what?” I connected my phone to my car as I pulled out of my driveway, heading to the nail salon.
“Basically, said I cancelled her appointment after pushing it back multiple times and then kept her deposit. Bitch told a whole lie. She canceled her own appointment after she rescheduled three times! So I told her she was banned from my booking site. She asked for her deposit back and I told her ass NO! The fuck. She wasted my time TWICE.” She explained.
I could tell she was irritated by the tone of her voice.
“Oh, naw, she got you fucked up. She made a story time or something?”
“You know she did. Now I’m about to make one my damn self. That shit is bad for business.”
“Yeah, clear your name, girl. She’s dead ass wrong for that.”
“Exactly. What salon are you going to? I can meet you up there.”
“I’m going to the one on Belair. Right next to that new pho restaurant.”
“Alright, I’ll see you when I get there.”
We arrived at the salon at the same time. After getting our nails and toes done, we decided to stop next door to grab a bowl of pho before heading back to my house to relax until it was time to pick the girls up.
“Well, her man almost kissed you,” Chanel laughed. “That’s why she has so much smoke for you. She better watch her mouth, though. You might not want to fight her, but I will.” I’d just filled her in on my last two sessions with Saint.
“I’m not even worried about that crazy ass girl. For real though, when our lips brushed against each other, I got this weird ass feeling in my body. It was so strange. If I hadn’t pushed away from him, we would’ve probably kissed.”
“Blessing, do not fuck that girl’s man. I know he’s tempting as fuck, but don’t do it. You know what it’s like to be cheated on. Don’t be the cause of another woman’s pain. If he was meant to be yours, he’ll be yours. There’s plenty of single men out here.”
I nodded, agreeing with her. I was going to have to keep things strictly professional with Saint. As much as I didn’t like Mariah, I couldn’t be a homewrecker.
“You know I don’t even move like that. Now tell me what nigga you were laid up with last night cause that phone was on do not disturb, and that location was off.”
She waved me off, blowing her spoon of broth before slowly sipping it, “Girl, my phone was dead. I was tired as hell after my last client and fell asleep without plugging my phone up. Plus, I had an audiobook playing.”
“Over-explaining is a sign of guilt, pooh,” I snickered.
“Bless, please go to hell.” She rolled her eyes.