Chapter 21
I packed a day bag for my trip to the spa.
We had to bring our own swimsuits in order to use the whirlpool, and I threw in clean undies and a water bottle, along with lip balm and my favorite rose-infused moisturizer.
After the emotional week I’d had, I was looking forward to just relaxing and having fun.
Kimi seemed like she would be fun to hang out with, and I felt a lift in my spirits with the prospect of girl time.
She was waiting for me in the entryway and gave an excited wave as soon as she spotted me coming through the doors.
Her long black hair hung down straight, but she’d backed off the dramatic stage make-up I’d seen her wearing before and I saw that her face was quite sweet without the heavy, dark eye makeup and fire-engine red lips.
She wore dark blue, slouchy harem pants with a cropped sweater that showed off a sliver of toned midriff and a hint of a belly button ring.
“Yo, Eve!” she greeted me and threaded her arm through mine, leading me towards the front desk.
“Hi Kimi. Thanks so much for inviting me. This is going to be such fun!”
“I’ve never done this kind of shit before. Have you?” she asked.
“I’ve had some spa experiences before. Never a full day, though. And Luxe is supposed to be the best.”
She nodded. “Wasn’t it a Luxe deal you were working on when you met Jack?”
Crap. There it was. Not even two minutes in and Jack shouldered his way into the conversation.
“Yes. I was negotiating a deal for them to lease space in some of our hotels to provide spa services for our clients. Not full spas, but some of the services which would open their market without the financial obligations of opening new full spa locations. And, of course, it would benefit the Duvier brand, as well.” I took a breath.
“I’m sorry. That is truly boring for you.
I just slipped into work mode for a moment. ”
“No prob,” she said with a grin. “I’ll get back at you by humming bass lines during our massage.” I could tell this was going to be a fun day. I liked her.
Kimi handed the gift certificate to the woman behind the desk and gave our names.
Janine (that’s what her nametag said), scanned the certificate and her eyes got bigger.
“Oh my, this was issued by Mr. Ballanger. You will get VIP treatment!” She pressed a button on the desk, and a discreet chime echoed softly.
Almost immediately a slender, young woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun, wearing a dove grey aesthetician’s jacket with pockets and her name (Shanice) embroidered on her breast, approached us.
Janine instructed her, in almost reverent tones, that we were special guests of Mr. Ballanger and to treat us appropriately.
She bobbed her head and asked us to follow her.
She led us across the thick carpeting of the lobby toward a door marked Spa Services with a discreet brass plaque.
We passed through the door and took a left into a long corridor.
We passed the door marked Dressing room and then she stopped by the door marked VIP Dressing Room.
She opened the door and ushered us inside.
My eyes went wide with surprise. I was not expecting something so sumptuous from a dressing room.
There was a soft, grey leather couch with embroidered throw pillows, comfortable looking overstuffed armchairs, and a coffee table.
One wall was a series of doors with full length mirrors.
I guessed they were closets. Way nicer than the lockers at my gym!
Perpendicular to that a counter ran the length of the wall with 4 sinks and a mirror above it.
Shanice instructed us to pick a closet and stow our gear in there. The closets were already furnished with incredibly thick, soft robes and slippers for our use. She then pointed out that the door on the wall opposite the sinks led to our private showers. This was amazing!
There were two menus lying centered on the coffee table.
Shanice asked if we would like a beverage to start our spa day.
Feeling like my diet had been a bit ice cream and chocolate heavy lately, I picked a green smoothie.
Kimi made a face at that and asked for chai tea.
Shanice entered our orders into the tablet she was carrying, then went on to the main body of the menu from which we could select our lunch choices.
And once we’d made our selections and she’d entered them in her tablet, we got to choose our spa services.
Since we were VIP guests, the sky was the limit, with no looking at price tags. It was a giddy feeling.
The tea and smoothie were delivered, and we sipped on them while we discussed our options. Since our time was limited to one day, we couldn’t do everything, and finally settled on the sauna, a hot stone massage, the mud wrap, the whirlpool, and finishing up with a mani/pedi.
Shanice entered our choices into her pad and instructed us to change into our robes and slippers, and she would wait for us outside.
As soon as the door was closed Kimi whispered to me in a hiss, “Can you believe this place? This is amazing! But seriously, who would want to come here for a colonic irrigation. Thanks for not suggesting that, by the way.”
I laughed, “I know, right? Or the stinging nettle flogging? Honestly? I’m surprised they don’t offer a Poison Oak wrap.”
Changed and our clothes safely stored in our closets, hair pulled back with scrunchies, with the closet keys safety pinned inside our robe pockets, we met Shanice in the hallway, and she took us to the Sauna room.
There was a pitcher of lemon water there with two cups and she instructed us to stay hydrated.
Then she showed us the temperature and steam controls and left us alone to sweat.
“There’s something amazing about having sweating as your only job, ya know?” said Kimi.
“I hear you. I always have a to-do list as long as my arm. It’s nice to just switch off for a bit.”
“I’m glad Jack told you that I’m with Morgan,” Kimi said casually. “This would be really awkward if you thought I was hitting on you.”
I leaned back against the wooden bench and sighed. “If I had to have a woman hitting on me, I’d want it to be you, Kimi.” I gave her a wink, and she grinned back.
“How long have you been with Morgan?” I asked.
“Three years,” she answered promptly.
“And you’re not married, right?” She nodded. “You live together?”
“Yup.” she confirmed.
“Are you OK with that?” My head tilted to the side. I wasn’t judging, just trying to figure things out.
“Well, not all the time. He has the aiming skills of a hose that got attacked by a weed whacker, so our bathroom always looks disgusting. But other than that, yeah, he’s pretty great.”
I laughed. “But when we first met you told me he was a jerk!”
Chuckling, she replied, “He is a jerk. But he’s a guy, so that’s to be expected.
You know, not getting how women work. Not so great at communicating.
But we get each other on the levels that count, you know?
It’s kind of a cliche, but it’s true. Bass and drums have to be in synch, or nothing works. ”
“Hmm.” I nodded and reached for the pitcher to pour lemon water. I handed her a cup and sipped from my own, wiping sweat off my face.
“You sound like living together isn’t something you’d be cool with.” Kimi grabbed a handy towel and wiped her face, too.
“Actually, in college I lived with my boyfriend for two years.”
“And how was that?” She set the cup down and refilled it.
“At the time it was…good. Really good.”
“What happened?” she asked, looking at me over the rim of her cup.
“Um, it was good till it wasn’t,” I answered carefully. “And I haven’t seen him since.”
“And you really were into him?” Her eyes narrowed a bit, probing.
“I loved him. He was my first. And only.”
Oops, how did that slip out?
Kimi slammed down her cup so fast I was worried she’d break it. “Shut the front door! Your only? You’ve never had a boyfriend since then? How long has it been?”
I tried to shrug it off. “5 years. But it’s no big deal. I’ve been really focused on work, so I’ve been super busy.”
Kimi’s eyes narrowed further. “I call bullshit.”
“No, honestly, I’m fine. I just haven’t found anyone worth investing in. Most men are only interested in one thing and if they can’t have that right away, they’re out the door. I don’t have time to play games and so it’s easier just to be on my own.”
Kimi shook her head and said, “I call double bullshit.”
“Why?” I was surprised by the intensity of her tone.
“Because you met Jack. He’s worth it.”
“You like Jack a lot?” I queried. “You know him pretty well?”
“I’ve known him since college and, yeah, I like him. He’s one of my best guy friends. He’s funny and outrageous, but he’s also honest and kind and thoughtful. So, I’m not sure why you’re brushing him off.”
Oh boy, this was a sticky situation to navigate. I wanted to be honest with Kimi, but I didn’t want to offend her by insulting her guy bestie.
“Jack is…” I trailed off, thinking of the best way to describe him. “Obviously, he’s very good looking. And talented. And funny. And hot. But he wants…I don’t know, something more casual than I want.”
As I talked, her smirk widened. “You think he’s hot.”
My cheeks would have flushed at that, if I wasn’t already beet red from the sauna.
“Of course I do. Just because I don’t want to sleep with him doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the view. I can say, as a dispassionate observer that he is very good looking and sexy. But I could say the same thing about Henry Cavill and that doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with him, either.”
“Mmmmm, Henry Cavill…. But a girl can dream, right?” She winked.
I smacked her with a towel. “Kimi, you have a boyfriend!”
“True, but Morgan is no Henry Cavill.”
“Are you saying that if Henry Cavill walked in here right now, wearing a towel, slung low over his hips, you’d be all over him?”
Kimi made fanning motions with her towel. “Stop! Stop! I’m going to combust if you keep talking like that!”
We were both doubled over with laughter when the timer buzzed, and Shanice came to guide us to our next stop. Which turned out to be Antarctica. Not literally. Just Antarctic-adjacent.
Shanice explained that she was taking us to the Refresh Room, where “precision dosed thermo-hydrodynamic treatment would restore appropriate core temperature, enhance metabolic function, stimulate mitochondrial activity, tighten pores and remove toxins that the sauna had brought to the surface”.
She brought us into a grey and white tiled room that had several shower areas, divided into stalls by shoulder height, frosted glass.
We went into our cubicles, took off our robes and handed them to Shanice, who hung them on hooks on the wall beside the door.
Standing well out of the splash zone, she pushed a button, and the shower heads produced a tepid mist that floated down gently on us.
It felt OK, but not amazing. The water intensity revved up as the temperature dropped, turning our gentle mist into icicles!
It was so cold that every square inch of my skin tried to retreat to a nearby orifice for shelter from the onslaught.
I shrieked, but Kimi shrieked louder, hitting a note that threatened the structural integrity of the frosted glass.
And then it was over. Shanice, impassive, handed us each a fluffy towel to dry off with, then gave us our robes to put back on.
Strangely, as soon as we were out of the polar bear shower, my skin tingled and it felt surprisingly good.
“Girl, you got some pipes!” laughed Kimi.
“Not as impressive as yours, Kimi. I felt like I was in there with Mariah Carey!”
Next, we were shepherded to the couple’s massage suite (so said the plaque on the door).
There were two massage tables, parallel, but separated by about 3 feet, draped in soft grey sheets and woven blankets.
Flickering candles lined the room, and I smiled to myself, remembering Scott Ballanger’s story about his client setting his massage room on fire.
On closer inspection, I saw that the candles were all electric. Good call, Scott.
There was soothing flute music playing and I smelled a subtle wildflower scent. We were told to disrobe and climb under the sheets face up and our massage therapists would be with us shortly. I took off my robe, hung it on the hook, and slid beneath the sheets just as they entered.
We were asked to roll onto our stomachs and they pulled the sheets down so they just covered our butt cheeks. Then they started piling large, flat, heavy, very warm stones on our backs and shoulders. Once we were loaded up, they pulled up the covers, told us to just relax, and they’d be back.
The heat of the sauna to the icy cold, now back to warm was really working for me. My limbs were turning to jello, melting into the table’s padding.
When they returned, they removed the stones, placing them back into a stainless steel, electric roasting pan (I lifted my head to peek).
Then my masseuse took a smaller stone and doused it with oil, then gently stroked my back with it, slowly increasing the pressure.
It was smooth and warm; I didn’t feel any pinching or pain, like sometimes happened with overly aggressive kneading in massage.
Everything in me just went liquid, like her magic touch had transformed my tissue into molasses and I was seeping into the cracks of the table, soon to drip onto the floor.
I heard some soft moaning from Kimi and knew she was having the same experience. We didn’t talk at all as the skilled hands of the therapists rubbed, manipulated, stretched, and soothed our whole bodies. Feeling like a puddle of goo made talking seem like too much effort.