Chapter 7 #3
He pauses for a second and a flash of what looks like concern crosses his face.
‘Is everything okay with him?’ I ask, my interest piqued by the mention of his enigmatic friend.
He waves his hand. ‘He’s been a bit off the grid and not answering my messages in the last week, so it’s a relief to know he’s not completely disappeared.’
‘Oh yeah?’ I say, waiting for him to add to that. I feel like there’s something he’s not telling me and I’m intrigued to know more about his elusive ex-business partner.
He shakes his head, frowning, as if to expel dark thoughts from it.
‘Anyway, apparently he’s invested quite a bit of private capital himself here to help support the United Nations Development Programme to rebuild the coral and he donates a percentage of the profits from this hotel to help keep local projects running. So that’s cool of him.’
I guess I’m not getting any more gossip about Elliot’s private life then. Maybe later.
‘That’s super cool of him. Why were you asking him about it? Is it something you’d be interested in getting involved in too?’
‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it since we got back from the reef.
It’d be great to put some money into investing in the future of this amazing country.
You’re right, it’s a travesty to think it could disappear if we don’t actively do something about it.
According to Elliot, the people who live in the Maldives rely on the coral reefs for their survival so it’s a big deal to keep them alive. ’
‘Sounds like he’s pretty clued up.’
‘Yeah, he works hard to make sure his hotels add something to the place they’re serving. He’s actually in the process of buying a new one to expand his portfolio right now, which is probably why he’s been a bit incommunicado.’
‘Wow. He’s taking over another hotel? That sounds like a lot of work.’
‘No doubt. He’s a powerhouse though. The dude deserves a break, but I doubt he’ll take one. He works too hard.’
‘Sounds like you’ve got a lot in common,’ I say with a grin.
‘Hey, might I point out that I’m here talking with you, after spending the afternoon having fun with you. I think it’s a bit tight to accuse me of working too hard right now.’
I hold up my hands in surrender. ‘True. I take it back. You were extremely present earlier. When you were trying to catch me up.’
‘Thanks for reminding me,’ he says with a grin. But when he crosses his arms, he winces a little then rolls his shoulders.
‘Do you want me to give you a massage?’ I blurt, before I’ve had time to properly think about the wisdom of offering something like that. I actually meant it in a very innocent way, but I’m hyper aware of how it could be misinterpreted.
He blinks at me for a second, then seems to pull himself together and says, ‘Err, yeah, sure. If you don’t mind? My shoulders and traps are pretty tight at the moment.’
Perhaps he feels like he can’t say no in case it seems rude.
And I can’t retract the offer now; it’d make things even more awkward between us if I suddenly seem like I don’t actually want to touch him.
‘I don’t mind,’ I say with a confidence I no longer feel. ‘I’m not trained or anything, but I’ve been told I’m pretty good at them.’
‘Uh, great. Go for your life. Where do you want me?’ he asks.
Where don’t I want you, I force myself not to say.
‘Why don’t you stay there on your chair and I’ll come behind you?’ My face immediately heats as I realise how badly that came out. ‘Stand behind you, I mean,’ I say, knowing full well it’s too late to fix the accidental innuendo.
Raffa, bless him, doesn’t even smirk, keeping his face dead straight and saving my blushes. ‘Okay,’ he simply says, giving me a nod.
I stand up on shaky legs and walk round the table to where he’s sitting, keenly aware of the silence in here and therefore how alone we are.
Alone together.
When I reach him, he shuffles a little in his chair, adjusting his posture and putting his hands firmly in his lap, and I realise he’s nervous too.
I guess he’s still thinking about me freezing on him earlier and is determined not to appear at all lecherous.
Hmm. Yeah. I’ve definitely pushed things too far for comfort with this suggestion.
Time to lighten up the mood.
I gently slap both hands onto his shoulders in a just-mates-being-friendly way, then start to dig my thumbs into his traps, immediately feeling the knots of tension there and realising he probably needs this more than I’d appreciated.
I guess he’s wound up pretty tight about this business deal.
The thought makes me feel better about offering the massage now and determined to give him some relief from his pain. It’s the least I can do for him.
He lets out a small moan as I press harder into the base of his neck and I feel his shoulders stiffen as he realises what he’s just done.
‘Moan and curse as much as you like,’ I tell him, ‘it’s supposed to help deal with pain to vocalise it when you’re feeling it. Fun fact, it’s actually called lalochezia. Or cathartic swearing for we laypeople.’
I feel his shoulders shaking as he lets out a low laugh at that.
Okay, good. We’re getting back on our friendly track.
‘Try and relax if you can,’ I tell him, pressing my fingers lower down into his shoulder blades.
‘I’m trying, but it’s a bit hard when you’re attacking my muscles like that.’
‘I’m getting the knots out,’ I protest. ‘I promise you, you’ll feel better after this. I know it hurts right now, but just you wait till I’m done. You’ll be thanking me later.’
‘Hmm,’ is all he says to that, and from his tone it’s clear he’s not convinced.
There’s a heavy silence as I continue to press and rub at his shoulders and neck, intensely aware of the masculine scent of him and the power of his body. He’s a muscular guy, but not overly so. Exactly right, in my humble opinion.
‘Tell me what you usually do to relax,’ I say. ‘When you’re not working.’
I feel him shrug under my hands.
‘I game and I talk shit to you online.’
I can’t help but smile at that. ‘Surely that can’t be your only means of distraction?’
‘I travel for work a lot, mostly on my own, so I don’t have the capacity to turn up regularly to a hobby. Not that I’ve really got any of those. I try and get into the gym wherever I go, to work out though.’
‘Yeah, I can tell,’ I murmur.
There’s another tense pause.
Raffa clears his throat. ‘How about you? Any hobbies outside of gaming?’
‘Up until recently, I’ve tried to make it a mission to go somewhere new each weekend, even if it’s just for a couple of hours a day.
To meet new people and have an experience outside of my day-to-day working life.
It keeps me fresh and connected to what’s going on outside of my echo chamber.
Otherwise I find myself not having an interesting answer when someone asks “what did you do at the weekend” and I hate that. I want to live outside of working.’
‘What sort of things do you do during your weekend adventures?’
‘All sorts. Sometimes I’ll jump on a train and go to a city or town or village I’ve never been to before – depending on how flush I’m feeling at the time.
Sometimes it’ll just be a case of saying “yes please” to an offer of going to a show or concert or sporting event a friend invites me to that I never would have picked out myself.
And the great thing is, when you turn up for things, you meet other people who turn up for things and your network grows.
And often with people you’d never normally meet otherwise.
I try to make a point of talking to as many people as I can when I go out and ask them to tell me about themselves.
Then give them something back about me. It’s an exchange then.
A swapping of stories, and stories are so important.
It’s how we empathise with people we don’t know or think we don’t understand.
If they can tell us a story that we can emotionally invest in, that makes it so much easier to get them. ’
‘Surely not everyone has a good story in them though?’
‘Most people do. You’ve just got to winkle it out.’
‘Winkle it out?’ I feel his laugh vibrating through his body.
‘Yeah, it’s a friendly way of being incredibly nosey.’
‘I guess people like being asked about themselves.’
‘Of course they do. No one wants to feel ignored or that they’re boring.’
‘True. Very true.’
‘Are you thinking about how side-lined you felt when you were growing up, by any chance?’
His shoulders stiffen again under my hands. ‘Ha. You have an uncanny ability to read my thoughts, don’t you?’
‘Nah. I just listen and pay attention to what you’re saying to build the story of You in my head.’
‘Is that what makes you such a good interviewer?’