2. Sam
Sam
The chill of the early morning air has me wrapping my robe around me tighter as I step outside onto my front porch to watch the sunrise.
As I sit down with my cup of coffee, the wooden swing creaks, and I inhale deeply, filling my lungs with a crisp breath of fresh air.
A new day. I wrap both hands around my mug, watching the sky light up in waves of orange and gold, allowing the heat from the hot liquid to warm my body from the inside out.
It’s going to be a good day. I can sense it. Or maybe that’s the coffee talking.
When I saw this house for sale, I fell in love.
Nestled just outside the city, it’s close to work, but still has a country feel.
Mine is one of the smaller houses on this street with a charming cottage vibe, and when I sit on my front porch looking across the road, all I see is grass and trees.
Every house across the street is built diagonally from the others.
That way, when you look across the road, it’s peaceful.
If whoever owns those empty parcels caves and destroys our paradise here, I’ll be heartbroken.
The sun is breathtaking rising above the trees.
We get the sunrise; they get the sunset.
Soft thuds get closer and closer until my neighbor is in front of me.
My hair is still wrapped around the golden ribbon, in an even bigger mess after sleeping on it all night.
I have on a bright yellow robe and fuzzy pink slippers.
Everything about my morning appearance screams do not approach, but he never listens.
You sleep with a man one time and they think you should be in complete agony without their glorious dick in your life.
I tried a one-night stand thinking it would be exciting enough to tame my feral kitty for a while.
It didn’t. Now he won’t leave me alone. Maybe I should stop faking my orgasms to get them to hurry and finish and just get up and leave instead.
I bet they wouldn’t care to get in my pants again after leaving them with blue balls.
“Good morning, Sam. You are looking beautiful as always,” Cole flirts from the sidewalk, nonchalantly stretching his arms above him to flex his muscles for me.
I want to tell him that no matter how fit and hot he is, he couldn’t even get me off if a murderer held a gun to his head and said his life was tied to my climax.
Boom. Instead, I smile and tell him, “Thank you.” It would be easier to tell him to kick rocks if he weren’t so sweet.
I have a hard time being mean unless someone is actively being an asshole. Cole has never been unkind to me.
He runs in place, and I ignore him to watch the sky.
“Can I take you to dinner tonight? Unless you are still with that guy who was here a few weeks ago.”
“I—umm—,” I stutter, surprised that he pays that much attention to who is in my driveway and also struggling how to answer my relationship with Xan. Technically, we are still together. I haven’t ended it yet. But I will.
“That solves it. Pick you up at six,” he says and jogs away.
I tear my gaze from the clouds. Gosh dang it! “I have a late class today,” I blurt out to his retreating form. He pauses, and his shoulders slump.
“Maybe tomorrow then,” he replies, giving me a weak smile before continuing down the road, glancing over his shoulder once before shrinking into the distance.
Slight disappointment tugs at the corners of my lips when I take another drink of my coffee and it’s gone cold.
All I wanted to do was watch the sun paint the sky while I drank my cup of dreams, but no.
Perhaps I should create a comfortable seating area near my window to watch from indoors until Cole loses interest. Got a house with the perfect view and I ruined it by fucking a neighbor.
Number one rule when you move into a new neighborhood — don’t sleep with anyone within walking or running distance.
I dump the rest of my coffee down the drain and rinse my cup out before placing it in the dishwasher. Reheated coffee sucks.
* * *
My skirt swishes around my ankles as I rush around the room to get it prepared for my first client.
I spent entirely too long this morning staring at the SINS app that magically downloaded itself onto my phone.
Fate or a virus? I’m telling myself that I accidentally clicked on the pop-up when I laid my phone down, but I haven’t worked up the courage to open it.
The small area smells of lavender and sounds as if we are in the middle of a rainforest. Calm, unlike my racing heart.
I dim the lights as I walk out, hurrying to the waiting room. I despise making people wait.
“Warren,” I call out, and a man stands up and walks towards me.
I try to scold my surprise, but damn. His hair and beard are more gray than brown, with not a single strand out of place.
His long-sleeved, light-blue shirt is rolled up to his elbows, exposing the large veins on his enormous arms and unbuttoned to reveal part of his chest. He walks with confidence as if he is used to commanding attention.
If only I were twenty years older, I’d ask him if he could handle me.
“Rub him down so good he falls in love with you,” a small petite woman yells from a pedicure chair while her feet marinate in the large tub below her. He gives her a playful smirk and shakes his head at her.
“I’ll do my best,” I answer a bit too chipper. She laughs and puts her attention back on the lady next to her.
“Ignore my wife,” he says when we reach the door to my room.
“Well, I do have magical fingers.” I wiggle them in front of him with a slow, dramatic wink.
“What did she get me into?” he mumbles under his breath, but his lips twitch.
“Get undressed and lie on your stomach. There is a sheet to drape over you. Underwear on or off is up to you. Whatever is most comfortable. I’ll give you a few minutes,” I explain to him before stepping away.
I go into our supply room and rest my hands on the heating pad while I watch the clock.
Nobody enjoys being touched with icy hands.
When five minutes have passed, I knock softly before stepping inside.
The extra couple of minutes allows them to settle into their surroundings and relax.
The sheet covers his backside, revealing his hard-earned muscles.
His career must keep him active. No one could have formed his body just by going to the gym after sitting at a desk for days on end.
Almond-scented oil puddles in my palm before I warm it between my hands.
I begin with slow, gentle strokes across his upper back, spreading the oil across his skin as I move towards his neck and shoulder blades, increasing the pressure once he’s relaxed beneath my touch.
“Where do you work?” My voice is just above a whisper in case he was falling asleep.
He huffs out a laugh. “Let me guess, I’m tense?”
“Very,” I reply, working out a knot.
“Do me a favor and don’t tell my wife that.
I’ll avoid an ‘I told you so’. This is an experiment she concocted.
I’m the new captain of the Willow Ridge Police Department.
I briefly mentioned wanting to add some more wellness options to help the officers manage stress.
Sheila jumped right in with her suggestions.
I’m considering this one already. You do have magical fingers. ”
“Well, thank you, Warren,” I tell him, working my thumbs into the muscles along his spine.
“Call me Pike,” he groans when I do it again.
“Have you considered yoga? You could have an instructor come in and have a class with whoever cares to participate. It’s an excellent stress reliever, and you can get everyone to do it together instead of one by one.
If you’d like another experiment, attend one of my classes. I work at a studio here in town.”
“You’re hired.”
Wait. What?
“Excuse me?”
“That was Sheila’s second suggestion. It seems I should just agree to it now and save myself the trouble. Come to the station tonight around six and give it a try. Unless you are unavailable.”
Well, I did tell Cole I was working late. Now it won’t be a lie. “Sure, I’ll be there.”
And that’s where the conversation ended.
The sound of waterfalls fill the silence, and when it’s time for Pike to turn over, the blanket shifts and I get a glimpse of his cock.
I hold my breath so I don’t make an embarrassing noise.
How is that tiny woman still alive? That thing has to reach the back of her throat, and I’m not talking from inside her mouth.
I swallow hard and avert my eyes from the anaconda beneath the sheet so I’m not tempted to peek at it on purpose this time. I have so many questions.
“How was it, honey?” Shelia asks him the moment we reappear.
“Horrible,” he jokes, grabbing her hand to admire her new nails before kissing her knuckles. “Miss Rivers will be coming to the station tonight for yoga,” he drags out the word yoga, and she giggles, clapping her hands in triumph.
“You know I’m always right. I don’t know why you didn’t just listen to me. It took a pretty redhead to get you to agree, huh?” she taunts.
His lips curl into a devious smirk as he places his hand on her lower back. “See you at six, Sam.” He guides his wife to the door, smacking her ass on the way out. I walk back to my massage room, grinning at their exchange. Now that is a healthy relationship, if I’ve ever seen one.
“I thought you didn’t have classes on Fridays?
” Emily asks as she glides her hand up my forearm at the end of our shifts.
We all take care of each other here. At the end of each day, I get to relax in one of the nail techs’ large, cushioned chairs while they ease my tired muscles from my fingers to my elbows.
The staff all exchange services with each other.
The owner has already expanded the building once and is planning on adding another addition soon.
When the management treats employees as well as they do here, nobody leaves and everyone wants to flock here, attracting even more clients.
Plenty of staff prevents you from overworking, and you always feel appreciated.
I don’t have to work another job, but I love yoga.
It keeps me healthy, and I enjoy getting to teach others something that could change their lives for the better.
The only problem is I chose two careers that keep me in a constant state of calm and as of late have been driving me a little insane.
I need a couple of hours of controlled chaos.
“My first client this morning asked, well, told me, to have a yoga class at the police department this evening. I’ll be honest, I’m a tiny bit nervous. I’ve never worked with people who didn’t want to attend a class. Can you picture big, burly guys doing the child’s pose?”
She giggles. “I can picture that, and now I want to tag along. How does Xander feel about you being in a room full of sexy men in uniforms?”
Shit. I forgot to speak to him today. I’ve been a little distracted for the past several hours.
A notification from the SINS app was like a beacon at the top of my phone screen at lunch.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I caved, opening it and agreeing to the NDA and all the other policy agreements.
I got to the part where I created a username and then lunch was over and I had to scarf my food down so fast I almost puked.
Just because I’m on the app doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything though. I’m just curious.
“We’re not going to work out. I’m breaking up with him.”
Her mouth falls open at my confession. She was obsessed with him after he showed up here a couple of weeks ago, before she found out he was here for me.
“What’s your ick?” she asks in an accusatory tone.
“My ick?” I raise an eyebrow at her question.
“Yeah. There has to be something weird he does that turns you off because that man was DE-licious.”
A laugh gets caught in my throat, causing me to make a snorting sound. I’m not giving her details of my odd sex icks and desires.
“We are not compatible in the bedroom.”
“Small penis?” The sadness and disappointment in her voice cause me to snort again.
“No,” I chuckle. “Sometimes two people just don’t fit together sexually, and it has nothing to do with anything bad or weird.”
I don’t consider my desires to be weird. More like unique. Special. Fun. She looks at me as if she wants to say something she shouldn’t, but is holding back.
Reading minds is easy when you can’t control your facial expressions. “You have my full permission to go after him if you wish, Emily. You two would be perfect for each other.” They’re both sweet and can have all the vanilla sex in the world and still be satisfied.
“That would be weird, though. Right?” She scrunches her nose.
“No. It’s not like I own him. He’s a human, not a pet with a microchip in his neck signaling that he belongs to me. We are all out here trying to find our perfect match. The amount of fish in the sea would shrink tremendously if everyone that had ever been with someone else were off limits.”
She chews her bottom lip as heat creeps up her neck to her high cheekbones. “I promise I’m okay with it,” I assure her.
My hands are as good as new when she lays my wrists gently on the cushion across her table. “All done,” she chirps and I toss some bills onto her table as I stand. Money that she will end up giving back to me when it’s her turn to lie on my table next week.
“Thanks, Em,” I tell her before walking to the back to change.
The restroom is just as pristine as the rest of the spa.
Sparkling even after being used multiple times during the day.
I replace my t-shirt with a cream-colored padded cropped tank and swap my skirt for a pair of loose sandalwood-colored pants that sit high on my waist and cinch around my ankles. I look like a human cup of coffee.