Bad Play

by Kristen Flowers

“Oh no,” she muttered, quickly holding up two pieces of paper and pushing them together as if they would magically piece back together. She frowned and dumped both pieces on the desk before turning to look at me. “Well, there goes that.”

  I eyed the torn paper. It looked like some sort of informative pamphlet she had planned on giving me. I wasn’t sure why though. I met her gaze again and shrugged, “So, should I get undressed?”

  Mira gasped even louder, exhaling with an unsteady, “sure.”

  I almost wanted to chuckle, but I was starting to get tired of whatever little act she was playing. I came with plenty of money to get an A-grade sports massage and she wasn’t doing much to inspire confidence in me that she was going to live up to the reputation Larry had played up for her. She nodded and motioned for me to get on the table. I walked into the little room, ready to finally get started. Just as I was about to tug my T-shirt off over my head, it crossed my mind how odd it felt to get naked for ‘little Randy’.

  Then I recalled all the summers I spent in their pool; back then she watched me as avidly as...

  I turned to look over my shoulder and saw that she was now avidly avoiding looking at me. I shrugged and took off my shirt followed by my jeans and then climbed onto the massage table, pulling the sheet over my hips to wait for her to come in.

  I waited for what felt like a few minutes, but she wasn’t coming in. Getting agitated, I got up and opened the door.

  “Ready!”

  She still didn’t come in. I didn’t even see her. I stuck my head out from the doorframe and looked around the corner, peering into the main office area. That’s when I saw her. My eyes narrowed as I watched her pace in a circle before plopping down on one of the waiting room chairs and resting her hands on her knees.

  She took a couple deep breaths and then got back up again. She went to her desk and snuck what looked like a cookie out from the top drawer and into her mouth. She stood back up, stretched a bit as she smiled a little, took another deep breath and then walked towards the massage room.

  I quickly ran back inside and leapt onto the massage table, adjusting the sheet over my hips right in the nick of time.

  I strolled into the massage room trying to look all cool and collected, but I was trying not to look at Axel. For all the deep, calming breaths I had taken I felt no calmer. My racing heart wasn’t stopping and it didn’t feel like it would any time soon. The only thing that managed to keep me somewhat sane was the cookie I had scarfed down at my desk before walking into the massage room. He was completely nude, save for the sheet covering a certain part of him. Thanks to the cookie, I felt totally ready for this now—or as close to ‘totally ready’ as possible.

  I started by rubbing massage oil into the palms of my hands. It was my special combination of oils that I perfected over the years. It was soothing, but it also helped with ailments in the long run, perfect for my athletic clients. He was lying on his stomach. I was beyond thankful for that.

  I placed my hands on the center of his back and started the massage. His beautifully tanned olive skin was smooth and a delight to run my palms over. He felt even more amazing than my frustrated teenaged self could have imagined back then. I ran my hands up to his shoulder and started working down his arms. That’s when I took note of his tattoos. He had a full-sleeve of ink on his left arm and it took every ounce of self-control I had not to slow the motion of my therapeutic hands to look at the artwork coating his skin.

  Looking at the rest of him was even more distracting; his body was incredible. I might have been used to working on athletes, but there was something about Axel’s muscles that made the pit of my stomach stir. I closed my eyes and gulped as I tried to keep calm. This was definitely not the time to let my imagination run wild. I had to stop myself from looking at the raised sheet where his round and firm ass was covered.

  I imagined what it must be like to sink my fingers into that flesh. I felt the scarred areas around his shoulder and slid my thumb along the muscle. Finally, I moved over to start the special deep massage for his torn rotator cuff. He let out a groan. I looked at him inadvertently, and saw that his head was resting on the side with his eyes closed and lips parted. That’s when I saw the scar on his cheek. I still remembered the day he got that scar. Now it was nearly obscured by his stubble, but the small crescent shaped white line would always be hair-free. I smiled as I finally started to feel my heart calm down.

  I continued my massage, fixing my eyes on the muscles I was working on. Sure I had a crush on him when we were practically kids, even though he was an ass to me more sometimes. But he was my friend after all or at least my brother’s friend. As I kept working, I recalled times when he treated me like a sister, like when he trusted me the day he got the scar. Maybe making such a fuss about seeing him wasn’t the way to go. We had a lot of history together and now I had no idea what his life must be like.

  I smiled sweetly as I ran my hands along his body, remembering how I had come to the aid of a panicked Axel and Zak when a broken beer bottle sliced open Axel’s skin to form that scar.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head to rid myself of the memories and continued to work. If Axel was going to be my regular client he needed to know he was making the right choice. A lot rested on my ability to help him with his injured shoulder and I definitely had the knowledge and experience to make that happen.

  He was silent throughout the whole massage, only letting out an occasional grunt or moan of either pain or satisfaction. I could imagine my kneading hands felt both good and bad, but what ultimately mattered was the results. I took a couple deep breaths and finished up focusing solely on the massage, eyes fixed on the movement of my fingers around his tensed muscles.

  When I was done I stood beside the massage table, eagerly waiting for him to compliment me or tell me what a great job I had done. I wanted the confirmation I was good at what I did. I wanted to know he was going to return.

  Axel turned to look at me after a couple minutes and I embarrassingly realized he was waiting for privacy to get dressed. With cheeks burning red, I walked out of the massage room and over to my desk.

  "Good to see you, Randy," he said when he was all dressed and ready to go.

  I looked up at him and then followed the movement of his hand, which he stuffed into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a crisp wad of bills. He pulled a couple out and laid them down on my desk. I stared at him in shock as he just walked out of my office without saying another word, leaving me with nothing but money and annoyance. I couldn’t believe he still had the nerve to call me that nickname. I had always hated it, even when I was five-years-old.

  I felt my face burn again, only this time it was out of anger. “What a total football douche,” I muttered angrily.

  He was always cocky and he always had high expectations of others, but it was different when he was with Zak and I. Now he seemed worse—more arrogant and dismissive.

  The person I used to know would’ve never pulled what he just did. I looked from the closed door of the office, to the bunched up sheet on top of the massage table, to the crisp bills lying on my desk.

  I got even angrier.

  I reached out to swipe the money off my desk. He left me a $100 tip. Normally this would shock me and now was the time to feel happy about it. But at that moment all I felt was a burning disappointment coursing through my veins.

  I wasn’t running to my car, but I was speed walking to it like I was in a race to get there before someone else. I unlocked the car and slid inside, promptly shutting the door and slamming down the lock. I leaned back against the headrest with my eyes shut. I jutted my chest out and noted the difference in how my shoulder already felt. It hadn’t felt that great in weeks.

  “Guess Randy does have magic hands,” I muttered, deep blue eyes now open and peering at my reflection in the rearview mirror.

  I sighed and chuckled at my next thought. It had been a struggle not to pop a boner on her table.

  “Fuck,
” I laughed, running my hand over my face. My scruff scratched at the palm of my hand and I thought it would be nice when the beard comes back in. It wouldn’t be long, considering my facial hair grows faster than a rain forest. I turned the car on and gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead at the wall in front of my car. I couldn’t remember the last time I had to concentrate on football, multiplication tables, and random trivia facts just to keep from creating a situation for myself and, well, Randy in this case.

  I ran the tip of my tongue over my teeth as I got lost in my thoughts. I thought about just how round and firm her ass looked. I wasn’t about to deny how incredible she looked. Randy sure did grow up well.

  For a split second I felt grossly incestuous again, thinking of her in that way didn’t feel right. But the image of her perky breasts pushed that notion quickly out of my mind. Not only were we not actually related, years had passed since we had seen each other. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with appreciating her good looks now. I was a little taken aback by how much I liked seeing her again. It was rare for me to be so interested in a woman, but I figured it must have something to do with our history. She wasn’t a stranger. Plus, it probably wasn’t often people like us reunited like this.

  Finally, I pulled out of the parking spot and started my drive back home, mind still full of thoughts about Randy. I laughed again and muttered, “Miranda.” I smirked. I wouldn’t be letting up on her Randy nickname any time soon.

  I liked the way her cheeks get rosy and her mouth purses in annoyance every time I call her Randy. I would have liked to talk to her more after the massage, but I knew it was hard enough just to be around her. My tip showed her just how pleased I was though. I knew she had to appreciate such a sizeable amount of money anyway.

  I turned on the radio and blasted music the entire drive home. I wanted to have a clear mind and good mood by the time I pulled into the driveway. As soon as I was home and heading up the walkway the front door swung open and Molly came shooting out to greet me.

  “Daddy! Daddy!” She shrieked and Janice was running after her to make sure she didn’t fall. I picked up the pace and crouched down to scoop her up, bouncing her just a bit.

  “Hey there, kiddo!”

  She giggled, “What did you buy me, daddy?”

  “Hmmm,” I hummed, pretending to look off in the distance in deep thought. She shrieked again and gripped my shoulder. I felt the tips of her tiny fingers dig right into my injured muscle, but somehow it didn’t bother me the least bit.

  “I brought you something,” I corrected her.

  She stopped moving and looked into my eyes with anticipation only a young child could have. I didn’t hold back and picked her up, flinging her upward toward the sky. She cried out in glee as Janice walked back inside. I laughed and caught her, noticing just how great my shoulder felt. I sat her down with a pat on the head

  I looked at her with a grin, “I think it’s present time.”

  She jumped up and down more frantically so I took one of her hands and led her over to the car. I popped the trunk and pulled out a gift bag. I was going to have her wait until we were inside the house before she could yank it away from me. I bundled her under my arm like I was carrying a football and ran to the front door, expecting Janice to be there watching and open the door for me like she always did.

  But when I reached the top step the door remained shut in my face even though Janice had been outside with us earlier. I sat Molly down and pushed it open.

  “Hello?” I called out

  Then I saw Janice sitting primly on the couch with her bag on the coffee table. There was no sign of dinner being ready either. I was confused. Janice got up and ran a flat hand over her skirt to smoothen it out before starting a report on what she and Molly did during the day. I noticed she was speaking very formally, but I was quickly distracted by Molly going absolutely wild.

  She was eagerly pulling out the contents from the gift bag and squealing loudly in delight. She tossed up and handful of the dresses for her dolly before running across the room to retrieve her toy. I barely heard anything Janice was saying.

  Finally, I teared my eyes off Molly. “How much sugar did you give her?” I demanded, interrupting Janice from whatever she was prattling on about.

  Janice nearly scoffed and held her nose up high, “the entire box of fruit snacks.”

  “What? Why the hell would you do something so stupid?” I was in complete disbelief. I paid her good money to take care of my daughter. How could she have done something so irresponsible. I paid her well! I was already making a mental note to consider searching for someone else when she shut me down.

  Janice smiled oddly and said, “Because I quit.” There was satisfaction written all over her tone of voice.

  I was dumbfounded as I watched her walk out the door. I didn’t go after her though. I was in shock, but when my mind finally caught up to what had just happened, I was beyond pissed. I had invested so much into good childcare and my little girl forged a bond with Janice only for her to walk out like this—and so abruptly.

  I automatically thought she was ungrateful and stupid. I didn’t understand how she could just throw everything away like this but, ultimately, it was her loss. For what I was paying her, I was sure I could pick from a roster of very well qualified nannies. Molly was young and friendly enough to bond with a new one anyway. I walked over to the front door and slammed it shut, making Molly jump up in the air before running over to me and hiding behind my leg. I placed my hand on her head reassuringly before picking her up and walking over to let her do a little fashion show with her doll.

  I was tired the next morning. More like exhausted, but I needed to head to practice anyway. Having to show up and adhere to the strict schedule even though I just sat on the bench was one of the only things I was bitter about. My optimism of getting back in the game had quickly disappeared over the night; likely because of how little rest I got.

  I came to practice like always, but I was a yawning wreck. I could feel the others shooting me curious looks; a couple of them were a little judgmental. I ignored them all. I was the best on the team and they all knew it. There was no room for them to judge me for a few extra yawns. One of my teammates finally trotted over during a five-minute break.

  “Out partying last night, bro?” The large man, with a little more pudge than muscle, asked me as he chugged down a bottle of water.

  I glared at him for a moment, “No, I was up with Molly.”

  As soon as the ‘ee’ sound fell from my lips when I said Molly’s name he erupted into jeers and laughter. I crunched the plastic water bottle in my thick fist before slugging him in the shoulder. I managed to catch the attention of a couple other teammates, who bumbled over and stood by watching.

  “And who is Molly?” He asked with a wink, but it just made me want to punch him square in the jaw and shut his dumb jock mouth up for good.

  “She’s my daughter, dickhead,” I muttered. I stood up and towered over the guy with a pretty menacing look in my eyes. My teammates immediately apologized and gazed down at their shoes.

  Dr. Killian came up and the three guys walked off to join the others to leave me alone. I nodded at the Razorsharks’ team doctor knowing he was there to see me. He took a moment to quickly look out and survey the other players before asking me how I was feeling.

  “I gotta say I think I’m all healed, Doc.”

  Dr. Killian scrunched his eyebrows in a doubtful expression. “You can't be healed after one session, Axel. But if you feel it’s working then you should keep going back to the new therapist.” The doctor reached out and pressed his hand to the affected muscle and nodded. “Look, let’s not get too eager here. If you’ve found a therapist you can actually work with who helps, keep it up.”

  I knew the doctor was well aware of my reputation for firing pretty much everyone. That’s probably why he seemed quite keen on me going back Randy. I felt a slight pang of guilt when I thought ba
ck to her. I was maybe a bit of an ass to her last time. I couldn’t stay to chat with her, but I left her a generous tip anyway.

  She should have nothing to be upset about and was probably looking forward to our next session.

  I know I was.

  I was spacing out and wasn’t looking at Shellsea, who was hanging out in my office doing yoga. I heard a noise outside the door and it brought me back to reality, just in time to see Shellsea settle into a cat-cow pose.

  “Mmm,” she let out blissfully, eyes closed.

  “That really helps,” I mumbled under my breath, mostly in poorly veiled sarcasm. I wanted to live the life of ‘moderation’ and find my ‘inner peace’, but all I could think about was that third cup of coffee I denied myself earlier and how great it would feel if I had just downed it. Shellsea would, of course, be affronted if she knew any of this. She’d remind me that indulging in multiple cups of coffee wasn’t the path to happiness. I don’t know, it would probably make me pretty happy.

  Shellsea either didn’t pick up on my sarcasm or she completely disregarded it. She just launched into an explanation about one of her favorite poses, “If you just opened your mind and gave it a try, you’d understand the wonders of the gentle flow between these two combined poses. Mira, it warms the body and increases flexibility. It’s like opening yourself to full calm and stress relief. Honestly, you have no idea.”

  I stared at Shellsea for a second, watching the way her blond hair pulled into a ponytail fell perfectly in the concave crevice of her back. I let out a long sigh and leaned my head back to stare up at the ceiling instead. Sure, inner peace sounded amazing and all, but I figured it was hard to actually achieve it when quietly fretting over the rent that was due soon. I didn’t know how much longer I could get away with barely making ends meet. Even with my office way out in the suburbs, it still wasn’t cheap enough to be feasible. I clenched my eyes shut and rubbed my temples as I let out another gust of breath.