Sawdust and Berries

Chapter 1-4

Time Out was nothing like Liam had imagined. He’d never been in a massage parlor. Or a spa for that matter. Or whatever they called these places where people went to get groomed and fondled like pets by perfect strangers.

Anxious, he smoothed out the wrinkles in his work pants and tried harder to look relaxed.

Netty had left him here minutes ago. Her friend was now fifteen minutes late.

Liam sat in the narrow waiting room, discreetly looking around. Everything was green and blue. The walls were covered with modern art, and most of it from local artists, he supposed. The frames all shared a common theme: Montreal’s urban landscape. To his surprise, there were no pictures of dizzying canyons, foamy oceans, or blossoming lotuses.

And all the plants were fake. Plastic.

Liam glanced over at the front desk again. The girl sitting behind the desk had short pink hair and shiny black lipstick. She’d been on the phone taking appointments for the last five minutes. She caught him staring and smiled. She had a bit of an over bite and was cute. “Mr. Stokes,” she whispered, cupping her hand over the mouthpiece, “I’m sorry about this. Leona is usually pretty punctual.”

“It’s okay.”

“Can I get you a coffee or some tea?”

“I’m good, thank you.” Liam sank into his chair, turning his attention to the window. The Time Out salon was on the last floor of a three story building that evidently used to be an apartment complex. Its commercial tenants had to do with meager space and inconvenient room divisions, but it did give these offices a homely appearance.

Everything here was low key.

He didn’t particularly like the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. Liam wasn’t much of a city man. In fact, the only thing keeping him from moving out of the iron jungle was his dad. And at the thought of his old man, of his recent relapse, Liam sighed.

It was going to be a long summer without their annual fishing trip.

A loud thump beside him snapped Liam out of his dark thoughts.

The door hinges were loose, and the wind caused the door to swing wide. It had hit the wall. Liam looked over his shoulder.

His heart jumped up in his throat.

The young man who’d waltzed in along with the warm summer wind was walking over to the desk, flipping through some envelopes. “Good morning, Skyler.” He then looked over at Liam and greeted him with an audacious smile. “And good morning to you, sir.” His voice had a velvet timber. His hair was blacker than coal and hung over his eyes in strands of different lengths.

It was also streaked with three shades of blue.

Liam’s breath shortened at the sight of the man’s beautiful face. “Hello,” he whispered uneasily.

That was all he could manage.

The young guy went back to his envelopes.

Meanwhile, Liam tried not to stare at the string of complicated tattoos gracing the young man’s muscular arms. The ink was bold and black against his ivory skin.

There was also a silver lip ring glistening on his pulpy lower lip.

“Did Skyler offer you some coffee?” the young man asked.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

The guy wore a fitted blue T-shirt imprinted with two words.

Why not?

The question stole a soft chuckle out of Liam.

The stranger’s eyes livened. “You like my T-shirt?”

Liam cleared his throat, but before he could come up with an interesting reply or even get to know his name, the man had disappeared into the backrooms and Liam was glad to have his comfort zone back.

The receptionist snapped the phone shut. “Mr. Stokes. Leona’s son is sick. She won’t be in until this afternoon. She apologizes. Do you think you could come back later today?”

No way.

“Can’t. Sorry.”

“I understand. But you look like you’re in a fair amount of pain.”

“I’ll survive.” Liam got to his feet, but the effort nearly knocked the air out of him.

“Wait, Mr. Stokes. Hold on. Please. Just wait here. Sit down.” Skyler helped him back into his chair and then hurried down the narrow hall to the back. She returned before he could escape. “My colleague has a cancellation. I think you should stay.”

“Can she see me now? Because I have to go to—”

“Yes, he can. Absolutely. He wants me to get you ready. Says he’ll be with you in a minute. Just follow me, okay?”

“He?” Liam asked, a slow burn warming up his chest.

She was now gathering some towels and CDs. “Yes, you’ve met him. He was just here with me. The cute guy with the blue T-shirt?”

“Right. Okay.” Liam could feel the pink leaking into his face. “You know what, I’m gonna give you guys a call back, ‘cause right now isn’t really a good time for me. I’ve got to get to work.”

She was pulling scented oils off a shelf. “Are you uncomfortable? It’s quite understandable, but don’t worry, he’s so the best. You should see his waiting list. It’s his hands. They’re magic. Consider yourself lucky, he never gets cancellations. Come on.” She extended her hand out to him. “He won’t bite.”

Unable to find a way out, Liam let her escort him down the hallway and into a dimly lit room which smelled of vanilla. Skyler pointed to the corner of the room where a thin curtain hung from the ceiling. “Get undressed here,” she said, very matter-of-fact. “Then wrap the towel around your waist. You can lay down on your stomach on the table when you’re done. He’ll be with you in a minute. Try to relax.” She fumbled through a drawer. “Do you prefer Russian musk or sweet pineapple? Oh, and there’s a questionnaire we need you to fill out.”

“Uh, do I had to take everything off?”

“Everything except your underwear. There’s no funny business here. Don’t even try it. I swear, he’ll knock your teeth right out of your mouth.”

Oh my God. What the hell am I doing here?

Skyler popped a CD into the player, and without any regard to his growing panic, left him there, holding on to the small white towel for dear life. Liam glanced around hoping for a fast getaway.

But as he went for the door, his back snapped, paralyzing him. “Oh God. Oh s**t. Damn it.” He squeezed his fists, digging his nails into his palms, and limped to the corner. There, he drew the thin curtain open. He tried to keep the weight off his right leg while he tugged at his T-shirt but couldn’t manage to slip it off.

Every move was sending shock waves of pain through his body.

“Mr. Stokes? Are you okay?”

It was the blue-haired beauty.

“Yeah,” Liam stammered from behind the curtain. “I’m good.”

“Sure?”

Liam leaned up against the wall. “Yep.”

“Do you need any help?’’ the young man insisted.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t strain yourself or you might do some irreparable damage.”

“Uh-huh.” Liam grit his teeth, but managed to pry himself out of his shirt. Now, he had to tackle his pants. He unzipped them, shook them off, and then worked them down to his ankles. But when he lifted his leg to pull out of them, the pain crippled him, causing him to let out a muffled cry.

At the sound of Liam’s complaints, the young man yanked the curtain open. “Okay, easy now. Mr. Stokes, let me help you. Come here.” He strapped Liam’s arm over his shoulder and helped him onto the table. Liam felt the man’s breath in his hair like some kind of summer breeze. He realized he hadn’t been this close to anyone in years. He painstakingly climbed onto the board and slowly stretched out on his stomach.

Within seconds, the young man slipped Liam’s work pants off his ankles. He then gently pulled the towel over Liam’s lower body. “There you go. What did you do yourself?”

Liam’s face was cradled into the fold of his arms. “I hurt myself a long time ago…I never really tended to it.”

“Well, I’m gonna tend to it now. Any medical problems I should know about?”

“No…Well, I’m allergic to wasps.”

The young man chuckled softly. He stood over Liam, but hadn’t touched him yet. “I’m gonna start real slow, and you tell me if I’m hurting you, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Mr. Stokes, is this your first time?”

“Yeah. I’ve never done this before.”

Please put your hands on me.

Now.

Liam felt a squirt of hot oil dripping down on his back. Above him, he heard the young man briskly rubbing his hands.

Come on. Touch me.

When the young massage therapist finally set his heated hands on him, Liam immediately tensed up.

“It’s okay. Take a breath. I’m not gonna hurt you or anything like that.”

“Sorry. Just a little nervous I guess.”

“All right. Relax. It’s gonna feel good. Okay? I’m not gonna go too deep. We’re gonna take it real slow.”

Liam had never felt so vulnerable and empowered all at once. “Okay,” he whispered.

“Oh, and I’m Kieran by the way. Kieran Miller.” Gently, Kieran pushed his fingers into Liam’s shoulders. “Now close your eyes and let it all go. I’m gonna give your body a much needed time out.”