I don’t notice when Nick shows up in the Google doc, not until he highlights a sentence I’ve just written, when the hero cowardly walks away without explaining his feelings, and adds a comment.
Maybe he was just scared. Maybe with all the career changes and life changes he’s going through, this relationship was just too much for him.
My forehead furrows as I type my response.That’s a cop-out.
I think it’s a valid emotion, he types back.Also, there are so many layers to this from his perspective. He’s got the weight of his family’s expectations, plus the pressure of living up to these new career demands.
So that makes it okay for him to dump her without an explanation?
It doesn’t make it okay, Jess, but that’s not what we’re doing here. We’re uncovering the reasons why they split, not defending their choices.
He’s right, not that I would ever say—let alone type—those words. This isn’t about our opinions on our characters’ breakup, it’s about giving their story depth of feeling.
I’m going to take a break, he tells me before signing off, and it doesn’t escape me that once again Nick is walking away right as things are getting emotional.
I check the time and see that I need to get a move on as well if I want to be on time for my massage. I head back up to the room, needing a shower before I let some stranger put their hands all over my body. I say a quick prayer outside the door that Nick has vacated the room and somehow we just missed each other down in the lobby.
For once, the gods or the Fates or whoever the hell is in charge these days seem to be on my side. The room is blissfully empty when I peek inside. I’m tempted to take another bath, but two in the span of twelve hours mightbe a lot, even for me. My skin is going to be pure prunes by the time I finally get out of this hotel.
I let the warm water run over me, turning up the heat until my skin flushes bright pink under the stream. I use the time to try to center myself and anchor my thoughts. Make sure I remember the difference between fact and fiction, between what’s happening between our characters and what’s happening between us.
Because there’s nothing happening between us, and that’s how it’s going to stay.
I would hope that if Nick had returned to the room while I was in the shower, he would have knocked on the closed bathroom door to let me know, but I still tiptoe into the room fully dressed after my shower, just in case. Luckily, he still hasn’t returned, and since it’s almost time for my massage, I head back to the lobby, thankful we seem to keep missing each other today. It might not be the kind of space I really need from him, but it’s space nonetheless and I’ll take what I can get.
An unfamiliar person at the front desk directs me to the spa the back way, since the main path to the building requires going outside and I have zero desire to do that. I check in at the front desk of the spa and am directed to the locker room to change into the soft and cozy robe I find waiting for me in an assigned locker. The changing room is quiet and peaceful, and I allow myself a few moments to breathe before I slip my feet into the spa-issued sandals and head into the waiting area.
“Jessica?” The deep voice of my masseur startles me, even though he’s kept the volume down to preserve the sanctity of the spa.
“That’s me,” I squeak, as I take in the behemoth of a lumberjack in front of me.
He’s huge, at least six foot five, with muscles bulging out of the scrubs-like uniform he wears. His long hair is tucked into a man bun that I should hate but really don’t, and despite my general aversion to bushy facial hair, I’ve never seen a beard more attractive than the one on his perfect face.
I gird my loins, wait for the attraction to hit me, wait for my reserved-for-flirting smile to take over my face, but there’s nary a stirring down in the nether regions.
Hmm.
Wonder what that is all about.
“I’m Jake, I’ll be your massage therapist today. If you’d like to follow me, your partner has already checked in for your couples massage.”
I’m so enraptured by the timbre of his voice, it takes me almost a full minute of following him down a long hallway before I register what he just said. “Wait a minute, did you say a ‘couples massage’? I didn’t ask for a couples massage. I couldn’t, as I am not currently a member of a couple. Who could even be coupled with me for a couples massage?”
My word vomit stops the minute Jake opens the door to the treatment room and I see the other half of this nightmare.
Nick stands next to a massage table, dressed in a matching robe and sandals. The robe has come open at the chest, leaving his smattering of chest hair and defined pecs on full display. Probably for the benefit of the drop-dead gorgeous woman standing next to him, dressed in a uniform identical to Jake’s.
Nick’s eyes go wide when he sees me, but he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t do anything to put a stop to the madness.
“Excuse me, but I think there’s been some kind of mistake. This was supposed to be an individual massage.” I turn pleading eyes to Jake, who exchanges a glance with his supermodel counterpart.
Jake pulls out a tablet and taps a few clicks on the screen. “You are Jessica, correct? Staying in room 323?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“And you’re Nick, also staying in room 323?”
Nick nods, and I urge him with my eyes to speak up and freaking do something, but he ignores me.
