Read Cruise to Destiny (Contemporary Romance Novella) Page 4
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Melanie wanted to kill her friends. How could they have done this to her? How could they have thrown her into a small massage room, completely naked, with a guy that she clearly had a crush on? It was so unfair.
Not only that, but she was certain he’d be able to tell just how embarrassed she was by the whole situation. Her skin was so fair that she tended to break out in hives when she was nervous.
“Hi, Melanie.” He walked into the room and Melanie did her best to hold it together. He was even cuter than she remembered.
His light brown hair had been styled so perfectly, it looked as if he’d just walked out of a salon. Melanie smoothed her own hair down, as if that was what mattered when she stood before him with nothing but a thin piece of terrycloth between them.
Oh, God. She was going to have to remove the robe soon, and then all that would separate them would be a sheet. A thin, white sheet. And he’d be touching her.
She was certain she must be covered in hives by now.
“It’s nice to see you again,” he said, clearly trying to ignite some kind of conversation.
“Oh, um…Yeah, of course. You too. And thanks!” Melanie knew she sounded like a bumbling idiot, but her mouth was running away from her. “For the, um, you know…” She gestured to the massage table.
“The massages?” he verified with a smile. Damn that smile. He was more than cute. When one of her romance novels referred to the hero being “devastatingly handsome,” this is what they must have meant.
“Yeah, of course. Massages.” She rocked back on her heels awkwardly. “So…”
“Have you been able to enjoy yourself at all?” he asked. “I know you were pretty worried about your job and all.”
“Yeah, I was. But like you said, there’s not much I can do about it now. So, yes,” she took a deep breath, “I’m having a much better time.”
“Great. I’m glad to hear it.” He smiled and then looked down at his clipboard. “So…I have a few questions for you. Are you allergic to anything?”
“Not that I know of,” Melanie replied with a little shrug.
Devon checked something off on his clipboard. “Great. I just have to ask because of the oils we use. Do you have any sensitivity anywhere?”
She did, but she didn’t think he meant her intimate places. However, right now they were so sensitive that she was sure it wouldn’t take much for her to have a spontaneous orgasm right then.
Gathering her wayward thoughts, she answered the question. “No. No sensitivity.”
“And do you have any pain anywhere? Sore neck? Tight hamstrings? Anything at all?”
The thought of his hands on her hamstrings alternately aroused and terrified her. He would be perilously close to parts of her that hadn’t seen the light of day in way too long.
“Well, I’m a waitress, so I have a lot of shoulder and arm stress.”
“A waitress?” He seemed taken aback.
“For now,” Melanie said, then added sheepishly, “Aspiring actress, actually.”
“Aha. That makes a lot more sense. You’re way too pretty not to pursue a career in the spotlight.”
Melanie’s cheeks turned warm. “Thanks.”
He made a few more ticks on his clipboard and then turned to her. “I’m going to step out for a few minutes. Robe goes here—” he gestured to the hook on the back of the door, “—And you can lay face down under the sheet.”
“Great.” Melanie watched him go and then rushed around as soon as the door shut behind him. What if he came back before she was ready? How awkward would that be? She yanked the robe off and hung it on the hook, then scrambled onto the table. She wriggled quickly under the sheet, flipped onto her stomach and then brought the sheet up over her as high as she could.
Okay. She was ready. Of course, it was another couple of minutes before Devon returned. He knocked quietly on the door and called her name.
Melanie reared up like a cobra and called over her shoulder, “Come in!” then put her head back into the hollowed-out headrest, trying desperately to calm her nerves.