Sherry’s head jerked toward Madison. The sudden movement caused a searing pain in her neck, and she had to close her eyes to focus on relaxing her aching muscles.

“Do you want to do it sitting or lying down?”

“W-what?”

“I used to be very good with massages. At least the women I gave them to said so.” When Sherry didn’t move, she said, “Roll over. I’ll start at your lower back and work my way up.” She grinned mischievously. “Most people work their way down, but I prefer to massage my way u—”

“They weren’t just any women. You slept with them, didn’t you?” Was this an attempt to seduce her? Sherry’s breath caught when she realized that she wasn’t so sure she would have minded being seduced by her.

Madison shrugged. “So what? I’m offering you a massage, nothing else.” Hurt flashed across her face. “Or do you think I’m trying to take advantage of you?”

“Of course not.” Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. But if she declined Madison’s offer, it wouldn’t matter what she said: the message would be clear.

Sherry turned onto her stomach. “You should push the covers to the side.”

“Sure,” Madison said. “And, uh, you should take off your shirt, so that I…” she cleared her throat, “can reach your back better.” Madison stood. “I’ll get the massage oil from the bathroom.”

Sherry stared after her. Was Madison serious? She wanted her to lie there half-naked? Her heart was beating so fast, as if it was going to burst out of her chest at any moment.

Get rid of your shirt and fast or she’ll see much more than your back. She shed her shirt as quickly as possible and laid back down just as Madison entered the bedroom again.

She held a little bottle with yellow oil in it. “You like the smell of vanilla, don’t you?”

Sherry wanted to nod, but then a piercing pain raced through her neck.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Madison was staring at the sheet instead of her naked back.

After pushing off the sheet, Madison put the bottle of oil on Sherry’s nightstand and started rubbing her own hands.

“What are you doing?”

Madison still wasn’t looking at her. “Cold hands.”

It was touching how much Madison was trying to respect her privacy. Sherry would have liked to give her a hug for that. Better not now. A giggle erupted in Sherry’s throat at the thought.

Madison halted her hand-rubbing. “What’s so funny?”

“Um, you’re really nice.”