To keep my imagination at bay, I thought about Elodie again: Was she awake yet? Does she know this client? I continued, keeping his legs covered by the blanket and working on his neck, his shoulders, his back. His muscles were defined, but not bulky or hard under my moving fingers. Being near the military my whole life has taught me that someone as young as this man could easily be carrying the weight of something for a long time, whether it was a rucksack or life itself. He didn’t express enough of himself for me to make up the details the way I did with Bradley and most of the other strangers around me. There was something about this guy that kept my storytelling quiet.

His scalp was the last part I worked on. The soft pressure release usually made people moan or at least sigh, but nothing came from his lips. He didn’t make a peep. I thought maybe he’d fallen asleep. That often happened and I loved when it did. It meant I’d done a good job. When the time was up, I felt like it had just started. I usually drifted in and out of thought during a treatment—my dad, my brother, my job, my house. But there was something about working on this guy. Did I know him? I remembered nearly every face I saw, and I definitely would have remembered his. So I came up with nothing.

“Thank you. Was everything okay?” Sometimes I asked, sometimes I didn’t. This guy was so quiet that I wasn’t sure if he’d enjoyed it or not.

He kept his face in the cradle so I barely heard him when he said, “Yeah.”

Okay . . .

“Okay, well, I’m going to step out and let you get dressed. I’ll see you in the lobby when you’re finished. Take your time.”

He nodded and I left the room, pretty sure I wouldn’t be getting a tip.

CHAPTER SIX

I heard Elodie in the lobby. She was talking to Mali, who was giving her a hard time for being late.

“I don’t know if you saw my text, but I took your client—he’s dressing now,” I told my friend. It didn’t hurt to let Mali know that everything was covered, no harm done. Elodie smiled at me and tilted her head to the side. She had this thing about her where she could get away with anything.

“I’m so sorry, Karina. Thank you.” She kissed both of my cheeks. That was something I got used to the first week she moved in. I wasn’t really fond of excess touching, but with her it was hard to recoil the way I normally would.