“Okay. Owe her at least a thank you…” Jasper mumbled to himself as he headed back downstairs to find the living room and the woman within. “Phe?” He asked, glancing around.
~~~
“Hmm?” Phedre reached for the remote and paused the episode of Lost in Space, the Netflix remake of the old movie she had been watching. “In here.” Duke barked a few times but the lazy dog didn’t have it in him this late at night to run after their guest for pets and attention.
~~~
Following her voice, Jasper came into the room and glanced at the television taking note of what was paused on the screen before moving over to Duke and offering his hand to him. “Hey buddy. Promise I’m not going to hurt your mistress.” Lifting his hand, he went to rub his ear.
“Thanks. You have great water pressure. ”
~~~
“Not a problem.” Phedre picked Duke up of the couch and set him on the floor to free up space for Jasper to sit. “I have some of those essential oils if you’d like a massage. See if I can loosen some of the muscles up.” She was no physical therapist but she felt fairly confident that her own hands had the magic touch.
At least that is what her mother often told her when she would help ease the aches caused by rheumatoid arthritis when medicine wasn’t quite enough. “Otherwise I did promise you a drink if you’re still up for it.”
~~~
Eyeing Duke as he took a place on the couch, Jasper felt as if he could feel the dog size him up for a moment. It passed as he leaned back into the pillows and let out a long sigh. “While I’m tempted to let you do a massage, I feel like that would be counter do the fact I just took a shower. Shouldn’t someone be oiled up before they bathe?” Smiling over at her, he watched her face for all but a moment and then leaned forward as he unzipped the hoodie and slid it off.
“But I’m not going to say no because my lower back is killing me.”
~~~
“Let me go get the oils from my room. Eucalyptus is ok right? No allergies…?” Some people have skin sensitivities to different oils, while she for some reason doubted he did, it was best to make sure.
Before leaving though, she reached over her head to pull the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and passed it to him. It was a light blue super soft material that was actually very warm. “Feel free to find something else to watch. If you push the app button on that remote it will bring up Netflix, Hulu, HBO and Amazon Prime.” There were a few others but they rarely had anything on she’d like to watch. “ Also,I don’t have much in the fridge but whenever is there you’re free to eat or drink.”
When living alone it really didn’t make much sense to have a lot of food laying about. Some non perishables were in the pantree and there was a few frozen chicken breast and vegetables but with everything going on this past week there really hadn’t been time to go to the store yet.
~~~
“None.” He smiled, taking the blanket and giving off a look that said just how surprised he was at the softness of it. Women always seemed to have a magical ability to either find the most amazing things or the most pain in the a**. All seemed to depend on if they liked comfort or spending money for no reason he guessed. This was one of those comfort ones he was grateful for.
Pulling it up around him to his neck, he burritoed himself before fishing one arm out to control the remote. Pressing the app button, he whistled at the selection before heading to HBO and selecting Game of Thrones. He was behind a few seasons after all.
~~~
A few minutes later she emerged from the hallway and reprised her spot on the couch beside him. “I need you to scoot forward and turn a little bit so i can sit behind you, unless you’d prefer to lay down instead.” The second option might be easier position wise but it would mean he might strain his neck a bit trying to watch the TV.
While she waited for him to decide which he would be most comfortable with, Phedre twisted the cap off the essential oils bottle and passed it to him “Let me know if this scent is too strong; It has a cooling effect and is supposed to reduce pain and inflammation in muscles. Your other options are…” She paused to take the cap of the second and third bottle of oils. “Lavender, in addition to the pain relief, just like tea is it suppose to help calm and relax you which might be a good thing if you’re hoping to go to sleep soon.”
“Or…” Phedre traded him the third one for one of the others. “German Chamomile. I actually had to look this one up because I couldn’t remember exactly why we got this one but according to one article it is supposed to help reduce spasms. Personally I’ve never tried it but my father swears by it.” Due to some of his hobbies he often got muscle spasms in his upper back or calves. Didn’t help matters that he’d go-go-go and forget to drink something until it was too late and migraines set in. Perhaps he was the reason she had a bit of a stubborn streak sometimes.
~~~
Pulling the blanket off himself, Jasper slid forward and turned his back slightly towards her but kept an angle where he could still see the TV. Laying down might have been easier for many reasons but trying to do so normally put strain on his shoulder because of the turn of his head. With how it already felt, he wasn’t pushing it.
“Why don’t we try what your father recommends? I know Lavender and Eucalyptus but never tried the Chamomile. It just makes me think of the tea people drink for sleep. Does that even work?”
~~~
Phedre shrugged, “It works for me but at the same time I’m usually pretty tired anyway when I drink it so it might just be a placebo effect?”
After replacing the cap on the Eucalyptus and Lavender bottles she position herself on the couch so she sat partially behind him then held her hand out to put a few drops on her palm. “Don’t try to be a tough guy. Tell me if I’m being too rough!” She poked his temple playfully but the look on her face remained quite serious.
~~~
-“”Yes mom.” Jasper laughed when she poked him, glancing back at her before a smile crossed his face and he shook his head.
With a deep breath, he felt his shoulder come out of his ears and he waited for her to work her magic. At least this magic didn’t make him do as she commanded...he hoped.
“So I most likely should have asked before I put this on but you are caught up to at least this point on Game of Thrones aren’t you?” He commented as the Mother of Dragons mounted Drogon and began flying around Meereen.
~~~
“Oh yeah,” She waved her hand dismissively. “I’ve been caught up since last year. Don’t worry though I won’t spoil anything. It’s been long enough since I’ve watched these episodes I don’t really remember all the events that lead up to the final scene.” Oh man was it a good one though. Not as epic as Daenerys meeting Jamie on the battlefield or the Battle of the Bastards, but it still gave her quite the chill nonetheless.
Phedre rubbed her hands together to warm them up a bit before before she began to massage Jasper’s upper back. With the heel of her palm she worked out some of the knots along his spine up into his shoulder area. “Breathe.” She instructed while applying even yet firm pressure to an area right beside his shoulder blade.
~~~
Jasper was half way into a laugh at the comment of their queen loving ships when she pushed near his shoulder blade. That laugh became a grunt and his entire body went tense.
“Ow…”his voice sounded high pitched as he tried to follow orders. Taking one deep breath, he tried to relax his entire body but found himself tense again when they sliced the throats of two men.
“Well, point made.” he offered, trying once more. This time she would visually see him seem a little...looser. “Sorry. Been a long time since someone besides my therapist touched anything.”
~~~
“I know that physical therapists help with stretching and strengthening but have they ever recommended you to a massage therapist? I know some insurances don’t see them as being ‘real therapists’” Phedre paused in her ministrations to do the air quotes. “But I think if you see them in tandem then you might see some real results.”
It was no different than giving yourself a rest day after working out. But in this case, instead of just lazing about, the massage therapist would actually loosen the tension that would have built up over the course of the PT visits. “Take my suggestion with a grain of salt, I’m not expert.” If anything this was a skill she picked up out of necessity rather than interest in the actual profession.
~~~
“They have.” Jasper winced again. It wasn’t that it was too much pressure or too painful. Really it was pretty nice. The problem was just tender spots. “I haven’t done it because I didn’t think they could do much. Also, the idea of laying naked on a table while someone, especially a large man, basically feels you up and covers you in oil hasn’t appealed to me. And as for a woman, I don’t want to be charged with ‘sexual harassment’”. The last line was more because of natural reactions sadly.
“But if you are offering, and this is just as taste of what you can do, I won’t say no.”
~~~
“As long as you understand that this isn’t free, then sure.” There’s got to be a little bit of give and take here, and no she wasn’t talking about money or sex. Dinner perhaps or a movie would be fine, heck he could come over and make something here if he wanted as a form of repayment. “I tease, I tease.”
“But if I’m going to do this for you.” Phedre poked him in the ribs and gave him a rather serious look. “You have to promise not to do any more of this stupid s**t like going out alone. I’m not saying you can’t handle yourself but…” She leveled a gaze at him as if challenging Jasper to dispute her next comment. “Your anger will get you killed.”
~~~
Just as he was about to counter with a question asking what she could possibly want from him, Jasper found a level gaze drilling into his core. His mouth shut rather quickly and he had to lean away to stop feeling like she was going to smack him like a bad child.
There was a long sigh and Jasper looked back at the television as one hand ran through his short hair. “I’m not going to fight you on that point Phe. In the long run, my anger might just as well be the death of me. At least for now it keeps me going.”
“But enough there. What in the world could you want from me in return?”
~~~
Phedre simply smiled her reply and instead of giving him a direct answer she zipped her lips shut, made the little locking motion and ‘tossed the key’. “I’ll let you know when I think of something good.”
“For now, why don’t we just finish watching the episode while I work out some of these knots and then we can go to bed. In our own rooms of course.” She quickly added though the light pink blush on her cheeks suggested that she wouldn’t be adverse to scooting over a bit and letting Jasper sleep in her room for the night.
While she loved flirting with him, perhaps a bit too much to some degree, his admission earlier about loving someone else was what ultimately kept the suggestion implied rather than out right voicing the offer. Phedre had enough respect for him not to push Jasper that far too quickly.
~~~
“Oh I’m sure whatever you come up with will be good alright.” Jasper added, a smile returning to his face as he looked back at the television. “It is getting late though. And I’m sure after this, you are right, sleep will be a welcomed…” He winced when she hit another knot. “....relief.”
The words had their underlying meaning and Jasper was only ignoring it for so long. One day he might agree but that would be the day when his heart decided not to want to throw him off a cliff. He wouldn’t do that to Phedre. She deserved better.
Though at the moment he wasn’t sure if this was pleasure or torture.
Shanyume
