Talking it out.

When James rolled onto his back, Beth began to oil up his chest and arms to work his front, but his hand on her wrist stopped her.
"Beth, are you okay?" his face was concerned, and that did nothing to help her already shining eyes.
"Yes..." her voice cracked, betraying her. {if Shame > 70
}No!!! {endif
}
"Beth. you're crying." Almost lightning quick, James sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the table and taking her hands in his. "Beth, what's wrong? Me and Kim?"
Beth couldn't hold back anymore. She threw her arms around him and sobbed into his bare chest like a teenage girl. It was so embarrassing.
"Hey, it'll be okay." James didn't seem to know what to do, so he just stroked her hair and made soothing noises. Eventually, she stopped crying, and took a step back.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hardy. This is so unprofessional. I'll...I'll give you a discount..."
"None of that, now. Why don't you tell me what's wrong? It can't just be because of me and Kim."
"No...there's...there's more to it than just that..." she began to tell him about what had been going on in her relationship, how distant Brian had become, working all the time to try and make partner. She explained the parallels between his story and her situation, and her fears about the inevitability of the failure of her own relationship, that shared some similarities.
"Oh, Beth." she was sitting next to him now, on the massage table. Despite her age, she felt like a fifteen year old girl crying to her father about a boy. "Kim and I, we were never meant to be together. Yes, I definitely worked a lot, and yes, sometimes too much. But I always made time for us."
"I believe you. I wasn't trying to judge you or anything I'm just..." she leaned against his shoulder. {if History = 0
} "God, I'm such a baby."
"Cut that out. {else
}"I know things just don't work sometimes. It's just stupid fairy tale bullshit to think otherwise..." Beth gave a little hiccup. "Sorry."
"It's alright, Beth. {endif
} You're just worried. I'm sure you and Brian will be just fine. I can tell you love him by the way you talk about him when you're here. And he's working hard now so that you two can have a nice life later."
"I know..." she snaked her arm around his. "Thanks, Mr. Hardy." {if Shame < 70
}He's so sweet. What a stupid bitch Kim is. {endif
}
"It's just James, Beth. Even my customers don't call me Mr. Hardy." he laughed, getting up and pulling on a robe that he had laid out for after the massage.
"I'll definitely give you a discount today, this was..."
"You'll do absolutely no such thing. the way I see it, we helped each other." He took her hands in his, pulling her to her feet. "Got it?"
"Okay."
Beth almost gasped when he leaned in an gave her a kiss...on the cheek. "There, now we were both unprofessional." He smiled and as he walked away, she touched her cheek in wonder.
After taking a second to recover herself, Beth gathered her things and left. Her next appointment was at 1:00, and it was in Anaheim. Plenty of time for lunch.
~
As Beth enjoyed her taco, she refreshed the details of her next appointment:
Dahlia/Collins 2x 45 min swedish
Beth smiled. She loved this particular pair of clients. Jenny Dahlia and her fiancé Peter Collins were 20-something young professionals, just like her and Brian. They were new clients at the spa, and recently had started getting couples massages in their modest home in Anaheim. They were a nice picture of what she and Brian had been.... before work had consumed Brian's life.
She was looking forward to this couples' session as she finished her lunch and drove to their house.