adora • lookism

2. ONE MCN

Samuel, watching her from under lowered lashes, hummed in agreement.

Ari left him to it, heading towards a storage closet in the corner of the office. She dragged the treatment table out of it and began setting up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Samuel also begin unpacking the tupperware with an odd expression. He was peering down at the colourful skewers of melon, heart-shaped strawberries, and bunny-eared apples in a manner that could almost be called fascinated. It was as if he'd never seen a fruit bento before in his life.

Actually, Ari realized, maybe he hadn't. With his particular upbringing, it was very much possible that he hadn't even seen a classmate bringing one to school. When had Samuel even stopped going to school, anyway? Had he been in school while he was with Big Deal?

Such aimless questions quickly fell away; she and the director passed the next several minutes in a peaceful quiet. While she was still organizing her tools on a wheeled stand, he finished clearing away all the fruit in the tupperware and approached to stand next to her.

"Well," Ari said, turning towards Samuel. She blinked in shock to see that his vest was already gone and he was in the process of taking off his shirt, without her prompt. "Well," she repeated, her eyes dipping for a moment to his bare, elaborately scripted chest. "Please sit first, Director."

The slight quirk of his mouth told her that Samuel had noticed her wandering eyes. Ari immediately pretended she didn't know anything and couldn't see anything. With brisk movements she took the shirt he handed over, neatly folding it and setting it away for him.

"How are your headaches? Are you finding that they are less frequent and less severe than before?" she asked, seamlessly entering her professional persona. She reached out to take his face into her hands, her fingers delicately cradling both sides of his jaw.

"Yes," Samuel said, pliantly allowing her to tilt his face this way and that. He'd shed his glasses at some point while she wasn't looking. His dark eyes were riveted unerringly onto her face. "Often I don't have any for weeks at a time. When they do occur, they rarely last longer than a day and can often be ignored."

Ari's fingers slid over to his cheekbones and forehead, prodding and rubbing. Then she moved up to his temples and scalp, still moving her fingers in small circular motions. The hair from the crown of his head was soft and thick, free of any of his usual products, but the sides where it was shaved short bristled against her skin. "Do you have one right now?"

Samuel's eyes were narrowed with pleasure. "No," he said, his voice a low purr in his throat.

"Good." Ari smiled in satisfaction and released him, taking a step away. "Any muscle soreness? Other than the usual."

"My lower back."

Ari thought for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. We'll start with your back first. I'll have to access your tailbone area, so please loosen the waist of your trousers and lie facing down, Director Seo."

Before she could be subject to another strip show, Ari went to fetch a blanket from her tool stand to give him privacy as he did what she'd asked. Unfortunately, the sound of the belt being unbuckled, followed by the whine of the zipper pulling down, was wickedly obvious in the silence of the room.

I am Buddha, I am the Virgin Mary, Ari thought to herself as she turned back, her face extremely peaceful. Hail Mary. Our father deliver me from evil. Amitabha.

No matter how many pheromones Samuel Seo gave off, he was an absolute raging lunatic. There was no way in hell she would let herself be shaken by such trivialities.

Seeing that Samuel was comfortably face down on the padded table, trousers hanging loose around his hips, Ari draped the thin quilted blanket over his legs and tucked the edge around his hips. Then she started to smooth her hands up and down his back, pinching and pressing, feeling for any particular irregularities in the muscles. Noting several knots, she moved up to his neck and shoulders, continuing to rub and squeeze.