Silence

Chapter Eighteen

Really. I shook my head and shoved him towards the reception desk. There wasn't a single thing he could say that would change my mind about this. He was getting a facial and a massage.

"Welcome. I'm Isabelle. How can I help?" Said an equally beautiful woman to the ones who were in the spa yesterday. If I could just see someone else who was plain looking, that'd be great.

"We have some stuff booked. Under the name Benson," Cole said quietly as if saying it any louder would make it more real.

"Ah, yes. Okay, if you'd like to follow me, I'll show you to your massage room."

I followed Isabelle with a huge smile. I was feeling giddy with excitement at having a massage with Cole. Isabelle opened a door, and the smell of rose oil hit me. Two white beds were in the middle of the room. There was a chest on the far wall with loads of little draws and a huge bunch of pink orchids in a white vase on top.

"There are towels on the beds. If you remove all of your clothes and cover yourself, your masseuse will be with you in five minutes.

My eyes widened. Remove all of our clothes. Okay, I did not think this through. I'd not been naked in front of Cole before. She left the room, and I started to hyperventilate.

"You can leave your underwear on, just move your bra straps off your shoulders," Cole suggested. "I'll turn around. I won't look. I promise."

Oh, God. Breathe.

The last time I was naked in front of another person...

I squeezed my eyes closed. Don't think about that. Cole isn't going to hurt you. With a deep breath, I opened my eyes and removed the dress I was wearing. It's fine; you can do this.

Cole removed his top and shorts quickly, unashamed, but he left his boxers on.

"I'm not looking, Oakley. Go ahead," he said with a chuckle as he laid face down on the massage table. As promised, he didn't look, and I shoved my bra straps down and got on the bed. As soon as I was lying down, I made sure the towel covered me from my underarms to my knees.

"You good?" he asked, turning his head and smiling at me. I nodded, fisting my hands through the rapid beating of my heart.

Everything's fine.

A knock at the door made me jump. Cole called out to let the masseuse know we were ready. Thankfully two women entered. There was no way a man, who wasn't Cole, was going to touch my body.

Never again.

"Okay, this was a good idea," he admitted halfway through. Yeah, I bet he thought that with yesterday's gorgeous model massaging him. I closed my eyes as Elana worked her skilful hands over my shoulders. I had a lot of tension, but for the first time in years I was fully relaxed.

When our thirty minutes were up, I pouted and got up to get dressed as Elaina and Cole's masseuse left the room. Cole turned around again so I could have some privacy.

Does it really matter if he sees you? I wasn't scared of Cole or what he would do because I trusted him with my life. Impulsively, I grabbed the top of his arm and spun him around.

"What...?" he croaked. His eyes widened as they landed on my half-naked body. I was covered by my underwear, but it was still very intimate. He gulped audibly, his Adams apple bobbed. "I can turn... Um, turn around if... Err," he stuttered, stumbling over his words. It was cute to see him tongue-tied, and it kind of gave me a thrill to know I'd made him like that.

Shaking my head, I pulled my straps up, all the while being careful not to flash him. We both dressed in complete silence, and neither one of us took our eyes off the other. The only sound that could be heard was our ragged breathing.