Chapter 2: Dressing Gareths Wounds

Across his back just below his shoulder blades was a nasty looking red weal. In a couple of places, whatever had done the damage had cut the skin but it had healed. A bit of it must have opened up earlier on his way over.

‘It looks painful,’ Lewis said. ‘The skin has a couple of small breaks in it which had started to heal up. However, one has opened up again fairly recently. I’m going to put some antiseptic cream on the whole thing. Then I’ll put a dressing on it.’

‘I did bang against something in a shop on the way over,’ Gareth said. ‘The cream will ease the whole thing,’ Lewis said, ‘But it might sting briefly on the open cut.’

Lewis squeezed some cream out and rubbed it very gently all along the mark. As he did the open bit, He heard Gareth suck his breath in and tense slightly. Then as he rubbed it in, he relaxed as the pain went.

‘I’m going to leave it uncovered for now,’ Lewis said, ‘Whilst the cream soaks in. Now, before we continue, do you have any other sore spots that I might touch?’ Gareth was silent for a few moments then he answered with a not very convincing, ‘No.’

‘Is that No because you haven’t any more injuries?’ Lewis asked, ‘Or is it no because the location is too embarrassing for you to tell me about it?’ ‘The second one.’ he admitted after a moments silence. ‘How does your back feel now?’ Lewis asked. ‘It’s stopped hurting.’ he replied, ‘Thanks.’

‘One of my career options is to be a doctor,’ Lewis told him. ‘Can you tell me how many other injury sites you have?’ ‘Just one.’ he answered. ‘Is it on your back or your front?’ Lewis asked. After another pause, ‘Back,’ came the reply.

‘So, am I right in thinking it is on the cheeks of your bum?’ Lewis asked. ‘Yes,’ came a very quiet answer. ‘Ok, stand up please,’ Lewis said. When he was standing up, Lewis said, ‘I’m going to go and wash my hands. Whilst I’m out of the room I want you to strip off and lie back down. Then when I come back, I’ll sort out that injury as well.’

‘If you can’t manage that, just take your trousers off and lie down in your shorts.’ Without waiting for a reply Lewis left the room.

Gareth didn’t know what to do. He was pleased his back wasn’t hurting but could he strip off. Always very shy about undressing he couldn’t have done it in the past. But after everything that he had gone through recently, stripping off in front of Lewis didn’t seem too bad.

In the end he compromised. He took his trousers off and lay down on the settee in just his underpants. Lewis returned to find him in place. He sat on the edge of the settee by his knees. ‘Well done, Gareth,’ he said, ‘I can tell what a shy person you are. I’m pleased you felt able to go as far as you have done.’

‘What I’m going to do now, is massage down your back and up again. I will go very, very’ carefully over your cheeks. This will get you used to lying there undressed as well as letting me get to know some more about you. When I’ve done that, I’ll go down your back again but without questions.’

‘That time, when I reach your waist, I’ll pull the back of your underpants down and deal with your injury. If you can’t cope with that by then, just say stop. Remember you are the one in control.’

Lewis put his hands back on Gareth’s head and massaged. ‘You told me that you are eighteen,’ he said, ‘Now tell me about where you live and who with.’ As he moved down onto his now bare shoulders, Gareth started again.

‘I live in a shared flat,’ he said. ‘I’ve lived there for six months since I was eighteen. I share it with Brandon who is twenty and Edgar who is twenty-two.’ Lewis reached his cut and massaged up to half an inch above it.

As he lifted his hands off, then resumed half an inch below it he asked, ‘How do you get on with them both?’ ‘I get on fine with Brandon,’ he said, ‘He’s quiet, just like me. Mind you we’re all out a lot so it’s not often were all in together apart from overnight.’

Lewis’s hands moved up onto his underpants. He massaged extra lightly and by the time he moved back onto the skin of Gareth’s legs he had shown no sign of any discomfort. ‘What about Edgar?’ Lewis asked. ‘He has only been there two months,’ Gareth told him, ‘Grant, who he replaced was lovely. Edgar isn’t,’ he paused, then continued, ‘Pass.’

As Lewis reached his feet and started back up, he asked, ‘Describe the flat to me.’ ‘There are three bedrooms, one each,’ Gareth told him. ‘A large communal lounge, a kitchen and a bathroom, all of which we share.’

‘Is your problem connected in any way to the flat?’ Lewis asked as he reached his underpants. ‘Just a yes or no will do for now.’ he added as he repeated his gentle massage. ‘Yes,’ Gareth answered as Lewis moved on up his back.

‘Where did you live before you moved into the flat?’ Lewis asked. ‘I lived at home with my mum.’ Gareth told him as Lewis passed carefully over his wound. ‘Why did you move out?’ ‘We lived about forty miles from here and when I got my present job locally, it was too far to travel each day.’

As Lewis massaged his shoulders, he asked, ‘So you had no problems when you were at home?’ ‘No, none.’ Gareth said as Lewis massaged his head.

Lewis stayed silent as he started massaging back down. Gareth had enjoyed the massaging on his skin and appreciated how carefully Lewis had been over his back injury and on his cheeks. But he still wasn’t sure about having his cheeks uncovered.

As the massage got closer and closer to his waist, Gareth still hadn’t decided. Lewis’s hands reached the top of his underpants. He took hold of the waistband and paused. Gareth knew in his heart that if he said stop, Lewis would stop right away. That was probably the deciding factor. He remained silent.

He had a funny feeling inside him as he felt Lewis’s hands pulling the back of his underpants down, very slowly and carefully. They kept going until they were past his cheeks. He knew Lewis was now looking at his bare bum and his other injury.

Strangely he felt at ease, none of the panic he had expected. Lewis was still and quiet as he studied Gareth’s cheeks. They were well padded and had two angry looking weal’s right across side by side. It was as if he had been bent over and given the cane on his bare skin. This time the skin was unbroken.

‘I’m going to put some cream on,’ he said. ‘There’s no broken skin so it shouldn’t sting, but it will take the soreness away.’ ‘Thank you,’ Gareth said. He felt the cold cream touch at one side, then Lewis’s finger rubbed it in very gently.

As his finger worked its way across, with some more blobs of cold cream, Gareth found that he was enjoying the feeling as his soreness eased. He started to hope that if Lewis could run his finger over his wounds and remove the pain, his massaging him all over might just remove all his other pains too.

All too soon Lewis finished with the cream. Gareth felt quite disappointed.

‘Now its soaked in, I’m going to put more cream on your back,’ Lewis said, ‘It shouldn’t sting this time.’ He rubbed some in right across then he cut a two-inch-wide strip of lint long enough to cover the weal on his back.

‘I’m going to put a lint dressing on your back now,’ Lewis said. As he spoke, he had taken his phone out of his pocket and taken a photo of Gareth’s back to record his injuries.

Then he taped the lint in place. After pulling the back of his underpants up to cover the creamed area, he told him to turn over carefully. Gareth turned over, too busy concentrating on not disturbing his dressing to think about being naked apart from his underpants.

As he settled on his back, he panicked momentarily. He looked down his front and saw nothing but bare skin and his underpants. Underpants that clearly showed the outline of his soft cock. Then amazed, he felt himself relaxing. As he lay there looking up at Lewis, he felt hope for the first time in months.

‘I’m going to massage your front now, exactly the same as your back,’ Lewis told him. ‘How do you get on with everyone at work?’ he asked as he moved from massaging his head to his shoulders. ‘Fine,’ Gareth told him, ‘I only work closely with two people, but everyone in the place is nice.’