Chapter 7: A Surprise For Danny

Where would you go when you went out together?’ Danny asked as he massaged over her cheeks again. This time there was no sign of tension. ‘We went to a pub for a drink the first time,’ she said. ‘Then on the second occasion we went to the cinema. Last time we went out for a meal.’

As Danny massaged her shoulders he asked, ‘Did you ever consider asking either of them about your problem?’ ‘No, definitely not.’ she said as he reached her head. ‘For the same reason.’ she added.

‘Well done,’ Danny said, ‘You’re doing fine. Turn over now.’ He smiled at her as she settled in place. ‘I’m going to do exactly the same on your front now,’ he told her. ‘Remember you can say stop or pass as many times as you want.’

He put his hands on her head then as he started massaging told her to say go when she felt ready. He massaged briefly, then moved to her temples. She lay there enjoying the lovely sensation for a while. Then realising Danny was waiting she said, ‘Go.’

He moved down onto her shoulders and asked, ‘How did you get on with the other girls in your last few years at school?’ ‘Ok,’ she said, ‘I had one really good friend, but all the others were ok, although I didn’t really mix well. Are you still in touch with your good friend?’ Danny asked as he massaged over her breasts. She had tensed up as he started but relaxed almost immediately. ‘Only occasionally on Facebook,’ she said. ‘She moved to South Wales not long after leaving school.’

‘If she was still local, do you think you would have told her about it?’ Danny asked as he moved down over her stomach. He could feel some padding, but nothing excessive. ‘No, I don’t think so,’ Vanessa told him, ‘Even with her, I’d probably have felt too embarrassed.’

‘Did either of you have a boyfriend when you were at school?’ Danny asked. She had gone very tense as his hands neared her waist. She remained silent as they passed over her waist onto the front of her jeans. She was so tense he was expecting her to say stop at any moment, but she remained silent though stiff until he moved onto her thighs.

As she relaxed, she answered, ‘No, we were both very quiet and shy.’ she said. ‘Connie did have a date in the last few months, but she told me he had tried to force her to have sex with him. She pushed him off, so he just walked off in a huff and left her.’

‘So, were you both still virgins when you left school?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ she answered after a pause, going red in the face as she did. ‘Have you had a boyfriend since leaving school?’ Danny asked. ‘No,’ she said, ‘No one’s ever asked me. Oh, not until recently anyway.’ she added as her face brightened.

‘Who was that?’ Danny asked as he started back up from her feet. ‘David at work,’ she said, ‘He’s a waiter. He’s as quiet and shy as I am. We’ve been smiling at each other for ages, but it was only recently he managed to ask me out.’ ‘What did you say,’ Danny asked. ‘I so wanted to say yes,’ she said, ‘But I couldn’t.’

‘Can you tell me why?’ Danny asked. She was silent for a while, then she said, ‘Pass, sorry.’ ‘Don’t be,’ Danny said, ‘You can tell me when you’re ready. So, are you still a virgin?’ Danny asked as he moved back over the front of her jeans.

She went silent again, her eyes fixed on his hands. She had tensed a little but nowhere near as much as previously. She remained silent until he had passed over her waist then said, ‘Pass.’

As Danny massaged up over her stomach he asked, ‘How long have you worked at the Manor?’ ‘Twelve months,’ she said, ‘I moved from the Red Bull, so I’d have less distance to walk to work.’ As he moved further up her front, he asked, ‘How long were you at the Red Bull?’ ‘Just over a year, I started there when I left school,’ she told him as he passed over her breasts. She showed no sign of any problem with that.

As he massaged her head, he was looking at the map of the area in his head. As far as he could tell, the distance between where Vanessa lived, and the Manor Hotel was the same as the distance to the Red Bull. If anything, it was slightly longer.

He took his hands off and smiled at her, ‘You’re doing well,’ he said, ‘How are you finding it?’ ‘Nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be,’ she said. ‘Also, I’m enjoying the massage. Well, most of it,’ she added. ‘Just remember,’ Danny told her, ‘Nothing we do here will hurt you.’ She smiled at him, ‘I’ve already realised that.’ she said.

‘I want you to turn over again,’ Danny told her. ‘Then I’ll go down your back again with more questions. You will have realised by now how much the massage is relaxing you. It works even more on your skin.’ He explained the link between mind and body. ‘So, before you turn over, I want you to consider taking your top off so I can massage your back directly on your skin. But if you don’t feel able to do that yet, don’t worry, just turn over as you are. Whilst you’re making your mind up, I’m just going to go and wash the coffee cups.’

FCFC

He went out to the kitchen. Vanessa had been scared when Danny massaged over her jeans, the site of all her suffering. But she had enjoyed the massage everywhere else. Even the massage over her breasts had been lovely. No one else had ever touched her there before. It had sent some lovely shivers through her. She soon decided. She sat up, pulled her top off and lay down again.

She turned over and settled comfortably. Danny returned a few moments later, sat at her side and said, ‘Very well done, that’s good progress.’ He put his hands on her head and massaged briefly, then moved his hands down onto her bare shoulders.

He felt her shiver and took his hands off immediately. ‘Are you ok?’ he asked. ‘Yes, I’m fine,’ she said, ‘Please don’t stop. That was a shiver of delight, feeling your hand on my skin was lovely. No one has ever touched me there before.’

Danny resumed his massage and asked, ‘How did you like working at the Red Bull? ‘It was lovely.’ she told him as he massaged over her bra strap. ‘Everyone was really nice.’ ‘What about the Manor?’ Danny asked, ‘How does that compare?’ ‘That’s nice too,’ she said, ‘I work in the kitchen a lot and whilst chef is demanding, once you get to know him and how he works, he’s a pleasure to work with.’

As Danny massaged over her cheeks there was no tension this time. ‘When I serve in the restaurant,’ she continued, ‘Mr Franco is the same. I think apart from Malik everyone is nice. When he got arrested, I wasn’t really surprised, although it was a surprise to find out what he was arrested for.’

‘So, how did you get on with Malik?’ Danny asked as he went on down to her feet then started back up. ‘I never took to him. I could never put my finger on why,’ she said, ‘He was good at his job, but he had a habit of creeping up on people. It always made me jump and I felt nervous around him.’

As he massaged over her cheeks again, Danny asked, ‘Do you think he attacked anyone at the Manor?’ ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘After he was arrested and we learned what it was for, I looked at all the young waiters and tried to decide. But none of them looked as if they were troubled by anything.’

Danny was halfway up her bare back as he asked, ‘Did Malik ever work at the Red Bull?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Vanessa said, ‘But he certainly wasn’t there when I was there.’

As he massaged her shoulders, Danny was puzzling about her answers. None of what she said, or how she said it would suggest that Malik had ever attacked her. ‘So why is she here?’ he wondered.

‘Is the Red Bull or the Manor or anyone working there responsible for giving you your problem?’ he asked. ‘No.’ came an immediate response. Then as he massaged her head, she added, ‘At least as far as I know.’

Danny took his hands off and said, ‘Turn over please.’ Vanessa turned over with no hesitation. Lying with just her bra on her top didn’t seem to be worrying her. She had good size breasts which because of her extra padding, showed quite a bit of flesh around the edge of the cups of her bra.