“Good point.” She gestures toward the massage table. “Let’s start with some basic arm movements.”
Unsure of what’s next, I sit on the edge of the table. Like, I’m literally at the edge of my seat. My fight-or-flight reflex is on high alert, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s just anxiousness over getting full movement in my arm, but I suspect Hannah may have something to do with what I’m feeling.
She pats a small pillow at the end. “Go ahead and lie down, Nick.”
Her tone is firm and somewhat bossy. Is it weird that I kind of like that?
I mentally shake myself and lie back. “Like this?”
“Yep.” She unhooks the sling from around my neck, tosses it onto the nearby counter, and taps on her phone. Gentle ocean sounds fill the room.
Surprised, I snap my gaze to hers. I expected the typical spa-type music like you’d expect at one of those massage places. Buteven more unnerving is the compassion in her eyes as if she understands what I’m grappling with on a deeper level.
“I thought that might be more soothing for you than the generic spa music. Plus, it will help keep you focused on what you’re working for when it hurts.”
I swallow. “How much pain should I expect?”
“Only what you feel comfortable with.” She rolls over one of those stools you see in doctors’ offices and sits.
That rings through my head like an oxymoron. Is there such a thing ascomfortablepain?
While she fiddles with something underneath the table, I study her features. She’s wearing a wide headband that pushes her curls back into an unruly mass. Her skin is smooth yet sun-kissed, with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks. When she tilts her head, I’m drawn to a rogue freckle on her neck just below her ear and have this impulse to kiss her there.
I close my eyes, taking a deep breath.
Hands-off-Hannah.
The table shudders under my back as she pulls out something from underneath. I snap my eyes open at the touch of her hand on my shoulder.
“It’s okay, Nick. You have nothing to be afraid of. We’ll move at your pace.”
Good thing she can’t read my mind because the fear she’s sensing has nothing to do with my shoulder and everything to do with the attraction I’m feeling.
I attempt a small smile and nod. “Sounds good.”
“Okay, first, we’ll do some gentle exercises to get your arm moving. These will also be part of what you’ll do at home.”
Her hands are soft and gentle as she sweeps my arm out on the table extension, like doing angel wings in the snow. Or the sand. Yeah, I’ll think about how the sand on Mango Key Beach isnearly white and powdery because it’s quartz. And like snow, it makes a crunching sound when you walk on it.
That and the ocean sounds are helping me stay focused on the beach and being a lifeguard. This is good. I can concentrate on something other than how great Hannah smells, like sweet jasmine and musk that makes me want to bury my face in her neck so I can kiss that freckle.
Well, shoot…
“How’s that?” Her voice snaps my eyes open. She’s examining me like the professional that she is, but right now, all I can think about is her hand on my right bicep and the other one holding my wrist as she moves my arm upward.
“Good, so far.” The discomfort is no worse than it’s been so far, so maybe this won’t be so bad.
“Great.” She returns my arm to my side and then slides back. “Now, I want you to mimic what I did on your own.
At the first twinge of pain, I stop. “That hurt.”
“I know, but that’s because your muscles have atrophied a little. Once you warm them up, it will become easier. Keep going.”
I do as she says, sliding my arm up and out more, skimming past a forty-five-degree angle from my body. “I’m having trouble raising it higher.”
“Don’t worry about that. Trust me, we’ll push it more each time. For now, do what you can nine more times.”
The reassurance in her tone hits a place in me that’s desperate to know I have a shot at full recovery. I focus on the ceiling while sliding my arm up and down and even give a little more push with each upward swing. Hannah mentioned on my first visit that I had to do my part, so this is me doing exactly that—proving to her that I can. I swing my arm up for the final rep.
