Goddammit but I need this, he thought suddenly realizing that he could not remember beginning the massage. The thoughts were soon pushed out of his mind as his shoulders ached and his neck felt like it had daggers sticking into it.

The music in the Thai spa was soft but a bit abrasive. A metallic-sounding flute was now playing. Its sound was just slightly too high-pitched to be comfortable and caused a faint buzzing as it came through a scratchy speaker in the corner of the room. The air was a bit hot and its humidity clung to him. He felt a bead of irritating sweat running down his side and his mouth now felt dry and parched yet he kind of needed to pee.

No matter, he thought as he tried to adjust himself to be comfortable. He was lying on his stomach and the Thai lady was massaging his lower back and buttocks. It was a little awkward but he was sure that she would move up to where the actual pain in his upper back, shoulders and neck was.

The air smelt lovely but the gap in the massage table for his face was hard and a thread poked him gently in his nose. It was a bit itchy.

Goddammit, but he wanted to scratch his nose now!

He really wanted to scratch it but he did not want to break the spell. She was now working his hands and arms. He pushed the music and itchy thread out of his mind. He was in a good place experiencing a luxury. He reminded himself this. He was starting to relax. Things were good and fine and well–

“Too hard, mister?” the voice of the Thai lady interrupted him, breaking the spell and the smallest knot of frustration formed in the pit of his stomach, “Or harder, mister? OK, OK?”

“Yes, yes, a bit harder, thanks,” he mumbled snapping out of it. He squeezed his eyes and tried to go back to that elusive, comfortable place of bliss but the song changed to something offputting with a snare drum that made the speaker in the corner buzz even more than before. He felt bad at feeling frustrated when he should feel relaxed but he could hear a fly buzzing around them and a car horn blasted off in the street outside.

The lady said something inaudible and then continued massaging him too softly. And she had moved down to his legs. When was she going to get to his aching shoulders and neck? And why not harder? The soft, gentle touching was more ticklish than soothing or relaxing.

The frustration knotting in the pit of his stomach was growing as was his guilt at feeling that way in a place and moment like this. Both feelings were gnawing at him and all he wanted to do was leap up and scream!

But he kept lying there trying to relax…

The heat in the room was unbearable and the fucking thread in the face-gap was poking into his nose again! And then the lady moved up to his lower back. He sighed, dug his eyes closed and tried to push himself into a relaxing state…

Goddammit but I need this, he thought suddenly realizing that he could not remember beginning the massage. The thoughts were soon pushed out of his mind as his shoulders ached and his neck felt like it had daggers sticking into it.

The music in the Thai spa was soft and abrasive. A metallic-sounding flute was now playing. Its sound was just slightly too high-pitched to be comfortable and caused a faint buzzing as it came through a scratchy speaker in the corner of the room. The air was a bit hot and its humidity clung to him. He felt a bead of irritating sweat running down his side and his mouth now felt dry and parched yet he kind of needed to pee.

No matter, he thought as he tried to adjust himself to be comfortable. He was lying on his stomach and the Thai lady was massaging his lower back and buttocks. It was a little awkward but he was sure that she would move up to where the actual pain in his upper back, shoulders and neck was.

The air smelt lovely but the gap in the massage table for his face was hard and the thread was still poking him gently in his nose. It was a bit itchy.

Goddammit, he wanted to scratch his nose now!

But he just kept lying there trying to relax…