"Hey Johnny, where are we going?," Selene asked hoping he would answer since Ben had refused to tell her. She was in the car with Ben, with Johnny driving them. Johnny's face, as usual, did not give anything away and Ben chuckled.
"You should know better than to ask him," he said with a big smile. "I told you, it's a surprise."
Selene signed and fell further into the seat. "I think I'm anxious since the gala is tonight and I feel like I should start getting ready now," she said quietly.
Ben reached over to hold her hand and assured her with, "There are several hours yet before we need to leave. That's plenty of time. Especially…." He let his voice trail off as his smile turned into a mischievous grin.
"Especially?," asked Selene, sitting back up. "What?"
"You'll see," was all Ben said.
A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the La Challe Spa & Resort. When Selene saw the sign, she turned to Ben and asked, "Is *this* the surprise?"
"It is," he answered, "What do you think?"
"I think you're crazy," she answered incredulously. "Do you know how expensive this place is? Lucy and I were planning a spa date once and I think we both actually gasped out loud at the prices when we saw them on their website."
Ben put his hand on her thigh and said, "It's okay. This is my way of saying thank you for coming with me. I know it's stressful, so I want you to just relax and have them take care of everything."
"I don't know about this," Selene responded with a slight look of fear in her eyes.
"Think of it as making me happy then," Ben told her, giving her a warm smile. Then he made a gesture indicating for her to go on ahead by pointing his chin quickly at the building. He said, "Go ahead. There's another surprise waiting inside. Also, your dress will be delivered to you, so I'll pick you up from here at 6 sharp."
Selene shook her head, still in disbelief, but she had a big smile on her face. "Thank you," she replied.
As she was about to open the door, Ben said, "Hold on," and then got out of the car to go over to her side. He opened her door and bowed, "My lady."
Selene smiled, "Oh hush. Thank you though." They kissed good bye and she walked through the glass doors with one final look back at Ben who waved her in.
She was greeted by a woman wearing the spa's signature mint-colored outfit. The woman said, "The gentleman is waiting. This way please."
Selene was confused but followed the woman through another set of doors into what appeared to be a waiting area. It was lavishly decorated and made her feel as if she had stepped into a French salon. The only person seated on one of the comfortable chairs was none other than Peter!
"Hey," he said with a big, mischievous smile.
"Hey back!," she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Ugh, stab me in the heart why don't you," Peter replied with an exaggerated upset tone. "Don't I count as an amazing surprise?"
Selene gave him a big hug and answered, "Of course! I'm just really surprised I guess!" Then her eyes grew wide and she asked, "Don't tell me you and Johnny are coming to the gala too?"
Peter laughed, "No way! Can you imagine us hob-knobbing with LA's elite?"
Selene laughed too, "Until this week, I wouldn't have imagined myself either so never say never."
"True, true," Peter admitted. "But no. I'm just here to keep you company. Plus, I was not about to say no to an afternoon at this place. I have a date tonight too, you know?"
Selene linked arms with him and said, "I can't wait to here all about it! I'm so glad I'm doing this with you! I was a little scared walking in here by myself."
Peter nodded, "I figured you might be. I think Ben did too. Hence, me being here and all."
The woman who had brought Selene to Peter coughed discreetly to get their attention. When they looked at her she said sweetly, "I'm sorry to interrupt but we have everything waiting for you two. If you'll just follow me.
She led them to a room where they could change clothes into bathrobes that were provided. "Um," Selene started, "Are we both supposed to change in here? Together?"
"I'm sorry, we have you down for a couple's package," the escort woman replied. When she saw the uncomfortable look they both gave, she said, "But, of course, you can both change separately in the men's and women's changing rooms."
"Nah, it's not a big deal," Peter remarked. "Right Selene? We can just turn away from each other."
"Sure," Selene answered, "That's fine."
After they both changed into the bath robes, they were led to the couple's massage room, which had two massage beds side by side. There were two women, wearing matching outfits to those of the escort, waiting inside.
"Welcome," one of them said as the escort left quietly. "If you will both disrobe and lie down, we can begin."
They both looked at each other and then Peter shrugged. "I won't look," he promised with an eye roll.
Selene laid on the bed first, front facing down, and then removed her bathrobe. Peter wasn't as shy, so she had to clothes her eyes as he disrobed and then climbed on the bed.
"What?," he asked, seeing her face reddening even in the dim light. "It's not like they haven't seen this stuff a million times before. Am I right ladies?"
The women giggled.
"Plus, I'm gay, just so it's clear," he added.
The women giggled again. Then they each grabbed their respective oil bottles and began the massages.
After a few moments, Selene said, "Wow, this feels amazing."
"I know, right?," Peter agreed. "The stress from work is already starting to slip away."
"Crazy week again, huh?," Selene asked, though her tone indicated she already knew the answer.
Peter sighed, "As usual. But we're making progress so it's all good."
"Let's not talk about work," Selene suggested. "Tell me about the concert and where you and Johnny are going tonight."
Peter was happy that they weren't looking at each other and the room was dim as he felt his face heat up thinking about their date. "We haven't decided yet, but some place fancy for dinner I think," he told her. "I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I told Johnny about the whole no sex before marriage thing, and he was totally okay with it!" He had texted Selene about the concert but hadn't had a chance to fill her in on how it went.
"That is so great to hear. I'm so happy for you. You deserve to be happy. So this date tonight sounds like it will be romantic," Selene remarked.
"I hope so," he chuckled. "Originally, I was going to take him to The Bar Who so he could see where we all hang out, but given last night he said he wanted to take me somewhere more upscale. Apparently, I have to wear a suit and everything."
"I like Johnny's style," she commented. "What about after dinner."
Peter hmmm'd and then said, "Drinks probably."
"Sounds like fun. How was the concert?," she asked.
Peter filled her in and then they were silent for the rest of the massage, each lost in their own thoughts. After the massages were complete, the same escort woman from before came to pick them up. She led them to a large room that had what appeared to be a giant bathtub sunken into the floor. It was filled with some type of mud.
Selene looked at Peter with a look that indicated "What the hell is this?" and he laughed. They were instructed to enter the mud bath and apply some of it to their faces like a mask. Selene's hair was already in a bun so she didn't have to worry about it at least.
"Close your eyes," she instructed Peter so that she could disrobe and enter the tub without him seeing. He did as instructed, but not before giving an eye roll. She then closed her eyes for him.
Once they were situated and the escort had left them (saying she'd be back in half an hour), they both started laughing at each other's faces. Then they had a nice conversation about how far they had come from their foster care days.
When the appointed time came, their escort led them to two private shower stalls. "I figured you would not want the couple's shower," she stated, trying to hide her amusement.
"Thank you," they both answered in unison and then chuckled with slight embarrassment.
After showering, they were taken to have facials. When those were done, they were told that that was the end for Peter. Selene still had make-up artists and a hair stylist waiting to get her ready for the evening. The two friends hugged and exchanged fair wells, wishing each other happy evenings.
The make-up and hair people had already been given a heads-up about the gala she would be attending and the color of Selene's dress. As a result, the eye shadow that was chosen was a dark rose color that matched the dark pink lipstick. The shades matched perfectly with the shade of purple that her dress was colored. She told the stylist that she wanted her hair half up and half down so the man spent quite a bit of time arranging the top of her hair in elaborate braids that came together to form an elegant bun. Her bangs framed her face perfectly and the rest of her hair was gently curled.
Everything had been timed perfectly, and Selene was dressed and ready for when Ben entered the waiting room to pick her up.
His grew into a big smile when he saw her. "You look beautiful," he started to say and then added quickly, "Stunning, actually."
Selene smiled back and shyly said, "Thank you."
Ben went to her and whispered into her ear, "If we didn't have some place to be, I would take you right here. As it is…"
Selene blushed as she replied, "Too bad we have some place to be."