Back at his apartment, AJ guided her in silence up the stairs as if she didn't know them by heart. She picked up the jacket he had just let slide to the floor and threw it over the couch before sitting beside AJ, who was already sprawled like a starfish.
She patiently waited for a couple of minutes before resuming her massage on his scalp. AJ melted to the touch. It was a pleasure to see the always cool musician losing it after a couple of movements from her fingers.
"What's got you so upset?"
"I'm not upset." His eyes stayed closed, willing her to leave it at that.
"You're talking to me, not Owen," she countered immediately, as if she already knew what he would say.
AJ let a heavy sigh go, "Honestly? I don't know." He finally looked at her and smiled softly, the way he knew she loved. "I don't know what's gotten into me lately."
"Is it something at the store?"
AJ denied with a soft shake of his head, but his mind immediately drifted to that one crooked smile and the brown, shaky orbs from days back. He hadn't seen Corey since that incident and, despite Matt keeping him on the loop of his recovery, he couldn't stop remembering him just like that: scared, vulnerable and raw.
"There is clearly something if it's got you so upset," she tried once again. "Why don't I give you a massage so you can let all of this go," she said, pointing his finger at his temple.
There were very few things he could possibly deny her, and getting a massage from her angel hands was definitely not one of those. The girl could honestly do magic with her bare fingers; and to think he had laughed at her so much when she told him about her massage lessons. Now he was her number one client.
He let himself be hoisted out of his comfortable couch and lead to the bed where he once again dropped without caring for the position he landed in.
"So, you're gonna be that way?" She teased and patted his thighs so he would properly position himself on the bed.
They chuckle and struggle with each other until everything is where it was supposed to go. He, lying face down on the bed, staring at the wall; she, straddling his hips and pouring the oil in her hands to warm it up. Their sessions had become some sort of routine, so he always kept a bottle of the coconut scented oil for her to work her magic.
The first touch was always like a sneak attack that made him jump, but it didn't last long as he would relax and give in to the pressure her fingers applied. The musician melted like putty under her care, malleable and docile; but when he started grunting and moaning whenever she worked out a knot, she knew she was doing things right.
She wouldn't lie. Having him there, under her, wearing only his black boxers, moaning his pleasure whenever she touched him, was more than encouraging. The guy was not one to do weight lifting like Owen or Tony, but he for sure had built a good natural body for himself working at the store from a young age. His uncle's laziness ended up working in his favor. Who would have thought?
Young AJ would be so happy to know his back finally grew stronger, just like his arms that had nothing on those anabolic machines you see on TV, but were undeniably strong and pure muscle power. The girl continued to appreciate the art in front of her, sliding her fingers down his lower back to work his waist, earning a new set of moans and grunts that sent her giggling.
She knew he was overreacting a little just to make fun of her, but the joke was on him because she truly enjoyed listening to her every movement.
The massage continued down his legs; another proof climbing ladder worked. All the boxes he had lifted to the upper shelves at the store had also done marvels for his quadriceps and calves. She took special time working on his meaty thighs that always had so much tension pent up, just begging to be squeezed.
"Aren't you enjoying it too much?" He teased her, looking at her over the shoulder. The girl just laughed and bit her lower lip. "Thought so."
"Ok, playboy. Go shower and then we can eat something."
AJ got up lazily, completely enjoying the aftereffect of her work. He hadn't even noticed how tense he'd been lately, but wasn't so surprised after everything.
"What are you doing?" She asked as he tugged her from her arm. "AJ?"
"Come shower with me."
The girl threw her head back, letting out a soft laugh as she let herself be dragged inside the white room. She hadn't been there in a while, but was glad to notice her body wash was still in the exact place she left it—just like everything else she left behind.
Quietly, they began their well-learned routine of showering one another, sparing no efforts to make the other feel good; were it through soft kisses on the shoulder and neck, or a soft loofah massage while soaping one another. It was all about sensations and exploring each other when they were under the shower spray.
The hair came last, and that's when it was her time to moan. It had always been her soft spot and ever since he learned it; he made sure to always spend a little more time there just to see her melt and give in to him the same way she was used to doing with him.
Their intimate time in the shower only extended after it as they continued their loving touches and kisses in bed. They knew their bodies so well that it didn't take long for them to turn their soft tender caresses into a sensual intense exchange that escalated to a pleasurable race to take the other through that cathartic finish line only to be left panting, coated in sweat and wondering why didn't they do it more often.
In the aftermath, it was always him who would shower her with attention. She would lay her head on his thighs as he leaned against the headboard while tracing lines on her arm or playing with her brown silky hair. Her tan skin seemed to glow whenever he touched her. He just couldn't get enough of her sighs and content smiles during these tender occasions.
"Thanks for the massage," he whispered.
"Sure. I can't help being awesome, so don't worry." They both laughed, but it soon died when she locked eyes with him for a moment. "Are you ok?"
"You always make it better, Lydia," he deflected the question, but she was quick to call him out with a raised eyebrow. "Damn it," he smiled. "You spent too much time with Maria."
"The woman is my boss. Can't help it."
"I honestly don't know." He stared down at her sheet covered figure, enjoying the way they still marked her waist and hips like an ancient Greek robe. "I've been feeling off and I don't even know why."
Lydia waited quietly, not taking her eyes off of him, letting him know in silence she was there and ready for him whenever he felt like it. And that was just it. That was her second magic trick. She would never ask just out of curiosity or to kill time; whenever she asked something, it was because she actually wanted to help.
She opened her big brown eyes and stared at his very core, pulling every word out until she could make sense of everything and offer a solution or at least an alternative path. She had always been there when he needed help, when he was still working things out with his band members, studies or parental figures.
Where Maria had been the mother and his uncle, his father; Lydia had always been that sister who would always be on his side, even when he was wrong. She would make sure he changed his ways for the better later on, but she would always be on his side when it mattered. That lasted until they discovered they could help each other in more than one way. Then it was like a whole different light shone upon her.
Not even knowing when it started, he found himself mid-story telling her all about the other guys, what it had been knowing them and how their relationship was anything but simple. He had spared a few details, but she got the gist of what had been going on for the last month.
Lydia listened whole heartedly, pushing her drowsiness away so she wouldn't miss any detail. It wasn't hard when she was witnessing a very rare occurrence. The musician never made new friends, he always surrounded himself with different people, and the kids at the store would treat him like one of them and all, but apart from the band and her, he didn't have any other friends and never showed interest in anyone else either. And yet there he was, telling her all about how much he had worried for this Corey guy and the one with the guitar lessons.
He was giving guitar lessons, for crying out loud! Where had she been lately to not know this already?
He was so immersed in these guy's lives that it was almost cute. He had this whole protective brotherly vibe now that she didn't know what to make of.
By just letting it all out, AJ already felt a weight lifting his shoulder. Once again, he had carefully left out the part where he had played for Corey, and how much he wanted to talk with him again to know if he had felt some of that, but still it had helped him out more than he thought it would.
"I'm sorry about your friends," Lydia concluded after a long period of silence. "They must have had it tough."
AJ nodded. "I just wish I could do something for them, you know?" the strain in his eyes gave away how deeply he had thought about it.
"Is this what's bothering you?" Lydia asked with a little surprise in her voice. "Can you even help them? I mean—don't get me wrong. I understand you wanting to help your friends, but this sounds more like a 'them' thing."
AJ's frown and narrowed eyes made it clear he wasn't getting the idea, so Lydia got up from her comfortable position to sit next to him with the tip of his toes on the headboard and her knees bent to be closer to him.
"AJ, they are a couple, right?" AJ nodded. "You can't get involved in couple matters," she tenderly laid out as if she was explaining to a kid why he couldn't get candies before lunch.
She watched with guarded sadness how the realization came to him. He had obviously been stressing about these guys and how he could help them, but never once considered it wasn't his place to do it. Her heart felt for the musician. It was his first time worrying about someone on that level and he couldn't even do anything about it.
He was not 'one of them.'
"All you can do is let them know they are not alone, like you did with… Matt, was it?" AJ nodded mindlessly. "That was nice," she reassured him, trying to give him some uplifting twist to the story. "Maria told me you were waiting for some guys to show up at the show. Was it them?" He nodded again, apparently done with talking, but still holding on to every word she was saying. "That was good, you invited them. Even if they didn't come, you let them know they had somewhere to go and someone to share a nice moment with. If Matt's boyfriend is as traumatized as it sounds, it won't be easy to get them to break their routine. Either way, it's good for them to know they have the chance when they're ready."
AJ mulled over Lydia's word. In a way, they made perfect sense. He was shocked to realize it had actually hurt to hear her say it wasn't his place to help them, but it was the truth. Yet, he still wanted to at least try to do something.
"Thank you," he finally said, placing a tender kiss on her forehead. "I hope you're right. You should have seen them; Corey was so scared and then Matt was so lost and frustrated, not knowing how to help him and afraid of losing him."
"Hey, don't underestimate the power of having a safe place to go to."
She was right; he convinced himself. He wouldn't falter in his resolve to help them and just be ready for when they reach out to him.