They Don't Know about Us

Chapter 46 - Desire unleashed

🚨⚠️ MATURE CONENT ADVISORY⚠️🚨
(N/A: if you are not comfortable, it is near the end so you can skip an read the very last few paragraphs)

Riddhima tugged Muskaan through the revolving glass doors of the building the spa was located in. Their shifts only started in the afternoon and given Riddhima was going to spend some time alone with Armaan, she wanted to make sure that after weeks of distress, she was all relaxed and polished up.

The warm scent of lavender and honey diffused into the cool morning air as they stepped inside. Soft instrumental music floated around them consisting of wind chimes, distant water trickling, something that felt like peace.

"Girl," Muskaan muttered as she peeled off her jacket, eyes wide at the glowing marble reception desk, "you dragged me out at eight in the morning for this? I thought you were taking me to get breakfast. You tricked me with carbs."

Riddhima flashed her a sweet smile. "We deserved a treat."

Muskaan narrowed her eyes. "We? Or you?" She looped her arm through Riddhima's and leaned in conspiratorially. "Just tell me you're prepping because you're seeing Dr Touch-Me- Once-I'll- Completely- Lose-It Malik tonight."

Riddhima inhaled sharply, feeling caught, but lifted her chin like she was made of dignity and restraint. "I'm not answering that." The blush was a dead giveaway about what Riddima had planned.

Muskaan snorted seeing the red hue appear on her best friend's cheek, "You already did."

Before Riddhima could come up with a lie that didn't sound like a confession, the receptionist, a woman with perfect skin and the softest voice Riddhima had ever heard, welcomed them and guided them to the changing area.

Minutes later, wrapped in fluffy white robes and matching slippers, they followed a hallway lit with golden sconces leading to the massage rooms.

Muskaan whispered dramatically, "If I fall asleep and drool, don't take pictures. I am in dire need of this."

"I'll take videos," Riddhima replied nodding affirmingly, biting her lip to hide her grin. Muskaan shoved her playfully as they followed the masseuse into a room to start their spa day with a massage.

The room was warm, dimmed, smelling faintly of eucalyptus. Two massage beds sat side by side. Soft music thrummed like a heartbeat beneath it all. The masseuses guided them to the beds and Muskaan sighed excitedly as they slipped onto the beds, relaxing their limbs.

As Riddhima lay face-down, the first press of warm oil against her shoulders made her exhale a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. The week, the tension, the hospital noise, all the stress she had gone through had just melted.

From the other bed, Muskaan hummed, half-asleep already, "Girl," she mumbled into the pillow, voice sticky with relaxation, "we so needed this."

Riddhima sighed, eyes fluttering shut, "We did."

"No, I mean—you definitely really needed this," Muskaan continued, tone shifting into wickedness. "Because Dr Boyfriend is not holding back tonight." There was a suggestion in her tone which Riddhima had perfectly understood.

Riddhima made a strangled noise that was absolutely not a squeak. "Muskaan." She was thankful about lying face down as her flushed cheeks were hidden.

"I'm just saying," Muskaan sing-songed, "there's relaxation—then there's preparing your muscles for being kissed into paralysis. Two different yet equally blissful things."

The massage therapist paused, as if deciding whether she should pretend she hadn't heard. Riddhima buried her burning face into the pillow and wished on God to knock some sense into her best friend who refused to put a filter on her mouth.