The road to the top [R15]

“But I asked you inside, and you nodded. Not fair.”

Anna must have asked that while I was getting too warm. I felt bad having lost and said “Fine!” with a slightly bitter tone. I would make sure I won anything else that would come up today. Anna wasn't getting away with this. I had to be in control, I could not let her win.

Anna noticed my struggles and petted my head like I was being cute. Now she had done it. “I'll win whatever comes next,” I said, not knowing what the rest of the day would entail. “You're on!” Anna said.

We put on our robes and when we left the dressing room, there was a woman in a white nurse outfit waiting for us. She introduced herself as Belle and she led us to a room with two massage tables.

There was another woman in a nurse outfit waiting for us there. She introduced herself as Kathleen.

“Since both of you are here for the full course, we will start off with a foot reflexology treatment. Some slight discomfort might be felt at first, but it should soon start to feel relaxing.” Belle explained.

Oh, I heard about that. Foot reflexology is a fancy word for a foot massage, isn't it? Anna and I were both led to a massage table. Anna quickly said, “First one to scream, loses.” Suddenly I felt tense. Was this really gonna hurt bad enough to make us scream?

Belle seemed a very friendly lady. I was sure she would not want to hurt me, now would she?

“Just relax, no need to be tense.”

She took my foot in her hand and pressed her thumbs hard in several spots on my sole. Then suddenly she found a spot that hurt really really hard. I wanted to scream but remembered our bet, so instead, I bit on my hand.

What the hell was that. I did not know my foot could hurt that much. I glared at Belle, and she responded with a smile “It seems like you have trouble letting things go. That is what this sore spot indicates. You should just relax and let it go. You don't need to be in control. She started to do some strange movements on that painful spot, pressing it really hard. Damn that hurt. I only barely managed not to scream.

I looked at Anna, but she seemed to be relaxing and enjoying herself. I heard Kathleen say to her “I can see you had this treatment often, your soles are completely relaxed.” That woman! She tricked me into a challenge that she could not lose. But it did give me some hope that this could start to feel good. I don't know how long I managed to swallow the pain, probably minutes, but it felt like hours before I screamed. “Good! You are finally letting go. Let it all out. No need to feel ashamed!” Belle said. I looked defeated at Anna. She blew me a kiss and signaled 2-0. I had to get back at her. I could not let this losing streak continue. My ego just couldn't take it. While I was having these thoughts Belle pressed again against that spot on my foot, and I screamed really loud. My eyes must have told her that I would murder her if she did that again because she said “I released it as much as I could today, but I advise you to get a weekly appointment so that we can fix this problem.”

Like hell was I going to pay to let this be done to me every week. Who would do that to themselves? The foot reflexology finished, and we were going over to a Thai couple massage.

Our massage beds were put in a way so we could talk to each other. Belle and Kathleen got ready to start the massage. I could see that Anna was a bit nervous. Why? Wasn't a massage all about relaxation and feeling good?

“Try to relax. It hurts less if you relax.” Belle said, then Kathleen added, “Thai massage is all about no pain, no gain, so it is normal to feel a slight discomfort.”

This time, Anna was the first to scream, but I followed soon after. There is pain from stretching, and then there was this. When I was giving a second of respite, I signaled 2-1 to Anna. She wanted to reply, but before the words could leave her mouth, she was screaming again. This went on until our screams reached a climax and the massage was over. I have to admit, even with all the hurt, after the massage was over, my body felt strangely good. I felt light and relaxed like I was walking on clouds. I bet my body was most likely thanking me that that ordeal of a massage had stopped.

After the massage, we were led to a small restaurant, where we would receive a healthy lunch. Apparently, we could not choose our lunch, they were chosen for us by our masseuses. I received a detox lunch, that would help me to let go, and Anna got a deacidification lunch to help her be more flexible. It was safe to say the food was terrible, and when I saw the prices, I was glad we did not have to pay.

My detox menu consisted of raw vegetables, scraped and cut fine, with a little bit of oil and some green herbs. That was it. Apparently, because some of the veggies were rich in starch, they should not be combined with protein. This was food prepared with only the effect on a body in mind. The taste did not even matter in the eyes of this chef. Anna's lunch looked better. She got steamed vegetables with a sauce. But when she tried it, I could see by the look in her eyes that it was very sour. The explanation for that was, that apparently lemon acid had a very strong deacidifying effect. I finished my plate, but to be honest, I was still hungry afterward. I promised Anna that I would make her a decent dinner tonight.

In the afternoon Belle and Kathleen would help us develop our natural beauty. We would receive a pedicure and a manicure, while our skins received a beauty treatment.

Our faces were covered in some kind of mud and they put something wet over our eyes. This would keep the mud damp longer, and it had to stay on until it was all dry.

To calm us, they were playing dolphin sounds softly in the background. I wonder who the schmuck was that ever decided that dolphin sounds were calming, I thought those shrieks were anything but. Every dolphin cry went right through my bones.

We would have to suffer through that for the time that we would be there.

I could no longer see what was going on, but I felt someone working on my feet. It wasn't painful this time, but I could not call it pleasant either. When they started working on my hands, I could smell the waft of chemicals. All that “healthy” mumbo jumbo, and then they started using chemicals. I could not help but find that hypocritical. The mud on my face slowly but surely started to hurt. They told us not to move our faces, but this was like an itch, but not really an itch. They said the mask was to remove impurities. After they removed the mask, they started to massage my face with a very sweet-smelling lotion. I was surprised by how nice a face massage felt, but little did I know they were just distracting me for what was to come.

Now they were putting something really hot on my legs. Don't tell me... Yes... they were waxing my legs. The pain that shot through me when they pulled off the first part was insane. Anna laughed and pointed 3 -1. I wanted to protest and call that unfair, but when I tried to open my mouth. Belle ripped off the next part.

Scoring a point on something she did not undergo herself was so unfair. Anna had had laser therapy, so she did not have to shave her legs any longer. “I never wanted to do the waxing again. So I opted for laser.” She said. I wanted a way to get back at her but apparently, we were finished.

Anna and I thanked Belle and Kathleen for their work. Somehow it felt completely wrong to thank someone for what they just did to us. We went back to the dressing room, so we could leave this house of horrors behind us. Why do so many women look forward to visiting these kinds of places? And for crying out loud, who would ever want to be a member here? I felt like Polly sent me here to get back at me for making her tell me her secret, instead of rewarding me for winning the bet.

When we were in the dressing room, Anna went on her way to the locker with our clothes. Now would be the opportune chance for revenge, not? I slammed my hand on the wall next to her head like I had seen girls do in so many mangas. Anna was clearly surprised by my actions and looked a bit shy at me. “C-Claire?” I noticed her gulp.

“You teased me the entire day with those challenges you could not lose. You didn't think I would let you get away Scot free?” Anna look me shyly in my eyes. I did not really think this through, did I? I had her cornered, and mostly acted on impulse, but what now?” My impulses told me to kiss her. So I brought my lips to hers, while I let my hands untie her robes. I slit my hand inside and felt her soft skin. Anna moaned softly egging me on to continue. She was melting like pudding in my hands. I moved my kisses to her neck and felt her legs go weak. I followed her to the ground and kissed her some more while exploring her body with my hands. The idle thought that those treatments really made the skin softer passed my mind but quickly faded into Anna and only Anna. Anna had opened my robes too. I felt her hands starting to explore my body too. Everything felt really sensitive. Most likely due to all those treatments. I could not get enough of this sensation. I finally felt in control of her and was not about to give that up, so ironically, I let myself lose control completely. At that moment, I did no longer care about winning or losing. The only thing that mattered to me, was becoming one with Anna.

When we emerged from the dressing room, I felt a bit embarrassed, and it felt like everyone around us knew what just happened there. But that was not possible, was it?. I hoped nobody realized. When we checked out, I noticed a little smirk on the receptionist's face. Was this because we underwent the entire full course or because she knew?

I looked at Anna and noticed the mark on her neck. When the receptionist saw that I noticed the mark, she gave me a wink. My face turned crimson. Steam must have been coming out of my ears. Luckily we weren't members here, so there would be no need to come back.

I took Anna by her arm and led her outside, to escape from my embarrassment. How could Anna remain so calm? Did she not realize that that receptionist found out? Anna's calm made me feel like I had lost again. She really was amazing, wasn't she? While we were waiting for a taxi, I put my head on her shoulder while she patted my head. I couldn't imagine feeling anywhere as comfortable as this. Well, maybe in my kitchen. But that was a different kind of comfortable. Definitely completely different!