This Unconventional Kind of Love

Chapter 14: The Perfect Romance

Copyright © 2020, Nikki B. Lourie if you are reading this work on any other domain than Wattpad, it has been plagiarized.

Janessa admired her hair for the hundredth time in the mirror. She looked beautiful and felt beautiful. Her Senegalese twists stopped in the middle of her back and matched well with her natural hair color. They swung freely whenever she moved and she loved it. When she was younger and often saw the other little black girls her age with their platted hair and pretty bows, she was jealous. She wanted to have pretty hair bows and beads. Her mother never took the time to do her hair so intricately. She often sported a ponytail or a French braid.

Now she had the opportunity to relive her childhood. Granted she had gotten the pretty gold braid ornaments instead of beads, but she still loved her look nonetheless. Wrapping half of her hair up into a bun, she ambled out of her room in search of Lana. They had gone to the nail salon yesterday and all that Janessa could say was that having fake nails was an experience. Her fingers felt awkward and heavy. Writing with longer than usual nails was an odd task. Not to mention typing was a feat in itself. She had complained to Lana about it earlier and was reassured that on her next visit she could get gel polish on her own nails.

Janessa liked that idea more. She kept her own nails long and well-trimmed. She had never painted them before because her mother never wore nail polish and was often rushing off to perform more surgeries, but she had often longed to try. By the time she had become an adult, she was too preoccupied with sneaking out of the house than running into a local drug store to buy nail art. This was another part of her childhood that she had missed out on. Being able to enjoy it in her adulthood was just as nice. Today they would be delighting in a spa day before her date tomorrow. She was just as excited.

"I'm ready," Janessa announced with her arms up in the air. Leslie entered the kitchen and grabbed an apple before continuing on his way. Usually, she would have followed after him and see what he was up to, but the sound of his harp made her smile. Since planning his trip to Vienna, Leslie had been practicing incessantly. His hard work was paying off. He sounded even better each and every time he played.

"Come let us go," Lana told her, ushering her towards the door. The trip to the spa didn't take too long. Lana filled her in on the ins and outs of what to expect. By the time they arrived for their appointment, Janessa was more than ready for her massage. They would be sharing a room which made her feel at ease about her new venture.

"Do we have to get completely undressed?" she inquired once they made it to their private room.

"Yes, but don't worry, you'll have a towel around you and you'll be lying on your stomach," Lana explained. They undressed and prepared for their massage therapists to enter the room both of them climbing onto the massage table and patiently waiting.

"Hello, I'm Howard and I will be your masseuse for the evening," Janessa heard by her left shoulder.

Her eyes bulged as large hands firmly gripped her shoulders and upper back. Her eyes darted to Lana who was thoroughly enjoying her massage. Her heart sank thinking about ruining the experience for her friend. She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to drown out her discomfort. Men gave women massages all the time. This was normal. Besides, it wasn't as if Lana was privy to her past or knew that she felt wary around men. Telling Lana of her sordid story never crossed her mind, but the thought of doing so and being seen differently made her think twice about it.

Lana turned her head to the side to check on Janessa and frowned. She did not appear to be relishing this experience. As a matter of fact, she was too tense for someone who was supposed to be getting relaxed from a day of pampering. She couldn't have a pleasurable time if Janessa wasn't sharing the sentiment. Tapping her masseuse, Maxwell, on the hand for him to stop, she sat up and waved for him and his companion to follow her to the door.